Our family has been CA residents for 100 years. My mother was born in Hanford, CA, and is still living here. My Dad is is from Boston, and our daughter graduated from a Boston college. We are in the process of visiting schools for next year’s admission cycle, and she is primarily focused on East, West, and Colorado schools. We LOVE LOVE LOVE other states, but we bleed California poppies. For those of you who are considering CA schools, please be aware:
NOONE, and I mean NOONE calls California “Cali” who lives/lived/worked in California. Californians have noticed a trend that people who have never been to California, are interested in attending school in California, or are discussing California, refer to our state as “Cali” ALL THE TIME. It makes those of us who live here irritated. Some people are irritated at the level of a fly in the kitchen. Some people have to seal their lips to keep from screaming. Just. Don’t. Do. It… Californians have so many frustrations right now (can you say “high speed rail train debacle??”) that you may just send us into generalized hysteria, and we may start pitching oranges and almonds at you. Oranges, thown at a decent velocity, might injure you. Almonds? Just open your mouth, and you’ll be fine.
Permission to flame me granted
I know it’s a small and silly thing, but I needed to get it off my chest so I can think about far more important items… Like what I will have for breakfast today at the Corona Del Mar cliffside restaurant we are going to on a Wednesday morning that is expected to be 75 degrees. It’s my husband’s 60th birthday today, so we are taking a vacation day mid-week!!! Yes, I am living a tough, tough, life today
Sorry, @ynotgo and @shoot4moon. My D17 and husband are this very minute hiking in Will Rogers State Park, accessible from the top of our street. Maybe it’s a SoCal v NorCal thing, but we type Cali.
Really, JenJen??? That is amazing!!! Will be interested to see if others chime in on that same idea - never occurred to me! Honestly, So Cal people always comment on it with rolled eyes, as Ynotgo says.
My saving grace is that we immediately know a non-California because they use the term “Cali” or “Dude, where can we find a Cali burrito?”
Our local Mexican restaurant staff have mentioned that they always know when someone from ‘out of California’ is staying at the local hotel, from OOS, because they order everything “Cali”.
When my eldest went to school in NY, she would encounter kids who would ask her, “So you’re from Callie?” and she would respond, no, I’m from San Diego. She had no idea that people called it “Cali” and that everyone assumed that we just opened our back door and voila!. . . . . there’s the sand and the beach!!
Oh yeah, that, and that the water temperature is warm and swimmable like bath water! Always amazed at seeing the shock from non-Californians at Torrey Pines Beach and hearing, “Why is the water so cold?”
Yeah, but @JenJenJenJen, are you a native? We natives reserve the right to be self-righteous!
Sounds like @shoot4moon is at least currently in SoCal. I’m native NorCal and won’t admit that the place I live now is any further south than “Central Coast”.
We actually went to a “Cali Mexican” place in Massachussetts at the strong recommendation of our hotel. The burritos had brown rice. I am sure that we made just as many (or more) errors in other states, and everyone was gracious. Merely making a public service announcement, which I now realize may be SoCal specific!
My Mom was born in Hanford, CA, which is in the central portion, but her parents moved to Los Angeles in the 30s I believe. My sister and her family have lived in Oregon for 40 years, but the rest of us live in or around the Los Angeles/Orange County area. With the exception of our daughter D1 (graduated in 2015 from BU and still lives in Massachussetts), the children, grands, and great grands are all here as well. I wouldn’t mind moving to where our kids land when we have grandchildren, but it is wonderful to be close to our family.
Sorry, @shoot4moon – should I hand in my Cali drivers license now? In any case it may be because until around a decade ago (12 years) we had a great uncle named Cal and we needed to distinguish if we were referring to him or the state. It’s harder to tell from context than you’d think! “Cal is hot” takes on an entirely different meaning when you’re talking about a 90-year old man.
Brother is in OC, almost 40 years. But he’s the sort who does use shorthands, somehow thinks it’s cool. I lived there a few decades (SF, West LA/SM, SAn Diego and OC,) never called it Cali.
First time I ever visited California, when someone (native California) asked me where I was from, I said, “Maryland.” The next question he asked was, “What state is that in?” Sigh.
I have lived on the East Coast the majority of my life, but I’m married to a native Californian. I have never heard anyone from the East Coast refer to California as Cali. Funny that you hear it all the time.
This Spike Lee commercial is SPOT on. I can’t tell you how many times when I’m on the phone and asked for my address, I have this same problem and have to spell it out to the person on the other end b/c they seem to have never heard of my city, which BTW, is the capital of my state so not like it’s some podunk town in the middle of nowhere. Yes, I live (IN THE) Annapolis. https://www.ispot.tv/ad/7e5a/capital-one-annapolis-feat-samuel-l-jackson-charles-barkley
