North Carolina and visit and work and AB is moving to Australia!
Oh god, where were we? A crazy fast trip to NC and back again (Atl->Hickory, and back again). Things that looked good on paper, didn't in person (I'm looking at you, Hickory, NC). And we're back to seriously considering the Asheville area. North Carolina is covered in rocks and mulch piles and compost and soil amendment, you just see these small industries on the side of the road. They also have massive greenhouse growing operations. There's even a beautifully haunted antique greenhouse growing operation - currently deserted. We've been staring at the pictures for the property for sale online for at least half a year now. When we got there, many signs for no trespassing, and oh yeah, lots of nearby houses perched around the periphery and no place to hide - so no exploration. It was screaming for some photography, trees growing on the inside pushing and breaking out the glass panes, rust and life and decay, but oh well. Other things to see and do.
As it turns out, the county that Asheville is in... has a new project where they're installing solar panels on the roof of the health department! They also have electric car stations in a large parking garage somewhere! I was pretty floored. This was what I learned on their public access TV at 8AM Saturday morning. I've never heard of a county doing such things. A progressive/wealthy city, yes. County, no. Online reading of Asheville continues to show that the area, economically, has some problems, and definitely political ones as well - bad laws that mean hotels are taking tax money and giving it to themselves. Some crazy stuff. But the health care economy is strong and they have that weird vibe that we're just more comfortable in. I'm afraid we're a little too weird to be comfortable in a truly small town. V can throw down with the Christians any day about what's in the Bible and easily flows through his mumbling-style Southern accent, but it wears on him. I am far more hopeless, socially, in a small Southern town. I don't understand most Southern accents, although being around Vyv and V means that over the years I've definitely picked up a Georgian one (I have mixed feelings about this). But I'm awkwardly intellectual and self-conscious and assume everyone can smell the non-Christian on me. So, no Southern small towns for us.
That's the sound of my relief.
The air on the east side of Asheville is some kind of magnificent, even despite all the pollen.
We did not really plan this trip much. We liked this one place, Old Fort, so we decided to check it out on the way back. Something sent our intuitions tingling. Well, heading back Old Fort didn't seem like much, but I just drove, letting intuition guide the way. We ended up in a jaw-droppingly gorgeous forest in Pisgah National Forest, mountain streams and native plants and birds and a space just humming with life. V found some tadpoles (he always wants to visit frogs and biodiversity hotspots whenever we travel), I found so. many. native. plants. It was so neat to see all the specimens that down here we're paying top dollar for and desperately propagating down here in Atlanta, and to see how they look in the (protected) wild. The number of different native species in a square foot was dizzying.
Later that same day, we were near the top of Mt. Pisgah. It was cold, and the space felt like winter. The trees hadn't woken up, yet. It was surreal, so quiet. Every footstep on the dry brown grass accentuated by crickets jumping on withered leaves. No birds. No other sound. I can only assume that's what a desert feels like. Strange and empty and quiet. 5600 ft, the air is harder to breathe. V hated it.
On the winding mountain roads, we were nearly plowed into, repeatedly, by members of a sports car club of Rich People With Nothing Better To Do Than Nearly Run Into Other Cars At 5000 Ft Around A Sharp Curve. We were on the outer lane and would've gone tumbling down and everyone would have died in a terrible fiery crash. If you ever want to hear V curse up a storm, mention this to him - he was driving at the time.
But Asheville, vegan mecca and the South's version of Portland... it looks like it has a future, there's opportunities for us (greenhouses/agriculture for V, healthcare for me). It's even a BLUE area, which is something I've never had the opportunity to experience. It does not reek of intellect, but no place is perfect, I guess.
We had a absolutely lovely visit with A and D last night, seeds and plants and supplements and smiles and snacks, and today V finally had some work (yay! his employers are nice but flaky people) and I was able to crank down and get serious on the job search. I've never asked for a salary before. I have zero related experience so I just looked up some averages, vaguely recalled what some of my friends are being paid, and came up with a number. This shall be interesting. Here's hoping I get hired, and soon.
