A Stout is a Porter

James and I just returned from our vacation in Michigan with our families and friends. It was bittersweet--we hadn't seen my parents since Christmas and we hadn't been to Alpena in over a year. We were fortunate to see our friends for a night in Lansing. All throughout the trip, beer (micro-brew, o'course) was ever present. I had forgotten how available great beer was in Michigan. Little breweries, beloved by their locals, have blossomed all over the state. Florida, on the other hand, can add one more Schultzgrove disappointment to its list: good, local brew. What an opportunity lost! With all of the wonderful fruit and and different cultures, you'd think this state would be littered with tiny brew houses. Not so, in the Land of Budlight and Miller! Blasphemy in the Commercial Tanks of Carbonated Urine! I mean it really shouldn't be a surprise in a state that elected a criminal and has no bottle deposit (Seriously?!).

This made me miss the good ol' mitten state. Of course, I miss my family and the volume of their voices and laughs. Trash can dinner party, of course with the whole family in tow was our Friday night. Lots of talking, eating, laughing, and potentially awkward moments. Typical get-together at the Grove household.

I miss my quirky, amazing friends which has left me trying to find a geological medium for us to all live and be happy in. This is very hard when you've lived in year-round warm place and they want to live in a place with seasons. Um, while I have a strong dislike of the sunshine state in politics, general demeanor, and its lack of logic and empathy, I really can't knock the beautiful weather and NO SNOW. It's wonderful. But so are my blizzard-loving friends.

It was great seeing Alpena. There were so many people there! We got to see lots of friends we hadn't seen in over a year--unfortunately, time was very limited and we all were a little rushed. Nonetheless seeing them and spending those few moments with them was well worth the rush. The 4th of July fireworks were great--but not as good as Sarah's family's homemade shortcake, brownies and ICE CREAM! The Schultzes and Klimczaks had a wonderful dinner planned for us when we arrived.

All in all, good adventure home. Neville was upset with us for a little bit when we got him home from the kennel but he got over it really quick. This weekend has been quiet and relaxing. Kind of like the calm before the storm. In a little over a month I will start school again and I know its going to be hard. Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Health Management--the hard stuff. I take a little solace in knowing that it's only for two years and after I'm done we're outta here. And I'll have a Master's degree--which will hopefully lead me to something closer to what I love (which is a lot of different things but I've got lots of time to jump from interest to interest). Florida and my time here is just a little pit stop, I suppose.

Well, I guess I better get my beer in now because it looks like I won't have time to nurse a beer anytime soon.

Oh, and before I forget--I'm hopefully going to apply for a new job in Head Start in Nutrition. We'll see if it's still open tomorrow. :)

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10 Months

It has already been ten months since we loaded up all of our junk (including the ten boxes of christmas decorations) and road-tripped down here to Clearwater. I think we have adjusted fairly well coming from a place like Ann Arbor. We still don't think that the Tampa Bay area is the place we would like to spend the rest of our lives, but we are learning to make the mos

t of our time here. We both have the weekends off and try to get out as much as we can to see the sites. It's been a while since we've updated so I'll just post some quick stories on some happenings/places we've been and try to update a little more frequently from now on.

My New Job
I don't think I've mentioned it on the blog yet, but I now have a new part time job as an exercise physiologist at two pulmonary rehab facilities owned by BayCare. I'm still working at the gym, but my hours are now split between traveling down to St. Pete for the wellness center and up to Palm Harbor or Downtown Clearwater for to work at the rehabilitation centers. I enjoy not being in the same place all the time and the relatively unstressful environment at the rehab centers. Here is the view from the parking lot at the rehab center in Clearwater. Doesn't really do it justice, but it's an amazing view in person.

The longer we have lived at our current address, the more we realize what a crappy neighborhood it is; especially after going apartment shopping at some of the nicer complexes south of us in St. Pete. We decided that the most logistical place between our jobs and school would be northeast St. Petersburg and have been apartment hunting down there the past few weekends. We finally found a place in the gated community of "The Verandahs of Brighton Bay". Fortunately for us, they were running a special on rent and we managed to get a nice little place for 740 a month. This doesn't include any utilities, but we're willing to pay a little more to be in a safe area. The community has a pool, clubhouse, business center and is also gated.

