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defrogIn no particular order (after the first item, that is):
1. Meeting friends
Especially![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
snickersaddict and her husband in Chicago, which I mention first partly because she’d be hurt if I didn’t put her at the top of the list, but mainly because she is officially the first person that I met in real life after meeting first here on the LJs.
Also, I wanted to kick off the list with a photo of the flaming cheese we had at Andie’s.
Of course it was also good to see everyone else, in particular the ones I hadn’t seen since I left the country 14 years ago. I won’t name names because I’ll forget someone, but you all know who you are, and I had a great time with each and every one of you. For those of you who couldn’t make it, the drinks are on you next time.
2. Innacurate GPS units
We rented cars in each city, and the first came with a complementary GPS unit. I’ve never used one in a car before, and I didn’t strictly need it, since I know enough of my way around Maryville-Alcoa, but there it was/ So we played with it for fun, and confirmed that there are often discrepencies between GPS maps and real life. Which is no surprise to me (as I write about them from time to time), but still, it was amusing, if only because I knew the real directions so there was no danger of getting lost. Also, I have the sense not to drive off the road even when the GPS assures me that’s an off-ramp and not a gully.
We got a GPS unit on purpose for Chicago, though, which I don’t know nearly as well, and that turned out to be more useful, even though it had no idea the Congress Parkway ramp was closed for construction (ha ha).
3. Pancakes
Pancakes figured heavily into this trip, thanks mainly to IHOP being the only place in Maryville-Alcoa where you can meet friends and talk until the wee hours. Then there were the banana-oreo pancakes and red-velvet pancakes in the Bongo Room in Chicago, which made the IHOP pancakes seem healthy in comparison, portion-wise. They were good, mind.
4. The continuing horror of American TV
I make this joke every time we go to the US, of course. But most American TV really is just inane to me. Maybe it’s unfair to judge since most of my viewing was confined to daytime TV, Nickolodeon, the Food Channel and Headline News. Plus, I’m not really in the demographic for any of those channels – sure, I could go the rest of my life without seeing Big Time Rush and iCarly, but they’re made for superficial teenagers, not old Chinese people like me.
And I’m sure there’s a good reason why the HLN anchors are all hot MILFs, and why everyone on the Food Channel is so LOUD. I mean, with 200 channels of programming to compete against, you don’t get points for being quiet, unassuming and average-looking. Also, if I did live in the states I’d be watching BBC America and Adult Swim, which covers all my video entertainment needs. So I shouldn’t complain.
Anyway, it was good to see that they’re still filling up ad time with commercials for prescription drugs whose side effects sound worse than the ailment they’re supposed to cure. “Lyrica may cause dizziness, nausea, bleeding of the eyes, baldness and suicidal thoughts, but hey, yr muscle pain will be gone.”
5. The 80s return as TV commercials
On a related note, I heard a lot of 80s hits during the commercial breaks, with heavy emphasis on Thomas Dolby, Human League and Olivia Newton-John. I’m just saying.
6. Politics (or lack thereof)
One common theme whilst meeting with friends was how we all avoided talking about politics, and only brought it up to say how talking about politics wasn’t fun anymore, thanks to ... well, YOU know. Anyway, it was nice to know I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
That said, I was shocked to learn that no one – and I mean no one – I talked to knew who Basil Marceaux.com was. Not even people in Tennessee. Which makes me wonder if maybe I spend too much time on the Interwebs.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that the entire time I was in East Tennessee, the only political TV ads I saw were for Tea Party candidates promising to put an end to professional politics and make it all about “the American people”. Oh, and one for Bill Haslam, the Republican nominee for governor.
On a related note, as we drove around East Tennessee, I found myself counting gubernatorial yard signs. Here’s what I came up with:
Bill Haslam (R): 74.
Mike McWherter (D): 0.
To be fair, Haslam IS the mayor of Knoxville, so he’s kind of a local boy. Still. You see what I’m saying.
7. The cleavage-lizard tattoo
It wasn’t mine, and I can’t really talk about it. But I saw it. And it was glorious.
Next: Raise the Titanic!