Our beloved shining light, AB, also known as V's younger brother, is leaving the country again. We shall miss him. I do hope he comes back, he's pretty annoyed with how America is mired in garbage and such. He's lived in Europe and now is about to move to Australia (after an extended visit), so he has some experience in how life can be other than how it is here. My only reference point to America is my extended visit to China. I will say one thing about the Chinese, they do NOT mess around with parks and gardens. The more experience I gain as a gardener, the more I'm able to appreciate just what I saw over there. Looking back on it though... I'm not certain they ever considered anything close to organic methodologies. Not a weed in sight!
As it turns out, the county that Asheville is in... has a new project where they're installing solar panels on the roof of the health department! They also have electric car stations in a large parking garage somewhere! I was pretty floored. This was what I learned on their public access TV at 8AM Saturday morning. I've never heard of a county doing such things. A progressive/wealthy city, yes. County, no. Online reading of Asheville continues to show that the area, economically, has some problems, and definitely political ones as well - bad laws that mean hotels are taking tax money and giving it to themselves. Some crazy stuff. But the health care economy is strong and they have that weird vibe that we're just more comfortable in. I'm afraid we're a little too weird to be comfortable in a truly small town. V can throw down with the Christians any day about what's in the Bible and easily flows through his mumbling-style Southern accent, but it wears on him. I am far more hopeless, socially, in a small Southern town. I don't understand most Southern accents, although being around Vyv and V means that over the years I've definitely picked up a Georgian one (I have mixed feelings about this). But I'm awkwardly intellectual and self-conscious and assume everyone can smell the non-Christian on me. So, no Southern small towns for us.
That's the sound of my relief.
The air on the east side of Asheville is some kind of magnificent, even despite all the pollen.
We did not really plan this trip much. We liked this one place, Old Fort, so we decided to check it out on the way back. Something sent our intuitions tingling. Well, heading back Old Fort didn't seem like much, but I just drove, letting intuition guide the way. We ended up in a jaw-droppingly gorgeous forest in Pisgah National Forest, mountain streams and native plants and birds and a space just humming with life. V found some tadpoles (he always wants to visit frogs and biodiversity hotspots whenever we travel), I found so. many. native. plants. It was so neat to see all the specimens that down here we're paying top dollar for and desperately propagating down here in Atlanta, and to see how they look in the (protected) wild. The number of different native species in a square foot was dizzying.
Later that same day, we were near the top of Mt. Pisgah. It was cold, and the space felt like winter. The trees hadn't woken up, yet. It was surreal, so quiet. Every footstep on the dry brown grass accentuated by crickets jumping on withered leaves. No birds. No other sound. I can only assume that's what a desert feels like. Strange and empty and quiet. 5600 ft, the air is harder to breathe. V hated it.
On the winding mountain roads, we were nearly plowed into, repeatedly, by members of a sports car club of Rich People With Nothing Better To Do Than Nearly Run Into Other Cars At 5000 Ft Around A Sharp Curve. We were on the outer lane and would've gone tumbling down and everyone would have died in a terrible fiery crash. If you ever want to hear V curse up a storm, mention this to him - he was driving at the time.
But Asheville, vegan mecca and the South's version of Portland... it looks like it has a future, there's opportunities for us (greenhouses/agriculture for V, healthcare for me). It's even a BLUE area, which is something I've never had the opportunity to experience. It does not reek of intellect, but no place is perfect, I guess.
We had a absolutely lovely visit with A and D last night, seeds and plants and supplements and smiles and snacks, and today V finally had some work (yay! his employers are nice but flaky people) and I was able to crank down and get serious on the job search. I've never asked for a salary before. I have zero related experience so I just looked up some averages, vaguely recalled what some of my friends are being paid, and came up with a number. This shall be interesting. Here's hoping I get hired, and soon.
Our beloved shining light, AB, also known as V's younger brother, is leaving the country again. We shall miss him. I do hope he comes back, he's pretty annoyed with how America is mired in garbage and such. He's lived in Europe and now is about to move to Australia (after an extended visit), so he has some experience in how life can be other than how it is here. My only reference point to America is my extended visit to China. I will say one thing about the Chinese, they do NOT mess around with parks and gardens. The more experience I gain as a gardener, the more I'm able to appreciate just what I saw over there. Looking back on it though... I'm not certain they ever considered anything close to organic methodologies. Not a weed in sight!