1 year

It is hard to believe that a year ago yesterday I became a Yankee. Oh how does time fly. I remember sitting in my apartment looking for jobs on the Internet and praying for a change. Boy did the good Lord answer.

I never would of thought in a million years I would leave the south, let alone be working in Manhattan amongst the honking horns, sirens and god awful smells. It has been an interesting transition but I have learned a lot about myself.

I learned I can survive in the snow. It is funny that when you aren't really around it you don't realize it is wet. I know that sounds dumb but I swear I just thought of white fluffy flakes falling from the sky. No one informed me that they melt, turn to ice, and turn to a nice muddy slush within a few hours.

I learned that ya'll is indeed the best word in the english vocabulary. Those that don't choose to use it don't know what they are missing! When I first moved up here I was afraid to show my southern roots and bust out ya'll as frequently as I did in the past. People didn't really know I was from the south until they heard it come out of my mouth. I was trying hard to fit in, but then decided, damn it that is who I am! You can take the girl out the south, but you can't take the south out of the girl. Now I use ya'll more than ever. I even hear a couple of co-workers saying it every now and then. I promise ya'll, I'm gonna turn these Yankees on way or another.

I learned I am more independent than I ever thought. I mean seriously how many people can move to a big city like NY, not knowing a single person. Maybe I was a little crazy or desperate for a job, but I look back now and am so proud of myself. I do admit that the city was pretty intimidating for the first couple of months. It is a whole different world up here and it can be a bit over whelming. I eventually learned that not everyone is an asshole up here. It might take you a couple of chances, but someone will eventually help you. Now don't get me wrong, they aren't going out of their way to become your next BFF, or ask you how you are, but I have found that the majority of NYers will help if you need them. You just have to be confident in your approach.

I learned I am not as directionally challenged as I thought. Now don't get me wrong I still don't know my left from my right, but I have found a way to get around using public transportation better than I ever imagined. Plus once you realize the difference between the West side and the East side, you are good. One other plus is NYC is on a grid, thank God!

I learned to call my mother everyday or she thinks I am dead in an alley some where. She is finally realizing that it is actually pretty safe up here, but I still don't think she will ever adjust to having her only child so far away. Good thing she is on my cell phone plan and we can talk for free!

I learned I have to be a Yankee and Giant fan! Now most of you know I am really only a true Gator fan, but in order to participate in the water cooler chats I am slowly adding the Yankee and Giants to the list.

I learned that Lender's bagels are not really bagels. They are considered hockey pucks up here.

I learned why people rave about NY pizza.

I learned, most importantly of all, who my true friends are. No matter the distance, they are there for me. While I am still having a hard time meeting friends outside of work, my friends back home have kept me sane. There have been moments when I questioned this whole life change, but with great words of wisdom and a slight kick in the ass, ya'll have kept me grounded and helped me see the big picture. I can't say right now that I will spend the rest of my life up here, but as for now, I wouldn't change anything about this last year. It is hard not becoming thick skinned like the rest of the people up here, and trust me I am not as easy going as I use to be. However, I try everyday to remember my southern roots and pass a little southern hospitality onto all those who pass through my world.

Odds and Ends

I know its been a while since I have posted, but work has been crazy busy. By the time I get home, getting on the computer is the last thing I want to do. Here are a few insights I have come across lately.

Deadly Mosquito's - "Shannon you could catch lime disease and die"
Seriously, in the south mosquitoes ain't no thang but a chicken wang. I mean we have them, we deal with them, and we go about our daily life. Up here they are like the plague! I was out in Queens last weekend and one got in the house. I never saw such an effort to kill a living thing. I mean it was a full family effort to kill the one little bug that came in. I asked what the big deal was and was told that mosquitoes carry all kinds of diseases and many northerners are allergic. I swear I will never understand up here. I mean I see people sitting on the sidewalk that pigeons shit on, people spit on and God knows what else. I see people purchase a pretzel from a street vendor that has been sitting out in the open for every germ on earth to soak into it. I see people dig in the trash and find what is a so called treat, but one little mosquito can be the down fall of life on earth as we know it. Gotta Love it!

