philadelphia

I wanted to like Philadelphia. I really did. I tried. But then we got here and everything was just so awful on so many levels. Exhibit A: we got sued the first week we lived here. We accidentally opened our car door too close to a biker at a red light and he scraped his elbow, so he sued us. How's that for the city of brotherly love? I feel like Philadelphia is this food that everyone else likes and no matter how many times I try it, I still don't like it. Like eggnog. Everyone in my family loves eggnog. And every Christmas, I give it a taste, because maybe this time, I'll see what everyone else is talking about and I'll magically like eggnog, but it never happens. I still don't like eggnog. And I still don't like Philadelphia.
I don't know if it's because my expectations were too high, or if I was expecting it to be something it's not, but everything about it just completely rubs me the wrong way. Aside from being surrounded by angry people who want to sue you all the time, there's the bad drivers, the ubiquitous and absolute filth and garbage that is literally everywhere, the negligence of every single public employee in the entire city, lack of things to do, the horrible weather, the inconvenience and eyesore that is "urban sprawl", or the fact that everyone who is from here LOVES it and thinks I'm an idiot for not feeling the same way. The list goes on and on. I'm just not drinking the kool-aid.
I don't know how much longer we'll be here and I'm no neuroscientist, but I have a feeling hating where I live may have a little something to do with my roller-coaster moods.
I have a doctor here who only sort of knows what he's doing. My last doctor was one of the best in the field at a premiere mental hospital. I had the same shrink as Catherine Zeta-Jones. I had it really good. Every time something felt off, I went to his office and he knew what was wrong and how to fix it within five minutes. My new doctor is constantly asking how I'm feeling and what paths I think I should take to fix it. I'm not a doctor. I have no idea. That's your job, pal. Putting the pressure on me is just another stressor I just don't need. And having a doctor who is unsure of himself is definitely unsettling. But, apparently, according to Psychology Today, he's one of Philadelphia's best. Which I have learned, is not saying much. There's a saying Bradley and I have: Welcome to Philadelphia; lower your expectations. It almost always hold true. I'm not a negative person. I give Philadelphia so many chances each day to prove itself to me, and it has failed, time and time again. I just can't like it. No matter how many times I drink the eggnog with positive expectations, it's still eggnog, and I still don't like it.