They talk more down here. Which can be nice and friendly, and other days it can bug the crap out of me because it seems to demand I be in a friendly mood all the damn time.

Yeah. Which is why it's kind of nice to be in New England. Although, since I've been feeling better, I tend to be more on the chatty side, which gets me a lot of, "Where are you from?" And much confusion when I say, "Boston." "No, I mean, where are you from?" "Oh, right."

In my job, the people I interact with tend to be very nervous and try to make small talk with me to sort of cover that. A lot of it is in Spanish, which to my brain means that I have no context to cling to so I'm left going, "what?"

For example, today a guy tried to ask me if my husband and I were done having kids (I had just mentioned that we will soon have a boy and a girl) only the phrased he used was something close to "closed for business" and I had zero idea of what he meant.

I liked it better pre-baby when they just asked where I was from and left it at that.

I live in New England and strangers feel the need to talk to me constantly. I must be doing something wrong.

I live in New England and strangers feel the need to talk to me constantly. I must be doing something wrong.

You just must be running into me a lot. I'm sorry about that.

Boy still can't get over how much we smalltalk over here.

Bwah! I thought you meant over here at buffistas.

Baltimore is the friendliest place I've ever lived. It's way more friendly than the most Southern place I lived, Greensboro, NC. (Uh...despite the crime. But even the junkies will often say "Hi Hon" to you on the street.)

I remember being shocked by a convenience store clerk having a pleasant conversation with me when I first moved from Boston to SF.

You just must be running into me a lot. I'm sorry about that.

No. They tend not to be witty and super smart, otherwise I wouldn't mind them talking to me in the first place.

Bwah! I thought you meant over here at buffistas.

Ha! He has commented on that too...

K-Bug is settling in at Trader Joe's and their cashiers are encouraged to make small talk with the customers. Pre-inside information, I thought I just kept hitting chatty people, but it s a company thing.

oh good , Allyson already mentioned it in press while I was catchin gup.

We were back in New England last may. We went to a party where , we knew only a few people. If the party had been here in Ca - instantly a group would have surrounded the strangers - food and wine thrust in their hands and conversation. Back in VT - we were pointed to food and drink - polite greeting were exchanged and that was it. I don't know if I can ever go back to that.