A lot of people like snow. I see it as an unnecessary freezing of water. ~ Carl Reiner
Novelty and Happiness
Having moved 3000+ miles and leaving the California Coast and the San Francisco Bay Area, it’s fair to say there has been change, honestly, it’s pretty hard too actually change this much while staying in the same country. A big change is obviously the weather. So while yesterday my old home was getting rain and seeing 35 foot waves slamming into the coast, I was watching snow flakes fall on and off all day. This morning I woke up to the view above.
The change is all encompassing, beyond weather I moved from one of the largest urban centers in the world to an extremely rural town with less than 1000 people, 600 of which are students on a college campus. I’m living in an apartment in college housing and the nearest gas station, shopping, etc…are 15 miles away in Saranac Lake. Being so rural everything is different, you have to plan a lot more, I walk to work so it’s not like I’m driving by a grocery store on the way home. And while we have laundry facilities in the building, we’re also having a problem with iron in the water, it runs a bit brown at times, and that doesn’t do good things to your whites in the washer. So I’ve been doing a fluff and fold wash service but this means coordinating two trips into town and this weekend that had to be coordinated around the snow. My snow tires go on tomorrow and then of course I have to store my summer tires and that means my storage space. One thing I found out when getting into town was that finding a storage space was like stumbling upon the holy grail. I have one, 45 minutes away down near Whiteface Mountain, one of the local ski areas. Unfortunately I’m not a skier so this won’t involve a combination errand/adventure.
Grocery shopping has probably been the most interesting part of the change. I went from living in one of the most ethnically diverse places on Earth to a place that is basically white. So where I could go to grocery stores with broad selections, pop by the Middle Eastern, Mexican, Pakistani, Filipino, South Pacific, Korean, Japanese or Chinese grocery – none of those are an option here. So I bounce between the tiny Grand Union, the Aldi and super over priced natural food store in order to put together enough diversity so that I can be happy with what I’m cooking and eating.
On Tuesday I’m getting my windshield replaced, but instead of going to the Subaru dealership an hour away, I still have to drive an hour but go to the Safelite. The fact is the closest town of decent size is Malone, about 35 – 40 minutes away, the nearest real city is Plattsburgh, where I went to college, about an hour away and the nearest major city is Montreal an hour and a half away and in another country. The other option is Albany about two and half hours south.
Restaurants have been interesting. There are some good places to eat, but often when I get a good recommendation it’s accompanied by, but they’re insanely expensive. This often means thirty dollar entrees, coming from San Francisco, my perspective on what’s an expensive meal is quite different. The diversity of food is limited, but the most important thing is that I have found a good pizza place right here in Saranac Lake, but welcome to small towns in the Adirondacks, it’s closed on the weekends, lol.
There are two ways to look at all of this. You can choose to lament and be frustrated by the forced planning and lack of convenience or you can look at it as an adventure. Option two is how you stay happy. I’m enjoying exploring all of the changes I’m facing, the little inconveniences, the unexpected adventures, like driving back from my storage place in the dark and having to watch out not just for deer, which I saw, but also moose, which happily I did not. I don’t even mind the extra planning and have been quickly learning to combine adventures and chores. Initially, I was going to go to Plattsburgh on Friday to get my tires done and spend the night so I could have dinner with a friend, get my windshield done and catch two Plattsburgh State hockey games. Weather and a faulty hope my possessions would arrive on Friday forced those plans to change, but again, you can get frustrated or giggle and roll with it, I’m picking door number two.
There are some wonderful things as well. This is a online pic not mine, but there wasn’t a convenient stopping point this morning to shoot. But this pretty much is what the roads looked like on the way into town this morning.
The natural environment here is spectacular and was a major draw for me making this move. I’m even looking forward to shooting this winter. There’s lots of forest, the highest mountains in New York and so much water around, literally hundreds of little ponds and lakes that the photography opportunities are endless and already I’ve had some nice little shots just on campus, doing a small hike and driving around.
So my friends, when change happens the choice is yours, you can get frustrated or you giggle, roll with it and make it a happy adventure, I’m opting for the second, and happier days. ~ Rev Kane
