- You can’t say words that have more than 2 syllables.
- You ask people questions about their personal life, and they answer!
- You’re gorgeous.
- You think you’re fat, but you’re 5’10″ and 98 lb. You also keep telling people that you’re so fat whenever you eat something.
- You know all the celebrity gossip. And all the movies that are coming out.
- Even out-there parents in the rest of the country think your parenting philosophies are weird.
- You’ve got tons of friends in “the industry.”
- You complain about being broke while making >$200K/year.
- People put probabilities on whether or not you’re going to show up and whether or not something is going to happen.
- You’re often late if you show up at all. You don’t get upset if folks leave without you.
- Highways begin with “the”, eg the 101, the 5, the 10 etc.
- Earthquakes are no big deal.
- You know not to get in the car when it starts sprinkling.
- You put on a ski jacket when the temperature reaches 60F.
- You call that city upstate, “San Fran”
It’s been a few years… what are we missing?
June 26, 2011 at 9:14 am
I am not sure if it’s a SoCal-specific thing, but you know someone is from California when they talk about the state as a paradise where everything is perfect (agriculture, culture, people, etc) and everything else in the USA pales in comparison. When you mention a flaw that California has, however, they either instantly agree or pretend they didn’t hear you.
June 26, 2011 at 9:26 am
Except that it’s true… California *is* paradise. The food is great, it’s a liberal paradise, there’s a ton of great stuff to do, there’s so many people that you can find ones you like… and really it’s the weather. The weather makes everything better.
Californians are perfectly happy to complain about the government and taxes.
June 26, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Yep. I will happily admit that my state government is a complete mess, and that our property tax system is a disaster that has starved our schools of funding.
But the weather is really nice!
June 27, 2011 at 8:58 am
Interesting read – http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/27/california.dream.census.slump/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
June 27, 2011 at 9:04 am
Ironically, there’s another article in CNN today about how Northern CA rents are skyrocketing as the tech industry picks up hiring.
The SoCal article is a bit misleading– population is still growing, just not as fast as it used to be.
June 26, 2011 at 9:22 am
- Your waitress is more likely to tell you about your aura than today’s specials
- You belong to multiple gyms (my personal record was 3 at one time… and that was not unusual)
- You think duck breast, pear, arugula, and goat cheese are perfectly normal pizza toppings
June 26, 2011 at 9:24 am
YES. Truth!!!
June 27, 2011 at 8:40 am
And no waiter is a waiter because they’re all actors or singers trying for their break.
People wear a lot of black, even though it’s hot.
The Santa Anas suck the sense out of everyone and make people crazy.
Normal people exist, but they can’t afford to do anything fun because they spend all their money on rent.
ps. You absolutely hit on the mark with the “the” before freeway numbers!
June 27, 2011 at 8:45 am
Ha! Yes, all true. Though there’s lots of free fun stuff to do… if you can get to it.
June 27, 2011 at 2:23 pm
You don’t know distances; you only know how long it takes to get somewhere (as in “it’s a 30 minute drive or an hour drive in traffic).
You have a therapist, acupuncturist, personal fitness trainer (and even if you don’t have a personal trainer, you smartly refer to the yoga teacher as “your” yoga teacher, and you have done yoga and/or pilates at least once).
You don’t get too upset if people flake out on you.
When you go to an event, you’re usually the only one who has a 9 to 5 job. The rest belong to “the biz” or hold a hodge-podge of freelance jobs.
You have friends who spend years “working” on a movie (their own self-finance pet projects) and you have NO idea how they support themselves.
You don’t think it’s a big deal to see movie/TV stars.
June 27, 2011 at 2:28 pm
So true! And you have different times for traffic vs. not.
Yes to all of the above!
June 27, 2011 at 3:35 pm
You have a Thomas Guide and need it. And “Creative Use of Surface Streets” is a phrase that means a lot to you.
June 27, 2011 at 3:55 pm
ooh, Thomas guide used to be true… now everybody has garmins and tomtoms!