Moving...Slowly But Surely

Mom came in today to help me move some stuff that I don't want the movers to touch. I already moved most of my guitars and my main keyboard, but there are some other things that are best handled by me.

We emptied the smaller fish tank and carried it downstairs. Mom is still surprisingly strong at age 61 - she helped me carry the tank down three flights of stairs and get it into the car. We put some more stuff in and sent her on her way back to Wading River.

I'm leaving shortly in my own car to take some other stuff. I have three boxes of wine and booze that need to come with me. It's funny - you go out to the North Fork to visit the wineries, your friends give you bottles of liquor when they come to visit - next thing you know you have this huge collection of booze. I'm not one to sit around and drink when I get home from work (there's a case of beer that's been in my fridge for over a year), so the only time this stuff ever gets drank is when I have to take a bottle over to a friend's house or when Sara comes over and is in the mood for wine.

When I get home later, it's time to take apart the home network. I'll still be blogging a bit, though, since there are 9 (count 'em - nine) unprotected wireless networks in this building, most of which I can easily glom onto.

Blogging Light For The Next Several Days

Suffice it to say, it's interesting what you find when you're moving. Move that dresser away from the wall - the one that hasn't been moved in five or six years - and you'll be reunited with crap you thought you lost forever.

Tucked in the back corner of a closet I rarely open was my "clip file" - the collection of newspaper clips I wrote throughout my journalism career that I used to show to newspaper editors when I was interviewing for reporter gigs right out of college. It probably hadn't been touched in nearly 10 years. It was fun looking at college newspaper columns, freelance stuff I wrote in college for the Rockbridge Daily Press (Va.), the first several issues of The Sound Observer and more.

As more and more furniture moves around and more boxes get packed, I'm sure I'll come across some more interesting stuff...

That's New York For Ya

Honestly, I didn't think my landlord had a prayer of re-renting my place out at the price he was asking, which was almost $2,200 a month for a 4th-floor walkup with no doorman. Granted, this place is pretty big for a one bedroom, but I thought anyone with $2,200 a month to spend would rather put that sum toward a place with a bit more in the way of building services. Last night, I came home to a voice mail from the landlord that said the apartment had been rented as of September 1, so I couldn't change my mind in terms of moving out.

Geez, can you believe what people will pay for places in NYC? It should be noted that the next tenant will be moving in while the RNC is here in town, which will likely be a large pain in the ass. This place is also 4 1/2 crosstown blocks from the nearest subway, which is another bigtime inconvenience for anyone looking to commute within Manhattan.

Movers are showing up on the 20th to take me back to Wading River. I suppose I'll miss it here, but when we start making a bit more money with Underscore, I'll likely look for a new place.

Things I'll miss about this apartment

1. Carl Schurz Park
2. 86th Street shopping - Best Buy, Circuit City AND P.C. Richard within walking distance
3. Proximity to the Triborough and easy access to Long Island
4. My cool neighbors - Flavia, Sergei and Ellen

Things I won't miss about this apartment

1. Useless super who can't be bothered to keep an extra plug fuse around
2. Do-it-yourself plumbing and the tub wasteline that constantly backs up
3. The guy upstairs regularly flooding my apartment when he forgets to turn his tub off and it overflows
4. My uncool neighbors, like the crazy woman downstairs who always complains about my creaky floorboards, and the aforementioned idiot who causes floods.

Overheard On The Street

Guy #1: So whaddya think about this Obama guy?
Guy #2: We shoulda nuked Afghanistan. Why are we still there?
Guy #1: No, no, no. I said "Obama." He's a black guy. He's running for Secretary of State or something.
Guy #2: He ain't never gonna beat Colin Powell.

It's times like this when I'm reminded that for every person who is into politics, watches the news and reads up on political blogs, there are hundreds of chuckleheads like these guys walking around.

Maybe we should put something together like an "Adopt a Chucklehead" program where people who have an inkling of what's going on in the world identify their least politically knowledgeable friends and bring them to a roundtable discussion or something...