I have been busy trying to re-employ myself, visiting the wave pool (which mocks my beach but is better than the lake), and learning about my new city. I am so glad that I made my move and each and every day I learn something new. Some things surprise me, others dont. But what I have discovered is this: my new reality is that my old reality of Pittsburgh was not a reality at all. Got it? It was a perfect bubble of what I thought Pittsburgh really was. Now, I am learning what it is like to actually live here and my perfect little Pittsburgh bubble had to pop faster than I could scream "JAGOFF!" Am I ready to leave? Not for a million bucks. What I am ready for, however, is to fill you in on what my new life is encountering.
Previous bubble buddy; new reality:
1. Wasps and/or Hornets and/or anything else that flies, buzzes and stings. They are everywhere!! And in mass quantities. Pools, doors, cars, porches, water fountains. You name it, they will be there. Crazy. I think I may introduce some wasp and/or Hornet and/or anthing else that flies, buzzes and stings spray to these folks. It really does work if you use it.
2. Speaking of wasps and/or Hornets and/or anything else that flies, buzzes and stings, there are the oddest bugs up here. They have tons of spiders, flys, beetles and lightening bugs (not sure of their "proper" name) as well as these horribly ugly creatures:
The house centipede. I about flipped my lid when I first encountered one of these coming out of the drain in the bathtub. Thankfully I was still dressed and could scream for backup. After looking them up, I now see that they can sting similar to bees and wasps. Go figure.
3. Heat. Folks were lying when they named Florida the 'Sunshine State.' It is sunnier and hotter here than in Florida. I cant count the amount of times I have heard "Oh you are from Florida so you must be used to this heat, right?" Um, heck no. It is a different kind of heat. One that sizzles your skin like its frying up bacon... and, with no ocean breeze, you can even smell it frying! Horrible. But I am fond of the lovely shade of tan I am turning. Thank you, sun of Pittsburgh. By the way, I cannot wait until fall. Ahh...
4. People. They are nice. I was correct when I said that. They are alot more friendly than those in south Florida. Strangers will have conversations with you, people actually may wave when you drive by, etc. But, I have encountered my fair share of rudeness. Dang it, Pittsburgh, I liked my prior perception. Now I know that rude people have infested all parts of the country. Hip Hip Hooray.
One thing I have noticed is that I find myself being friendlier at times. I contribute this to the fact that I have about a 90% chance of getting a kind, friendly response here vs. a 10% chance in my prior city.
5. When I said you can purchase Steelers stuff everywhere, I wasnt joking. Even in July. I was at the grocery store... Giant Eagle... and after I paid for my groceries and was leaving, look at what I saw:
Need a new purse? How about one of these 'new-for-summer styles':
Raining? Dont forget to pick up an umbrella or poncho:
Then again, I shall not be a traitor. I will keep reminding myself of this so that I do not fall under the spell of Pittsburghers' black and yellow brainwashing!
6. Learning my way around has not been as difficult as I thought it would be. Thus far, I have not gotten lost. I can say, though, that having a car with a large hood makes it difficult to see as you are going around curves that are going uphill. It makes it feel like my car and I shall be dropping off into the unknown on the other side. Scary, but fun.
Thats about it for now... more to come as my new reality forms itself...
Sees ya!
"Im one of those regular weird people" ~ Janis Joplin
No comments:
Post a Comment