Due to an error with the tenants living in the apartment that we signed for; we ended up getting a free upgrade to an 854 square foot, one bedroom place for the same rate. Here is the floorplan of the new place.

Just to give you an idea of the awesomeness of the area we currently live in. During the past two weeks we have had a someone who did a drive by shooting speed through our neighborhood and crash his car just north of us, leading the police on a massive man hunt. A women was killed one Saturday night in front of our apartment when the scooter she was riding was struck by a car. A few days later our downstairs neighbor AKA DJ Ginger Thug (He has red hair, likes to play his music too loudly and is also quite the thug) had his apartment robbed. I actually saw the guy going into his apartment but didn't really think anything of it since there are usually a few shady people hanging around from time to time because of him.

I was walking down our back stairway and this stocky black male with a shaved head, ran around the corner of the building and straight into the neighbors apartment. I even said hello to him. We found out later that the downstairs neighbor had lost his key and had been leaving his door unlocked. Interestingly, the guy who robbed him didn't check any of the other apartments, he ran around the corner and straight into the neighbors place as if he knew that the door was going to be unlocked. I'm almost positive that it was his drug dealer since the other neighbor had said that people were knocking on his door asking him to keep an eye on DJ Ginger Thug since he owed them money and we saw him buying drugs in the back parking lot before. Thug Life!

We also found out that our current apartment is infested with termites. We had been seeing these little flying ants all over the window sills and I just thought the recent change in weather had brought out the ant swarms. Our windows have small gaps that bugs can easily get into so although annoyed, I thought that they would most likely be gone in a few days and sucked them up with the vacuum only to keep finding more the next day. After a few days we had a note posted on our door that said our apartment complex had termites and I made the connection after googling images of termites and matching them to the flying "ants". The bug people came and did something to our apartment, not quite sure what, but we still seem to have these little wings scattered all over the place and will occasionally see a few termites banging on our curtains. The nerve! Needless to say, our move date of June 25th can't come soon enough.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by James |

Move & Grow

This will be the last weekend we spend here at NE Cleveland St. Next weekend we are moving the the other side of the peninsula towards Tampa Bay in a gated community. The apartment is wonderful and we're very excited about moving in. It'll be a little tricky because a lot is going on amidst our move; business trip to Washington D.C., going to Michigan, etc. Despite all of those stresses, my eye is still on how awesomely big the kitchen is in our new apartment.

Lately James and I have been talking a lot about food, farming, and nutrition. We've been watching "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" obsessively and contemplating getting a CSA (community shared agriculture) from a local urban farm called Sweetwater Organic farms. Tonight we watched a great documentary called "Ingredients" which highlighted the local farm movement and how it is one of the many ways we can save our planet and our health. While we might have to wait on buying a CSA until next year (it just wasn't in the budget this year) we still want to go volunteer and learn more about urban/sustainable farming at Sweetwater. I will admit that I've had to humble myself a little because it's been awhile since I've weeded a garden and more importantly--I don't know as much about farming as I thought I did. But because we're committed to eating better--nutritionally, environmentally, and socially--I'm willing to admit that even though I'm a farmer's daughter, I don't know everything about having a garden. Plus, we hope to meet crunchy, enthusiastic hippies like ourselves in the process! There's no better way to make friends than when dirt and sweat are involved, right?

