Top Ten Signs You've Become an Angeleno

It's come as a small shock to realize that I've now lived in Los Angeles for a full year. Seems like only yesterday that I stepped out the doors of LAX realizing that for the first time in my life, I was here to stay, not to visit. I remember vividly the mixture of trepidation and bright-eyed anticipation that made even the most familiar aspects of the city - which I'd visited numerous times, especially as a kid - seem newly minted.

I'm happy to report that I took to L.A. almost immediately, and haven't had any reason to revise my opinion. Some things about this place I'm still getting used to, and some things I'll never get used to. That said, here is my best stab at capturing the things I *have* gotten used to:

TOP TEN SIGNS YOU'VE GONE NATIVE IN L.A.

10. It's 60 degrees out and you need a jacket.
9. A 20-minute drive is "close," but a 10-minute walk is "far."
8. You know the precise difference(s) between Westwood, West Hollywood, and West L.A. (And have a definite opinion on which you prefer.)
7. You feel naked without sunglasses.
6. It feels perfectly normal to add "the" before any freeway number. (E.g., "the 10," "the 405," the 101.")
5. You change cell phones like your wardrobe. (And cell phone rings like outfits.)
4. You are completely comfortable having a 15-minute conversation on the traffic...and a 15-second conversation on the weather.
3. Sushi and burritos have displaced pizza and Chinese in your diet. (Or else, like me, you've come up with a ready-made explanation for why you don't eat sushi or burritos.)
2. You pause when a friend asks you if it's necessary to write "New York City, NY" rather than just "New York, NY."
1. Flip-flops to work. Nuff said.