Back to the Grind: A Retail Life

It is amazing to me, thinking about how things have changed from pre-trip to post-trip. We really did alter our thinking and things are starting to finally move forward. Matt is currently working two part time jobs and I have a part time job of my own as well. We were looking for full time, but those are hard to come by right now. All three jobs are in retail, a field I at least thought I was well done with.

But something interesting happened when I started work. I realized that I had sort of missed the bookstore grind. I missed running around, lifting heavy books, helping customers, setting up displays, and being aware of all the new and interesting books being published. When I get home I feel tired and accomplished. I'm getting more of a workout than I have in a year and I am happy with this job right now. Everything is far from perfect, but at least we are on our way and moving forward.

What about you unemployed folks out there? Would you go back to retail?

Busy Busy Busy

I apologize for not following up on this blog more closely to our return. I intended to, but things got crazy and more focused on fallenpeach. We had a huge craft fair to prep for and I'm still working on setting up a "show" for my photography in a local eatery.

But back to Nowhere Nerds. My article about our trip (written pre-trip) has been published in the new online magazine Joie - please go read it and read the rest of the great magazine while you are at it! My article talks about what I had hoped to get from the trip and why we were taking it to begin with. And I must concur that the Away We Go roadtrip had close to it's desired effect.

When we returned from our adventures, we both had to settle down and get some things out of the way. Bills and other things that were waiting us when we returned. After about a week things started to make their way back to normal - but with slight differences.

One difference is that we realized that maybe we should focus on non-industry jobs for a while. I was very actively seeking graphic design jobs before we left, and although I had a few interviews last Winter - the market had pretty much become dry. It was hard for me, pre-trip, to think about what else I could possibly do to get a job. I had tried agencies, looking for design work, photo work and theater work.

When I returned I set my priorities and realized that I needed SOMETHING. My unemployment was on the verge of running out (although a new law extended it for just a little longer) and so I turned to what I know best after design: bookstores. Within weeks of returning I had cold called 30 plus bookstores throughout Connecticut looking for a job. Several said to come in and apply but that they weren't hiring, one said they were hiring. I applied but too late, the job was already gone because they had been interviewing while I applied. I'm continuing to work on this approach, but come September I'll try something new - maybe an art store or something similar.

I suppose you can say I've lowered my standards for a job. But, my theory is that if I work retail again (something I never thought I would go back to) I can also work on building my business and more importantly I can have a steady income again that will allow me to live my own life for a while. The economy is not healthy and if I can't get a job making the amount I should be making at this point in my life (which is a whole nother discussion - what we grow up thinking our lives will be and what they end up being) I must get a job that will be steady - retail or no.

The moral of the story? Take a trip, it doesn't have to be as long as ours, and when you come back re-evaluate what is most important to you - that job of your dreams or a steady income - and work towards your goals not some job.

What about you? How do you deal with this economy? Are you unemployed as well?

Traveler's Rest SC to Ashland VA to HOME

 We started the second to last day of our adventure with a trip to our last Roadside Attraction of said adventure: South of the Border. For the uninitiated, South of the Border is a mini city of craziness on the North Carolina / South Carolina border. It looked like they had put a fresh coat of paint on everything since the last time I had been there, but it still gave me a weird feeling. I can't really describe it, the place just gives off an odd feeling and most people wander around baffled.

There is a giant sombrero ride, tacky ' Mexican Shop's ', plastic oddly colored animals, a campground, a motel, food courts, and a variety of other shops and madness. It's an experience. And getting there is also an experience as there are billboards for it like every mile for a long long time coming from either direction.

After a quick mediocre lunch there, we kept going to Raleigh North Carolina where we just missed a friend of mine. We had to keep moving, but someday we'll catch up with her. Eventually we stopped in Ashland Virginia and crashed for the night. We took a swim in the pool, which was okay but not great (a few too many dead bugs for me) and I was able to make a few of these blog entries live.

The next day we drove home to Connecticut and our adventure came to a close.

I'll be updating this blog with more of our adventures, when we have them, but I'm also going to begin work on the book I'd like to write about this adventure. Please keep visiting as I may put some of my more personal thoughts about this adventure up here soon.

It's Getting Close!

We are planning to leave in less than a week and I'm running around like crazy getting things done both trip and non-trip related. Dante (my mini cooper) is in the shop getting a look over and some new tires in preparation and I'm crossing things off my giant to do list at a pretty good rate.

Things Left To Get Done:

1. We still haven't found a way to record video on the netbook. This is a huge source of frustration and we will be working on finding a solution hopefully this week.

2. I would like to release a few books into the wild on this trip via BookCrossing so I'm choosing a few books and getting ID numbers for them and such.

3. Packing, food shopping etc will be a last minute thing, probably done Friday.

4. Before we can adventure, we have a craft fair that we are selling at in South Windsor CT on Saturday June 12, so a few things for that are getting done this week as well. Feel free to come visit!

5. A new online magazine will be released this Summer and I am a contributor for it. I was asked to write about this whole Nowhere Nerds thing and the article is almost done. I'll link to the magazine when it is "released"!

Overall, things are progressing nicely. My ankle is still a bit swollen, but I'm walking almost normally on it and my calf has stopped constantly aching. I drove my car to the shop and was fine driving on it which is good.

We are still looking for your ideas on what we should see on this trip - so leave comments if you wish telling us what's great about where you live and why we should visit!

