Things I will miss

Over the past few weeks, I've been making a list of things I will miss about Pittsburgh. Decided it'd be funny to post this when I'm halfway between Pittsburgh and DeKalb. I like that about Blogger...you can write something in advance and tell it not to post until three weeks later.

Mind you, nothing here compares to the thing I'm gaining by moving...Julie's love.

• Quaker Steak and Lube
• Primanti Brothers
• Gullifty's
• Triangle Bar and Grill
• Ali Baba's
• The view from Mount Washington
• Sheetz (believe it or not, they've got the best chai I've tasted, and it's bloody cheap!)
• PNC Park
• Kennywood

Mind you, there are some things I won't miss...

• Potholes.
• Construction.
• The Parkway onramp from Swissvale headed to Monroeville. I always swore I'd die in a horrible car wreck there one day.
• Waiting for the bus in Oakland in the middle of Winter when it's snowing and all the buses decide to go into hiding.
• The fact that, really, you can't get there from here. A two mile trip can easily take 20 minutes here.
• Idiots who decide to slow down when they reach the tunnels.
• Idiots in general.
• Pittsburgh radio. When I heard the same crappy Celine Dion song on three different stations, at the same exact time, I couldn't listen to it anymore. Thank the FSM for satellite radio.
• 100 degree days with 100 percent humidity.

As Julie will remind me, it's not like we'll never be back here. We'll be back to visit The Kid, go to Kennywood and ride the Thunderbolt (if only to hear Julie scream "Holy Fucking Shit" again) and visit.

It's not goodbye, Pittsburgh. It's "see ya around".

Giving thanks

I can see more than half of my dining room table.

All things considered, this is a rather impressive feat, since the dining room table became the staging area for my move a few short weeks ago. I've had it piled with papers, boxes, junk, tape, shit, my laptop and almost everything else. I had a small space at the one end, just large enough for a placemat, so I could have a place to eat.

Now, tonight, I can see the other side of the table (even the tabletop) with ease.

I look in front of me and I see a dark living room. No lights in there...they've all been packed away in boxes. For that matter, that's all I see. Boxes. Totes. Containers.

A life packed up to fit in a seventeen foot moving truck.

Hopefully, it'll all fit.

Slight change of plan. We're picking up the truck first thing tomorrow morning. I figure, we have it for four days, so might as well get it tomorrow and get a jump start on packing.

I'm really not looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow night.

For the most part...

The packing's done.

There's three things that I'm not going to pack until Friday morning

• Sheets and towels I'm currently using. I'll pack those Friday morning after I wash them.
• The stereo and satellite radio. It's the only form of entertainment I have at the moment.
• The telephone and DSL modem, after I call Verizon and cancel the service. I'll have Vonage forward all calls (temporarily) to my cell phone, likely for the weekend.

I've also got the cleaning stuff to pack, but that's minor. I want to give the bathroom and the kitchen floor a cleaning before I pack that stuff away.

It's snowing tonight. I'm sitting in the living room, relaxing and looking out the window on occasion watching it blow. They're saying Pittsburgh's supposed to have two to four inches of snow by this time tomorrow. Thankfully, all the weather reports I've seen say this weekend, while cool, should be good.

Packing here will be interesting. Tim and his folks are gonna be here to help me put stuff in the truck. My family...hm...I sincerely doubt they'll be here to help me. I'm not feeling much support from them on this, but that's fine. I've got the love and support of my friends in this.

When we get to DeKalb, however...bless Julie...the troops will be there and ready. Her kids will be there to help, as well as Jessica's fiancee Brad, and Kathy, Chris and their kids.

Wow. That blew me away when Julie told me they'd be there. My friends...my friends...are more supportive in this than my brothers.

So to my friends, let me say this: Thank you. Thank you for the support, the love, the good vibes and wishes. They've meant the world to me. It means so much, especially since I'm not feeling much love from blood relatives these days...

I've taken more pictures of the boxes around the house, but Ubuntu's being fussy about mounting the camera. (I don't wanna hear any gruff from you Windows lovers out there...XP and Vista won't even see my old Olympus. Ubuntu's been able to see it until this last version dropped. There's bug reports out there for it now. The community will fix it...I got faith.

At any rate, when I can, I'll post the pics I've taken. Might not happen until after I move, but you'll see 'em.

It ain't funny now...

...but I'll laugh at this some point.

I finished packing the upstairs late last night. Everything there is packed away except for the sheets and towels I'm using, and stuff in the bathroom. I even packed away the digital clock sitting on my dresser.

Got to bed after Midnight last night. I rolled over sometime while it was still dark this morning, and thought I'd heard a faint electrical buzz. Figured it wasn't anything important, and it'd go away when I went back to sleep.

Only thing was, it didn't go away.