You had to be there,
This is dF
1. Meeting friends
Especially
snickersaddict and her husband in Chicago, which I mention first partly because she’d be hurt if I didn’t put her at the top of the list, but mainly because she is officially the first person that I met in real life after meeting first here on the LJs. Also, I wanted to kick off the list with a photo of the flaming cheese we had at Andie’s.
Of course it was also good to see everyone else, in particular the ones I hadn’t seen since I left the country 14 years ago. I won’t name names because I’ll forget someone, but you all know who you are, and I had a great time with each and every one of you. For those of you who couldn’t make it, the drinks are on you next time.
2. Innacurate GPS units
We rented cars in each city, and the first came with a complementary GPS unit. I’ve never used one in a car before, and I didn’t strictly need it, since I know enough of my way around Maryville-Alcoa, but there it was/ So we played with it for fun, and confirmed that there are often discrepencies between GPS maps and real life. Which is no surprise to me (as I write about them from time to time), but still, it was amusing, if only because I knew the real directions so there was no danger of getting lost. Also, I have the sense not to drive off the road even when the GPS assures me that’s an off-ramp and not a gully.
We got a GPS unit on purpose for Chicago, though, which I don’t know nearly as well, and that turned out to be more useful, even though it had no idea the Congress Parkway ramp was closed for construction (ha ha).
3. Pancakes
Pancakes figured heavily into this trip, thanks mainly to IHOP being the only place in Maryville-Alcoa where you can meet friends and talk until the wee hours. Then there were the banana-oreo pancakes and red-velvet pancakes in the Bongo Room in Chicago, which made the IHOP pancakes seem healthy in comparison, portion-wise. They were good, mind.
4. The continuing horror of American TV
I make this joke every time we go to the US, of course. But most American TV really is just inane to me. Maybe it’s unfair to judge since most of my viewing was confined to daytime TV, Nickolodeon, the Food Channel and Headline News. Plus, I’m not really in the demographic for any of those channels – sure, I could go the rest of my life without seeing Big Time Rush and iCarly, but they’re made for superficial teenagers, not old Chinese people like me.
And I’m sure there’s a good reason why the HLN anchors are all hot MILFs, and why everyone on the Food Channel is so LOUD. I mean, with 200 channels of programming to compete against, you don’t get points for being quiet, unassuming and average-looking. Also, if I did live in the states I’d be watching BBC America and Adult Swim, which covers all my video entertainment needs. So I shouldn’t complain.
Anyway, it was good to see that they’re still filling up ad time with commercials for prescription drugs whose side effects sound worse than the ailment they’re supposed to cure. “Lyrica may cause dizziness, nausea, bleeding of the eyes, baldness and suicidal thoughts, but hey, yr muscle pain will be gone.”
5. The 80s return as TV commercials
On a related note, I heard a lot of 80s hits during the commercial breaks, with heavy emphasis on Thomas Dolby, Human League and Olivia Newton-John. I’m just saying.
6. Politics (or lack thereof)
One common theme whilst meeting with friends was how we all avoided talking about politics, and only brought it up to say how talking about politics wasn’t fun anymore, thanks to ... well, YOU know. Anyway, it was nice to know I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
That said, I was shocked to learn that no one – and I mean no one – I talked to knew who Basil Marceaux.com was. Not even people in Tennessee. Which makes me wonder if maybe I spend too much time on the Interwebs.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that the entire time I was in East Tennessee, the only political TV ads I saw were for Tea Party candidates promising to put an end to professional politics and make it all about “the American people”. Oh, and one for Bill Haslam, the Republican nominee for governor.
On a related note, as we drove around East Tennessee, I found myself counting gubernatorial yard signs. Here’s what I came up with:
Bill Haslam (R): 74.
Mike McWherter (D): 0.
To be fair, Haslam IS the mayor of Knoxville, so he’s kind of a local boy. Still. You see what I’m saying.
7. The cleavage-lizard tattoo
It wasn’t mine, and I can’t really talk about it. But I saw it. And it was glorious.
Next: Raise the Titanic!
You had to be there,
This is dF
