Agreeing with the drive-thru bank.

I was so shocked when Bill pulled up to a little station with a tube to cash a cheque!

He says it's good if there's a line in the bank and you just need something small, but I still think it's stupid.

I also agree about the telemarketers. The phone rings about 10-15 times a day and no one even reacts because they know it's marketing.

[quote=newenglander]People do not say ten cent, they say ten centS. Twenty five centS. They will say "It's a 25 cent piece of junk", not "It's a 25 cents piece of junk." Does that make sense? (oooops, a pun.)
[quote]

Here in North Carolina, (and I"d hazard a guess, in quite a lot of the south east, I know folks from WVa, GA, SC etc who say it too) they say "cent" no matter how many they have. Its never pluralised, unless they're talking about sense. Which very few of them have.

well, of course; I think we all know that... the problem is, we find ourselves IN one place, and most of us are not likely to move around in a hurry, being as we can't work and have no money and can't even open bank accounts and all that jazz, so we just react to - and have to cope with - the situation we find ourselves in

the list you quoted is pretty hilarious... sounds just like where I am (Texas)
not all of those things amaze me though - we had some of those weird church names, just for instance, in my part of London... and I avoid others, such as the bagging issues, by always taking my own bags to the supermarket (which is always an adventure, as I don't think it's at all common, but everyone's been nice about it so far... my accent always causes questions, so I guess they put it down to the vagaries of a furriner )


however, some things are just not that easy - take recycling, just for one... I think I would have made about twenty phone calls on that subject, to all manner of people, each of whom referred me on to someone else... I even attended a recent meeting of the HOA, which I would have done anyway, but my prime reason was to find out why recycling has been withdrawn from my neighbourhood... the answer? 'very few people participated'
so on my morning walks I see garbage bins STUFFED with aluminium cans and glass bottles and paper and so on, and I stack all my recyclables in the garage in a series of neat boxes, and every six weeks or so we drive down to the closest drop-off point (which is about twenty minutes away - the phone calls resulted in one piece of information at least ) and throw everything in the skips... I won't be letting it end there, but I have to be honest: I really don't know where to start with it

as for some of your other advice - I agree with it wholeheartedly in principle, but the practice can be somewhat different! go to local restaurants? try finding one! I think I've found something new and interesting, and then my husband says he 'went to one in Georgia', or 'there's another one over by Highway X', and I say, all disappointed, 'it's another chain?'
I've started calling those places 'links', for obvious reasons
of course, there ARE some, just far fewer than I would like

and farmers' markets... oh boy, we have looked and LOOKED, and there are some good ones in our area, but most a reasonable drive away, and not a huge selection, and quite pricey, for the most part... there are few natural food stores, too, and those we have found are also on the expensive side, which, as I mentioned above, is a bit of an issue with the one salary thing

I think in the end the thing I'm noticing the most - and that will be the single biggest factor for me wanting to move back to Europe - is the set-up of places... these enclaves of neighbourhoods, all stop signs and low speed limits, with JUST houses, and a few exits out on to the main streets round the edge, and EVERYTHING, but EVERYTHING you could want to do a drive away... and the strip malls and other businesses are just so damn ugly! neon signs and ugly shoddy buildings and yuk yuk yuk everywhere you look... I'll live with it, because I have to, but I'll be actively investigating our options of getting out in a year or two

I can't believe you people don't think drive-through ATMs aren't amazing - I LOVE them!

Me again. I can't stay away.

Drive up windows at banks are a good thing, imho, they're great when it's snowing and freezing cold, also in the sweltering summer weather. Where I live it's either one way or the other most of the time. Better to use a drive up window than fall on the ice or to get all sweaty and yucky from walking.

I still can't believe you don't have recycling -- I think it's a LAW where I live.

Different parts of the country.

I think in the end the thing I'm noticing the most - and that will be the single biggest factor for me wanting to move back to Europe - is the set-up of places... these enclaves of neighbourhoods, all stop signs and low speed limits, with JUST houses, and a few exits out on to the main streets round the edge, and EVERYTHING, but EVERYTHING you could want to do a drive away... and the strip malls and other businesses are just so damn ugly! neon signs and ugly shoddy buildings and yuk yuk yuk everywhere you look...

