First week in MO

[sfwriter]

Hi all,

Well, we've been on the ground one week here in Springfield, MO. Contrary to expectations and the strident warnings of a few, I've had quite a good week.

I've found a health food store that has local eggs, jam and honey, so I'm started on the locavore's quest here in Springfield. It's called MaMa Jeans on Campbell near Sunshine. They started in Ava and are doing well enough that they are opening a second location.

It's next door to two thrift stores which is a plus since I try to avoid buying new as part of The Compact (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thecompact/). We challenge you to buy nothing new for a year. I'll be blogging about the Compact at the blog of Action Point, an Air America Phoenix radio show. More here: http://actionpointonline.com/

The local Anarchist Infoshop, the Radish, is closing next month. That's a serious blow to networking in this town. I spoke to one of the workers there and think there will be some sort of follow-on.

I'm trying to save the Springfield Sudbury School. It is a tiny blue light in this red corner of the state and could close its doors this month.We need to raise about $3000 this month and about $30,000 over the next four months. If you think you can help, they are here: http://springfieldsudburyschool.org/

I've already got a part-time gig with the Springfield Business Journal and the library is impressive. It's not got the collections or depth of the San Francisco Public Library, but I'd say it is as nice inside and as convenient for me.

I had some minor work done on my car and the man who logged me in at the Ford dealership sports a "No New Texans" button at his workstation. I've been counting bumper stickers -- 4 Bush / 3 Dem. This war has everyone angry at Bush, even the Republicans I've met here.

Houses seem dirt cheap, but work pays very, VERY little here. We'll need to leverage our outside-of-area contacts for work. My SBJ job is giving me contacts.

They also have the coolest 80s theme arcade I've ever seen: http://www.1984arcade.com/

I've been invited down to the Ozark Writers League meeting next weekend and hope to network there. We are also throwing a party titled West Coast Geeks with the theme of Booze and Resumes at the local Sci Fi con next weekend. (http://www.visioncon.net/)

Well, that's the first week on the ground here. I look forward to meeting some DUers in the MO.

All the best,

Sandy

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Glad you are settling in

[Broken_Hero]

2. I'm glad that you are starting to settle in...:)

Sounds like you actually might enjoy it down here :hi:

[TheDebbieDee]

3. Welcome to Misery, SFWriter...........

I hope you enjoy your life here in the "Show Me" state!

[AllegroRondo]

4. you arrived just in time for bad weather!

and really bad drivers.

dont worry, it DOES get better.

[gratefultobelib]

5. Glad to have you join us! Three of my four kids graduated from SMS there

in Springfield, so I'm familiar with the town. They all loved living there. It's good you've found some groups to network with so quickly!

[ninja]

6. Welcome

I am one of the owners at 1984arcade.com and a long time Springfield resident.
Thank you for motioning our website, I search for references to 1984arcade.com occasionally and found this thread.
The rest of the owners are mostly Republicans, but all have been my friends a for long time... so they tolerate me :)

Yes the wages here are low and the conservative count high.
It is a unique city, small but wide in more area then one.

See you in the shadows.

[xmas74]

7. Welcome to DU!

[xmas74]

8. Glad to see you've had a good time of it here.

For organic meat you can search sites like The Meatrix-I know they have quite a few MO farms on it, including one down the road from me.

[RayOfHope]

9. Ah, Springfield.

My SO is from just up the road. We were in Springfield this weekend, as matter of fact.

He is psyched about the arcade, lol. Thanks for the tip.

I'm glad you're settling in well!