things i've learned: part one

moving to a new city has proven quite interesting.  i'm soaking up everything like a sponge (or at least attempting to), but in case you ever move to a new city i want to make sure i share my thoughts.  you're welcome in advance.

things i've learned: part one

1.  it may take maintenance two weeks to fix your sink.  and this may result in doing dishes in creative ways.

2.  it is hot as hades down here.  it's like i'll need to get new skin or something because i don't think i'll make it through july and august if november is in the 80s.

3.  everyone grocery shops late in the afternoon on saturday.  and i mean EVERYONE.  including kids from your school.  and they will come up and hug you.  even if your hands are full, they only kind of know your name, and you've been waiting in line for half an hour.

4.  i do not know how to 'wobble' ... which became apparent as i was chaperoning the sixth grade sleepover. if you also missed out on learning how to 'wobble,' feel free to watch the youtube video below.  i've been practicing all weekend so i'm in the know at the next sleepover.

5.  people straight up have NO idea what 'carolina' means down here.  no idea.  and there is some strange rivalry between clemson and SOUTH carolina (commonly confused as 'carolina'), but i just don't get it.  i didn't even really know those schools had fans.  but don't worry.  tuesday is (south) carolina vs clemson dress up day at school and i'll be sporting the true carolina colors.  there'll be no "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" in this case.

don't worry, friends.  there's more.  some of which i'll just have to tell you in person because it's too odd for the blog (shocking that something could be too odd for the blog, right?), other things which will make it in part two.  something i know you all will be looking forward to.  don't be shy.  i'm onto you.

happy early thanksgiving to you, if you're into that sort of thing.  i'm much more into getting my wobble on these days.

the week of natural disasters.

we on the east coast like to share and this week we're sharing our weather up and down the seaboard.  earlier in the week an earthquake was felt from parts of georgia all the way up to boston and this weekend hurricane irene is coming to visit, uninvited of course.

as a wannabe storm chaser, there is a lot to take in from the past week.  first, i survived an earthquake!  i definitely felt the ground rumbling and the doors and windows shaking at work and to be honest, i thought something was about to blow up in the tech room.  having not experienced any earthquakes in my adult life (except vicariously through elizabeth and jessica wakefield in sweet valley high's earthquake), i just wasn't really sure what was going.  before i found out that it really was an earthquake, i was already telling people that i was going to fudge the story and say it was one.  who knew i would be fudging the truth?!  that's the best way to lie.

now we wait for irene.  while hurricanes are terrible and this one seems to be set to do tremendous damage from north carolina all the way up the coast, they don't give me the feeling of panic that they may give other people.  maybe that's because i also go outside in lightning storms in hopes to get cool pictures, but maybe it's also because they're something i've known ever since one of my family's trees smashed the roof of our neighbor's house during hurricane hugo back in '89.  if you grow up dealing with these types of things, even if it's rare that they inflict catastrophic damage, it just doesn't seem to make the type of impact that maybe it should.  

it's bound to be the same way northerners look at southerners when we get an inch of snow ... or even worse than that, even the prediction of snow in the forecast.  our daily lives come to a crashing halt and we are virtually paralyzed with fear that there might be slush on the roads.  and yes, in our defense, we don't have the trucks and equipment and things that might make life a little more manageable, but i still think it's absurd to clear the bread shelves when they're forecasting flurries.

anyways, as my 25th birthday (part of me just died inside) is approaching this fall, i'm making a bucket list of 30 things i need to do before i get old at age 30.  and yes, you read that correctly.  i don't necessarily want to do these things.  i need to do them.  and also, 30 is when i get old.  end of story. 

i've also decided that since i'm beginning to rack up quite a list of natural disasters, i'm going to see what others i might feasibly be able to experience without too much risk to my well-being.

and no, i'm not being insensitive to the terror these disasters cause or the pain and suffering felt by many.  i'm just saying that i've experienced a handful of types and maybe there are more to come for me.  take a deep breath.  it's going to be okay.  no need to get worked up.

here's what i've got so far from a list i found somewhere on the web.  yes, i might have left some types of disasters off.  but i either did it because it wasn't reasonable to think i could live through it or because i didn't want to bother with it.  also, i'm thinking that i might count it on my list in the future if i help people who go through the disaster even if i wasn't there for the actual thing.  my blog.  my rules.

the disasters:

blizzard

communicable diseases - check (no, i haven't had measles or the plague, but the list said the flu counts so i'm crossing it off the list).
cyclones (hurricanes) - check

earthquakes - check

floods and landslides - kind of check, but i don't think it really counts so i'm holding off on that one

heat waves - check (are you kidding me?  story of my life.)

storms (non-cyclone) - check

tornadoes - check

volcanic eruptions

wildfires

i'm thinking my move out west in the next year-ish will help me mark a few more of these off the list.  i mean, isn't hawaii always having volcanic action?  i'll have to stop by the main island as i thaw out from my winter full of blizzards.

until next time, be safe with the natural disasters, folks!