Tag Archives: Myrtle Beach

Project 2,700: Myrtle Beach

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Things have gotten real.

This morning I packed up my belongings from my parents’ house after a very nice week in Spokane and with my mom and dad in tow we made the drive to Missoula for the first and shortest leg of my cross country journey to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Upon arriving in Missoula my dad and I reported to an old beat up gas station and U-Haul center where we picked up my ten foot truck and tow dolly trailer for my car. From there we went to my apartment for the very last time. Although I made sure to have everything packed up and ready to go for this day we still had to physically move everything down a couple flights of stairs and into the U-Haul, not the most enjoyable of propositions. But we got it done and after all the hard work we enjoyed a nice dinner at the Laughing Grizzly.

Me in front of the U-Haul truck with my car in tow behind.

Me in front of the U-Haul truck with my car in tow behind.

Tomorrow morning I will say goodbye to my mom and then my co-captain (my dad) and I will start the real heavy driving. Yep, I got my father on board for this voyage across the country. I don’t think you can devise a bonding experience much more intense or scenic than this one. We will of course switch off driving shifts while doing our best to keep each other sane through the long hours and countless mile markers.

My mom gave me this medal today to keep with me in the U-Haul to keep my dad and myself safe.

My mom gave me this medal today to keep with me in the U-Haul to keep my dad and myself safe.

By the end of Thursday we hope to find ourselves in Wyoming. But in all honesty who knows? We have never driven across the country before and while we can look at the map and divide our days out in an organized manner we are aware that unforeseen circumstances can always pop up. However we are both very determined and stubborn guys so when we say we will be in Wyoming by Thursday night that means we will most likely (barring the most extreme of unforeseen circumstances) be in Wyoming by Thursday night…even if U-Haul says to drive no faster than 55 miles per hour.

My plan is to keep my readers updated throughout this odyssey. An experience like this pretty much mandates that I document the literal and figurative twists and turns of the 2,700 mile journey. So, if whatever random roadside hotel we find ourselves in over the course of the next few nights happens to have internet service you can expect updates from the road. I am praying for safe travels and looking forward to a great time with my dad. Don’t Blink.

Game Plan for Meeting New People in Myrtle Beach: Tinder

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The first question I most often get when I tell people I am moving to Myrtle Beach: “Do you know anyone down there!?”

Well no, I don’t.

Many of my friends think I am crazy for going somewhere far across the country where I don’t know a soul. But to be honest, I have a tough time understanding their astonishment. I am a very independent person. I don’t get lonely and I don’t need people around me 24/7. I really enjoy my space.

With that said, I can’t wait to meet new people once I arrive in South Carolina. I have an extremely outgoing side of me that will help me make new friends and establish relationships. I plan to develop my new social circle by traditional means such as getting to know my neighbors, becoming very involved with the Coastal Carolina community, joining groups, finding a church, and making an effort to reach out to every person I come across with in the first couple months of my move. But I also look to employ a savvier way of introducing myself to others as well.

This past weekend my brother convinced me to re-download Tinder. Before I go on, let me in a sentence or two explain what Tinder is: Visualize an app that detects where you are geographically and then matches you with others who are in a given mile radius from where you are standing. Imagine that you can refine this search by selecting gender and an age range. If you like someone’s profile and they like yours, a line of communication is established by the app and a conversation begins…I give you Tinder!

Here is a look at my Tinder profile.

Here is a look at my Tinder profile.

Tinder came out to great fanfare and controversy about a year ago. The younger generation fell in love with it while the older generation decried it as nothing more than a modern day hooking up service. I don’t know if I count as the younger generation or the older generation so I feel like I have a neutral authority when saying that the former generation had it right.

When Tinder exploded a year ago I downloaded the app to try it out. However, due to great demand the service wouldn’t work properly so I deleted it and forgot about it. My brother who is glued to his iPhone 24/7 doing a hundred different things will “Tinder” frequently. He informed me that the bugs were worked out and that I should give it a second chance. Over the past few days I have enjoyed the ease of talking with new, interesting, and likeable people around the greater Spokane area. I quickly became amazed at how many people are on Tinder and how quick and efficient it is to connect with likeminded people. You aren’t BSing with deceptive creeps thousands miles away. Rather you are conversing with well-intentioned and honest folks living in your own community.

