1. Get a personalized license plate like everyone else: Yeah, your bland license plate that reads 593 DVU totally stands out, and you definitely aren't from Virginia. The cool thing around here is to think of some witty word or phrase that you can squeeze into 7 characters on a license plate. And, if you're really adventurous, get a license plate border that goes along with the word. Come on. Everyone's doing it. At least in Virginia, anyway.
2. Give up your love for foreign cuisine: Half the population is white, and half of it's black. And, like a measly 2% is "other." So if you're craving a chimichanga, you might want to settle on Taco Bell. Because yummo places like Kyoto and Puertos just don't exist over here. And if you're really craving Japanese food, just head to Trader Joe's and get a frozen bag of stir fry -- because the only Japanese places here are super expensive and your bill is at least $50.
3. Get in the right lane: Expect a ton of traffic. And by a ton, I mean.. a ton. Literally. If you know your destination is on the left side of the road, then by golly, you better get in the left lane. Because there WILL NOT be an opportunity to get in the left lane. Unless you stall traffic, put your signal on, and sit there until a nice person lets you over... and, well, good luck with that.
4. Keep your flip flops AND your boots out simultaneously: Don't go putting your summer clothes away. Not yet. It can be 50 degrees in the morning, but 75 by noon. On a daily basis, I wear sweaters in the morning and tank tops in the afternoon. I also wear scarves and flip flops on days back-to-back. It keeps me on my toes. My chipped orange nail polish toes.
5. Get used to the time zone change: I still have not figured out the time zone here. It's truly bizarre. Some shows here are aired a full hour before they are aired in Kentucky. For instance: in the morning, I watch things that have not aired in Kentucky. My mom hasn't seen it yet -- as she is an hour behind. But at night, things air at the same time, only it's an hour later on the east coast. Same goes for shows like Dr. Oz and The Doctors -- I will see it before you. It's extremely confusing, and I hate it. Many shows here don't come on until 10pm, and there's no way I'm sitting up until 11pm to watch a show. No sir.
6. Better have spare change: There are random toll booths in Virginia. As far as I can remember, there aren't any (maybe a FEW) toll booths in Kentucky. And I'm not talking about 30 cents -- I'm talking like $1.50 per booth. This past Saturday, we spent over $5 on tolls -- some of them back to back. Yes, we drove through two toll booths within 30 seconds of each other. What a rip off. On the way here, we had to be billed for the toll booths through our drivers licenses since we didn't have the $4 it cost to get here. So be sure you have a lot of pocket change.
7. Forget about helpfulness: If you have a problem, a concern, or a question, you're better off Googling it. Because no one here cares. No one here wants to help. They look out for #1 -- themselves. It's a sad reality. We came from a place where people were Southern, happy, and did their best to help you by giving you their time. Even the employees at our bank aren't nice. A generalized statement like "No one is nice" seems pretty harsh. But, guess what? No one is nice. The nicest people we've found are at our church, but I guess that's to be expected.
8. Obama comes around: Kinda weird to live in a place where Obama frequently comes to your town. I wouldn't be one to stand in line to meet him, or go to a rally of his, but I still think it's neat. He was just on our base last week, and Mark saw his plane. He came to Old Dominion a couple days ago. I guess the people here are used to it.
Note: All suggestions have been learned from first-hand experiences.
Edit:
Today's weight: 132 (I lost a pound!)
Food Consumed:
Lean Cuisine fettuccine alfredo -- 6pts
2 little cookies -- 2pts
burrito -- a lot
Dr Pepper -- 5
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ReplyDelete:) Love you, Tara Bara.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteof COURSE I LOVE YOU! I mean, who else would send me a care package of workout dvds and cds with cute stationary? Sigh. No one but you, Tara.
ReplyDeletePeople drive all sorts of cars here. I'd say NOT small efficient cars. More so... big SUVs, minivans.. just the normal range of cars. Not many hybrids. When my parents visited me, the first thing they noticed was the license plates!! They were like OMG.. what is with the people and their license plates over here?!?!?!
But today at the DMV, we totally saw a plate that had a school house, and the background was lined paper, and at the bottom it said: Education Stars at Home
and we are totally going to get it. I'm thinking of putting FortCox on my license plate. OH YES BABY.
Okay. I have a tip for you! (Although I don't know if it will much matter since you already have issues with your GPS.) But there is an option on your GPS (Garmin, right?!) where you can avoid toll roads! It may take you longer, and what you don't pay in tolls you'll make up for in gas most likely. But at least you won't have to worry about having to have change all the time! :)
ReplyDeleteWow. Really!!?!! It's sad, because there is NO notification on the GPS orrr the roads that a toll is coming up. Until: SURPRISE!! TOLL IN 500 FEET. And then you're scrambling like a mad woman in the car for a measly nickel and.. it's bad ;]
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ReplyDeleteI love this. I don't, however, love Virginia. How bout I not move there, kthanks.
ReplyDeleteI am now a little more thankful for toll-free Alabama. But Obama doesn't come here. (I think he knows better).