A Philadelphia Story
Well I've now been in Philadelphia for a week and I'm settling in and getting used to the various quirks of the neighborhood and city. What kind of quirks, you ask? Well for one thing, I have to walk about 20 minutes to get to the train station if I want to go somewhere that I will not willingly leave my car for a long period of time (which in Philadelphia means almost anywhere). Once I leave my apartment complex, I get to walk down this wonderful marvel of sidewalk engineering...
Yes they did that on purpose. I get that maybe you want to do that to go around trees and not harm them in any way, but there are some parts where the sidewalk curves because... well, because it can. Nothing like leaving for class or social engagements and feeling like you're walking into a Salvador Dali painting. Incidentally, I can also tell you that this long walk is no fun during a thunderstorm, because I had endure that long slog the other night. That will be the last time I leave my umbrella at home... until the next time I leave my umbrella at home.
I do drive, however, whenever the situation calls for it, like when I have to go to Center City just to go to the bank, or to go to the grocery store. I have chosen ShopRite as my official Philadelphia grocery store for the moment. I am going through a bit of Wegmans withdrawal, and yes I know that there is a Wegmans across the river in Cherry Hill, but as that is in New Jersey and I'd have to pay $4 to leave the state and get home, it kinda makes the exercise pointless. Also, I am now especially wary about driving ANYWHERE in the Philadelphia metro area on a Friday afternoon. That was ridiculous... didn't matter where you were going, you weren't getting there very quickly. People going to the Phillies game, going to Center City, going home to the suburbs from work, going to the shore, going to the Poconos, and apparently all at the same time. I'm taking a trip to State College a week from Friday and I'm already dreading the South Philly-to-PA Turnpike portion of the trip.
In addition to choosing a grocery store, I also needed to choose an official local newscast. This one was easy... gotta go with Channel 6. Why? Because they use "Move Closer to Your World". Yes, I know I'm a media geek... that's why I'm here getting my doctorate. And speaking of local news... got an offer in the mail the other day from the Philadelphia Inquirer, one of the local newspapers here. This special offer said that I could get the Sunday Inquirer delivered to me for the low, low price of... 50 cents more than if I just walked to the gas station for it. Okay, it wasn't just the paper they were offering, it included access to the paper's website and all that entails, and apparently the regular cost of that would be something like $4 a week. However, I have so many other sources for news so I would never use the website. So in the end, they're offering me a $2.25 special on a $1.75 paper. I know that newspapers have to find a way to stay afloat these days, but I would say go back to the drawing board.
In reading the Sunday Inquirer (that I bought for the normal price, thank you), I got yet another dose of the aggravation which is watching PhillyFan revel in the misery of Mets fans like myself. It's gotten so bad that the Philadelphia media and fans don't know whether to keep piling on the abuse or start feeling sorry for us and wishing we had a better (read: healthy) team... so we could choke again. There is nothing worse than your hated rival giving you token sympathy. Then again, we never felt bad about the fact that they sucked for the better part of the late 90s/early 2000s while we were going to playoffs and World Series, so whatever. And then there was PhillyFan's reception of Michael Vick for his first preseason NFL game last week. Not only did they surprise animal-lovers and people of good taste everywhere by giving Vick a standing ovation on his arrival into the game, they chanted for him to come back in after a disjointed performance by Donovan MacNabb led to the Eagles' starting QB giving the on-camera "cut" sign to his offensive coordinator about using the Vick gadget plays.
I have to say this even surprised me. I figured it would take until about two weeks after Vick gets fully reinstated around Week 6 for PhillyFan to call for Vick to start and MacNabb to get the heave-ho. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised, given the fact that these people have hated MacNabb for 10 years, ever since they booed him on Draft Day in '99. They are convinced that the success they've had is despite him and they would've gone farther if not for #5 under center. This, of course, is silly, but silly does rhyme with Philly...
Oh by the way, PA still doesn't have a state budget. It's now 2 months late. New York is starting to get envious of the dysfunction in Harrisburg. For a few weeks, there was anxiety that the state would get its financial house in order by axing the entire $175 million appropriation that my current institution of higher learning was due to get. Thankfully, that and the 50% spike in my tuition that would have resulted were averted for the moment. Still, this is embarrassing. Can't you guys at least have a Senate coup for good measure? Maybe have the governor get caught with a prostitute? Yes, I know the former PA Senate leader just started serving 55 months in a federal prison, but this is still tame...
All in all, though, I am not terribly homesick yet. Although I did miss the Great New York State Fair this year with all of its wonderful fried food and racing pigs. The Sub-Standard, errrrr... Post-Standard recently touted the Fair's ability to do even better in bad economic times because this is substituted for a big family vacation. It can be a (dare I say it... because the P-S did) "Faircation." Just in case you didn't think "staycation" was a dumb enough word, you could have a "Faircation." Okay, new rule: after this blog entry, NOBODY is allowed to use that word in print ever again. Starting now.
