Author: insidegardencity

Smackdown with the Mailbox

Posted on by insidegardencity

Funny thing about suburgatory- even the mailboxes are different.  Now maybe I’m a naive city girl, but I have never seen a drive up mailbox — just one of the many “conveniences” that you get in the burbs. Forget those days of unnecessary walking to mail a letter. You simply pull up, throw the mail down the chute that sticks out like an elephant’s trunk and drive away in your minivan.  Seems like a perfectly safe and convenient way to deposit your mail. Well, sort of… if you’re not a suburb newbie.

Ever wonder what might happen if you try to stick 120 letters (i.e. new address cards) into one of these things at once? Well, they get stuck in the chute. Yup they got stuck and of course, instead of letting the professional mailbox people handle it, I took matters into my own hands and stuck my arm down the chute to push them in further. When that didn’t work, I then tried to pull them out and inadvertently pulled out another person’s mail. I think there’s a federal crime in there somewhere- but I did put it right back- 5 second rule?


Mailbox manufactures must have a good sense of humor because they make these things just the right size so an arm easily goes in but doesn’t so easily come out. In the midst of this, a fellow suburbanite pulled up and asked if my arm was stuck in the mailbox. Um, kind of. Yes… this was my embarrassing introduction to the new neighborhood. After waving him off, I then proceeded to rock the mailbox forward and back to loosen said mail out of the chute and into the box. There must be a law against this too but in my defense, why wasn’t it secured to the ground? 

I noticed a neighbor watching me from behind a hedge at the corner and decided it was time to drive away with the little dignity I had left, leaving my mail stranded in no-mail’s land. Before I pulled away, a man came over to the opposite side of the box, pulled down the handle and revealed a big, normal mailbox opening. He dropped his envelope in and left. Why hadn’t I looked on the other side for another opening? Why? Because where else but in suburbia do they have drive up mailboxes to spare you the “inconvenience” of getting out of your car? So much for a peaceful morning in the burbs and a quiet introduction to my new hood. 

City Girl Meets Costco

Posted on by insidegardencity

I had my first Costco experience last week. Coming from tiny food markets, specialty stores and one small grocery store, I didn’t know what to expect from the warehouse.

Truly massive containers of everything filled the shelves- salt, peanut butter, hummus, etc… After wondering why anyone would need such massive quantities, I realized what everyone must have in common: STORAGE SPACE. That is certainly one thing that city dwellers lack and constantly envy. Now that I have ample storage space, I was free to join the crowds and buy, buy, buy. Randomly placed free samples of food seemed to attract the shoppers. I think I saw the same guy in different disguises go back multiple times to rock extra crab dip samples.  I’ll have to remember this tip for next time if they’re offering something really good, like anything chocolate.

I wisely kept my first trip short and after being persuaded by the guy at check out to upgrade my brand new membership to the gold star executive level, I pushed my massive cart out to my minivan (yes, I now own a mini van). Now I’m at home with fifteen half gallons of milk in the fridge (seriously), a box of Cheerios that’s the size of my microwave and an eight-pack of Neosporin- some of which I will bequeath to my grandchildren. The take home: I prefer the intimacy and charm of those tiny, overpriced city markets, but I can say that I survived Costco, even accepted it for it’s place in suburbia, and will likely return for more Cheerios one day.

I moved to Garden City

Posted on by insidegardencity

I moved to Garden City, NY on June 30, 2013. I came from Hoboken, NJ- a vastly different place and one that grew dear to my heart. I went from urban to suburban with my four city kids and husband. I could proudly say that my kids didn’t know what a lawnmower was and never played in an empty playground. But they could hail a taxi and order a latte.
 
As I am making my way in a completely different setting, I feel like I’m in a new world or on the other side of the fence- the Garden City side of the fence. It’s a new place that’s filled with possibilities- new faces, new places, new experiences. That’s an exciting thought, but it’s also unexplored, far from my bustling, energetic city where I knew every corner, store, and restaurant like the back of my hand; where I had countless friends and even more social activities on my calendar. I was a true insider. 

It would have been so easy to linger a bit longer in Hoboken. But now I am in a brand new place with very few friends and familiar faces- using my GPS each time I pull out of the driveway. I’m trying to get back onto the other side of the fence again. The insider side. My question- how does a former insider who is now an outsider become an insider again? I will let you know as I figure it out myself.