OH NO YOU DI'NT

One of the things I've always thought was a perk of living in Europe is the fact that it's a massive no-tip zone. Sort of. Sure I might be selling my firstborn child for a nice steak and potatoes but at least, at the end of the day, nobody's tacking on an extra 15%.

Until now. Anyone who's ever been to Europe (especially eastern Euro) doesn't really need this explained, but in a nutshell, customer service here is... generally terrible. Hungary is no exception. And I'm not trying to get all bitter McGee here but lest we forget, is a tip not generally given in exchange for decent service? Heck, passable service will even earn you, at a  minimum, a cool 10%. Here it seems, people have decided to expect tipping while delivering service along the lines of a look that says I just ruined their day/year/life for wanting a table...

In the immortal prose of Billy Madison, "So sorry to interruuuuupt". All I wanted was some lunch. I'll give you a tip provided I get a drink refill and maybe a smile? One time! Screw it, I don't even want a smile, just no more angry looks! That's all I ask! Why can't we all just pretend to be friends!
When did Hungary decide to jump on this tip bandwagon without doing anything in return?! Maybe a better question is: why hasn't somebody kick them back off the wagon?!
It's just a garbage situation all the way around. Basically, I'm Cleveland and while being given the permanent LeBron treatment, I'm expected to cough up more of my cash on to thank you. 

Whatever. Moving on because that was possibly the most poorly worded rant ever written.

I probably should've said something about this back when it still confused me, but I'm amused by how Hungarians say 'hello' for either hello or good-bye. They have like 384 different ways to say hi/bye but I've gathered 'hello' is treated kinda like ciao... Use it whenever you want! Hello for good-bye still throws me off a little every time because to make it even more fun, a common informal Hungarian hi/bye is 'szia' (which is pronounced "see ya"). This is often said in conjuction with hello. So I walk into practice and I hear "Hello see ya"... And when I leave it's the same drill. I kind of love it.
Speaking of greetings, I'm kind of amused/confused by the habit guys at the gym I work out in have of coming in and before doing anything else, walking around the whole gym to shake hands with every person there. Except any of the women. This isn't just my gym because it's happened at a couple other Hungarian gyms I've worked out at, even in a different city. Obviously it's a politeness thing to acknowledge every person there, whether you know them or not, by shaking hands but where's the love? I'm intermittently glad I don't have to shake hands with 438493 different people over the hour I'm there, and pissed I don't get any acknowledgement. Any Hungarians out there who can clarify this one that'd be great.

Welcome to the Family

After only 6 months of thought, I finally got a dog. Sort of.

Although she's not technically "mine", I'm currently looking after a little wiener dog from a rescue organization in Budapest for the next 3 months. So it's the same thing for now... I finally have a pooch to call my own.The critter's original name was Noemi but since that's a) awkward to say/sounds like a grandma name and b) sounds like we're saying no all the time, we changed it to Nelly. My dad thinks it's a terrible dog name but don't hate.

Obviously I am loving every minute of taking care of the little friend but there are a few bits of information that would've been useful before agreeing to take care of her.
First off, I live on the 3rd floor of my apartment building so taking her out is a delight. Yes, obviously, I knew this before. What I did NOT know what that wiener dogs aren't supposed to walk up or down stairs since it's bad for their backs... So approximately 58 times per day I can be seen carrying this 15 lb. dog up and down multiple flights of stairs. A little bit ridiculous. She also isn't supposed to jump on or off of anything, which is also a bit difficult seeing as how dogs jump on stuff. Again, I knew this. What I didn't know is this dog shows absolutely no remorse whatsoever when reprimanded. Obviously I don't hit her or anything but a stern 'no' does absolutely nothing to dissuade her. She's the only dog I've ever seen whose tail wags harder while being scolded. Good thing she's cute.

I truly believe pet stories are second only to people describing last night's dream in detail on the How-Little-The-Listener-Cares scale so I'll stop soon. But I gotta say, as much as I love Nelly, sometimes find it hard to believe I sort of own a wiener dog. I've always thought they were a bit of a joke of a creature. Like God got bored and threw a rat snout on a badger body, added some floppy ears and called it a dachshund. Every time I look at her I think of that old Simpsons episode with Poochie. Finally, this is neither here nor there, but I was also feeding her a piece of hot dog the other day and just had to take a moment to laugh. I mean it was a wiener dog eating a - ah, forget it.

Behold:

Blue Steel