Thursday, August 30, 2007
You’re not from ‘round here
That’s what the checkout lady said to me at Target the day after we arrived.
In a fit of “Git’ ‘er done” we decided to drive straight down from Chicago….over 19 hours later, around 2:30 AM we arrived at our rental in Jacksonville. The temp housing is a 3 bedroom furnished house in an area called Fleming Island with lots of shopping nearby.
So, the next AM we go over to Target and get some basic supplies…like toilet paper. Wandering around the toy area (Hello! I have two kids…one of which thinks that Target is a Thomas store!) I noticed they had a NASCAR toy aisle. Having never seen anything like it before, I took a picture like a dumb tourist.
While the family and I walked to the checkout to pay…we saw ANOTHER NASCAR aisle…this time in home improvements! We get to the checkout and things are going fine…DH takes the boys out to the car after a brief discussion. When DH left, the checkout woman says, “You’re not from around here, are you?” Turns out my accent (?!?) gave it away. After a couple of days, I could hear my own Southside nasal uban-like twang.
So…believe me…I recognize that I’m not in Kansas (or Illinois) anymore. Below is the a list of the Good (and Bad) I’m finding here
Good
People – Everyone is very chatty and nice
Proximity – It’s 2 hours away from Orlando. We’ve already got our annual passes for Universal Studios! Yeah Us!
Living together – We live together 7 days a week
Pace – MUUUUCH slower than Chicago, which in turn was slower than L.A. People told me that people are more laid back here and, since I consider myself a laid back person, I thought I’d simply fit in. But (there’s always one) the first few days felt like I’d stepped into a slow motion version of my life.
Bad
Bugs – O.M.G.!!! They’re everywhere! And huge! We saw the largest cockroach ever the other day..a good 2-3 inches.
Heat – but we’re getting used to it. When I go back to Chicago in November to pack, I’m sure I’ll die from the cold
Religion or GroupThink – Using Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development, we’re talking Stage 4 country…if not Stage 1. Lots of Jeebus and religious stuff everywhere. And advertising that promotes Christianity as some sort of persecuted religion. Kinda scary
In a fit of “Git’ ‘er done” we decided to drive straight down from Chicago….over 19 hours later, around 2:30 AM we arrived at our rental in Jacksonville. The temp housing is a 3 bedroom furnished house in an area called Fleming Island with lots of shopping nearby.
So, the next AM we go over to Target and get some basic supplies…like toilet paper. Wandering around the toy area (Hello! I have two kids…one of which thinks that Target is a Thomas store!) I noticed they had a NASCAR toy aisle. Having never seen anything like it before, I took a picture like a dumb tourist.
While the family and I walked to the checkout to pay…we saw ANOTHER NASCAR aisle…this time in home improvements! We get to the checkout and things are going fine…DH takes the boys out to the car after a brief discussion. When DH left, the checkout woman says, “You’re not from around here, are you?” Turns out my accent (?!?) gave it away. After a couple of days, I could hear my own Southside nasal uban-like twang.
So…believe me…I recognize that I’m not in Kansas (or Illinois) anymore. Below is the a list of the Good (and Bad) I’m finding here
Good
People – Everyone is very chatty and nice
Proximity – It’s 2 hours away from Orlando. We’ve already got our annual passes for Universal Studios! Yeah Us!
Living together – We live together 7 days a week
Pace – MUUUUCH slower than Chicago, which in turn was slower than L.A. People told me that people are more laid back here and, since I consider myself a laid back person, I thought I’d simply fit in. But (there’s always one) the first few days felt like I’d stepped into a slow motion version of my life.
Bad
Bugs – O.M.G.!!! They’re everywhere! And huge! We saw the largest cockroach ever the other day..a good 2-3 inches.
Heat – but we’re getting used to it. When I go back to Chicago in November to pack, I’m sure I’ll die from the cold
Religion or GroupThink – Using Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development, we’re talking Stage 4 country…if not Stage 1. Lots of Jeebus and religious stuff everywhere. And advertising that promotes Christianity as some sort of persecuted religion. Kinda scary
Monday, August 27, 2007
That big news?
Well..most know of our big news...we're moving, or rather we've already moved, to Jacksonville, Florida.
DH wanted to live at home again and the company didn't want to transfer him for some more time....so DH went out and found a new job. It's with a Brazillian company so he's going to start learning Portugese...use Google to figure out the rest. (Simon...you placed 16th in the Swatch contest years ago...I know you can do it! :))
I'm going to do another post soon, with photos about how different it is here. I don't want to say its better or worse...its different. I still need to go get a photo from the salon that offers "Free mullet removal"
We drove down from Chicago which was complicated by bringing a ton of guns, one geriatric dog, and a cat who hates car drives. It took time...but we got here thanks to the portable DVD player, steroids, and lots of caffine.
The housing market is interesting here. We are looking on the westside of town since that's where the job is. Oakleaf Plantation is where we're probably going to end up..yes, total plastic suburbia. It's beautiful...I'm just worried about the people! It's a very soccer mom community...I wear black shirts with cartoon representations of Death. I'm not sure its going to be a great match. The problem is the part of town where we should be is too far from the job.
DH wanted to live at home again and the company didn't want to transfer him for some more time....so DH went out and found a new job. It's with a Brazillian company so he's going to start learning Portugese...use Google to figure out the rest. (Simon...you placed 16th in the Swatch contest years ago...I know you can do it! :))
I'm going to do another post soon, with photos about how different it is here. I don't want to say its better or worse...its different. I still need to go get a photo from the salon that offers "Free mullet removal"
We drove down from Chicago which was complicated by bringing a ton of guns, one geriatric dog, and a cat who hates car drives. It took time...but we got here thanks to the portable DVD player, steroids, and lots of caffine.
The housing market is interesting here. We are looking on the westside of town since that's where the job is. Oakleaf Plantation is where we're probably going to end up..yes, total plastic suburbia. It's beautiful...I'm just worried about the people! It's a very soccer mom community...I wear black shirts with cartoon representations of Death. I'm not sure its going to be a great match. The problem is the part of town where we should be is too far from the job.
