Trick or Treat....southern style

If I have learned at least one thing in the four years I have lived in South Carolina it is this : They do everything a *little* bit different here. 

This Halloween my sister decided to go trick-or-treating after debating whether or not to go for the month before. Luckily, she was a bit crafty this year and made a costume out of things we had around the house (which was good since our budget is pretty sucky right now). My sister wanted to meet up with her friend to go around the neighborhood we've been to for past Halloween's here. The group consisted of myself, my mom, my sister, her friend, her friend's mom, aunt, uncle, cousin, cousin's husband, cousin's baby, and brother (along with brother's friends). Her friend's mom, despite being older than pretty much anyone approaching doors for candy, was on a mission for candy nonetheless. Now, let me preface the conversation to follow with the fact that yes, they are both blond. This is a real conversation between my sister's friend (A) and her mom (L):

   A: mom what did you get? 

   L: a lollipop

  A: what kind? 

   L: a blowpop

   A: what kind? 

   L: a blowpop*

*This exchange happened for a few question/responses more, and A never got the answer she was looking for, which was the FLAVOR of the blowpop. 

A favorite mode of transportation for peoples in the south: the golf cart. Clearly not just for golf courses anymore. Oh no. They are used as short-distance transportation devices, such as picking up a child from school in the same neighborhood, or in this case, trick-or-treating. And clearly they don't take their golf-carts lightly as I walked past one that had a stereo installed. I can just see someone now, cruising down the block at a whopping 8mph headbanging in their golf cart. 

My mom and I, of course, joked along the way at poked a bit of fun at the true southerners and their silly antics. 

Another one of our "traditions" (as my sister's friend's mom called it) was attending the free carnival/"fall festival" at the nearby Baptist church. There is nothing better than benefiting from the kindness of Baptists in cashing in on free food and drink. For the simple price of signing your name on a card and including your email address, you can enter the lawn near their church for a festival that includes a rock wall, a few carnival rides, a few carnival games, and free hot dogs and soda. I love the irony of children dressed up for Halloween (which some still view as a Pagan ritual) enjoying free stuff from a Baptist church. However, it's not totally free and clear. For a majority of the event their is a "worship band" or in the case of this Halloween, a screen and projector set up displaying some sort of photo display and "Jesus loves you" choruses in the background. 

Another fun thing to point out is the fact that the South, in it's supreme power, feels that it can delegate when and where to celebrate Halloween. Some neighborhoods declared that Sunday October 30 will be the date for Trick or Treating. Also, they make a majority, if not all, of the actions of the police departments public knowledge. They remind everyone of the regulations placed on registered sex offenders and those that are on parole for the Halloween festivities. They state at every opportunity that those who are on said lists will be required to remain indoors, and in many areas will be checked up on, but also that they are to not have their lights on and not give out candy. This led me to develop an interesting "game" for myself while trick or treating. The game was simple: when we passed a house with it's lights out, there were three options to guess: 

     1. They ran out of candy

     2. They don't believe in Halloween

     3. They are registered sex offenders on parole...WALK FASTER

I tried to invite my mom to play, but she denied and scolded me because apparently my voice travels and I should try not to offend people. 

Something else I have noted and laughed at in terms of living in this great state. When a major corporation, such as Boeing, BMW, or more recently, a pharmaceutical company decides to build a factory/production center/etc in our state, the governor beams at the thought that "They chose us. This is an amazing thing and we should be proud!". No, you shouldn't. When you list the other states that were vying for said corporation, there is one clear reason as to why they chose us: CHEAP LABOR. This state is not very kind to it's workers (to put it nicely). The conditions are sub-par, the wages are as well. Of course a major corporation is going to move their offices/production to a state where there is little concern for blue-collared and minimum-waged workers. It's simple economics. Less money paid to employees=Larger profit/bottom line for corporation. Sure the state is going to make a bit of money off of the project, but it doesn't do the people any good. 

Ok, enough of the ranting. I just had to get some of that stuff out since it's been so long since my last blog. The more that I talk to JP and look at houses in Maine, the more I can't wait to get out of here. The cons greatly outnumber the pros (which are basically only the weather and the cost of living). Despite my mother's nay-saying as to the present and future relationship of myself and JP, I continue to hold my head up high and remain optimistic. He loves me exactly the way that I am, even knowing all of my faults. How often does that come along? We can talk for hours on end, share similar interests, and most important of all, want to build a relationship that will last. It may not have been a very conventional "courtship", but then again, what is these days? People date for years upon years, only to get married then divorced withing the first 3 years. There are others that date only a few months and are married decades. No one can really pinpoint what is right and wrong when it comes to relationships. I just know that all of the ones I have been in up until now have not worked, and the reasons why they did not work. The things that were missing from those relationships are ever present in JP. We communicate well. We make each other laugh, smile, and feel good about ourselves. I look forward to the crazy whirlwind that is to come. 

