villager

"Welcome to the XXX village!"
This kind of signs is easy to see around the South Orange village. I went grocery shopping in the Millburn village. I saw Transformers in the Mapplewood village. My office is close by the Papermill village. I am a villager.

Most Villagers are with light-toned skin. There seems to be an invisible line between a village and a non-village area, which could be just a block away. Within two minutes, I can be the darkest person in a store and the palest in another.
Except for Starbucks, where I am right now, not many chain stores are in villages. Small stores and characteristic diners are at every corner. Starbucks somehow has become a standard neighbor everywhere. Cold Stone has a nice visibility too. McDonald's can only be seen in non-village areas. Bookstores are not favored by people, which upsets me. There is no bookstore in South Orange. The library is okay but does not reach my standard -- I want thousands of new books in display!

Unlike in State College, this is a real world with 90% of real residents who are not college students. Unlike in State College, I can be the only Asian face I see a day. Unlike in State College, my car can be the only beetle on the streets.
This means that I cannot do anything bad in public because I am too easy to spot.

Cannot dance tango alone; otherwise, I could live so happily.
Hey, dancers, see you in New York City every weekend!

Another thing of being alone in a new place again is to find an emergency contact. In the past couple of days, I have been asked for it many times. This is the question reminding me that I am not actually alone. Someone will be contacted when I am in trouble. Trouble makers will be known to their emergency contact. What a great system. I guess true loners can never find a job without lying to the HR who their emergency contacts are.

By the way, Transformers is awesome!