The bigger picture here is what do we do with this information and passion? James and I have always had a deep connection to food and nutrition. One of the things that drew me to him was his skill and love of cooking. Our journey in becoming vegetarian has really been a positive force in not only our health but our relationship as well. We also love trying to make positive change for others and educating. We hear so many studies and statistics on the news about the obesity epidemic and childhood diabetes. It especially concerns me as a public health professional and James as an exercise physiologist. That's why we think that when the time is right, we would love to somehow get involved in changing how our food system works. We both feel very strongly about growing your own food and supporting local farmer's markets. It makes sense in many different ways; it prolongs the diverse tradition of farming and its connection to community, it allows for farmers to set their prices and control the quality of their crop, it gives the community access to better quality food and healthier options, it creates a sense of community, it educates children and families about where their food comes from, and it cuts down on the need for non-renewable energy like petroleum. How comforting is it knowing exactly where your food came from? Knowing the person who gave you the food took great pride and love into growing, tending, and delivering your food to you? We have such a unique and deep relationship with food; the taste, smell, memories, emotions, and preparation that is wrapped up in food culture is complex. I love knowing that the food I eat is directly helping someone maintain an income and furthering an ancient tradition like farming. There's a sense of investment--in our health here and later on, in our community, and in demanding that the structure of food quality and delivery be changed. My dollar is my vote for better food and that is empowering. I would encourage anyone reading this blog to invest just a little time in finding out when and where a local farmers' market is in your area.

We hope that someday we can have our own little plot of land (or maybe big plot) where we can take time to grow some delicious food. We've even considered having a bigger farm where we could sell our produce to a local restaurant and/or a farmer's market. There's been a push for more public and private schools to team up with local farms to feed and educate children on agriculture and food. I laugh a little writing this because I remember growing up thinking "I'll never be a farmer--it just doesn't seem that interesting." While I don't think I'll be the farmer my father is, I can still take a lot from his experience and potentially make it my own. It's funny to think my family has been doing this for years (growing food for themselves and selling their crops) and yet it seems like such a new concept. For now, I can only volunteer and start a small herb garden in my apartment. That's okay though--we all have to start somewhere.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Unknown |

Nothing But the Wind

I was talking with a member of the fitness club I work at last Monday, about how I wish the week would just get over so the weekend would come. His 60+ years of wisdom for me, "You should just be happy you wake up the next morning." To a certain extent I agree with this statement, but I really do look forward to the weekend and I don't think anyones opinion will sway my own.

During the week I am a corporate slave, smiling at people as they hustle into the gym with their neatly pressed shirts over one shoulder and their duffel bags in the other. They hop on the treadmills, the ellipticals and weight machines, grunting and moaning as stacks of weight are lifted six inches into the air and slammed back down again. I make small talk about the weather, clean the machines and wander about the facility looking thrilled to be there Monday-Friday. I may enjoy parts of my job, but it's still a job. I'm there to service people and my creative freedom to do, say and act as I please is lost during this time. This is why I look forward to my weekends.

This morning, Linsey and I woke up at 7:30, brewed some freshly ground coffee and ate egg sandwiches while watching yesterdays episode of the Daily Show. We decided that we wanted to go check out Honeymoon Island today (a state park about ten or so miles north of us) and thought it would be even cooler if we jogged around the nature trails on it. It's not a huge island, maybe a half mile wide and roughly two-three miles long. It sticks out into the Gulf of Mexico and many of our friends have said that it's pretty nice place. I had actually found it quite a few months ago while I was out biking but didn't want to fork over the two dollars to ride the short two miles of paved roads on the island. After breakfast we lathered on the sunscreen and drove the PT up to the island. The sunscreen was probably not needed since it was actually a cloudy day, quite rare here. The trail seemed very well kept and went thru a few open fields and some thickly wooded Florida vegetation. Here are a few pictures we took along the way.

The pictures don't do it much justice (taken with my phone) but the jog around the island was awesome. This was the first time since we've moved to Florida that we have experienced extreme peacefulness. We didn't hear cars driving by honking, sirens blaring in the distance, or a number of the other sounds you typically hear in the city. Nothing but the wind blowing, the trees rustling and the quiet slap of the surf on the edge of the beach. We both agreed that this is what we had imagined Florida to be like, not the strip mall capital of the world. It's sad that such a gorgeous place is so civilized.

