Hello Arkansas
~ 08 June 2006 ~
Never did I think I’d set foot in the state of Arkansas. Much less live there.
Or here, that is. Just as surprising to me as to you, the Moll family has landed in Arkansas, of all places. We’ve stopped here as part of a lengthy pit-stop before moving on elsewhere. I repeat: This is temporary. While the area is scenic and amiable, we plan to be here only a couple months or so. Undoubtedly, someone will forget that, and the next time I speak at a conference the program will state I hail from Arkansas.
To all who guessed we were moving to Cali on behalf of Google, Yahoo, Apple, etc: You’re too kind — I’m flattered. Most of you know we’ve been through that already. But this move comes as a pro-active venture on our part, crazy as it all sounds.
Even crazier was the 4-day road trip and all the packing, planning, and madness before leaving. Some of the highlights:
- Perhaps the most enjoyable stop during the trip was just outside Vail, Colorado. We exited the car only to be welcomed by what had to be Jeffrey pine trees, as their bark gives off a very distinct vanilla scent. It was like stepping into a giant room full of air fresheners. Only 100 times better.
- Worst business name seen during trip: “Mane Event Salon” in Salina, Kansas. How enticing.
- Speaking of Kansas, is there anywhere in the state where the wind doesn’t blow 30 mph constantly?
- Best in-trip hack for lost binky management: A big ol’ rope did the trick just fine.
- Best in-trip tech assistance: Google (46645) and Yahoo (92466) SMS search for finding hotels and such.
- Best pre-trip car mod: Moll emblem slapped on the ol’ tanker.
- Most amazing post-trip discovery: That one of our sons had broken his arm two weeks ago (fell off a slide) and we had no idea. He’s been complaining it hurt. So Suzanne took him in yesterday, and lo and behold, it was snapped clean through. Insane.
- I’m learning how to pronounce things properly here. Favorite word? “Ten”. Pronounced “tee-un”.
Final note: If you’re local and interested in having me speak at your organization, institution, etc. while I’m still out here, please contact me. I’d love to take advantage of the opportunity.
44 Comments
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We’ll miss you in Utah. Good luck.
The broken arm thing is phenomenal. The boy’s pain threshold is Wolverine-esque. Loved the Moll Family Sticker - very nice.
So, this move is temporary to… what?
The six leaf car mod looks great
Interesting move indeed. Got a few relative-inlaws there. But having lived in the south for the better part of 20+ years I must sympathize with you. Living out here in the west (Colorado) is much more enjoyable. :)
Tell the truth - you bought real estate from Erik Estrada, and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
lol!
The only cool thing about Arkansas is the Buffalo National River. Lucky for you, you’ve arrived in the high time of humidity, ticks, chiggers and other nasties. The outdoors just aren’t as fun as they are out west.
Welcome to the Ozarks.
What city in Arkansas?
Josh, I too have family in Arkansas, lived in the south for awhile, and now live in Colorado. Eentresting.
Cameron-
I suspect, with your probable route and mention of Salina (an armpit of a town, if you ask me), that you were mostly on the western half of Kansas? The wind blows a bit less here on the east side — but you’re right, there’s usually some wind going on in this state. :)
Welcome to Arkansas. It’s not as bad as people make it out to be. I’ve lived here my entire life. You definitely picked the hottest time of the year to live here, but as long as you stay inside with the air conditioning it’s bearable. If you are ever in the Little Rock area, shoot me an email. I’d love to meet you.
Brian - Fort Smith area.
Jeff - We took I-70 through most of the state, and then headed directly south to Wichita.
Thanks, Chad. Glad to be here.
Welcome to Arkansas Cameron. I have lived here all my life and it’s not to bad. Summer isn’t all that fun with the humidity but the A/C will help you on that one. What town are you “passing through”. I don’t know of any design or web design groups around but if you do end up talking somewhere please let us know ahead of time on your blog so the rest of us can come check it out and meet you.
Ouch. You’ve made me decide to take my son to the doc’s tonight - he’s been complaining about his foot hurting for a week. (So hard to tell with kids. They’re melodramatic and it’s tough to know what part of the drama is real.)
