I complain a lot of about living in Florida and The South (and am planning my escape daily), however I thought I’d change gears and focus on the positives in living here:

• Wildlife a part of your every day. Sure, I realize that most cities have some sort of wildlife but, for the most part, it is contained and you don’t see much of it besides pigeons and rats. Every day, walking around or driving home from work I tend to see big birds that could mess your shit up if they so chose. Mack and I have also, on three separate occasions, saved turtles who are wandering in the road. And what else? One word: alligators.
• Spring. The weather is perfect right now. Not so humid and hot that you want to rip your skin off just to cool down your organs. It’s been in the high 70s, low 80s with manageable humidity. This is trapping Jon into a false sense of “I can handle this” right now. Wait until summer. But everything is in bloom here and I’m thoroughly enjoying the wild flowers everywhere. So much so that I started drifting into a random lane in looking at the flowers while driving. Mack will, of course, never let me live it down.
• Sunsets. I don’t remember too many sunsets growing up in Seattle. Before you get in a huff, northwest (and thus dislodging the moss that covers your body) I said “too many”. The ones I remember were of course beautiful. Phoenix, as well, had some stunning ones since nothing was really there to block it. The sunset touching the desert? Breathtaking. Florida sunsets, however, leave me stunned every night at the color palette that fills the sky and the unique view I have that day. I don’t think in our time here I have seen a single sunset that is the same. I do have an entire flickr set devoted to Florida skies after-all.
• People who over-share. I like to over-share. This, sometimes, drives Mack, friends, and family up the wall. In some regards, I feel no shame when I do open my mouth to give you input. Southern people, from what I have experienced, feel the same way. Last night, for example, we went to the grocery store and happened to walk by a man who was in a deep (and loud) conversation on his cell phone. Once his conversation was done, he turned to us and started giving us a blow-by-blow as to the background and the circumstances of the call and his opinion on the matters. He and I happened to go down the same aisle and he informed me that the other grocery store you could gets deals on all these items! Afterwards I informed Mack that I could be social when the need arises. Mack pointed out it wasn’t so much I was being social but being bludgeoned by that dude’s conversation.
• Warm beaches. Sure, I want to harpoon or strangle the beach bums and those who spend hours on the beach (GET A JOB). This is due primarily to the fact that these people have a major sense of entitlement. This extends, of course, to my work’s parking lot which the beach crowd feels they may use despite the signs saying “PRIVATE LOT” and “CARS WILL BE TOWED.” But if you take away the idiots that travel in mass to the beaches, I enjoy having warm beaches with sunshine, sand, and beautiful sun-kissed waves. Beaches in the northwest are typically cold, grey, with rocks instead of sand. While this did not hinder the childhood efforts of jumping in the frigid Strait of Juan de Fuca, it’s kind of nice to know if I jumped in these waters it’d be warm enough to really have to worry about sharks.
• Lower cost of living. I don’t know what it is about the west coast/areas that aren’t the south, but the cost of living there is kind of ridiculous. For a smaller two-bedroom apartment, Mack and I were paying about $300 more a month when we were living in Phoenix. At first, the lower cost of living made me suspicious like “What is wrong with this place?” and while I could draw some conclusions I’ll keep it on a positive note: lower-cost of living is nice. Especially in this economy.
• Space Launches. Do I honestly need to say more?
• History everywhere. Not saying Phoenix and Seattle doesn’t have history behind it but, at least where we are, they embrace it more fully and it is a part of your every day. We are about thirty minutes from St. Augustine, which is the oldest European occupied city in the United States. Plus: it has a giant cross! And fountain of youth! I also love being semi-close to Civil War battle grounds since I’m a history buff (and also weird).

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Me: You have Katy Perry on your iPod?

Jon: Yes and I also like to go to gay bars.

Me: Okay. … are you sure you like girls? ‘Cause I mean, it’s cool if you don’t. Whatever.

Jon: I kissed a girl and I liked it.

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Random conversation between Mack and I as we drove to the airport. I’m sure this will offend someone, but have a sense of humor at the stereotypes.

