movin' on over...

...to the southwest side.

I'm all moved in and somewhat settled into my apartment in Strongsville. I sent out a mass e-mail with my new address, but if anyone didn't get it who needs it, let me know.

Stu and Laurie bought me a papasan chair as a housewarming gift, which is absolutely awesome -- I've wanted one for years but never had room -- but I haven't had much time to enjoy it yet since I've been unpacking and running the dishwasher almost constantly to wash all my new kitchen stuff.

I made out pretty well on the free loot. Someone from my church gave me a love seat and endtable, both in great condition and just the right size. I unexpectedly got a small entertainment center (on wheels, no less) from Stu's neighbor. Plus my aunt and uncle and some friends got me a few things off my Amazon.com wishlist, so that was cool.

Not to mention that I had excellent help from my parents, brother, and friends during the move Saturday. It went fairly quickly since I had basically been living out of a bedroom prior to this. With a pickup truck, van, SUV, and several small cars, we got everything (except the table I forgot) in one trip.


In unrelated news, today marks the third anniversary of my last chemotherapy session, and a month from now is the third anniversary of my last radiation therapy. I had a CAT scan yesterday morning, but won't have the results until I see my oncologist in two weeks, since I'll be in New York City next week. It's nice only having to go twice a year now, but they still have a little trouble finding a good vein.

I didn't have my traditional brunch at Panera afterward, since I now live five minutes away from the Strongsville branch of the Clnic and just went home to wait for the cable guy. I have "Broadcast Basic," which is mostly local channels plus a few extras (including SportsTime Ohio, so I can still watch Indians games). I also got one of the lesser forms of cable internet; I'll see how it goes and decide whether I want to upgrade to the full speed and/or Basic Cable. I had budgeted for it, but why pay for something I don't really need? Pretty much the only other channel I want is Comedy Central.

And now that my clothes are all hung up and put away, I need pack for vacation...

whittling down the details

I've been acquiring kitchen gadgetry for weeks and piling it in my parents' living room, but tonight I finally had time to start packing. I've contacted the electricity, gas, and cable companies to initiate service. I've set up mail forwarding with the post office.

On Saturday I went to see the actual apartment that will be mine, and got a good idea of the space so I can sketch out a floor plan (and noted where the outlets and cable hookups were). After I move and can see what space I have left, I'll look into acquiring a bookshelf and hopefully a full-size couch.

It was weird to be in there and know that, in a week, I would be living there. I took a moment to soak it in. I don't feel nervous at all, and I'm looking forward to making this huge step.

black gooooooold!

From The Beeb:

"If you could take 10% off the weight of every car on the planet overnight, it would make so much more difference than all the new engine technologies and fuel technologies that people are talking about," [Prof. Gordon Murray] says.

Racing principles' role in cutting emissions

It will be interesting to see how this spike in fuel costs will affect my car ownership. When I bought my Civic in 2005, fuel efficiency was one of my primary factors (along with safety, reliability, and longevity). I briefly considered a Civic Hybrid, but couldn't justify the higher price compared to the fuel cost savings.

Compare it to the Thunderbird my parents bought in 1994, which was my main car until 2005: Gas doubled in cost during those 11 years, from about $1.10 to $2.20. Between 2005 and this September (my third anniversary), gas may have doubled again.

I originally intended to keep the Civic for at least ten years, as I'm not a flashy high-maintenance guy when it comes to vehicles; I'd rather own it as long as possible and enjoy loan-payment-free bliss.

One thing I have in my favor is that the Civic fits my lifestyle well. I don't do a lot of hauling except for the digital piano, which just fits so long as I have no passengers. And I rarely have passengers. I don't have any kids to cart around, and by extension no safety seats, strollers, diaper bags, or toys. It would be nice to have a bigger vehicle a few times a year on the occasion that I have a lot to haul, but on the whole I like driving a small car. I like the ease of parking and being low to the ground.

But depending what happens with the cost of gas, I may reconsider my ten-year ownership plan. It will depend where I'm living, where I'm working, what my income is, and what new fuel/vehicle options are out there. Mind you, I average 33 mpg between highway and city in the Civic, so I'm doing pretty good (yeah yeah, you can shoot me now), but knowing that some Prius is getting 50 mpg still makes me envious.

bad girls

This Friday and Saturday I'll be playing keyboard for Bad Girls (and the Men Who Love Them), a benefit for Elyria Summer Theatre. This musical revue, conceived and directed by Kim Mihalik with music direction by Mike Caraffi, follows the travails of six "Bad Girls of Broadway" who attempt to bring the ingénue (Beth Cubbison) over to the dark side. It features songs from Wicked, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Hairspray, Damn Yankees, Chicago, Nine, The Last 5 Years, Jekyll and Hyde, Aida, and more.

In addition to Beth, Mike, and Kim, the cast includes Susan DiDino, Rebecca Riffle, Jennifer Ryan, Mary Prucha, Pam Christian, and Keith Ferris. I'll be playing the keyboard along with Bill Hart on drums and Mike Sliwinski on bass.

Performance Dates: Friday & Saturday, June 13th & 14th @ 8:00 pm at the Elyria High School Auditorium. You can park either in the 5th Street lot or across from the school in the West Avenue lot.

Ticket Prices: $10 general admission, OR $15 table seating (which includes tableside hors d'oeuvre and desserts).

Call 440-284-8340 to make reservations (recommended for table seating). A 50/50 raffle will be held each night as well.

Hope to see you there!