Belgium Reader

Dear Belgium Reader,

Who are you? Seriously, I'm very curious.

I was checking my blog stats the other day, which amongst other things tells me what paths people take to get to my blog. Most people link from my friends' blogs, my website, or from my Facebook page. So imagine my surprise then when someone with a Belgium IP address linked from a site entitled "A Kenyan and A French Toilet." It's a site about toilets. Yep, toilets. You can compare toilets from France, Kenya, Belgium and the Netherlands.

I would have thought my Belguim reader stumbled upon my blog by accident, but this has happened several times now, so I went into detective mode. After combing through the toilet site, I discovered in the upper right hand corner a list of about 20 different blogs and/or sites. This intrigued me so I checked out each of them to see if maybe we had something in common.

The only thing I can say conclusively is that there is absolutely no good reason for any of us to be linked to a website about toilets. All the linked sites come from Europe, the US, and Australia. Almost half the sites were crafty/artsy blogs. The other half were your standard "me and my family " blogs.

This whole situation wasn't a complete bust though. I discovered an entertaining blog as a result of this whole fiasco: http://sketchpot.blogspot.com/ . I'm not sure what this blogger's main occupation is, but he's an entertaining artist. :)

California Water 101

Perhaps you've heard. California tap water is pretty nasty. How bad could it possibly be? Take a look a look at this picture.



This is the sink in my bathroom. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the water shouldn't match the brown vanity. Kind of disgusting, don't you think? So I've started drinking only spring water. I'd get the purified drinking water, but isn't that what is SUPPOSED to be coming from the faucet?

Buying water is a new thing for me, and there's a lot of decisions that go into it. You can get any size from ridiculously large jugs that you can't lift to the individual bottles you can throw in your purse. Even if you just want a gallon, you have to choose if you want the milk jug size, the taller skinner size, or my favorite--the stackable weird bottles

They aren't quite a gallon (3 qt., 5.4 oz), but they are just so cool. If I had kids I would give the empty containers to play with instead of blocks. They interlock so you could build walls or even forts, not that I have any first hand experience with this. Though I have discovered that they make a lovely Christmas tree.


I'm thinking that if I remove the labels, add some lights, and throw on some tinsel, then I might just have the picture for my Christmas Cards.

New Englander's Guide to LA

Dedicated to my fellow New Englanders who are thinking of moving to LA.
Here's what you need to know:

Driving – Drive like normal (ie like a maniac), but do it faster, and try not to curse out the drivers who have no clue how to really parallel park. I also wouldn't recommend banging a left unless you can move at the speed of light, and don't really care about the right side of your car.

Blue Tooth – You must have one, and wear it whenever you are driving. It does not matter whether or not you are planning to make or take any phone calls. In fact you don’t even need to own a cell phone. It’s simply required driving attire.

Donuts and Frozen Yogurt – There are mom and pop donut shops in every strip mall and corner market, and anyone who has lived in LA for longer than a month has a favorite. There are also a million frozen yogurt shops because frozen yogurt is a health food even when you eat an entire pint covered in gummy bears, Heath Bars, sprinkles, and chocolate syrup.

Freeways – You must always use the word “the” in front of the Freeway number (“the” 405, “the” 5, “the” 91). Otherwise the conversation will go something like this:

“I’m going to take 405 to San Diego.”
“What are you taking to San Diego?”
“405”
“4 or 5 what?”
“THE 405 freeway”
“Well, why didn’t you say so to begin with?”

Palm Trees – Sure they look nice but avoid standing or parking directly below them. They tend to drop their leaves/branches, which weigh about the same as a small cow.

People – Sometimes random strangers will smile and wave at you. They are not weird, psycho stalkers. They are simply friendly. There is no need to avoid eye contact or walk faster to get away from them. Instead, try smiling and waving back.

Adjustment – After much scientific research (ie asking everyone I meet, including Steve, the waiter in Malibu) the general consensus is that it takes about 2 - 3 years for anyone to feel like LA to really home. So don't worry if you're still feeling a bit like an outsider after a few months, that's absolutely normal. And remember this song is for you (unless you hate Miley music. If that's the case, click here). :D