• Frizzy hair due to a lifetime spent dying, curling, and otherwise damaging their hair.
• Messy, smeared make-up reminiscent of their glory days.
• Desperate need to be accepted and loved.
• Wish to be back in their glory youth and often act as though they were still in their twenties.
• Spandex.
• Surrounded by some sort of groupies (cats or management staff) who are there as their “yes men”.
• Loud and obnoxious so that they are the center of attention.
• Wild, starved look in their eyes.

Technorati Tags: lists, old rock stars, frumpy middle aged women, comparison lists, comparison list, random list, amusing, lol

Between traveling, sickness (week two and whatever I have is still going strong!), and working long hours at work I haven’t had much time to update the blog. This will change, however, next week when we are back from our road trip from Phoenix, AZ to Jacksonville, FL with the ever beautiful Jon. We fly out tomorrow and start driving on Friday. Hopefully we’ll be back to Florida by Sunday.

Yes, we’re doing that damn road trip yet again (we did it three times last year, fyi).

2,044 miles of DO NOT WANT. 800 some odd of that being across Texas.

Lots to share when I get back from the road trip (as well as my trip to Phoenix and other news of interest).

Take care Internet and don’t party too hard while I’m gone.

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What names do you call your parents by? Do you still call them “Mom” and “Dad” (or whatever version of those that you might use)? Or do you call them by their given first names? Or do you have any sort of nicknames other then that you call them by?

Although I typically don’t really talk about my parents on my blog, in the rare instances I do you might notice I still call my parents Mom and Dad. Sure, sometimes I jokingly call my Dad “Old Man” (or when I feel fancy I’ll call him “Father” which usually gets the reply of “Daughter”), but I keep with the names I first learned.

Growing up, I have a memory of when it, like, officially clicked that my parents names were their given first names. Don’t ask my why it wasn’t like a natural thing to me (and I’m curious if other kids it is just like common knowledge or accepting or they all have those moments?) but I remember being like “Huh, okay, Mom’s first name is —”.

Don’t get me started on her handwriting and how her S’s look like A’s and had me confused until I learned how to read cursive. Funny, now I write exactly like her now that I am an adult…

I guess I ask you, Internet, since I’m curious what the consensus is for you all. Two of my brothers will call our parents by the first names, which I know our Dad doesn’t really like and kind of hurts his feelings. One of these brothers asked his facebook friends (who are in their mid-thirities like my brother) what they all called their parents and most of them, like me, still call them Mom and Dad.

I think even when I am old and (most likely) senile I’ll still be calling them Mom and Dad. To me it is kind of a respect thing but, then again, I am sure my brothers see calling our parents by their first names as a respect thing as well.

No matter how old I get I’ll always be their little girl and they will always be my Mom and Dad.

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Though they might deny it. Here are only a few of the whoppers I believed when I was younger:

• Smokey (the cat) would walk down to the grocery store, take off his fur, and smoke crack.
• Before I was born, Noah put on his super-man cape and tried “flying” and fell into the bushes. It was claimed our parents couldn’t find him for three days.
• The family that was walking towards our hotel room in Vermont was going to steal said hotel room thus I had to hide under the bed.
• The parents found (name of sibling here) in a dumpster.
• Mom ran away and joined the circus to escape me.
• The raccoon on the roof was going to break through the glass window and murder me if I fell asleep.
• Freddy Krueger was going to get me when I sleep.
• That I wouldn’t get in trouble when Adam positioned me in front of Noah’s room with my middle finger raised.
• No Doubt wrote “Just a Girl” about Noah.

Technorati Tags: sibling lies, siblings, family, family stories, warping siblings, brothers, big brothers

Me: Why are you wanting to do it that way? It doesn’t make sense.

T: Just trying to fit with the Romans.

Me: The Romans poisoned themselves with their pipes.

T: The Romans has sex with their siblings so being a Roman isn’t so cool.

Technorati Tags: conversations, the romans, history, historical conversations, bad ideas, perspective