This is the screen that pops up when Tinder is looking for people in your area.

This is the screen that pops up when Tinder is looking for people in your area.

As some have labeled it, Tinder is NOT an accelerated online dating service for fulfilling desires. Rather it is a social network for getting to know people who live around your area who you most likely would never have else met. It is efficient, precise, and trustworthy. I am excited for the possibilities it could provide me in getting a great start in developing friendships in Myrtle Beach.

I will have to do a bit more research with the people I “like” on Tinder while in South Carolina. Because Myrtle Beach is a tourist destination hot spot I will no doubt come across countless profiles for folks visiting the area for an amazing vacation. While I do enjoy meeting people from all over the country I am more interested in establishing contacts with the people actually living in the area where I call home. Probably for the better though, it will just help me to be that much more selective when viewing profiles.

If you like to meet new people I recommend downloading Tinder. If you are living in a new area I recommend it that much more. Oh how I love technology! Don’t Blink.

Enjoying My Stint of Unemployment

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As I sit here in my parents’ newly remodeled living room I find myself in a rather interesting state: I am unemployed. Not since I was jobless during my freshman year of college have I felt the sting of unemployment. Please don’t feel sorry for me, I greatly over exaggerate. While I might technically be unemployed I am just between jobs and I am feeling no sting at all. With my last day at Grizzly Athletics on Wednesday and my first day at Coastal Carolina on May 1 I have a nice little window to recharge my batteries.

Of course a significant portion of that window will be devoted to making the trip across the country. But that journey to Myrtle Beach won’t start until next Wednesday. Until then I am enjoying precious days in Spokane with my family. Here are five quick things I am doing during my career transition down time:

Getting Ready to Move: Since I made the decision to take the job at Coastal Carolina I have tried to accomplish a few things each day pertinent to my relocation to prevent any sense of overload as the move date gets closer. I started early and got the major items such as housing, U-Haul, and packing taken care of. Now that I am at my parents’ house and completely free from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. I have started to do the smaller (yet important) things. In the last two days I have arranged for the delivery of my washer and dryer to my apartment complex, finalized my renter’s insurance, started to review the benefits package I will elect at CCU, taken my car in for inspection/oil change, shopped for new work clothes, looked into buying a new TV, and of course started to really acquaint myself with Coastal Carolina University (as much as I can anyway through electronic means).

I have enjoyed sitting on my parents' new furniture while working on my lap top and making calls.

I have enjoyed sitting on my parents’ new furniture while working on my lap top and making calls.

Pumping Iron With Dad: Once I hit the road for South Carolina I will not have the means to work out until after the cross country drive is completed and I am all settled. That means working out now is imperative to make sure I don’t develop into an out-of-shape slob before May 1 hits. This morning I went along with my dad to his gym to work out. It was cool…I got to see the place he goes each day to exercise, witness his workout regimen, and even have him spot me. Oh yeah, I also got to rise and shine early with him…at 3:45 a.m.! My dad starts his workout at Anytime Fitness at 4 a.m. each morning so I had an early wakeup call. No big deal, I have always loved mornings.

I worked out early this morning at Anytime Fitness in north Spokane.

I worked out early this morning at Anytime Fitness in north Spokane.

Enjoying the Easter Season: I am glad that I get to spend my favorite holiday with my family. I love Easter and I feel fortunate that this transition allows me to spend it in Spokane. Last night I enjoyed attending Holy Thursday mass in the church that I grew up attending, St. Thomas More, and I look forward to attending it again for Good Friday mass tonight and then of course on Easter Sunday for the biggest celebration of the liturgical year. I can’t wait for the Easter feast my mom will prepare and the very nice day we will all enjoy.

My sister and I during Easter 2010.

My sister and I during Easter 2010.

Time With the Bro: I will continue to covet the time I have with my best friend and brother, Glen. When I arrived on Wednesday night we attended trivia at a local wings joint and that was just the start of our plans. Besides doing some training for a race he has in two weeks, playing Nintendo 64, and partaking in some fun evenings I look forward to just hanging out with him around the house and negotiating the dates for the first time he comes and sees me in Myrtle Beach.

I am definitely spending a lot of time with my brother, Glen.

I am definitely spending a lot of time with my brother, Glen.

