The Deep South
I took the job in the City. Google were dragging their heels, and even if I'd waited for an actual offer, that still wouldn't necessarily mean I'd get to work on Google Maps, which to me was the most exciting, existing-job-offer-trumping possibility. The other company sweetened their offer in the hope of a final decision by me, and I accepted.
As is traditional before I start a new job, I'm catching up on geek projects and doing a bit of travelling. Right now I'm actually doing both; I've been writing Python code while watching the scenery between Charlotte, North Carolina and New Orleans pass by, through big train windows. My new workplace will have plenty of natural light, but conditions won't be this optimal.
I came to the Carolinas to visit Alyson, who I dated in the Bay Area, and Jamus (formerly James), who she started dating around the time I moved to Amsterdam. They moved down here a year or two ago, and recently changed to a long-distance arrangement, allowing them to get in touch with their respective roots in Asheville, N.C. and the Myrtle Beach area in S.C. I'd planned to spend three days seeing them both, but when I asked the Amtrak web site for a train out on Tuesday night, it booked me for one at 2:45am Tuesday morning instead, and I didn't notice until it was too late. But I know how to make the most of whirlwind tours.
I had lunch with Jamus and his/her girlfriend, and they showed me some of the sights of Asheville:
(S)he lives in Asheville because it's the only town in the South, except maybe for Austin, Texas, that can handle somebody so genderfucked. (S)he's also earnt a name as a baker; sales pick up on the days that Jamus is baking.
Alyson, on the other hand, left her heart in Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina, quite a beautiful area. Although it's not as unspoilt as it was when she was a kid, her street still looks like this:
It's a lovely spot overall.
It's not far from the tourist trap that is Myrtle Beach, though. But even it features a couple of atypical tourist features:
... and although the boardwalk is gone, a lot of the rides were salvaged and brought to the gaudy Disneyness that is Broadway at the Beach:
One of the highlights was being able to swim in the Atlantic Ocean. I find the California Pacific too cold to swim in at any time of year, but even in late Autumn, the Atlantic was rather nice! And my splashing around left Alyson some time to draw in the sand.
So in a few hours I should be in New Orleans, for the first time since Katrina. I'm basically just there for a night of moderated debauchery, before hopping on another train to see rkentspeth, serenity_awoke and other Austin friends. I'd love to see this part of the country slowly again some time, especially Mississippi, which I'm now blowing across nonstop for the third time, but seeing friends takes precedence for me right now.