georgia

this is a list of my observations of things that are uniquely georgia. maybe uniquely southern, but i haven't explored enough of the south to be sure. and maybe to be completely fair this list is uniquely columbus and the chattahoochee valley area, since i have not spent much time in the other parts, except for atlanta which i adore.

•  slanted parking spaces. the worst. if you turn into a parking lot lane the "wrong" way you will have to turn into the next lane to park, except you will still be facing the wrong direction to pull into the slanted spaces that columbus insists on having almost everywhere.
• dead armadillos along the road. the only time i've ever wanted to examine roadkill more closely and maybe even take a picture. they're like little dinosaurs to me.
• it's a sauna. i read about someone in maine calling 95 degrees an incredibly hot summer, and thought, 'that's nothing.' even when it rains, which has been frequently this summer, it does not cool down at all and might even get hotter. i love summer nights in the north, in hawaii, everywhere i've ever been, but in georgia? no. it does not cool down even in the evenings. i have all the respect in the world for lance and everyone else who must work outside here - horrendous!
• grits, cornbread, BBQ, collard greens, boiled peanuts, fried everything. 
• the grocery store sells out of bacon.
• no one uses their turn signals. we feel we are surrounded by terrible drivers here. (plenty of examples but they are not worth listing or i'll get worked up just thinking about how ridiculous it is.)
• fantastic roads though, so smooth and well-designed to equip the population here. (unlike pennsylvania.)
• people are obsessed with college football.
• deer are skinny and look more like fawns.
• cute little lizards are all around. 
• so far only one snake sighting for me (phew) but lance sees lots at work.
• flimsy looking pine trees. looking even flimsier if you happen to follow a truck hauling a load of pine that looks like it could flop right off and smash your windshield.
• recycling isn't a priority. i have not seen signs of recycling anywhere actually.
• punctuality does not seem to be a priority either. every sunday church seems pretty empty but about 30 minutes into the service almost every seat is taken. at the eye doctor last week i waited more than an hour and today (i had to go back for followup) i waited more than an hour and a half. when i told the assistant i had another meeting i needed to get to, he asked what it was and what time, and then he said, "oh, okay yeah, if it's with the army then they mean 5 when they say 5!" i wanted to ask if when eye doctors in georgia say a time it actually means an hour and a half later but somehow i refrained.
• mulch is rare, people use pine needle bales to "mulch" instead.
• according to people from alabama, when it's raining and the sun i shining the "word" for that is: "the devil must be beating his wife." the people who told us this could not believe we didn't have a "word" for that. that's actually a phrase that makes no sense for that, but no, we do not have a word for that.
• if you want a nice lawn, or any semblance of grass, you'll pour a lot of money into special types of grass and an intense sprinkler system.
• tons of pollen, lots of allergies and itchy eyes in the spring and into summer.
• lots of fountains and pools.
• sweet tea everywhere. i'm not a fan. lance likes it occasionally.
• dodge chargers and ford mustangs = most popular cars. kias are close behind.
• crazy intense thunderstorms and lots of them.
• at a volunteer training today i was taken aback when security was being discussed and almost all of the women started talking about how they "always pack."
• georgia has 159 counties. compared to pennsylvania's 67ish, here it feels like you're always driving into a new county. 
• if southern hospitality exists, it has eluded us so far. people love to go out to eat here. and on any given day every restaurant parking lot you drive by is packed. even more surprising to me is how every fast food restaurant i pass ALWAYS has a line of cars stretching around the  building. blech.