Sorry it's been forever since my last post. For a while I wasn't writing anything when we were still living in Cashiers because, well, there was nothing to write about. The last couple weeks were mostly work-filled an exhausting. Kate needed a place to stay for a couple days before she got a ride home for her fall break so Drew and I moved in a little earlier than we expected to. The house is wonderful--I'll take pictures and post them later. The carpet is new but wasn't vacuumed after it was installed so there are lots of pleasant little furry loose carpet hairs everywhere. I'm sleeping on a mat on the floor with two sleeping bags until I feel financially stable enough to purchase a futon.
Believe it or not people, I was this { } close to working at A&W again. I had an offer there for a job starting at $7/HR 40 hours a week. I wasn't too happy about it but I was just relieved to have a job. Then, the weekend we moved in, I got a call from Earth Fare, a local health food grocery store I applied to a couple weeks prior on one of our one-day job-hunting excursions. They had a position open and I went in for an interview. Erin, a lovely woman who works at the juice bar, was mostly responsible for getting me hired. Now I work about 37 hours a week at the slicing meat, bread, and cheese at the Deli, and also in this other position called a "floater" which is basically someone to clean up spills, wrangle carts, provide help to departments that are swamped, and clean the bathrooms and take out the trash at the end of the day. Benefits are as follows:
Official Benefits:
-$8/HR
-20% discount card
-1-2 week (I forget) paid vacation after a year
-Paid sick leave
-Affordable health/dental insurance
-401K plan after 1 year where you can put away up to 3% of your income and Earth Fare will match you (making it virtually 6%) and after 3 years you can walk with that money
Unofficial Benefits:
-I get to eat "broken" cookies at the deli
-Free pizza in the kitchen sometimes (usually around 7PM)
-Hot Bar food is dirt cheap (70% off) for employees after 8PM (normally $7/pound) because it's 50% off plus a 20% employee discount
-I get to learn a lot about food and cooking
-Wonderful co-workers (already have made some friends!)
-Great supervisors
I've said this to a lot of people already but I've had higher paying jobs and I've had easier jobs but this is without a doubt the best job I've ever had. I actually like going to work. They've got a list of ingredients they won't allow in the store, including but not limited to: partially hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, flavorings, and sugars, and no GMO crops or milk that was made by cattle fed GMO food. Most of the store is organic and almost all of it is "all-natural" meaning either they don't use anything artificial in the process, or they're a local farm with not enough money to be certified as organic. Drew and I are making a real effort to buy all organic food, eat lots of veggies, buy local when we can, and not buy so much cheese (it's damn expensive) or meat. I'm mostly vegetarian now, but if it's free, I'll eat meat. The people at Earth Fare are pretty quirky but hell, so am I.
Asheville is gorgeous right now. I walk to work (it's only a mile away) and I take the long way, down a long road with beautiful properties with forested areas on either side, then come out at the end at the Western North Carolina Livestock Market. I think it's abandoned or at least not used currently, but there's the Stockyard Cafe right next to it that opens at 6AM so I might get breakfast there sometime when I go to open in the deli. I hear a lot of the leaves are off the trees already in Ohio but for some reason they're just glued on here. A lot have fallen off but it hasn't gotten to that critical point where enough fall to rake them into big piles (and then jump in them, of course). Our neighborhood is quiet, the neighbors are wonderful people, and there's a gas station down the road that sells biodiesel. There's also a great music shop called Harvest Records where Drew and I have collectively dropped about $150 dollars so far on vinyl. Drew got three Coltrane albums, an Explosions in the Sky LP, and a Battles EP. I bought two Do Make Say Think records, an Akron/Family LP and an Ulrich Schauss album. There are many more albums there that I've put imaginary future money away for, but they'll have to wait.
Basically, we're in the long process of getting settled, facing an ever-increasing list of things we need to buy. This is the original list:
Bookshelves
Bed
Stereo
Dining Table
Water Heater Insulator
Shower Curtain
Table for the Mac
Microwave
Juicer
Reading Lamp
Scissors
Paint
Tape
Cutting Board
Dressers
Bedstand
Curtains for doors (I have no idea what this means, Drew wrote this--maybe he's talking about those hanging beads they have all the time in headshops...or maybe he meant "curtains for windows" who knows)
Renter's insurance
Bikes
Tea Pot
Steamer/Iron
Coffee Maker
Vacuum Cleaner
Mop
Some of the stuff we've bought but most of it is waiting on the shelves at various stores for our loving embrace. We got some furniture that was stored on the back porch of Drew's grandparents house. It is the furniture that the Veres' were given when they first got married so it's pretty sentimental for Drew. We also got a great lazy boy chair from a neighbor that really goes well with the paint in the room but is a kind of horrid shiny yellow corduroy. At least it's clean.
