Welcome to the 21st Century

Why the Name Change?

Well, it seems like we are in the US to stay.  And so the focus of this blog changes; from living in Paris and traveling around Europe, to living in Las Vegas.  

Lots of changes in our lives.  Susan is back to work, doing her bit to help the ongoing foreclosure crisis in the US.  She works for a broker who puts Fannie Mae foreclosures back on the market.  Much of what she does pivots around the condition of the homes, which is fairly abysmal.  People really trash the homes they are losing.  Even when offered "cash for keys" - an opportunity to leave the house intact and "broom clean" - these people still leave the home trashed.  By trashed I mean to say cabinets ripped from walls, broken or missing sinks, light switches pulled from walls. Incredible.  I get that they are angry. But this is just ridiculous.  Their anger impairs their chance to get money when they need it most - to make a new start. Weird.

My changes are physical; I had Achilles surgery.  Last year I hurt my foot getting off a train in Paris, calling on a customer.  It turns out I had broken a bone spur on the back of my heel, which lacerated the Achilles - and kept lacerating it.  Took quite a while to get a correct diagnosis.  Once I did, surgery was arranged.  

Surgery was Oct 11, 2010.  Long slow recovery process.  In a wheelchair after surgery for a couple weeks. Then up on crutches, and now using one crutch or my cane when around the house.  Bought the cane in London last year and wrote about it at the time.  

I have the same job, same company, but different duties.  Now focused on the US market, while still taking care of the larger international customers.  We are definitely home "for good".  Or at least until things change again.... 

Home, Really

We've been home 6 months, and it finally feels like we have both feet in the US.  Changed by our year in France, we seemed to have one foot on each continent for a while.  That faded, like a dream.  If we didn't stay in touch with friends we made in Paris, I think it would seem like a dream.  Like something that happened to someone else, or that we saw in a movie.  

But it was real. Living in 450 square feet, on the sixth floor, with an elevator that mostly worked (except when it didn't), eating the best bread in the world daily, and surrounded by the most beautiful city in the world.  

And now back in the suburbs of Las Vegas.  That sounds so bland, so colorless.  But it isn't.  We have parachuted back into our old life.  Same old friends.  Same hang-outs.  And the music. What drew us to the Vegas area to begin with; the music.  We are omnivores when it comes to music; we love everything but country.  And we lean to jazz, pop, and rock (in that order). 

We know how to get discounts, and we know how to get free tickets.  We broke the code by living here nearly 10 years and paying attention.  We don't gamble, except a penny machine occasionally, so we don't get any casino "comps", but we manage to see at least two or three free shows for every one we pay for.  And no, we don't sneak in; it's all legit.  

Musical performances are expensive in Paris.  Either in a bar (which we don't frequent) or in a large venue with expensive ticket prices.  We were literally priced out of most of the shows we wanted to see.  And we were spoiled by all the free and discount shows here in Las Vegas.  

Here's an example of a really good week.  This week we saw Cheap Trick play the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper.  With a small orchestra and six singers backing them up.  Really one of the best shows we've seen this year. Susan caught a couple of Rick Nielsen's personalized guitar picks.  Cool.  The songs were great, of course, and performed flawlessly by this still-enthusiastic (and highly skilled) bunch of rockers who have been touring out of Rockford Illinois for over thirty years.  Free.

Friday night we drove out to the north side of town and saw Rick Braun and Richard Elliot play a combination of funk, jazz, and fusion in a delightful 1 hr 45 minute show (normal Vegas shows are 90 minutes for some reason).  They had great sidemen like Nate Phillips on bass (formerly of the Dazz band), well known producer Ron Rhinehart on keyboards, and longtime journeyman guitarist Dwight Sills (Anita Baker, Brenda Russell, Boney James).  Paid.  

Saturday night is David Van Such on the shore at Lake Las Vegas, local multi-talented fusion musician: he plays tenor and alto sax, flute, and electric violin.  Also sings.  Usually has a very good group of local sidemen.  We will sit on the lawn and meet some friends out there.  Free.