Letterbox: Sleeping Giant, Hamden Connecticut

 We Nowhere Nerds are super proud to announce the first fallenpeach letterbox! It's actually an old box of Matt's that we are re-purposing. We replaced the filled notebook, the dried out stamp pad, the stubby pencil and added a special surprise inside.

If you've never gone letterboxing, please check this link for more information about letterboxing. Also, check out the description on our website here. Be sure to bring a rubber stamp, a COMPASS, plenty of water, bug spray if you want and your adventurous spirit!

 LOCATION: The Tower Box is located at Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden Connecticut. This link has a pretty good set of directions to the park.

DIRECTIONS:

From the Entrance Parking Lot, walk up a paved road past until you reach a sign that reads: Tower Trail (with arrow pointing right) / Restrooms (with arrow pointing left).

Walk along the tower trail the whole way (1.6 miles). At a steady, moderate walk this takes about 40 minutes.

When you reach the top you will see the Tower. With your back facing the tower, stand underneath the CSP and Spider Web windows in front of a false door (an arched door frame blocked by stone wall). Face North North West  and take 10 steps at 340 degrees - you should step down from a small ledge here.

Continue walking at 340 degrees another 20 steps across the grass, you should find the head of a small, unmarked trail here. In the Summer there is a lot of brush, but the path is still visible. In the Winter, you should be able to see two pine trees in the near distance at about 340-350 degrees.

Walk along the path about 12 steps and you will come to a rock. Go left around the rock patch and you will arrive at a pine tree.

Once you find this pine tree you should continue on the path 10 steps following 340 degrees until you see a rock in front of you. Behind the rock there will be a second pine tree, somewhat bigger than the first. Walk to the second pine tree behind the rock.

When you reach the second pine tree you will notice that it's the biggest pine tree in the immediate area. To see if you are at the right tree, you can test it by hugging it and seeing if your arms will wrap all the way around it. If they can't that means this is probably the correct tree.

Now, once you are done hugging the tree, turn around and from here you should be able to see the tower (in the winter at 130 degrees. Look down and see a cluster of rocks. If you peek inside these rocks you should find the TOWER LETTERBOX! Congratulations!

Before you set out, please read the waiver of responsibility and disclaimer.

Please be sure to reseal baggies and boxes carefully so that they stay dry and rehide boxes in their original location, completely hidden from view.

Letterboxing

Day 3 of our Niagara trip is on it's way, but I currently don't have access to my photos - so it'll have to wait another day or so.

For today, I'd like to talk about Letterboxing. From our website:

Our second favorite thing, after making things, is going on Adventures. We love hiking, road trips and adventures of all kinds. We love adventuring so much, we've started a second blog to focus on just our adventures: Nowhere Nerds. Letterboxing is a fun, easy adventure that we want to invite you to join in on. Have we said the word adventuring enough ? 

First, a quick description: Letterboxing is sort of like treasure hunting. You bring a notebook, a pen, a stamp and a stamp pad on a hike in the woods and follow written instructions to find a hidden letterbox. Inside the box will be a notebook, a stamp and a stamp pad. You stamp their stamp into your notebook and stamp your own stamp into their book. 

Matt already has several letterboxes set up in Connecticut, and we are currently in the process of taking them one by one - making sure each still has the parts it needs, that it isn't missing or leaking, making sure the instructions are understandable etc etc. We are also updating the information on these letterboxes and plan on including special cards with special offers from our alter-egos over at fallenpeach. After we complete those, we'll be setting up even more boxes - but for now we're starting simple. Stay tuned to this blog, because the first one should be ready to go within the next couple of days and I'll be listing the instructions here first! 

In the comments: do you letterbox? if you don't, are you interested in letterboxing after reading this small blog post? 

For more information about letterboxes in the Northeast, see letterboxing.org or google letterboxing for boxes in other areas.

Yesterday: Sleeping Giant

it was a looong day

 Yesterday we hiked for three hours at Sleeping Giant. We were in search of 5 letterboxes and found 2. Three were either missing or the directions were too vague. By the end my feet were aching from the rocks we had scrambled over and I just wanted to go home. Today, I'm glad we went and glad that we were out there that long - I just wish less of it had been near vertical.

This was at the top of the first big hill we tackled, well almost the top. We took it really slow and I'm getting better at handling steepness. I still don't like heights though.

We found a beautiful, but skeeter filled swamp that neither of us had seen before. A skeeter got me in the ear and it still kinda itches. Almost immediately after this we were scrambling over rocks on the side of a bigger swamp and couldn't help but make all kinds of NeverEnding Story references...

We did make it to the tower at the top, eventually, and munched on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while we relaxed. Then we headed back down.

It was a long day, but it was good. I'm glad we went two days in a row, but now I need a day off for my legs to sort themselves out. I think that's the second longest hike I've been on. Matt's trying to train me up for a three or four day hike in the AT sometime next month and to that I say.. well let's see. I'm still super out of shape.

Sleeping Giant part 2

We had a bit more success with our Sleeping Giant hike today. We hiked for about an hour and a half and found the letterbox that we were seeking, which was pretty exciting. It was a good hike, although I'm still really out of shape - so I was not enjoying it as much as I should have been.

We may have a longer hike tomorrow, and maybe a picnic at the top of the mountain.

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In addition to these hikes, we have a few adventures in the works - the small one is to Niagara Falls, the Canadian side, for our anniversary. We are also trying to plan a huge cross country/book writing/photography/roadside america type road trip to compete with a similar trip we took last year. More details to come as we start planning this out.