What's it like you ask?

Most people that I talk to back home (whether it be NM or SD) want to know what it's like out here. It's very difficult to explain because I don't really know how to compare something that is so different from what they (and myself) are familiar with. So I've been putting together a list of the things Tennessee has that New Mexico (and South Dakota for that matter) doesn't. They say you shouldn't compare your children so I won't. But I am going to compare cities. (And keep in mind these are my first impressions still so all statements are subject to change without notice. There, disclaimer inserted. I can now begin.)

Two words that Knoxville weathermen use frequently - patchy fog. To me those two words are so funny. Just say them to yourself now. Patchy fog. hahaha Ok deep breath. So for the last couple of days, I have woken up to and driven to work in patchy fog. In NM, I drove to work on patched up streets. Not really the same at all. But really, I think I can count on one hand how many times I saw fog (patchy fog?) in Albuquerque. I'm still deciding whether this is a positive statement or not.

Yesterday I experienced my first torrential downpour in TN. My naivete caused me to believe that I could wait it out in the car so I wouldn't get drenched running inside to my house - just like I would have done in NM. However after several minutes I realized that it hadn't let it up and was still raining big giant raindrops. So I made the run for it. And ended up looking like I had just taken a shower. I literally felt like I could have stepped outside with my shampoo bottle and saved some on my water bill. But I didn't. Maybe next time. (For the record this would be similar to rainstorms in SD.)

Take a look out your window. What do you see? Do you see a sea (crazy English language, "See a sea" - whoever came up with the American English dialect should be sentenced to many years of hard labor for their practical jokes. Anyways....) of evergreen trees, leafy trees, viney masses, grassy knolls, prancing squirrels, and a general sense of rainforest? No? Well there's another difference. As Chace stated quite accurately, Dr. Seuss was most likely from Knoxville or at least the surrounding area because the way the flora intertwines itself in and around each other, it looks like whimsical cartoon characters just waiting to be sparked to life. Quite remarkable really that there is an actual place like this and to think someone (well, lots of someones) built a whole huge metropolitan city smack dab in the middle of it all.

Here's one of my favorite differences...Knoxville is:

• 11.5 hours from New York City
  
• 9 hours from the Atlantic Ocean
  
• 8.5 hours from the Gulf of Mexico
  
• 8 hours from Washington D.C.
  
• 2 hours N from the Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee intersection


• 1.5 hours S from the Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee intersection
  
• 1 hour W from the North Carolina border

All of these amazing places, that I've never been to by the way, with the exception of the bodies of water and D.C., are within driving distance! Quite excited about that. DJ and I will have very busy weekends in the winter. Please still come visit us then but just know that we will probably drag you along with us to these places because we can't waste a moment.

Now for one random similarity. There are little multi-colored lizards here. They have green bodies and neon blue tails. They keep to themselves mostly. I have only seen one. Once. So it might have been a hallucination but I'm pretty sure it wasn't. Even though I had just finished staring at a moving road for the three days prior to that. But yeah, I'm quite sure I saw it.