Now The Big Worry Is...

I won't be able to use the new iPHONE in Paris. I'll need to get another one.

All phone companies "lock" the phones so that you can't put another SIM chip in it and use it with another company.

Good for business, bad for people that live in two different places. We have to have two phones, pay two monthly fees, etc.

I'm hoping someone will come forward to unlock my phone. Anyone know how to do it? I'm very attached to my US iPHONE.

Falsely Accused

After thinking about this for awhile, I finally took the plunge and bought an iPHONE on Friday. I got it home and spent about an hour doing the basic set up. I downloaded a few applications, played with the GPS, the camera, and all the other great features.

Saturday morning, Terry told me that the new phone was beeping all night long. Ok, this is possible, maybe I left a beeper on for emails, something my old phone didn’t do. I turned off the beep for emails.

All is right with the world, the phone is my constant companion. Sunday night, I checked to make sure all the noise-making features were off and went to bed.

At 3 AM, Terry woke me up, telling me that it was beeping again. Oh no! I was embarrassed, so I turned the phone completely off and went back to sleep. He woke me up again – it’s still beeping. But, it’s off, it can’t be the phone. He even suggested putting it under the couch cushion until morning. From this comment, we can be assured that he doesn’t have an iPHONE. I refused for a variety of reasons.

The beeping continued. We both got up, turned on all the lights and tried to investigate. The beeping was intermittent and we couldn’t localize it before it stopped, only to beep again as soon as we closed our eyes. It went on all night.

I hid my iPHONE, just in case it was still being blamed. But, by this time, Terry had called an electrician. I worried, what if the electrician can’t find the problem? Will my iPHONE be banished to the couch cushion every night?

I shouldered on, keeping my fingers crossed. Finally, the electrician came and determined that it was a smoke detector.

The iPHONE is saved! I’m relieved, since I’m already very attached to it.

Quail (yum-yum)

I've now made a round trip LA-Houston to visit my sister. We had a wonderful girls' weekend.

Even though Texas isn't a foreign country, it is one of the more exotic states in the US. There are many differences between Texas and California. Luckily, they speak the same language, but with a different accent.

While I live near the Pacific Ocean, my sister lives on a bayou, The Buffalo Bayou. We don't even have bayous in California. There are bayou-looking plants along it's banks. Some plants are viney things that tangle into other trees, giving a look that could be prehistoric.

The bayou is mesmerizing to watch. The trees blow in the wind as the muddy water makes its way slowly downstream.

I'm not the most adventurous person in the family. I like to stick to my tried and true routines, my favorites. I don't venture outside the known very often.

I tried quail during my last visit to Houston. I liked the taste. But, it's not easily available in Southern California. But, during this trip, I had it twice at two different restaurants. I loved it.

Researching sources on the internet, I learned that quail are higher in protein and lower in fat than either chicken or turkey. Since chicken is my go-to meal, I quickly realized I have to cook quail.

So, it was Monday at Whole Foods. They butchers looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for quail.

Ralphs and Vons don't even have butchers, but I checked the frozen sections as well as the meat case, no quail.

I then went on-line and found out that I can order quail but it's a bit of a commitment. The smallest package is 36 quail for around $100. Shipping costs run $35, and I don't even have a good quail recipe yet. The shipping is so expensive because they pack them in dry ice and ship them by next day Fed Ex.

Yesterday, in my last effort at finding quail in quantities less than 36, I went to Bristol Farms. Since it is an expensive market and the economy is a little down, the butchers behind the meat counter were a little lonely. Normally, I have to take a number and they're not overly talkative. The butcher approached and I asked if he had quail. His face lit up. Yes, he always has quail but they are frozen. If I can wait until tomorrow, he can bone them for me.

I couldn't wait. I will take him up on this offer next time, though. I walked out of Bristol Farms with my little package full of quail. Once again, my travels have paid off, I've found a new treat -- quail. Terry loved them

The Blame Game

It’s important to use as few suppliers as possible to accomplish one task. Better yet, have one project or utility or chore handled by the same person or company from start to finish. This is the only way to avoid “The Blame Game”.

The basic version of Blame Game goes like this:

You have a problem with something. It can be your internet, the dishwasher, a repair job on the plumbing.

You call the designated repair phone number and explain the problem. Sometimes they try to trouble-shoot by phone, other times they come to the house. In either case, there are two ways this can go: they find the problem and fix it or they cannot find the problem or cannot fix it. There are sub-themes here, we’ll explore them another day.

If the first situation happens, you get the problem fixed and the only issue is whether or not it is under warranty. It's usually not.

The second situation is where The Blame Game begins. The repairman, customer service rep or whoever you’re dealing with can’t figure out the problem. But, they won't admit it. Their logic immediately pinpoints another company, product or service that is really to blame.

