sales pitch

thank you all for your lovely offers for running companionship. now all i need to do is book myself a multi-stop US/canadian tour, and i’m set.

my beloved and brilliant college friend aimee wrote:

“Can’t run that fast or that far, but I otherwise fit the description– do the facts that we’re already friends and I live in Maine put me out of the running?

I feel you on the need for more friends. Working in health care can be very isolating– either you work LONG hours or odd hours or both, and no one want to hear you talk about work!

But seriously, Eric and I have been batting around the idea of moving south– make your pitch!

and obviously, that deserves some special attention. may i present:

top 10 reasons aimee and eric should move to NC

10. we’ll just get the obvious out of the way: WEATHER. pretty! early spring! 3-month winter! minimal need for puffy down monstrosities. long, sultry summer nights.

9. for aimee, cardiac nurse extraordinaire: there are many hospitals (and you can have your pick of academic/private, big/small, etc). i don’t know what the hiring climate is like here, but i doubt that it’s worse than anywhere else.

8. for eric, artist and lab person (to be honest, i am not 100% sure what you are doing right now!): decent-sized art community thanks to presence of 2 large universities nearby. very cool museum at arm’s length. lots of big pharma campuses nearby in addition to other companies, although admittedly it’s probably not the ideal time to ditch a good job if you have one.

7. relatively low cost of living. according to this calculator, you can earn 10% less here and live the same standard! compare that with moving to manhattan where you would have to earn 97% MORE. we’re a bargain!

6. awesome food options. we have an excellent restaurant scene here, and due to item #7, it’s relatively accessible to plebeians like us.

5. lots of fun outdoor opportunities! trails and pretty places to run are not hard to find. plus, getting a workout on the tobacco trail is inherently amusing.

4. also weather-related, there are farmers’ markets in both durham and chapel hill, and they are quite popular (and delicious). for the lazy (ie, me), local goods are also for sale at the whole foods 2 miles from my apartment, and the markup doesn’t seem too obscene.

3. we’re about to get our own anthropologie!

2. i was going to say “southern season!” but i think that our weather deserves to fill two slots in this top 10. seriously, our highs for this week range from 59-72, and it’s alllll supposed to include sun. spring here is amazing.

1.5. also, barbeque and biscuits beat out maple syrup any day. i will concede that your blueberries are probably superior to ours, but . . . can’t have everything, i suppose.

1. I LIVE HERE AND WE COULD HANG OUT ALL THE TIME! i would cook you dinner and you could knit me things. we could go on short, pleasant runs. and to anthropologie. it would be awesome. and you would love it.

the end. hope that was convincing! THINK ABOUT IT!

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4.7.9

workout: i bailed on my workout and took a rest day. it had been way too long, really!

doin’ time: i made spring pea and zucchini risotto. it was good, but i think needed more protein, because it didn’t satisfy yesterday’s (impressively tenacious) hunger. i capped this meal off with too much mint chocolate chip ice cream, which was out of character, but it was good and i have no regrets.