Je Mangerai Des Pâtisseries

For the next week, The Big KL will be known as Le Grand KL, as I head off to Paris for vacation. Chatting with veterans of the Parisian tourist set, I'm persistently warned to watch out for gypsies, who are always seeking foreign pockets to pick. This led me to wonder if Europeans who come to NY for the first time are told the same thing by their amis (French for "friends") , to watch out for agresseurs ("muggers"). So we'll see if my New York know-how can compete with Paris' prestigious pick-pockets. With a little help from my pants with secret pockets in the crotch. (Just kidding. I stopped wearing those after high school.)

Over the next few days before my departure, I'll be brushing up on my accents for the limited French I know (basically, croissant and je ne sais quoi, which I doubt can be used in every day conversation unfortunately), and pretending that I'm Canadian, as I hear they don't particularly favor the Americans over there. Japanese tourist was another option, although the height and the uncanny ability to speak un-accented English may blow my cover.

So au revoir, mes amis, and I'll update with tales and learnings when I return, eh?

K-Fed Found It

This is the apex of stardom. If getting known as the guy who Britney divorced wasn't enough, Mr. Federline has developed his own Search Engine. Move over, Google - now you're searching with K-Fed. Nowhere else can you win Kevin Federline autographed merchandise while simultaneously doing a search for, I dunno... Britney Spears? And nowhere else can you brag that Kevin Federline helped you find a cheap hotel.

Back Out

Signs of The Big KL getting old:

• Grey hair
• Needing sleep within a 24 hour period
  
• Not being able to eat whole pizzas
• Pulling a back muscle while washing The Big KL Mobile

Yes, I could say I was lifting the car with one hand to clean the underside, but in reality, I was just bending down to scrub under the door when I hurt my back. Ever since Sunday night, I've had trouble getting out of bed because I can't lift my torso from a horizontal position without pain. I couldn't put my pants and socks on without anti-gravity yoga positioning and using the wall for leverage. And I nearly missed my train stop because it took a while to maneuver out of my seat when I can only move like an arthritic Sasquatch with a face of pain like I got shanked in my spine.

I'm finding it's not as painful if I keep moving. Motrin, Tylenol, and Advil don't seem to help, but I may start experimenting to see if I can find the right combination. I'm finding that grumbling about it at work to anyone who asks why I keep grimacing is helpful too. Then people offer me drugs, pity, and food. I haven't had to pick up my own lunch for the whole week so far. On second thought, maybe this isn't so bad after all. In fact, I think I'll try to wash the other side of The Big KL Mobile next week...

Mind Game

I heard a reference from a Podcast that a "mind game" is when you play something out in your mind from a video game, such as playing too much Pac-Man, and then walking down the street looking for things to eat. This has been occurring with my late night bouts of Crackdown, where you are a super cop who can leap over tall buildings, crash cars, and throw objects many times your size. After playing this and taking a walk through New York City, you can imagine what must go through my head.

At church this past Sunday, we received on our program, the following image on the cover:

Now during church, I tend to think a lot about little things, and I when I saw this image, the first thing that came to my mind was... Crackdown.

I can't personally find the relationship between fighting crime with rocket launchers and being Christian, but I was reminded of the print ad for said game:

Now I'm not saying these two images are related in any way, except maybe for the savior standing on a rooftop, but just an example of:

a) effective advertising

b) a sign I get too into my games

c) the need to pay better attention at church