P-town vs. G-town

Well, I've finally figured out something that I think may be the root of my weirdness with the people skills in the new homestead. Can you tell I'm trying to be diplomatic with my wording? It's not because I'm feeling judgmental about it, but mainly because people always take me the wrong way -- I guess the way I word things makes people think I'm being caustic, when a lot of the times, I'm not.

Anyway, here's what I've figured out: the people here, in comparison to the people back home, are incredibly... guarded. I want to say secretive, because that's how it feels to me, but I guess "private" is more appropriate.

Of course, my experience in G-town is limited to the people I hung around with, and my experience in P-town is limited the same way... this is just my personal observation. But here's what I see through my jme-goggles:

Back home, people are wide open about everything, particularly if you have a personal relationship with them. I knew all kinds of crap about people that I worked with, even when I barely knew them personally, so you can imagine how much I really knew about the people I hung around with. I know when they go to the doctor, when their kids have problems at school, how much they paid for their last pair of shoes, where they get their hair done, etc. etc. etc.

Here, I guess people like to keep things to themselves. It's very weird to me, to hear about one of Tony's immediate family members having a major medical crisis or a work crisis that nearly costs them jobs after the crisis is over. It sort of offends me, that they don't trust us or care enough to talk to us about things. Like, if my mom gets a lump in her breast, I'm going to be pissed if I only hear about it after she has it biopsied. I was super irritated when I found out that Kimberly was pregnant for Maddie and found out that I had been one of the later people to find out, and that was kept quiet for understandable reasons.

It's very strange to me that people that we spend a lot of time (at work or outside) with will have parents die, will search for new jobs, will have some sort of celebration or crisis, and we aren't told about it. It makes me feel like an outsider all the time.

I guess this is compoundedly (is that a word?) bad because I am like an effing open book 99% of the time, as long as it won't get me in legal or professional trouble. Like, if you want to see my c-section scar, just ask. I'll tell you right now the exact amount I make every month on my paycheck after taxes. How much I paid for my house. If you read this for any length of time, you'll see, since I've been pretty open in my private blogging about my struggle with being depressed and my love of Prozac, my joys and miseries about being a mom, etc. (And I plan on doing the same here.)

So I guess I've finally realized an insight that may help me in the future: P-town people are just to themselves way more than I am used to. Maybe I can stop being offended or having my feelings hurt when people aren't forthcoming about their lives... I can't imagine being best friends with someone who can't share his/her important stuff with me the way people back home would, but I can at least try to stop being sad or angry.

Another weird thing about here -- something small - doctor's appointments. It took me a good year to realize that, unlike back home, if you show up to the doctor's office early, they do not call you in early, regardless of the schedule. People here are on time or late; I guess it's a cultural thing for you to always be early back in the big LA.

Currently reading: Leaving Dirty Jersey: A Crystal Meth Memoir
Recently watched: Hide and Seek with Dakota Fanning and Robert DeNiro