I've seen that when I go anywhere near Boston or any other large city and it is SAD. They've taken lovely places and purposely made them UGLY. They'll take farmland and make it into enormous condos. SAD. It's all due to greed for money--whoever will sell off their land to get money for it and whoever buys it and wants to make even MORE MONEY. Everything here is MONEY. Where I live there is good zoning though, although the towns can vote to override the zoning laws and often they need the tax money that all these new developments would bring in.

It's happening here in New England too -- one day there are horses grazing and next time you pass by, there are condos and businesses. Some towns take a stand against it and do not allow these things, thank goodness. Some towns won't allow a Walmart or a McDonalds. I've read about areas of this country that have those tight little neighborhoods with HOAs (I think it means home owners associations) that enforce strict rules on the residents -- and it does sound surreal and horrible.

From what I'm reading here, I don't think I ever want to see the rest of the USA! I saw CA once a long time ago -- it was all crowded in with houses crammed next to more houses, not much greenery (plastic grass!!!!!!!!!!!!), and no character to the neighborhoods at all. No independently owned stores either. I wanted to go home immediately. If it was that bad back then, how bad is it now!

I have zero tolerance for what I hear about the South. Those crazy churches with their nut-case "preachers", the food, mostly fried -- I'd be obese if I lived down there, I just know it. No recycling? Huh????

I agree about the giving out of your SS # -- what's with that anyway? We were always told to never give it out to anyone, it's top secret -- and now everybody seems to ask for it. One rule I heard lately is to not give it to anyone you did not call on the phone yourself. Don't know if that helps very much.

My fiance complains about the UK but I'd rather live there because it's more like how it used to be HERE. I keep telling him, Wait until you actually LIVE here, wait until you try to get health insurance, wait until you have to pay a heating bill in winter and an electric bill in summer due to air conditioning, wait until I take you to a city where no one even speaks English (his big complaint about England), wait until you try to keep a car on the road with excise tax, yearly inspection, registration, high insurance, etc., wait until you want to use a mobile phone over here $$$$$$$$$$$$$$. He says tv is more expensive over here and you get a lot of nothing.

Wait for a summer heatwave or winter blizzard -- then see how much you like it here. (Actually blizzards can be fun, but it sounds better the other way. We plan to take up skiing.)

He misses our ice cream, the courteous treatment of customers in stores, lack of crime--he can't believe I leave the car unlocked with things on the front seat and no one ever takes anything, can't believe that farmers leave produce out for people to buy on the honor system --just put your money into the box).

He also says that if things don't work out here after two years, we can go and live in England.

Things I don't like about England -- too much drinking. Too much smoking. Clothing is more expensive. Fear of not being able to go to a dentist -- horror stories about that. People think it's HOT when it's in the 70s F -- but they still won't buy a simple FAN to cool off. (They wouldn't be able to complain then.) So far, in my visits, those are the things I cannot get used to.

That's plenty from me for now. LOL. I'm off to eat some freshly picked tomatoes!

I'm with Robin on this one! The drive thru ATM is one of life's great conveniences, especially when its 10F outside, which it is very often in my neck of the woods!

and then there's the frustrations of dealing with drive thru food service....

I can relate to the bag thing - Trader Joes actually pack bags properly and ENCOURAGE you to bring the bags (paper with handles ) to reuse them - that is great I keep forgetting though and we have a large pile of bags on the fridge (including my two co-op ones from the UK that I brought ) We don't have a garage which is really annoying - we have a tiny square piece of counter in the kitchen and when that gets full, it all goes into a carrier bag (after all - we have thousands - I really don't see the point of putting just one thing in a bag - wouldn't it be better to just carry it on its own???) and we take it to the next city over where they pay you to recycle - you get a voucher to use in the grocery store (which has a deli and stuff which is cool - fresh meat!).

But yeah - the bag thing really annoys me

I have had the opposite experience. San Jose seems to be full of short, petite people of Asian or Latino descent. Walking around the malls I'm about 4 inches taller on average and probably 4 sizes bigger! On the plus side I may finally find clothes my size in the sales.

