My co-workers are determined to Southern-ize me

It started the 2nd week I worked here. Once they decided I wasn't a snobby girl from the north, and just an okay girl from the north, they began my education.

First lesson, southern words and phrases. Here are a few:

"Drew up": the action of pants or shirts shrinking in the wash. used in a sentence, "Those pants don't fit anymore because they drew up."
"Fixin": working on, going to, on your way to doing... used in a sentence, "I'm fixin' to take my lunch break."
"Usta could": used to describe something that once was, or you once were able to do. used in a sentence, "Well, ya usta could turn left there, but now they done turned it into a one way street."
"Y'all": self explanatory :)
"Buggy": Shopping cart at the grocery store

Second Lesson, Moon Pies. (normally accompanied by RC Cola, but that's another story...)
To a northern girl, a moon pie tastes like marshmallow fluff spread in between two soft graham cracker like cookies dipped in waxy chocolate. Someone at work gave me one of these, and told me I had to heat it up. So, when I tasted it, the chocolate was just a little melty and the the marshmallow filing was puffed up. It was just okay. But since then I've been known to buy one every now and then. They grow on you. A tip for northerners: stick to chocolate and vanilla, stay away from the banana flavor.

There have been many lessons along the way, and I suppose I'm fitting in pretty well, but the latest lesson was almost too much for me.

One day last week I happened to walk into a conversation I soon regretted. Some of my favorite people at work were talking about "Krystal's" (as they like to call it), and how they were both craving a "Krystal." I said, "oh really, I've never had one of those." Both women turned to me in shock. It was as if I had said, "I've never been to McDonald's." But it was worse than that, it was as if I hadn't fully lived. So I was warned that someday one of them would "pick me up a Krystal or two." (they like to personally introduce me to these things, and watch me closely as I try them for the first time.)

So yesterday, two small boxes showed up on my desk. I knew I couldn't risk offending the person for her sweet gesture... so I ate them. Yes, friends, I ate two "Krystals." And I must say, they didn't taste too bad. As I fought the overwhelming sense that I was doing something awful to my body, I chowed down on two greasy, gooey, oniony sandwiches.

Afterward, all I could think about was how unhealthy I felt. (it wasn't until later that night that my stomach reacted badly, but that is a story I will not be sharing.) Overall, I felt that I was honor-bound to at least give Krystal's a try. I can now say that I have tasted a Krystal. However, you will not see me going through that drive through anytime soon.

Dear South,
I like you a lot, but I don't like you enough to eat your favorite fast food.
I hope you can forgive me.
Love,

Contrite

ahhhh, the weekend is here. This has been a long, cold week. On Monday the weathermen predicted 2-3 inches of snow for Wednesday morning. Nothin doing. On Wednesday they predicted 1-2 inches for Thursday. 8 am Thursday, no white stuff yet. 10 AM it started coming down. People started worrying about getting home, the roads were rumored to be icing up, the weathermen were getting prime airtime in Nashville. I wasn't worried at all...

Until I got stuck! It was last night on a hill in my apartment complex parking lot. That was right after I watched someone else get stuck and I stubbornly thought that they must not know how to drive in the snow. Ha. Little did I know that the hill was covered by a layer of ice. I thought that if I got some momentum, kept a consistent speed and didn't falter I would make it. Nope, 3/4 of the way to the top my tires lost traction and my car started to spin around. So instead of backing down the hill I had to do a 25 point turn to get unstuck from the awkward angle the ice spun me into. I should also tell you that there is a steep drop off on one side of the road.

I feel contritely embarrassed by my pride. "I'm from the North! I know how to drive in the snow!" Turns out most places here don't buy salt because they need it so infrequently. Plus, while driving in weather like this, it would be wise to be very very careful because most of the people around you are freaked out by the snow. :) okay that's a little exaggerated, but only a little!

My co-workers even wear different footwear and clothing when snow is threatening to come. I could talk about the shovels northerners keep in their cars, or the long drive I used to have to campus in every kind of weather, or the multiple inches of snow that accumulate without care-- But I just got finished telling you how I was humbled yesterday. So I won't. ;)

Settling in...

My days are starting to fall into a regular pattern. It seems fitting for this time of year. I love the smell of the fall air as I'm driving to work. It's still so warm (even in the morning), but it feels like fall. I always dreaded the nervous feeling of starting a new school year, but I do remember the nostalgic feeling of starting fresh. You know-- new pens and notebooks, catching up with friends, wearing new clothes...

Work changes every day. It's been a little bit overwhelming in the last couple of weeks. For awhile, I was learning another big part of my job every day and I felt like I didn't have enough time to try and accomplish anything because each time I turned around someone was telling me it was time to train for a new task. It took some time for me to feel comfortable enough to ask for a little time to catch up. I have a lot of responsibilities and I'm really enjoying taking ownership of some of them.

So on to the less dry parts about my job... haha. One of the best parts about each day is what goes on around the office. Just the jokes and the fun and the Southern phrases. My co-workers think it's fun to teach me every "Southern" phrase they know.
Here are some of my favorites:
1. Y'all (the classic)
2. fix'n (I always get a good laugh when I hear "I'm fix'n to fix that problem...")
3. drew up (means shrink, as in "My pants done drew up in the dryer.")
4. Bless your heart! (means one of two things: "WHAT are you thinking?" or "I feel bad for you..." but both are always accompanied by a slow shake of the head.)
5. Hootie-Who! (hollered with a celebratory shake of a fist)

There isn't a day that goes by that we aren't laughing about a YouTube video or how worked up our boss gets. One of their favorite jokes is on me. They like to talk about how some of them started working at this company before I was even born. I have to admit, that is pretty cool. (Just between you and me, I like their teasing- it makes me think they've accepted me.)

So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. But I'll have to post some pictures of my beautiful room some other time. I finally have things hanging on the walls and such. It's been so fun to decorate. I almost wish I could start all over just because it's so fun. : )