The View From Wisconsin

Just a random set of rants from a Sports Fan from Wisconsin.

Thursday, May 05, 2011

The Great North Woods

I'm not 100% moved up here, but I've got about two-thirds of my stuff here in wonderful Merrill, Wisconsin.

A few things I've observed en route:
  1. The primary difference between here and SE Wisconsin is that there are more driveways between patches of trees downstate. Here, there's nothing but road and trees.
  2. I've always joked about the weather here in Wisconsin, but Tuesday was the day I actually experienced snow flurries in the morning and sunny skies and (relatively) warm weather in the afternoon.
  3. I have seen the devastation from the April 10th tornado first-hand up here. There's still balled-up sections of steel around the industrial park, and the MARC's Smith Center is still damaged (though nothing like this one building that looked like an explosion had hit it).
  4. I've come to realize two things about my choice of residence:
  5. First, I decided to live on the wrong side of the city of Merrill, as it will be an adventure to get to LHS from where I live. I will have to drive (at least part of the way) through downtown Merrill to get there. Second, my commute is going to be disrupted by bridge repair work on one of the seemingly hundreds of bridges over the Wisconsin River. Seriously: one lane with a stoplight? What, the three stoplights this town has isn't enough?
  6. The Wisconsin River is now going to be my "guidepost" for which direction I'm headed. Unless, of course, I head down to civilization (aka "Wausau").
  7. I honestly forgot how much moving COSTS. I'm keeping receipts and am planning on deducting EVERYTHING on my taxes next year, unless my employer finally breaks down and reimburses me for a few things. Of course, this IS the State of Wisconsin we're talking about.
  8. This town seriously needs a Starbucks and an Aldi's.

# posted by Joseph Houk @ 6:04 PM - 0 comments