Things I've noticed!

Things I've noticed since living in PA........

One-ply toilet paper. No one here seems to know that two-ply toilet paper exists. Its as if Charmin is some sort of fancy, 2 ply toilet paper that your bum doesn't deserve..........

Yield signs=Stop signs.....here in this state, if a driver comes to a yield sign and even has a lane to ease into, they come to a DEAD stop and just wait. This happens on ordinary roads and freeways. Imagine will you trying to to get on the 405.....you come up the ramp and merge into traffic. Not here.......people stop! To make matters worse, the people driving on the freeway know this and if you obey the yield sign and truly merge into traffic.....the drivers on the road look at you like you ran a red light!

Politeness.....I think East coasters get a bad rap. When I am going to Wawa for my soda and paper in the morning, people WAIT to hold the door for each other. This doesn't just happen at Wawa, it seems to be everywhere. The cashiers also tell you to "have a good one". Meaning....have a great day. Now, nothing against California, but I can't remember the last time someone there tripped over themselves trying to open the door for you. Also in this category.....Every person we have told that we are new in the area has fallen all over themselves to give us area info. Take for example the lady we bought our car insurance from....she gave me her card and told me to call her for ANY local info, restaurant reviews, etc. Now, I can't say for certain that people seem to be more friendly, but an informal poll reveals that so far.

People here think if you go into the "city" you will get mugged or killed.......now let me say this.....I am currently living about 35 minutes outside of the 6th largest city in the country. When we were in Torrance it was the same distance except it was the 2 nd largest city in the country. I was never scared going up to Hollywood, to downtown LA, etc. So, going into Philly for a day of sightseeing or "culture" does not scare me.....but it scares everyone else. I hear comments like "your going to get killed" or "don't take your purse or someone else will". I don't know what the fuss is all about because I love going into center city Philly. I just hope that I don't grow scared like everyone else.

Grass....I'm talking about the kind you grow, not the kind you smoke. In Cali, your grass is a source of pride. You spend lots of money installing water sprinklers, you have someone cut it every week, you take care of it. Now, people take care of their grass here, but they don't fuss over it like in Cali. AND people cut their own grass. Now, I know some of you out there are in Cali are thinking (we cut our own grass) and good for you. But you know that the majority of people have a lawn cutting service to cut their patch of grass....and a patch of grass it truly is. At our old house, the lawn guys were done cutting,trimming and blowing in less than 30 minutes. Not a day went by in Torrance when I didn't hear the familiar drone of the leaf blower at 7:30 in the morning. Here, its different. People cut their own grass......and their grass is twice or three times as big. You never hear those lawn guys slamming their truck door at 7:30 am. Every night after dinner, or on the weekends you heard lots of lawn mowers but the homeowners are (gasp!) doing it themselves. (or their sons are) At our new house Alex hired someone to cut his grass because he grew up in Cali......he can't do it (actually he is really busy with school)! When I told people we wouldn't be cutting our own grass, they look at us like we are lazy. Its a weird feeling, I almost feel ashamed. One family member said to me "it must be nice to have money to throw around". Now its not expensive.....actually the same price or even cheaper than LA for three times the amount of land. But, I am being shamed into feeling bad about not cutting my own grass!

Vera Bradley purses!

Ok, so I mentioned these purses before, but they are starting to get on my nerves. Everywhere you look, ladies have these purses slung over their shoulders. They're NOT PURSES, THEY'RE QUILTS! Now, I'm not exactly the most fashion conscious person in the world, but these purses bug me. They are made out of quilt material.....that's right ladies.....if your purse gets dirty you can actually put it in the washer and wash it! Can you believe that? The only thing I would ever buy one for is to stuff it with cotton balls and use it for a pillow. Maybe you can use the bigger ones for a blanket....I don't know. Let me tell you that if you pass a shop with Vera Bradley purses in it, the place is a mob scene. All kinds of women are running around paying over $100 for a blanket purse. Maybe I'm just jealous that I didn't think of it first. What next, purses made from toilet paper? I mean really. A good purse doesn't belong in a washer! I'm including an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer posted yesterday about this strange phenomenon. It appears that there are YOUNG women that are buying them also. Maybe its just me.....although Christy agrees with me too. I just can't believe it will ever end up in NY or LA.....but you never know. Let me know if you ladies see them cruising down on the shoulders of "ladies who lunch" in Beverly Hills. Although, all it takes is one nuttbag like Lindsey Lohan or Britney Spears to carry one, then watch out!

