Hello to all!
Well...we finally made it to Chicago! We were sore for a few days, but we're finally getting settled in and really liking it here. Everything is a walk away - even the grocery store! What more could you ask for?
BUT this past weekend was a living nightmare, as I'm sure my parents can attest to :O)
First of all, getting into the city took 2 hours - normally it takes 1...so our total trip time was 7 hours. Then getting through the tiny roads with such a huge Uhaul was tough, too. Thank goodness dad was driving ;o) At one point I was outside of the truck running along to make sure we could get through without hitting any cars.
THEN...we had to go down an alley to park/unload the truck - and people were actually HONKING at us to move. HA! I'm not sure where they think we could go!
THEN there were these dudes yelling out the back of their place at Shosta in the cab of the truck and throwing things at her - so I got nasty with them and they shut up.
THEN we had to take the truck back before the store closed, so we got everything out of the bed and left it in the yard.
THEN we took the truck to the location given us by Uhaul and they said that they couldn't take it - but then they decided to keep it. There was no way we were going to get that thing backed out on a busy street anyways, so they would have had to take whether or not they wanted it! THEN we came back and had some moving people move the last of the furniture into the place (which was very difficult to do) - they had to take off the front door to get our couch in (which they tore) - BUT, at least we got it in. We thought we were going to have to trash it and buy a new one!
THEN we finally got to rest. Yeah...that was a long day. I thank the Lord that my parents we here to help and are more in shape than I am - they are like the Energizer bunny X 2!
It's been a rough week with utilities, too. Our phone line needed fixed and we've had so many problems with cable and our broadband, it's ridiculous. BUT, it's ALL fixed now ;o) (We hope ;o)
We've also had some problems with our apartment, but the landlords came over tonight and are really quick to take care of any issues. AND, they are going to let us use a window unit air conditioner that they have in storage for our bedroom! HOW AWESOME! It's been pretty rough adjusting to the lack of AC and 90 degree weather, so this will be a big help. It's nice to have them living next door ;o)
SO...tonight, after resolving most of our problems, we're actually feeling pretty good! We are really looking forward to enjoying Chicago finally ;o) We'll be visiting IKEA tomorrow and "The Taste of Chicago" on Friday! Woohoo!
Take care!
PS-sorry for all of the complaining - just thought you would get a chuckle hearing all the joys of big-city living. HAHA...I just did ;o)
PSS - And our little diggle is doin' good, too! There was barely an adjustment period (thank heavens) and she's been VERY well behaved with the various technicians and our landlords in the house. She really enjoys big city walking - climbing the steps of every house we pass ;o)
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Last one for a little while...
This is my final post from Columbus!
It's hard to believe - time has flown by and now we're packing up and leaving for Chicago tomorrow! The plan is to spend the night at my parents tomorrow night then head out early in the morning on Saturday. Bad thing is that I'm already worn out and we still have 2 BIG moving days ahead of us! Let's hope we don't have to move again for a couple more years because I'm getting too old for this ;o) (I know - half of you are probably saying "Old? Yeah right...")
Special thanks to mom for helping out the past two days. She's a super-cleaner/organizer. I'm retarded when it comes to packing ;o)
So...since it's past midnight, I'm logging off and getting a good night's sleep - I'll need it.
Chances are, I won't be posting again until next week sometime. I'm not really sure when we'll have our cable internet up and running...but as soon as we do, I'll be sure to post with pictures of the new place!
Take care!
It's hard to believe - time has flown by and now we're packing up and leaving for Chicago tomorrow! The plan is to spend the night at my parents tomorrow night then head out early in the morning on Saturday. Bad thing is that I'm already worn out and we still have 2 BIG moving days ahead of us! Let's hope we don't have to move again for a couple more years because I'm getting too old for this ;o) (I know - half of you are probably saying "Old? Yeah right...")
Special thanks to mom for helping out the past two days. She's a super-cleaner/organizer. I'm retarded when it comes to packing ;o)
So...since it's past midnight, I'm logging off and getting a good night's sleep - I'll need it.
