Tuesday was so busy
that it ran into Wednesday morning. Packing up kitchen gear,
clothing, and other necessities just seemed to take longer than
expected. This is a lesson to carry over for the furniture move.
To get from Houston
to Little Rock, one takes US Highway 59 to Interstate-369 in
Texarkana, then I-30 to Little Rock. It’s about a 7-hour drive.
East Texas from
Houston to Texarkana reminds one of Mississippi, only more
prosperous. It’s the trees. US-59 seems to turn and wander through
forests and towns, with enough stop lights and left turns to make one
appreciate freeways.
About four hours
from Houston, in Jefferson, Texas, a cashier replied to a question
regarding if the store required customers to spend a minimum amount
of money in order to use a credit card. She replied, “We don’t
have limits on credit cards. We’re not foreigners. We’re
Americans!”
Once in Arkansas, it
looked as if Arkansas is more country than Texas, in more ways that
one. For starters, there appeared to be more country music stations
per capita than in Texas. On US-59, one could easily pick up hip-hop
or Tejano. In Arkansas, it was easier to pick up country. I saw three
different people wearing a bandanna, camo, and overalls,
respectively. That’s three more than in East Texas.
Maybe it’s because
US-59 goes from town to town to town, but I-30 in Arkansas seems to
go through a somewhat more northern-forest version of Texas, with far
fewer towns.
When it comes to
Little Rock, all I can confidently say is that if you’ve been in
Houston for over a year, you forget what driving on hills is like.
Here's my current advice
for people moving solo across the country for work. Realize that for
all the planning that you do, you will be in “react mode” for
much of the time. Talk with real
estate professionals as soon as possible, if you’re serious about
buying a house. Make hotel or
AirBNB reservations for at least the first week in the new town. Reserve a PO Box
online. If you’re not
moving everything at once, be sure to have all the
stuff you need for “camping out” in an empty apartment.
That includes a sleeping bag (or several blankets), cooking appliances (toaster, electric pressure cooker, etc.), and clothing that is appropriate for at least the next six months, depending on the climate.
For your first day on the job, you'll need Government IDs (passport, SS card, birth certificate, etc.). You will also need to dress professionally. This is for photos for your badge, the company’s directory, public relations, etc. What “professional” means varies among industries. Since you’ve likely had an in-person interview, you have an idea of what people wear in the office. Go for at least one “step” or “level” beyond what you saw. For men at least, if you walk in wearing a coat and tie, and see that the office is much more casual than you remember, then you can easily remove the coat and tie.
That includes a sleeping bag (or several blankets), cooking appliances (toaster, electric pressure cooker, etc.), and clothing that is appropriate for at least the next six months, depending on the climate.
For your first day on the job, you'll need Government IDs (passport, SS card, birth certificate, etc.). You will also need to dress professionally. This is for photos for your badge, the company’s directory, public relations, etc. What “professional” means varies among industries. Since you’ve likely had an in-person interview, you have an idea of what people wear in the office. Go for at least one “step” or “level” beyond what you saw. For men at least, if you walk in wearing a coat and tie, and see that the office is much more casual than you remember, then you can easily remove the coat and tie.
Tomorrow’s drive
will bring experiences of Missouri, Illinois, and finally Wisconsin.
Except for Chicago-area airports, I’ve never been to Illinois.
No comments:
Post a Comment