Things that I have learned about Tucson…- August 22, 2009

In the first few weeks after our move down here, I have already discovered quite a few quirks about this desert city.  I am not sure if they are all bad, good, or just weird.  I will rate each of them as good, bad, or weird, and then I will see what you guys think.

1. The average temperature at lunch time here is about 100 degrees…rating: seemingly good

-this causes greasy food to sound unappetizing causing better eating habits and increases the intake of water  which is good all around.  However, while traveling on the freeway the most common roadside debris is shredded tires caused from the road and tire friction in combination with the natural heat of the surrounding atmosphere.  The heat also causes people to be in a perpetual state of sweat even when in the lowest state of activity which can have the effect of making you look like a hot mess no matter how much time you spend on hair and make-up.

2. The traffic commission plays a cruel trick on daily commuters because green left-turn arrows follow the green light…most of the time…rating: weird and dangerous.

-Let me explain this a little more clearly.  In Minnesota and every other place I have been the green arrow comes first and then all the lights turn green causing drivers who had the green arrow to now yield to oncoming traffic from the other direction.  In Tucson, drivers in the left turn lane must first yield to oncoming traffic and then when straight lanes receive the red light the green arrow appears.  Initially, this seems like a genius idea…this way people waiting to turn left are not left stranded in the middle of an intersection when the light turns red.  However, the danger becomes evident when one realizes that this is not true of every intersection in Tucson, and this is usually only realized through first-hand experience.  The other dangerous element involved is that even though people coming in the opposite direction know that a red light is coming and that people will be turning left, the yellow light still reads as “speed up” and the first 3 seconds of red light are only optional.  So when drivers receive the green arrow, it is never a guarantee that they won’t be t-boned in the middle of an intersection by a jack-ass going 60 miles per hour.  Drive at your own risk.

3. I see people on a daily basis dressed in pants and long-sleeved shirts…rating: weird

-no explanation needed

4. The sun is completely down by 7 pm…rating: good

-relief from the heat and blazing sun…good time to go out and get things done.  Only down side…makes you feel like going to bed at 9pm.  This makes Tucson an ideal location for retirement communities.

5. In order to get your Arizona plates your car has to be inspected…rating: good

-they rate your car’s environmental impact which is awesome and all states should increase there laws regarding emissions and such.

6. Geckos can’t swim…rating: weird

-Owen and I discovered this on our own when we found one drowned in the pool.  Poor little bugger.  Its cruel to have to live in such a dry/hot environment and not be able to engage in fun activities like swimming.

7.  Top four most dangerous animals in Tucson and surrounding area:

-brown recluse spider

-black widow

-gila monster…awesome

-diamondback

…I have yet to see any of these and I find this a bit troubling…rating: bad/good

8. I killed my first outdoor potted plant by overwatering…rating: wierd/bad and extremely pathetic on my part

9. Palm trees + cactii = awesomeness

10. Cops don’t patrol every road in Tucson…instead they have photo enforced zones…rating: good/bad/weird

weird: cops are lazy

good: that question “where’s a cop when you need one?” is used more sparingly

bad: the photo-enforced zones use a flash that leaves you temperarily blinded and makes you an even bigger danger to yourself and other drivers on the road…not that I know this from experience.

11.  Tinted windows are not just used for looks or style down here…rating: good

- you can actually get sunburned while driving with the windows up for a short amount of time

12.  rocks= grass…can’t wait to play in the yard!…rating: weird

13. house spiders are huge…rating: bad

14. For most of the year rivers= dried up beds scattered thoughout the city.  However, during the rainy or monsoon season, the rain from the mountain floods down toward the city.  Apparently, the city has given up trying to deal with drivers who forge the road that become inundated and now just post signs saying “don’t use when flooded”…rating: bad

-the bad thing about this is that you can’t tell the road is flooded until you drive on it.

15. All the bridges have icing warnings posted on them…rating: weird

16. Monsoon season…rating: good

-this is awesome

17. There are no Noodles and Co. here…rating: bad

18. There are Jack-in-the-Box and Waffle Houses…rating: weird

19. There are Wendy’s, Arby’s, Jamba Juice, Sonic, and Quiznos here… rating: fantastic

Thats it for now but I will prolly add more later!

Under the Tucson Sun… August 8, 2009

Forgive me if there are some errors or typos throughout this entry…I am exhausted from the events of the last week.  Owen and I got married last friday, the 31st.  It was a wonderful day, but it flew by so quickly that sometimes I need to remind myself that it really happened.  We packed our belongings and headed out on the road on Tuesday morning and after some tearful goodbyes, were soon on the road to Arizona.  Owen and I drove my little ’99 Saturn (more fondly referred to as Stewart) and Owen’s dad and brother followed us in a minivan crammed full of our junk.  It was a 26 hour trip in total, which we did without stopping.  We stopped in Omaha to see Owen’s friend Courtland who just moved out there to start a teaching job.  This was when my shift of driving began and I was lucky enough to drive all the way across the belly of Nebraska which was god-awful boring.  Not sure how I made it out of there…thank you god for the GPS!  The only issue that we had during the entire trip was when we got into Denver at about 1:00 am and the fuel light came on in the van.  The GPS must be set to a default that searches for the most sketchy points-of-interests in the entire city because the gas station we were brought to featured old fashioned gas pumps and a man carrying a breifcase while wearing a trench coat without any pants on.  But we soon made it out of there with a full tank of gas.  We arrived in Tucson at about 2:30 on Wednesday and it was a scorching 108 degrees!  It was also at this time that we decided to unload the van and the car and carry everything up to the second storey.  By the time we were done we had lost about 40 pounds of water between the 4 of us.  Hello Tucson!  Dry heat my ass!

The area we are in is amazing!  We are on the city limits of Tucson in a residential area.  The road that leads up to the apartment entrance is incredibly scenic and the mountains tower over us to the north.  Saguaro cacti litter the landscape with scattered palm trees in the valley.  There is rarely a cloud in the sky so it is always beautiful.  We live in the northeastern part of the city near Sabino Canyon, so we are at a higher level of elevation.  The city itself has height restrictions on the buildings  so it has developed itself outward rather than upward.  That way the mountains are visible from anywhere in the city.  The sun sets very rapidly at about 8 pm which works fine for people around here anyway since during the summer season most people stay inside during the main chunk of the day.  It makes me want to go to bed at about 9 pm so I feel old.

Owen and I have been working all week to try to finish furnishing the apartment and unpacking all of our boxes.  The result of this is an entire room filled completely from floor to ceiling with boxes and plastic wrap.  We purchased our couch and bed frame from ikea in Tempe and our entertainment center, end tables, lamps, dishes, etc from target.  We were able to find a really nice wooden folding table from wallmart that will serve as our dinner table.  We just need to find chairs for it.  We still have a lot left to do before we can officially call it our home but the apartment is shaping up nicely.  I will post pictures once things come together a little better.

Lots of changes…this next week I need to apply for jobs like our lives depended on it (cuz it kind of does), we have to get new licenses and plates for the Saturn, I have to get a new ss card, and change my name on all of my bank and credit cards.  We have to transfer our car insurance down here and also get the car into a shop because the engine has been overheating (can’t say that I can blame it in this weather).  Even though there is a lot to do, we are both taking it in stride and enjoying every minute of it.  We plan to take full advantage of pool this afternoon which I can not wait for.  Living in Tucson is going to be a great adventure for us and we plan not to take a moment for granted.