After our run we decide to drive down to the beach area of the island and take a short walk. The beach was crowded with people, but the lack of buildings and city noises seemed to make it a much more peaceful place. We walked down the southern edge of the island where the humans were scantily occupying the beach side and found a huge collection of shells. The shells here were much larger and more common then on the beaches of Clearwater. I imagine it's mostly locals who come here all the time and they have most likely already gotten their fill of sea shells. Here's a picture of our stash.

After the beach walk, we went home, ate lunch, cleaned the house and played video games for an hour, deciding during this time that we wanted to travel up to Tarpon Springs to eat dinner. Tarpon Springs is an interesting little city. There is a very large Greek population there and it is also the self proclaimed "sponge" capital of the world. There are literally dozens of small shops along the waterfront that sell sea sponges. Sailors travel out into the ocean waters and dive down to collect these sponges, which they bring back to sell in the small shops of Tarpon. There just happened to be a festival of sorts going on when we visited today. Sponges everywhere. I saw this guy on the side of a building and decided he was a photoworthy representation of Tarpon.

While walking along the docks, we found a small stand where a man was rolling cigars. He turned out to be a very nice guy named Don Esteban. He has been rolling cigars for over twenty years, fifteen in Cuba and five since his beginnings here in the US. He sold me four cigars worth 6-8 a piece for $15. Not a bad deal at all!

We had planned on eating at a place called Mama Marcia's but instead found a place closer to the docks called Costas Restaurant. The food was decent, maybe not the best Greek I've had, but they gave us lots of it. The service wasn't much to brag about. A few times we heard someone yelling angrily in the kitchen and we had to hunt down our server after waiting quite awhile for boxes and our check. We had a good day though so this wasn't very upsetting. We arrived home about 7:45pm and I decided to try one of the cigars. It was only my second cigar since moving down here and I was curious to see how it tasted. Linsey and I brought two chairs down to our back yard/parking lot and spent the next hour sitting under our huge tree talking and puffing away at our freshly made cigar. It was great. I hope Sunday is just as much fun!

Read More 0 comments | Posted by James |

Break in the Clouds

So I am sure that you all (whoever reads this blog) have figured out by my melodramatic posts that life has been pretty rough since September. For the first time in my life I have experienced depression. I know this because I normally rebound from the blues quite quickly but this feeling of hopelessness, empty, and sad has been a constant rain cloud hovering above my head. Most of this feeling stems from the mentally destructive job James and I have been working.

This job has required us to serve and care for those who are not necessarily grateful, for those who do not understand how our care is good for them, and those who engage in destructive activities like substance abuse, alcoholism, and risky behaviors. They are not easy to work with, let alone understand. In these last couple of weeks, I have actually felt chronic anxiety--and only when I go to work. I feel anxious about being yelled at, harassed, belittled and then having no support from the administration I work for. I thought to myself, "I have to get out of here, or I will end up taking the same anxiety medicines the clients take."

No more. The universe has decided to unleash good karma unto me and now I have a job at the Pinellas County Head Start. Yes, a NEW job. A job that pays more, appreciates my degree, and allows me to have my own office to hang that shiny new degree in. It almost feels like a rags to riches sort of story, but experience tells me to not get too geeked up about it. I know there will be trying times, frustrating moments, and conflicts. However, I will not have to pass meds again, endure being called "a fucking bitch" frequently, or have a client tell me that if they don't get the meds they want, they'll lose their temper (all within 3 inches of my face). So bring it on. I can take it. And I will handle it without batting an eyelash because I've dealt with SO MUCH WORSE.

I finally feel that my degree is paying off and that I just might be a little bit of an adult. A professional one, at that. Go figure. I have a really good feeling about this job and feel compelled to tell you ALL ABOUT IT. Please don't hate me for it:

-If you want to know how much it pays, call me. Somehow I don't feel comfortable putting it here in the blog (but it's ALOT more than what I am paid now)

-Head Start is a federally funded program that exists all over the country, so when James and I move, I would have a pretty good chance of applying to one wherever we go

-Did I mention I get my own office? There's definitely going to be a picture of Neville there because he is my cat-child.