I hear Yellville, AK has a worthwhile event every year called Turkey Trot, featuring the ever popular Turkey “Drop.” Non-hunters and vegetarians be-warned.
Aaron - AK is the abbreviation for Alaska. AR is the abbreviation for Arkansas.
Cameron - How long do you think you will be in Arkansas?
I lived in Savannah, GA for a time while going to S.C.A.D. The deep South can be very cool, congrats.
I’m intrigued as to what the next move is…
are you guys on the run from the law or something? why the temp move to Arkansas?
If Arkansas is only a stop, does that mean you have future plans, or you’re waiting for some?
If you’re looking for someplace to call home, I have some good suggestions here in the greater Twin Cities area of Minnesota. I’ll line you up with a great job and/or all the freelance work you can consume.
We’re home to the following lovely headquarters:
1. Target
2. Best Buy
3. General Mills
4. 3M
5. Medtronic
6. United Healthcare
7. Gage
8. Carlson Marketing Group
9. Fallon Worldwide
10. Dairy Queen (no kidding)
Isn’t it obvious*? The family are huge fans of Scottie Pippen and Cameron is going to do summer school at the University of Central Arkansas.
*If you read Cameron’s blog regularly you can miss all the Pippen references. He drops words in left and right, such as:
- bulls
- 90’s
- dynasty
- 33
- our dog Scottie
- I pulled a Pippen
- Jerry Krause
- Jerry Reinsdorf
- I’m moving to Arkansas in my quest to fulfill my lifelong dream to become the biggest Scottie Pippen fan in history
Hilarious, Jeff!
Since I was wrong in your last post, now I’m assuming since your heading southeast then your heading to the…wait for it…Southeast.
So now that’s narrowed down, I could only see a few places in the Southeast that a designer of your stature would find worth going.
-Atlanta
-Florida (Miami, Orlando (my old stomping grounds), or Tampa.
-Memphis?
Considering I don’t know why you are staying in Arkansas for 2 months, I’m willing to guess that its not atlanta or memphis because those places are not super far from Arkansas and if your final destination was so close why wouldn’t you just go there in the first place.
So I’m guessing Florida, maybe you are joining up with Dan Benjamin in Orlando. For the sake of an interesting guess, maybe you, Dan Cederholm, and Dan Benjamin are joining together to become a Design & Web App Superforce under the name Tundro.
Or maybe I’m completely wrong. Maybe you decided to retire from designing and start a new business venture that you wanted to do since you were a little snotnose, Airboat Everglade Tours.
Ugh typo.
Take a roadtrip north and visit Kansas City before you go. Great place to be for a weekend.
Welcome to Arkansas! I’m technically not able to welcome anyone to Arkansas, since we’ve moved from Arkansas to Texas, but we miss Arkansas and get back as often as possible! If you’re in the Ft. Smith area, it would be worth a short drive (an hour more or less) up to the northwest corner of the state (assuming you’ve not been there, of course). That will put you squarely in Wal-Mart country. It’s a completely different Arkansas up there than the rest of the state… Another nice scenic area is an hour and a half or so east of Ft. Smith (I think, it’s been a while), Mt. Nebo state park near Russellville… If you end up doing any speaking up there, be sure and let us all know. It’d be a great excuse to make the drive up.
Broken arm, ouch! Makes me feel better for when our oldest broke his arm and we waited for a week before going to the doctor about it. Kids… ;)
The best car trip summary I’ve ever read.
Hey Cameron,
Never commented on your blog before, but I live in the Little Rock area. I’d be interested in having you down for a day to talk to talk to us and get some input. If this is possible, give me a shout at mattrat@newlifechurch.tv
Where are you guys storing all your furniture and stuff? I imagine it would be quite tiresome to tug all that around… :p
Ft. Smith. You have GOT to be staying with family for a while. Why else would you stop there? [my best childhood friends are from Ft. Smith and they say there is nothing there]
Funny, on my move from CA to Nashville we stopped at a large truck stop in Salina, I believe I had Church’s chicken for the first time. It was a where-the-heck-are-we moment.