Yes they did that on purpose. I get that maybe you want to do that to go around trees and not harm them in any way, but there are some parts where the sidewalk curves because... well, because it can. Nothing like leaving for class or social engagements and feeling like you're walking into a Salvador Dali painting. Incidentally, I can also tell you that this long walk is no fun during a thunderstorm, because I had endure that long slog the other night. That will be the last time I leave my umbrella at home... until the next time I leave my umbrella at home.
I do drive, however, whenever the situation calls for it, like when I have to go to Center City just to go to the bank, or to go to the grocery store. I have chosen ShopRite as my official Philadelphia grocery store for the moment. I am going through a bit of Wegmans withdrawal, and yes I know that there is a Wegmans across the river in Cherry Hill, but as that is in New Jersey and I'd have to pay $4 to leave the state and get home, it kinda makes the exercise pointless. Also, I am now especially wary about driving ANYWHERE in the Philadelphia metro area on a Friday afternoon. That was ridiculous... didn't matter where you were going, you weren't getting there very quickly. People going to the Phillies game, going to Center City, going home to the suburbs from work, going to the shore, going to the Poconos, and apparently all at the same time. I'm taking a trip to State College a week from Friday and I'm already dreading the South Philly-to-PA Turnpike portion of the trip.
In addition to choosing a grocery store, I also needed to choose an official local newscast. This one was easy... gotta go with Channel 6. Why? Because they use "Move Closer to Your World". Yes, I know I'm a media geek... that's why I'm here getting my doctorate. And speaking of local news... got an offer in the mail the other day from the Philadelphia Inquirer, one of the local newspapers here. This special offer said that I could get the Sunday Inquirer delivered to me for the low, low price of... 50 cents more than if I just walked to the gas station for it. Okay, it wasn't just the paper they were offering, it included access to the paper's website and all that entails, and apparently the regular cost of that would be something like $4 a week. However, I have so many other sources for news so I would never use the website. So in the end, they're offering me a $2.25 special on a $1.75 paper. I know that newspapers have to find a way to stay afloat these days, but I would say go back to the drawing board.
In reading the Sunday Inquirer (that I bought for the normal price, thank you), I got yet another dose of the aggravation which is watching PhillyFan revel in the misery of Mets fans like myself. It's gotten so bad that the Philadelphia media and fans don't know whether to keep piling on the abuse or start feeling sorry for us and wishing we had a better (read: healthy) team... so we could choke again. There is nothing worse than your hated rival giving you token sympathy. Then again, we never felt bad about the fact that they sucked for the better part of the late 90s/early 2000s while we were going to playoffs and World Series, so whatever. And then there was PhillyFan's reception of Michael Vick for his first preseason NFL game last week. Not only did they surprise animal-lovers and people of good taste everywhere by giving Vick a standing ovation on his arrival into the game, they chanted for him to come back in after a disjointed performance by Donovan MacNabb led to the Eagles' starting QB giving the on-camera "cut" sign to his offensive coordinator about using the Vick gadget plays.
I have to say this even surprised me. I figured it would take until about two weeks after Vick gets fully reinstated around Week 6 for PhillyFan to call for Vick to start and MacNabb to get the heave-ho. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised, given the fact that these people have hated MacNabb for 10 years, ever since they booed him on Draft Day in '99. They are convinced that the success they've had is despite him and they would've gone farther if not for #5 under center. This, of course, is silly, but silly does rhyme with Philly...
Oh by the way, PA still doesn't have a state budget. It's now 2 months late. New York is starting to get envious of the dysfunction in Harrisburg. For a few weeks, there was anxiety that the state would get its financial house in order by axing the entire $175 million appropriation that my current institution of higher learning was due to get. Thankfully, that and the 50% spike in my tuition that would have resulted were averted for the moment. Still, this is embarrassing. Can't you guys at least have a Senate coup for good measure? Maybe have the governor get caught with a prostitute? Yes, I know the former PA Senate leader just started serving 55 months in a federal prison, but this is still tame...
All in all, though, I am not terribly homesick yet. Although I did miss the Great New York State Fair this year with all of its wonderful fried food and racing pigs. The Sub-Standard, errrrr... Post-Standard recently touted the Fair's ability to do even better in bad economic times because this is substituted for a big family vacation. It can be a (dare I say it... because the P-S did) "Faircation." Just in case you didn't think "staycation" was a dumb enough word, you could have a "Faircation." Okay, new rule: after this blog entry, NOBODY is allowed to use that word in print ever again. Starting now.
Labels: Philadelphia
posted by Dave | 3:35 PM
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