-I will be doing health education and health screenings for the Early Head Start program (expecting mothers, infants, and toddlers). This means I will be making sure they are up-to-date on immunizations, doctor's appointments, and other health tests, teaching mothers and toddlers about health issues like baby bottle tooth decay, eating better, and health living, and helping them get the health services they need to ensure their children are prepared for head start and beyond.

-Somehow, my Public Health Education B.S. with a concentration in Family Studies PERFECTLY fit this job description. I turned in my application (for another job) on a Friday, had a phone call by Tuesday, interviewed Thursday, and was offered the job on Friday. Pretty cool.

-6 weeks vacation per year (plus holidays). After 90 days - PAID vacation. :)

-Contract position until September, but there's a high probability it will either be extended or made into a full time position. If not, they'll find a job for me or I'll just go back to school and figure it out. (I'm going back to school regardless).

-If I go through their driver's training class, I can roll around in their vans or Priuses. Yes.

I'm really not trying to brag, but I am just so happy because my former job was THE WORST. Okay, not the Worst Job in the World, but for me, it was not healthy. I mean I haven't worked out regularly or at all, really, since we started there. James and I have been eating bad stuff and I've just felt like a lump of flesh. I just haven't been me. However, I feel so hopeful, alive, and ready to make things better for us. My new goal is to find James a kick-ass job.

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Unknown |

Foggy Days and Two Hour Delays

Tonight, a dense fog settled in as I got ready to clock out of my job. The night was still, dark, and full of water vapor; much like my mind has been since landing here in the Sunshine State.

Life has been chaotic, unorganized, and yet so empty. It's clear that we don't like our jobs; I think that's the source of our predicament. I have a degree that I love so very dearly, that I am proud to say when others ask, but one that doesn't seem to make the cut when it comes to public health jobs. Because it's not a master's, because I'm young, because I don't have any experience, because the economy's bad, because there's not enough funding. I feel like I'm standing in a crowded room where there's hundreds of doors waiting for me to open but everyone else has a key. If anything, it has reinforced my need to get a master's degree, but has severely hurt my self-confidence in being worthy of a job in public health.

And there are very little of those jobs to apply for. I get sick of relying on organizations, the government, businesses to have a position open, to even call for an interview, and even remotely consider giving me a job. I want to just apply for my own grant and make a job for myself, doing what I want. [that's not such a bad idea]

So I have resorted to being creative in supporting myself (outside of working a 40 hour a week job). I have a side job doing graphic design (it fulfills my need to feel artsy and hip while paying me a little extra to pay bills). I want to finish this children's book and be able to have a beautiful piece of me to share with the world. I've been feeling this urge lately to reconnect with my artsy creative side and use that to support us and to bring back the Linsey I seem to have lost in the fog of living in a place I dislike.

I feel depressed, lost, and slightly hopeless. I apply for jobs, half kidding myself because they never seem to call me back. I am sick of tending to the ungrateful, not being able to dress up for fear of a completely inappropriate comment, and shutting myself off emotionally at work in order to tolerate the clients. I have always been passionate about my job and that connects with my emotions, my love, my yearning to feel purpose. This job ain't cuttin' it.

My hope isn't completely gone. Deep down I know this is just a test. I'm either going to tough it out or I'm going to create some wings and fly myself out of this situation. Sometimes I wonder if I have just been really spoiled with the jobs I've had and the opportunities I've been given. Okay--I have. So maybe this is Life's test if I'm worthy for more good luck and fortune. But really, I'm a believer in making your own fortune. This situation has really started to change the way I think about employment. It's made me realize how much of my self-worth I attach to my job and how unhealthy that is. I'm tenacious, smart, creative, loving, and damn it, I'm worth it! I can't let a job mess that up. Especially one that already undervalues me.

It's also made me realize that maybe it's time I stop relying on having a job provided for me. Meaning, how about creating something for myself that utilizes my unique talents and skills. Like be an entrepreneur but employing myself. That probably doesn't make sense but in my head it sounded good [story of my life]. I'm ready to do something different, to take the path less traveled, and just let my freak flag fly [kind of]. I want to be artsy and smart and I want that to translate into a job I love. I think I'm too much of an idealist.