I love them too! Now, if I can just learn not to scrape my rims on that darn curb that they put alongside the teller window, then my car might love them as well

oh, I'd love drive-thru ATMs if I had a car to drive through with

and if they let me get a bank account...

...oh, and if they let me earn any money to put IN said bank account...



you know what? I hate bloody drive-thru ATMs





I was fortunate with the bag thing... I've spent quite a bit of time in Germany, where for AGES they've been recycling champions, and where for at least fifteen years you've had to pay for any plastic bags you wanted, along with your shopping (at least at some supermarkets; I can't speak for them all)

so when I was studying there (1993! egad) I got into the habit of always having a couple of calico bags in my shoulder bag, to pull out when necessary... my favourite shopping bag I bought back then, and it's still going strong (had to mend a tiny hole once), and I've used it in Germany, Australia, the UK and now the US

no joke, it fits about what would normally go in around five plastic bags... I can't even beGIN to imagine how many plastic bags it's saved me over the past fifteen years

Back in Canada, there were some stores where you HAD to bag your own groceries. Thus, I have no trouble jumping in and bagging my own stuff here.... I always get a funny look from the clerks, but at least I know it will be done right; they think I'm helping THEM, but really I'm looking out for myself I've even had occassion to rebag something right infront of the bagger..... as in "soup cans do NOT go on top of the bread, thank you"

The other thing that I find strange is when they DON'T bag things (large juice bottles, 2liter sodas, etc). Not all of us have the luxury of driving into an enclosed garage, and carrying single items from the street doesn't make a lot of sense. I solve this by grabbing a couple of extra bags on the way out, and rearranging my groceries once I get to the car. Not a big deal, but I kind of think there is no point in doing something if it's not going to be done right the first time. Oh well!

are there any supermarkets in the UK where you DON'T have to bag your own stuff? I was used to it - cashiers in Sydney were always like deer in the headlights when I produced my own bags, so I got used to doing it myself there - but some Aussie friends of mine took a while to come round to it

and pegbert, why not keep some spare bags in the car, for that sort of situation, instead of always getting new ones? you could re-use the same ones a few times before they broke, or maybe even supply stronger ones of your own; maybe the sort you get clothes in (which, for some odd reason, are often tougher than the ones made to carry much heavier items)... maybe even keep a box in the boot (or trunk, for heathens ), which could be stacked full of stuff and then be carried inside

Oh I've re-bagged in front of the bagger

i have a whole collection now of those canvas bags things (some I got for free, some my mom made for me and some were like $1 each)..

I usually only use them at the grocery store though.. I love them for packing tins and heavy things..

canvas bags are really cheap to buy. Tonnes and tonnes of stores have them! Everyone from craft stores to "go green" on-line shops. Plus, a lot of stores sell their own re-usable canvas bags or made from recycled materials bags. Some are pricey (Harris Teeters are like $5! Aldi and Big Lots are like 99 cents!)

AC Moore

Michaels

lots and lots of selection at Eco-Bags

Oriental trading company

I have like 10 canvas bags that I've been using for several years. Most of them I got when I used to work for a software company. Any conference that we had we always got a canvas tote bag to carry away all our swag Each bag can carry about 5 - 2 litre bottles of pop. If I had to use the grocery store plastic bags for those, they usually only put 2 bottles per bag, and double bag 'em, so that I'd end up with 20 plastic bags every time I did shopping if I happened to forget to bring my bags with me.

I even take them now into clothing shops and K-Mart and Wall Mart. I get strange looks, but I really don't give a shite

I have about twenty too, and I take them EVERYWHERE
sometimes I get a plastic bag for clothing, if the cloth bags are a bit manky and have been recently used for carrying fruit and milk and what have you, but we probably get less than one plastic bag per week

Wow - you have good baggers... we get one bottle per double bag.. If I get a choice I tend to ask for paper as they can be recycled and get packed better as well!!

Other things I am not used to are the evil bugs and dirty feet

I'm with you guys on the bags, I got some very light bags that I leave in my handbag (purse) all the time, and I have some heavier shopping bags that I take with me when I know I'm going grocery shopping. Any plastic bags I end up taking home, I generally use as bin liners or something. (Although I prefer to buy biodegradable bin liners).