Of course, this removes the guilt from them, they are not incompetent or stupid, it's someone else's fault. After this pronouncement, they prepare to hang up the phone or leave your house. They have plenty of ideas about how to fix this problem but they all involve a new company, a new service, re-explaining the problem.

Today, scenario #2 happened. I was working on the computer when the internet connection went dead. I know a few tricks to get it to reset and I tried them all. After no success, I called the customer service department at Time Warner Cable.

I was connected to a man very quickly. He lead me through the same steps I had just taken, but I did them again, just to make sure. He then said he could reset my modem from his computer. After about 5 minutes on hold, he came back on the line to see if the internet service was restored. It wasn’t.

He then told me that it was my router. Is it a Time Warner router? (I didn’t know Time Warmer provided routers, they’ve never offered one to us). No, it is our router. Welllllll, in that case, he can’t help me, it’s the router’s fault and I’ll have to call the customer service people at Linksys.

Luckily, my time and patience ran out simultaneously. I had an appointment and had to run. I asked him if, perhaps, there could be an outage in our area? He said no. I asked him if he could check. He said there was no outage, he was sure. I then decided to give it my all and told him that I thought he was covering up by telling me it was the router when he just didn’t know how to fix it. He disagreed and I hung up.

Several hours later, I found the strength to get back into this problem The internet was still down, so I called Time Warner again. This time, an immediate message came on the phone saying that there was a general outage in our area and that it would be restored soon.

Thank goodness I hadn’t pulled the router out, unplugged it, called their tech support department. Because, they would have blamed it on Time Warner. And, they would have been right.

And, thank goodness this didn't happen in France, where in addition to all the nuisance factors I've just mentioned, the repairman would have an emotional crisis, screaming into the phone that "I have no confidence in him". Which, of course, is the truth.

Valentine's Day

It's almost here, Valentine's Day. Squeezed in between ML King day, the inauguration and President's Day, it's still getting a lot of retail attention.

I can't blame the stores or the manufacturers, it's all of us who perpetuate this by buying into it. Yes, if Hallmark didn't sell any extra cards and Godiva's profits dropped in February, it would all go away. But, it's here, on store windows, in every aisle of the supermarket. The other day, a cashier at the pharmacy had her fingernails painted in alternating shades of white, pink and red.

For me, romance should be spontaneous, it shouldn't be programmed into the calendar. Luckily this year, Valentine's Day is on a Saturday, so the restaurants will be packed. I think their business is down due to the economy.

But, it's expensive, fattening and not fun! It's even stressful for children. I remember when I was in grammar school, we had to give a valentine to everyone in the class. We made little envelopes and pasted them on the front of our desks and then the other kids came around and dropped the cards into each other's envelopes. The only excitement came if someone wrote a nice note or enclosed a couple of those awful, chalky hearts with sayings stamped into them.

I have no idea what happens in Paris at Valentine's Day, but I'm sure it's like Halloween. It's probably a little smaller in scope, but growing. The cards you can buy at Monoprix are all Hallmark brand cards. And, since it truly is a "Hallmark Holiday" (meaning created to sell things), then, I'm sure there is some extra things to buy for this occasion.

I Love Paris...

But, be honest, which would you rather be living in right now, photo A or photo B?




















Take heart, if you're in Paris, we're expecting a storm tomorrow.

Super Bowl Sunday

Get Me Back To Paris



It is hard for me to imagine an event that is exciting to nearly everyone else in the US but me. It's The Super Bowl.

In preparation for this, I had to go to the grocery store this AM (yes, Sunday, if you're in France, don't be jealous) and it was mobbed. The alcohol and snack aisles were in gridlock. The vegetable and fruit aisles were deserted.

In the past, we've been invited to someone's house. I'm now declining all invitations in order to avoid the entire event. I finally realized that this is the closest thing to hell that I'll ever experience.

First, everyone is eating food that is greasy and unhealthy. If you don't eat, you can be assured that the host and hostess will take offense. Second, someone has to be the designated driver, so I can have one glass of wine and then have to stop. Alcohol is the only thing that makes this all bearable.

Finally, my sister just pointed this out and it's really true, you can't talk about anything but football, during the game.

Well, I don't know anything about football. I don't even know the teams that are playing, the names of the players or the rules of the game. Try being absolutely quiet for 4 hours. Three strikes, The Super Bowl has one less viewer.

This year, we're staying home. Terry will enjoy watching the game, and I can study french, read a book, do some gardening. I was considering going shopping, but after the grocery store this morning, I am not venturing out in my car again todau.

So, the french have their strikes and demonstrations to contend with and we have The Super Bowl. I guess ours is only once a year so we can plan ahead.