I'm legal...

So yesterday was D-day...or DL-day to be more accurate. I finally plucked up enough courage to go sit my Illinois drivers license, something all foreigners have to do after 3 months entering the country (don't do the math....lots of illegal time there and M not very happy)
I really hate tests and I flubbed my written and oral exam the first time ( in 1984 ohmygod) as I'd change my mind every time I'd answer a question and get it wrong.
At this point I'd like to thank the horrendous weather last Thursday that had me circling Cincinnati airport for an extra 1.5hours...allowing me some more road code swotting time)
They tell you to get down to the DMV 15 minutes prior to the door opening and sure enough, 20 people were already there. If you come into the state from other states or change your address you have to renew your license, but no tests. Old wrinklies also have to resit after a while.
The DMV is a nice slice of culture...with lots of good people watching while you while away the (luckily) minutes of waiting in queues...see the large lady with very tan legs, inappropriate short skirt and biiiig hair...see the goatee gentleman retesting his 3 wheel trike...with a marijuana t-shirt...yup, they're really going to pass you with that on mate.
So I go through the first queue, 50 assorted documents in hand...get a number and wait for the second desk person. He checks the docs, makes sure I'm really happy how my name is spelt and makes me stick my head in a hood to read some lines and check for flashing lights...think that's peripheral vision.
He also asks me what weight I want to have on my license (why the @#$% to they need that...if I get too big am I not allowed to get in a car...is it for better estimating which organs might be better to take in a fiery crash?) The temptation to drop a few pounds instantly is overwhelming, but I surrender my true weigh (like I'm going to tell you guys) and we consult a wee chart to work out what 1.71cm equates to in feet and inches.
Then I go to the cashier and hand over $10.00...what a bargain. The last 'lifetime' licence I had in NZ was $45 and i can't remember what I paid in the UK for the privilege of handing over my NZ one for a UK one, but it was waaaay more than $10.00
Then off to a wee booth to press the screen and do the written test..only fluffed 2...what do the flashing red lights at the traffic lights mean (not emergency vehicles approaching BTW, but the same as a stop light), and what do you do if your wheel goes up a curb when you are driving along the road...Hell, I've got a 4 wheel drive Toyota behemoth...i might not even notice it happened. Apparently you slow down and steer back, not just steer back.
With my 93% and a jubilant heart I went outside to bring my car around for the practical. The tester looked like a spitting image of Debra Jo Rupp from the 70's show...and we proceed to have a great girly chat about how much she liked my car, accent, driving (thank god) and how people drove in NZ and how I came to be here ...and in-between I turned, stopped, turned, drove forward, with one eye on the speed limit, lots of conspicuous looking at front and side mirrors and the gentlest breaking I could imagine. I think she might have been too busy to mark me, but I seemed to have passed...and with an even lighter heart I sat in the last queue, got my picture taken (marginally better than the UK one, least I remembered to put lippy on) and 1 hour and 15 minutes after i first entered the door i skipped out proudly clutching my nice new piece of plastic.
And would you believe it, as I sat in the car at work, reaching for my handbag, ready to get out., the loser parked opposite me slipped his foot off the break and kissed my car with his bumper...only the plate was slightly buckled, along with his pride and the coffee cup he was holding, which had distributed itself all-over his pant..huh - that'll teach you to mess with someone with a brand new license.

blogging brad

My friend Brad from the UK set off on his world adventure almost a year ago (I think) and has been living on a shoestring and generally having a wonderful time. Every now and then we'll get emails from somewhere in the jungle that remind us it is possible follow your dream...
I'm sure he won't mind if the blogshere enjoys it as well today.


Greetings from the Visayan islands

Here is a quick update from your wandering friend in
the far east. Since I wrote last, I've been
travelling through The Philippines and will next be
flying to Hawaii for a family reunion. I've actually
managed to compress and send a few photos this time.
Hope you enjoy.

Week 44 - Manila, Philippines
Another enjoyable and relaxing week in Manila.
Clair(UK) arrived from Malaysia and I spent a few days
showing her a few local sights. A few good nights of
local nightlife and it was off to the Visayan islands.


Week 45 - Bohol & Batayan Island, Cebu
Jill, Clair and I spent 4 nights on the island of
Bohol. Here we visited the chocalate hills which are
supposed to look like chocalate balls. Since its now
the rainy season they are quite green, but made for
very interesting landscape. Next we
visited a tarsier sanctuary. These are little freaky
animals that look like minature monkeys with giantic
eyes. Took some nice photos and
avoided the temptation of sneaking one into the my
daypack. This was a nice activity that I'd recommend
to those of you furtunate enough to visit The
Philippines in the future. They really are quite
interesting animals.