I finally had to get up. Checked my cell phone's time, showing it was about 10 to 6, and I knew exactly what it was.

Somehow, while packing, my clock's alarm switch got turned "on". Mind you, I never use that alarm...I'm one of those bastards who can wake up on their own when it's time...

But, you ask, how can a clock, unplugged, packed away in a box under a blanket and a pullover, make noise?

Bless and curse the maker of the battery backup for this one. Sigh...

Tried to go back to bed, but couldn't. This is gonna be a long day, methinks...

P.S. Oh, and Julie? The mantle clock, the piece of furniture I own that you love most of all, stopped at the exact moment I got up. Guess what's getting packed today.

Every picture tells a story, don't it?

For my 250th blog post, I'll just let the photos tell the story...















For those of you who've been to my home, some of those images will be somewhat surprising. It's all good, though. I'm going off to be with Julie. I'm going out to live my life.

Boxes, boxes, boxes

I took down the pictures tonight.

For those of you who've been in my house, you'll know that I have pictures on the walls. Photos I've taken, a painting here or there, gifts from friends.

There's only two pictures on the walls right now, simply because they won't fit in the box: An old painting of The Last Supper that's been in the family for I don't know how long, and my print of Hopper's Nighthawks, my favourite painting. That's it. All the others have been packed away.

Yeah, the packing phase has begun. The kitchen's about 75% packed away. Glassware, pots and pans (except my wok...bought it a year or so ago for $10 and never used it) and some of my appliances. Dishes haven't been packed yet. I can do that tomorrow. Not that big a deal: I've got plenty of paper plates to hold me for the next week or so.

About 90% of what's going to storage is there. I've got just gotta pack some of the nick-nacks, like Mum's China Doll (that my oldest brother brought her back from The Orient, when he was in Vietnam) and some little things.

Friday, Tim's coming over to get the desk and the TV. Yes, I'm giving him my big 37-inch, widescreen, high definition, heaviest sonofabitch on the face of God's Green Earth television. It took three of us to get the TV into the house, and that was six years ago. I told him early on, when he helped me get it in the house, that I'd give it to him someday. I do try and keep my word.

I've already disconnected my main computer. It's sitting over in one corner of the room. I'm using my laptop for the next week or so to surf the web here. It's weird to see it all apart over there. I made a backup of the drive before shutting it down, though...one never knows what's gonna happen when moving.

Down to 10 days now. Julie's as anxious as I am. I just want these days to be over, to be out there. All I have to do is make one more drive out there, one more trip, and I don't have to leave her again. It will be wonderful...

Called and setup utilities out there today, gas, water and electric. I'm gonna call The Evil Empire tomorrow to see if they'll give me internet-only at a decent price, but I'm not expecting it. Instead, I'll just use The Other Evil Empire to stick with DSL, in the chance they get FiOS out there at some point. Don't need home phone service, just a dedicated data line.

I'll have to see what I'm gonna do for a cellphone provider out there. The Death Star and the aforementioned Other Evil Empire have limited service out there (the irony of their commercials, saying they've got the best coverage, is not lost on me). The one that has the best coverage, amazingly enough, is those NASCAR Cup sponsors. Hm. Not sure I wanna go back to them, given some of Prosey's problems.

I'll figure that out after I get there and, oh, I dunno, get a job? Gee, that'd be wonderful. I've been applying for three or four jobs daily out there, and so far, just a handful of "we're not hiring now" letters. Got one phone call from a HR department, saying I passed the first round of qualifications, but didn't get a call from the department itself. Looks like I won't be going "forward, together forward" I guess.

Wow. I've been rambling. Either I'm tired or...nah, I'm tired.

I'm gonna go offline, listen to a little more Mad Dog Comedy (I miss XM Comedy), wait for my beloved to call, and then go veg.

More later, kids...be good.

Quickie Sunday night notes

I'd love to blog daily with what I'm doing before the move, but that'd get boring really quick. Instead, I'll just post when major events happen, or if it's late and I'm bored and I feel like writing.

Like tonight, bored and feel like typing.

* Went out to check on The Kid today. Naturally, when I got there, she was asleep...mouth wide open but not snoring (loudly). I stood in the doorway for about 15 minutes, watching her sleep, and then left. Dropped off a set of rosary beads and some toothpicks for her before going.

Okay, about the toothpicks: She was always searching for a toothpick for obvious reasons. Even without her bottom teeth, she still asks for 'em, and while I don't think the staff would give them to her, and she can't really use 'em, I had a small pack of 'em. Left it there to make her feel good.

* Stopped at a rather packed Wal-Mart. I swear, if everyone's feeling an economic crunch, what the Hell are all these people in there doing, with shopping carts packed full of crap?

Wait. Almost forgot. It's Wal-Mart. Nevermind.

Got some groceries for the week and a few more tubs, which I used...