But I want to be happy...with my James and my Neville.

I want to feel like me again.

Not this person who wakes up without a plan, without color.

This isn't me.

I'm ready to do something different--and I think I'll start with getting a good night sleep.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Unknown |

William (aka Billy) Elmore

Upon meeting someone new, my first instinct is to offer my hand for a firm handshake and maybe give a polite greeting such as; Nice to meet you! or Hi, how are you? I would then move onto all the usual pleasantries; Where are you from? What do you do for a living? That's some crazy weather we've been having lately, isn't it?

None of these predetermined pleasantries were followed when I met Mr. William (aka Billy) Elmor.

I was just returning from the gym about 2 miles from our apartment where I decided to go for a run. It was 42 degrees outside and for someone who is all too quickly becoming adjusted to the Floridian weather...It was just too damn cold to run outside. The trip home takes me through downtown Clearwater, which happens to be where I met Billy. It's not everyday that I see someone so interesting that it makes me pull my car over to the side of the road and walk out in front of traffic to meet them.

No, Billy wasn't selling ice cream or giving away free pizza coupons; something I would totally run out into traffic for any day. Billy was lying on his back in the middle of the busy road trying to stand himself up. Try as he may, he wasn't doing a very good job. Instead of rolling to his side, getting into the crawling position and eventually standing up as I believe most people would, Billy apparently thought he had magical strings attached to his upper body. Numerous times he tried to get up by violently thrusting his upper body towards the sky almost as if he believed the magical strings would eventually pull him the rest of the way if tried hard enough. Unfortunately he was wearing a shabby, torn backpack that seemed to be filled with heavy objects and every time he would thrust himself into the air, he would fall back and seesaw over it coming millimeters from hitting his head on the pavement.

When I arrived, another man had reached him moments before and together we grabbed Billy by the arms and dragged him to the edge of the sidewalk out of the traffic which was still flowing dangerously close to him. On first inspection after we set him down, I thought he had been hit by a car. His right hand was torn apart and bloody, there were dark blood stains contrasting his thin faded black jacket and his bottom lip was split open and somewhat swollen. He was surely a homeless man by the condition of his clothing/hygiene and the packs of belongings that he was also carrying. I asked him what had happened and he replied in a very matter of fact tone (as if he hadn't just been flopping around in the middle of the road like the weird uncle that can't dance but always does the fish at family weddings) "It's an equilibrium thing. You people wouldn't understand, I got a problem with my inner ear!"

I then asked him his name and he gazed at me for a few seconds as if he didn't trust me and then cautiously said, "Billy." He then repeated his inner ear statement and offered to shake the other mans hand. The other man said, "I don't want to offend you, but your covered in blood." Billy was silent for a few moments and then looked at me and said, "Who are you?" with an overly inquisitive look on his face. I told him my name and about that time he decided to try and get up again. He attempted his awkward thrusting again and finally managed to get himself off the ground.

Standing but very wobbly, he started to walk away just as a police car pulled up. (A women had stopped and called 911 while me and the other man were helping Billy off the street.) The officer walked up to Billy and said, "Let me guess, William Elmore?" Billy hesitated again for a few moments, obviously contemplating whether he should deny knowing who this William Elmore person is. Billy finally reached a decision, broke into a huge grin and said, "Yup, that's me."

The officer asked him if he had been drinking again and at this point I made my escape back to the car.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by James |

The Schultzgroves

About

Hey! We're the Schultzgroves and we're just beginning our journey. It started in Mount Pleasant when we met as undergrads. We're now completing our internships (and undergrad degrees) in Ann Arbor and moving to Tampa, FL in the fall. This is our story.

Who we are.

A Stout is a Porter

10 Months

Move & Grow

Nothing But the Wind

Break in the Clouds

Foggy Days and Two Hour Delays

William (aka Billy) Elmore

The Schultzgroves

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