We're home.  And loving it.  

 

 

Bread

Okay, here is what the problem is.  We're big bread fans.  Eat a low fat diet with lots of healthy carbs.  We regularly ate bread before going to Paris last year.

No more.  We can't eat this stuff here now.  We are spoiled.  This stuff here is awful.  Susan tossed a cardboard baguette a couple weeks ago.  I just don't even try now.  We can eat whole wheat bread, and Susan likes the whole wheat, added fiber English Muffins for breakfast occasionally. 

But the only bread I now eat regularly is what I bake myself.  This is bad. 

Being Home

We are plugged back in to Las Vegas and the shows.  As many of our friends know, we are on various lists for free shows.  Producers frequently need to fill seats, and we are on two of the local databases.  Annually we attend 30-40 live music performances, comedy shows, and etc.

Other times we get local discounts or discounts that we find out about.  We saw Bette Midler just before she closed her show at Caesar's.  Not quite a sell-out, so Susan grabbed two great seats at stage left, about 8 rows back for $60 each; regularly $175 each.  Wonderful show.  The Divine Miss M was on top of her game.  Glad we got to see her.  What a pleasure.  Funny audience as she called them all out at the beginning of the show; mix of gay men (the mermaid stuff), devout Christians (In the Distance), and just general folks like us (the remainder of her repertoire).  Funny, warm, and loving crowd.  Lovely night.

Last week we caught Gordie Brown, comedian singer/impressionist,  on a freebie at the Golden Nugget.  Highly recommended.  We were in stitches.  Very current.  Not a lot of dead Hollywood star impressions.  Some on the brink however.  Audience was a little clueless when he did Eminem.  We liked it. 

And the other night I got carded (!!) going into a club on the Strip for Rockstar - The Tribute.  Freebie.  They had a few impersonators, with a backing band of real rockers: current drummer for Whitesnake Chris Frazier, Tony Montana on bass from Great White, Rob Robbins from Steel Lily and April Wine on guitar (he was great).  Unusual show.  We would never go to an impersonator show, but the real rockers are the draw.  Darn good music, if a little loud. Would we recommend it?  I dunno.  We enjoyed it, but would probably pass if it wasn't free.

They seem to be having a problem filling the Blue Man Group; we could go just about anytime for free.  And Frank Caliendo is not proving to be a big draw, even though he had his own TV show.  Aside from that, we could plug in to the comedy scene just about any night.  They have seats going begging.  Some of that may just be the time of year. 

Oh well, I'll write about any really good freebies we get. 

 

City to Suburbs

That may be the biggest change so far.  Oh, yeah, and they speak American English here, too.  But honestly, we had never before lived in a real city.  Real mass transit.  Walk a few doors to a bakery, a grocery store, a cafe.  That was so different for both of us.  And really enjoyable. 

We grew up in suburbs, and have always lived in suburbs.  We are participants in a massive "car culture" and are used to driving everywhere. Now we can't even get enough walking in without driving someplace.  We go to a park daily and walk around for 30 minutes, just to get out.  The condo complex where Susan rented us a place doesn't have sidewalks.  It just has walkways from parking lot to buildings.  How odd for us now.

We miss Paris.  But not for the stuff people might think.  We miss the ease of acquiring food and the ease of just walking out our front door and hopping on a bus somewhere.  Anywhere.

It is just so strange to get into a car and drive for anything, and everything.  Big change. We don't like it much anymore. 

The Transition

Oh, boy, this is tougher than anticipated.  We had what passes for a baguette here.  I was starving and ate it, although it had no taste whatsoever and a really dense, odd texture.  Susan threw hers out.  Then we had some soup that we bought at the grocery store.  Tasted like baby food.  No spices (except lots of salt) and no taste.  

I have been subsisting on oatmeal, organic yogurt, and raspberries, while Susan eats rice.  We just left the food capitol of the world, and we have parachuted in to a land of pre-made meals, machine-grown produce picked unripe and transported across a continent, and everything is too sweet from all the added sugar.