Vera Bradley bags: Blooming hot Inquirer 08/23/2007

Viva Las Vegas!

Attention all my Vegas loving friends.....remember how much fun we had in May....well I'm looking to repeat that fun. I'm coming out in November with my cousin, her husband and my aunt. So if you want to come out and meet me there.....I'll be checking in on November 4th and out on the 7th!

Post office problems

This is what I get for moving to a slow moving state.....slow moving mail. We had noticed that we were not getting any mail at the new house, despite having many new accounts and such opened with that address. So, I scurried down to the Collegeville post office to find out what was going on. I don't really know WHAT I expected. You see, the post office is a mystery. They have their own rules that no one can figure out and they really don't want you to. Nobody can complain because if you complain about your mailman etc, then you don't get your mail. All of a sudden your People Magazines disappear, and your bills come weeks late. So, if you have a problem with your mailman or post office, you just have to suck it up.

So, I went into the post office and asked where our mail was. They explained to me that since the mailman didn't know our name, he wasn't about to deliver our mail, despite the fact that it had a valid Collegeville post office. You see, in this little community, apparently the mailman recognizes the name first, address second. I asked what happened to all the mail already sent to the house, ie......homeowners insurance stuff, Temple Law school stuff, Madison's school registration stuff.......the answer was "we sent it back". Now, I understand that maybe in the old days the mailman would look at the mail and say....."this is a name I don't recognize for this house", but in this day and age the mailman just delivers the mail to the address on the label. Plus, you would THINK that the mailman would notice that there was a For Sale sign on the lawn, then a Sold sign, then the sign was magically gone. The powers of deduction would have one figure that PERHAPS there are new occupants in that house. But, not our mailman. He was strictly by the book.

So, I asked the friendly post office employee (he really wasn't friendly, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that he was trying) what my options were. He explained that I would have to put in a change of address card and once the mailman saw that he would deliver the mail. Then he threw in alot of nonsense about having to getting an 80% volume of mail before he would even deliver it.....but I didn't understand that and I don't think he really did either.

I told him that we couldn't put a change of address card in because we had already done that and the mail was going to my parents. He said we could put another one in for my parents address but admitted it would likely confuse the Norristown mailman. Sooooooo, our only other option would be to put a hold on our mail until we were able to have a change of address sorted out in LA. The mailman WOULD NOT deliver our mail without seeing that card! Let me tell you that it took all my patience not to reach over that counter and strangle that man and his boss. I told him that this was the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of and they told me that this is how the post office is SUPPOSED to do things. They don't know how they are doing in things in a "big city" like Los Angeles, but they follow the letter of the law in Collegeville.....population 8,oo9! So, I put a hold on my mail and crawled out.......

That afternoon we surveyed other local post offices and the consensus was that, the Collegeville post office was out of their minds.

A couple of days later I went to collect my mail at the post office and the guy says...."by the way, the mailman won't deliver your mail in the mailbox you have now.......you need to replace it with a standup mailbox at the end of your driveway". You see, the mailbox we have now is on the wall outside the front door. It looks like its been there for 800 years, and it has the name of the previous owners on it......The Pancoasts. There are about 10 houses on our street, 7 of them have mailboxes at the end of the driveway and the other three (including ours) has them on the house. So, the mailman drives up and down the street delivering the mail, if its at the end of the driveway he doesn't have to get his behind out the of the car. (NOTE: I would have liked to used a stronger word there, but I know that kids sometimes read this!) But, when he gets to our house and our 2 other neighbors houses, he......gasp!......has to get out of the car and walk to the house. So, apparently this is way too much exercise for him.....so he won't deliver the mail until we put one at the end of the driveway. Now, of course this isn't what they told me.....they gave me some crap story about how the regulations have changed....bla, bla, bla......but I told him that there were other houses on that street that didn't have mailboxes at the end of the driveway......and he didn't believe me. In fact, not only did he not believe me........he said that I must be mistaken or seeing things.