Well, you should come out to Nashville and speak to our great design community, the615. the615.com A lot of talented folks in this area.
On the broken arm wavelength, I just yelled at my daughter about faking an illness to avoid school. She goes to afternoon kindergarten but had to go in the morning today. After she came home, she didn’t eat lunch and slep for 3 hours. Turns out she had a 103 fever and got a ride to the doctor. I, on the other hand, now feel like something you scrape off your shoe.
Oh well…
Last time I guessed Leichtenstein. It appears I was a bit off.
My new guess is Mexico! After seeing the Moll family car decal, I’m now convinced that the Mexican government has commissioned you to add similar graphical updates to the thousands of famous green taxis that roam Mexico City’s boulevards!
Huh, interesting.
I have family in Arkansas actually. I’ll be visiting them in July. And while the view is stunning it gets quite boring.
Welcome to the South! Enjoy the sweet tea and don’t worry about the accent, it will come soon enough. I loved the lo-fi binky hack. Sometimes the simplest things are the best. And designed family bling is just flat out cool.
Even though everything is bigger out west, I hope you enjoy the pockets of beauty around you. Bring your family and visit Asheville, NC sometime!
Arkansas eh,
You’ll have to visit Silver Dollar City in Missouri (near the border area). Your kids will probably love it!
Also, let us know how many Wal-Marts you run into. I’ll bet they are like 7 Eleven’s & Walgreen’s, one on every corner.
@Greg
If the town has 4000+ people (sometimes fewer) then it probably has a Wal-Mart somewhere close if not directly downtown as the hub of entertainment and communication. Oh you can also buy stuff there we’re told. :)
Hey, about the broken arm, i’ve been there. I broke my arm when I was 5 and didn’t give out a whine or whimper or anything. They only reason my parents found out was because I didn’t come to dinner with the rest of my siblings and older brother said I was laying in bed. They came in and found my left arm in an ‘S’ shape.
My son broke his wrist last Fall and did not complain at all. He had a nasty bruise on his wrist for a few days, which did not seem to be going away and would not let me touch the bruise. He also was favoring his other arm. Our guy did not have a break clear through, which is completely impressive.
I am quite interested in where you are ending up. You are inching closer to where I am, when I am sitting still.
Just wandered onto your site from CSSBloom, and thought I’d welcome you to AR. I’m working as a web dev up in Rogers (NWA). Ryan was right, NWA is a whole ‘nother Arkansas. I’m from Fort Smith (by from I mean I lived about 45 miles from it, but that’s where we had to go to get to a Wal-Mart, a mall, or a movie theater) Horribly dull place to live, especially for a new media consultant. I had my first web job there though at an ad agency called Ad Plus.
As a local I suppose I’m indebted to point out some enjoyable things to do in town, but all I can think of is Ed Walkers drive-in on townsend. They have the biggest hamburger you have ever seen! It’s the size of an apple pie. It takes four people to finish it.
Hope you enjoy it here!
Michael, I seriously doubt Cameron is going to be drinking any sweet tea. :-) But I do agree that he should visit Asheville.
I too am very curious about where you are going to end up, Cameron. I still think you should head for Chapel Hill, or at least North Carolina. That way I could perhaps see you speak close by.
Hey, man.
Congratulations on leaving Utah. :)
You said:
That one of our sons had broken his arm two weeks ago (fell off a slide) and we had no idea.
This happens more often than you would think. Children have amazing superhero powers.
My daughter’s friend slipped while running around a pool and complained of a sore wrist for a few days. Her parents took her to see her pediatrician and it turns out she broke her wrist. Same as your boy.
I find this phenomenon quote astounding. I’m pretty certain I’d be screaming bloody murder, crying and writhing on the floor in fetal position if I broke anything in my body.
It’s already been said but Northwest Arkansas (especially Fayetteville, my home) is a different planet. Come up here when you get a chance.
hey, i live in Fayetteville, AR and work for the University’s Computing Dept. Maybe I could get you a speaking day or something… I would be interested and I know several others would be as well. Not sure if you still live in Arkansas though… Send me an email if you’re interested and maybe we can make it happen.
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