One Towel Family

Yup, it's been a while. In honor or Labor Day, I decided to post something. Jerry and I have become a one-towel family. Yes, we share one towel. Why? Well, it all started in S Asia. In our flat, it would get so humid that if we left damp towels just anywhere, they would mildew pretty quickly. We found a place near the bathroom that had a hole (I think for wiring). It was in a good spot relative to our ceiling fan for faster drying. I put a chopstick in the hole and started putting our towels there. Well, the top towel would dry fine, but the bottom towel would still mildew so we started sharing a towel. We got so used to it that we still share a towel nine months after moving back to the US. It's great because it cuts down on laundry.

Anyone else share a towel with someone?

Forgotten joys

Jerry and I just came back from our first trip to West U Library (since we moved back to Houston), a place we used to frequent quite often before we moved overseas. I had sort of forgotten about what a great place the library is until a friend and I were swapping ways to be frugal and she mentioned getting books, CDs, and DVDs at the library. If there are local libraries in K, we did not run across any. There is a National Library there, but it is mostly for researchers and it looked pretty run-down.

Anyhow, back to our local library. It's great! And here are some reasons why:

1. It's quiet.
2. You can borrow up to 10 DVDs at a time per library card.
3. You can renew books, DVDs, etc online.
4. There are even CDs to borrow.
5. Usually, a book sale (to benefit the library) is going on and you can purchase hardbacks for $1 and paperbacks for $2. Today, I picked up a Dorothy Sayers mystery novel and Jerry picked up a book written by AND autographed by Kirk Douglas!
6. You can go to the online site and browse all kinds of media from all of the libraries in the county, click on what you want and when it's available, you get an email. Then you go to your local branch and all of your items are waiting for you on a shelf in an envelope with your name.
7. There are computers to browse the web.
8. They host book clubs. Once my schedule gets settled, I plan to join one hosted by the library.
   
9. They provide tables and chairs to sit in while reading through magazines. Not like at the grocery store where you have to stand in the aisle. One time, (I cannot believe I am about to tell this story...) Jerry and I were at Kroger and there was an outdoor furniture display in the middle of one of aisles near the magazines complete with comfy seating options, including a weather-proof love seat. Can you tell where this story is headed? Well, we chose several magazines and sat in the gazebo for about a hour, enjoying our mags and the outdoor furniture. It was kinda fun and no one said a word to us.

Any perks we left out?

USA living after S ASIA living

Well, we are back in the USA and thus, I have changed one word in the title of our blog. Did you notice it? Well, since this was my forum for sharing about our transition TO S Asia, I decided to keep it as my forum for our life FROM S Asia. Here's my first post on this new topic:

Let's go Krogering!

First, let me say that I love Kroger - especially the one near our house. It was recently renovated to compete with HEB's Buffalo Market and I like all of the additions, particularly the coffee shop on the second floor that looks over the fresh food section. Love it!

Anyway, my first trip there after moving back was a little harrowing. I'd been to Kroger during previous visits back to Houston, but this was the first time shopping for groceries other than snacks and drinks. I was all discombobulated while trying to figure out what a good price was for things like produce and fruit. It was really bothering me. (My sister sagely opined that maybe it was because in S Asia we were always having to worry about paying exorbitant prices because we were foreigners. And I was carrying this over to the fresh food section at Kroger.)

Plus, there are SO MANY choices for everything! From different brands to sizes to convenience packaging to caloric/fat content. Too many choices and the store is huge. We were at Kroger for over two hours, I think, and we did not even fill a basket.

Then, it was time to pay. We went to the self-scan machine and I got unreasonably upset again. Jerry and I used to have a rhythm and we'd forgotten it. Well, we were getting in each others' way and getting on each others' nerves. Needless to say, we have decided to use the live cashier until we get our act together.

That was our first visit. Subsequent visits have gone better, although I am trying to remaster the art of using coupons. That has been a little crazy - trying to match the coupons with what the stores have on sale and remembering that the stores come out with new ads on Wednesdays and the coupons come with the Sunday paper. And I had completely forgot about double and triple coupons. There is so much to relearn.

There's much more we're readjusting to and I hope to post something at least once a week.

P.S. If you have couponing tips, I am very open to your suggestions. Gotta be frugal!

Spicy!

I went with a group of friends to eat street food snacks tonight. One expat friend ate a few and then said that he wanted his next one to be super spicy.

Our local friend warned, "No, don't take it like that. It will offend you in the night."

ALL

Another movie-related post...

Remember this point?

The movies are censored for extreme violence or sexual content. A violent scene from Angels and Demons was cut and lots of scenes from The Reader were cut. Sometimes when we are deciding whether or not to go see a movie, Jerry asks himself, "Do I just want to wait to watch it on DVD so I can see the entire movie?"

Well, Inglourious Basterds is playing here and I asked Jerry if he wanted to go see it. His reply,

"It will probably be censored. I want to see ALL the violence."

Whereas my thought was, "It will probably be censored. Good. I would rather see it here." Well, we ended up going and sure enough, we could tell when scenes were cut out. But we were both surprised at how much we enjoyed the film, especially me, although I did close my eyes during all of the killing scenes.

My husband... His quote deserves to be on here twice.

"It will probably be censored. I want to see ALL the violence."

Let's Go to the Movies!