Now, all the employees at the Collegeville Post Office know me. I'm sure there is a picture of me on the wall in the back.....and I'm sure my US magazine will never show up anymore. I'll be doomed to reading the Norristown Times Herald for all my news.....and let me tell you.....it doesn't get worse than that!

New house

So, last Friday, Alex settled on his house. Boy what a production that was! I have found that nothing in this state is easy, and making settlement on a house is torture. In PA you actually have to sit down with the sellers and exchange pleasantries while everyone is signing the paperwork. But in our case there was a snag with the bank and the pleasantries stopped and the other side had a fit and walked out. Alex still got the house of course, but not without a lot of suffering. It was and ALL day affair. But, I guess it was worth it. This weekend starts all the construction on the inside. The house is VERY old inside. The electrician was surprised it didn't burn down. There were sooooo many frayed wires!

Oh did I tell you that our electrician was named Ben Franklin....actually Ben Franklin III. I wondered if he was related to the original BF, but I was afraid to ask. He wasn't bald and in wire rimmed glasses. Actually, I got the feeling that if I did ask he probably would have found a way to electrocute me. I would imagine that he probably got teased ALOT in school.

I had a million other questions like, "did you HAVE to be an electrican"? Would your parents have been mad if you chose another career, in plumbing perhaps? "Or did you have to choose a Ben Franlking approved career, such as newspaper delivery man, mailman, inventor, kite flyer? I didn't ask him any of these questions, but a million of them were floating around in my mind.

Alex's new car!

Its been awhile since I posted, mostly because I'm getting lazy. I just wanted to start out by saying that, the ugly jeep in the last picture is not Alex's new car. He didn't get a Jeep after all. He bought an Acura MDX. Its really nice and comfy. And as Madison says.....fancy!

Alex's new car!

After much deliberation I THINK Alex got a car. He made a deal last night at the dealership but he couldn't actually buy it because this is Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania everything works very slowly. In LA if you want a car and have the money, you can take the car home. In LA the dealers are open late and open everyday of the week. Did I mention to you that you can't buy a car here on Sundays or Saturdays after 4pm? So, he found a car, made the deal, but apparently it was too late for them to finish the deal and will have to go back tomorrow to get it. UGH!!! But I was able to take a picture for all of you to see.

Zern's

So, I think I mentioned last week about a place we went to visit called Zern's. I really didn't get a chance to take many pictures there because I was to busy laughing. You really have to see it to appreciate it. You can buy Scott Baio posters there, hunting clothes, candy, meat, cars, pets, used magazines an more. I bought a bag of used books for $10. All of this while observing the locals without teeth and perhaps missing a few fingers. On Friday nights they have a car auction. The great part about Zern's is the fact that every once and awhile, the Asian ladies from New York come down and sell fake purses right out in the open! No hiding in a back corner like in downtown LA. But then the sheriff catches on and kicks them out. After that you have to wait six months again until a persistant suburbanite spots the purses again and the word gets out. Right now the hot thing here in purses are these cloth purses made by Vera Bradley? Have any of you heard of her, because I have not. They're not really hot with young, stable women. Just married, older, childbearing women. I'm not saying they have to be old to have them......just not single! Anyhoos......I digress. Zern's is best viewed on a Friday night when all the locals come out for shopping and dinner. I stress to you that this is the ONLY thing to do in this one shope town. Ok....I lied......there is a Super Walmart. There is an actual stand that will fry veggies. ANY kind of veggie. By the time Zern's is done with you cauliflower, you will have a coronary on the floor right there. I was too busy laughing while there the last time so I didn't have any time to take pictures. But thanks to another blogger I found this link.....enjoy. Oh.....Madison was supposed to go to the meat auction today with my dad to spy for us and find out exactly what goes on there.....but she wasn't able to. So, I think next month I will go with my camera to see it for myself.

