Reporting In from Limaland...
Yes, that's right. I'm finally updating my blog again. Blog-stalkers worldwide will be in throes of ecstasy. If they're not--well, that's probably ok too.
And, as I type this, one of the cats is yelling at me because it's hard for him to get in my lap while I type this. Scratch that...he just settled on my lap. Any typos are probably his fault. And so is the pain in my crotch, since he always lands or steps on me there when getting attention.
Anyhoo, the first big update is that, for the past two months now, I have been Lima's newest resident. For those that don't know, Lima is located in Allen County, about 60 miles straight south of Bowling Green on Interstate 75. I'm living in sin with my lovely girlfriend, and while it's not as tawdry as it sounds (but I'm working on it), it's been a good, if major, adjustment. We'd actually been talking about me moving down here since August or so, due to my then-unemployment status; she has a good job down here as a civil engineer (and will always outearn me, natch), owns a house, and is settled in very well. With things going very well between us, as well as the fact that I was no longer able to sustain living by myself in Bowling Green, I relocated down here at the end of October. It's ironic, in a way, because Lima has always had a weird sort of stigmatism about it that I've been privy too. Namely, that it was an economically depressed industrial city that's gray, supposedly has no culture or character, and with parts of the city that looked like they filmed the first Crow movie in it.
Some of that may be true, I suppose, especially the bit about economic difficulties, but I've found that I'm cool with living down here. It's like any city...there's stuff to do, places to see, good food to eat, and music to hear--as long as you know where to go. Toledo was always the same way, and I would always defend it on that basis against some of the haters out there; in a karmic sort of way, I'm finally applying that to myself in my new home. Don't get me wrong--I loved living in BG for the past 13 years, most of my friends are up there, I miss Myles Pizza and Easystreet Cafe, and if Becky and I get the chance to move up there again at some point, we'd definitely consider it. But Lima's been good to me so far, so I'm not complaining.
Big update #2 is that I'm finally employed again. After six months of going between feeling helpless, pissed off, and vaguely giddy in a free-falling sort of way, I found a job in Findlay, OH (between Lima and BG on I-75) as an editor at Corporate Research International. I'm a cube monkey again for the first time in a couple of years, and while the job doesn't really have any benefits (or pay anything near what I'd like to earn), it's something for now, at least until a better opportunity comes my way. It's a bit of a drive in the morning--about 40 minutes, which means I have to get up at 5:30 am, which sucks ass--but the job itself is pretty laid back, and my coworkers all seem pretty friendly and cool so far. Essentially, since the company is a mystery shopping firm that's largely internet-based, I edit the reports that shoppers file with us before we send them on to the stores themselves.
In a way, it's like I'm teaching again, in that I forget some of the absolutely abysmal grammar and spelling that many people are content to use in their dubious command of the English language. On the other hand, I've also edited reports that almost have the length of and read like masters' theses. Makes for some interesting information about companies I've heard of, and some that I haven't. Based on some of what I've read, I can say that if I ever go to West Virginia, stopping at a restaurant chain called On the Border sounds like a safe bet for good chow. Ditto stopping at a casual dining chain in North Carolina called Brixx' Wood-Fired Pizza. On the other hand, some of the other places I've read about (from department stores to donut joints to parking garages) sound like they're ripped from one of the levels of Dante's Hell. If nothing else, some of it makes for entertaining reading.
And, of course, another Christmas has come and gone. Becky and I spent it at my parents' place; we took our Rufus, our Newfie, who--as predicted--got doted on and spoiled rotten by my folks. Lots of good food was had by all, and Becky and I both got spoiled pretty well in terms of our respective hauls. She's no longer allowed to give me a hard time about me being spoiled at Christmas, either.
Hard to believe it's almost 2007, in a way...but like the song says, the future is comin' on.
Songs I've Been Grooving To:
Ben Harper: "Brown Eyed Blues"
Ben Harper: "Burn One Down"
Gorillaz: "Rock the House"
Gorillaz: "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head"
Cream: "Born Under a Bad Sign"
Cream: "Outside Woman Blues"
John Brown's Body: "Garden Tree"
Lucky Dube: "We Love It"
The Congos: "Row Fisherman"
Damian Marley: "Welcome to Jamrock"
Peter Tosh: "No Sympathy"
Justin Hinds: "Botheration"
Led Zeppelin: "In My Time of Dying"
And, as I type this, one of the cats is yelling at me because it's hard for him to get in my lap while I type this. Scratch that...he just settled on my lap. Any typos are probably his fault. And so is the pain in my crotch, since he always lands or steps on me there when getting attention.
