Fabulously Broke in the City

A Typical Conversation with my Mom

Mom: I don’t understand what Justin Bieber is supposed to be.

FB: Me neither, Mom.

My mom also can’t understand computers or any technical subjects like math, for instance, and whenever she has anything to do online or to calculate, she ropes in one of her more technologically-inclined children.

I told her she should look at an iPad, and she told me she didn’t understand what an iPad was, and asked if it was a new form of a computer.

I told her it was pretty much like an easy-to-use computer that you use with your hands, touching the screen.

Her only reply?

“But what would I ever want to do on there?

I only like to work, cook, eat or watch The Bachelor.”

Well said, Mom!

She also told me the first time she ever saw a computer was in the 1970s and all she was told was that it was for “word processing”, which made her even more confused, because how could you process words?

Now that she has a laptop (donated by yours truly & BF),  she says it drives her mad to use it because she has to click here, click there and then suddenly everything is gone and she doesn’t know why.

She also says she has a brain of a monkey; she doesn’t like to read and cannot understand films, because she’s lost after 10 minutes and has to start all over again.

She said the only thing she can read other than children’s books is Reader’s Digest, so I am buying her a year’s subscription to it as a gift.

If she really keeps up on reading it, and likes it.. I’ll continue paying for it as a lifelong gift, along with a pair of reading glasses when I pop back to see them the next time.

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COMMENTS: 2 Comments

It sure doesn’t pay to be ethical sometimes, but I sleep better at night

Via a tax re-assessment, I was supposed to get back a chunk of money from my taxes, around $1000.

“Woo hoo!”, I thought.

But reading the explanation sort of made my scratch my head, because it didn’t make sense.

I had a feeling they made a mistake without enough or the right information, so I called them to find out how they came to my getting a refund, because the numbers just didn’t add up, and I wanted details.

Turns out, I missed filing one document out of the 50 or so in French & English (hah!)

So I started the processing of redoing all my calculations and re-assessing myself.

As I went through the whole process I realized that I might be owing them money in the end.

At this point, I still had the choice to pretend this never happened and file it properly next year, but I hated the thought of lying.

So here I am, filling out 5 different forms, writing a very “I’m so sorry!” letter to the agency, and asking them to re-assess my credit and to ask them to re-check their numbers in case I owe them money.

Bonkers, right?

When they got the papers, they must have thought I was mad, because who in the world asks them: “Are you SURE I’m supposed to get a tax refund? I think I owe YOU more money because I forgot something.

Crazy, some might say. But ethical, even if they would have never found the mistake in a million, billion years.

And now I can sleep at night without having to worry about this, because the bottom line is that it is not worth the cash to compromise yourself.

I can always make more money, but I can’t take back unethical decisions.

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COMMENTS: 5 Comments

Paris Update #2: Having a somewhat better time

So for an update on the bug bites, they have stopped itching like chickenpox for the most part, although some flare up from time to time on my knuckles, but I still have the nasty red spots ALL over my face and arms.

I’m sticking to wearing a Tilley hat and long sleeved clothing (*sighs at all of her lovely summer clothing that shall remain unpacked*) and not taking any chances.

What a horrid start to what was supposed to be a good trip. I told BF it was an omen.

I left Paris!

..and went to Lyon for 2 days.

I adore Lyon, France much more than Paris.

For one thing, they have the most amazing chocolates from Voisin (pictures to follow in later posts), the people there are less stressed, it’s in the countryside, and we stayed with the NICEST family with the cutest kids.

I of course, practiced my French the whole time. When I wasn’t tired, I was fluent … but as the night wore on, I “lost my French” so to speak :)

I also went to the largest mall in Europe.. which felt like the size of the Eaton’s Centre in Toronto, so being a snobby mall-frequenting North American, I wasn’t too impressed. ;)

While I am starting to really dislike Paris on the whole, but there are (of course) many things I do enjoy here. I will start gathering my thoughts for a mini Guide to Paris for any North American who wants to travel there and stay.

I am hoping London, England will be better… but so far for me, Portugal ranks as a better country to live and work in, than France.

Of course, I am talking from the perspective of someone who is a middle-class, working  girl who takes public transit and likes to shop on occasion; if I were a millionaire many times over, ANY city would be amazing.

Hope everyone is staying bite-and-itch free, and having a great time wherever you all are.

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Blondes versus Brunettes: The war of hair colours

Note: Please don’t get your panties in a twist reading this.

This is just for fun, and not to start a discussion about hair colour-ism or whatever -ism ish you want to call it.

MYTH: Blondes are more likely to fight for their rights

The Times claimed that natural or dyed, blondes are fighters.

Researchers claim that they are more likely to display a “warlike” streak because they attract more attention than other women and are used to getting their own way.

“What we did not expect to find was how much more warlike they are than their peers on campus.”

It showed that blondes were more likely to be treated better than other women and were more willing to “go to war”.

However, they were less likely than brunettes or redheads to get into a fight themselves – possibly to ensure they preserved their looks.

The research did confirm one theory: when male students were asked to rate the attractiveness of their female counterparts, blondes gained the highest scores.

I’m taking that last sentence with a grain of salt because the study was conducted in southern California, and I read this article here that states the study was never published.

Quote from the author: I have never done any research that shows blondes are more aggressive, entitled, angry or ‘warlike’ than brunette or redheads.” In fact, when the author did break his data down by hair color in actually showed the opposite effect! Apparently the Times Online were sloppy fact checkers, to say the least.

