you know you're from upstate new york when...

this isnt really all that great, or accurate, but some of the stuff, especially the numbered ones, are extremely true.

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 36 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you might live in Upstate New York.
If you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights each year because Saranac Lake is the coldest spot in the nation, and Syracuse gets more snow than any other major city in the US, you might live in Upstate New York.
If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you might live in Upstate New York.
If you instinctively walk like a penguin for six months out of the year, you might live in Upstate New York.
If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you might live in Upstate New York.
If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Upstate New York.If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you might live in Upstate New York.
If your town has more bars than churches, you might live in Upstate New York.
If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Upstate New York.
YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE UPSTATE NEW YORKER WHEN:
1. "Vacation" means going South past Syracuse for the weekend.
2. You measure distance in hours. (where do you live? elmira. about how far away is that? (insert number here) miles. how many hours? [thats an actual conversation i had once])
3. You know several people who have hit a deer more than once. (who hasnt? theyre all over the place. deer and turkeys walk through my back yard)
4. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again. (yup.)
5. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching. (hell yeah, if i could drive)
6. You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings). (yep)
7. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked. (my neighbors do that...)
8. You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend / wife knows how to use them.
9. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit. (done that before.)
10. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow. (you bet.)
11. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction. (exactly. and route seven is ALWAYS under construction)
12. You can identify a southern or eastern accent.
13. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.
14. You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.
15. Down South to you means Corning.
16. A brat is something you eat. (i have no idea about this one.)
17. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new shed. (thats happened)
18. You go out for a fish fry every Friday. (only during lent.)
19. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost. (not quite. due to humidity, more like.)
20. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car. (yeah. definitely.)
21. You find 10 degrees "a little chilly." (just a little)
22. You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Upstate New York friends.

theyre pretty funny. let me make up my own:
You know you're from upstate new york when...
-you get ticked off when people from out of state assume all of new york is skyscrapers, just cause new york city is, or assume if youre from new york it means youre from new york city. were from UPSTATE!!!
-you get ticked off when people think the capital of new york is new york city.
-your county and several other places where you live are named after dutch settlers or native american names.
-you live on or near a dirt road.
-youve seen a tractor/4 wheeler/snowmobile using paved roads, and arent surprised by it
-you live within two miles of a field where cows grave
-there are small airports nearby that are actually just a paved road in the middle of a field, with cows grazing next to the runway (ex. the argyle airport)
-there is at least one place in your town called a country store
-its a shorter ride to vermont than new york city
-you frequently come across accidents in the winter in which a car flipped over, and just keep driving
-hitting a deer is no big deal
-people dont skip class because theres really no place to go.
-theres some sort of ecosystem behind your school that you make a class field trip to for biology. (theres a swamp behind my school)
-you get excited when places upstate are mentioned on the national news or as a question on game shows (albany was on jeopardy yesterday!!!)
-youre proud that the night before christmas was written in upstate new york (clement c. moore!)
-you know people who have worn mini skirts in negative degree weather during a snow storm
-youve had a day off school because it was so cold the pipes froze or the heat wasnt working

welcome to majestic upstate new york.