518 to 804- Weather Edition #2

Schools have been closed for two days now because of what they call "inclement" weather.  Mind you, the clouds did give us a little light precipitation that amounted to a dusting of snow last evening.  But it's 45 degrees out now.  So I don't know what these people are thinking down here. 

This is the backside of my office.  There it is.  The "snow" that closed schools for two days. 

 

Where the hell were these rules when I was a kid?!  I remember my bus stopping at the top of the hill we lived on because the driver refused to go down until the road was plowed.  I remember school closing and the bus drivers refused to go out so our parents had to come and get us because there was 3 feet of snow on the ground.  I remember bundling up in the freezing cold and waiting for the bus stop with snow covering us just in the short wait. 

 

None of this school closing crap.  That shit didn't happen.  Unless you were Icabod Crane.  They always closed. 

518 to 804- Holiday edition

Okay so one would think that the temperament and the vibes from others wouldn't change from one state to the next.  Let me tell you something... it does.  I will never forget my first holiday season down here.  Let me tell the story:

Trav didn't move down yet permanently, but he was visiting for the holidays and decided to stay from Thanksgiving until New Years (yes, he didn't have a job so he could do that).  I decided to take him to Walmart for god knows what now, but we were there for something we thought was important.  Everything was normal right up until we were walking out and this man stopped Trav in the parking lot to ask what our plans were for the holidays and to have a very merry Christmas and all that jazz.  I never saw Trav so like "what the fuck" in my life. 

Let me say this about my birth state: people can be nice.  People can be nice in public.  But mostly, there isn't such pleasantries in the middle of parking lots or walking down the streets as there are here in the south.  Down here, everyone is smiling and willing to talk to one another whether they are known to each other or not.  If you're in Albany and you walk too close to someone, most likely that person is going to be perturbed, forget pleasantries.  There's no random "hi's" or "hello's". 

People talk down here.  We can be sitting at a restaurant and someone in the table next to us will overhear our conversation and pitch in like its no big deal.  The funny thing is though, it doesnt feel rude, it doesn't bother anyone, it just happens. 

All of this happens all year round, but there is an even bigger sense of it during the holidays.  Like people want others to know that they are appreciated.  In NY no one cared.  I certainly didn't.  And granted, I am not the first one to say "hi, how are you" or "happy holidays" but I wont ignore the person that said it to me either like I would in NY. 

Its just that different. 

518 to 804- WaWa

Okay so the 518 has Stewart's and in many, many ways that nothing can compare (maybe just a few) (maybe just one).  The 804, the 804 has this place called WaWa.   For those of you that have never been and have been down south, south of the Mason Dixon, you need to go.  They have everything you could possible imagine, and then some. 

Like I want mac and cheese for lunch because its cold out, WaWa. 
Want a frozen mocha coffee, WaWa.
Want a milkshake, WaWa.
Want a sub, made any way, without having to talk to people ever about it, WaWa. 

They have these touch screens to order from, so really you go in, don't have to make eye contact or pleasantries with anyone.  Pay for your shit and walk out. 

They've every kind of coffee imaginable.
A regular gas station, so beer, chips, sodas, ice cream.

But then they've got the "healthy" section too.  With fruits, salads, humus, wraps all pre-made to grab and go. 

Stewart's, yes, they have the made to serve ice cream in multiple flavors that I have missed over the years, but that's about the only thing I miss from that store.  Well, that and the memories.  I do have some pretty legit memories (many I cannot share, ever) of my days spent both working and shopping at the store. 

If it was ever a fight between the norths Stewart's and the souths Wawa... I think this is one fight that the south may actually win. 

518 to 804- Weather

I figured I'd use this as a stomping ground to go through some of the things that are different down here in the 804 (VA) compared to that of the 518 (NY) where I lived for the first 25 years of my life. 

What comes to mind today is the weather.

When I was growing up, I did not go trick-or-treating for Halloween.  My parents just bought us candy because it was ALWAYS cold and rainy.  I dont mean like a little bit cold either, I mean like on a borderline snow mix rain kind of level and theres no point in dressing up when you have to wear a sweatshirt UNDER the princess costume and a jacket OVER it, really whats the point. 

Halloween is 3 days away and its 82 degrees outside today.  The weather report for Friday is 70 something.  That means I'm going to have all those little punk kids knocking on my door ((that is if I dont go out with Willowbug)) and pissing Maddie off because the weather is going to be nice. 