The thing that I've noticed is that most of the sole traders and single businesses (not chains, or small local chains) tend to only be found in those nasty strip malls. I can see now why people would want to go to the big malls to the nice shiny places. The rents must be so high in those malls that the sole traders can only afford to be in strip malls. I really hope to be able to find good local restaurants, coffee places etc. But I can see why people here pass them by.

Oh ya bugs they got some really big spiders here and they freak me out. I miss the nice frozen ground in the fall to kill all the buggies.

But that's in Texas, right?

Nowhere in the North East? Please?

I hear ya. There are so many bugs and creepy crawlies here in Louisiana.

Also- I took Cooper to a local dog park and there were fleas everywhere. I have never had to deal with fleas before. Cooper gets the treatments every month and I know he is ok and won't bring them home. It freaked me out though- I came home and scrubbed myself in the shower because I felt icky. Now I am turned off about going back there. I hate to see Cooper miss out- he loved it there and now he has to suffer because I am neurotic.

You'll be fine in the North East for half the year. Winter time kills most bugs, so you'll have 6 months with bugs, and 6 months without.

Generally speaking though, the bugs aren't nearly as big and deadly up north as they are down south here.

lol i already had to kill a couple of black widow (you know the spider that can basically kill you) and saw 3 tarentulas so far ! creepy !

as for groceries i am using my old loblaws giant bags....very very convenient, sturdy and big and everything.
i just love them

another note... about supersizing food.... it fits me !
i can then get 2 or 3 meals out of it ! make things cheaper overall

Ewww - I haven't seen any black widows and I didn't realise there were tarantulas here...

I think I still haven't told my 'enormous huntsman spider landing on my head while driving' story, have I?

omg if you do post a warning first so i can avoid the story it will have me freaked out way too much

Ditto!

I, on the other hand, would like to hear that tale, StP!

Me too. Fire away!!

***WARNING DULY POSTED***





ok, let me start by telling you that huntsmen spiders look like this:



they're just ENORMOUS, and while they're not dangerous in any way, finding that one has seemingly spontaneously generated inside your house and is now balefully lurking in the shower recess can be a bit of a heart-pounding moment... and they're common in Australia
for some reason, you hardly ever see any that are much smaller than that... they just appear, fully grown

anyway, on this particular day, a Sunday, I was dressed up and on my way to work, as my school was having an open day... I was travelling at about 60km/h in the middle lane of three lanes of traffic, along the beachfront at Brighton-le-Sands, if anyone knows Sydney (it's on the shores of Botany Bay)

so I was driving along, when I suddenly felt the lightest bit of pressure on the front of my head... I had a fringe back then (bangs for yankees ), and as I looked up I could see the hair pressed down and... something... just in my line of sight
and I don't know how, but I just KNEW what it was, so I took my right hand off the wheel, and brushed quickly upwards, and then looked over to the passenger seat, and there was this MONSTER of a bloody great huntsman just crouching there
I don't know how I didn't crash, but I didn't; I changed lanes twice in quick succession and dived down a side street, leapt from the car, grabbed a magazine or something from the back seat and brushed the bugger out onto the road, and then sat in the driver's seat with my heart pounding like I'd just witnessed a murder

and then I had to get back in the car and go to work and stand in my classroom and talk to parents for four hours

it wasn't funny at the time... good story though; I don't know how many times I've told it

and, believe it or not, it was BIGGER than the one in the picture

I'm always slightly amused when I read British people complaining about recycling - lack of curbside recycling was one of my biggest complaints in the UK where it seems to depend on the local council. Every place I've lived in the US has had it since about 1983.

*faints*

I would have crashed the car, no doubt. I hate spiders. And, instead of brushing him out of the car with a magazine, I would have beat him to death with it, so great is my loathing!

*heebie jeebies*

Your story made me laugh, cos it didn't happen to me!

