things i like about new jersey (so far)

-the sales tax at IKEA when i bought my bookshelf last week was 3.5%
-gas is around $1.55 a gallon and i can fill my tank for under $20 without ever getting out of my car (nj is all full service gas stations)
-i went to the ocean today :)
-"rush hour traffic" is equivalent to an off time of day in chicago
-parking RIGHT in front of my house
-laundry right outside my bedroom!
-cheaper everything
-diners, diners, diners
-trees! everywhere i drive, trees alongside
-small towns

all summer my kitchen has been ungodly hot when compared to my living room. the window is busted, so i have a crate holding it open. leaving the back door open seems to help a bit, but there is a window pane in the screen door, so it doesn't really let in much air unless i open that too, but then bugs get in. i have a fan in here, but it's super powerful and loud, so i don't use it unless it's in the 90's and i might pass out.

today, as i was sitting on the porch eating lunch, i noticed a reflection off the open kitchen window. oh wait, it wasn't actually open. there is a storm window pane AND a screen, and the pane had been shut all along. after much struggle with the screens and the broken window, i managed to raise the pane halfway, put the screen back down, and prop the window with the crate. now there is a breeze. what a concept.