We then made our way to the Batayan Islands where we
spent 3 nights doing nothing but sitting on the
beach and drinking Halo-Halo, a
Philippine afternoon drink. Halo-Halo is an odd
desert made of way too much fruit, gummy products,
granola, shaved ice, and sweet milk. It sounds like
an early death by sugar, and its incredibly
addicting.... If you try one, you'll find yourself
craving them on a daily basis.

Week 46 - Batayan Island, Malapascua Island, Cebu City
We finally left the relaxing Batayan Island for
Malapascua. This island was less enjoyed by the three
of us so we only spent 2 nights before departing for
Cebu. However, I was finally able to get 2 more scuba
dives under my belt while at Malapascua. These were
my first attempts since being certified in Thailand in
early April. The dives were quite good and Im eager
to do more soon.

Then it was off to Cebu City where we spent 2 nights.
We were all a bit beached out so we spent our time
enjoying the air conditioning of the huge local mall.
We managed to watch Star Wars Episode III and enjoy
yet more Halo-Halo treats....

Thats that the story for now. Im off to Hawaii for 10
days to meet my family then I will return to The
Philippines in early June. I'll write again in a few
weeks.

Paalum para na "Good Bye for now"
-Brad

still...its not raining here in Illinios today and that's a good thing.

what a day what a day

Been so flat out writing this test plan haven't had time to add anything...now it seems to be taking forever for each save, at least I have some time in between to add something...anything, so in the best tradition of "Wot I did in the weekend'

Had a lovely weekend up in Grand Geneva, glad we had the night as a gift as it was a trifle overpriced..though a grand place indeedy.
Did some spa stuff including a duo massage. Seemed very odd to get naked in a room with my husband and then coverup and have two complete strangers come and pound on us. Though the moment they started i virtually dropped off to la-la land I was so tired.
I can't quite get the hang of spa etiquette here, perhaps it had something to do with the fact we had gone over the border to Wisconsin away from Illinois.
In the whirlpool and sauna in the ladies section of the gym at home people quite often go nekkid...something I've finally got used to after Europe (outside of England I mean...English girls would probably run shrieking if you stood there starkers)But here they were, all wearing their togs/swimmers/bathingsuits/swimming costumes...and me without one.
I'm bold, but not bold enough to leap into a pool and be the only one nekkid...so I contented myself with a carefully draped towel (damn those things are short)and sat in the sauna for a bit.
We pottered around the next morning and then went of to Lake Geneva, the nearby town. It used to (and somewhat still is) the holiday home for the rich robber barons and their families fleeing the sticky heat (and for a time, the great fire) of Chicago. All around the lake are wonderful holiday home, ranging from the sublime(size of a normal house) to the ridiculous. It's also home to one of the US's first golf courses. The town is a mecca for day trippers, gawkers and us (oh ok - we fall into both categories)...and definitely a destination for that hidden subculture...the weekend Harley rider. So families, couples, large biker dudes (with even larger biker dudesses) and the odd harried looking resident.
They weren't quite selling sticks of rock...but pretty close.
We took the boat ride around the lake (2 hours) to gawk at the lifestyles of the rich and famous and it was pretty good, very much a potted history of Chicago aristocracy.
It was freezing when the boat got going so we huddled together like limpets...but at least I wasn't wearing a boob tube and miniskirt like one poor girl...you could ski down her goose bumps.
We managed to sit behind the worlds most boring guy...and by the time we finished we had learnt more about his parents lavishing too much money on his brother, her parents lavishing too much money on her sisters grandkids, his taste in houses, her taste in jewelry 'I got the diamond set down so it would sparkle more'...til I wanted to turn around and say in my loudest most English voice 'Would you please be quiet'...but I didn't...and still wish I had.
We toodled home the long way, had Gordy and Lorraine over for a nice long BBQ lunch in the sun on Sunday...did way more laundry than I thought we had clothes and here we are and it's Tuesday already.

You know you need a break when...

you go to make yourself a cup of tea and find yourself pouring hot coffee on the teabag!
Would that make it a cup of cea or toffee? either way the result looks far to disgusting to drink, regardless of how much caffeine it might indicate I need.

Can I borrow your cat?...

cats
Originally uploaded by zela.

Occasionally I click the 'view next blog' button to see whose moved in next door...last time it was someone in Prague! Now its someone in Hong Kong who has the cutest (if somewhat owllike) cat pictures...with very smooshed in faces, poor things
Take a look at the other pictures on Cecilia sites...I'm cracking up cos those cats look very confused about the whole photoblogging business.
Hmmnnnn...maybe I'll just have to catblog someone else cats until I get my own.

