All of the things!
Earlier in this blog I talked about all the things I hoped for. I also had this idea that when I found exactly the right place, things would just fall into line. It seems all the things have finally lined up!
I took a job at the Floyd Art Center for a few hours a week. Looking forward to meeting the art community through the job. The folks there also mentioned to me that there's a photographer in this area wanting to start a photography museum and gallery. He works in film, in large format. This is pretty exciting, because I'd definitely love to work in a photo museum!
I also took a job on this campground. It's so weird how things work out; when I got here and fell in love with the town, I could find no rentals, no monthly RV sites, no way to stay. I thought I'd have to buy a piece of land to be able to stay. That fell through time and again until I was a little disheartened, thinking I may have to leave when all the big festivals pull in and there are no sites left. That's when fate came to the rescue and the campground manager and I started hanging out, then I met the company GM and the owner. They decided to keep me. The job's pretty glorious: I get to live in the most beautiful campground I've ever seen with full hook ups for free; I get a little weekly money to pay other expenses. In the meeting, I got even more than I asked for: my own golfcart, access to a tool shed with some random wood and tools, I get to create some new sites for tent camping, use a chainsaw, check guests in and out all in a very low stress place. Anytime I need to run back to the camper or take a minute I can. Waitressing all those years was sorta the opposite; there were days you realize you haven't been able to get to the bathroom for 10 seconds in seven hours. During the festivals there will be lots of hours, lots of clean up. As far as picking up trash and cleaning the bathrooms, that's just good exercise.
My friend described this to me as the ultimate life hack: free place to stay, no rent worries, a super chill job in a beautiful place. Last night we rode around meeting campers and hanging out with them. Then we made a fire and burnt some steak and beets. He sings and plays ukelele, is teaching me to play chess. The dogs are happy and content, and when there's few people around during the week I get to let them off the leash to run around the campground. Dude needs that. She comes back into the camper a happy dog after some hours playing in the creek. She doesn't know it yet, but she's going to be my bear mace when I start working back in the woods.
There's RV camping, tent camping, dry camping. There are two log cabins we rent, a teepee and a tiny house here that we rent out and oversee/take care of. Two bathhouses, a laundry room, an events shed with a huge stage for music, a camp office and store, a smaller store that could be a shop eventually and 200 glorious acres that I don't have to mow. The maintenance guys do that; with a number of tractors, it takes them less long to do this place than it took me to mow my solo acre back home. When I feel introverted, just hang in the camper; when I need to get out and see people, they're not far.
And the TOWN! It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but as far as a Jonnie wish list, it's everything. Some of the great woodworkers live here. They turn bowls, build violins and ukeleles, make handcrafted furniture, all kinds of things. I have a deep affection for woodworking, and am going to intern for one of them so I can learn from them. It's a lumberjack life for me! The reason for so many great woodworkers is this is heavily forested with a great number of some of the most beautiful woods you can get anywhere in the world. Incredible.
There's a potter just around the corner, lots of potters. I was a ceramics minor in college so it totally appeals to me to be able to do some clay work without having to own anything to do it with. No maintenance, just some fun and supporting the peeps who do that here. I always like a potter. They also have a kiln at the art center.
There are bluegrass shows more days of the week than not. On Wednesdays at least five bands are playing in this tiny town. Tomorrow DARRELL FREAKIN SCOTT plays in the park-- for free! So excited, always wanted to see him. The General Store offers music lessons, so next week I'll get my first dobro lesson. I'm going to be a picker, play around campfires!
There's an artisan market Friday nights and again several bands. Saturday mornings, farmer's markets. There are so many places for a foodie. I'm going to eat the freshest foods around, grown right here, and never have to have my own garden. That's heaven. Supporting the people who are great at gardening and devoting my time to stuff I really love to do. Magic! The town is also known as a food destination, so many great restaurants serving fresh local stuff. You can even get some great seafood, as the ocean isn't so far. I also found a co-op grocery store, where you pay a yearly fee to be part of the co-op, donate a few hours per month and get to buy fresh local stuff like goats milk, honey, locally roasted coffee, vegetables, locally produced Kombucha, so many things.
So life's lining up! I've had a lot of years of frustration, sadness, all being washed away by the revelation that life just requires you to be supple; money won't make you happy; fulfilling ambition isn't a friend at the end of the day; when you find the place that you want, sometimes it welcomes you with open arms. I get a little tear in my eye when I think that I'm finally, after all these years, found this thing that's tailored to me, people I really enjoy. That's life man! If someone had told me in my 20s I'd be doing this now, I'd have been disappointed perhaps... but life THANKFULLY doesn't give you want you WANT, but exactly what you NEED to build a great life.
I'm going to do some civil war research for my book, then run off to my job on this Independence Day! This is MY Independence Day, Independence from loneliness, solitude, lack into a brand new life. I never even saw it coming. Just remember, you CAN have all the things you want; you may have to wait for them, but in as quick as you can turn around, you may wake up one day and realize that you're SO grateful for ALL OF THE THINGS. You don't need to move to Floyd, just make a list like I did of all of the things that would make the best possible life, then let them show up for you. It totally can and does happen if you let loose the reins of life and let it flow. I believe that now. I always tried to push a resolution; that's not how this works. When you totally throw your hands up and give up, it might take you by the hand and give you the life you didn't realize you wanted. That's all, folks! Peace, Love and Rock N Roll! Or in my case, folk and bluegrass!!! Yeah!!!