* When I got home, I packed away photo albums. I gave my brother some of the older photo albums (pictures from before I was born) yesterday, and wanted to put the rest in storage. My brother has a thing for genealogy and family history, so I knew he's like to have those albums. I kept a few of the older ones, as well as those from the year I was born. No worries, love. I'll be bringing those.

Ran the totes down to storage, and came back intending on taking a second shipment when I found boxes with old papers of Mum's. Rather than take those down sight unseen, I decided to wait until tomorrow to look through them, and decide what can be stored or shredded.

Mind you, I did look through some of those albums, for photos of me when I had the long hair, just to prove to the world that I had a full head of hair, and I found one of myself from 20 years ago that's downright scary. I'll scan and post it somewhere, but consider yourself warned. It ain't pretty.



The agent comes tomorrow to put the house on the market, and it's a wreck. Sigh. Where's that bulldozer to just push all this shit out into the backyard?

Two weeks

Tired.

Dunno if I'm more physically or mentally tired. I think it's somewhere between the two, but right now, I can't tell which is which.

Let's see...right now, as I type this, it's about 9:30 Eastern time. Two weeks from this moment, I'll (hopefully) be in the new townhouse, trying to get some things unpacked (either that, or Julie, Tim and I will be at Fatty's, chillin' and introducing Tim to Cajun Potato Salad).

But that's in two weeks time. More on that soon. Let's see what we've got going on right now...

Today was the "small move". Tim, his kids and a friend came over and we moved out some of the pieces of furniture that's not going with me to DeKalb. The dining room, where I'm typing this, is now half-empty: The buffet, bar and organ are all down in storage, along with a few totes, my comic book collection (yes, I'm NOT bringing my comics) and a few other things.

The move went well today. We got the van about 9 this morning amid light showers and sprinkles, and the kids were ready when we got back to the house. It went pretty quick, and I treated 'em to Eat 'N Park for lunch.

Got back to the house and one of my brothers called, saying he was on his way over to get some of his stuff. He's concerned about me selling the house, right now, at a time of economic insecurities. He's worried about me losing my safety net, getting into financial troubles, which could cause problems between me and Julie.

I told him that I've had this house, this safety net, for the last 41 years. The time is right for a change. I'm in love, yes, and I want to be with her, and it's time for me to live my life...and if that means I'm gonna be out there, no job, deep in debt...so be it. I don't care if I have to go clean toilets, I'll do what I have to do.

He and I...we're both stubborn. My brother and I love each other dearly, and we worry about the other. He doesn't want to see me hurt, and I appreciate that more than words can say, but I'm not worried. Much like my love, I know it will all work out in the end. I have faith that way.

There's a bunch of tubs sitting around the house. I've got a few more things to move to storage...nothing major, pictures, nick-nacks and the ilk...and some important papers that I'll either have to put in a safe-deposit box or have my brother put in his. Once that's done, then things get packed for The Big Move.

I've got a reservation for a 17-foot U-Haul to be picked up on Friday the 28th. We'll drop Tim's car off at the airport (this is a one-way trip, and Tim's gonna fly back the next day), pick up the truck and come back to pack it. Crash for a bit, get up, as Tim says "stupid early" and drive to DeKalb.

Once we get there, Julie and her kids will be there to help us unpack. We'll get the big things put where they belong, assembled and then I can work on the details later.

Over the next two weeks, I've gotta work with the Realtor to get the house on the market, get utilities turned on there (and turn the ones here down to next to nothing), drop off some things to storage and to family here, say "goodbye" to local friends, and maybe even have a little turkey along the way.

I'm so excited. I'm so happy. I'm just so looking forward to moving, to starting my "life" out there with Julie. Will it be easy at the start? Maybe, maybe not.

All I know is...it's my life, and I'm ready to start living it. Might've taken me a bit longer than others, but I'm ready to start living.

Every blogpost paints a picture, don't it?

We all know things about ourselves.

Some things we know from birth, an instinct that we have that goes beyond self-awareness. Some things we learn over time, as we grow older, as we try new things, we understand and learn more just who we are.

I understand many such things about myself, and today, I wish to share one of them with you.

I cannot paint.

Hm. That seems a little vague. Let me clarify that previous statement.

I shouldn't be allowed anywhere near paint, paint brushes, wet paint, cans of paint, anything that might need painted, anything that has ever been painted, and paint just in general.

Most folks know that I have a degree of patience, depending on the subject. When it comes to painting, I have zero patience and zero tolerance. I want it done, mostly because I find it as much to watch paint dry as it is to actually paint.

The family home is going on the market, so I can move to DeKalb and be near Julie. The only reason why I'm painting is because I want to sell the house for a decent amount of money, and the front room (The Kid's former room) had taken some water damage (the chimney sprung a leak a few years back, and it got into the wallpaper and paint in her room...nothing major, just ignored for a long time), and it needed fixed before I sold the house.