Always listen to your sister…

We went to Merrill last weekend to visit with MIL and FIL and soak up some home cooking and riverside ambience…hoping that it would be warmer than Chicago (not sure why cos we were heading north…my internal compass is still set to NZ…where north is warm and cold is south). It was as cold and miserable as Chicago…but at least we have the river rushing by and no real reason to do much but stay warm.
On Saturday we went to put the pontoon boat in, basically a floating deck with comfy squishy sofa that doubles as MIL/FIL’s outdoor room. It’s a monster and goes into storage over winter due to the river freezing. FIL had it out and on the trailer. They usually put it in up river but that’s steep and tricky so this year they decided to go to the council grounds (like a bush reserve) and so off we went…veeeeerrrry wiiiide turns and all.
The council grounds are a big piece of forest as a spit into the river, boat ramps on one side and walking paths all over. MIL and her gaggle of gals go walking there most days, and once the boat went in with the hearty sailors to take it all of 15 mins cross river to their dock, we would do the walk and haul the trailer home.
As we slowly drove through the woods I said to MIL did they have Deer, no she said, I’ve never seen them and we all burst into laughter as 3 deer bounded across the road a little way in front.
So have you ever seen a bear I asked, no she said and whilst she was saying it and I was looking into the forest I saw a bear…I pointed it out, and I’m sure they thought I was joking…but sure enough , on all four paws (and then it stood up), looking for all the world like it had stepped out of the wonderful world of Disney was a bear….M’s never seen one, MIL’s has only every seen a couple. The bear stared at us, we stared at the bear and slowly kept driving……and we sure as hell weren’t walking in the woods that day.
We talked to the ranger when we left the grounds, and he said that there was a mother and two cubs about, so we must have seen the mother. It’s 6 days later and I’m still excited about my first live wild in the woods bear.
And the moral of the story is…don’t pooh pooh your kiwi sister when she says look out for bears when you go into the woods…she might just know what she’s talking about.

Trying to figure out trackbacks

The bonfire of the vanites is over at the ever so georgious Ferdy at the Conservative Cat
Not sure I like the content this week...but at least everyone can poke fun at themselves.

Note to self, things to remember about being a lady

Don't open the foil top of a yoghurt after shaking it...Especially if you're wearing a black top
Remember Kris/Kross and to 'Jump Jump' when climbing into your SUV with a short skirt on, try to act nochalent when you fall off the seat cos you can't swing your legs up
Remember Diana when you climb out...swivel and slide out gracefully, not slither and laugh hysterically.

Please feel free to add your own.

'Storewars'

the veggies are taking over. I laughed until i cried...look out for the Thai fighters

http://complimenter.blogspot.com/

Compli-meme
Here is my new meme. It's a compli-meme. Go out and spread the news.

Finish these sentences in a complimentary fashion. Copy, paste, finish and leave them in someone's comment box. Then post them on your own site and pass the word.

1. WOW! Your site is

2. That post was very

3. You're

YOU'VE BEEN COMPLI-MEME'D. GO OUT AND DO LIKEWISE.

An extra smile goes to those who participate.

Been a bit flat out for the last couple of days...

so here's a few links to my favorite blogs...enjoy:
Elisson's blog always cracks me up, even when he was going through his poetry month...and offers very interesting insights to being Jewish in the modern world...plus his cats are the cutest things
and speaking of cats...for those of us (me) who are waiting to move before getting a CAT (M finally agreed in a moment of weakness, though he's now trying to renege on the deal)...Carnival of the cats goes to a different website each week to offer a spot for the tradition of cat blogging...mecca for those of us feline deprived, don't forget to read the FAQ's...and for you other poor souls...Carnival of the dogs will have to do.
I'm not sure what Green Tuna does in the outside world, but etiquette says its not polite to ask...I'm pretty sure her name is a pun, and TunaNews is always fun.
Gordy and Lorraine recently moved to Chicago from the UK...so apart from them being friends (well they have some of our furniture so I think that means we like each other), they are both new and doing pretty damn good at blogging...his and hers.
Bonfire of the vanities are always a good way to read some interesting writing and find other blogs you'd like to come back to....so I'll leave you with this weeks version, posted here (one day I'll work up enough courage to submit)...enjoy

You know you're assimilating when:

You start to take your coffee to work in a insulated cup (thanks Geoff and Amy for giving us these for Christmas)
At first I though people did it cos their journeys were long...but now I realize it's because the coffee at work is crap

Stopping at Dunkin Donut's on the way to work is no longer a novelty
in my defense it was cos I had to get some little donut holes for the kids in my JA class since we are studying donut production today

