It's 8:30 a.m., and...

...I've already been awake for FIVE HOURS!!!

Yes, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. I realized that falling back to sleep was futile, so I just read until Jo Mama got up.

Isn't jet lag a wonderful thing?

The flight over The Pond went well. I'm happy to report that I was not seated next to a completely insane person like I have been on past trips. We arrived in Chicago exactly on time, I was not hassled by immigration, and my checked bag (empty suitcase for bringing stuff back) made it too.

Nothing too exciting yet. Last night: a nice Reuben sandwich for dinner. This morning: a free cup of coffee at Starbucks (coupon in yesterday's paper), and a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts for a box of 50 Munchkins for the nieces and nephew so that they'd all go to school completely jacked-up on sugar.

Later this morning, after picking up my rental car, I'll be going to the post office to mail our tax returns - one day late. I guess I didn't feel like standing in line at the post office yesterday afternoon with all the last minute filers. Actually, the return is not late since we have an extension until October 15th. However, the extra taxes we have to pay (a little over $100) were supposed to be paid by yesterday.

Dear Uncle Sam: Let me know if you want me to pay the interest on the amount we owe. What would that come out to? Something like...oh...2 cents?

Frenchifying The Finns...

It was Saturday morning, and we were sitting in the Starbucks right by our hotel on Rue de Berri when...

OK...don't give me any grief! It was convenient, quick, and...hey...we like Starbucks!

Oh...and by the way...

Starbucks is more expensive IN BASEL than it is in Paris!!! Why is that?

Anyway...

I looked out the window, and I saw a familiar logo on the van parked across the street: the logo for a Finnish company called Kone. I looked at it, sipped some coffee, looked at it again...

Something just wasn't right.

Then...it hit me! The French have added an accent over the "e".

Sacre bleu!!!

TBF Alarm!

As I said before, we arrived in Chicago on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning, I woke up at 3:20 a.m. - I'm not really sure why, but it seems that I always wake up at the exact same time my first morning in Chicago. I tried to fall back to sleep, but I knew after fifteen minutes of lying in bed wide-awake that it was hopeless. So, I just got up, made myself some coffee, and read until about 6:00 a.m. At 6:00, I was tired of drinking coffee and reading magazines, so I woke up Mrs. TBF and we went to the grocery store to buy a few essentials like bacon and Fritos.

By the way...I made Mrs. TBF drive so that she could get in some practice!

We got to the store at around 7:00 a.m. The first thing we did was buy a couple of coffees at the in-store Starbucks from a lady who seemed to have already had about fifteen cups herself. Then, we proceeded to walk through every aisle of the store just looking at the multitude of "low trans fat" products and products containing "antioxidants". Who knew that you could buy Coca Cola with either vitamins or anti-oxidants? Wait a second...

Doesn't caffeine impede the absorption of vitamins?

...thought so.

I immediately realized I was going to have a problem when Mrs. TBF said that she wanted to push the shopping cart. You see, the problem was that Mrs. TBF was going to be pushing the cart with one hand and holding her coffee in the other. As you may recall, I don't really like having to carry my own stuff so I was kind of getting myself psyched up to carry that hot cup of coffee myself when I noticed that (luckily!) our shopping cart had a special Starbucks cup holder.

I'm not sure how I would have coped without it!

Serenity NOW!

What could be more peaceful than a Japanese tea house? Aaaahhh...the way the house compliments its natural surroundings; the sounds of birds singing their cheerful songs; the leaves rustling in the wind; the dragonflies flitting across the pond. Just find a couple of chairs on the deck (or sit inside on the floor), feel the warm autumn sun against your face, and sip some of that incredibly aromatic jasmine tea. Yes...just leave the modern-day world, and all your cares and troubles, behind. Just you...nature...and the tea. Give in...to the power...of...the..........tea.

DOH!

Maybe a tea house outside of Tokyo would be a better choice.

Well, there's always Starbucks!