I thought I'd take a few minutes and reflect on the great state of New Jersey while my visit is fresh on my mind. The poor state seems to be getting quite a bad wrap thanks to a certain, extremely popular MTV show (which I love), and I can't help but notice that its residents feel the need to convince people that they aren't the Jersey stereotype. In fact, the comments I heard the most during my visit were; "see, we don't have big hair" and "ugh,
Jersey Shore." And as far as I could tell, they're right. I didn't see any big hair,
Guidos or any fist pumping. Granted, I didn't go to any clubs or bars, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
There were a few things I did notice however. Just driving down the freeway, New Jersey
looks different than California. There aren't any sculptured, lush, green islands or banks along the sides of the freeway. Everything is brown. What I couldn't get over, oddly enough, were the trees. Along the streets and freeways, there are big open spaces that in California would be filled with rolling green hills, but in New Jersey, are filled with these bare, thin, stick-type trees. Hundreds of them. They look like mini forests on the side of the road. I wish I could have taken a picture. You'd think that a tree is a tree, but Jersey trees are very different from California trees.
The people are different. They speak differently. I don't mean they sound different (though they do), they just speak differently. Different mannerisms, different words, different inflections. I learned that at my last job when I spoke with dozens of East Coasters a day. They speak faster, are more abrupt. It's quite interesting to listen to.
A couple funny things happened during dinner my first night there. We went to an Italian restaurant and were offered a fixed menu. One of the girls I went with is on a low
carb diet. There wasn't anything on the menu that didn't include pasta or rice, so she asked the waiter if they could make any of the dishes "low
carb." He looked at her like she was speaking another language. Then, after an explanation of what she wanted, he looked at her like she was from another planet. In California, restaurants have entire low
carb menus. In New Jersey,
carbs are the most important part of the meal!
During dinner, I sat close to a native New
Jersian (New
Jerseyite?) who has lived in several places throughout the country during his professional career. He spent most of the meal explaining how great New Jersey is, though I did notice that he used the term "not that bad" quite a bit when describing the people, places and things of his beloved state. But when I asked him, of all the places he has lived, which was his favorite, he said..."California. And I would move back in a second if I had the opportunity."
That's the 680 egret's hippie friend who likes nature and hanging out by the water. The 680 egret is more the urban type. He likes the hussel and bussel of the big city. He doesn't mind the dirt and grime of the freeway that turns his fluffly white feathers to an ashy shade of gray. He's the kind of bird who thinks marshes are for pansies, who drinks his coffee black and likes Martin Scorsese films. He battles insomnia and spends the twilight hours watching haggard commuters battle their way home, cursing and flipping each other off. And he laughs at you while you sit in traffic. 
Ok...sappy moment over!
The South Pasadena float with the Fair Oaks Pharmacy soda fountain. Dan took me there the first time we went to Pasadena in June. 
