Oklahoma and Thoughts on the East Coast

So, I've been a bad blogger again. I keep thinking of things I want to write about, but failing to actually open up my blog and post it.

This is what I've been meaning to write about. This here. Yeah, this. Here we go.

I was in Oklahoma little over a month ago. It was a relaxing weekend with my mom, brother, sister, step dad, step mom, and dad. Oh, and the BF came along-his first jaunt to OK!

One morning I took the BF on a drive around my hometown. Now, it's been nearly ten years since I've lived there and, even though my parents still live there, it has been a few years since I've driven around town. But, it was so odd because it all came back to me in a rush. The lay of the land. Where to make turns. How quickly to accelerate into traffic. It came back so easy. I knew exactly where I was, where I was going, and what to expect. It was amazing that that feeling came back and, quite frankly, an amazing feeling to have.

I've been living on the East Coast for almost five years now. That's quite a long time. I know how to get around. I know where things are. And, with my trusty Garmin, I can probably get around in most of the nearby towns. But I don't have nearly the same experience driving here as I did in my hometown. I don't know where all the local dives are. I don't know the best place to buy milk (not that I regularly drink milk). I've seen a lot of the surface of this area, but I haven't really seen what lies underneath.

This is something I struggle with. And, I guess when it comes down to it, I just want to feel like a local again. I'm not sure if I can ever go home and be a local of my hometown again, but I'd like to invest my time and attention into where I'm at now to really feel like a local, like I really live here. I'm tired of just seeing the surface and feeling like I'm just here for now. Chances are, I'll be in this area for awhile. And I want to really like it and get into it, but I'm just not sure where to start.

I think the first thing I have to do is forgive the East Coast for not being my hometown. There are no Braums, Sonics, good Mexican places, or Hobby Lobbys here. But, there are more ethnic restaurants, Trader Joes, more museums and art galleries than I know what to do with, and enough pho places to satisfy my pho cravings from here to eternity. Also, I have to acknowledge that traffic is going to suck, people are going to be rude, and no one but the BF (who was raised in Kansas) will hold the door open for me. But, on the flipside, there's less country music out here (people listen to it, but it isn't blaring in every store and restaurant) and Nascar isn't the center of most people's lives.

Every place has its positives and negatives. I'm sure I'd get sick of OK if I lived there again. I'm sure I'd miss the East Coast if I left here. Who knows. Maybe I should move to the West Coast so I can make a complete analysis. New England? No, too cold there for me. The South? I don't know. We shall see where the road leads...