“We expected blondes to feel more entitled than other young women – this is southern California, the natural habitat of the privileged blonde”

But these statistics from a 3000-women study hold true:

  • 1 in 7 women who changed their hair colour, felt more attractive, mostly when brunettes go blonde and not the other way around
  • 40% hated their natural shade
  • Almost 50% said they couldn’t imagine not having coloured hair
  • 15% couldn’t even remember what their original hair colour was!
  • ..and they usually start dying their hair at the age of 20
  • …while trying 4 different shades in their lifetime

Blondes turning to dying their hair brown to be taken more seriously

Like Miss Scarlett here.

One in three women with light-coloured hair has dyed their hair a darker shade at a time when companies are in the midst of laying off people from the recession.

“The study shows brunettes do seem to be taken more seriously in the work place which is causing a rise in fair headed women darkening their locks.

“It’s incredible how changing your hair colour can alter people’s perception of you as well as making you feel more confident too.”


  • 62% of people think brunettes look more professional than blondes in the workplace
  • 31% of blonde women go brunette to look more intelligent in the office
  • 38% of blonde women believe their hair colour has held them back career-wise
  • …and probably the same 38% believes it has paid off, as they are now taken more seriously
  • 25% of women in a survey of 2,500 women have been given a promotion

And how does hair colour play out in their sex lives?

Redheads, you are going to love this!

Researchers found red heads have the most sex – enjoying a romp three times a week, compared to twice a week for brunettes.


  • 76% of people think brunettes are the most intelligent women
  • 25% of men rated them as the most confident lovers
  • Blondes are the most sexually adventurous, with 25% saying they’re open to trying new things
  • 1 in 5 blondes has had sex in a field
  • 1 in 20 blondes has admitted to having sex on a train
  • Blondes are also most likely to have a one-night stand with 65% of blondes admitting to sleeping with someone and not seeing them again
  • Brunettes are the least likely to have a one-off fling, with less than 50% saying they’ve had one

And in relationships?

  • 44% of women with black (raven) locks, are most likely to be unfaithful
  • …versus 33% of blondes
  • 71% of men saying they prefer women with darker hair for long-term relationships
  • 20% of brunettes have had 5 or more relationships versus 13% of blondes
  • 44% of those with natural or dyed hair said their colour was the reason for their success
  • …while 10% of blondes responded the same

It’s also been shown that Brunettes (seem) to earn more money


“Some hair colours tend to darken naturally with age and so brown hair can be associated with confidence and self awareness,” she said.

“Therefore many women who become brunettes often report a difference in reaction to them – for the better.”

  • More than twice as many brown haired women are in jobs paying between £45,000 and £55,000 than blondes or redheads
  • Brunettes earn on average, £4,250 more a year than those who are blonde
  • 81% of those surveyed by Garnier, named brunettes as the most genuine
  • 76% said brunettes were the most intelligent
  • ..and 66% called them the least moodiest

So how are we going to solve this debate?

Don’t worry, the French are on it, because the Sorbonne is going to study whether blondes are really preferred by men

Marilyn Monroe, the ultimate blonde bombshell

No really.

Leave it to the French. :)

“Why does the blonde exert such fascination and awaken so many fantasies?”

“Blondness awakens desire, probably because of the ambivalence it carries, from innocence to perversion, ” said organiser Marie-Camille Bouchindomme.

While she refused to second-guess the conference’s conclusions, Miss Bouchindomme, herself a brunette, said that there was no doubt that fair hair and desire were inextricably linked.

The great French poet Charles Baudelaire offered the “definitive link between blondness and desire,” she said, when he wrote: “La femme doit être dorée pour être adorée’ (Woman must become golden to be adored).”

“Blonde women seem to invite transgression, and thus erotism,” she added.

Saucy.

Sources:

Note to all redheads out there: I am sorry I couldn’t find more!

Other than the extra sex per week thing, I couldn’t find much evidence talking about redheads at all.

All I had was Blondes versus Brunettes, but trust me, I find redheads extremely striking as there aren’t many of you out there!

The closest article I found dealing with redheads specifically, was one about how sensitive you are to pain. Thanks, @sheisbliss!

Read: The Pain of Being a Redhead

Researchers believe redheads are more sensitive to pain because of a mutation in a gene that affects hair color.

In people with brown, black and blond hair, the gene, for the melanocortin-1 receptor, produces melanin.

But a mutation in the MC1R gene results in the production of a substance called pheomelanin that results in red hair and fair skin.

The MC1R gene belongs to a family of receptors that include pain receptors in the brain, and as a result, a mutation in the gene appears to influence the body’s sensitivity to pain.

A 2004 study showed that redheads require, on average, about 20 percent more general anesthesia than people with dark hair or blond coloring.

And in 2005, researchers found that redheads are more resistant to the effects of local anesthesia, such as the numbing drugs used by dentists.

So, what’s your hair colour (natural or dyed)? And do the findings hold ANY weight?

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Life before Google

Honestly, it’s amazing how much I use Google on a daily basis without thinking.

“Where is that nearest bank?”

Google it.

“Where can I buy _____?”

Google it.

“What is the population of China?”

Google it.

(P.S. it’s ~1.3 billion)

Whatever would we do without Google? :)

If we needed to know where the nearest bank branch was, we’d have to actually have to find the number and call our bank and ask.

The horror!

If we wanted to know where to buy a certain product, we’d have to ask our friends, family, clerks at a store, or call the company themselves.

We’d have to use an actual phone book to look up numbers.

If we needed information on the population of China, or a quick fact, we would have to get up off our butts, go to a library and look for a book on China or with population statistics around the world.

I would have never be able to:

  • find my way around a city using Google Maps (public transportation or otherwise)
  • figured out what a place looked like using Street View to help
  • log all my emails and label them neatly (I’d still be on Hotmail) with Gmail
  • set up a “Google Alert” for keywords
  • watch endless videos on YouTube and share the love with others
  • use Google Reader to see what other people like & favourited

What about you?

How has and does Google improve or changed your life?

(For better or for worse!)

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