Chances are, I won't be posting again until next week sometime. I'm not really sure when we'll have our cable internet up and running...but as soon as we do, I'll be sure to post with pictures of the new place!
Take care!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Concerts and a busy week!
Howdy!
Well, all of our concerts with The National are over :o(
Friday's concert in Cincinnati was pretty packed, as it's their home town and they had TONS of family and friends there. What was great about the concert was that they played a VERY long set and a lot of their older tunes. What was awful was the crowd. There were some pretty rude dudes who stood right in front of me - so we moved. But it seemed that everywhere I stood, someone would come right in front of me! I guess it's no surprise to anyone that I have problems seeing at concerts - thanks to my mother's lack of height, I'm doomed to see the band as floating heads, if I see them at all.
The drive home was also pretty awful - we were both very tired, so our eyes had some problems staying open! Kurt started out, but I ended up driving most of the way. And, since I'm an amblyope, my eyes have issues staying straight when I'm really tired. I swear I was driving home cross eyed!
SO...due to the floating head affects that I do NOT enjoy at concerts, Kurt and I decided to get to the concert on Saturday (here in Columbus-our last one...sniff sniff) earlier so that we could get a spot down front. Luckily, we did. We had to stand through 1 good opening act (Talkdemonic - a nifty violin and drums duet), and 1 HORRIBLE opening act. Follow my advice - do not buy any albums by "Shapes and Sizes" - they really aren't very good.
But it was ALL worth it - being right up front with the singer and guitarists 3 feet away was pretty gosh darn amazing. They played a shorter set Saturday night, but they still closed with one my favorite songs - About Today. It's about the ending of a relationship - the lyrics for this tune are pretty sparse, but they paint a great, albeit depressing, story.
And, of course, there is always something to complain about at a concert ;o) Don't get me wrong - I LIVE to go to concerts. But there's always something...
Saturday night's joie de nuit was a bunch of frat boys. Smelly-like-rotten-socks frat boys. Now, let's get this straight right away, The National's music is pretty mature, not conducive to moshing. But apparently they disagree with that statement because they were slamming their stinky, sweaty, smelly-like-rotten-socks bodies into Kurt all night. Yay.
We had a tickets to go to tonight's concert in Cleveland but decided that getting back at 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning on a week night probably wasn't a good idea...especially since we have a lot to do this week.
Speaking of a lot to do...it's hard to believe that on Friday, we're moving out and Saturday we'll be moving to Chicago! It's been easy to say "Oh, we'll have time to do that before we leave, we've got a couple of months." Then it turned into 6 weeks, then 4 weeks, then 2, now it's only 4 days away! Yipee!
We are SOOOOOOO excited to get the move finished. We looked into having movers take care of everything, but it was (Yikes) $2500.00 - $3200.00 dollars. NO WAY!
So, my parents (God bless them) are going to help us!
What's really great is that Kurt is taking the week after the move off. We'll be able to take our time unpacking and get to know the city better. We'll probably do some sight seeing and scope out all the good restaurants!
Well...I should get going. I need to hit the hay so I can get up bright and early and get to work!
Take care!
Well, all of our concerts with The National are over :o(
Friday's concert in Cincinnati was pretty packed, as it's their home town and they had TONS of family and friends there. What was great about the concert was that they played a VERY long set and a lot of their older tunes. What was awful was the crowd. There were some pretty rude dudes who stood right in front of me - so we moved. But it seemed that everywhere I stood, someone would come right in front of me! I guess it's no surprise to anyone that I have problems seeing at concerts - thanks to my mother's lack of height, I'm doomed to see the band as floating heads, if I see them at all.
The drive home was also pretty awful - we were both very tired, so our eyes had some problems staying open! Kurt started out, but I ended up driving most of the way. And, since I'm an amblyope, my eyes have issues staying straight when I'm really tired. I swear I was driving home cross eyed!
