Six months ago today, I left the East Coast and drove off to a new land whose mystery had always intrigued me. Six months ago today, I left a life behind to start over in a place that I had always thought of living in. Six months ago today, I cut my ties with my past and went forth to find my future.

Six months later, I still don't understand Southern Californians' obsession with ranch dressing. They put it on everything. I don't get it. I can understand liking it on salads, but there are some things that you just don't mess with. Buffalo wings, for instance. It's known fact that buffalo wings go with blue cheese dressing. But the SoCal people put ranch on it. They dip their pizza in it. They put it in their tacos and burritos, and on their burgers.

Quite frankly, I don't know what to make of this obsession. It makes me think that there's the possibility that ranch dressing makers have been lining the pockets of local Congressional representatives, or that there's some kind of mass hypnosis going on or maybe there's something in the water that triggers ranch dressing cravings. Either way, please make sure that I don't succumb. If I do, escort me to back to the land of normal salad dressing habits to deprogram me.