You find yourself asking for the 'gas' station, coffee with 'cream', 'jelly' for your toast and eggs 'over hard' - though I still throw in the words 'make them bounce like rubber'..hate the funny runny stuff

for those of you wondering what i said

rude comments about mumbling and dodgy accents aside.
here's a great Kiwi to English dictionary I've just found.
I was attempting to translate togs.
I shall now endeavour to teach 1 word a fortnight (another handy word not used by USians)...a couple of weeks ago i said 'jiggery-pokery' in a meeting and they loved it...makes me laugh everytime i hear it get used now.
Tell me your favourite new expressions (I've been watching Bro-town and shall have a few new ones soon I think)

cheers mate

random airport thoughts

today the trees are just packed with pink and white blossoms, none of the long flowering springtime here...seems to come in a rush as if the blossoms are so eager to be out they all burst out at once. I almost smacked into the back of a car i was so distracted by what was going on, on the tree's. Probabely would have been a bit hard to explain to the person I hit...'well I was looking and the blossom and didn't see you in that enormous truck in front of me'
It was a little odd going through the Cincinnati airport this week, I've not been back since Feb when it was so cold and here were the Avis guys walking around in shorts and polo's, as opposed to the sub zero ski suits and miserable faces i saw in the brief time it took me to exit the car and run to the warmth of the airport bus. They looked positively nekkid. Must be a damn miserable job in winter.
Trundled through the 'remove all your clothing and give me the name of your first born child' Homeland Security palaver and managed to insult the Zimbabwean boarding pass checker by asking if she was south african...never a good thing and she punished me by making me show my passport. I usually use my drivers licence going through US airport internally as it has my married name.
Down the hall way and onto the 'business plane'...seems to be mostly everyone is on this flight to get back to Chicago from whatever work they have been doing in Cincinnati...everyone has a rolling bag and/or briefcase/backpack. The men are wearing white or chambray shirts or some sort of polo straining over the beer gut if they have business casual. The women are mostly in black/navy/khaki/beige, and the odd casual traveller (usually retired) looks most bemused when we all line up the moment the desk boarder approaches the door. Seating area 1 is ready to go.
I've finished my porridge and am almost through my raisins, so it;s time to post this get a cup of mediocre coffee and get back to work.
Have a fab weekend all of you.

most of the time

you never want to hear someone's train of thought when they go to the loo...or at least you don't say so in polite company...but anyways...just went to the loo and undid my trousers and:

my tights are tighter, my butt is bigger...
whaaaat, how can that be?...
I've been doing my physio exercises...
OK they are for bursitis in my hip but it's still exercise damnit...
and I'm playing volleyball (badly) for a work team...
and I didn't eat anything with wheat for lunch...
though peanut butter cookies for dinner cos M is out of town prob didn't help...
but my tights aren't constricting my tummy???
which usually bloats up first...
what the @#$%...
oh yeah...
my tights are on backwards...
duh...
mustn't laugh out loud in the loos at work...
they'll think I;m mad!

tips

for my mission to be a better blogger

wed-ned-day

a couple of strange things I've noticed/heard:
the walking men on the crossing signs have no feet or hands so they look like amputees crossing a creek...how strange
the Illinois chamber of commerce running an advert asking people to stop suing and 'trial shopping' (ie finding a friendly court)cos it's pushing costs up high, professions are leaving (ie doctors) and new business doesn't want to move here. Apparently our state does the most suing.
Imagine that...I can feel a slip and fall coming on :>)

and I've been looking for a list of terms

and here it is...thanks to cocojams site

it's may - hooray

but it's still a little bit freezy around the fanny...had to bring the hanging baskets in last night so they didn't get frost bite and had a few snow flakes around yesterday morning...aaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhhh, when will this winter be OVER.
MIL and FIL came back from Florida in the weekend...not happy campers with the cold, think they have definately turned into snowbirds
Apparently a week or two of spring then winter then straight into summer is quite common. looking forward to the 'into summer' bit, yes indeedy.
Got the news from the lawyer today, the new owners have signed on the bottom line and we are officially sold.
very happy bout that
We did another driveby this weekend with MIL and FIL, had to change car's so they wouln't know it was us...though they might have figured it out after we drove around the block for the 3rd time.
MIL and FIL made polite noises about how much work it looked like it needed, but I think they liked it and most of all...they like that we love it. Can't wait to show them the inside, FIL likes fireplaces a lot (i think this might be his BBQ subsitute for winter) and ours is a doozy...made of great big stones and accessed through both sides.
Now we have to work out when we are actually going to move in, when we get the architects to have a look, how much work can we schedule before we move in..the list goes on.
At least I don't have to be a tidy around the house now that it's sold...that was damn near killing me!
Off to Cincinnati, Ohio for work tommorrow night...and then back to dayton Ohio for the weekend for a wedding.