Let's go see the stars! Fred and Ginger - spinning madly! - who knows where these lyrics are from? :)

The movie experience here is a little different than in the US. Here are some of my observations:

1. Movie schedules change on Fridays, just like back home, but unlike the US, you cannot find out what is playing until Friday morning. Sometimes, you can find out on Thursday - but only from the website of one of the theaters, and the site is usually not working.
2. Ticket prices are based on day of the week, time of day, projected popularity of the movie and where you sit in the theater. For instance, a seat in the back row of popular Bollywood film showing late Sunday afternoon or evening will cost the most - maybe $5. But a seat on the front row of a not so popular Hollywood film on weekday morning could cost as little as $1.40.
3. Yes, the back row is the most expensive since people here think those seats are the best. The front row is the cheapest and there is no difference in cost between the 2nd highest row or the 2nd lowest row and those in between We always go for the middle and rarely is anyone in front of us unless the theater is packed.
4. So, yes, there are assigned seats and you get to pick from a diagram exactly where you want to sit. I like this alot! So, the early bird can buy his tickets and choose his seats and then roam around the mall for a little while without worrying about making a mad dash for seats when the theater doors open. (See #8)
   
5. Before each film showing, everyone has to stand for a film clip of famous vocalists singing the national anthem. It's quite pretty, but it is in Sanskrit, so only those who learn the meaning in school understand the lyrics.
   
6. There is an intermission at exactly the half-way mark of every movie. They call this the "interval". At one theater, during the break, on the screen was what looked like a filmed piece of scratch paper that had "INTER VEEL" on it. It was also in that particular theater that Jerry had to keep one eye on the screen and his other eye on the rat that was running around. (We have not been back to that theater.) Bollywood films tend to be 3+ hours, so I understand the need for the break, but there is even a break in a 1.5 hour film. During the interval, the theater staff come filing in with snacks and beverages to purchase - shouting their wares - just like at a sports game in the US. It's kinda funny, but nice, too. No need to go to the snack bar!
7. The movies are censored for extreme violence or sexual content. A violent scene from Angels and Demons was cut and lots of scenes from The Reader were cut. Sometimes when we are deciding whether or not to go see a movie, Jerry asks himself, "Do I just want to wait to watch it on DVD so I can see the entire movie?"
8. Theaters make more money the more showings they have. But here, it is sometimes at the cost of the credits. We have been to several movies where the movie ends, the credits start to roll and then it fades to black so they can get started with the next showing earlier. Is that even legal? And so because there is very little time between film showings, you are not allowed to enter the theater until the film is supposed to start. And sometimes not even until after the start time.
9. A popular movie snack is steamed corn. It comes in a small paper cup and you can add salt, butter or masala (Indian spices). It's quite tasty!
   

And now for an amusing movie story...
One Saturday morning we went the theater for the 10:45am showing of Horton Hears a Who. We got there at 10:30am to get tickets - plenty of time to get seats, snacks, etc since it was a Saturday morning - an unpopular movie-going time. We had double-checked the theater website to make sure the time was right, but when we got to the theater, we found out that the showing had been preponed to 10:15am. So, we were late instead of early! Yup, you read correctly - PREponed. It's a real word here. It's used when something is changed to an earlier time. Makes sense right? If things can be postponed, surely they can be preponed!

Kroger vs HEB

Whoa! It has been over month since I last posted. Gol-ly!

This has nothing to do with transitioning to life in S Asia, but I still wanted to share, since we have been anticipating the opening of the new HEB on Buffalo Speedway, which is in our neighborhood in Houston.

We went to the Grand Opening of HEB Buffalo Market and had a devil of a time finding a parking space. A couple of the reviews I read pointed out the small parking area. I feel sorry for the folks who want to eat at Buffalo Grille, but cannot find parking since they share the same lot. (By the way, we had breakfast at Buffalo Grille last Sunday and the food was WONDERFUL - I had forgotten how much we enjoy that place! Plus, I ran into one of my old students from my very first year of teaching. He is 25 now!! I had him in World History and he commented that it was a good class and I made it fun. I love running into old students!)

Back to HEB. It was fairly crowded and reminded Jerry of a circus atmosphere. There were lots of "stations" to visit. I was very impressed with the varieties of fresh bread, cheeses and meats. There were samples galore - my fav was probably the homemade mozzarella. We had planned to eat lunch at their Cafe on the Run (which was pretty small), but we had enough samples to fill us up.

The weekend before we went to the Kroger across the street that had its grand re-opening to compete with HEB. I was REALLY impressed and wondered how HEB could possible out-do Kroger. The samples were great, including a half-pint of Graeter's ice cream. (Side review: For the price, Ben and Jerry's is better. And for cheaper ice cream, Blue Bell will do for me. It was kinda funny that Blue Bell was on sale 2 half-gallons for $5. Everyone was eating the free Graeter's, but had Blue Bell in their carts!)

Back to Kroger vs. HEB. I thought the calif roll at Kroger was better than the sushi at HEB. Also, I did not like the seafood people at HEB who were shouting for customers to come to their area. It sounded like we were on the midway at a carnival. Also, the sales at Kroger were WAY better, except for the fresh lobster at HEB. See below for price. Kroger has really expanded their prepared food area. I look forward to eating some meals in the new upstairs dining area that overlooks the supermarket when we move back to Houston.

Bottom line - we'll keep doing our regular grocery shopping at Kroger, but if we need specialty items or the HEB flier has an exceptional sale, we will go there.

Competition is always good for the consumer. Here is what we had for lunch the day before we came back to S Asia:

steamed lobster: HEB - 5.99/lb
steamed asparagus: Kroger - .99/lb
bing cherries: Kroger - .99/lb.
mac n cheese mixed with cut up hot dogs - hotdogs were .55 for a 14oz Oscar Meyer at Kroger

P.S. I also ran into an old student at Kroger!