1st Month Observations

Bethany and I thought we could share some of the changes that we have noticed here in the States after being gone for 3 years.

1. Who turned the crazy on when it comes to shoes?  We tried to buy a new pair of running shoes for Bethany and couldn't find anything without neon.  What happened to white with a blue stripe?

 

 

2. Fast food has gotten faster.  We took the kids out to Chick-fil-a (or however you spell it) and by the time I handed the lady my credit card someone else was bringing the tray to the counter!   

 

3. All the stores greet you now.  It used to be unique to walk into Moe's (burrito place) and the entire kitchen staff would yell out, "Welcome to Moe's!!"  It was nice but annoying by the time you got your food and sat down as 15 other customers have come in and gotten the same greeting.  Anyway, just about every store I go into now has at least someone poke their head up and say, "Hi, welcome to..."

4. Where did all the bar soap go?  There is something weird about showering with liquid goo (body wash).  Call me old fashioned but I couldn't get the goo to lather and I didn't feel as clean as a good old bar of soap. 

 

5. Dumb phones.  It took me a moment when I first heard it but, yea, I guess the logical opposite of a smart phone is a dumb phone.  But in our PC world, I am surprised this has slipped in.  "Internet-challenged" anybody?

 

6. People talk to their phones.  When we left 3 year ago, people talked to other people using their phones.  Now, people just talk to their phones.  Who is "Siri"?  And how does she know EVERYTHING?!

7. Texting.  Yea, people don't seem to like talking on the phone anymore.  Way more texting than when we were here before. 

8. Choices.  We stopped for coffee while on one of our travels and Bethany took a little longer than expected.  She got into the car all flustered and handed me the coffee.  We talked about it when she calmed down.  She explained that literally there were 10 kinds of coffee, 7 kinds of milk/creamer, and 3 kinds of sugar.  I talked with a friend, Chris Crowder, to figure out the math and I believe we came to the conclusion that there were 210 different combinations one could choose from for Coffee.  Don't get me started on cereal.