pies

So, Madison and I found this really cool orchard near my brothers house that makes over 20 kinds of pies a day. So, we stopped in last weekend and bought a raspberry pie. I never knew that there was such a thing.....AND I'm not usually fond of raspberries but we tried it anyway....boy was it great. But, even better is the fact that they have all kinds of festivals and pick your own days. We were supposed to go to the peach festival yesterday but were too lazy. But we definitely won't miss the tomato festival in two weeks. Fresh tomatoes are JUST starting to fill up the vines in gardens all over the place. If you are a tomato lover this is the place to be! Check the link to get a glance at our new found favorite place for fruits and veggies! www.linvilla.com

Speaking of the Amish....

Did any of you know that out in the Amish country.....Lancaster, PA......they have a weird sense of humor. These are the people that don't have electricity and drive in horse and buggies. All the stores and restaurants are closed on Sundays. Yet.......they have towns named.....Intercourse, Blue Ball, and Virginville. Hmmmmmm...........

Amish kids

We were traveling along in New Jersey this week looking for a car, when we spotted the oddest thing. There on the side of the road was a broken down bus filled with Amish kids. When they let the Amish kids out, they were covered head to toe with long sleeved clothing AND sweaters and bonnets. You have to realize that it was pretty much the hottest day of the year, with the temp soaring up into the 90's and humidity making it feel like you were suffocating. We had to go around the block and ended up getting a second look. When we came back around they were lined up with the teacher in the front, singing and dancing. It was the oddest thing to see. Here were these kids, dressed like they just came from Little House on the Prairie auditions, singing and dancing outside on the hottest day of the year......AS IF they didn't have a care in the world. It was unbelievable.

Almost electrocuted

Did I tell you guys that Clifford and Alex were almost electrocuted recently? It was a couple of weeks ago. There was a really bad storm going on outside but Clifford had to go out to do his business. So the rain had let up and Alex took him out. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning came down and struck something very close to us. For any of you out there that knows what it sounds like, you will sympathize. It sounds like a bomb going off in your house and it shakes the ground. All I know is that I looked over and saw Alex and the dog with the brightest light I had ever seen surrounding them. The two of them ran inside shaking. Now, whenever there is loud thunder.....Clifford comes running for cover!

Sorry the posts have been pretty sporadic lately....but we have been very busy trying to get settled. Alex makes settlement on the house this Friday. Its weird how they do things here. You actually have to have a face to face meeting with the seller and sign all the paperwork together. So, unless something else comes up last minute, the house will be his on Friday. Then the fun begins. He has BIG plans for the house so it will take a couple of weeks before we can move in. He starts school on the Monday after settlement so that should be interesting. He lucked out and only has school Monday-Thursday.
Madison is now registered for school. She starts on August 28th. Her school is in the Perkiomen Valley school district which is supposed to be very good....there is a dairy farm across the street from her school and corn fields surrounding the school. Her school is called PV South. She takes a reading test next week then they will show her around. She's VERY nervous and misses her friends.
As for me....nothing new. Alex goes into the city this week to get his books, look for his classes, etc. We are all going to take the train together and split off. He and Madison will go to Temple Univ and I will do some exploring in the city. Then we will all meet up for dinner later. It should be fun.

Nothing new

Hey there! There really isn't much to report on this week. Alex had the inspection and several things were wrong. But, he made them an offer and they counter offered with something he couldn't refuse. Sooooooo, on August 17th its his. It will need some work, so we won't be moving in right away, but it will still be his! As for me and Madison, we are enjoying our summer but work is something I have to start right away. There is a lack of traveling jobs here so I am going to do registry for awhile. Maddy and I have been busy with swimming and sightseeing. We went into Lancaster last week then back to the city for a day at the art museum. Had a great time again. Keep in touch!