MoreCooler.com: It's more cooler with the thing

So, here I am in the "South," land of wooly Republicans, buck-toothed rednecks, and harsh climates... Or so one would think. In the past week:

* I just had some of the best Japanese food of my life in a great little place down the road called "Wujari". It was run by actual Japanese people, and it's not even the only one in this area; Raleigh beats out SLO for per-capita Japanese restaurants.

* Last night I was up until 2 AM (after having shifted my schedule to something more normal) because it was SO FREAKIN' HOT. NC is supposed to have the seasons that CA lacks, but last night we had all the windows open and fans going full steam. Where's my white Christmas!?

* Nobody has a southern accent! Well, I shouldn't say nobody; I hear them here and there, but they're intermittent exceptions to the rule. I heard about as many in SLO. Apparently, with the economy so bad elsewhere, and with Raleigh bordering "Research Triangle Park" ("the new Silicon Valley"), the city has so many immigrants that the accent has gone the way of the dodo unless you head for cabins in the woods.

That made me giggle.

Remember that SLO is a pretty Republican, white-bread sort of town itself. They probably ran the Japanese out the way they try to get rid of those pesky college students. ;-)

See, we didn't want you to leave, so we all got together and built a little amusement park in CA that looks like NC. But there weren't all that many southern actors available, and that little Japanese place just wouldn't turn into a Chicken and Waffle place like we asked. But otherwise, I think you will agree that it turned out pretty good.... So, Merry Christmas!