Thanks for sharing!

oh, I don't like spiders much either, and less so after that, as you can imagine
but I liked my car and didn't want to crash it, and I didn't want smashed spider pulp all over the seat either...

a similar thing happened some years later, but much less traumatic - I was just turning on to the biggest roundabout in southern Sydney when this massive huntsman sauntered out onto the passenger side door panel... inside the car, obviously... he was nowhere near me that time, but I still had a mad scramble to stop the car and chuck him out
from memory, he walked up onto something that was on the seat - I think a gym bag? - so it was relatively easy just to grab the bag and shake him off, then drive away like a bat out of hell

I think I've done my dues with spiders; perhaps I did something wrong in a past life

I think I would have puked!! I mean, I am not too bad with spiders in the UK but even I would have freaked out at something like that jumping on my head!!! I mean - it makes you wonder where the heck it was hiding

We *did* get another roach last night - in our bedroom this time... the cat had come in and was miaowing over and over and I went and gave her food but she didn't eat it. She came back into the bedroom and starting causing havoc - she has a habit of clambering under the chest of drawers and chasing her tail So I sit up to find out what she is doing and just as I do that, I see the roach run out from under the chest - Daisy duly pounces after it and it escapes under my nightstand. So I wake Jeremy up (who is less than pleased) and I tell ask him nicely to get the roach out. At this point it runs out from under the nightstand and tries to bury itself under my slipper. I ask Jeremy if he wants me to get something to catch it and instead he moves the slipper. So the thing runs back under the chest of drawers again - smart move (!). Eventually it runs out to Jeremy's laptop and climbs on that, Jeremy manages to catch it in a cup and throw it outside.

I was really proud of myself because I didn't scream once I think in time I might not even need rescuing but right now I still do


We had roadside recycling where I lived in the UK I don't mind getting paid to do it here though I just wish we had more space to store things

Ugh...I think I would have died had that spider landed on my head. Heart attack and CRASH.

I was once at a state park driving around with a friend enjoying the autumn leaves with the windows down and a giant wasp flies into the car...we start screaming and my friend doesn't even wait for the car to stop...she just leapt out of the car (thankfully only going a few miles an hour at that point). I pull over to a full stop and we are working with newspapers and magazines trying to get the dang thing out of the car...and a ranger pulls over and asks us what is wrong. We tell him about the wasp...and he laughs and drives off.

To make a long story short we got it out and drove home.

I can barely take a wasp...a spider...I would die.

One time, several years ago when James and I were still waiting the eternal wait of immigration, I was staying down here for a few months visit thru the winter. James was at work, and always worked late til about 11pm or midnight. Well, I was sitting watching TV and this ruddy great hairy spider crawled across the screen and I totally freaked out! Up until that point in my life I was not afraid of spiders, but that was because where I'm from we don't have poisonous spiders, and down here we do. I had no clue what a brown recluse spider was supposed to look like, but this thing was big and hairy and brown and I just KNEW it was about to take a chunk out of my flesh!

So I got the vacuum cleaner and sucked it up, then I put the vacuum outside on the porch, just in case it crawled back out!

James got home and asked me if I'd been cleaning the back-yard, and so I told him about my ordeal with the big hairy killer spider, and then told him I'd been cowering on the couch ever since, and I needed to pee, would he please carry me to the bathroom and check for bugs before he set me down?!

5 years or so later, I'm just almost to the point where I don't have a panic attack when I see a spider, but OMG there are always spiders around here! Usually wolf spiders, and they jump just to scare the piss out of you. They're harmless, but really, do they have to jump everywhere?

So far I still have not seen any brown recluse or black widows, but I just know that as soon as I let my guard down, they'll be there plotting to rot my flesh off.

lol... true that that was scary....
Oh and i didn't talked about the hordes of coyote at night.... at first it's funny but can become scary after a little bit... (specially when you hear it even closer than 3 second before).

We are living in the hills and coyote are all around....(with their friends spiders and rabbits)

we don't have any coyote here in NC that I've ever seen or heard. But there's lots in and around the GTA in Ontario where I'm from. There's even a few packs that live in Toronto parks. You just have to be careful to not leave small animals outside at nighttime.

This thread has really cheered me up today! (I found out that my visit to the US has changed and I have to wait another 4 weeks. I know that I'm very lucky to get to see my love in 4 weeks... it's just the natural disappointment when the wait increases at last minute)

I also feel a little less pathetic.



Hilarious!