Well that's about it--we're just trying to make friends here and get settled. Tonight we're going to babysit Drew's cousins so that should be interesting. Lots of XBox 360 and World of Warcraft, I assume.
Hope you're all doing well and I promise I'll be a little more regular about posts in the future.
Have a bright and beautiful fall day!
<3 mark
Friday, November 2, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
It's Been a While!
Sheesh I haven't posted anything on this blog in a long time. I can't write much tonight cause I'm tired but I figured I'd put up some pictures and videos. Check back soon for some more concrete updates.
The Misty Mountains
On a clearer day...
The house we really want to get (applying for it tomorrow...wish us luck!) 2BR, 1 BA, $650/mo, W&D
Drew and Kate and I went to go see Do Make Say Think at the Gray Eagle--we got to talk to them afterwards too! Real nice chaps.
Sliding Rock
That little worm on my finger was just one of a hundred all over my body when I came out of the water
Never thought I'd see a millipede in the wild!
Drew 'n' me
Me sliding down Sliding Rock
Brie freaking out
The Misty Mountains
On a clearer day...
The house we really want to get (applying for it tomorrow...wish us luck!) 2BR, 1 BA, $650/mo, W&D
Drew and Kate and I went to go see Do Make Say Think at the Gray Eagle--we got to talk to them afterwards too! Real nice chaps.
Sliding Rock
That little worm on my finger was just one of a hundred all over my body when I came out of the water
Never thought I'd see a millipede in the wild!
Drew 'n' me
Me sliding down Sliding Rock
Brie freaking out
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Work Work Work
The Mettlers left for Italy yesterday, leaving us alone with uncle T for a week. We finally get to practice in the afternoons and play loud music around the house. I don't want to give the impression that neither of us like the Mettlers--it's just fun to have such a big house to ourselves for a little while.
We visited Slippery Rock yesterday--a kind of shallow-grade waterfall that is smooth enough to slide down. I forgot to bring my camera with me so I'll have to go back and take pictures for you later, but it's absolutely gorgeous. There are these holes in the rock created by the movement in the water that are up to 8ft deep. The water is clear, cold, and refreshing. I forgot to mention I bought a pair of black Crocs and they are perfect for creekwalking. Anywho, after Slippery Rock, we bought a huge load of groceries at Ingles, after unsuccessfully trying to open a Wachovia account. The lady at the desk said the representative was busy that day and we'd have to make an appointment for tomorrow. She then called to check with another woman at the front desk, but surprised us when she called her on the phone--even though she was no more than 15 feet away.
Our second day of work seemed a little busier, but only because so many people showed up at the same time. We bussed our butts off and the waitresses took notice--we got at least twice the amount of tip out that night plus some from the bar. When we were wiping down the patio tables at the beginning of work, we saw Billy in the back driveway with a driver and a golf ball. The first swing he missed horribly, then the second, he hit it and it bounced off the car next to him. We were doubled over laughing when we saw D and Kyle take their turns, almost hitting a few windows in the neighboring tennis court shack.
We mentioned to Gabe that we were looking for an apartment in Asheville and he called his friend who lives at a place called "The Grove." He said the rent was $500 a month for a two person, 1000sq.ft. apartment with--get this--a kitchen, two full baths, two walk-in closets, free internet, utilities, cable, furnishings, & parking, AND we can have pets. It's also really close to downtown. We're going to head to Asheville on Sunday and (I think) make a down payment for the second half of October. We won't be able to practice there, but with the money we'll save on all the extras they provide, we can rent out storage in town and have a 24/7 practice space.
So I guess things are really falling into place!
Oh yeah, we missed the Andrew Bird concert because that was our first night of work, but we requested off days to see Pinback and Do Make Say Think.
We visited Slippery Rock yesterday--a kind of shallow-grade waterfall that is smooth enough to slide down. I forgot to bring my camera with me so I'll have to go back and take pictures for you later, but it's absolutely gorgeous. There are these holes in the rock created by the movement in the water that are up to 8ft deep. The water is clear, cold, and refreshing. I forgot to mention I bought a pair of black Crocs and they are perfect for creekwalking. Anywho, after Slippery Rock, we bought a huge load of groceries at Ingles, after unsuccessfully trying to open a Wachovia account. The lady at the desk said the representative was busy that day and we'd have to make an appointment for tomorrow. She then called to check with another woman at the front desk, but surprised us when she called her on the phone--even though she was no more than 15 feet away.