Chivalry is still alive - Last week heading home on the train a gentleman actually gave me his seat at 5:00 rush hour. I was so shocked. Then I had to wonder, did he think my fat ass was pregnant or something? But no I think he was genuinely a nice guy. Then it became contagious. The man a few seats down gave his seat up for another lady. It was a row full of woman sitting on one side of the train. Praise Jesus, there are some nice gentlemen out there. Then of coarse the next morning I was brought to reality, when an elderly woman with a cane got on in the morning and not one man gave up their seat. Finally a woman got up to give her seat to the elderly lady. I guess I couldn't expect it two days in a row.

UF = "You Fuck" up here.
Now that Football season has started I have to represent on athletic Fridays at the office, so I usually wear a Gator tee. Yesterday I wore a shirt that simply said UF and had a Gator head on it. I think 4 people in the office said to me "UF what does that mean, you fuck!" Damn NYers and their attitudes. I had to laugh though because it is so typical of up here. I must admit though I am slowly spreading Gator Pride through the office. Last weekend I got Natalie to watch a little of the game and this weekend our purchasing director promised to catch some of the game against Kentucky. I had to promise to catch some of the Yankee game, but hey that is an even trade.

Jelly Apples with Coconut
Gross!!!! Now I shouldn't knock anything I haven't tried, but I think there should be candy and carmel apples only. I shouldn't be surprised they put jelly on everything up here. In the northerners defense though, southerners will slop jelly on a chicken biscuit in a minute. I guess we all have different tastes.

Suki - this one is for you

So a few of my Asian friends gave me a little crap for saying that the Asian community up here is too extra. Now when I say this I mean that they do things that just aren't necessary. For example, running across the street when you have the right of way. No one is going to hit you lady. Pushing their way thru a line of 4 people to be the first person to get on an empty train. There are plenty of seats and they train ain't going anywhere for a few minutes. And my example for today is this: now please keep in mind my train leaves every 2 minutes so if you miss one, another will be along very soon!

I followed a Asian lady from my building this morning to the train. We were both walking at a brisk pace, but once we got across the street she started running. Now mind you she is in her work clothes, including her heeled loafers. She runs for 5 seconds, then walks. Runs for 5 seconds, then walks. I was getting more tired just watching her. Every time she would run, damned if I didn't catch up with her at the light. We would walk across the street together, then she would run for 5 seconds then walk. This repeated the entire 15 minutes walk to the train. Then she ran down the stairs to wait for the train. Now lets remember, I am from the south and no matter how hard I try I will never walk as fast as these people up here, but I walked a steady pace, not breaking a sweat, and damned if we didn't both catch the same train. See what I mean, just extra!!!!

A Bi*#ch named Anna and an A#@hole named Bill

I know this post is a little late coming, but better late than never.

I flew to Ft. Lauderdale to set sail on a much needed cruise. Of coarse this trip was my normal drama with the airports, but I'm tired of blogging and sure ya'll are tired of hearing about that. I haven't been on a cruise in a few years so I decided it was time to reinstate the tradition. My Grandmother and Aunt Kim went along, so it was a girls vacation for sure.

This was the worrying sight from the deck as we headed out to sea. Tropical store Anna trying to mess up my Vacation, BITCH! Anyway as we were unpacking and getting settled in, the Cruise director made an announcement we would be headed to Nassau first, instead of last, to sail around the storm. The other port of calls would have to wait to see what the storms were going to do. So here we are setting sail on a Mystery Cruise. We would be updated daily on what port we were heading to next.

All three of us had visited Nassau several times, so we slept in a little, had a leisurely breakfast then headed to the island. I felt like I was back on Canal Street in NY. The straw market is nothing but knock offs now. Add in some Asians and you got Canal Street, island style. My Aunt had promised a few of her girl friends purses and wallets, so after we did our shopping we had to hit up Senor Frogs. Now you would think it was me that wanted to go, oh no, my Grandmother insisted on getting her yard of margarita so she could add the glass to her collection. I hope when I'm 79, I'm still downing margarita's too!

