It's almost un-American at this point, and certainly does not speak to my ambition or adventurousness.

I've been at the same place for almost 15 years now (it'll be 15 years on Valentine's Day), and I really think I need to get out. Every time I get comfortable with some BS they pull, I think "surely this will be enough for them," and they go "hold my beer." But the inertia is pretty overwhelming by now. Like you, I feel like it speaks to my level of ambition, but what can I say; I fear change.

Speaking of change, I'm so vicariously enjoying your new adventure, msbelle!

NO BEER IN GROCERY STORES!!! HOW DARE.

!!! When I go to NY for the summer I grumble about having to go to a liquor store for wine. We have beer and wine in grocery stores here.

NO BEER IN GROCERY STORES!!! HOW DARE.

Are you sure you thought this whole "move to Maryland" thing through, msbelle?

I think you're required to develop a taste for Natty Boh ... wherever you can find it (speaking as being in proximity to Baltimore, although not actually there). And could you get something delivered? or is it just easier to camp out?

!!! When I go to NY for the summer I grumble about having to go to a liquor store for wine. We have beer and wine in grocery stores here.

Literally never occurred to me that there could be grocery stores without a liquor section. How weird.

NY has beer in grocery stores but not wine or liquor. And liquor stores don't carry beer.

Ohio has wine and beer in grocery stores, but not liquor. I'm pretty sure liquor stores have them all, BUT -- and this is key -- we go to Northern Kentucky to buy alcohol because it's cheaper there.

t edit By "we," I mean cheap-asses like me who live in southwestern Ohio. I assume someone wouldn't drive from Cleveland to Northern Kentucky just for some cheap bourbon.

Wait beer but not wine? So weird. I've lived in/been to places where liquor was at separate stores but beer and wine were available, or where it was all in separate stores or all in all stores...but usually beer and wine were treated the same. Weird!

They changed from beer only to beer-and-wine in TN while I was there. It was big. Still needed a special store for liquor. Minnesota is nothing-in-the-grocery.

In Brazil, everything is in the grocery store. It's nice.

There must be, like, historical reasons for all these little quirks, huh? That would be interesting to trace.

I was pretty irritated when Safeway wouldn't let me buy wine at 5am because the liquor closing hours were 2am - 8 am or something. And the "blue laws" in Baton Rouge when I was a kid were pretty baroque but definitely included alcohol - the aisles would get roped off on Sundays