California

WOOHOO!!!! Finally here!

Ok, so the journey was a BIG hassle--those of you that know me will understand why. Let's just say that for me, the skies aren't so friendly anymore. No, I didn't get into trouble...so don't start thinking the worst.

Anyway, I'm here now and there are some things that I noticed that I simply must share to my East Coast peeps.

1. Gas Prices: Okay, we bitch when the price dips above 2 bucks a pop. In Cali, it has never fallen below 2 bucks since before ...noone can even remember. Right now it's 2.39 a gallon and people are thinking that is pretty cool. In my head, I'm still spending East Coast money, so I think it's atrocious!

2. Governor: Yep, the Governator is Scharwznegger (sp). It's hard to believe that such a teeming locale of diverse people could all come together and vote a movie star as the governor. Jeeez! Kinda like how it's hard to believe that 51% of America voted for U Know Who.

3. The Crazy Chicken aka El Pollo Loco: Is officially the coolest fast food chain around. For 10 bucks we got 2 chicken breasts, 3 flour tortillas, a serving of mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, black beans, rice, a drink and then there was a salad bar that you could choose what toppings you wanted (jalepenos, salsa, sour cream etc.) All for a whopping $9.97. Needless to say, me and my date gorged ourselves on the tasty repast. You know a Mexican restaurant is great if you see Mexicans eating their full. We did and I'm glad we went there. Muchas gracias!

4. PanHandlers and Chatterboxes: We actually went to the city over Memorial Day weekend. I have never been so talked to in all my life just walking down the street. In Bmore, you hear conversations around you, but unless you actually make eye contact, noone talks to you. In NY, you don't make eye contact and no stranger talks to you. However, in San Fran, everybody talks to everybody all the time! It was quite shocking to me. We were having a conversation trying to decide where to get a bite to eat, and a guy walking down the street actually suggested a place to us. A stranger butted into our convo and conversed (sure enough, the place he suggested had great food, but that is beside the point!) We got chatted to by panhandlers, street artists, people selling all manner of wares. It was a total confabulation of the senses.

5. Supermarkets: There is not a Walmart or Giant to be found anywhere. Trust me, I've been looking. I miss having Giant around every single couple of blocks, I miss having Walmart in every district. Most Californians have heard of Walmart but haven't been to one. HOW CAN YOU NOT HAVE EVER BEEN TO WALMART? The equivalent of Giant is Albertson's...which is pretty decent. They still have alot of Safeways around. My friend says that there are is a Walmart around here, but you have to get on the highway to get to it.

6. Curvy Intersections: At most intersections, they have several lights. Besides the usual NWSE routes, they also have another street or sometimes two, that cut diagonally across the quads and curve off to somewhere else. At the intersection! Sometimes it's hard to remember which way you are supposed to go when the light turns green...

7. Taxes: 8.75%. Enough said.

8. Frye's Electronics: Think 10 times bigger than Best Buy, and yet half the cost. The tech lovers dream. Every single gadget and accessory you want can be found here. It's where the people who designed your computer actually go to get their wares. I got a bunch of current DVDs for 9.99 each. Man, I love Silicon Valley!