The Pros and Cons of Living in the Armpit of the Country...

Many of ye readers have realized this from reading past blogs or speaking to the horses' mouth that JR and I have recently moved to a little city in a big state, only a few miles from a wee country we all know as Mexico. The name of that city shall remain anonymous as to not offend any of its residents. Sufficient to say, it is commonly referred to in the Munson household as Texaco or the "Arm Pit" of Texas.

We've been here since May and I think I've been able to gather a fairly decent assumption of the land we must now call home. As all places one must live, it has its Pro's and Con's. Since I'm a list person, I figured the best way to describe how we feel about our new situation is to write a Pro and Con list of sorts.

*Please note while reading this, that I am naturally a cynical person, but for the sake (and sanity) of my dear husband, JR...I will try to be as fair and positive as possible!

To get the "negativity" out of the way, let's start with the CON'S of living in South Texas:

"Cooooooooooooooons!" -JR's homage to Star Trek 2, The Wrath of Khan

1. STRANGE, OFTEN ABRASIVE CULTURE

-Since we live in south, South Texas, we are very close to Mexico. Thus, the population is

mostly Mexican (90-97% in our county). This is not at all a BAD thing. It's just very strange being the minority and having to deal with all the backlash that can come with such a foreign status (see reason #2 & 4).

2. ODD, SHIFTY EYED AND EVEN DIRTY LOOKS WE GET FROM PASSERS BY

-I have a suspicion (whether founded in fact or otherwise) that this is not only because we are not Hispanic in culture, but because we are unlike any "gringos" many of these residents have seen before.

-Think about it. It can be kind of jarring to see a white, blonde guy with camo shorts walking next to a pale red head with strangely uncooperative hair. How dare they be different?! This possible reaction could explain why I got BODY-CHECKED (not checked out...the hockey term referring to being slammed into a wall by an opponent's shoulder). This happened the first time JR and I went to the mall and I accidently got in the path of a 6'2'' beast of a man.

3. SHADEY AND HORRENDOUSLY INCOMPETENT LANDLORDS

-This is a horrifying and tragically long story. Let me just sum it up by saying this:

• When we chose our duplex, we did so because it looked nice on Craigslist and we expected it to be nice and ready by the time finished out 27 hour, 1500 mile move.
• After getting the keys and signing the papers for our place, but not being able to find the complex on our GPS and wondering for about an hour, we opened the door to our abode to discover that the place (1) had not been cleaned in any way and (2) had cockroaches (3) someone had left a giant poop in the toilet.
• The landlord's excuse: "you were supposed to have the electricity turned on before we did anything". Sounds reasonable until you look at the facts: The Electric company that services our entire complex ONLY allows you to turn on service IN PERSON. We were moving cross country (which they knew). This makes it a little difficult to walk into a business when you are 1500 miles away! Even if we could, it takes 3-5 business days to process the paperwork...unless you bribe them with an extra $200 to turn it on by the end of the day (which we subsequently did).
• Since that debauchery and blatant show of incompetence, we have been dealing with the reimbursement and sheer idiocy of these "professionals". It's gotten to the point that I have had to show them the errors of their way so many times, leading the property manager to ensue a verbal altercation with me. JR has subsequently forbade me to speak with her henceforth. Blah to her and her kin.

4. MANY RESIDENTS TEND TO EITHER IGNORE US OR ARE POSSIBLY PREJUDICE

-As you have seen from example 1 and 2, we have not had the best reception from the

people that share this city with us....and even some of those in our Ward. Like the county

we live in, our ward is 80-90% Hispanic. Neither JR or I have any Hispanic heritage and we don't dress or act like any other white people in this area. This is met with subtle hostility or ... nothing at all (as in we are completely ignored). If you're not a part of the in crowd, you're not worthy of their time I guess.

-This also is a problem when searching for jobs. I have found that if you do not have a Hispanic last name or if you don't speak Spanish, or if you don't know somebody, you are looked over or denied employment. I'm not being prejudice myself. This is just a clear fact that I (and others) have observed.

5. ADRIANE DOESN'T WORK AND (FOR THE LIFE OF HER) CAN'T GET A JOB

-This may be because I'm a gringa. It may be because I'm not from this area. It may be simply because there are not many jobs to be had. All I know is: All free time and no work makes Adriane a dull girl!

6. ADRIANE = NO JOB ... BORED AND BORING

-I SPEND WAY TOO MUCH TIME WATCHING CRAPPY TV

*See above example's reasoning

7. VERY LITTLE OR NO CREATIVE OR ARTISTIC CULTURE TO SPEAK OF

-I have yet to find a Theatre that is not at a University or Community College, has open auditions and speaks or performs in English.

- I don't even know if there's a film industry out here at all.