Our second day of work seemed a little busier, but only because so many people showed up at the same time. We bussed our butts off and the waitresses took notice--we got at least twice the amount of tip out that night plus some from the bar. When we were wiping down the patio tables at the beginning of work, we saw Billy in the back driveway with a driver and a golf ball. The first swing he missed horribly, then the second, he hit it and it bounced off the car next to him. We were doubled over laughing when we saw D and Kyle take their turns, almost hitting a few windows in the neighboring tennis court shack.
We mentioned to Gabe that we were looking for an apartment in Asheville and he called his friend who lives at a place called "The Grove." He said the rent was $500 a month for a two person, 1000sq.ft. apartment with--get this--a kitchen, two full baths, two walk-in closets, free internet, utilities, cable, furnishings, & parking, AND we can have pets. It's also really close to downtown. We're going to head to Asheville on Sunday and (I think) make a down payment for the second half of October. We won't be able to practice there, but with the money we'll save on all the extras they provide, we can rent out storage in town and have a 24/7 practice space.
So I guess things are really falling into place!
Oh yeah, we missed the Andrew Bird concert because that was our first night of work, but we requested off days to see Pinback and Do Make Say Think.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
The Library
Drew and I started working at a restaurant called "The Library" at a country club in the next town over. We heard about the opening from Drew's Uncle's friend and went there two days ago to apply for the job. We met one of the owners, Joe, who told us we were hired without even asking our names. We went in at 4pm yesterday and started our training. Because we'll only be working for another month or so, we'll only get to do bussing, but bussers still make decent money. When the "leafers" come (the people who watch the leaves change here), bussers can make around $100 a night just on tips. The minimum wage here for bussers is $5.15 which isn't bad. We made about 45 dollars last night total--and it was a slow night. I think if you average it out, we'll be getting around 12-15 dollars an hour.
It's a pretty easy job--the usual bussing fare of pouring water, bringing out bread, taking dishes away when people are done, resetting the table, etc, etc. Not a bad job for one like myself who enjoys as little responsibility as possible. There are some pretty interesting characters here too.
Kim, a waitress and bartender, was born in France but moved to the US when she was six. She doesn't have much of an accent but you can tell with some words. Then there's the other waitresses, Dusty and Leigh, both of whom were nice enough to give us a tip out last night even though they didn't have to (bussers who are training don't have to get tip-outs). Steven is another busser we work with who's been there for 3 days. Then there's the head chef, whose name I don't know. He's foreign too, but I haven't heard him speak enough to really place his accent. When the hostess stopped seating people, he took a break from making food to show off his skills juggling a wine bottle and its holder around his back and catching it, balancing it on the back of his hand, all the while teasing the dishwasher, Billy, who talks exactly like Boomhauer from King of the Hill. Billy is also a bit of a pyro and showed up outside while Drew was having a cigarette (I was just out there with him--by the way, this is my 8th day without smoking!) with an aerosol can of cooking oil I believe, trying to get the busser who trained us, Gabe, to hold a lighter while he sprayed the cooking oil into it. After Billy had nearly lit me on fire, he went back inside, and Leigh (who was having a cigarette also) told us how he'll heat up a quarter until it's red hot and throw it on the ground. He'll wait for it to cool down a bit then he says to one of the cooks or bussers passing by, "Look, there's a quarter!" He also twisted up a towel and gave a rattail to Dusty, who was studying for a Marketing exam in the back.
So all in all, The Restaurant is a nice place to work. I was about as tired after 6 hours of work as I was 10 at A&W Drive-In. Before 7pm it's a lot of walking around, pretending that you're working, folding napkins, and, oh yeah, I forgot the best part about the job! We get to have as much soda, and as many salads, rolls, and bowls of soup as we want. It's a 20-30 dollar an entree joint so even the rolls and soup are prime. I had escargo and chicken parmigiano the night we got hired.
That reminds me--another quick story from Mr. Mettler that he told us over dinner: A while back he represented Henry Strater, a famous artist and friend of Ernest Hemingway. (Here's a picture of Hemingway congratulating Strater on landing a blue marlin and here's a scanned copy of pretty much the only portrait he did of Hemingway I can find). Anyway, Mr. Mettler told us that 90% of Strater's art involved a nude woman and, in Mr. Mettler's words, "He laid every single one of them, of course." From what I gather, Mr. Mettler was representing him because he claimed that a woman he got pregnant had put a hole in the condom with a needle.
It's a pretty easy job--the usual bussing fare of pouring water, bringing out bread, taking dishes away when people are done, resetting the table, etc, etc. Not a bad job for one like myself who enjoys as little responsibility as possible. There are some pretty interesting characters here too.