SO...due to the floating head affects that I do NOT enjoy at concerts, Kurt and I decided to get to the concert on Saturday (here in Columbus-our last one...sniff sniff) earlier so that we could get a spot down front. Luckily, we did. We had to stand through 1 good opening act (Talkdemonic - a nifty violin and drums duet), and 1 HORRIBLE opening act. Follow my advice - do not buy any albums by "Shapes and Sizes" - they really aren't very good.
But it was ALL worth it - being right up front with the singer and guitarists 3 feet away was pretty gosh darn amazing. They played a shorter set Saturday night, but they still closed with one my favorite songs - About Today. It's about the ending of a relationship - the lyrics for this tune are pretty sparse, but they paint a great, albeit depressing, story.
And, of course, there is always something to complain about at a concert ;o) Don't get me wrong - I LIVE to go to concerts. But there's always something...
Saturday night's joie de nuit was a bunch of frat boys. Smelly-like-rotten-socks frat boys. Now, let's get this straight right away, The National's music is pretty mature, not conducive to moshing. But apparently they disagree with that statement because they were slamming their stinky, sweaty, smelly-like-rotten-socks bodies into Kurt all night. Yay.
We had a tickets to go to tonight's concert in Cleveland but decided that getting back at 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning on a week night probably wasn't a good idea...especially since we have a lot to do this week.
Speaking of a lot to do...it's hard to believe that on Friday, we're moving out and Saturday we'll be moving to Chicago! It's been easy to say "Oh, we'll have time to do that before we leave, we've got a couple of months." Then it turned into 6 weeks, then 4 weeks, then 2, now it's only 4 days away! Yipee!
We are SOOOOOOO excited to get the move finished. We looked into having movers take care of everything, but it was (Yikes) $2500.00 - $3200.00 dollars. NO WAY!
So, my parents (God bless them) are going to help us!
What's really great is that Kurt is taking the week after the move off. We'll be able to take our time unpacking and get to know the city better. We'll probably do some sight seeing and scope out all the good restaurants!
Well...I should get going. I need to hit the hay so I can get up bright and early and get to work!
Take care!
Friday, June 15, 2007
8 days!
8 Days and counting until the BIG MOVE!
We can't wait to be in Chicago!!!!!!!!!!! :O)
But, we're also pretty excited about this weekend, too! One of our favorite bands - The National (see side bar -clips from youtube) - is taking a tour of the 3 C's of Ohio - Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland - while on a nationwide tour. Kurt and I have been in severe "National" withdraw. The last time we saw them in concert was at the Pitchfork Music Festival last July...and that was only a short set. TOO long without one of our fav. bands!!!!!!
SO we splurged and, as an anniversary gift to ourselves, we got tickets to all 3 concerts! One thing nice about liking "indie" bands is that concert tickets are cheap! I think the most we paid was 15 a ticket at the Cleveland show. That's way better than the 80 or 90 we paid for Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the embarrassing amount we paid for Lollapalooza tickets (but it's 3 days and 130 bands - AND it's possibly my future career - that's how I justify it ;o).
Our first concert is tonight in Cincinnati, then C-bus tomorrow, and Cleveland on Monday. Happy anniversary to us ;o)
I should probably sign off now...I was thinking of sorting through some stuff before we leave tonight. I didn't get anything done today...Shosta had her annual traumatic event - going to the vet!
Take care to everyone! I'll TRY to post a few times before we make the big move. If not, I'll see ya on the other side!
We can't wait to be in Chicago!!!!!!!!!!! :O)
But, we're also pretty excited about this weekend, too! One of our favorite bands - The National (see side bar -clips from youtube) - is taking a tour of the 3 C's of Ohio - Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland - while on a nationwide tour. Kurt and I have been in severe "National" withdraw. The last time we saw them in concert was at the Pitchfork Music Festival last July...and that was only a short set. TOO long without one of our fav. bands!!!!!!
