Everything BUT writing

Listening to: Weezer, "Pink Triangle"

Cleaning. Packing. Then more cleaning...and more cleaning...and some more packing.

Haven't really written a word since my last post. Doing NaNo the same month we move back to PA turned out to be...um...not a great idea. I won't let myself stress over it, though--if I don't make it all the way, there's always next year!

Driving back to PA tomorrow. Then cleaning and UNpacking there, and hopefully writing. Will probably be back to blogging on Monday--Tuesday at the latest.

North vs. South

Listening to: Less Than Jake, "The Rest of My Life"

We've been living down here for almost seven weeks, and I've wanted to write this entry for about six of those. I feel prepared for it now.

Please note: these are the observations of someone living in the northernmost part of the southeast U.S., who has lived in the Northeast all her previous years. I've visited southern states many times in my youth, as my grandparents lived in Tennessee--but visiting and living in are very different things.

These are just the interesting differences I've noticed, and are only my opinions and observations. And very little of this is politics-related--this is more about atmosphere and way of life. So, without further ado...

The North and the South: A Comparison

Attitudes

• North: A cool, reserved demeanor is common. Generally, strangers are polite but keep their distance. Naturally, exceptions abound. An example: I was a regular at Denny's for over three years, and only one server actually knew my name. Also, walking to the mailbox around neighbors I've lived by for two years, there would be brief eye contact followed by a curt nod or a wave.

• South: They don't call it "Southern Hospitality" for nothin'. Even just walking to the mailbox, people meet your gaze, ask how you're doing, etc. Also, I've had bartenders and servers ask and remember my name on just one visit.
  
• Note: This sounds nice, but it has its downsides. I've also had a woman who I'd known for about three hours, and who I'd spoken about six sentences to during that time, asking me detailed questions about my parents' marriage(s). I'm still not even sure how the conversation got there. This isn't a single-incident phenomenon, either--people in the South generally want to know more of your business than people in the North.
  

Pace

• North: Let's just get this out in the open--I am a woman in a hurry. If I'm out shopping or whatnot, even if I'm just leisurely wandering through the mall to pick out a few shirts, I want to get the job done and get out of there. I don't have time for people dawdling in front of me, eternally unsure which direction they want to go next. I have always been like this, since I was a little thing, although I've forced myself to slow down a little in the past several years.
  
  In the North, there's an even mix of slowpokes and speedsters. But even in the North, people just can't go fast enough for my liking.
  

• South: Everyone. Is. Slow. (Unless they're driving--see below.) This has really forced me to slow down, as I can't be so rude as to blast around everyone wandering through the store aisles. Still--come on, people. I've got places to be!
  

Driving

• North: This, of course, depends on where you are in the North. In Boston, for example, they all drive like the devil himself is on their back bumper and they're gonna get that little bastard off, dammit. In New York...well, I don't know, because I will never drive in New York. Boston was bad enough.
  
  And everywhere you go, there will be leadfoots and cell phone yappers, tailgaters and people who drive 45 mph no matter what the posted limit is, and people who haven't used a turn signal in so long that they probably wouldn't notice if you took out the turn signal lever. It just seems like there aren't as many of them (except the 45 mph ones, who are always there if you're in a hurry) up north.

• South: Where are you people going in such a damn hurry? Because I can guaran-freakin'-tee that, when you get there, you'll dawdle like you have all the time in the world. And please, I'm beggin' ya...if you're going to cut me off, could you at least use your turn signal when you do it? A little warning before you place your back bumper within six inches of my front one would be nice, is all I'm saying.

TVs in Bars

• North: Generally tuned to local news and/or sports. Neutral stuff that has a higher chance of appealing to more customers.

• South: If there's more than one TV, one of them will be tuned to FoxNews. If there are multiple smaller TVs and one larger one, then generally, the larger one is tuned to FoxNews. I offer no opinion about this--just noting it for the record.
  

Fireworks

• North: I come from small towns in the mountains. Fireworks in the mountains means lots of echoes, which means the fireworks are good and loud. This can be good and bad: it's great on the Fourth, when the local fireworks are set off and have amazing, booming sound to accompany the visuals; on the other hand, it also mean you have to listen to all your neighbors, and their neighbors, and their neighbors, set off their own (illegal) fireworks for the weeks prior to and following the Fourth.
  

• South: In the flatter areas, it's like watching fireworks with earplugs. Where's the boom?! Where's the earth-shaking noise?! Rather unimpressive, I think.
  

Beer/Alcohol

• North: It is a Pennsylvania state law that any establishment with a liquor license must stock Yuengling. Flout this law at your peril. Since I hit drinking age, this has been nice, as I thoroughly enjoy Yuengling. Generally, if I'm in Pennsylvania and I'm drinking beer, you can bet it's Yuengling. It's both a taste and a state pride thing.
  
  Other, more formal PA state laws, however, can be annoying. One can only buy beer from state-licensed beer distributors (except six-packs, which can be purchased from bars). One can only buy liquor and wine from state-licensed stores. Strict hours of operation are set, and Sunday sales are a point of controversy and nonexistent in most places.
  

• South: A few bars carry Yuengling, and some even have it on tap, but chances are good that I'll have to find another beer to drink. This has been fabulous, actually--I've tried several new beers, and realized, to my shock, that Yuengling is not the only tasty beer out there. Sam Adams Summer Blend, Dead Guy Ale, and Miller Chill are all satisfying to the palate.
  
