I have arrived! In this great land of beer, giant rivers, conservative minded folk, unnecessarily large arches and uh... thunderstorms? Truthfully, I've been here for a week and a half and I've been handily avoiding posting a blog, much to my mother's chagrin. She decreed that I should write a new one yesterday (I believe anyway... all the days blend together when you essentially have nothing to do). I'm not quite settled in because my motivation to settle in declined exponentially after the first week. It's also a function of my lack of storage units. Lots of closets and space, not nearly enough shelving!
Anyway, this might be more interesting if I were equipped with a Star Trek tricorder. I could tell you about the air quality schematics, local carbon density and whether it can sustain a New Englander like myself. Alas, I must rely on more primitive methods like trying stuff first hand.
I will organize this all for your benefit! You can thank me later
The Crib/Pad/Homestead/Base of Operations/Lair
I could not be more pleased with my domecile. It's a large "bungalow" (I know not what to call it otherwise) on a street jampacked with other 1920's era homes of a similar style. It's pretty idyllic, I'm not going to lie. 300 yards away from me is a really, really excellent Italian place called Onesto's. My Dad, who
helped me move, went with me the very first day. Pesto chicken pizza!
My roommate, Dana, is an interior designer so naturally it is impeccably decorated. I imagine that one day if I own it will be a chaos of color and flea market finds and hardly as sophisticated as this. 
For now, it is nice to have this elegant experience. My room is pretty big! It's also got two, not one, walk in closets. The bathroom is huge. I could practice yoga in there if you get what I'm saying. The shower even has old person seats built into it for times-- like today-- when I've been reduced to an old woman by my one time personal trainer at the gym. Sitting in the shower is lazy and awesome.
I like the kitchen. I hesitate to call the stove "vintage" but it looks vintage to me. It's probably from the 80s or something. I like that it's gas though. Electric stoves can eat my human waste products. Also I have several basil plants growing in the kitchen window that isn't pictured as well as a thyme plant. I've been line drying my clothes, out of conservation as much as necessity (we don't have a dryer) and stepping around the minefield of the house dog's doo in the back yard. We should totally look into a pet poop composter for his crap!
Sightseeing with Reesh
I will post pictures of the Mushroom Kingdom, which is my new, fond name for the back yard. I woke up yesterday morning and was delighted to find a veritable trail of large white mushrooms growing in the back yard. It's like they found the fungal version of the Northwest Passage and are all jumping on the bandwagon. I'm an odd person and I like mushrooms (and not just in my Marsala). Also, please note the attack against the kingdom by the fearsome monster Berrin.
So that wasn't really sight seeing, and maybe I'm not very good at compartmentalizing my blog. Let's try again.
Sightseeing with Reesh!
Saint Louis is a city unlike any I've ever visited. Quick observations:
- It's a driving city-- public transit is much more limited, everything is spread out and linked by more than a few major highways. Even taxis are expensive and less common.
- People routinely ask each other what high school you went to. I was told about this phenomenon and joked about being asked that question before I ever experienced it first hand. Sure enough, it's the first test you'll need to pass if you're a native Saint Louisan out and about.
- Nobody stops for four-way stop signs. Rolling stops all around. In fact I was told I'd be rear-ended if I stopped fully. I haven't been rear-ended yet, but maybe people cut me a break because I still have my NY plates?
- The Cardinals and Budlight are king. Don't mess with them.
- Don't ask about where you can find organic food, odds are if it's not Whole Foods or Trader Joe's you won't find it.
- All the museums are free! Weeeee! I've already been to the zoo... for free.
- Saint Louisans are otherwise pretty good, polite drivers. I have seen very little auto-aggression so far.
Anyway, in spite of the love for Anheuser-Busch and that sadness over its recent sale to InBev, there are a lot of really, really good beer stores. People like beer here! Yay! Just a mile up the road is a great beer/wine store cleverly disguised as a deli. Haha, Deli, I'm on to you. They make good pastrami sandwiches, but I like being overwhelmed by uncommon beer brands. There's a bar I've been to twice now that only sells beer in cans. It's been around long enough that it's actually called the "Tin Can" but tonight I went and sampled some of Milwaukees finest libations. I think there will be a forthcoming blog entry about that actually.St. Louis Folk
I could really use a copy editor here, because I'm almost certain that I'm not organizing this blog well. An observation: there are definitely men here that have a distinct "midwestern" look to them. Not all men, but definitely some. I'm not talking about clothes or attitudes, I'm talking about their faces. I can't define what it is that makes them look "Midwestern". All I know is that we don't have guys that look like that in the Northeast and that I know them when I see them. Maybe I'll steal a picture some time of said "Midwestern-faced man"? If I ever snag one, I will know without a shadow of a doubt that this man is from the Midwest and he's not lying to me about it.
The people are *really* friendly. Even when they're ultra conservative and cannot possibly find a way to agree with me! However, Dana mentioned that a lot of guys who are from Saint Louis are often pretty miserable. This is because they've lived here their whole lives, have had the same group of friends their entire lives and secretly yearn for a change but stay right here. Thus they become embittered and angry men. I would argue that they become unnecessarily staunch about their conservative values. The dating scene is probably a minefield of self-righteous Republicans. I gotta watch out for those. We'd bicker til we're finished.
Anyway, I suppose this is enough for now. This is MY decree, take that, Mom. I will regale you with my beer observation tomorrow, maybe even at dawn's first light if you're lucky.
Cheerios!
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