Kim, a waitress and bartender, was born in France but moved to the US when she was six. She doesn't have much of an accent but you can tell with some words. Then there's the other waitresses, Dusty and Leigh, both of whom were nice enough to give us a tip out last night even though they didn't have to (bussers who are training don't have to get tip-outs). Steven is another busser we work with who's been there for 3 days. Then there's the head chef, whose name I don't know. He's foreign too, but I haven't heard him speak enough to really place his accent. When the hostess stopped seating people, he took a break from making food to show off his skills juggling a wine bottle and its holder around his back and catching it, balancing it on the back of his hand, all the while teasing the dishwasher, Billy, who talks exactly like Boomhauer from King of the Hill. Billy is also a bit of a pyro and showed up outside while Drew was having a cigarette (I was just out there with him--by the way, this is my 8th day without smoking!) with an aerosol can of cooking oil I believe, trying to get the busser who trained us, Gabe, to hold a lighter while he sprayed the cooking oil into it. After Billy had nearly lit me on fire, he went back inside, and Leigh (who was having a cigarette also) told us how he'll heat up a quarter until it's red hot and throw it on the ground. He'll wait for it to cool down a bit then he says to one of the cooks or bussers passing by, "Look, there's a quarter!" He also twisted up a towel and gave a rattail to Dusty, who was studying for a Marketing exam in the back.
So all in all, The Restaurant is a nice place to work. I was about as tired after 6 hours of work as I was 10 at A&W Drive-In. Before 7pm it's a lot of walking around, pretending that you're working, folding napkins, and, oh yeah, I forgot the best part about the job! We get to have as much soda, and as many salads, rolls, and bowls of soup as we want. It's a 20-30 dollar an entree joint so even the rolls and soup are prime. I had escargo and chicken parmigiano the night we got hired.
That reminds me--another quick story from Mr. Mettler that he told us over dinner: A while back he represented Henry Strater, a famous artist and friend of Ernest Hemingway. (Here's a picture of Hemingway congratulating Strater on landing a blue marlin and here's a scanned copy of pretty much the only portrait he did of Hemingway I can find). Anyway, Mr. Mettler told us that 90% of Strater's art involved a nude woman and, in Mr. Mettler's words, "He laid every single one of them, of course." From what I gather, Mr. Mettler was representing him because he claimed that a woman he got pregnant had put a hole in the condom with a needle.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Tom Tom
Mr. Mettler (whose nickname is Tom Tom) is Drew's grandfather. He and his wife, Sarah (or Sally) split their time between their Palm Beach residence and here, in Cashiers, where they go in the summer when it gets to hot there. They bought this plot back in the 70s after their daughter Beth (Drew's mother) visited here with a friend from school. They've been improving the house ever since.
Drew and his siblings have been coming here since they were little and have lots of funny stories involving crashing the golf cart, their cousins the Cecils (relatives of the Vanderbilt clan) making mischief, hanging out at High Hampton Country Club...But one random story I thought was funny: years ago, when Mr. Mettler was a judge, he had some extra power to exercise which included having a policeman follow his daughter (Drew's aunt) when she would sneak out and go to bars. He also "burned marijuana in his courtroom" (no, he didn't smoke it--just disposed of it making a statement) when "that kind of thing was more acceptable."
Even more impressively, he had a run-in with Donald Trump when Mr. Trump put an absurdly large flag in his front yard that violated a city ordinance. Mr. Mettler was on the town council at the time and had to deal with, what he calls, "one of the biggest egos on this planet." He claimed that Trump knew he wouldn't win the suit and was just doing it for publicity. The case was settled outside of court. Later, Mr. Mettler explained, he got a phonecall from someone who claimed to be Donald Trump. At first, he thought it was his friend who often pretended to be someone else when he'd leave a message with his secretary, one time pretending to be an officer who had a high-profile client of his in a holding cell. So Mr. Mettler comes to the phone, expecting his friend, and says "Hey, how are you, you lecherous bastard?" Mr. Trump was obviously taken aback by this, because it was in fact the real Donald Trump, who had called Mr. Mettler to ask him to be his personal lawyer. Mr. Mettler politely refused.
Mr. Mettler brings wine with him when we go out to eat because Cashiers is a dry county (for a good reason I suppose--I'll post a video soon of how windy and dangerous the roads are). I get to have a glass of wine with every dinner, and last night, he told Mrs. Mettler, "It's Saturday in Cashiers which means you have to have a glass of wine." I hardly have to point out that it was, in fact, Friday.