        

Happy Birthday to me :)

As the title of this blog entry suggests, today is my birthday. My 27th birthday to be exact. It's strange because it doesn't feel like a birthday, at least not in the sense that we're used to as kids. When I was younger, my birthday was exciting. I started counting down at least a month before and made sure everyone around me was aware of the date. (After all, a majority of my birthdays existed in a pre-Facebook-reminder era). For example:

10 YEARS AGO.....

It was my 17th birthday. I was counting down the final week that stood between me and my drivers license (which I got on Halloween that year). I was a senior in high school starting to look at colleges. I can't remember what I did for my actual birthday, but I know that it was in a time where multiple birthday parties existed (one for friends, one for family, and then the cake on my actual birthday). I'm sure all of my friends got together and we either did something at the house or all went to the movies or something.

20 YEARS AGO....

It was my 7th birthday. My reign as an "only child" was coming to an end (my mom was pregnant with my sister at the time, whom entered our lives on June 20, 1992). I had just started school in a public school, changing from the Catholic school I attended for Kindergarten and 1st grade (the school had closed, and we moved from our tiny apartment to a two-family across from my new school). I was taking ballet/tap/jazz classes with Ms. Brown (may she rest in peace) and more than likely had a birthday party including new school friends and people from my dance class.

There have been a few constants in terms of Birthday celebrations over the years, despite changes in circumstances:

1) The birthday girl always gets to choose where to go for dinner (when I was younger, it might have been choosing what we had for dinner, but I don't remember too much from that point).

This year I chose Yamato's (hibachi)

2) The birthday girl always gets "control" of things such as tv/radio/what movies to watch on their birthday.

3) Choice of birthday cake (I used to go for the ice cream cake, then it was yellow cake with chocolate frosting and bananas, and now since I've been living in the south it is red velvet with cream cheese icing).

Here is an old-school pic from a birthday party

Most of my birthdays have gone really well. There were a few that had a bit of a bumpy ride. For example:

• When I was younger (somewhere between 8-12) I had a pinata and one of my friends was accidentally given a black eye by another friend at the party (damn blindfolds and wiffle ball bats). 
• My 21st birthday was a bunch of crap: my mom was sick so my parents and sisters didn't come out for my birthday dinner (I was away at school), my bf at the time didn't care if we did anything for my birthday because it was "just another day on the calendar" and ended up being guilted into taking me to dinner, where I proceeded to cry...
• My 23rd birthday was spent as my first day as a waitress (after moving to South Carolina only weeks earlier)



the location at which I was a waitress  

One thing I can say is that I have gotten some pretty good birthday gifts. At 13, my mom got me birthstone earrings. At 21, I got a necklace and matching earrings. Somewhere around my 20th or 21st birthday my best friend (and a future bf) took me to get my belly button pierced (strangest gift to date, and it came out about a year later..it clearly didn't want to be there). I've always loved the cards I've gotten from friends and family as well. 

Now, a rant about birthdays in this 21st century of ours: Facebook is the devil when it comes to birthdays. Of course it works to my advantage because they politely remind me when friends and friends-of-friends/acquaintances have birthdays, but it leaves me skeptical on my birthday. How many people on my friends list actually know my birthday? How many of them do I talk to on a somewhat regular basis? How many are writing on my wall simply to look good and have no interest in the fact that it's my birthday? Either way, it is kind of fun to see all the people that post on your wall. 

Oh, and one more rant: the one thing I want for my birthday I can't have. At least not right now. That would be something that I can keep forever, that will love me unconditionally (although sometimes they might not exactly want to), and that is currently thousands of miles away: JP. Two simple letters. But one not-so-simple individual. Not that it's a bad thing. While it sucks that he can't be here for this birthday, he promises (and I will hold him to it) that he will be there for every birthday to follow (as well as Thanksgivings, Christmases, New Year's Eves, etc). He is the sweetest man I have known. We both know that what we have is the reason why no other relationships of ours have worked. It's because we were both passing time to get to this one. 

And another random birthday picture (can you find me?)

