It's the Little Differences: Maple Syrup

Crepes A-Go-Go is a little restaurant down our street. The crêpes there are succulent but something is missing: the maple syrup!!! To be fair, it's buried somewhere in their menu, but it's certainely not on the table, between the ketchup and the salt.

It's the Little Differences: Garbage Day

Waste collection is privately run in SF which means that "garbage day" is different for everyone. The entire street is never full of garbage!

It's the Little Differences: Trust Fund Babies

Defined in the urban dictionary as a “young person whose parents are wealthy and have set up a trust for their son or daughter. The trust fund ensures that the child will be taken care of financially for life.” Paris Hilton is a prime example.

I am sure trust fund babies are everywhere, but the abundance in San Francisco is beyond belief.

Soon Boarding Flight to Morocco

This is where we'll celebrate Christmas this year.

Why some people should not design surveys!

I came across this question tonight as I was filling out a survey for "fun". They've gotta be kidding!!!


(Ok the screenshot is too small, argh. Click on it)

On a scale of 1 to 5 where "1" is absolutely critical and "5" absolutely somewhat important, how important would you say your computer is to the daily operations of your household.

1 Absolutely critical
2
3
4
5 Absolutely somewhat important

Dumber by the Dozen

Here’s a good reason to limit yourself to one child: His/her sibling(s) will not be as intelligent.

This is the kind of theory that has been around for years. Robert Zajonc, a social psychologist, is famous in many fields for his birth order theory of intelligence. Benefiting from their parents’ exclusivity, firstborns interact with adults more than any subsequent offspring. Until a sibling comes along, firstborns grow in a highly intellectual family environment. Secondborns, on the other hand, interact more with their sibling than their parents and so forth.

This theory is obviously debated. But today, a Norwegian study confirmed that firstborns are indeed smarter. In fact, firstborns’ IQ is on average 2.3 points higher than their younger siblings. Like Zajonc, Dr. Petter Kristensen of the National Institute of Occupational Health in Oslo attributes this difference to social rank (and not genetics). Firstborns enjoy the undivided attention of their parents and do not have to share the family resources.

When I cited Zajonc as a reason why I did not want more than one child (if at all), my gynecologist laughed it off. Who’s laughing now, doctor!?!

It's the Little Differences: Clothing Size

America's obesity problem is not just a myth. In fact, the US obesity rate (31%) is twice as high as Canada’s (14%).

To cater to their costumers, stores carry larger sizes more than smaller sizes. In order words, the bell curve one finds is Canada (relatively normal: few XS, some S, lots of M, some L, few XL) is skewed to the right in the US (No XS, few S, some M, lots of L, lots of XL, some XXL). When you oscillate between 0 and 4, it’s frustrating.

I’ve had some luck at Banana Republic. Banana Republic usually carries my size and it’s often on sale because no one else wants to buy it!

A Day At The Beach

The Seven Wonders of Canada Are...

CBC's Seven Wonders of Canada

1. The Canoe
2. Niagara Falls
3. Pier 21, Halifax
4. The Rockies
5. The igloo
6. Old Quebec City
7. Prairie Skies

Hé oui, le Vieux Québec is one of them! Quebec City being my hometown, I am a little proud even though I have nothing to do with the fact that I happened to be born there. Before the big move, we visited my family and stayed at Hilton Quebec. The views from our room were spectacular (wish I hadn't forgotten my camera!).

On the right, l'Assemblé Nationale.















And on the left, le château Frontenac.
















Quebec City is full of amazing restaurants but my favorite by far is Le Saint-Amour. I wish it wasn't so far!

Picnic at the Golden Gate National Recreational Area

Neither of us felt like cooking tonight so we grabbed sandwiches and cheese from the local deli store and walked to the Golden Gate National Recreational Area for a picnic.

Credit Hell

I am starting to believe that no credit history is far worse than bad credit history in this country. I feel like a teenager. I am very frustrated that our Canadian credit history is not recognized in the US.

A couple of weeks ago, we needed to get cell phones (we have no landline). For each cell phone, we were asked for $1,000 deposit! It is outrageous for a piece of cheap plastic that is normally free. No credit and no social security number is apparently a bad combination. So when the husbter got a social security number, back we were at T-Mobile. The deposit was now $250 for each cell phone. It’s progress, I suppose.

Then we applied for a credit card which was promptly denied because of “Few revolving accounts opened long enough to establish credit history” along with “Not enough accounts opened long enough to establish credit history”. Even more frustrating is the fact that they don’t even look at assets or income. It’s solely based on past history.

Our solution was to get a US bank account, debit and credit cards through RBC Centura. Royal Bank recently bought an American bank, Centura. They are based in Florida (snow bird market) but recognize our Canadian credit history. This is a nice temporary measure until we build enough credit to exist in the US!

Road Trip: Napa Valley, CA

We spent the day in Napa with our “Wine Enthusiast” group (yes, very geeky).

Our first stop was at the brand new Jacuzzi winery. It’s so new that’s it not even finished, but we got a sneak peak. The wine and the cheese were awesome, even at 11am. Among other things, the Jacuzzis invented the airplane propeller and, you guessed it, the Jacuzzi.

Then onto Yountville for the museum viewing and lunch. We had gourmet box lunches in a lovely little park in Yountville (next to John Yount's grave) and tasted a Pinot vertical.

We then parted way up Hwy 29, over to Silverado Trail to skirt the traffic in St. Helena, back to 29, and up into the castle winery on the hill where I met V.Sattui himself (more geekiness, he's the owner)!