It is very likely that this new blog will have some customization. I will keep you all updated !

I like to listen to Oui FM, but since the normal programmation is back, some jackasses are making noise between 9pm and 12pm, just from 12 to 3pm for me.

During that time, I switch to kRock. You have to go through a software installation to listen to it though. They have good music : charts, but also Metallica, Offspring, and even some Manson songs. You don’t hear half of the lyrics because of the censoring system (this is actually part of the fun).

I got my written driving test at the first try !

I only got two errors.

I arrived at the DMV office in San Jose. There was like 50 people there, musing around the counters. There was something like 25 counters, and you had to wait with a number you had.

It all went very smooth, since the DMV officer was very nice. There was no problem to register me in the system, since I have a Social Security Number. I had my picture taken and my thumb print was recorded too. Standard procedures.

The pencil is thhe affair of five to ten minutes, with 40 questions. You are given a pencil and you have a box to have some privacy. You are not limited in time and you can take the test in your mother tongue – I did not take chances and took mine in French.

At the last minute, as the officer just announced me I had passed, he could not go further in the registration process, since my visa is a tourist visa.

I am registered in the system now – so if I come back to the US, I will just have to pass by and get my driving license.

There is still a driving test to pass too -I will have to take it then…

I was very impressed by the general impression the village gives. It was like coming back to Vauville. We had a coffee at a coffee place just facing the beach. It was so peaceful I actually tried to coax Cecile into renting an appartment just there.

While the whole peninsula has a mediterranean-like climate, this portion of coast is always cloudy and foggy. It’s said people get depressed quite quickly down here.

A Driver’s license

A credit card.

If you ever plan to live in the US, you will have to go through this.

The driver’s license is pretty important in California. First you may enter bars with it, which is not always the case with our old rubbish french ID. You may also enter casinos, and it will allow you to open accounts, beneficiate from retails using store cards, etc.

Now how to get it ? You have to address the Department of Motorized Vehicles, DMV.

You have to go (amongst other things) through a practical examination, and a theoritical examination. There is a very useful handbook for the last one.

How about the credit card ?

The credit card is quite different from what we mean in France. In the US, a credit card is actually used to make a credit, ie you expense some money that is not yours. The monthly rate for your debts is 19 %. A lot of people in Anerica leave by paying their credit cards’rates.

There is a big limitation to have a credit card. You need to have an address in the US. Guess what ? Most landlords will ask you for your credit history if you want to live somewhere.

It was finally published in the Official Journal – which means it is now applicable.

And those are bad news concerning some dreams – interoperability is not anymore concerned by the law, P2P is forbidden even for legal use.

The french government has just not found a solution to the problem – and elections are too near to think of something better.

Here is a full report by Maitre Eolas.

There are traffic jams every day.

The main difference is that people don’t whine and don’t use their horns like parisians do.

I have to admit I’m not used to this yet.

Nice bike !

I used the jogging machine for 45 minutes. You feel like a hamster in his cage, running in his wheel. But this relaxed me a lot.

Today I am beginning to really enter into the visa’s discussions. Lots of forms, photocopies and so on.

Yesterday we went sightseeing San Francisco, on the princess’s request, had lunch of Clam Chowder and hot dog on Pier 39. Guess who took what.

Guess too who’s burned once again now ? Sun is tough here, much to Cecile’s happiness.

We spent the evening with Patty, the last roomate who didn’t fly to France for Huggy and Leti’s wedding. Had a wonderful dinner at Nola , and Cecile was delighted when she discovered the Cheesecake Factory. I will do everything humanly possible to keep her away from this hell hole stuffed with wiped cream

well, it’s Sunday morning here and we’re thinking about going to Safeway to buy some food.

We have to examine the different possibilities to open a bank account for Cecile.

Some more stuff to do… more on my next post on how to walk your first steps in America.