Granted now it does get a little cooler at night in the Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb months, but the days can be anywhere from 30-70.  I remember last year sitting on my porch in Jan singing "Sunny and 75" because it was warm at 75 and there were daffodils already in my front yard.

The fall doesnt have the foliage that NY does with the vibrant colors and all, but the leaves do change color.  But its not the same as driving through the mountains in the Adirondacks with such amazement at the colors and brightness of everything. 

The summer months get warm, but not ridiculously warm.  There were maybe two days where I walked outside and thought to myself "OMG I cant breathe" but for the most part, its just beautiful.

The spring months are my favorite weather.  This is when its a little warm, a little cool.  The evenings are 60-70, the days are 70-80.  Its perfect leave the windows open in the house kind of day. 

The winter months have some coolness, but very little, and I mean very little snow. Maybe a dusting at most. (although I heard this winter is going to be bad according to the almanac)  Unlike NYs feet (not foot) but feet of snow. 

Its not the same.  The weather between here and there.  I enjoy the weather here more. We have what my mother likes to call the "Virginia Sky".  Probably 300 days of the year its blue sky.  I dont just mean blue sky, I mean not a cloud in the sky blue sky.  Theres no either or when it comes to the clouds down here.  Either they fill the sky completely, or there arent any at all.  And the blue, the blue is different too.  Maybe because we are closer to the ocean here than in NY, but the sky is a deeper shade of sky blue, less white more blue.  Its beautiful.  (really)

518 to 804

Almost 4 years ago I moved from a small town in upstate New York to an equally small town in central Virginia.  By upstate New York, I dont mean just a little north of the city like Newburgh, or west like Buffalo.  I mean Mass border, 2.5-3 hours north of the city.  Not too far from Saratoga, where the races are held (if you're fancy and are one of those people). 

I hated my job.  I was making little to nothing and working all the time.  Driving in crazy weather just to make sure I got to work and then because I was the only one to show up, had to stay all day.  I was in the process of buying a house I didnt think I would ever be able to afford on my salary, but I didnt want to be one of those kids who lived at home forever (despite my papa's wishes).  New York had become something that I didnt like.  I didnt like who I was becoming, or rather who I was and I wanted to change. 

My parents had moved down to Virigina and I was living in the house that they were going to sell (any day now) with my college going, always drunk and having parties at the house, irresponsible brother whom I was ready to kill. So much so that I was constantly traveling to other parts of the world just to "get away". 

So I quit my job and started to look for one in VA.  I had talked to my rents about letting me stay with them until I found a job/housing arrangements and such.  Of course they agreed because who doesnt want their children to live with them forever, and ever... and ever. 

I packed up the house that I was living in because even though it was on the market, there was all my stuff and half my parents stuff that they hadnt moved down south yet simply because they didnt have the time to pack it all up.  Packing and arranging and cleaning became my full time job for a month.  Then one beautiful day my father pulled up in a moving truck and we headed south. 

We had like a dozen good bye parties at the house for friends and family.  I didnt want to leave them, but at the same time I was ready for a new beginning  I was ready to start something different and end the New York chapter of my life. 

Since moving down here I have been to what was my "home" for 25 years twice.  Both of those times added up to 4.5 days. 

It was like somewhere between the 500+ plus mile drive down here I decided that I didnt like who I was anymore and I was going to change that.  My little fur ball was in the back seat sleeping, I was jammin' to something (I cant remember what, but probably Sugarland at the time) and everything changed.  I woke up one morning at 4 when it was freezing cold in NY and started driving.  I was able to see the sun come up and by the time we stopped in Maryland to stretch it was warm.  I'm not talking like a 5-10 degree difference either.  I'm talking like we left and it was 30 and we stopped and it was 70.  We pulled into my parents new house and it was 80.  I could not believe that this was where I was going to live.  Does it even hit 80 in the summer time in NY?  Yes, but growing up as a kid it sure as shit did not feel like it. 

There are a world of differences between life in NY and life in VA such as:

-taxes

-prices of almost everything

-language

-food

-cars
(all of these I will get to at a later date)

 

I shit you not, everything is different.  I miss my family and friends, and I miss certain things, but for the most part I wouldnt change it for the world. 

 

After I moved down here, I finished with my masters, got a "big girl" job that I love, working for someone who took a chance on my "maybe being okay at the job" and bought a house.  Things changed so completely and I don't think that would've happened had I still been living in NY. 

 

Let me tell you something.  If someone gives you the opportunity to pack up all your shit and start somewehere new, fucking take it and run.  It was the best decision I have ever made.