Back from Zephyr Again

Originally thought I'd either post a bunch of pictures here or create a temporary website, but I'm kind of working on life-efficiency, and am trying to cut down on those times when I expend a lot of extra effort for just a little extra impact. Thus, the photo attachments I sent out late Sunday night. Where there I accompanied the photos with some details of the actual visit, here I can maybe say a few words about where we're at in the thought process.

Somehow, there's a kind of magic and peace exuded from the valley-we get a sense of it as we wind our way down the dirt roads to Zephyr, and are really struck by it when we park & get out of the car. It reminds me very much of the feeling you get when you go camping-the last time you were out of the car is either in a city, or at a gas station along some interstate along the way with cars whizzing by. Stepping out of the car at Zephyr, we are struck by the stillness and peacefulness of the setting. Not really silence, since you hear countless insects, frogs, & birds (though the silence must be deafening in the middle of winter); but definitely a different backdrop than in the cities. A very telling sort of contrast-that when we get out of the car there we can just feel stress and pressure slipping away. When we got out of the car after the trip, we could hear sirens in the background and I got to see a Cheet-Os wrapper & some cans that someone had discarded in my front lawn.

Probably the number one hangup at this point is the general uncertainty of unknowns. Stress-free environment only carries you so far, if you have crappy employment. Right now, I'm considering quitting work to finish my masters at a college in Winona, but then what? And what of Sharon? She's got a really, really nice gig in the cities. There' s a few nature centers down there (including Eagle Bluff: where one Cory worked at near Chatfield), but the turnover is amazingly low at such places. We could be here 10 years without a permanent opening occurring. Other uncertainty revolves around the expense of either building or buying an existing structure. We have about $100,000 of equity in our current house, but a huge chunk of that is gone if we rent for a year and/or I'm not working while I go to school. Oh yeah-there's a 15-month waiting period from the time you give Zephyr a letter of intent-to avoid either you or them entering into this arrangement in a foolhardy manner. Sharon is also concerned about the commute. Right now we both commute at least the distance from Zephyr to Winona (and the drive is about 50x less scenic), but in the Twin Cities there is always at least the hope that you could land employment along public transit routes and/or biking/walking distance. At Zephyr, unless something crazy happens like Sharon ends up working on the farm (which may not be quite as crazy as it sounds), you're pretty much locked into a long commute for the rest of your life. And not just commute: for kids' school, for groceries, for coffee. Of course, no pizza delivery and no high-speed internet (though that last one's only a matter of time, I would think).

And leaving Minneapolis: I just started this new theater experiment. Wow-as unlikely as it might seem, in Minneapolis, there's the outside crazy chance that I turn acting into a career. If not that, though, at least I have this opportunity to pursue it regularly as a hobby. Maybe such opportunities exist in Winona. But as with all other amenities: coffee shops, visual art, libraries, etc; all of Winona's offerings are pretty much pale in comparison.

*sigh* Still so much to consider.