ridiculous – Page 4 of 6 – Rasmenian detritus

Annoying Americans, Volume 4 – Expat Bloggers

October 30, 2009November 23, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

American expat bloggers... well, yeah - it's true that with my little blue passport, Wordpress account & carte de séjour, I meet all of the criteria. But, just wait... hold back your fist-pumping, cries of "hypocrite!" for just a moment. I might get around to making a point... eventually. Before I moved to France, I spent a great deal of time scouring the internet for information on the place that was to be my new home. It was a big move, going from Loveland, Colorado to Paris, France. I was planning to get married to a French man soon after my arrival - I was nervous, excited, stressed-out & elated. I was doing this alone, with only my faithful feline sidekick.Even though I had already been to France a couple of times already, I wanted to find as much information as I could, so that I could get a clearer picture of what in the hell I was getting myself into. Some...

Camping in Sweden: Bork, Bork… Quack!

August 14, 2009December 2, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

Entering Sweden and making our way to Malmö was pretty uneventful. I was still battling the sickness I had acquired during the night that we had spent camping in Germany. We weren't planning on doing much of anything in Sweden, other than relaxing and spending a night in our tent before heading back to Germany. We didn't foresee any problems. We didn't foresee any weirdness. Rest. Dinner. Sleep. Breakfast. Should be easy. We arrived at the Malmö Camping & Ferie Center and went into the office. It was the usual thing: the guy showed us a map, pointed out places to pitch a tent and where to pee. Good enough. So, we were ready to pay. "You also have to buy the camping card," campground employee guy informed us. "A camping card? What's a camping card and why do we have to buy it?" He looked at the two of us as though we might be completely daft. We looked at him as though he might've been drunk....

24 Hours, 4 Meals, 2 Countries & 1 Pharmacy

July 17, 2009December 2, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

When Olivier and I woke up in our hotel room in Breda, we couldn't focus on much except for breakfast. Here's the thing about breakfast: each time I leave France, I get all worked up and dizzy about what this new place will be serving for the first meal of the day.I judge a country based on its breakfast. Sure, there are other small, less important factors that affect my opinion of a place: the booze, the people, the sights... but, these are all nothing compared to the importance of what food a country starts its day with.France, I love you, but a croissant and a cup of coffee just doesn't cut it for me. This is a snack. Fail.Holland, on the other hand... they have their shit together in this area. There was fruit, cereal, plates of meat and cheese... yogurt, juice, coffee, pastries and a variety of bread. A chubby woman with an absurdly sincere grin brought me...

Fear & Loathing in Breda

July 6, 2009December 2, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

Between Belgium and Germany, Olivier and I decided that it was absolutely necessary that we spend at least one night in the Netherlands. We ended up spending the night in Breda, between Rotterdam and Antwerp.When we arrived at our hotel room, it was an oven full of stagnant air, little soaps and disposable plastic cups. We had spent the first half of the day broiling inside of our car. We needed a cool place... a comfortable place.We needed a place that would fully let us appreciate the Netherlands.We needed a coffee shop.Within walking distance of our hotel was a place called 'The Cat'. We got inside, went up to the counter and placed an order: 2 cups of hot tea and 5 grams of Super Skunk.After a few minutes, I realized that I was still sweating and that I had been sweating for the entire day. I asked Olivier, "Why is it that we ordered fucking hot tea?""Uh... I don't...

The Cats, Cannonballs & Demon Babies of Lille

June 17, 2009December 18, 2018 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

Wow. How long has it been since I've written something on this damn site?Eh... who cares.Here's the thing: since I've spent the past month on vacation, all of my writing - until today - has been done with paper and pen. Sometimes in rented rooms, in a tent, or in a moving car through varying degrees of inebriation, exhaustion or sickness.It's been a long, strange and tiring trip. It's also been a very cool trip. Olivier and I are still living in a bit of disarray what with all of the packing and unpacking and the bit of neglect that our house has endured while we were off running amok.We're exercising again every day, which we didn't do for a month. No, instead, we were eating everything that we normally wouldn't, on top of everything that we normally would. We're now fattened up and greasy. Exercise has once again become painful.The suffering is worth it.Like any journey, ours started at...

The Minutiae of Carniverous Plants & Road Trips

May 17, 2009November 23, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

"I think writers need windows on a view to remind them that a whole world is out there, not the minutiae with which they might be dealing on a close scale." - Anne McCaffrey.It just occurred to me that it has been a little while since I've posted anything here.Of course, that isn't because I've run out of things to say - I've actually got a list of topics sitting next to me that I'll be bitching about in the future, but the thing is... I just don't feel like it right now.I don't read many other blogs. The reason being, I can't stand to read about the minutiae of other people's lives. I admit, I just don't fucking care. Blogs written by new mothers about each time their brand new larvae shits, blogs supposedly written by someone's fucking cat or anything written by someone who has absolutely nothing to say, but just needs attention from strangers on...