8. NOT A HELL OF A LOT TO DO AROUND THESE HERE PARTS

-We live in a small town/city in Texas. Enough said.

9. FAR AWAY FROM ANYTHING INTERESTING

-I am not prejudice against Texas or Mexico, but I am not a fan of how far this town we live in is from any interesting city or area of amusement. San Antonio is 4 hours or more away, Austin = 5-6. You get the picture. All I'm saying is that I would like to live in a place where I can get to something of substance within an hour or so of travel.

10. THUSLY, EXPENSIVE TO FLY OR TRAVEL

-Since we live in a small city, there aren't a lot of ways to travel that aren't horribly expensive. For example, a flight from here to Salt Lake is $300-$400. Looks like won't be visiting until we win the lottery.

11. LACK OF FRIENDAGE

-NO ONE SEEMS TO WANT TO GET TO KNOW US BECAUSE WE ARE "DIFFERENT"

-As I said before, if you don't already know someone or have that special something, it doesn't help in the friendship search.

12. CLOSE MINDED, CLIQUISH CULTURE

-I've found that if it (or a person) is not something that someone who was born and raised here is used to, they have no interest in experiencing it. They like what they're used to and how they're used to it.

13. WORST DRIVERS (AS A WHOLE) IN AMERICA!

-I had pretty cheap insurance before I moved here. No tickets, no accidents...nothing that would substantially raise my rates. But as I tried to change my address to this new Texas address, the insurance company informed me that I would be paying nearly triple what I was in California. "WHY?!" I asked the insurance person. "Because the accident rate in

your new city is so damned high," she tells me. But why should I pay for these reckless driver's habits and mistakes? Because that's just the way it goes I guess. Boo to that.

14. MO' MONEY = MO' PROBLEMS

-Although we earn substantially more than we did in SD, and the "cost of living" is much less out here....being grown up and having to pay back all your loans and all your bills can cost quite a lot. Especially when you live in the hot, hot south and you must run the air conditioning at least 24 hours a day (our bill last month was almost $200)!

15. NO COMI-CON

-Both JR and I lament this deeply.

16. BAD COLOR TEMPLATES!! (Meridth would cry if she came out here and beheld the madness!)

-Everyone in this area of the country tends to choose a very muted, desert pallet for their homes, appliances, furniture,

even clothing. But then they try to spice it up with putrid browns or oranges!

For instance, there's a house down the street with blonde/light tan bricks and an ORANGE trim! I want to vomit every time I pass it!!

17. HIGHER COST OF FOOD...FOR EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT DEEP FRIED IN FAT

-Even though we live close to Mexico (where there are a great deal of wonderful farms that produce, well, produce) most of the fruits and vegetables are shipped in from dear old California! Ironic, eh?

-The only cheap food around here is fried, greased or comes in a bag, box or can.

18. DON'T LIVE BY ANY FAMILY

- Though they and we drive each other crazy, we miss the entertainment that they bring. Sad days.

19. HAVE TO WAIT A YEAR TO TRANSFER

-JR has a probationary period of a year until he can transfer in his job. Boo.

Now that we have those blunt and honest facts out of the way, lets look on the bright side of life (as Monty Python might sing). The PRO's of living in Texaco, oh Texaco.....

1. JR HAS A MEGA GOOD JOB!

-As stated in previous blogs that JR got a job w/ the FBI. JR is not an agent, but he's important. I'd say it's a pretty big deal and we like it a lot!

2. WE CAN HAVE PETS HERE...

-THUS WE CAN HAVE OUR BABY PUPPY BEA BEA!

(See picture to the left...)

3. WE FINALLY HAVE REAL MEDICAL INSURANCE

-You probably already know this, but I have a little thing called GERD. It will be wonderful to find out the rest of my and JR's ails and finally be able to do something about them!

4. REAL MEDICAL CARE

-Because we finally have real insurance through JR's job, we can go to real Dr's! No more clinics with untrained nurse hands.

5. CAN AFFORD MEDICAL CARE

-Though we don't make the most money in the land, we have just enough to meet our needs and pay our medical bills!

6. CHEAPER LIVING EXPENSES:

-HOUSE

Unlike the land of San Diego, South Texas has very cheap housing prices. Why for what we were paying for a 400 sq. ft. apartment in the ghetto of San Diego, we're getting a 1000 sq. ft., two story duplex in a "gated" community.

-GAS

In opposed to San Diego's astronomical $3-$4 per gallon, we're only paying $2.50 tops (per gallon) to fill up our humdingers!

7. DON'T LIVE BY FAMILY

-Live far away enough from family so that we can still have healthy, loving, distant

relationships....or so they don't hate us anymore than necessary!

8. CLOSER TO THE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST FESTIVAL

-This is an amazing music, art and all around phenomenal festival and I'm excited it's only about 4 or 5 hours away!

