Where everybody knows my name…

I just drove back from Jersey…took me 5.5 hours , which isn’t too bad at all relatively speaking.  I went down for the weekend to see my parents.  My sis flew out from Cali too.  It is my parents anniversary on the 19th 🙂  28 years man!

We mostly ended up painting the ceiling of my sis’s old room cuz there was a leak in the roof and the water stained the ceiling.  We got a new washer   & dryer for the home and my sis did my parents tax return.  So, it was good overall. 

I have been trying to find a new apartment for some time now in nearby towns.  I only moved into the place I live now because they offered ‘temporary’ housing where I just pay by the week so it was a pretty good deal for my internship situation.  I did not know anything about the town what so ever , and since it was so temporary , I didn’t really care much.  

Of course, I ended up staying a bit longer than I had intended…almost 5 months.  And now that I am planning on leaving, it has got me thinking about this town and the ways I have become tied to it over time.  For example, the gas station guy, he fills up the gas for me and over the past few months we have gotten to chit chatting while the gas is pumping.  Then, when I went there with a new car he noticed and was happy that I finally got a new car.

Then, there is the uncle at the Indian Bakery where I go to get dosas at least once a week.  He is a father like person to me.  One day he asked me if I was a student and I said no I work in the area and he asked if I was a vegetarian and I said yes.  So he told me that if I ever have a craving to eat something, just let him know and they would make it for me, seperate since I am a veggie 🙂 .   And he gave me free yogurt to go with my biryani.  And he also told me to think of that place like home and if I ever needed anything food wise , to just ask him. 

Then, there is the lady at the laundromat.  I went to that laundromat a few times to do laundry and she was always a bit short with me.  Then, after a couple of months of seeing me there, one day she started chatting to me.  Sh was folding clothes and so was I and we ended up talking about politics, to Britney Spears, to her new job, and her experiences in the corporate world and I told her I was an engineer and she told me she didn’t believe me and that I looked like a kid.

Then there is the folks at Panera Bread and at the Subway I always go to.  I am a ‘regular’ , they know my sandwich and they know my name. 

I think this is what home means to people.  Familiarity, and a sense of belonging.  I think this type of small talk is more significant to people who live alone.  Sometimes, these conversations with these once strangers, is the only conversation I have all day and because of that it means all the more to me.  These people whose names I don’t even know have a place in my life that they will never know.  And when I move and stop going to all these places, I wonder if they will ever think of me?  I wonder how long before we forget each other?