Look, we love being home.  We have a dishwasher in our rental condo, a garbage disposal in the sink, central heating, and a washer/dryer.  All of which is wonderful.  We have satellite TV with a DVR, and it is all in English!  Today we're going to get an American newspaper.  We're just having a real problem with the food.  We're going to Whole Foods this afternoon. Hope to have better news soon. 

Home

Guys in cowboy hats.  Fat people.  Smiles.  Nice cashiers and service personnel.  Strangers saying hi with a smile.  $2 cups of double espresso (instead of $6).  Flight attendants who call you dear or hon, and pat your arm for no reason whatsoever.  Firm handshakes.  Shuttle bus drivers that chat you up.  And smiles.

Smiles.  Everyone here smiles.  What a relief after a year in Europe. Everyone. Here.  Smiles. 

And we went into Von's today to pick up a few things.  And stopped dead in our tracks.  It isn't just large for a grocery store.  It is larger than a European computer superstore.  Wide aisles.  Bright lighting.  Clean.  Remarkably, obsessively clean.  It was wonderful.  We're home.

Au Revoir Paris

Goodbye to Paris, at least for now.  Heading home today.  What are we thinking of?  What are our impressions?  We don't know yet.  Haven't sorted them out. 

We are like two little kids heading home from summer camp.  It's been great, but now it's time to go home.  We miss home, the intricate yet simple cadences of American English.  The baseball caps and dopey t-shirts.  The fat people.  TV programs we can understand.  Hamburgers.  Real American Hamburgers.

We will miss everyone and everything here.  And we will never escape its pull. 

Health Department

I'm not sure they have one here.  The restrooms in most restaurants in Paris don't have any soap.  And they certainly don't have any hot water.  My favorite cafe has a tiny little cabinet downstairs with a porcelain trough you stand over.  That's all.  We use a lot of Purell - hand sanitizer.  Problem is, I don't think they do.  Oh, well, best not to think too much about it.

We're winding down here before returning home for a couple of months, and went out to dinner to a neighborhood place we like.  They have a huge rotisserie out in front and do chickens and suckling pigs.  I love their half-chicken.  With starter or dessert and frites, it's about $20 bucks.  Of course, that comes with a basket of fresh bread.  Susan likes their Boeuf Bourgignon.  Always trim and tasty, not fatty like some of the tourist places. 

The rotisserie is the issue.  It's outdoors.  It's exposed to the street, cars, and pedestrians.  At the bottom is a stainless pan running the whole length of the rotisserie, and in the pan are the cooking juices, carrots, potatoes, and etc.  The guy who runs the rotisserie just ladles this stuff over the chickens from time to time as he's doing other stuff there. 

Can you imagine the health department in anytown USA allowing this whole thing to transpire while people walk or drive by?  I don't think so.  But boy, does it turn out good chicken. 

Magic

Paris on Christmas Eve, it was raining like crazy all night, and the streets were just about empty.  At one point we were the only folks on a bus until a family of five Chinese gals got on talking to each other a mile a minute.  I'm not sure any of them took a breath the whole time they were sitting there.  Man, could they talk.  I know much less Mandarin than French, even though I took two semesters of it in college (Mandarin, that is).  All I can say is thank you, and good night.  Fine if you are a comedian or magician.  Not really useful for much else. 

Anyhow, we got off at the Palais de Justice and walked over to Notre Dame de Paris.  The tree in front is really nice this year.

Notre Dame de Paris - Christmas Eve

We got lucky and got in while they were still showing the presentation of the Christmas story, using images from the Cathedral and recorded music.  There was a huge screen draped across the front of the nave (the approach to the alter in a Cathedral).  After the presentation, the screen was lowered, then removed.  And this is what the inside looks like when they run the lights up.

Inside

Then the choir marched in, and took their places.  The organ kicked in, and played a lovely set up.  Then choir and organ launched into Silent Night.  That was magic.  Just magic.

The Choir