One Year Already!

One year ago today I arrived in Charlotte for only the second time in my life. The difference this time was that my car was full of everything I felt I needed to survive until I made the official move, hopefully in a month or two. I made the drive of about 600 miles in two legs, stopping overnight in Richmond, VA - getting on the road just before noon and rolling up to the hotel around 5:00 pm. I started this blog to document my experiences at relocating but was not very good at keeping up with it during the year and left A LOT of stuff out, so today I will post a list of the things that I can remember that I've done since being down here in the order they come to mind, not the order they happened:

1. Saw Avenue Q at the Belk Theatre
2. Found out my license was suspended in NJ
3. Passed the NC drivers test with flying colors
4. Visited the following places: Spartanburg, Greenville, Columbia & Charleston in SC; Winston-Salem, Thomasville, Greensboro, Durham, Raleigh, Asheville & Hickory in NC.
5. Made three trips back to NJ - 2 driving, 1 flying
6. Watched my Jeep die
7. Bought a new used Hyundai
8. Adjusted to new driving habits you don't find in NJ
9. Made Harris Teeter my favorite supermarket
10. Crossed the Eastern Continental Divide
11. Took a boat ride on Lake Norman (work outing)
12. Went to a Charlotte Checkers hockey game (work outing)
13. Met many of the Carolina Panthers football team
14. Became a fan of the Panthers (even though the Giants are still my favorite team)
15. Only had one friend visit me (thanks Jim!)
16. Found an apartment
17. Lived in one hotel for 100 nights
18. Lived out of my suitcase moving from hotel to hotel waiting for my apartment and stuff from NJ
19. Visited the Levine Museum of the New South
20. Became a regular at one of the Charlotte bars (first visited 3 days after arriving)
21. Joined Facebook
22. Visited Dallas for a long weekend with a friend's help (thanks Jim!)
23. Wondered many times if I made the right decision about moving and other things
24. Watched 4 contracts get drawn on the sale of my place in NJ and see 4 of them get broken
25. Ended the year with 45 vacation days left over from past years
26. Attended Charlotte's gay pride celebration
27. Went to the One Voice Chorus' holiday concert
28. Found out that in NC you get your license at one place, your registration and plates at another and get your car inspected at yet another place
29. Discovered that you pay "property tax" on your car each year
30. Ate at Bojangles and Jack in the Box for the first time
31. Opened a bank account at a local bank that is actually a Canadian bank and feel they have too many fees
32. Made it home for Christmas
33. Worked a double shift on Thanksgiving (7:00 am to 11:00 pm)
34. Realized that it takes a while to learn the streets in Charlotte because they keep changing names
35. Found that hotel guests are the same no matter where you work
36. Spent an afternoon in Augusta, GA

That's what has come to mind right now. I'm sure I've missed some stuff and in coming posts will add if needed.

Thanks for reading!