God bless this golf cart and Darrell Scott.
I took a job at the Floyd Art Center for a few hours a week. Looking forward to meeting the art community through the job. The folks there also mentioned to me that there's a photographer in this area wanting to start a photography museum and gallery. He works in film, in large format. This is pretty exciting, because I'd definitely love to work in a photo museum!
I also took a job on this campground. It's so weird how things work out; when I got here and fell in love with the town, I could find no rentals, no monthly RV sites, no way to stay. I thought I'd have to buy a piece of land to be able to stay. That fell through time and again until I was a little disheartened, thinking I may have to leave when all the big festivals pull in and there are no sites left. That's when fate came to the rescue and the campground manager and I started hanging out, then I met the company GM and the owner. They decided to keep me. The job's pretty glorious: I get to live in the most beautiful campground I've ever seen with full hook ups for free; I get a little weekly money to pay other expenses. In the meeting, I got even more than I asked for: my own golfcart, access to a tool shed with some random wood and tools, I get to create some new sites for tent camping, use a chainsaw, check guests in and out all in a very low stress place. Anytime I need to run back to the camper or take a minute I can. Waitressing all those years was sorta the opposite; there were days you realize you haven't been able to get to the bathroom for 10 seconds in seven hours. During the festivals there will be lots of hours, lots of clean up. As far as picking up trash and cleaning the bathrooms, that's just good exercise.
My friend described this to me as the ultimate life hack: free place to stay, no rent worries, a super chill job in a beautiful place. Last night we rode around meeting campers and hanging out with them. Then we made a fire and burnt some steak and beets. He sings and plays ukelele, is teaching me to play chess. The dogs are happy and content, and when there's few people around during the week I get to let them off the leash to run around the campground. Dude needs that. She comes back into the camper a happy dog after some hours playing in the creek. She doesn't know it yet, but she's going to be my bear mace when I start working back in the woods.
There's RV camping, tent camping, dry camping. There are two log cabins we rent, a teepee and a tiny house here that we rent out and oversee/take care of. Two bathhouses, a laundry room, an events shed with a huge stage for music, a camp office and store, a smaller store that could be a shop eventually and 200 glorious acres that I don't have to mow. The maintenance guys do that; with a number of tractors, it takes them less long to do this place than it took me to mow my solo acre back home. When I feel introverted, just hang in the camper; when I need to get out and see people, they're not far.
And the TOWN! It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but as far as a Jonnie wish list, it's everything. Some of the great woodworkers live here. They turn bowls, build violins and ukeleles, make handcrafted furniture, all kinds of things. I have a deep affection for woodworking, and am going to intern for one of them so I can learn from them. It's a lumberjack life for me! The reason for so many great woodworkers is this is heavily forested with a great number of some of the most beautiful woods you can get anywhere in the world. Incredible.
There's a potter just around the corner, lots of potters. I was a ceramics minor in college so it totally appeals to me to be able to do some clay work without having to own anything to do it with. No maintenance, just some fun and supporting the peeps who do that here. I always like a potter. They also have a kiln at the art center.
There are bluegrass shows more days of the week than not. On Wednesdays at least five bands are playing in this tiny town. Tomorrow DARRELL FREAKIN SCOTT plays in the park-- for free! So excited, always wanted to see him. The General Store offers music lessons, so next week I'll get my first dobro lesson. I'm going to be a picker, play around campfires!
There's an artisan market Friday nights and again several bands. Saturday mornings, farmer's markets. There are so many places for a foodie. I'm going to eat the freshest foods around, grown right here, and never have to have my own garden. That's heaven. Supporting the people who are great at gardening and devoting my time to stuff I really love to do. Magic! The town is also known as a food destination, so many great restaurants serving fresh local stuff. You can even get some great seafood, as the ocean isn't so far. I also found a co-op grocery store, where you pay a yearly fee to be part of the co-op, donate a few hours per month and get to buy fresh local stuff like goats milk, honey, locally roasted coffee, vegetables, locally produced Kombucha, so many things.
So life's lining up! I've had a lot of years of frustration, sadness, all being washed away by the revelation that life just requires you to be supple; money won't make you happy; fulfilling ambition isn't a friend at the end of the day; when you find the place that you want, sometimes it welcomes you with open arms. I get a little tear in my eye when I think that I'm finally, after all these years, found this thing that's tailored to me, people I really enjoy. That's life man! If someone had told me in my 20s I'd be doing this now, I'd have been disappointed perhaps... but life THANKFULLY doesn't give you want you WANT, but exactly what you NEED to build a great life.
I'm going to do some civil war research for my book, then run off to my job on this Independence Day! This is MY Independence Day, Independence from loneliness, solitude, lack into a brand new life. I never even saw it coming. Just remember, you CAN have all the things you want; you may have to wait for them, but in as quick as you can turn around, you may wake up one day and realize that you're SO grateful for ALL OF THE THINGS. You don't need to move to Floyd, just make a list like I did of all of the things that would make the best possible life, then let them show up for you. It totally can and does happen if you let loose the reins of life and let it flow. I believe that now. I always tried to push a resolution; that's not how this works. When you totally throw your hands up and give up, it might take you by the hand and give you the life you didn't realize you wanted. That's all, folks! Peace, Love and Rock N Roll! Or in my case, folk and bluegrass!!! Yeah!!!
God bless this golf cart and Darrell Scott.
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