It wouldn't be my normal trip to the islands without getting a comment about my ass. Gotta love how Island men can really appreciate those who are blessed :) Good thing my Grandmother had already gone back to the ship.

Well back on the ship they announced we were going off schedule and heading to Ocho Rios, Jamaica!!! Hurricane Bill had just got upgraded, and was headed to Puerto Rico, ASSHOLE. I had already been to Ocho Rios, but neither my Aunt or Grandmother had. We were all excited anyway just to be going somewhere with sunshine. Within the hour Anna had dropped to a tropical depression and Bill turned away from Puerto Rico, so the captain changed our coarse again and we were headed back to San Juan like originally planned. I was a little bummed not to see Jamaica, but I had never been to San Juan, so I was excited at the same time.

Old San Juan is a beautiful city. Gorgeous architecture, churches, flowers, blah blah blah. It might be pretty but they got some crazy folks down there! Now I have become a little more accustom to crazy people now that I work in Manhattan, but at least up here the sidewalks are wide enough you can walk away. As you can see the sidewalks are very narrow in San Juan and the only way to pass people is to go in the street. So I see this lady coming who looks like she has some kind of skin disease, and she is having all kinds of conversations with herself. I took the risk of jumping into the street. Lord knows what her crazy ass might of done to this gringa!

Due to our Mystery Cruise we knew we were not going to make it to Antigua so we decided to do the zip line in San Juan. Unfortunately we had to take the 5:30 tour so most of our zipping was in the blackness of night, but we still had a good time. Now it was dark, but I still don't think we were actually in a "rain forest." I felt like we were just zipping through the trees in the woods, but hey they were Puerto Rican woods, so it was still an adventure.

Next was St. Thomas, UVI. This was another island we had been to before so we just went to the beach. Honestly, this is my favorite thing to do on cruises. My fat ass rented a float and floated in the ocean soaking up sun for the entire day. Needless to say I should of reapplied the sunblock, but hey no pain no gain.

Lastly we hit the British Virgin Island of Tortola. Yeah I had never heard of it before either. We decided to take a tour at this island. All of us were a little over the sun and thought it would be nice to get a little education on this port. We took a open air truck through the island seeing everything from monuments to the dedication of a traffic light. The best thing of all was the Bomba Shack, aka the nudey bar. Gotta love the high end tourist attractions!

Other highlights of the trip included our wait staff dancing to "Low" by Flo Rida, the week long joke with a man named Dick Little, and the drama with the boyfriends at the dinner table next to us. We drank, relaxed, partied and some lost money in the casino (um..no it wasn't me). All in all it was an amazing vacation and I am still living vicariously through my memories.

Jersey Boys (the musical)

I am still working on a post from my vacation so stay tuned for that but here is a little ditty about my latest Broadway adventure until then.

Last month a couple of the ladies from work invited me to see Jersey Boys. My mom wanted to see it forever but I couldn't afford both of us so she will have to live vicariously through me for now. It was by far my most expensive Broadway show yet, $130 but worth every penny.

Now I know some of you are like, what does a 30 year old know about The Four Seasons. Those who question this obviously don't know my mother. I grew up on that kind of music and was singing along with everyone else today. Big Girls Don't Cry, Sherry Baby, Oh What a Night, I knew them all. Yes I can hang from Frankie Valli to TI. I am a well rounded person, what can I say.

Anyway I don't know if it was the music or the story but my jaw hurt from smiling the entire show. It just put you in a good mood, and I learned so many things I didn't know about The Four Seasons. Plus now that I am a Jersey Girl myself (sort of), I actually recognized the places they were talking about.

After the show we ate at Ellen's Stardust Diner. This is a popular diner in Times Square where all the wait staff sings. It was so much fun and a great way to wrap up a Broadway day.

