1 month in Nashville

Today is the 1 month mark for my time in Nashville, which means that there is only about a month to go. Time flies when you are having fun!

Sometimes its still a little surreal that this is my life right now. Its amazing how smoothly I transitioned from living with my mom and brother, driving my car everywhere, and working retail to living with a guy I met on craigslist, riding my bike everywhere(something like 5 miles a day average), and working in a job that I love pretty much every aspect of. I miss home, but surprisingly not as much as I thought I would. I think the time I miss home the most is when I am alone.

It seems like there is always so much going on in Nashville all the time. Always somewhere to ride to, always something to see, or someone to hang out with. The weekends are another story. I usually spend at least one day a weekend completely alone. That isn't necessarily a bad thing I guess because it gives me time away from the constant "go go go" and lets me take care of chores and errands, but back in Louisville I worked all weekend, every weekend, or I always had my brother to hang out with if no one else.

Today I did the laundry, fixed my air mattress again, went to Qdoba for buy one get one free burritos(where on the way I met a man claiming to be one of god's prophets, and trying to get me to go to the liquor store with him so I could use my credit card to buy him booze), Kroger, and World Market(where I got 3 pint glasses for $2.15 because it was my birthday) before coming home and cooking Twisted Mac n Cheese for 1, playing solitaire and watching TV the rest of the night.

People often ask me "If they(Hatch Show Print) offered you a job will you take it?" The answer used to be "maybe" because it would be a dream come true, but it would be hard to go without my friends. But the more I think about it the more likely the answer would be "yes". I love that I can ride my bike, and that I get to work on cool art related projects all day. I think that the hardest part of leaving Nashville will be that the alternative is going back to the corporate retail environment where there just aren't enough small streets or bike lanes.

It recently occurred to me how much of my "previous life" in Louisville was consumer based. We used to drive to Target a few times a week, check out the book stores, or the record stores, but miss the gallery hops, the lectures and concerts. Part of this probably has to do with the hours that we keep here as opposed to there. 9-5 allows for a lot more free time in the evenings, especially when the people I am with keep these same hours.

Here I watch less TV, drive less, eat out less, and shop less. I drink more beer, play more chess and cards, and ride my bike more. I think that if there is something I want to bring back from Nashville besides new and improved printmaking skills, a kick-ass resume, and portfolio, it is that I want to go to more events, play more games, and ride my bike to more places even when it is cold out.