They don't have huge spiders in MA (from what I've seen) but once we pulled into a gas station and I saw a long-legged spider run across the leg-area of the car. I screamed and the man filling our car looked in to wonder what was happening! Bill wasn't very impressed, especially when he got rid of it, only for me to find ANOTHER one as he was pulling out. I told him that id he didn't stop the car immediately, I was getting out... he had no choice but to pull into a parking lot and grab the other spider that was now on his leg!!


In case anyone is interested, I'm currently taking a degree in Psychology and for one of my studies last year, I tested spider fear in both men and women to see if there was a huge gender difference; and also tested the fear vs the size of the spider. It was as expected but I scored a B+ for it... the bigger the spider and the more female the victim = the more heart-stopping!!

I never had a fear of spiders etc .....I dont think we have any dangerous spiders in the UK - however whilst going about my business in the kitchen last winter I happened to see a spider, OH saw it too rushed to it and killed it... he explained it was a black widow and showed me the hour glass marking on it...now I treat every spider with extreme caution.

I'm not used to being around hand guns. Not that they're everywhere, but in AK no one batted an eye lash if one was lying on the coffee table or something.

I'm not used to rats or cockroaches either. yuck.

Yup cockroaches are creepy dont like them either

Cockroaches bother me too. There are so many creepy crawlies in Louisiana and I don't handle these things well. I am also horrified of frogs- we have a pond in the backyard and we get tons of them. They are so loud too. I'm ok with lizards though.

I have been treated a few times here for reactions to bug bites- they get really big and swollen and develop a red streak. All these reactions have been on my arms. The last time it happened the clinic I usually go to was closed for the day so I went elsewhere. The Doctor was a nasty man and he kept snapping at me and saying they were not bug bites. So I don't know what the heck to think.

I don't like getting bitten and wondering who's bitten me! Had a few mosquito bites but also ants and spiders... there's a lot of hungry wildlife here in TX!

its not really strange but im used to eat rice all the meals.. its weird.. big streets..its funny up to now i think im still in a dream..

I get bad reactions to bug bites as well - I haven't been too bad so far this time round but in the past it has been dreadful and the only thing that helps is bathing the bitten area in ice water...

I also didn't realise we get tarantulas.... Ok so I think we are safe... maybe... in the desert but we were talking to friends in AZ who get them in the house and everything... that is just too creepy...

We did see a king snake in the parking lot of the court house while we were away though - that was pretty cool

Invasion by another Yanqui interloper:


Them's fightin' words, li'l darlin'. "No diversity?" There are nearly as many Mexicans in Mexico as there are in Texas. "No history"? Was England ever its own country, like Texas was? "No rain"? Have a hurricane or two with your spot of tea. (If they're named after guys, then they're himmicanes.) And, finally, we (or at least most magazine-racks in stores) are Cosmopolitan. Si, man.

Other items of note:
Spiders: It amazes me how women can take boiling-hot wax, pour it onto their inner thighs, rip out hair by the roots, and still be afraid of a spider.

Cockroaches: In Texas, their minimum length is 6 feet (convert to metric), and it's a matter of life or death -- you or them.

Story: A Texan, vacationing (uh, "on holiday") in rural Vermont for the first time, stayed in a cabin. It was summertime, and the night temperature was 70 F. (convert to C.), so the Texan decided to sleep with the windows open in order to enjoy the brisk, cold air.
During the night, a fox disturbed four chickens that were roosting nearby, and they flew into the cabin, squawking and flapping. The half-asleep Texan swatted at them with his hands until they flew back outside, and he fell asleep again.
After returning home, the Texan called one of his buddies, and said, "And, Ah saw only four mosquitoes the whole time, and they was LITTLE ones!"

North America: How did Canada get its name? C-eh-N-eh-D-eh.

VJ-hood: It's good to see where my favo(u)rite British & Canadian ladies are hanging out these days. Si, man.

TB you always crack me up - good to see you popping in to say hi in your special little way How are things with you now? Please tell me that things are finally sorted out?!

As for the boiling hot wax... uh-uh, not me - I am not that crazy and really am just a big wuss Razors will do just fine, although shaving in a shower is prolly just as painful as waxing