EAST COAST LIFESTYLED

I have recently come to the realisation that my Foodie is not the peculiar one; I am.

Well out here anyway.

Why?

EAST COAST LIFESTYLE

I have been struggling with what that really means.  I have now been out East for close to 6 months and started to notice some of the things that make me recognizable as "from away".  I mean we're all Canadian but East Coast really does have its own culture and here is what I have finally put my finger on:

Life experience is most peoples' goal.  From the time they wake-up till their last moments before bed. It's all about what experience they enjoy TODAY.  Or, at the very least, this week.
Its not about the the "maybes ", "somedays" or "I wishes" as those times may never come.  So let's make this day-to-day toil an experience!

The most obvious way this is obtained is through human interaction.

Scotians love to talk!

It's really hard to maintain a smart phone relationship with all these people wanting to chat.  They want to share with you the smallest of things and most Scotians want to hear it too!
It has been a major adjustment for me to embrace this.  Out west, idle chit-chat is a formality and an attempt at good manors.  It's a dance between knowing how much to say and the exact  limit of your audiences' attention span.  Why?  There's too much shit to do and money to make!

Out here, however, I have learnt to be careful when asking "How are you?"

My first introduction to this was at our local watering hole.  I sat at the bar alone as I was waiting for my Foodie after work.

Now, sitting at the bar out West means two things:

1.  You're a drunk
2.  You're lonely

Both of which mean...keep your distance!

Sitting at a bar out East means:

1.  Your up for a pint and fair game for a chat

My baptism into this East Coast Lifestyle happened just this way.  As I sat alone in my comfortable, isolation bubble some weirdo beside me started talking to me.

AH! BUBBLE BURST!

Being a good Westerner, I politely nodded and gave one word answers and made sure to project negative body language in hopes of dissuading him from continuing to socialise with  me.  It only slightly worked.  Then I watched with amazement as new people came to the bar and his attention quickly shifted to them.  Effortlessly, a dynamic conversation began to unfold between complete strangers.  

I watched in complete awe.

But this is not a unique phenomenon and I have come to learn these interactions evolve into friendships that can be categorized into three levels:

Friend for the Night.  You probably will never see this person again but you thoroughly enjoyed their company and are grateful for their company that night

Bar Friend.  The proximity of this bar is similar for both of you and you will most likely bump into each other again and start up where you left off on next encounter

Social Friend.  Something in your conversation has triggered the need to explore more with this person and social media contacts are exchanged.

But what is being talked about?

Well before I divulge that dear reader, I want to offer some personal insights:

A great many Scotians are highly educated and under employed.   This creates a Blue Collar attitude with White Collar mind.

Humility meets Pride

Simplicity meets complexity

Reality meets Theory

Most predominat: Third Class meets First Class

So you will hear discussions about politics, human rights, art, food, theatre, sports, health, science, music....

All with in the span of 5 minutes  with a nice speckling of "fuck" and "god love ya!"

And people are genuinely interested and want to hear what you have to say.

It happens everywhere, all the time.

At work on your 15 minute break.

In line at the check-out

Waiting for the bus

With your server at the restaurant.

With the check-out lady.

Because, after all, you find Life itself is really so damn amazing when you take the time to enjoy every little detail and share it with others.

You don't need to save up; you don't have to work overtime.

My gerbil mind is learning to get off the wheel.

So, I will wait that extra five minutes in line while the cashier looks at pictures of her costumers grand-children; what a joy!

And I'll walk around the people blocking a busy street talking about the show last night and perhaps ask them the title and should I check it out.

And at the bar, I'll join the discussion on the latest hot topic in the news and enjoy the exchange of thought.

 And of course...I will wait the extra 2 minutes before eating my entree so my Foodie can take that perfect picture so she can share with others how fantastic this dining experience is.

And yeah!  I got time for a beer..where were you thinking?

EAST COAST LIFESTYLE:

LEVEL=1...and counting