where am i?.......

I left central Michigan this morning from the MBS airport. MBS services the Midland, Bay City, Saginaw tri-city area. The route home goes from MBS to Detroit and then to Nashville. I was in Michigan for the past 10 days and I shivered for the first 3. No matter what I did or how I dressed, I couldn't warm up. The single digit temperatures during the day didn't help but I eventually got used to it.

As the plane popped out of the clouds over Nashville this morning, everything down below was white. It felt like I was back in Michigan. I got in around noon and headed for Clarksville. The happy news is that all of northwestern Tennessee had cancelled work and school so I had the roads to myself. The picture to the right was along Interstate 24 on the way to Clarksville. It was really pretty but it was disorienting to see so much snow.

Note - I admit that I took the picture while I was driving. At least I wasn't texting. Plus the roads were empty.

pack your mittens....

I'm leaving tomorrow for ten days in Michigan. The company that I work for has its headquarters located there and I'm going for some training. The state has two parts - the mainland and the upper peninsula. The main portion is shaped like a mitten. I'm sure the residents would prefer glove over mitten. I prefer mitten. Anyway, I'm flying to Saginaw which is right where the thumb connects to the rest of the mitten. That's a rough approximation but I think it's safe to say that it's going to be cold. Mercy

how do you get down from an elephant?.....

You don't. You get down from a goose. giggle

I went for a run yesterday morning and during the run, I heard all this honking. A flock of geese flew overhead in the classic "V" pattern and they were flying north. It seemed a little early in the year for them to be flying north but I guess they wanted to beat the traffic. I was out driving around later in the day and I saw another flock of geese on a pond. I don't know if it never registered with me but I really don't remember seeing geese while I lived in Austin. It felt like the first time I had seem them since I lived in central New York. While looking at houses last weekend, there was a little flock of robins in the backyard of a house we were inspecting. Once again, I don't remember seeing robins in Texas. Maybe it's the tight border control.

tread lightly, please....

My first digs in Clarksville has been an apartment. It has been about 30 years since I last lived in an apartment. I was kind of worried about it but it hasn't been too bad so far. I think that most of the residents were gone during the holidays but even recently, the complex has been quiet. It's so quiet, I don't even know if anyone lives next to me.

But then there is the guy upstairs from me. Just based on how fast he moves around, I can't imagine that he is super heavy. He is a very heavy walker. Two things are puzzling. How is it possible to clomp around so heavily? Is he wearing really heavy boots? It can't be good for the knees. The other question is why is he going from one side of the apartment to the other so much and in such a hurry? It baffles me. I refer to him as my elephant neighbor upstairs who is bored and paces in his cage.

meat and 3....

When I first arrived in Clarksville for my interview and subsequently to start working, I thought that chain restaurants were the only choices in town. I have made it a goal every day to ask people for their favorite restaurants in town. The good news is that my list of known homegrown restaurants is growing. The choices range from brew pubs to greek food to vegetarian. My favorite so far is what folks in Austin called homestyle or Southern style cooking. The locals here in Clarksville make it simple and call it a "meat and 3" restaurant. It simply means a meat and a choice of 3 sides. I guess the slice of pie for dessert is a given and doesn't need to be mentioned in the title. giggle

i'll drive whatever i want to drive...

One little fun fact about Tennessee is that you don't need to have your car inspected on a yearly basis. It's probably not that big of a safety concern but it is one less thing that I need to keep track of. That's a good thing. You do need insurance but I think that's a relatively new development. If you live in one of the counties surrounding Nashville, you must get your car emissions tested. From what I hear, the car needs to billowing big plumes of smoke to fail. Luckily, I live far enough away. I won't have my God given right to drive without turn signals trampled on. Live free or die. giggle

john boehner lives here?.....

I looked at houses all weekend. I looked in Springfield and Clarksville. Springfield was enticing because it's closer to Nashville. Clarksville was attractive because it's closer to where I work. I didn't look at a ton of houses but it was more than enough for them to start to blur together. One thing that was interesting was that I saw tanning beds in 2 different houses. I'm sure that some people would find my purchasing habits bizarre but I let out a bitch squeal when I opened the door and saw it. The owners didn't try to cover it or store it in a hidden closet. It was right there in a spare bedroom. It was like I saw a mouse. The realtor asked me if I was alright. I said I thought it was time to go to the next house.

merry new year....

I had an uneventful New Year's Eve. I was in bed by 10:00 and I managed to sleep through the firework barrage outside my window. It started to pour rain around 8:00pm but it stopped in time for the booming to start. In hindsight, I should have gone outside and watched the festivities. It sounded impressive. I woke up this morning and went for an 8 mile run. New Year's morning is great because the roads are deserted.

My favorite southern tradition is the New Year's day meal of black-eyed peas and stewed cabbage. Yum. Here's to a good 2011.