Last night, I got some good advice from a good gal who’s lived in several areas of the country with her job. It was so funny, I had to share.

Her first piece of advice –

Never say you’re from the East Coast.

Naturally (and naively), I asked why.

The response: You don’t have to tell them because you talk funny. Break out water (that’s pronounced “wooder” to all non-Philadelphian-area readers) and it’s all over. They will know immediately you are not a local. And even worse, they will know you are from the East Coast, and that immediately demotes you to the bottom of the like-ability list based solely on stereotypes. The horror. Who knew? Not me.

That last part is a good tip considering I know no one (still just the realtor!), I don’t want to inadvertently steer people away from wanting to be my friend by asking them if they wanted a good, old-fashioned glass of ice wooder from the newest East Coaster in town.

Her second piece of advice –

Do not ever, ever, EVER weigh in on recycling.

It’s done differently everywhere. And it’s a more sensitive topic than Democratic or Republican. Don’t ask how it’s done, don’t give an opinion on how you’d do it or how you used to do it or how you want to do it. Read the bottles, read the township instructions and comply. The end.

Excellent input. I definitely had ‘recycling’ in my list of safe topics. It’s now squarely on the ‘things not to talk about’ list. Right under organic food vs. conventional food and identifying myself as an East Coaster.

I am wondering what else I shouldn’t talk about. Any ideas?

Of course, I now distinctly remember asking the realtor if he wanted a bottle of wooder when we first met him. Two strikes – I said ‘water’ AND it ended with recycling since it was in a plastic bottle. Nuts.