Updates and Missed messages

I thought that once I started writing a blog that ideas and words would come out easily, as I always have plenty of thoughts in my head. But, it seems that once I am sitting in front of the computer, I have no words. Everything I have thought of that day seems inconsequential and meaningless and not worthy of a new blog entry. Because of this I have succumbed to a pattern of "if you don't have anything good to blog, don't blog at all" and therefore I have gone days between blog entries. 


Maybe it has to do with the fact that every detail is always so up-in-the-air that it doesn't make sense to write about only one, but explaining every possibility would be terribly dry and boring. 


Plus, there is my old standby response which is if something becomes too difficult or seemingly burdensome, walk away. Sadly enough a good analogy here would be the various games on Facebook. They are interesting and new at first, and then after a while there is too much upkeep. What happens then? Those games go stale by the wayside and I'm left looking for a new thing. But how feasible is that kind of behavior in real life? I have found out that when it comes to "fight or flight", my "flight" side is well exercised but I couldn't fight my way out of a wet paper bag. (I would probably just sit in the bag and wait for it to dissolve around me and then walk away. 


Enough of my rhetorical rambling and saying a lot but nothing at the same time and get down to what's really going on. On the one hand, I am almost done with my paralegal program and will soon be able to start looking for jobs. I also have a sweet, smart, funny guy JP in my life that makes me smile. The down side of that? I'm in SC, and he's in AZ. He's been studying like crazy so he can take the boards he needs to pass to be an LPN. Once that happens it will be easier for him to come back to South Carolina. However, once back in South Carolina, we will all be living under one roof for the time being. How long will that be? I don't know. That changes by the day. Some days I feel like throwing my hands up and conceding to life in the South. Other days I want to run to I-95 and keep heading north until I hit the NJ Parkway. My family is no help either. My little sister doesn't want to leave here until she's done with high school. Most days, my mom wants to move before she starts high school (and avoid being locked in for another 4 years). My other sister (who lives with her boyfriend and his mom and siblings a majority of the time) keeps bouncing around like Tigger on speed. One day she wants to be in California, another she's talking about Clemson (which she asked my opinion on since I attended (though did not graduate) from the University of South Carolina, sworn enemies of Clemson although I didn't even care that I "was a gamecock" and she was looking to be a tiger. my thoughts screamed "no that means we'll be stuck here longer!!!). The one thing about having a close family is that it is both a blessing and a curse. On the blessing side, we have a tendency to stick together. However, sticking together often gets complicated when we all want to do different things at the same time. 


ANYWAY...


Then there is the fact that for whatever reason my little sister despises my very existence and makes it clear at all parts of the day. Every comment or interaction from her to me involves a curse word or some dig at my physical appearance (I am by no means fat, but that doesn't stop her from being a brat). Another frustration that is consistently looming in our household is finance, and more appropriately, debt. Some times I wish I was strong enough to just run. Pack up what I would need and just run. But that's not me (at least not when it comes to my mom and sisters). The thing about having a good deal of debt is that you often must compromise and sacrifice. Some of us in the house are better at it than others. When certain people want something they can not have, they do not accept it and walk away. OH NO. They whine and call names and guilt trip and woe-is-me and kick and scream until one of the others offers to sell bodily organs just to shut her up. AND these are the same days that I don't want JP anywhere near our house which just saddens me more because that means we'll be apart longer that we already have and will be in the near future. Then I think about the whole thing with JP and wonder if I'm crazy or being foolish. We talk all the time. We get along well, share similar interests, are both quite intelligent. But then it hits me, why is someone like him willing to stall out on other things he could be doing to instead succumb to that which is my household. I want to run to him and push him away all in the same thought. One minute I'm smiling and happy that he asked me about having a "date" where we go on a virtual tour of the MET in NYC (one of my favorite museums, and somewhere he has not been) and the next minute I'm rethinking everything. 


Even now as I type I look at the clock and it's 11:31. I'm 31 minutes late for our virtual date. There is a text on my phone that I'm sure is from him but I haven't looked at my phone and there was an IM that just came up a few minutes ago that I minimized like it was a pop-up ad for Pepsi. Is he really willing to put himself in this situation simply to be with me? The neurotic, anxiety-riddled, near 27 year old child that won't leave home and doesn't have her own life? Maybe I'm not the only crazy one here. 

a bittersweet anniversary-in memory of the worst job ever and my move to the South

Tomorrow marks the fourth anniversary of our departure from our home state of New Jersey. Some days it seems like it's been longer than that, and others it's hard to imagine we've been here that long. Again, 'here' is South Carolina. When I first got here I laughed at the question " Are you a Yankee or a Damn Yankee?" I think at this point I'm somewhere in between. I don't plan on staying here forever, but for the near future I shall call this state 'home'. 