-P.S> Did I mention that MERIDTH GIMBEL'S art is going to be featured at said festival!! (See her blog for all details)

9. MET ONE SET ON INTERESTING PEOPLE

-Although we haven't found a culture or many residents that appreciate our unique contributions to society, we have found an intelligent and amusing couple that has become probably our only friends in our new home.

-Their names are Alex(andra) and Darrin. They're funny, extremely brilliant, enlighten and enlightening. And I think we appreciate them in almost a fan (but not creepy fan) sort of way!

10. DIA DE LOS MUERTOS WILL BE CELEBRATED

- I've never had the pleasure to celebrate this beautiful holiday, and I'm very much looking forward to a culture that endorses it fully!

11. "ALL THINGS ARE FOR YOUR OWN GOOD...."

-D&C 122:7-9

Though we may not have been thrown into the pits, neither are the jaws of Hell gaping after

us, I think this scripture and its sentiments still apply!

The Mac-Munson's Newest Edition!

As you can see from the title of this Blog, the Munson Clan has a brand new member.


On June 19th, 2010...Aunty Adri and Uncle JR became the proud parents of Miss Bea Arthur!
Now, you may be asking yourself, "Isn't Bea Arthur my favorite Golden Girl? ... More importantly... isn't Miss Bea Arthur *gulp* deceased?!" Well, yes dears...but we have become the proud owners not of any non living Bea Arthur material, but a disgustingly adorable Welch Corgi, Beagle, Chihuahua mix...NAMED

Miss Bea Arthur (AKA Bea Bea).

"What's that you say?!" A dog. We have adopted a dog! (You really need to work on your listening skills.) It is true. We are the proud parents of one Miss Bea Bea. She's quite often a terror of a dog, but that just means she'll fit in just fine at the Family Reunions. Hopefully those reunions come soon. We would love to show her off. For now, we'll just share pictures and videos of her fantastic antics. Enjoy!

*Post Blog Note: We share this with you mainly just in case we have no human offspring. We didn't want to miss our opportunity to post on this blog about one of our own!

Finally...a reason to blog about it!

It seems that JR and I have come to loath writing on this blog just as much as we do cleaning up dog poo. So, in order to convince myself that writing a blog about my dear little family could be somewhat enjoyable, I've completely overhauled it with bright colors and flashy pictures or gadgets. This, dears, is mainly to assuage/satisfy my raging ADD.

So now that our Adriane Mac & JR Munson blog is up to my standards of flash and glamour, I feel adequately prepared to update you on the lives of your favorite couple to date.


Since our (my) last blog post on the 24th of May, more than one year ago, a great many things have changed, blew up in our face and blossomed into beautiful bouquets of figurative flowers. Let's see if I can remember everything, shall we?

* ADRIANE:

