Saturday, August 31, 2013
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Friday, August 9, 2013
The weather, the stove, the bugs, and other things that confuse me about this state.
Obviously, relocating to another part of the country is going to bring some major changes. So let's go over them, shall we?
The weather. Okay, I get it. It's "tornado alley", the storm shelter is at the YMCA which is right down the road, mattress over the bathtub kind of thing. Silent lightning storms, hail, rain, wind, whatever. What I don't understand is how a location that experiences this type of weather, also has subpar weathermen. It's commonly known in NY/NJ that you just don't put your trust in these people. They say its going to rain, and it doesn't. They say its going to be 95 and sunny, so you go to the beach only to be freezing and using your cold hands as a shield from the rain. They suck. But you'd think that in a location like this, you'd have people who know what they are doing. I'm not knocking them all down by any means.. but lets just discuss something that happened yesterday. Why was there a "Severe thunderstorm warning" claiming to have "ping pong ball sized hail, winds exceeding 60 mph" and an alert to just "Stay in a sturdy building until storm has passed", when it reality, there was a drizzle of rain, coming down at the rate of a salivating dog, two claps of thunder which could have been mistaken for the people upstairs moving furniture, and lightning the strengths of a bulb burning out. Needless to say, there was no storm. So why all the drama? Save the drama for your mama. Or, I guess out here... save the drama for your llama. (Do they have llama's here? Probably not... if they do, I need to know when visiting hours are, because I must pet a llama.)
The stove- the stove is still the spawn of satan. No update there.
The bugs- "Lets take two of Rachel's biggest fears (tornadoes and bugs) and put them in the same location where she will be living for 6 months." -The Stove aka: spawn of satan. The bugs are mostly dead on the sidewalk. I assume from dehydration or excessive heat, or just a physical meltdown. Whatever the case, I don't care if they are dead or alive. I don't want to see bugs the size of my palm. That's not right. That's mutant. Why couldn't they have missed the Ark and been washed away to sea.
The nice-ness- Really really nice. Everyone. No matter what. It's weird. If you ask any employee for an item in any store... they walk you to it. Every cashier has a conversation with you. I've been here for three weeks and haven't heard a car horn once. Nope, not once. Is it possible to drive anywhere in New Jersey with out hearing a car horn? Today at the store, I waited an excessive amount of time for a simple thing to be done. So did others around me. And while I was getting a bit antsy, no one else was. They were calm and happy and not one person gave the cashier attitude. If this was back home, that poor cashier would have had an angry mob formed at this register completed with fire and pitch forks, he'd be fired, and then probably put into witness protection program just incase any customer tried to get revenge on wasting 30 minutes of their precious time.
Lack of cellphone use- No one is ever on their cellphones. Not speaking on the phone and not playing on their phone when in any public location. I on the other hand, am always holding my phone. Whether I'm tweeting about something, checking my e-mail, or reading articles on CNN while waiting in line, I'm always the only person with their phone in hand. Maybe I'll try that whole, "socialize" "don't always be on your phone" thing.... Or maybe not.
Per request of one avid blog reader (my mother.) here are some more pictures taken today:
^ New addition to the living room... something Mike bought in Tokyo
The weather. Okay, I get it. It's "tornado alley", the storm shelter is at the YMCA which is right down the road, mattress over the bathtub kind of thing. Silent lightning storms, hail, rain, wind, whatever. What I don't understand is how a location that experiences this type of weather, also has subpar weathermen. It's commonly known in NY/NJ that you just don't put your trust in these people. They say its going to rain, and it doesn't. They say its going to be 95 and sunny, so you go to the beach only to be freezing and using your cold hands as a shield from the rain. They suck. But you'd think that in a location like this, you'd have people who know what they are doing. I'm not knocking them all down by any means.. but lets just discuss something that happened yesterday. Why was there a "Severe thunderstorm warning" claiming to have "ping pong ball sized hail, winds exceeding 60 mph" and an alert to just "Stay in a sturdy building until storm has passed", when it reality, there was a drizzle of rain, coming down at the rate of a salivating dog, two claps of thunder which could have been mistaken for the people upstairs moving furniture, and lightning the strengths of a bulb burning out. Needless to say, there was no storm. So why all the drama? Save the drama for your mama. Or, I guess out here... save the drama for your llama. (Do they have llama's here? Probably not... if they do, I need to know when visiting hours are, because I must pet a llama.)
The stove- the stove is still the spawn of satan. No update there.
The bugs- "Lets take two of Rachel's biggest fears (tornadoes and bugs) and put them in the same location where she will be living for 6 months." -The Stove aka: spawn of satan. The bugs are mostly dead on the sidewalk. I assume from dehydration or excessive heat, or just a physical meltdown. Whatever the case, I don't care if they are dead or alive. I don't want to see bugs the size of my palm. That's not right. That's mutant. Why couldn't they have missed the Ark and been washed away to sea.
The nice-ness- Really really nice. Everyone. No matter what. It's weird. If you ask any employee for an item in any store... they walk you to it. Every cashier has a conversation with you. I've been here for three weeks and haven't heard a car horn once. Nope, not once. Is it possible to drive anywhere in New Jersey with out hearing a car horn? Today at the store, I waited an excessive amount of time for a simple thing to be done. So did others around me. And while I was getting a bit antsy, no one else was. They were calm and happy and not one person gave the cashier attitude. If this was back home, that poor cashier would have had an angry mob formed at this register completed with fire and pitch forks, he'd be fired, and then probably put into witness protection program just incase any customer tried to get revenge on wasting 30 minutes of their precious time.
Lack of cellphone use- No one is ever on their cellphones. Not speaking on the phone and not playing on their phone when in any public location. I on the other hand, am always holding my phone. Whether I'm tweeting about something, checking my e-mail, or reading articles on CNN while waiting in line, I'm always the only person with their phone in hand. Maybe I'll try that whole, "socialize" "don't always be on your phone" thing.... Or maybe not.
Per request of one avid blog reader (my mother.) here are some more pictures taken today:
Fluffy clouds this afternoon. (Both pictures taken from the balcony)
Pretty Sky :)
^playing xbox on their fancy TV
^ New addition to the living room... something Mike bought in Tokyo
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