SO we splurged and, as an anniversary gift to ourselves, we got tickets to all 3 concerts! One thing nice about liking "indie" bands is that concert tickets are cheap! I think the most we paid was 15 a ticket at the Cleveland show. That's way better than the 80 or 90 we paid for Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the embarrassing amount we paid for Lollapalooza tickets (but it's 3 days and 130 bands - AND it's possibly my future career - that's how I justify it ;o).
Our first concert is tonight in Cincinnati, then C-bus tomorrow, and Cleveland on Monday. Happy anniversary to us ;o)
I should probably sign off now...I was thinking of sorting through some stuff before we leave tonight. I didn't get anything done today...Shosta had her annual traumatic event - going to the vet!
Take care to everyone! I'll TRY to post a few times before we make the big move. If not, I'll see ya on the other side!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Congrats X 3!
Congrats X 3!!!!
First of all, congrats to my hubby, Kurt! He got two GREAT offers for a new job in Chicago and he decided to go with "Job #1". It will be a great opportunity for him and he will be learning SOOOO much! We were just discussing his salary the other night - it will be 55% more than what he makes here, and there's the potential to double that in just a few years. CRAZY! He's really excited, and as can be expected, pretty nervous. BUT, they said some pretty great things about him - they have been searching for someone for 5 months (and have interviewed 25 candidates) and that he's the first one that they have offered the job to! And they recruit the same people that Microsoft and Google go after. WOW!
Congrats #2 goes out to my friend Sean and his wife Abbey on the birth of their 3rd child - a baby girl named Rosalie at 8lb. 14oz.! Woohoo!!! They now have a VERY full house ;o)
Congrats #3 goes to Kurt and me! Happy 3rd anniversary to us! My how time flies! It doesn't really seem like 3 years...but it is! In honor of our special day, we'll be eating fillet mignon at Hyde Park tonight! YUM!
OK...I suppose I should get back to packing...sigh. Only 10 days until we move. In this case, time is flying TOO fast!
First of all, congrats to my hubby, Kurt! He got two GREAT offers for a new job in Chicago and he decided to go with "Job #1". It will be a great opportunity for him and he will be learning SOOOO much! We were just discussing his salary the other night - it will be 55% more than what he makes here, and there's the potential to double that in just a few years. CRAZY! He's really excited, and as can be expected, pretty nervous. BUT, they said some pretty great things about him - they have been searching for someone for 5 months (and have interviewed 25 candidates) and that he's the first one that they have offered the job to! And they recruit the same people that Microsoft and Google go after. WOW!
Congrats #2 goes out to my friend Sean and his wife Abbey on the birth of their 3rd child - a baby girl named Rosalie at 8lb. 14oz.! Woohoo!!! They now have a VERY full house ;o)
Congrats #3 goes to Kurt and me! Happy 3rd anniversary to us! My how time flies! It doesn't really seem like 3 years...but it is! In honor of our special day, we'll be eating fillet mignon at Hyde Park tonight! YUM!
OK...I suppose I should get back to packing...sigh. Only 10 days until we move. In this case, time is flying TOO fast!
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Update and The "list"...
Update on Job #2...
He got another offer today! They were aware of all of the specifics of his last offer, so they were able to offer even more! Decisions, Decisions - I don't know how he will decide! But I can imagine it's pretty nice to have people competing over you ;o) Congrats again to my smartie of a hubby! Of all the deserving people, he's the most deserving - he never thinks he's smart enough to get the jobs...but he always does! Such a humble guy. Since he doesn't brag for himself, I'll do the bragging for him ;o)
We're going out to celebrate all of his offers tonight at a great restaurant we love called "The Rossi." They have this amazing chicken dish where they put wild mushrooms right below the skin and roast it. It comes with fingerling potatoes, multi-colored green beans, and two different coulis. And they make the BEST Yukon Gold French Fries with a lemon-garlic aioli. I'm getting hungry already ;o)
So...we've made a mental list of places we're planning to eat at before we leave. Because, with us, food is life! (Of course, it comes second to music or a good concert ;o)
We knocked two off this past weekend - we went to our favorite "Der Dutchman" - they have the best mac and cheese and chicken noodles and any other "Amish" food you can think of.
