Sorry I haven't posted anything lately.. my hotel's router got mad at me (probably because I was nmap'ing it.. old habits die hard).
Anyway, the only thing remotely exciting I did was go to the Mall of America. which was pretty boring.
Other than that, I have discovered what a sore back is like. IT SUCKS. I've had a sore back before, but never for more than a day. It's been 4 days of horrible pain, and I haven't enjoyed it at all. Any time I've ever made fun of somebody for having a sore back, I take it back -- it's HORRIBLE. I've been taking pain-killers all weekend, and most of you know how I feel about pain-killers. But it SUCKS.
Anyway, observations about the USA compared to Canada:
- Highways are a lot faster (both speed limits and traffic and the way they're set up)
- Drivers are maniacs, but in a good way -- Canadians tend to drive slower and, somehow, less safely
- Street signs are a lot more explicit -- we have signs that have a P with a line through, and the US has signs that say "No Parking". Intersections here don't typically have signs at them (unless there's something special about them), whereas American intersections pretty much all say "Left turns yield to oncoming traffic" -- which is an implied rule here.
- There are a lot more left-turn priority lights, there aren't many at all here
- People are ugly (seriously! Attractive people (female and male) were few and far between... maybe it was just the area I was in?)
- People are rude -- anybody I tried to strike up conversation with wouldn't return it, I was left with awkward silence so many times. I don't think I had a single conversation with an American.
- Some stuff is way cheaper (gasoline, alcohol, and tobacco), and other stuff is the same price or more expensive (food, electronics)
Some stuff that is different:
- We don't have "Mountain Dew Baja" -- it sucks anyways
- We don't have KFC Buffets here, but we didn't go there anyways
- We don't have Outback Steakhouse -- I wasn't impressed with it
- We don't have "Big 'n Tasty Burgers" at McDonalds. Actually, we do, but they're called "Big Xtra", and they're identical
- We don't have Hardees -- their food is ok
I wouldn't consider the trip either good or bad overall, but it's the first time since i've been grown up that I've been to the US and was a neat experience.