Driving test, drive through banks, & movies

Aced my state driving test today. I had to sit a 25 question written test, a road sign test, have my eyes tested, & then take a practical driving test. You start off with 100 points & these are taken off if you make an error - I didn't, & still had 100 points at the end of the test! It is much quicker than the UK test as well. It took me less than 2 hours from start to finish & although I booked an appointment, this is quite unusual as it is a walk in service (with no waiting list).

Used a drive-through bank the other day. The ATMs are positioned such that you just drive up & get your money without even having to get out of your car!

Going to watch a film at the Des Peres cinema tomorrow morning. I was given the ticket by the estate agents that I used to buy my house - they are having a customer appreciation day.

After that, I'll go to my house & spend the rest of the weekend decorating.

St Louis Auto Show 2006

Went to the 2006 St Louis Auto Show this evening with Sally from work. The show is held at the American Centre & Edward Jones Dome which is just across the road from the office & about a 5 minute walk from my appartment. The dome was carpeted & full with cars with practically no signs of the American football pitch that normally calls the dome home! The show is a smaller version of the North American International Auto Show that was held in Detroit a couple of weeks ago. There were loads of really cool cars there with a surprising large number of familiar makes & models, but in alot of cases the cars weren't the same as in the UK. Although the new Challenger & Camaro concepts weren't at the show (shame!) Chrysler debued the new Imperial - a seriously cool, huge luxury car that reminded me of a larger version of the new Rolls Royce!

Filling up the garage

After owning my new house for only 5 days I have already half filled the garage! Guess I'd better start thinking about an extension!

The Perfect Fridge

I have a perfect fridge - well almost. A couple of pizzas to compliment the beer & it will be ready!

Spent the weekend at the house decorating. Steve, & Sally from work helped out - thanks guys! After we finished on Saturday, we went to a Vietnamese restaurant close to where Sally lives. The area has quite a few restaurants & looks a bit more like what you would expect a city to be at night - i.e. people out & about, & lots of places open.

More decorating on Sunday - had lunch at Culver's which is a burger bar at bit like McDonald's but not so commercialised. As well as burgers they also do sandwiches, salads & frozen custard deserts that include sundaes & really yummy looking cakes covered in chocolate & candy bars. As with most of the US burger chains, your food is cooked to order, but here it is brought to your table.

House buying & Popcorn

I have just bought a house! It is in a place called Fenton which is about 20 miles from downtown St Louis. It is close to a school & there is a new 'strip mall' (like a retail park in the UK but larger) not that far away. It is a 3-bedroom ranch style property with a finished basement & an attached, oversized, double garage. Now all I have to do is work out what to fill it with - Dodge Charger, Ford Mustang, Plymouth Roadrunner, Ford Galaxy, Mercury Cougar, Ford Edsel, '57 Chevrolet, or maybe one of each!

Went to City Grocers this evening (which is opposite Phil & Steve's appartment) to get some curry sauce. Bought some popcorn whilst I was there, but instead of being sweet or salty it is white cheese flavoured. Imagine 'Wotsit' flavoured popcorn & you're pretty much there - tasty!

State Farms Championships

Went to the State Farms National Ice Skating Championships over the weekend at the Savvis Centre. Skaters came from all over the nation & the event was used as the trials for the Winter Olympics. Saw the men's finals in the afternoon & then watched the women's finals in the evening.

Back in the US

I'm now back in the US after going home to the UK to spend Christmas & the New Year with my family. My first Friday afternoon was spent having a second look at a house that we are hoping to buy & after I had done this I drove north up to St Charles County to visit Fastlane. This is a car dealership that specialises in hot rods & muscle cars. There are two indoor showrooms & a gift shop. Talk about a kid in a candy shop - I would settle for any of the cars there, but would prefer all of them!!