Bubbly, who me?

The longer I'm up here the more I realize southerners and northerners are two different breeds. I was at a job site the other day and the contractor took us all to lunch. As we were chit chatting he said I reminded him of a co-worker. I gave my usual response, "she must be a fantastic person." He agreed and said that it was my look, and my personality that reminded him of her. Same hair and same bubbly personality. Hold the frickin phone, me bubbly. I must admit this is the first time in my life I have been called bubbly. Now my friend Kelli, she is bubbly, but me? See in the south people say I can come across as mean and up north I am bubbly. What does that say in comparison to every one else up here? Who knows maybe I have changed, or maybe its the medication. Could it possibly be that I am finally happy with my life and that transcends into bubbly? Who knew it would take moving up top to find my true personality, or is it just everyone else is so mean that I just shine? Either way I'm taking it as a compliment and rolling with it.

"Call it like it is. A spade's a spade"

I was invited to Queens for a Bridal Shower my friend Natalie was throwing. Her son just eloped so she was throwing the new couple a belated shower. I did the invitations so she invited me for the festivities. You know I don't turn down an Italian get together, especially with home made food!

Natalie picked me up around 10:30 and I helped her with the decorations. As usual, I was the balloon and crepe paper bitch. I know I am creative and all but damn can I get some other materials to work with for a change. Of coarse I didn't mind, it was for Natalie, I would do anything for her. For those of you who don't remember I went to her house this past 4th of July and enjoyed a fantastic Italian BBQ in Queens. Saturday was no different, however the entire family came out for this event. I met everyone and they're Momma! Natalie was busy playing hostess so I just made my rounds. Ya'll know me. Mostly I listened in on stories from the old neighborhood. My favorite was talking about "crazy and mean" people in the family. "Call it like it is, a spade's a spade," this was the best line from the day. Stories about mean Aunt Netty were my favorite. Evidently she went around calling you fat to your face. Glad I'm not part of that family I might have developed a complex and not love my curves like I do :) I guess her and her husband "kept company" for 25 years because he was Jewish and she wasn't allowed to marry him until everyone was dead. Gotta love the Italian way, but in her defense it was the old days, and you just didn't do that. I love how Italian families really stick together. Maybe if I'm lucky Natalie will adopt me and I can have my own little Brooklyn/Queens Mafia. One can dream!

Enough about the crazy relatives, lets talk about the food. (Warning: if you are hungry don't read, if you aren't hungry, you will be) Now mind you only 35 people were invited to this shin dig. Natalie, in true Italian style, cooked for 300! First she served "anti pas" and no that is not a typo. Real Italians don't say anti pasti, they leave off the ti. They also don't say mozzarella, they pronounce it mozzarell and leave off the a. Don't get it twisted! Anyway the appetizer in itself was a meal. I'm talking pepperoni, sausage, salami, cheese, olives, roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, bruscetta, tomato with basil and mozzarella, and fresh tomato salad. Yes Italians like their tomatoes! Needless to say I was full after appetizers. We sat around and digested then she brought out the hoagie for a pre-dinner snack. Now mind you this hoagie must of been 6 feet long. I had to pass on the hoagie to save room for dinner. Next, dinner was served. Lasagna, eggplant Parmesan, broccoli rob, kielbasa, sausage and peppers, fried chicken, and some white stuff I didn't touch because it looked weird. Lastly we topped off the night with cake, cheesecake, fruit salad and ambrosia salad. And on top of all that I took home two big bags of home grown tomatoes. Needless to say I didn't eat too much on Sunday.

Being around Natalie and her family makes me miss my own. I am blessed that she has taken me under her wing and kind of adopted me in a way. She don't know but there will be a southerner at the Thanksgiving dinner table this year. Ya'll know I'll figure a way to invite myself. I'll make sure to bring the pecan pie and show them how to fry up a turkey. Thanks again to Natalie for making this southern Irish girl feel like a true Italian.