Anyhoo, the first big update is that, for the past two months now, I have been Lima's newest resident. For those that don't know, Lima is located in Allen County, about 60 miles straight south of Bowling Green on Interstate 75. I'm living in sin with my lovely girlfriend, and while it's not as tawdry as it sounds (but I'm working on it), it's been a good, if major, adjustment. We'd actually been talking about me moving down here since August or so, due to my then-unemployment status; she has a good job down here as a civil engineer (and will always outearn me, natch), owns a house, and is settled in very well. With things going very well between us, as well as the fact that I was no longer able to sustain living by myself in Bowling Green, I relocated down here at the end of October. It's ironic, in a way, because Lima has always had a weird sort of stigmatism about it that I've been privy too. Namely, that it was an economically depressed industrial city that's gray, supposedly has no culture or character, and with parts of the city that looked like they filmed the first Crow movie in it.
Some of that may be true, I suppose, especially the bit about economic difficulties, but I've found that I'm cool with living down here. It's like any city...there's stuff to do, places to see, good food to eat, and music to hear--as long as you know where to go. Toledo was always the same way, and I would always defend it on that basis against some of the haters out there; in a karmic sort of way, I'm finally applying that to myself in my new home. Don't get me wrong--I loved living in BG for the past 13 years, most of my friends are up there, I miss Myles Pizza and Easystreet Cafe, and if Becky and I get the chance to move up there again at some point, we'd definitely consider it. But Lima's been good to me so far, so I'm not complaining.
Big update #2 is that I'm finally employed again. After six months of going between feeling helpless, pissed off, and vaguely giddy in a free-falling sort of way, I found a job in Findlay, OH (between Lima and BG on I-75) as an editor at Corporate Research International. I'm a cube monkey again for the first time in a couple of years, and while the job doesn't really have any benefits (or pay anything near what I'd like to earn), it's something for now, at least until a better opportunity comes my way. It's a bit of a drive in the morning--about 40 minutes, which means I have to get up at 5:30 am, which sucks ass--but the job itself is pretty laid back, and my coworkers all seem pretty friendly and cool so far. Essentially, since the company is a mystery shopping firm that's largely internet-based, I edit the reports that shoppers file with us before we send them on to the stores themselves.
In a way, it's like I'm teaching again, in that I forget some of the absolutely abysmal grammar and spelling that many people are content to use in their dubious command of the English language. On the other hand, I've also edited reports that almost have the length of and read like masters' theses. Makes for some interesting information about companies I've heard of, and some that I haven't. Based on some of what I've read, I can say that if I ever go to West Virginia, stopping at a restaurant chain called On the Border sounds like a safe bet for good chow. Ditto stopping at a casual dining chain in North Carolina called Brixx' Wood-Fired Pizza. On the other hand, some of the other places I've read about (from department stores to donut joints to parking garages) sound like they're ripped from one of the levels of Dante's Hell. If nothing else, some of it makes for entertaining reading.
And, of course, another Christmas has come and gone. Becky and I spent it at my parents' place; we took our Rufus, our Newfie, who--as predicted--got doted on and spoiled rotten by my folks. Lots of good food was had by all, and Becky and I both got spoiled pretty well in terms of our respective hauls. She's no longer allowed to give me a hard time about me being spoiled at Christmas, either.
Hard to believe it's almost 2007, in a way...but like the song says, the future is comin' on.
Songs I've Been Grooving To:
Ben Harper: "Brown Eyed Blues"
Ben Harper: "Burn One Down"
Gorillaz: "Rock the House"
Gorillaz: "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head"
Cream: "Born Under a Bad Sign"
Cream: "Outside Woman Blues"
John Brown's Body: "Garden Tree"
Lucky Dube: "We Love It"
The Congos: "Row Fisherman"
Damian Marley: "Welcome to Jamrock"
Peter Tosh: "No Sympathy"
Justin Hinds: "Botheration"
Led Zeppelin: "In My Time of Dying"
posted by Reggae Joe at
9:32 PM
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