You're Moving Where?

Growing up, if you had asked me, "Sharon, where in this great country would you most like to live?" I'd have probably answered, "Wherever Justin Timberlake lives."

If you'd have asked me two years ago where I'd like to live, I'd have said, "Either up north in New England (Seafood! Big cities!) or out west in a state like Colorado, Oregon, or Washington (Good beer! Mountains!).

I would have never thought of Arkansas.

It's one of those states you don't really think about... Unless you're a football fan and you're hoping that one of the games you win is against Arkansas (that may just be us Tennessee fans. Ugh.) It's not that flashy. It rarely makes the news, and it's hard to think of more than five notable Arkansans.

And for the record, I know Bill Clinton is from Arkansas. That's like the one fact everyone reminds me of when I'm like, "Who the hell is from Arkansas?"

That may be why Matt didn't lead with, "I have an interview at a college in Arkansas," but rather, "I have an interview at Henderson State University."

So here we are. In Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

Arkadelphia. 

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the name:

The site was settled in about 1809 by John Hemphill, operator of a nearby salt works, Arkansas's first industry. It was known as Blakelytown until 1839, when the settlement adopted the name Arkadelphia. No one is certain of the origin of this name, but several theories have been put forward.

One possibility is that the name Arkadelphia was formed by combining Ark- from the state's name Arkansas and adelphia from the Greek meaning brother/place.^[3]

Another likely possibility is that the city was named after Arkadelphia, Alabama, a small community just north of Birmingham. Many early settlers of the area arrived from that state, and it was a common practice at the time to name newly founded communities after ones that the settlers had left behind.

Why couldn't we have stuck to Blakelytown? Sure it's a bit of a mouthful, but when I told people I was moving to Arkadelphia, people assumed I was being funny.

The adjustment to a small town life is going to be an interesting one. Fortunately, you can all follow along with my  blog. I briefly thought about changing the name to "The Real Housewife of Arkadelphia," but I thought "A Gross Life" was still the most fitting, seeing as how I don't know if "TRH" is copyrighted, and (more importantly to me) I don't watch any of those shows.

So here's goes my Gross life in Arkansas. On the plus side, I am so lucky that my job is allowing me to telecommute, and I have the most patient husband in the world to hold my hand while I cry about my lack of Target stores, Starbuck drive-thrus, Panera Breads and places that sell beer on Sundays.

Maybe now that I have all this free time I'll blog more than three times a year.

Maybe.