Life in Tennessee – Page 4

A Potpourri of Updates

It has been almost three weeks since my last blog post. So much has happened that I’ve barely had a chance to come up for air. But for the next 13 days or so, I’ll have a respite from the usual craziness, and even a chance at my first solo vacation since My (Not Quite) Coast-to-Coast Trip Report of 2014.

Meanwhile, I thought you might appreciate a CliffsNotes-style update on my life, and on things that are of interest to me. I am still alive and well, Loyal Reader. I promise not to be offline for so long before my next post.

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40 at 40 – A GringoPotpourri Q&A

I turned 40 two weeks ago. The feeling is a bit surreal. On the one hand, most people tell me that I look young for my age. On the other hand, I can’t believe that I’ve completed four decades of living, and I’m disappointed that I’m not “where I should be” in my life considering that I’m a college graduate who has traveled around the world. At least that dreadful phrase “Over the Hill” has become passé.

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A Day Trip to Knoxville

Last Monday I joined my parents on a day trip to Knoxville, Tennessee’s three-time former capital and the biggest city in the eastern half of the state. My parents travel to Knoxville (about an hour away) every eight weeks or so for Target and Publix runs, and this time their destination was a high-end international grocery store called Fresh Market.

Fresh Market is a stone’s throw from downtown, so when they asked me to tag along, I suggested adding on a visit to the East Tennessee History Center, with the caveat that we could grab lunch somewhere near Market Square, a center of pedestrian activity and a gathering place that is flanked by sidewalk cafés. (Market Square also plays host to countless Knoxville festivals, including the annual “HoLa Fest” that celebrates Latin food and culture. I attended HoLa Fest last year and blogged about it here.)

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Tennessee-Born?

Tennessee continues to fascinate me. On the surface, the state appears to be very well run. Its Republican Governor, Bill Haslam, was instrumental in quick disaster response and aid to families affected by The Great Tennessee Snowpocalypse of 2015. Additionally, its roads are in impeccable shape, despite their high traffic content. Take I-40, for example. This east-west interstate highway is the third-longest in the country and passes through eight states. The 455-mile Tennessee stretch of highway receives more vehicle traffic per mile than any of the other seven states, including California. Yet Tennessee’s I-40 is in outstanding shape, its rest stops spotlessly clean.

Look deeper, though, and you find cracks in the veneer. Meth addiction spiraled following the financial crisis of 2008, and it’s not uncommon to encounter one or more toothless, recovering addicts on a daily basis. And while the state’s Appalachian Mountain culture is fabled as a place of folk music and simple living, the reality is closer to the movie Winter’s Bone than one might want to believe. Additionally, the state’s job growth rate is one of the lowest in the nation. Tennessee is a place of $10/hour factory and warehouse jobs; “white collar” jobs are especially hard to find once you leave the “Big Three” of Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville.

Still, a diverse number of companies have chosen Tennessee for their corporate or manufacturing headquarters. Let’s take a look at some of them!

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Reflections from the Street Corner (It’s Not What You Think)

I have a job! I decided to join the ranks of the employed, and found part-time work as a marketer for the local franchise of a national income tax firm (think H&R Block). While on the job, I occasionally canvas local neighborhoods and business with pamphlets and other leave-behinds, but mostly I am a costumed “waver” who stands at the street corner, holding signs and waving at passersby whilst dancing a jig or shaking my booty. The goal is to get people to smile, honk, or wave back (and maybe visit our shop to have their taxes done). Here is a pic of Yours Truly in company colors. How do I look?

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The Great Tennessee Snowpocalypse of 2015

Greetings from Tennessee, Loyal Reader…where I’m snowed in!

The same weather system that is making its way towards New England, where Bostonians fear it may drop another 18 inches of snow, tore through Southern Kentucky and Eastern Tennessee late yesterday. We only received a few inches, but it was preceded by sleet and freezing rain.

A proper ice storm brought down power lines in my neighborhood twice last night, for five hours altogether. The power was restored after the first outage just in time for the evening news, during which the anchors reported that an estimated 40,000 people were without power. Governor Haslam had already proclaimed the state a federal disaster area when the broadcast began at 11 p.m. Just two hours later, the power went out again.

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Finding Bush in Tennessee (It’s Not What You Think)

Tennessee continues to surprise me. I will go several weeks lamenting about the fact that there are no bars, Indian restaurants, or art house cinemas where I live…but then I’ll read about a scenic hiking trail close to home, or drive through a picturesque Civil War-era town, or stumble upon a surprising museum, and feel invigorated again.

It is this last discovery about which I want to write a few paragraphs today.

The Bush Beans Museum and Visitor Center

A few years ago, my parents toured the Bush Visitor Center in Chestnut Hill, TN. I remember their enthusiastic review of the experience, particularly their raves about the on-site restaurant. They suggested a return visit one day last week, and if I wasn’t as excited as they were about the prospect of touring a plant that is most famous for its production of baked beans, I nonetheless agreed to tag along.

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Six Months In: Tennessee Livin’

Happy New Year, Loyal Reader! A new calendar year begins and I am excited to make 2015 a good year. As it happens, I am also coming up on six months as a Tennessee resident. Where does the time go?!

I thought you’d appreciate an update about my life in the Volunteer State. The last time I really wrote about Tennessee was four months ago; you can read that optimistic blog post here.

Because I’ve had several months to take in my surroundings, for this entry I’m going to comment in bullet form about some things I’ve noticed that are unique to the south or unique to the state of Tennessee in particular. Several of these points are generalizations, and much of this is written with tongue firmly in cheek, so I hope I don’t offend. 🙂

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Thanksgiving Reflections – 2014

It is the day before Thanksgiving as I write this. 2014 has been a tough year. It started out great – bonding with the family dog during an extended winter break, returning last January to my job in Mexico City with eager new students, and enjoying a day trip with a good friend to the former spa town of Tequisquiapan. But I was living in Mexico on borrowed time, and just as I had finally expanded my local friend circle to a satisfying degree, the time came for me to return.

I have spent much of the time since then in a sort of daze. Although I’ve enjoyed scoping out my new surroundings in Eastern Tennessee, I can’t help but feel that I’m not living up to my full potential…whatever that may be. That being said, I know that 2015 will be a better year, and I’m going to do my best to find direction and stability in my life and to take on a more positive general attitude…as of this moment. For starters, I look forward to spending Thanksgiving with my parents for the first time since 1999. I can taste the cranberries already!

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Fall Colors – Part Two

As promised, I’m following up my “Fall Colors – Part One” photo gallery from three weeks ago with a set of pics taken exclusively in Tennessee. Most of these pics were taken in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park, although a few were taken along various country roads.

I used a Nikon D-90 with 18-200 lens for each picture in the series. Enjoy!

Above pic: These are orange trees, I think, each one awash in fall color.

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