Asheville, NC: Settling In

I got a job today.

Well, actually, I got four jobs today, but only accepted one of them. While I was truly quite tempted to take a job with a "green" insulation firm (solid schedule, weekends off), I ultimately decided to go to work at Table, a fairly new local restaurant.

Table seems like it will be an interesting place to work. The food looks delicious, and they put a great deal of emphasis on farmers' market produce and local foods. You can see something about them at their website.

After working out the whole job situation, Xavi and I headed out to Dillsboro (about an hour away) for some white-water kayaking. Luckily, I was able to borrow all of the gear from Xavi and friends, and therefore had no need to rent any cheesy equipment or anything of the sort.

I had never before ridden a kayak of this type. They are extremely unstable (until you've gotten accustomed to them), and seemingly quite flimsy. And yet, once I got my balance, and learned a bit about how the boat works, the ride was incredible. The rapids were only Class 2 (perfect for a beginner), so I was able to experience the thrill of the rapids without assuring myself of an early death.

I tipped over a total of four times--one of those times, interestingly enough, I wasn't even moving, but rather attempting to get out of the boat to get some feeling back in my foot. I stood up, knocked my lifeless foot against the kayak, and fell straight into the ground. It was really quite graceful

After riding the river for a bit, we headed out to eat ribs in a town called Maggie Valley. Now, this town was quite an interesting place. Apparently there was once a tourist attraction nearby known as "Ghost Town." The place was a typical tourist trap--Old West gunfights, kitschy shops and a old-time train rides were some of the main attractions. This place is currently, however, closed.

Sadly, a huge swath of land near the site of the Ghost Town had already erupted in a huge Urban / Kitsch spraw. I imagine that most of the local business must have completely depended on the draw of the spooky gunfights for the business. Needless to say, the whole place is now sort of sad--filled with places like the "Mountain Museum" and the local Magic Shop that seemed, to my untrained and ignorant eyes, to be living through a local depression.

Nonetheless, the famous "Bar-B-Q Shak and Restaurant" continues to pump out delicious, smoky Babyback Ribs (which, interestingly enough, are imported from Denmark). Xavi is on very good terms with the woman that owns the place, as he has been a customer since the late 80's and always returns with new people. The ribs were delicious, as were the beans, slaw, hush puppies and french fried potatoes that accompanied them. The place, of course, was filled with the requisite amount of kitsch and crap, including myriad statues of pigs.

Which, by the way, is always a funny thing to see. Barbeque places always seem to decorate their premises with pictures of cute, cuddly, pink piglets. Oftentimes they've also got strange pictures of cartoon pigs wearing chef's gear. Sort of a cannabalistic, fetishist type of thing, really.

Anyway, that's all for now. More soon.