I'm Back to Save the Universe

Hey gang, it's been awhile. I know you all have been checking in daily and anxiously awaiting my return. I bet a little smile even came across your face when you dropped on by and said "hey, a new post." Such is the life of my faithful readers. I appreciate it, I really do.

Thank you all for the feedback about various travels and experiences with pay-to-pee toilets throughout Europe. I was under the impression that it was just limited to Germany, but I was sadly mistaken. First time in my life, how about that? Of course I didn't even touch upon their hygiene habits and lack of using deodorant.

I know it seems like I've ripped on Europeans a lot, but really it was a couple of these small things that bugged me. I really had a wonderful time. A lot of people who know me well (read: the family) know I'm not that forthcoming with feelings when it comes to relationships. I can tell you that after my 3 weeks in Germany, the OFOMOL and I are as close as ever and we are both confident and committed to making this thing work.

One thing that I really liked about Europe was the SMART Car. I can be pretty jingoistic when it comes to my feelings about the country I live in. One area I certainly don't identify with is the culture of gas-guzzling, over-priced, accident-prone, bigger-is-better SUVs. As I've started a new (well my first "real") job, I'm looking to buy a car soon. I only have a couple of requirements when looking for a car -- within my budget, reliable, and gets good (great) gas mileage. But when I saw the SMART Car....whoa nellie! I think I've seen these somewhere, probably on some Discovery Channel/TLC/etc show that was filmed in Europe. But to see one up close and driving around, I was amazed! This thing is so anti-American it isn't even funny! I think that's why I like it, it is so different. How would we respond to this car in the US? Well, looks like we'll be finding out in a couple of years. It will be interesting. Both the New Beetle and the [new] Mini Cooper were hits when they were released in the past decade. But both of those were revised versions of classic cars. If I was living in a major metropolitan area, I would certainly entertain the idea of getting one. I could totally see this being a "trendy" car purchased by yuppies and indie-hipster (provided they have the income) types.

I found a neat little site over the weekend, Improv Everywhere. They are a group of people, headed up by Charlie Todd, who performs with the Upright Citizen's Brigade. He organizes public "gatherings" and kind of plays pranks on unsuspecting employees, shoppers, and random folks of the public. Go to their website and check it out. Just to give you an idea, one mission involved a group of people all dressing in khaki pants and blue shirts. They all went into Best Buy and stood at the end of an aisle. If asked by a customer about an item, they answered the question. Of course this provided amusement for employees and shoppers but management didn't like it. BTW, their page is down, so I can't put up links right now. Another mission they coordinated a multi-person 5-minute "skit" that was played out repeatedly over the course of an hour in Starbucks. Take some time to read their missions. If you appreciate this kind of humor, you'll get a kick out of it.