First Days in Nashville/The Perils of Unemployment

I’m chillin in Nashville now. I got a call this morning that the truck with all my belongings is leaving California today. Super. Looks like I am sleeping on the air mattress for a few more days. The drive from Oklahoma to Nashville was relatively uneventful. I was discouraged to discover that the cleanliness of the public restrooms declined substantially the further southeast I traveled. I mean, really bad. I even watched a person throw a disposable cup out their car window barreling down the interstate at 75 mph. Come on, people. Where is that Southern pride you talk about all the time?

I am living in a fairly central location just a bit south of downtown. It is an apartment compound. There are 632 apartments in this complex. Man, I really wish there was an all caps for numbers. SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTY TWO!!! It is insane. I think that as long as they don’t offer me any Kool Aid, all will be well. The apartment has what appears to be granite countertops and hardwood floors in the bathroom and kitchen. Upon closer examination, one sees these are counterfeit. The hardwood floors are actually linoleum that looks like hard wood floors. And the granite is…I don’t know. Not granite. The neighborhood is nice enough. There is a local Walmart (boo) and a Target close by. There are two Shell stations that are directly across the street from one another. I don’t understand the logic of that one. There are some fascinating highlights in my area. Hair highlights, that is. Really, I think they should be called chunklights. These women have a really dark hair base. Then chunks of hair dyed almost platinum and other chunks that are a brassy pumpkin color. It is not at all attractive. It seems that while they all go to the same person to do their chunklights, they also get their hair cut by the same stylist. Everyone, EVERYONE has essentially the same “hip” bob. It is neither hip nor a real bob.

I took Bartleby on a “hike”. It is in quotations because it was on asphalt and you can’t take dogs on the trails. There are little things that California has on hiking trails that I miss. Things like trashcans, waterspouts, and even dog poop bag dispensers for your convenience. Instead, I walked for two miles carrying his poo. We had a near miss when my 63-pound lapdog almost dragged me into the mossy lake where neither he nor I was allowed to be. I passed eight churches in the 2.5-mile stretch leading to the hiking area. Three churches had adjacent lot lines. I am in the South, yo.

They are all really friendly. I will give them that. When drivers cut you off or do something inconsiderate, which is often, they all wave at you. Just a little, “Oh hey, I cut you off” wave. The roads all have the same name. There is a Franklin Pike Circle on one side of the freeway and another once you cross over the freeway. One would think they connect eventually and maybe they do. I might have not driven on it long enough. But how confusing is that? You don’t want the Franklin Pike Circle after the freeway; you want the one before the freeway. Right. Ok. Not that Google maps specifies that or anything. The directions of North, South, East, and West are a bit squidgy. Everything does not travel in an absolute direction. I know this is not unique to Nashville, but at least in LA you have the oceans and mountains to help maintain your compass.

I haven’t really done anything since I got here except for the numerous and costly trips to Target. I hate this stage of moving. The stage where you have to buy baseline products and end up spending more money than you want. I did track down the one Trader Joe’s in town. Thank the Lord. It’s a nice and spacious Trader Joe’s.

Having had a stretch of unemployment once before I have identified some behaviors to watch out for. When you have very little to do, you tend to stretch activities out over several days. Today, I will go to the post office. Tomorrow, I will go to the grocery store. You eventually start to feel like you can’t possibly do several activities in one day. It is the trap of unemployment. You spread things out as so you have at least a little activity each day, but it bites you in the ass in the end. You also have to be mindful of the money you are spending. Which means it is better not to leave the house. You tend to spend money when you venture out. Another double-edged sword of unemployment especially in a new town. You need to get out, conversely; you need to watch what you spend. This one proves problematic for me. I am barely an extrovert. I need quite a bit of solitude to recharge. However, I am also a very relational person. And I need contact. Quality contact. I can feel the solitude closing in on me a bit. All in due time. A part time job should do the trick.