Then, Saturday night we went to a fancy new restaurant in town called "Rosendales." It's THE place to be, from what I've read. BUT, we found the food to be uber-pretentious, the environment loud and cold (literally), and the wait staff a bit snooty. I had a short-rib appetizer (which was mediocre) and a very good pear and endive salad. Kurt had some mix of seafood, which he said was good, but not worth the price.
HA - we ended up getting stuck next to some overly chatty and VERY loud, slightly tipsy women. Not a pleasant experience, considering we heard everything about her wedding (which happened too many years ago for anyone to care) and how her husband loves hotels. THEN, her husband came. Let's just say they were two of a kind and leave it at that.
But, we've got a few more places to scratch off the list before we leave - we better get going. Only 16 more days until we move!
We're going to Hyde Park next Tuesday for our 3rd anniversary, so that's another one off of the list.
OK...I'm sure absolutely no one cares about my rantings or food list...so I'm going to sign off.
He got another offer today! They were aware of all of the specifics of his last offer, so they were able to offer even more! Decisions, Decisions - I don't know how he will decide! But I can imagine it's pretty nice to have people competing over you ;o) Congrats again to my smartie of a hubby! Of all the deserving people, he's the most deserving - he never thinks he's smart enough to get the jobs...but he always does! Such a humble guy. Since he doesn't brag for himself, I'll do the bragging for him ;o)
We're going out to celebrate all of his offers tonight at a great restaurant we love called "The Rossi." They have this amazing chicken dish where they put wild mushrooms right below the skin and roast it. It comes with fingerling potatoes, multi-colored green beans, and two different coulis. And they make the BEST Yukon Gold French Fries with a lemon-garlic aioli. I'm getting hungry already ;o)
So...we've made a mental list of places we're planning to eat at before we leave. Because, with us, food is life! (Of course, it comes second to music or a good concert ;o)
We knocked two off this past weekend - we went to our favorite "Der Dutchman" - they have the best mac and cheese and chicken noodles and any other "Amish" food you can think of.
Then, Saturday night we went to a fancy new restaurant in town called "Rosendales." It's THE place to be, from what I've read. BUT, we found the food to be uber-pretentious, the environment loud and cold (literally), and the wait staff a bit snooty. I had a short-rib appetizer (which was mediocre) and a very good pear and endive salad. Kurt had some mix of seafood, which he said was good, but not worth the price.
HA - we ended up getting stuck next to some overly chatty and VERY loud, slightly tipsy women. Not a pleasant experience, considering we heard everything about her wedding (which happened too many years ago for anyone to care) and how her husband loves hotels. THEN, her husband came. Let's just say they were two of a kind and leave it at that.
But, we've got a few more places to scratch off the list before we leave - we better get going. Only 16 more days until we move!
We're going to Hyde Park next Tuesday for our 3rd anniversary, so that's another one off of the list.
OK...I'm sure absolutely no one cares about my rantings or food list...so I'm going to sign off.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Long weekend...but a good one!
'Ello.
We just CAN'T seem to stay away from Chicago ;o) We made another trip this past Thursday-Saturday for Kurt to interview at several businesses. That's the 3rd time in the month of May! Every other weekend...sigh. And what made it crazier this weekend was the lack of sleep ;o) We left Thursday after work and didn't get to our hotel until 1am Friday morning. THEN, we left Chicago to come home Friday night at 10:30pm. We didn't end up getting home until 5am Saturday morning.
Needless to say, our sleep STILL isn't back to normal.
BUT, Kurt had two great interviews and walked away with one job offer already and hopefully another to come in the next few days.
The offer he got on Friday was really REALLY good - it will be a stressful job managing software and databases in the stock trading industry, but the environment sounds great, the financial opportunity is pretty amazing, and it will help him to grow even more. AND, they typically hire M.I.T. or Berkley grads (the two most prestigious comp. science schools), which says a lot about Kurt ;o) Congrats to my hubby!
