east tn

Seven years ago, I was asked a question by someone regarding me dating. It was the winter of 2013, right after I got out of school to find my way in the world.

If you found the perfect someone that you wanted, met all your checkmarks and needs, whatever you imagined; but they wanted to live in a quiet little rural spot. They just wanted to be left alone from the world, they absolutely loved the area. Would you turn them down?

At the time, I told them that would work out for me off the cuff. I tried to be a little open-minded with the question.

Seven years later, I’m staring into a shower wall at 3AM. That conversation came back to my head. With that much years and experiences gone by since. Without hesitation, without question, I knew the answer without conflict.

No.

I don’t think I really need to explain the answer, considering I have shared about myself the past few years. But that would never work out for me. Maybe twenty years later when I’ve had enough of civilization, I’d change my mind. But when I don’t even have in my 30s what most people have in their early 20s, marrying someone to hide in rural nowhere won’t get that for me.

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For the first time this year, took the time to get takeout from my favorite joint in Greeneville. However, my contact wasn’t anywhere to be found; looks like she sold the place to someone different. Nobody even remembered who she was, which definitely let me know something was up.

 

Still, the food tasted as normal. Got my standard fare of scallion chicken, wonton, vegetable lo mein, ginger chicken wings, shrimp and spring rolls. While this will be helping with creative stuff tonight, I do feel sad that one of three people I knew by name in that town is gone, and without warning. Time will tell if I like how the place is run in the future.

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I had heard about Walmart deploying robots nationwide a few weeks before this, but I definitely thought that my local store would be the last to use or even accept one. Yet when I went into produce, I did see this QR code on a pole, meaning it was a reference point or a spot for the robot to use.

 

I’ve now yet to see this robot in action. Time will tell!

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For the past 5ish years I”ve only had tiny, $10 bargain trees in my space. From my apartment to my bedroom, I had always resigned myself that I won’t get a full tree till I was living out on my own. This particular year I was given a partial gift of getting a tree for myself, as my room was now finished building.

 

The tree isn’t anything too special; just something that was on sale at Lowes. But the fact I could hang my own ornaments, decorate it how I like and not run out of room, it was real amazing. The best part was that I had a holiday theme in my office workspace, and I had a festivities-themed location I could retreat to. Often the family tree is in a messy location or there’s not a spot to sit, so this got around those difficulties quite well.

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As fall hits here, we’re wrapping up our harvests. Most of the regular muscadines have been picked already, but the golden ones were sparse this year. Dad will need to come up with a solution. Still, they make for great pictures, have a distinct honey sweetness and are harder to find in the leaves. I managed to find these two on my evening walk before I went in for the night.

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For today’s prompt, our old shed when I was younger came to mind, back when I was young. While we did clear the foliage later, we also did tear down the shed as it became abandoned for a bit. I did take some liberties with the design as I don’t quite remember what it looked like at the time.

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I love to shop at Publix, if it wasn’t obvious already. Especially in the evening of the summer months; it’s a way for me to relax. I’m not an advocate for retail therapy, but when you’re at home quite a bit, getting out helps alleviate being shut-in.

 

When I went this evening and was about to leave, I noted this large anvil cloud forming in the distance. I was inspiring to look at, especially seeing it loom in the low-light evening hours. I’m almost certain I’ll see a storm wen driving home tonight.

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When I was out for my evening exercise walk, this growing cumulonimbus caught my attention. Aside from it being an interesting sight, I took a snap as it’d be helpful when doing Ellowwood artwork (as it is a skyworld, after all).

 

I’ve seen this scene a number of times, but a lot of times I’m driving to not take a picture.I’m glad to actually have caught this phenomenon with a camera in hand.

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