1. During the summer of 2009, I was still stuck in a slump of temping occasionally for random companies in San Diego. I was under the employment of 4 Temp companies, but only worked (here and there) with one. For a College Graduate and go-getter, it was infuriating and horribly depressing! But I did like my case manager at the Temp firm. She was pretty nice.
2. Adri was also a part time Children's Acting & Improv. teacher at the local community center. It was a job she had fallen into after working at the Center as a Camp Councilor. That job thoroughly sucked, but she became professional friends with the Performing Arts Manager. When the Center needed a new Acting Teacher, she came to Adriane. Their schedules conflicted for a semester or two, but in January of 2008, Ade was hired.
Adriane loved teaching those classes and the kids she taught, but felt horribly inadequate. "I wasn't a professional actress! Sure, I'd studied it in school, but books do not a fabulous actor make. I knew one thing: how to have theatrical fun! So I just accepted that, if I wasn't the most experienced or professional Acting Coach, I could help the kids fall in love with Theatre and Acting as much as I had.
I only taught 1-4 times a week, but as the months and years went on, I felt the need to expand my professional resume (in and outside the Theatre). Unfortunately, there was not an opportunity to do so at the Center. So, after about a year and a half, I had to resign. You see, by April of 2010, I had obtained a somewhat full time job (which I will explain later about) that prevented me from being able to teach when they needed me to. It was a sad choice, but a necessary one."
3. Adriane spent most of her time from May to October 2009 (actually, from June 2008 on) looking and applying for full time jobs. Oh, she applied nearly everywhere (within reason)! And she got a great deal of interviews, but the response was always the same: "Oh dang! All the funding we had to hire you is gone! What with the RECESSION and all..." , "You're qualified, but we found someone with a Masters who is willing to work for less than you. Sorry!" , "You're TOO QUALIFIED!" or simply...no response at all (despite having a good interview).
Everyone blamed this on the Recession. I'm sure that's a great deal of it, but a lot of it was, employers were using job seeker's desperation for employment & blatantly exploiting them. If I had control over this existence, I would line up all of the Bureaucratic bigwigs, and punch them square in the face!
4. Finally, in October of 2009, Adriane got a lucky break! An old boss of her's (from an after-school care company she worked for in 2003-2006) called her up and told her that there was a Substitute Lead position available, and she wanted Adriane to apply! What a deal! So, I went in and interviewed with all my old bosses. This was much more stressful than
I had expected. I was in the running for the Substitute position and a full time position with an Elementary site. I was very much hopeful for the latter....especially since the Sub position was at a Jr. High!
Nevertheless, a few days later, I was offered the SUB position at the JR. HIGH. It was an indefinite period of time, which is great, but that also means I could stay a sub for as long as they wanted.
But I began the job at one of the more well off schools in the county. I thought that meant the kids would be better behaved. No! This just means the problem children were richer and more spoiled!
But it was the only full time job I had, so I gave it everything I had. Which was what the program needed. I came into a program that was going to hell in a hand basket! The former Lead had been on maternity leave for a few months only to come back and be transfered. She was also a very laid back personality, so most of the rules were not being enforced...and the kids were running a muck!
Then there was the staff. For a site of 50-100 hormonal teenagers, I had 2 laid-back (aka: lazy) staff and an Assistant who hated children (and eventually hated me)!
October to June of 2009/2010 was by far, the hardest professional period of my life! I had to completely revamp the rules of the site, enforce them with no support of my staff, babysit the kids & the staff and deal with misbehaving students/staff and parents. But I forced myself to take one day at a time and make it a point to notice the good kids and the positive aspects of my job or site. Along with that coping mechanism, I heavily relied on the support of my supervisor, Nicolle. At times, she was the only reason I did not quit on the spot! She was the best boss I ever had the luck to work with and we really became good friends (at least in my opinion)!
As the school year went on, I learned to ignore my staff's negativity and tried to appreciate every kid in the program. Even the trouble makers. By May, I loved my job and the kids that made my day worth while. The only thing I still hated about my job was that I was STILL technically a "Substitute" Lead. I did everything a full time Lead would do (including putting in hours upon hours of overtime that I did NOT get paid for). I also worked my kiester off to make that program as fun for the kids as possible. I seriously put my heart and soul into it (as cheesy as that sounds). But I was not getting paid the benefits and status I so earnestly deserved. The supervisors supported me becoming full time, but the issue was (as always is in a school system): budget. They simply didn't have enough $ to hire me full time. But I kept asking for it.
Finally in April, after jumping through all the hoops they asked me too, I was re-interviewed for my job. Come end of April, I was OFFERED MY JOB FULL TIME!!
5. I was ready to accept the position, and did....for a day. Then JR was called and offered a full time job with the Government! (See JR's section). You can see why we went with JR's job offer over mine, right? (I'm not always sure I can either! JK!)

*The Mac-Munson Unit (as a whole):

1. JR & Adriane both worked hard on getting full time jobs upon receiving their Bachelor's degrees from SDSU.
2. They were both rewarded for their months of hard work with job offers...on nearly the same day...in 4 different cities.
3. Due to the fact that JR got several job offers from the FBI, we chose to take the McAllen, Texas position, assigned to start May of 2010.
4. Adri worked her tail off to prepare her after school site for a new Lead or substitute, before they moved. They only had 4 weeks to move cross country, so expectedly, JR and Adriane did not sleep very much during that time.
5. The move was somewhat traumatic as it took 5 hours, one hotel and several calls to the new ward (who had offered to help us move in) more than we expected, to get from San Diego to McAllen.
6. After that hellish drive (luckily meeting JR's Mom on the way) we finally got to McAllen....only to discover that our more than incompetent Landlords had not cleaned or de-cockroached the apartment. Their excuse? "We were going to do that when you turned on the power and water" (which, because we had moved to a po-dunk town, we could only do IN PERSON, when we got there). But even though the Landlords had rented this place out for many years, they still did not know that. It's called: negligence and stupidity. But that's what we've come to know from the people of McAllen.
7. Since then, we have continuously fought with the Landlords to get a fair deal on our somewhat shadey living situation. But after a month or so of settling in, I think we've begun to accept and even like the place.
8. Our occasional happiness and contentment with our new home is largely due to the new addition we have brought into our family...namely Miss Bea Arthur (aka: Bea Bea). We adopted an 8 week old Welch Corgi, Beagle, Chihuahua mix of a dog, and we're quite pleased with our decision! (But that story deserves a blog entry of it's own!)


So that's what's happened with us in a nut shell. Our situation & lives have completely changed, but I guess we plan on making the best of it. If not, we at least plan on documenting our fine tuned frustration on this newly improved bloggity-blog.

Ciao for now, bellitas!
-The Munsons-