Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am

This one's about places, smells, and Hollis.

"Have you ever visited a place that remains in your consciousness, long after you left? Was it the people? The architecture?"

What up y'all? Been a long day...and I swore to myself I'd start this earlier to get it out of the way, but nope. That didn't happen. I hate when I do that.

Anyway, this is a tough prompt. I'm tempted to say no...not because there hasn't been a particular place that has inspired me in such a way, but because I've been to a lot of different areas and have seen a lot of things. By no means am I some fancy world traveler person, but I've made my way around a little.

Before I get into my actual response though, allow me a little side rant that came to mind while I was pondering this. Here's what I find annoying about travelling, or maybe this should just be more specific to people who relocate: people who go somewhere and suddenly take on the accent and/or dialect native to a specific region. Example: when I was younger, I had a group of friends through a girlfriend...and one of them moved from Buffalo to Boston for school. Buffalonians have their tics and traits, but our accent (if you can even call it that) is nothing compared to Boston's. So this girl comes back during Thanksgiving break- she's been in Boston for maybe three months- and she's speakin' straight outta Beantown like she's lived there all her life. I wanted to shake her and scream "Stop it!! You're annoying because that's not your voice!" but I restrained myself and I don't remember how I did but I wish I did because I'm sure I could probably use that as some kind of coping mechanism today. But anyway...why do people do that? I even caught myself doing it once...in the span of a few months awhile back I spent a long weekend in New York City, and when I came back I started dating a girl who was born and raised just outside of NYC, and wound up working with some New Jersey transplants. Because I was surrounded by what I can only consider a verbal assault on my ears and vocal cords, I began to take on characteristics of their speech patterns. Friends that weren't associated with these people took notice and started mocking me because I was saying words like "car" and "far" differently. And I know what you're thinking! How can three stupid little letters be pronounced in a manner that you're not accustomed to? Lemme tell ya, it happens. I don't know how, I don't know why, and it's ridiculous. /end rant.

So yeah, anyway, this prompt...I'm evoking the twist method here, mainly because it's my blog and I can. Y'all know I'm a Buffalo native living in Cortland now, but Cortland's not home. Buffalo's home. Every time I go back and visit I wanna stay. It's everything...people, places, familiarity. Even if I haven't actually been through downtown in a couple of years, and some of it has changed since and my last memories aren't exactly positive, it'll never leave me. If I stay in Cortland the rest of my life (God forbid) or if I move on to someplace else, I'll always be a true Western New Yorker at heart. #buffalove

"What smell do you immediately associate with Christmas or Hanukkah or this time of year (December)? I almost said winter; then I remembered that it is not winter in some places during Christmas or Hanukkah."

Cinnamon is the first one that comes to mind...I can be standing in a store in the middle of July, smelling a plain cinnamon candle, and suddenly I'm mentally transcending into holiday loathing and hatred associated with retail work. That's why I refuse to buy cinnamon-scented air fresheners as well. It's a pleasant smell, no doubt, but for some reason it just reminds me of the ugly parts of Christmas, and not the joyful stuff.

And as soon as I typed "Cinnamon", pine popped in my head. Pine's not so bad, I think, because in my opinion I don't think many people burn pine-scented candles throughout the year (and don't ask me why I'm so fixated on candles; I have no idea). Although I'm sure if you really wanted your pine fix, you could try huffing a bottle of Pine Sol, or tacking up a bunch of those little trees people hang around their rear view mirrors...good luck with that though. Anyway, pine to me represents the calmness of a Christmas tree, just chillin' in the corner smellin' all nice and bein' sparkly with tinsel and lights and ornaments and whatnot. It's the one thing that (usually) stays in one place during its existence throughout the season (I've never really had crazy-acting animals or over-adventurous small children to worry about bringing down a tree, so please save me from your stories about how "trees don't stay in one place!!"; don't try to ruin my shine); while the hustle and bustle is on until the fat bastard makes his way down your chimney, the constant- the standard- is the tree. Even if it's artificial...just looking at it reminds me that it's imitating something that's supposed to smell like pine, and I can almost sense it in an associative way.

Pretty straightforward stuff right there.

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I figured somewhere along the way during the "12 Days of "Christmas"" , someone (if not me) was gonna post "Christmas In Hollis" by Run DMC...ever since it came out it's been a favorite of mine and has often been my ringtone during the holiday season. But late last night I saw that one of my favorite bands, Reggie And The Full Effect, covered it and are releasing it as a limited edition 7" single. RATFE, for the uninformed, is very undefinable, with songs ranging from death metal to Eurotrash synth pop to basic pop/punk...they're all over the place. Enjoy their fun, bouncy version, "X-Mas In Hollis".

"The rhymes you hear are the rhymes of Darryl's,
But each and every year we bust Chrsitmas carols."
Lyrics.  

Stuck on what to get that hard-to-buy-for person in your life? Buzzfeed has you covered with this list of fancy things you can get at Target  . And please, don't pronounce it "Tar-jay". No one likes you when you do that. It's not cute, it's not stylish, and you sound like you're choking on your tonsils when that noise leaves your throat. It'll always be "Tar-get", and no, they're not paying me to say any of this. But they should.

Ok, well, I've killed enough minutes of your life that you'll never get back for one day, so I'll leave you be to do other things that are hopefully more productive, redeeming, and entertaining. Thanks for stopping by; come again! Peace, chillin' and coolin', and GOODNIGHT NOW!!