Drew and his siblings have been coming here since they were little and have lots of funny stories involving crashing the golf cart, their cousins the Cecils (relatives of the Vanderbilt clan) making mischief, hanging out at High Hampton Country Club...But one random story I thought was funny: years ago, when Mr. Mettler was a judge, he had some extra power to exercise which included having a policeman follow his daughter (Drew's aunt) when she would sneak out and go to bars. He also "burned marijuana in his courtroom" (no, he didn't smoke it--just disposed of it making a statement) when "that kind of thing was more acceptable."
Even more impressively, he had a run-in with Donald Trump when Mr. Trump put an absurdly large flag in his front yard that violated a city ordinance. Mr. Mettler was on the town council at the time and had to deal with, what he calls, "one of the biggest egos on this planet." He claimed that Trump knew he wouldn't win the suit and was just doing it for publicity. The case was settled outside of court. Later, Mr. Mettler explained, he got a phonecall from someone who claimed to be Donald Trump. At first, he thought it was his friend who often pretended to be someone else when he'd leave a message with his secretary, one time pretending to be an officer who had a high-profile client of his in a holding cell. So Mr. Mettler comes to the phone, expecting his friend, and says "Hey, how are you, you lecherous bastard?" Mr. Trump was obviously taken aback by this, because it was in fact the real Donald Trump, who had called Mr. Mettler to ask him to be his personal lawyer. Mr. Mettler politely refused.
Mr. Mettler brings wine with him when we go out to eat because Cashiers is a dry county (for a good reason I suppose--I'll post a video soon of how windy and dangerous the roads are). I get to have a glass of wine with every dinner, and last night, he told Mrs. Mettler, "It's Saturday in Cashiers which means you have to have a glass of wine." I hardly have to point out that it was, in fact, Friday.
Canoeing at the High Hampton
The High Hampton is a country club nearby. It's actually just down in the valley below us--a short golf cart ride away. After reading Harry Potter all day, we decided to head down there for lunch because we couldn't find Drew's car keys. Drew and I took turns driving and made it there just in time before the food shop closed. We got some hot dogs and then went out on the lake. We originally wanted a paddleboat but the ones that were left were broken, so we stepped into a canoe (almost flipped over when Drew got in) and paddled around for a bit. After a while we just went back and drove the cart back up the big hill (almost getting stuck along the way) and now we're about to go to Ingles, (pronounced like the suffix -ing, not like the Spanish word) the grocery store chain that's prevalent here in NC, to rent the first Harry Potter movie. Sorry that was a ridiculously long sentence. Anyway, here are the pictures (and a movie of us trying to make it up the hill in the golf cart).
Ridin' in style (photo credit: Drew Veres)
The Honeymoon Cottage on the course (Drew's mom says it's a dump)
The good paddle boats those people took and the crappy ones left over
A View of Rock Mt. behind a golf hole (while on the canoe)
Drewy
Drew told me to try to convince people this was a 90ft drop--it's only about 20ft and it's the dam that keeps the water in the man-made lake we were paddling around
Inside the country club inn
Swannanoa Valley, where my girl Kate's going to Warren Wilson
Ridin' in style (photo credit: Drew Veres)
The Honeymoon Cottage on the course (Drew's mom says it's a dump)
The good paddle boats those people took and the crappy ones left over
A View of Rock Mt. behind a golf hole (while on the canoe)
Drewy
Drew told me to try to convince people this was a 90ft drop--it's only about 20ft and it's the dam that keeps the water in the man-made lake we were paddling around
Inside the country club inn
Swannanoa Valley, where my girl Kate's going to Warren Wilson
Friday, September 7, 2007
Pictures!
Here are some pictures for you guys...
The back porch
Chimney Top Mountain (aka the view on the back porch)
The living room (and open upstairs with four bunkbeds) and Brie
Taken from the spiral staircase
Uncle Tom Tom's Cabin--a clubhouse where the kids would play...
...and now it holds our music equipment
The view from beside the clubhouse
My bedroom (still unpacking...)
My bathroom (notice the massaging jets and the flat faucet)
View on a street in Highlands (a town or two over from Cashiers)
Weird shops...
You know you're in the South when...they sell guns in the local pharmacy
The back porch
Chimney Top Mountain (aka the view on the back porch)
The living room (and open upstairs with four bunkbeds) and Brie
Taken from the spiral staircase
Uncle Tom Tom's Cabin--a clubhouse where the kids would play...
...and now it holds our music equipment
The view from beside the clubhouse
My bedroom (still unpacking...)
My bathroom (notice the massaging jets and the flat faucet)
View on a street in Highlands (a town or two over from Cashiers)
Weird shops...
You know you're in the South when...they sell guns in the local pharmacy
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