Life in America

We're starting to settle down, now, and there are a few things we've noticed/ have been happening.

1) Michigan weather turns on a dime. Says Ned, "The only consistent thing here is overcast." One day it will be freezing, another day it will be balmy, then it will rain, then it will snow. I guess that's what happens when you're wedged between several massive lakes.

2) We still haven't figured out Farenheit. I think we're just waiting on the entire country to switch to Celsius.

No.

3) The biggest appeal of living in America is how cheap everything is. When comparing countries, a lot of people talk about taxes as a reason to stay away from Canada; this is fair, but seriously it's how much things cost before taxes.

1$ single serving bottles of wine. This is perfect, besides making it the equivalent of like a 4$ bottle of wine, because it means I can have a glass and not worry about polishing off the rest of it by myself (though really I probably would). First world problems.

1$ bottles of beer. At a bar. A bar! Yes it's Miller lite, which tastes like ass, but it's a dollar. When I went with Ned to the grocery store (where, btw, you can buy booze), I ran to a box of beer because it was a buck a pop. Ned shook his head in disappointment, and went to a section where it was 50 cents a beer. Good Lord.

4) The umpteenth reason life in Michigan is better than Dominica: Hockey.

USA! USA! USA!

5) The rare reason life in Dominica is better than Michigan: the lack of absurdity. Life is very quiet. When I walked out the door in Picard, my common thought was Well who the fuck knows what will happen today. Maybe I'll get attacked by a snake. There's stability here but it lacks the flavour of how bizarre Dominica is.

6) Very discretely, I announce that Denise passed her Comp test. This is kind of like a practice run for the USMLE, and if you don't pass, you're allowed two more tries at it. Almost everyone eventually passes, but a lot of very intelligent people don't pass the first try, so there's a lot of pressure. For us, it's helpful that Denise passed, because it essentially removes any possibility that schedules might fuck with the wedding. The next step, besides the every day studying she needs to do, is write the USMLE in around three months. It will be the single most important test of her life to date, and the results will largely determine what happens in our life for the next two years. On to the studying for her!

I guess Denise would be the one with a mustache in this one.

7) Far less important: I've finished the first draft of my second novel. Egads.