My buddy Tim, a man with far more patience with a brush (and he hates to paint) agreed to come over and plaster the part of the wall to even it out, and then I'd paint it. So far, so good.

Except one thing: I should not be allowed to paint!

I've got one of those paint tubes...not a power paint brush, but the thing where you put a lid on the paint can (that's the same size of the can, making it next to bloody impossible to get the thing on easily), stick the tube with the paint brush on it, and suck the paint into the tube so you're not always having to dip your brush in the paint tray.

In theory, this is a good idea. In practice, getting the tube to actually suck the paint out is, I believe, something developed in the Third level of Hades. Getting a tight fit on the sucker tube requires fixing it on the just right...and patience.

Have I mentioned I hate painting?

There's two coats of paint on most of the walls now. Just waiting for them and the patches to dry. Do a little touch-up (HA!), and it'll be done. Furniture's moved out of that room, so that's one less thing to worry about.

Seventeen more days.

It's late and I'm tired...

...but I had to post this before going to bed.

November 29th.

That's the day I'm moving to DeKalb.

Three weeks and I'm leaving Pittsburgh.

Yay!

This post is full of shit

So much shit.

Over the past few weeks, I've bought 8 really large Rubbermaid containers to pack shit in. So far, five of them are totally full, and one's halfway there.

I bought six medium sized tubs. They're pretty much full of shit.

And I've got more shit to pack.

I'm willing to wager that everyone out there who reads this blog has moved their shit at least once in their lives. I haven't. I've never had to do this before. I've lived in the same place, with the same shit, for the last 41 years.

This is daunting. It's overwhelming at times. I'm not only going through all the shit I've accumulated, I'm going through shit that belonged to my family. My mother's shit. Some of my brothers shit that they left behind when they moved. I get to go through it all. When I bought the house two+ years ago, I inherited all of that shit.

Julie and I talked earlier today, and she finds it nigh-impossible to believe that I haven't gone through all this shit before. There's three reasons for that. First, I didn't really think about the shit. Second, it wasn't in the way of my shit, so I didn't give a shit. Third, some of it was The Kid's shit, and the feelings and emotions were too raw to go through the shit. As time passed...I really didn't give a shit.

No shit.

So now I've got over 50 years of shit to go through, and believe me, some of this shit is really shit. I'm not sure where the end of all this shit is. I might be near it. I've gone through 90% of the shit in the basement (leaving only the Christmas shit and some of the more interesting shit to clean out), and 70% of the shit in the kitchen and dining room. There's one big red tub in here that's just full of my CDs, and that sonofabitch is heavy shit. It's gonna take two of us to lift it, I think.

I've completely canceled my Dish Network service. Originally, I was going to just put it "on hold", but when I got the bill today saying they didn't "pause" my service, and I got billed for the full month, combined with the fact that I can't get Dish at the new place, I went and canceled it. Might not even get cable service at the new place, just get high-speed internet access and leave it at that.

Yeah, I've found a place to live out there. Nice two-bedroom townhouse that's really a little bigger than my current home. There's just no basement and a two-car garage. I'll actually have a garage, and the best part is it's pretty much right across the street from Julie's place. I figure, I can save money on gas while there...I can walk home when she needs a break from me.

I want to move out there in the next couple of weeks. I've gotta see if I can line up a few folks to help me move shit from here to a storage facility. Even if I have to keep some of the shit there short-term while I get the house on the market, that'll help.

I'm just tired. It's been a very long day, and tomorrow's gonna be even longer, I think.

This weekend, I'm going to go around and talk to my family, let them know what's going on. Tell them I'm probably not going to be here for Thanksgiving...hmm...I wonder how that'll go over.

And then, I've gotta go out and tell The Kid. That's going to be the most interesting conversation of them all. She's already asked me once if Julie and I talked marriage (a very surprising thing to hear from her...shocked the shit outta me), and I know she'll be happy to hear that Julie agreed to be my wife...but I don't know how she's gonna take the fact that she won't see me very much anymore.

Sigh.

I miss Julie.

I think I'm done for the day. I've got a DVD in the player (Alonzo Bodden...very funny comedian), and I'm waiting for Julie to call me after she gets off work and gets a bite to eat. Odds are, she's starving, after working all afternoon and evening. Other than that...

I'm gonna try and catch up on others blogs this weekend. Been behind on that, sorry.

I'd add more shit, but I'm too pooped out.

Mark yer calendars

April 16th, 2011.

It's a date.

November 4th

Voting is a privileged, a gift, a right.

If you're a registered voter, go out today and cast your ballot.

I don't care which party you're voting for. I don't care if it's for change or for more of the same.

Go vote.