It's a Florida Thing

Recently via Social Media, I found a little funny excerpt about things that only Floridians understand. Since I've already done one on Hoosiers, and since I'm now a Floridian, I thought, "Holy Shit something I can blog about! Why not?"

It's A Florida Thing

1. Socks are only for bowling - &^%$ if I had just seen this prior to my blog entry yesterday!
2. You never use an umbrella because the rain will be over in 5 minutes - Every time family visits and it rains we remind them of this when they start whining. "Keep walking," we say, "In five steps you'll be where it is dry."
3. A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store, but everything to do with shade - It was a catch twenty two when the kids were little. Parking in shady spots meant longer walks to the store trying to keep their hands in mine and safe, but compared to their sweaty bodies, red faces, and misery when we didn't park in the shade it was worth it. This is most true in the summer.
4. You can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites - My first experience with fire ants came when I was working at the pool. We rented out our facility and park which meant that we had to clean up the facility and park afterwards. I was with another lifeguard hauling trash when he looked down and mentioned I was in a fire ant hill. I pffted him since we had ants in Indiana. That lasted until the first fire bite. I attempted to brush them off, but finally took his advice, ran straight back to the pool, and jumped in with my clothes and shoes still on.
5. Anything under 70 degrees is chilly - Uh, yes.
6. You know that no other grocery store can compare to Publix - Just like #5, I believe I have written about this too.
7. You know that anything under a Category 3 just isn't worth waking up for - I'm not so sure this is spot on. Maybe it should say "isn't worth boarding up for".
8. You dread love bug season - This was another thing I had to learn about like the fire ants. Since my car is mainly in the garage it isn't as much of an issue as it was back in my non-garage days.
9. You know what a snow bird is and when they'll leave - They are pesky, slow moving, money spending road and beach hogs and they are gone by April. Every. Year.
10. You think a six-foot alligator is actually pretty average - Please. That's nothing around here.
11. "Down South" means Key West - Wait, we weren't in the Union?
12. Flip Flops are daily wear. Shoes are for business meetings - Never wore shoes when I first moved here until I became old.
13. You have a drawer full of bathing suits and one sweatshirt - Yep. Spot on. My one sweatshirt is a Pittsburgh Steelers one, and the only time I wear it is when I travel up north.
14. You get annoyed at the tourists who feed the seagulls - We just griped about this one two days ago. People! STOP. Most of the seagulls aren't even afraid anymore. I handed my friend two goldfish at the beach and one landed on her head to get at it.
15. You know the four seasons are really, hurricane season, love bug season, tourist season, and summer - Right now it's tourist season.
16. You can pronounce Okeechobee, Kissimmee, Withlacoohee, Thonotosassa, and Micanopy - This is one of my favs. Yep. We can. And we love to hear non-Floridians attempt it.
17. You understand why it is better to have a friend with a boat than have a boat yourself - Learned this one with my SIL who use to have a boat. Apparently, they've forgotten because they want one again.
18. You've worn shorts and used the A/C on Christmas and New Year's - Uh, yes, especially the last two years!