The Ace Affair

Moving to Asheville has provided some interesting insights into humanity. Thus far, Indianapolis is the smallest city in which I've lived, so this is my first town experience with a population of not even 100k. The flow is very odd though, in the sense that it never stops. People are always walking, biking, driving, etc., and getting somewhere in a hurry is not a great idea because there's just too many possible things to slow you down here. The attraction for me is the Old World feel while still living in the States. There are some many quaint aspects of Asheville, the number one piece being the massive influx of independent shops stuck in every which-way. Not a box store to be seen :)

Don't get me wrong, there is a commercial side of Asheville (west), conveniently on the other side of the mountain where I never have to drive, and there is a slummy side of Asheville (south) that I also never have to drive. So I can easily live in my little bubble up here just north of downtown where very little has changed over the decades.

There are a few chain stores, but they are small and without the 15 football field sized car parks. In fact, finding a car park over 20 spaces is a little shocking. It helps that they are useful chain stores (Ace, CVS, and Staples). Other than that, find the local version!

This brings me to a real example of the culture here, which is at a friendly level that is putting my system into a bit of shock. Moving into a house built in 1941 instead of a modern flat has required a lot of hardware store runs, which was to Ace, only one mile away. I buy the items on my list for that run at least (the first in a long series), and she asks me for an Ace card.

"I don't have one; it's fine."

"Oh! But if you have one, you'll get lots of points for this items."

"Um, that's fine, really, I'm good."

"Those points equal .10 cents on the dollar - you'll have lots of future savings!"

(I'm thinking, Oh good God, WHATEVER)... "OK, fine, my husband will probably appreciate it."

"Wonderful...*some additional talking of the great values that we will get that I don't remember...*

I think that's over, and scuttle back to the house determined to send Eric there for any future purchases as I have never been required to actually communicate verbally with people in shops before, let alone in a bantering "welcome to the neighborhood" sort of way.

Eric takes his turn. I suppose coming from a town himself makes him fall in love with everything around here even more. Ace quickly turns into his hero place as he returns flushed and excited with this new found friends.

I get a voice mail...from Ace.

"Hello! I just wanted to say that Eric forgot his Ace card and he was going to come back with it so that he could get his points, but I found his card number and applied his purchase to the card! Now he doesn't need to come back unless of course he needs materials."

SERIOUSLY?

The next day, Eric had to be in meetings, and really wanted to get some things done that required a few more hardware pieces. I anxiously ensure that I have the stupid card because no telling what would happen if I forgot it, and make my purchases.

The clerk goes "Oh Willeke! I left a voice mail for Eric Willeke yesterday *repeat message here*."

I am dumbfounded. I just sort of stare at her wondering what obsession this place has for their crazy card and point savings system. She continues to excitedly chatter about cool things in Asheville as I continue to somewhat stare at her wondering if I accidentally fell into a time capsule or different planet.

Those of you who reside in large cities will totally get what I'm saying. Those of you who don't, well, let's just say this is quite an interesting perspective for some!

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Moving Perspectives

Moving should be a big deal, right? Our first move was a huge deal. Denver! 17 hours by road, it was destined for complete life change. Next was Scottsdale from Denver, only a quick 14 hour trip, but through the Rockies, so with a sudden need to drop into New Mexico through the desert, we battled our way westward once again.

While we hardly needed everything in Denver given that our condo in Indianapolis was a great time capsule for the moment, I didn't understand that. I took quite a lot, and my stubbornness to take the absurdly heavy leather furniture through the West will hardly be forgotten. I discovered the need to absolutely empty a place (moving from Denver to Scottsdale) was very stressful, only to be repeated when we left Scottsdale and came back to Indianapolis for a year.

Round two of living around the USA journey - only this time going south and eastward. Asheville, North Carolina, with a few lessons under our belts. The very large truck shrunk to a "do we need a uHaul or will a pick-up do?" With Indianapolis still quite in-tact as a liveable home, only my very precious possessions (except my baby grand) made the move cut, with IKEA serving as the temporary furniture provider with final demise being the rubbish after the year of rental there.

Early reflection: I am loving the mindset shift. I don't feel the pressure of "all that stuff" and since I'm only taking my favourite things that fit the style of the house we rented, I'm actually quite excited about the move! With my parent's help and the assistance of a wall sized kanban board in the new living room (more on this in future post), I'm looking forward to taking the rest of the week off and relaxing much more than planned....

We will meet again....

Probably the most difficult part of moving is the loss of the lovely 1920s baby grand that you see behind me. While the cello is not exactly a piccolo to toss into the handbag, at least it can travel with me. Albeit, it is no end to amusing to me that the only time I considered getting a slightly larger vehicle than my adorable red MiniCooper was trying to get the cello safely ensconced in the vehicle. The only way it possibly fits is in the front seat floor tilted towards the back with the seat pushed back all the way, but the looks I get is pretty well worth the effort. However, there's no hope for hauling around a 1500 pound piano, so it's not a goodbye, but a plan to meet again when I return for Indy visits!