Comments on: Way Out West

By: Gypsy

Gypsy — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:47:05 +0000

Mongo: My writing? Thanks!

Blues: You must have known. I think I’ve mentioned it, but maybe not. I knew you were from there anyway. I couldn’t have stayed long, but I’m glad we lived there.

Carrie: That’s the best compliment ever. Thank you. I’m mulling it over and tossing some ideas around.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:49:00 +0000

Gypsy. Please write a book. I will buy it. You capture things so perfectly and sometimes I feel like I am where you are thinking. It is amazing and you are so talented. Don’t waste it. Go. Right now. And write a book.

By: blues

blues — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:09:28 +0000

What? Did I know you used to live in AZ and just forgot or am I just learning this now? Camelback mountain, Bookman's, Los Betos. Aww, you went and made me homesick. Transitory, fleeting. These are some of the reasons I left. In Phoenix, people are too unpredictable there and too willing to pick up and move and leave you stranded with no friends. It's full of young people who are from somewhere else just trying to get a start and then they realize that they got a start and now they don't need Phoenix. And then there's the other side of Phoenix, the people from there who never leave. It's a weird balance. God I miss those winters though. And the drives to Jerome and Flag. Nice post. blues’s last blog post..London Bridge is Burning Down

By: Mongoliangirl

Mongoliangirl — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:22:55 +0000

See? Your writing is amazing, Gypsy. At first I thought, 'Whatever about Arizona. Whatever.' And then you took me back to when I was a teen and would have long visits with Aunts and Uncles who lived there. Wonderful. I was dreaming of living in AZ a few years ago, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I need the lush, lush, lush of Missouri. Maybe a visit again some day, eh? Mongoliangirl’s last blog post..Some Days I am Hysterical. Maybe I’m just awful.

By: Gypsy

Gypsy — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:39:14 +0000

Chris: I don’t care what they say about a dry heat. I need me some moisture.

Flutter: Scottsdale was a nice place to live, really.

Rassles: Yet another awesomeosity we share. I could live in Paris, and I once lived in Florence, but I’d prefer Amsterdam. Amsterdam has beer and greenness. Of many varieties.

CMGD: Thanks! The lack of trees was an issue. If we’d been in Flagstaff or something we might have stayed longer.

Kimmy: Los Olivos! I remember that place. I do miss the food in Scottsdale. Everything was good it seemed. There was really good antiquing out there, too.

T-shirt: There’s not a lot of sweating going on in AZ — it dries too quickly.

Mary: That’s what you would think, isn’t it? But it’s just not so. The industry was dying even when I joined, and that was back in the late 90s. The perks were falling away almost entirely. And the pay was laughable. Ah well. It was worth a shot.

Gypsy’s last blog post..Way Out West

By: mary

mary — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:37:40 +0000

Arizona...no desire whatsoevah to live there. Sorry to hear the travel agency thing didn't pan out. I would think that would be a cool job which would include lots of cheap vacations on the side. However, it is probably like anything else that you do for a living: work! mary’s last blog post..

By: Have the T-shirt

Have the T-shirt — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:36:13 +0000

Well, when someone throws you a bone, you sure can go with it. Wonderfully written! I've never been to AZ...but I don't like to sweat much, so I don't think I'd like it there for the long haul. Have the T-shirt’s last blog post..Waiting is Hell and a New Baby!

By: kimmykins13

kimmykins13 — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:06:09 +0000

Hey – Thanks for answering! I lived there for 2 years also. I really did enjoy it and liked the experience of being in an element that was completely different from what I had been raised in (I was raised in the south at the beach too). I moved there for work purposes as well. I loved having a view of the McDowell Mtns. from my apt., loved going to Cave Creek and Black Mountain and seeing the sajuaros in the desert driving out there, Old Town and eating at Los Olivos, Scottsdale Fashion Square was definately a fave, downtown Phoenix to party at Jackson’s etc. – and you are right Camelback at Sunset is beautiful. I loved not having to turn the heat on in the winter and being able to swim in an outdoor pool all year long. I did not however, savor the 116 degrees in the summer or the way my nose cracked and bled everyday when I first moved out there until my body adjusted to the dryness. It really wasn’t fun passing out in the Albertsons from the heat and awaking to paramedics sticking smelling salts in my face and asking me if I was diabetic. No, I was just a dumbass who ate nothing and drank 3 cups of coffee before going out into an inferno. I wasn’t real fond of the power bill in the summer either when it cost me around $115 to AC a 2 bedroom apt. I guess that made up for the winter when they were only $40. I made friends but it took a while because as you said – It’s just different. Then after 2 years of living there it was time to come home. I missed my friends and family and I only got home maybe 4 times in 2 years. I have a very good friend that I made out there who I still go to visit. I’ve been back a couple of times. So it sounds like we had similar experiences. I’m so glad I did it.

By: Coal Miner's Granddaughter

Coal Miner's Granddaughter — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:53:14 +0000

You are a braver woman than I. Growing up in bumpy WV, there's no way I could live in a place as flat as AZ. Nope. Beautiful post darlin'! Coal Miner's Granddaughter’s last blog post..Sod Off!

By: rassles

rassles — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:03:37 +0000

I totally also went though the travel agent phase. Awesome. I don't think I could live in the desert. I'm also pretty sure I could never live in New York or Paris, Tokyo or Milan, or southern California. Any place that's associated with elegance, high culture, and beautiful people (in any way) is really not a place I belong. I like beer and greenness. Fuck it. rassles’s last blog post..I Was On Fire This Weekend, Figuratively Speaking.