In other news ...

Pennsylvania ('s budget) is a month late. Maybe Eddie Rendell should take her for a pregnancy test. Oh wait, there's no money to pay for it. Seriously though, that situation is pretty ridiculous. The fact that they've been stuck over the same issues for months and made little to no progress makes it all the worst. With major employers threatening to leave the state, they shouldn't even be considering raising taxes. You can raise taxes all you want, but if no one has a job, no one is going to be paying them no matter what level you set.

Now that I'm closer to leaving, posts should start to come more frequently. This past week was spent gathering what I want to take with me and getting rid of stuff that I don't want anymore. I went through my closet and found a bunch of old T-shirts that are too large. I pulled them out and will donate them to the Salvation Army. This morning I went bought a new suit and a couple of neckties.

I've been spending sometime researching bank accounts. I had heard that opening a bank account can be a problem since you have no proof of address. Apparently, there are a couple of banks, like Barclays and Lloyds, that don't require you to prove your UK address. They are willing to accept proof of your old address in America. That's good news and its one less thing to worry about. I've also heard recently that most landlords are more flexible for people just arriving with no history of credit in the UK.

McDonald's follow up

As a follow up to the previous post, I'd like to share what I call the trailer park combo. It consists of

• Double Hamburger
• Small French Fries
• Large Soda

Right now the cost of this meal is $3 since all sodas are currently $1. Compare this to the quarter pounder value meal which is easily $2.50 more, almost twice as much, and only comes with a medium soda.

I also found this interesting McDonald's blog. The guy happens to be from Upstate New York

McChronicles

Where did the menu go?

I've recently noted a worrying trend, the lack of menus in fast food restaurants. I first saw this in a McDonalds on the high street in Kirkcaldy, Scotland (the one across the street from the house that Adam Smith was born in). The place had menu boards above the counter, but they only had the promos they were running and the combos. They did not have the individual items you could order. Even worse, I was in a Burger King that was serving breakfast but only had lunch menus up. I had to order by guessing what they would have based on a vague recollection of what an American Burger King would serve. They also didn't have trash cans but that's another story.

At first, I thought that it must be a UK thing, but I was at a McDonalds today in Pennsylvania and they also had this menu boards that really don't tell you anything. It didn't even have the dollar menu. How do they expect you to know what they have and how much it costs? Its a heck of a thing if you wanted to order something other than a hamburger combo. I can't image how this helps their business. What's the point of selling items if you don't let people know that you're selling them?

As a side note, there's been a gap between my posts since a bunch of stuff came up that complicated my visa. This move looks like it going to be a pretty frantic one.

Silhouette

When I was in Florida the other week, my brother and I had a silhouette done of the two of us. It was done complety freehand with just a pair of scissors. I thought that it turned out pretty well, at least for me. Not sure about how my brother looks.

I'm in the front and my brother is in the back

Vacation Observations

I spent this past week in Florida with my family on vacation. Here are some random observations:

Since when did really fat people start to ride those motorized wheelchairs normally reserved for old people? If you're 30 years old and so fat that you can't walk, maybe visiting theme parks should be a little lower on your priority list and losing a hundred pound or so a little higher. Just a suggestion. Letting people ride around and never have to walk is just giving them a license to be as fat as they want with less of the consequences. At least old people are considerate when driving their scooters.

At the same time, people with strollers aren’t much better. They start and stop walking without warning and cut others off left and right. People should really think twice about where they take their really young kids. Do you think that you have to push your two year old child on a hundred degree day through large crowds? The kid isn’t going to enjoy where ever you’re taking them and it’s not like they’re going to remember it anyway. All you’re going to do is punish yourself by having to lug the stroller around all day and irritate the people who have to walk around you.

When I went to Disney World when I was around seven years old, my family had a late dinner reservation at the restaurant in the castle at the Magic Kingdom. By the time we were done eating, the park had been closed for a while. It was completely empty. We got to walk down the main street with no one else around. It was pretty cool to be able to see the park all lit up at night while it was empty.

LSATs on Monday

On Monday, I'm traveling to Lancaster to take the LSATs, which is kind of a pain. You would figure that living outside the city that is the state capital you would have something closer. Instead I'm going to have to drive an hour and then take the test. At least its being given in the afternoon and not in the morning like it normally is. I'll be glad when this is done. Preparing for the test has not been particularly fun. At least after this I'll be free until I have to start seriously packing.

As for my visa status, it arrived at the LA consulate on Monday. I'm guessing that it will probably take another week before I hear back. I've heard that they normally send an email confirming that they have received your stuff. Since I didn't get one, it possible that my passport will show up with the visa in it any day. Hopefully it won't come while I'm away on vacation.

Application Received in LA