How in the world did a girl and her family from New Jersey end up in South Carolina? Well, that can be a long story. The short version for now is this: Father/Ex-Husband screwed over family (after screwing secretary for months), Mother/Ex-Wife wanted a nice place to live that was more affordable. Lo and behold here we are. We were not welcomed by family or friends, we were welcome with the cold hard truth that we were not in Jersey anymore. You would think that after four years I would have gotten better adjusted to living here, but some days the differences just smack you in the face.  


My first job after arriving in South Carolina was as a waitress. At first, this sounded like a splendid idea. I would be working with people, so that meant I had the chance to make friends, and I was working in a popular local diner/restaurant (it's classified as a restaurant because they don't have diners in South Carolina, but being from Jersey, I call it like I see it) so it seemed that the money would be decent and maybe I'd learn a bit about the area. Well, I definitely learned about the area, but not in the way I had anticipated. You see, only being here for about a month I did not quite have my "y'all"s and "sweet tea" lingo in place. I decided that in this case, honesty would be the best policy and I would throw myself at the mercy of the customer. 


Maybe that wasn't the best idea. 


Here is one of the first things I've learned: the vast difference between "iced tea" and "sweet tea". "Iced tea" is the Yankee version. If made homemade, the two teas begin similar ways but what is added to them towards the end makes all the difference. Iced tea uses a moderate amount of sugar, mostly just to take the bitterness out of the tea, and almost always flavored with lemon. "Sweet tea" on the other hand, is generally without lemon flavoring and an inordinate amount of sugar (the only way  I can handle it is to pour one quarter cup of sweet tea and the rest of the cup with plain water). But I digress. 


Then, there is the language barrier. Yes, I know it's the same country but sometimes that's easy to forget. First of all, I have always had the habit of saying "you guys" when referring to a group of people, regardless of their gender. Well, one customer sitting in a booth with three other females did not waste time correcting my error. When I asked if there was "anything else I could get you guys" the leader of the pack flatly replied "there are no men at this table miss". I simply gave them an "ok" in response and once out of view, proceeded in rolling my eyes. A few other "dialect" issues that sometimes get severely under my skin (semi-illustrated): 

• that thing you push around in the grocery store and such is not a "buggy". a "buggy" is something that is driven by the Amish or something you rent at the beach . a "cart" is used to haul groceries. 

                                                Amish Buggy
       

                                           Dune Buggy

• when you get home from said grocery store, you do not "put up" your groceries. this makes no logical sense. What? do you not use the drawers in the bottom of your fridge? Unless your cat or small child is putting the groceries away, that is not "up". therefore, you put things "away", not "up"
• "Ma'am" is not a welcome greeting for most. in other parts of the country, in fact, this is an insult. Rule of thumb: if you have to still card the person for a cigarette or alcohol purchase, they are not a ma'am. if they flash their AARP card, ma'am away. 
• "fixin' to" does not make sense as a phrase for the preparation of something. fixin' is related to the word fixing, meaning to mend that which is broken. "fixin' to go out" translates to "mending the going out". what are you mending? if you "fix" dinner, what did you do to break it in the first place? 

I think I have pissed off enough people at this point. Another blog at a later time, I'm sure, will discuss the curious cuisine that is native here. I don't worry too much about it. I don't sit at home and fret that I don't have too many friends here. Not to say I haven't tried, but there always seems to be this divide. I never realized how "Northern" my ways were all the while I was in New Jersey, but it's amazing what you can learn about yourself when you are put in a new situation. 

strange things....

You never really know where a cup of coffee and good conversation is going to lead. After that two hour+ conversation at the coffee shop I would have never imagined what would unfold in the days that followed. 


After getting dropped off at home that night, I had sent a text message thanking JP and letting him know that I had a good time. He said the same. The next day, I got a message from him saying he enjoyed our conversation and wanted to see me again, but that he was on his way to AZ to his parent's house because of some issue with his immigration papers. He called to explain the situation a bit better while he was in bumper to bumper traffic in Kentucky and again later when he had to get a new tire put on. I don't know what it was, but something interesting was about to start forming. 


What is the first thing that usually comes to mind when someone is having problems with their legal immigration status? Well, besides deportation there is marriage. Which is what many of his friends brought up as a solution to the situation. We joked about it a bit at first and continued talking every day on the phone and via text, getting to know each other. One thing he was adamant about from the beginning was that he would only pursue the marriage option with someone if he truly saw himself with that person. 