So, while Kurt was getting grilled in the tech. interviews, I had a nice time exploring the Magnificent Mile. I visited the great Museum of Contemporary Art (#1) and walked down Michigan. I had lunch at The Grand Lux Cafe (#2), which was superb. Then I rode the train a bit and visited the main branch of the Chicago Public Library.
So...when we got back Saturday morning at 5am, we went right to bed and slept until 11:00. Got up, went to eat and do some shopping, then came back and took a nap (like a bunch of old farts, we are ;o). We were so beat, and we wanted to get sleep for Saturday night.
Saturday night was our last "Gallery Hop" in the Short North (the arts district of Columbus). We're very sad :o( It's a great event the first Saturday of the Month where all of the stores and galleries in the Short North stay open until11pm and have their exhibit openings. We had a great time (even though we were pretty tired) walking around. AND we got to see the new lights on the arches! Long time coming...
And finally, last night, we went to a great concert at Little Brother's. Unfortunately, this fabulous club is closing due to a huge hike in their rent (stupid landlords). SO, the GREATEST club in Central Ohio is no more at the end of the month. Sniff Sniff. We got to see Miranda Sound (great local band) AND it was free because they were recording a live album. Very cool.
OK...that's enough for tonight. We have to get some dinner, pick up my new glasses (woohoo) and then I have to practice piano. I'm playing for Kindergarten graduation tomorrow!
Oh...my last day of school was today. Good day, lots of hugs from little kids ;o)
Take care!
We just CAN'T seem to stay away from Chicago ;o) We made another trip this past Thursday-Saturday for Kurt to interview at several businesses. That's the 3rd time in the month of May! Every other weekend...sigh. And what made it crazier this weekend was the lack of sleep ;o) We left Thursday after work and didn't get to our hotel until 1am Friday morning. THEN, we left Chicago to come home Friday night at 10:30pm. We didn't end up getting home until 5am Saturday morning.
Needless to say, our sleep STILL isn't back to normal.
BUT, Kurt had two great interviews and walked away with one job offer already and hopefully another to come in the next few days.
The offer he got on Friday was really REALLY good - it will be a stressful job managing software and databases in the stock trading industry, but the environment sounds great, the financial opportunity is pretty amazing, and it will help him to grow even more. AND, they typically hire M.I.T. or Berkley grads (the two most prestigious comp. science schools), which says a lot about Kurt ;o) Congrats to my hubby!
So, while Kurt was getting grilled in the tech. interviews, I had a nice time exploring the Magnificent Mile. I visited the great Museum of Contemporary Art (#1) and walked down Michigan. I had lunch at The Grand Lux Cafe (#2), which was superb. Then I rode the train a bit and visited the main branch of the Chicago Public Library.
So...when we got back Saturday morning at 5am, we went right to bed and slept until 11:00. Got up, went to eat and do some shopping, then came back and took a nap (like a bunch of old farts, we are ;o). We were so beat, and we wanted to get sleep for Saturday night.
Saturday night was our last "Gallery Hop" in the Short North (the arts district of Columbus). We're very sad :o( It's a great event the first Saturday of the Month where all of the stores and galleries in the Short North stay open until11pm and have their exhibit openings. We had a great time (even though we were pretty tired) walking around. AND we got to see the new lights on the arches! Long time coming...
And finally, last night, we went to a great concert at Little Brother's. Unfortunately, this fabulous club is closing due to a huge hike in their rent (stupid landlords). SO, the GREATEST club in Central Ohio is no more at the end of the month. Sniff Sniff. We got to see Miranda Sound (great local band) AND it was free because they were recording a live album. Very cool.
OK...that's enough for tonight. We have to get some dinner, pick up my new glasses (woohoo) and then I have to practice piano. I'm playing for Kindergarten graduation tomorrow!
Oh...my last day of school was today. Good day, lots of hugs from little kids ;o)
Take care!
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