Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Charleston: a "glass half full" approach

This is highly overdue. And chances are I'll be following it up with more reasons once I'm back from vacation.

31 reasons why living in Charleston will rock
(In no particular order)

  1. New scenery: The ocean! And palm trees!
  2. I’ll have Paul, Fred and Joe to keep me company.
  3. Good mannersreally good manners.
  4. I can work on my Southern accent. (Some people say I have a strong one, some say it’s not very noticeable. Anybody who’s heard me want to weigh in?)
  5. And speaking of Southern accents, what about Gullah -- a whole 'nother language? Maybe this is a Southern thing too, but I actually understand it no problem.
  6. “It’s a beautiful city!” (If I had a quarter for every time I’ve been told that in the last five months …)
  7. “It’s a beautiful city, and you’d better have an extra room because I’m coming to visit!” (Yes, we’ll have an extra room. And yes, I expect you to visit.)
  8. Paul in a uniform
  9. Twenty or so golf courses give me an excuse to learn to golf.
  10. Six hours to Orlando
  11. Five hours to Atlanta
  12. Four -- not 14 -- hours to Jacksonville … and Carrie
  13. Teavana
  14. Pirates!
  15. Cultural overload: Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto
  16. “Going away” means being able to “come home.”
  17. America’s only tea plantation
  18. Taking a break from Memphis to try somewhere new …
  19. … But not being too far from authentic Memphis barbecue
  20. … And maintaining a long-distance editing gig with Memphis Downtowner Magazine.
  21. Hurricanes! (“… Is she crazy?”)
  22. An aquarium that isn’t six hours away
  23. More history and historical places than you can shake a stick at ...
  24. ... And speaking of sticks, a huge, 1,500-year-old, 65-foot oak tree that provides 17,000 square feet of shade.
  25. Stephen Colbert
  26. Robert Jordan
  27. Rhett Butler
  28. A chance to get a master’s or another bachelor’s degree on my terms -- when I want, where I want, in what field I want
  29. Friday afternoon parades at The Citadel
  30. Ghost tours! More ghost tours!
  31. Hey, I’ll try anything once.

[Edit: Actual conversation last night:
Paul: "You know Robert Jordan is dead, right?" Me: "Yeah, I know. (pause) ... You know Rhett Butler never existed, right?" Paul: "Noooo ... Who's that?"]

6 Comments:

Blogger angrygrrface said...

Have a blast, Miss Kate! It's good to know you're looking forward to it :)

2:32 AM  
Blogger De said...

Carolina barbecue is a pretty yummy thing unto itself. It's very different from Memphis-style but I think you'll dig it just the same.

8:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

kinda got me sold on the idea
:]

8:01 AM  
Blogger smacky said...

Kate, I just saw a google ad for Short Attention Span Mysteries! I'm sure it's not static on the page, but I saw it here, of all places: http://lostmysteries.blogspot.com/2008/05/why-did-horace-have-map-to-cabin-in-his.html

It must have picked it up because the word "mystery" is in the title. And hey, props for me remembering the book was yours, since it's been nearly THREE YEARS since you mentioned it!

9:05 AM  
Blogger Kate said...

It's been nearly three years because it's a sore spot, Smacky.

I was unhappy with the way things turned out, but I think I managed to sound excited enough on the blog that nobody really knew the difference. (I guess I can speak out now, since it's been three years.)

What's important - and what I won't hesitate to say - is that the stories were fabulous. Every Single Author I dealt with was gracious - no divas. I still keep up online with some authors' new works.

But a lot of things rubbed me the wrong way. Once it was out of my hands for edits, the timeline was pushed back several times, which left *ME* with the responsibility of explaining the delay to the authors. I hated the cover (some experimental crap for the publisher?!) and the layout. There was other stuff too.

In protest of the whole situation, I don't cash my royalty checks. They're not bank-breakers anyway, but it's really more a matter of principle.

11:31 AM  
Blogger StargazerGirl said...

Wow, Blogger ate my comment that Sticky Fingers is totally awesome. And that's pretty steadfast of you to not cash the royalty checks. Small money or not, I'm all like "HEY! MONEY!!!"

And btw, I've never been to Charleston either. *hint*

6:31 PM  

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