Dirty Jersey

I have now officially lived in New Jersey for over a year. I have a New Jersey driver's license and Jersey plates on my car. One of the funniest things about living here is when I meet new people and tell them that I moved to Jersey. Everyone assumes that if you're in Jersey your from Jersey. When I share that I chose to come to New Jersey, the most commonly asked question is why. It's understandable as Jersey has the reputation for being the armpit of America. I figured its about time I reflected back on my time in Jersey to give it a fair evaluation.

Things I Hate About Jersey:

Air Quality Alerts - Checking the weather on my phone and receiving a large red warning that I'm not going to be able to breath basically every day throughout the summer is not funny.

NJ Drivers - Possibly the worst drivers ever.  First, the left lane is the PASSING lane, not the I'm going under the speed limit lane.  Second, the road lines are not there so that you can pretend that you are in a pac-man game and take up 2 lanes.  Lastly, the Jersey slide where you merge across 4 lanes of traffic in under 5 seconds is not a driving technique.

The Jersey Shore - I hate this show.  I have actually (proudly) never watched an episode.  They are glorifying stupidity.

The Fist Pump - This is not a valid dance move, nor does it make you look cool.

Things I Like About Jersey:

Gas Stations - They pump your gas.  Year round.  No standing out freezing in the cold or smelling disgustingly of gas for the rest of the day AND its still cheaper than any other surrounding states.

The PATH - Being able to get into NYC so easily is awesome.  It makes tons of fun very accessible, especially for seeing people like Ang and Mofo.

The Jersey Shore - The actual coast.  I love that the beach is close enough that I can go even when I only have a day.

December Wish List

November is over. I cannot believe that there is only 1 month left in 2010. Traditionally wish lists at this time of year are for Santa, but I have a few goals I would like to accomplish on my own. So to follow Anna's lead, I figured if wrote down my end of the year plans I might be more likely to achieve them:

Sign Up for a BLS class - I have now officially allowed my certification to run out and have been meaning to renew it since the summer (BLS = Basic Life Support AKA CPR).

Complete a JAAPA CME - I need to get on top of my continuing education credits for my Physician Assistant certification. There is a medical journal that offers online quizzes after reading it for credits.  It's pretty simple and I've been meaning to start this since the summer as well.

Send My Sister Oreo Balls - Alexa (one of my PA friends) has a delicious oreo cookie recipe that I think would be perfect to brighten up Karin's first finals crunch time.

Loose 5 Pounds - My eating habits lately have been pretty lax and I have an awesome little black New Year's Eve dress.

Get Skiing - I have it on good intel that Santa Claus is bring me new skis if I'm good. This leaves only a small time window of the last week in the month to go skiing, but I'm confident I can get it done.

See the Nutcracker - Tickets are already bought for the NYC Ballet's Nutcracker, but I would also like to see the performance by the kids at the ballet school where I've been taking classes.

Try a Slow-Cooker Dessert - I bought a slow-cooker cookbook over a month ago and am very intrigued by the dessert section. Christmas seems like the perfect time to try this out.

Spend TIme with Family - I have the last week in December off so this should be easy, but it seemed important to write it down since (other than Thanksgiving) I haven't seen my family much since our summer vacation.

Hopefully, I'll be able to accomplish all these things before 2011 hits. Anyone else have big plans for the end of the year?