Q’s Month in Tennessee: Update 1

So, as you may or may not be aware of, I am currently in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Where, you ask? Here…

EnergySolutions has an office in Oak Ridge, and I’ve been sent out here for the entire month of May to work on a proposal. I was told I was coming out here just this past Friday afternoon, then had to jump on a plane Monday morning after spending the weekend rearranging an entire month of my life. It was a little hectic to say the least. I got in Monday night, got my car (after just a minor crisis…thanks mom), and got to the hotel. Hotel is pretty sweet. It’s actually a suite, with a full (albeit small) kitchen, a desk, a couch, a TV, a separate bedroom with a few beds and a TV of its own, and a nice bathroom. It’s definitely livable for a month. The only major issue I really have with the place is that it doesn’t have Versus on TV, and we are right in the middle of hockey playoffs. Ugh.

I have mixed feelings on this trip in general. First, a month is a really long time to be away from home. I miss my kitty. I miss my friends. I miss my own bed and the comforts of home. Second, its right in the middle of the playoffs, which really puts a huge damper on my Sharks’ playoff run. I go to games all the time in the postseason. It’s one of the highlights of my year. And, sadly, I am now out here. I am hoping that Nashville makes it to the Western Conference Finals, though…as that’s only 2 ½ hours away from me, and would be doable to make it out to a game for that.

On the plus side, though, I’ve never been to Tennessee, before. This will help with my quest to step foot in every state. If I get some free time, I can conceivably go exploring and check off Kentucky, Alabama, and North Carolina on top of checking off Tennessee. That would help quite a bit! Also, this is kind of a big deal as far as work goes. If I do a good job (which I should), this looks good on me going forward. And finally, I’ll be working a shit-ton of overtime; it seems…so I should make a decent chunk of coin.

So, yeah, as I said, mixed feelings; but I’ll survive either way.

So, since I’ve only been here a few days, and have really not done much more than work and get myself situated at my hotel, I don’t have much else to report this time around. So, I think I’ll just give you some Tennessee Facts, so you can learn all about where I’m living for the next month!

Fact: Tennessee’s entire state population is 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population. That also makes it about 1.1 million people smaller than the Bay Area (which would be the 13th largest state by population, just by itself).

Fact: Most of Tennessee is in the Central time zone. However, Eastern Tennessee, where I am, is in the Eastern time zone. Thus, sporting events go on well past my bedtime here…which is lame. The Pacific time zone is, in fact, the best time zone in the world.

Fact: Tennessee is the birthplace of the blues! The blues are awesome. However, it was born in Memphis, which is a good 6 hours to the West of me, so I probably won’t make it out there.

Fact: Tennessee is the home of the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville…and is pretty much the center of the Country Music world. That is a very uninteresting fact, though, so I will just leave it at that.

Fact: Tennessee is home to the most visited National Park in the country, Great Smoky Mountain National Park. That is only like an hour and a half from me, so I do plan on getting out there at some point. I’ll post pictures when I do!

That’s all for now. In lieu of a more structured MMR kind of posting schedule, I’ll just be posting here and there as I get time to do so. Look for the next installment of Q’s Month in Tennessee when I do something more interesting than working all the time!

Cheers!