  And, specific to Virginia, may I just say...beer and wine in gas stations and grocery stores? Sold past midnight, and on Sundays? Bloody brilliant. I'm sure it doesn't help the drunk driving rates, and it certainly makes being an alcoholic less complicated...but I do love shopping for wine in the grocery store.
  

That's pretty much it, I guess. It's been a fascinating experience, for this writer, to spend an extended period of time in a part of the country that is so different than the small, two-hundred-mile radius in which I've spent most of my life. I'll always be a Pennsylvanian at heart, but the South has many charms and benefits. I'm sure I'll come up with more observations as time goes by, and I'll be sure to add them to the list. If you have any further thoughts or observations, feel free to drop by the comments and speak your mind!

-Kristin

P.S. I started out listening to Less Than Jake's "The Rest of My Life" on my Yahoo Launchcast. As I wrap up the entry, Unwritten Law's "Rest of My Life" begins. Odd...

Quick Update

Just to let everyone know...still no internet, but we finally have furniture. Yaaaay! No more leaky air mattress!

If we don't have internet by tomorrow, I'll go to Starbucks and do a longer post. But for now, I'll pique your interest...I'm a winner (and not of the Canadian Lottery)! Actually, I'm a winner x2!

Now I bet I've got you wondering....=)

From beautiful, sunny VA,

-Kristin

Busy Busy Busy

Busy with packing, receiving bizarre prank phone calls, and other fun last minute stuff. Will update from Virginia whenever we get our internet connection up and running.

Changing Your Habits

So I went up to my usual hangout last night, and wrote about 1000-1250 words while various people came and went, stopped by to chat, and hung out. I've mentioned before that I usually handwrite my stuff first, in chunks, then transfer it to the computer.

Also, I did a crossword.

Now, let me just say, I love my hangout. I love my friends. And I love, love, LOVE handwriting. Writing is a very tactile process for me--the feel of the paper, that crisp noise that happens as you turn a page, the flow of the words as I write them. LOVE it. And writing this way also offers the benefit of revision prior to revision--that is, I tend to revise as I type, so what ends up on the computer is sort of a second draft before I even finish the novel.

So, yeah. LOVE it.

There are, however, a few downsides here.

First of all, it's impractical and costly. I've gone through at least three 3-5 subject notebooks in the past year. At least. And I buy a lot of pens, too, because I love to write with a particular type of pen.

Downside number two: I'm a smoker. Still. When I try to quit, I do okay, until I get really lonely and need to go up to the hangout to write/socialize. I'm a very social person, and that doesn't mesh well with the solitary-writer-sitting-in-front-of-the-computer thing.

Downside number three: I drink a lot of coffee while I'm there. I usually switch to decaf after a few hours, so that I don't get my old caffeine twitch and lay in bed for two hours once I get home, hearing imaginary serial killers breaking into the house. Yeah, I'm really sensitive to caffeine. It's not fun.

So, since we're moving out of state for the summer, I've decided that this is the perfect time to make a few changes. I started on Chantix--the pill that makes your brain not love nicotine--yesterday. I'm already seeing changes...I went from noon to 7 yesterday without a smoke, and I didn't even really want one. And I'll be writing at home when we move, which will be easier (I hope) since it'll be a whole new environment in which I have only one friend, who is a non-smoker. New state, new town, new apartment...new habits.

I'll try to keep ya'll* updated on my progress via the good ol' blog. Wish me luck. But more importantly, wish The Husband luck...he's the one who will be living with a lonely, nicotine-craving, slightly crazy writer.


*See? I'm already adjusting to the new environment, and I'm not even in it yet!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Wow. I've really fallen behind with the blogging...and likely will again, soon. Life is a bit topsy turvy at the moment, although in a good way.

We're moving!

...temporarily.

The Husband's company is sending us to Suffolk, VA for...well, probably the whole summer. We don't actually know how long, because he's only going until they can find someone to take the position permanently. So, the past several days have been filled with lots of apartment hunting and decision making, and quite a bit of excitement and stress. For a few days there, I really wondered if we should just tote a large cardboard box down there, and set up house inside it. It's that hard to find short-term leases.

Things have started falling into place, though...I think. A leasing agent who I'd been in contact with over the weekend called me yesterday to tell me that her company just gave her permission to do leases as short as four months. They have an apartment that's perfect in every way--including washer and dryer. Yay! No laundromats! Although, I could've written quite a bit while waiting for the whites to finish drying.

We're going down there Thursday to check the place out, and a few other places, if we can find some. I want to get it done and over with, because I can't help but think...it's too good to be true. Honestly, this place is so great (pool! fitness center! tanning bed! allows pets!), and yet falls so perfectly within our employer-imposed budget, that I can't help but wonder...where's the catch? When are they going to turn around and add $500 to the rent? I'm nervous, to say the least.

As for the writing, it's been...going. I guess. I've pretty much ditched my 100 words pledge, although many days I write enough to make up for the few days I didn't. This, I suppose, was entirely the wrong month for such a pledge. If all goes well, we're moving in three weeks. That's a massive amount of packing, planning, preparing...etc. I also had to forgo my very first writer's conference, because it lands squarely in the middle of all this chaos, and I just don't think we can spare the money right now. I'm not thrilled about that, but it was my idea to not attend, and I'm sticking to it. Such is life.

Aside from that, my only other news is that I'm almost done crafting my query letter--now, on to the synopsis and such. Also, I'm planting some beautiful summer-blooming bulbs--gladioli, ranunculus, and anemone...none of which I'll be able to enjoy this summer, since I won't really be here. It's bittersweet, planting things you won't get to watch grow and bloom.

Now, I'm off to make my novel grow and bloom. At least, no matter where I am, I have that.