Random thoughts and factoids

So here's some randomness for you all:

In the USA, when someone wants to acquire a living space without purchasing the living space, we "rent" it. Thus you see signs on houses and apartments saying "for rent." In the UK, you don't rent something, you "let" it. Thus there are signs everywhere that say "to let," and it makes me so happy every time I see them! (Cause it looks like "toilet"... just wanted to make that clear).

Crossing the street can be an adventure here. As you know by now, people drive on the left side of the road here. Even though I know that, I still can't process from which direction a car is going to come. In London, they solve this problem by putting " <--- Look left" or "Look right --->" on the asphalt so that I don't have to die from a simple case of misdirection. (I know, you're thinking, "Just look both ways, dumbass.")

CDs and DVDs are way cheaper here than in the USA. While stateside we still charge $15-20 which is just ridiculous, here you can get CDs and DVDs for £2-5!!! I know, crazy, right? Maybe that's why no one in the US actually buys CDs anymore whilst people here still do. (To put things into perspective, though, the cheapest option is illegal downloading which costs, well, nothing).

The BBC (British Broadcasting Company), which has several television and radio stations, has zero advertisements. The downside: they do this by making people pay licensing fees that make up for money that would otherwise come from advertisers. The other downside: they talk WAY too much on BBC radio which makes me yell, "PLAY SOME F'N MUSIC!"

Coffee is so expensive here because it's not that popular. Go to any cafe and it will probably cost £2-3 for a coffee (which translates to $4-5). No, thank you, I'm not that tired.

Electric kettles are very popular here. They make using stove kettles seem like using dial-up connection. They boil several liters of water in literally about a minute or two, unlike stove kettles which must take at least 5-7 minutes. I know it doesn't seem like a huge difference, but when you want some tea NOW before you have to rush out the door or you're cooking and you want that water to boil a bit faster, those few minutes make all the difference in the world.

When I wrote about the cricket match between England and Australia, I didn't realize it was just a "test match" which was part of a best of five series. So last weekend was the final test match. England and Australia had both won one match apiece and then had a draw the other two. In the final match, England won back the Ashes and George's dad was the most excited I've seen him since being here.

Sticking to the topic of cricket, there's a few things about the game that are strange. One, it's possible to draw if time runs out. This means that if one team were destroying the other team, it might be to their advantage to "declare," meaning they would end the inning before they had actually gotten out. Otherwise, it's possible that time could run out before the losing team gets done batting. Even if they were 1,000 runs behind, the game would still end in a draw because theoretically, the losing team could have come back to win if given enough time. Also, there are no rain delays or postponements. So, same scenario, if one team is winning big time but then it rains for three days straight (which really isn't that unlikely in England), then the game is called a draw. One final weird note... George told me that last year Australia beat England in all five test matches of the Ashes. Why on earth would they even play the last two matches if Australia won the first three? Even if England had won both matches, Australia would have still been the victors. Strange...

"Cheers" here means "thank you," not "let's have a drink." But it sounds funny when I say it with my American accent.

Speaking French or knowing things about France or French culture makes you cool here. Sucks for me...

If I hear Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling" one more time, I will have to find Will.I.Am and personally slap him. Which sucks cause I love the BEP, but I swear it's all I heard in America this summer and now it's all I hear here. Enough already!

I clearly have nothing interesting to say anymore, so go play in the sunshine while it's still there.