Enjoying My Mom’s Cooking: I am taking every opportunity to overindulge in everything my mom cooks from now until Wednesday. Up to this point I haven’t enjoyed her cooking since Christmas and after Wednesday I won’t get the opportunity to scarf it down until at least Thanksgiving so I am going a little nuts on what she will put in front of me at the dinner table. Let’s just say I ate a little more than my share of her gnocchi and Italian sausage dish she whipped up last night.

No one can match my mom's cooking!

No one can match my mom’s cooking!

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I would like to wish all my readers a very blessed Easter weekend. Enjoy this special time and I hope wherever you are you get to enjoy some decent weather. Don’t Blink.

How I Used Instagram to Choose My Home

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Moving across the country to start a new job will give any person a mile long checklist of things to do before the official start date. When I accepted a position at Coastal Carolina University last week I put one of the most important and stressful components of relocation at the top of that list: housing. For the past several days I have poured a lot of energy into finding a nice place in the beautiful Myrtle Beach area. I am happy to say that with about three weeks to spare I have found my new home.

I did not take this decision lightly. Knowing only that I would definitely be renting I looked at houses, condos, and apartments. Not enjoying the luxury of looking at properties in person definitely adds an additional component of mystery and stress to the search but luckily I was not alone. The head of University Communication at CCU put me in contact with one of his real estate friends to give me advice and guidance throughout the process.

As the smoke started to clear I settled on an area where I wanted to live and I had my eyes set on two apartment communities. I left no stone unturned as I researched both of them through every means at my disposal as I scrutinized websites, read every review ever published, interrogated the leasing agents, and of course consulted my real estate contact. With me still going back and forth on what community I wanted to live at I decided to institute a tiebreaker by going to one final source…social media!

As I looked through the photos on the Facebook page of one of the two complexes I was looking at I saw a flyer for an Instagram contest they conducted (that creativity won them extra points from me right on the spot). Tenants could enter the contest and possibly receive money off rent by taking a picture at the complex and using a certain hashtag. Of course right when I read it I opened up Instagram and searched the hashtag.

Several beautiful photos showing the complex’s pool, pristine landscaping, and apartment layout popped up. Here I was looking at photos actually taken by tenants living there! No doctored or enhanced professional photos taken by the complex to possibly fool me. Although the photos looked nice these Instagram users were obviously submitting the images because they wanted to win a contest. Of course they were going to try really hard to post pictures that looked aesthetically pleasing. Because the promotion ended months ago I knew I could reach out to these people and get an honest opinion on what they thought about living at their location.

I targeted four of the people who entered the contest, two males and two females, and I commented on the pictures that they submitted. Well, technically I didn’t “comment”….it was more like asking them to tell me everything they liked and disliked about living there. Within a couple hours I had long, detailed responses from all four, with one of them transitioning into a very helpful e-mail conversation. The reviews they gave me were glowing. Besides the e-mail conversation I entered in with one of the people, I also asked follow up questions on Instagram to the others. I got the information I needed and of course it made my decision a no-brainer.

I received some great reaction from Instagram users who took the time to answer my questions. Here are the initial responses I received.

I received some great reaction from Instagram users who took the time to answer my questions. Here are the initial responses I received.

By April 28 (pending an accepted application of course) I will be living at Alexan Withers Preserve, an apartment community in Myrtle Beach that is absolutely gorgeous, only five minutes from the beach, and just a mile from the vibrant city center. Although those are just facts that you can get from the website, it was the reaction I received via Instagram that won me over. When legit people who I contacted out of the blue described the complex as “the best I have ever lived in,” “luxurious,” “overall I would recommend Alexan ten times out of ten,” “brand new,”and “the crowd is great” it eased a lot of my fears and uncertainty.

An image of the apartment complex I will be living in. Thanks to the Alexan Withers Preserve Instagram account for the photo. (@alexanwithers)

An image of the apartment complex I will be living in. Thanks to the Alexan Withers Preserve Instagram account for the photo. (@alexanwithers)

Social media helps me in my life every single day in multiple ways. I find it fascinating that even a service such as Instagram that is more designed to showcase photos rather than serve as a way for people to talk and ask questions can yield fantastic results. Congrats to Alexan Withers Preserve. They designed a contest intended to engage and reward current tenants but it also brought them a new one. I can’t wait to live there. Don’t Blink.