There was something refreshing about being able to be completely and utterly honest with another person, especially one of the opposite sex. We talked about anything and everything: favorite books, favorite movies, biggest pet peeves, what side of the bed we sleep on. Over time, things started progressing from joking to something more serious. When we talked about what was happening, things were becoming clearer. We started talking about more important topics like how many kids we want, where we want to live, how big of a house to have. He also began showing me information on what the legal process would be if we were to move forward with everything. We started talking about how astonished we both were in the fact that neither one of us ever expected this to grow into what it was. I even asked him one night about how he knew when it crossed over from a joke to something real. Here is what he said: "I was thinking, before shit happened {him having to return to AZ because of paperwork issues} I'm going to pursue this woman, there's something about her that makes me tick and after the conversation on Sat about Texas, I thought, yep, she is someone I'd love around in my life, maybe she's someone who can keep me on my toes and then Mon or Tues, can't remember when, I realised yes, this is a woman I'd like around, and I'm going to try and keep her around in my life." Now, a note about the Texas conversation. He had been driving through Texas and we got to talking about how it was the 'Lone-Star' state because it had at one point been a separate country. We also got to talking about the states and in particular a show on the History Channel called "How the States Got their Shape" and remembered one about the state of Texas. We were talking about the different countries' flags that are flown at the state house in Texas but couldn't come up with all six. Here is where being a super-nerd came in handy. You see, I'm a bit of a nerd. Ok, a lot a bit a nerd. Because of this I did a Google search of Texas to find out the six different countries and called him back. He told me that this had impressed him and that one thing he is looking for in a woman is someone who can challenge him and wants to teach him things, and a woman he can converse with about anything and everything. Well if there is one thing I know to do well, it's talk. I think one of the things that automatically drew me to him is the fact that he talks as much, if not more, than I do. Our Skype conversations run on for hours and before I know it, it's 3 or 4 am. You would think that after almost a month of such extensive conversations, we'd just about cover everything we both knew. But there is always something else. Something new to talk about. Something new to show the other person on a favorite website, or a map, or some nugget of information they got that day. 


Even though there are thousands of miles between us right now, we grow closer every day. I look forward to where this crazy adventure will lead. 

Countdown to 27

It's the first day of October and that means one thing-countdown to my birthday!! Yes, in a short 24 days I will turn the big 2-7. One year closer to 30. One year further from 21. I've found that the best way to cope with getting older is making sure you surround yourself with people older than you are. That way, whenever you complain about your age, they remind you that it could be worse, you could be as old as them!

At least the year has taken a bit of a more interesting turn, after not graduating from the Graduate program at USC and applying to 100+ jobs with no call backs. So, most of my days are spent around the house, doing laundry, cooking dinner. If I didn't know any better, or had a kid and/or husband, you'd think I was a housewife. Nope. I'm just one of the thousands of educated unemployed. But I haven't been just taking up space and converting oxygen to carbon dioxide. I have been working on a certificate in paralegal. While it wasn't what I thought I'd have in mind for my career, it's been interesting. And the fact that things don't always go as planned has become a theme for my life.

If there are three things I am (almost) absolutely sure of, it is (1) everything happens for a reason (no matter how long it may take for the answer to become clear); (2) the truth always comes out (no matter how many years have passed); and (3) expect the unexpected. Currently, I have a shining example of number 3 in my life.

Just a few short weeks ago I began talking to an individual via an online dating site, like I had done numerous times before. Little did I know that this would be something completely different. As I anxiously got ready for our first meeting, I never could have anticipated what would have transpired from that first meeting.

On the evening of September 6, we planned to meet at Jamestown Coffee in Lexington. From the very beginning I could tell that he was different. Well, that much is obvious actually. Anyone in that coffee shop could tell he was different, since he had a thick British accent. We started talking right away and didn't stop for at least two hours. We talked about everything and anything. He showed me pics and maps online of where he grew up in England. We talked about food and music, likes and dislikes, anything. We didn't leave until the barristas literally came around telling the last few stragglers that they were closing. Normally I would be cautious about being loud in a coffee shop when there were other people, but not this time. We talked and laughed out loud. He showed me clips of British comedians and didn't seem to have a care in the world.

I felt comfortable enough with him that he was able to drive me home. When he pulled up outside my building I said thank you for the coffee and the company, and gave him a hug. I thought, for a moment, that he was going to try to kiss me, and maybe he was but I missed it. But after getting inside my apartment, I made sure to send a quick text once again thanking him for the company. That would be the beginning of an interesting journey.