You Can Take The Girl Outta Texas...
June 29, 2018: I officially became a resident of Southern California.
It's been a dream, a bucket list item, a goal, a desire...all the above...to live in a place where the weather doesn't beat you up and leave you dead in a ditch.
This all happened so fast that I'm still spinning, still waking up shocked that my location arrow has changed.
I am almost a full month into my Oceanside, California life and I have to say, I'm pretty sure this is one of my better decisions.
However, I have never felt like more of a misfit in my entire life.
I was born and raised in Texas, right in the middle of the panhandle. Amarillo is where I became who I am. I went to elementary through high school and enrolled in college there, even went to a few classes in college but it just didn't take. I guess I'm more of a hands on, life lessons, trial and error, seat of my pants educated kind of girl.
Anywho--
I love Texas and the people of the panhandle especially. I miss my friends and being able to get to where I need to go without using GPS. My parents are still there so it's "home" and my kids are too for the moment. They are finding their own paths so who knows where they will end up. I miss them terribly but with one currently in Uganda, Africa and the other married and about to go to Marine boot camp they are busy boys living their lives. I love it! I really do. I wanted independent kids even though they choose places and do things that scare the pants off me!
What I noticed when I moved out here is, I am a southern girl and it's obvious to everyone. I feel like an exhibit in a zoo, the plaque reading:
Here we have a middle aged woman who has been taken from her natural habitat of the Texas plains and thrown into the West Coast megacity. She will engage in direct eye contact, wave, smile and greet complete strangers with her native slow drawl and seem perplexed as the people of Southern California just stare bewildered or look away quickly. She says thank you and excuse me perpetually in public. Her native language will often result in having to translate words like: "fixxina" (about to do something) and "Imagunna" (I am about to do something). Some of the phrases from her region are also quite interesting and often received with questioning glances at others. One of the most popular is "Bless your heart," this can be said in any number of circumstances as well as it's inferred meaning. Suffice it to say, "Bless your heart," can be an extremely genuine gesture of empathy to an unbelievable amount of sarcasm and not necessarily used as would be recommended.
Ok, I think you probably get the picture.
I will say that most Californians that I've spoken with are very kind people. The "locals" crack me straight up. They will occasionally complain about the weather which nearly sends me into convulsions trying to keep from rolling my eyes or bursting out with inappropriate laughter. If it gets above 85 they feel they are living on the face of the sun, below 60 and the Uggs and North Face COATS (yes, coats! not jackets, coats!) come out. And then there's the "wind," right--I can't even go there and keep a straight face. These people need to spend time away from paradise for awhile.
As I have just returned from a trip to Hell, or as the locals call it: Costco, I've got to either have a strong drink or take a nap, maybe both and then I must repent and ask for forgiveness for the murderous acts my mind developed shortly after pulling into the parking lot.
This all happened so fast that I'm still spinning, still waking up shocked that my location arrow has changed.
I am almost a full month into my Oceanside, California life and I have to say, I'm pretty sure this is one of my better decisions.
However, I have never felt like more of a misfit in my entire life.
I was born and raised in Texas, right in the middle of the panhandle. Amarillo is where I became who I am. I went to elementary through high school and enrolled in college there, even went to a few classes in college but it just didn't take. I guess I'm more of a hands on, life lessons, trial and error, seat of my pants educated kind of girl.
Anywho--
I love Texas and the people of the panhandle especially. I miss my friends and being able to get to where I need to go without using GPS. My parents are still there so it's "home" and my kids are too for the moment. They are finding their own paths so who knows where they will end up. I miss them terribly but with one currently in Uganda, Africa and the other married and about to go to Marine boot camp they are busy boys living their lives. I love it! I really do. I wanted independent kids even though they choose places and do things that scare the pants off me!
What I noticed when I moved out here is, I am a southern girl and it's obvious to everyone. I feel like an exhibit in a zoo, the plaque reading:
Here we have a middle aged woman who has been taken from her natural habitat of the Texas plains and thrown into the West Coast megacity. She will engage in direct eye contact, wave, smile and greet complete strangers with her native slow drawl and seem perplexed as the people of Southern California just stare bewildered or look away quickly. She says thank you and excuse me perpetually in public. Her native language will often result in having to translate words like: "fixxina" (about to do something) and "Imagunna" (I am about to do something). Some of the phrases from her region are also quite interesting and often received with questioning glances at others. One of the most popular is "Bless your heart," this can be said in any number of circumstances as well as it's inferred meaning. Suffice it to say, "Bless your heart," can be an extremely genuine gesture of empathy to an unbelievable amount of sarcasm and not necessarily used as would be recommended.
Ok, I think you probably get the picture.
I will say that most Californians that I've spoken with are very kind people. The "locals" crack me straight up. They will occasionally complain about the weather which nearly sends me into convulsions trying to keep from rolling my eyes or bursting out with inappropriate laughter. If it gets above 85 they feel they are living on the face of the sun, below 60 and the Uggs and North Face COATS (yes, coats! not jackets, coats!) come out. And then there's the "wind," right--I can't even go there and keep a straight face. These people need to spend time away from paradise for awhile.
As I have just returned from a trip to Hell, or as the locals call it: Costco, I've got to either have a strong drink or take a nap, maybe both and then I must repent and ask for forgiveness for the murderous acts my mind developed shortly after pulling into the parking lot.
wazzup, you waited to long to move , you need any pointers from an ex Texan Angelian give me a call 806/681-6734 love to hear from ya. J
ReplyDelete