girl at large

Thanks For The Help

Ruby takes a break from packing.

So Long Portland

A night out with co-workers, a send off to Wisconsin. Someone brought a cheesehead, literally.

Ticking Off

It doesn't interest anyone else, but I'm a list person and an "achiever", so I feel better (literally physically better) when I can mark things off my to-do list:

Yesterday and today were "Technology" and "Tune Up" days respectively. I picked up a cheap-o cell phone for the road trip in case of emergency. Don't everyone get all excited that they'll now be able to reach me on my cell phone! I'll be lucky if the little piece of plastic lasts through the road trip. Though I will have to have a Blackberry for the new job, so my time of living Cell Phone Free is certainly coming to an end.

I also finally pulled the trigger on a Garmin Nuvi navigation system. I am IN LOVE. This little device with the pleasant voice and confident directions was MADE for people like me. In just two days, I've already tooled around more of Portland than I have in the past four years. I'm a confident driver, but unless the destination is off a flat, corn-lined highway, I can't find my way out of a paperbag. What was I waiting for, why didn't I get one of these gadgets sooner?

The little Jetta made it through her 50k tune up this morning, fairing much better than I feared. A new oil pan, tire rotation, the usual adjustments, a new headlight, and a repaired Cruise Control---and now I'm road ready. For an upgrade from the previous ghetto look, I also opted to replace the missing hubcap. So sexy. For being a good girl, I treated her to a wash on the way home.

The car insurance is up to date, I've updated my AAA membership and downloaded a list of must-stop roadside eateries from RoadFood. I am good to go!

Tomorrow is "Dealing with the City" (moving truck parking permits) and
"Awkwardly Saying Goodbye to Co-workers I'm Not Going to Miss" Day. Tick! Tick!

Equipment

I got my snow boots today. They are hideous, so of course they are warm, supportive and incredibly comfortable.

A Long Strange Trip

I'm planning out the road trip, and it's going to be a strange one...heading down to LA first to see Tom , and my friends Kristan and Steve...then across to Nebraska to visit Grandma Eileen and Grandpa Bunny, which takes me through Colorado, so I think I'll stop in Boulder. Then through the plains and up to Milwaukee.

Any stops I should make along the way, let me know!

Home Sweet Home

I finally got an apartment!!! Woo-hoo!

As it turns out, it's the very first apartment I liked, in the building that Aunt Suzanne and I randomly happened to drive by when I was in Milwaukee for the interview. I recognized it from the craigslist ad, it had stuck out as a building similiar to the one I'm currently in (and adore)--Russian prison on the outside, little hidden gem on the inside. Why is it you always end up back at the first thing you saw? If it turns out I should have married my highschool sweetheart, the universe is perversely cruel.

It's been a rough ride, trying to find a place. Milwaukee is behind the curve in dog-acceptance in rental apartments, and garage parking is at a premium. Poor Suzanne has toured every goofy midcentury apartment complex in town. This one was originally above my budget, but I negotiated a better rate. I've never negotiated before--I must say, I'm very proud of myself. It was hard, but as my brother Tom advised, you have to be prepared to walk away. I walked when they wouldn't come down enough, and then a day later--the price I wanted!

I can't explain how exciting that is--I've always just "paid what they ask", no matter the item or circumstance.

So, let the packing commence!

p.s. Um, and it's not actually 'in' Milwaukee. I'm going to be living in the village (yes, 'village') of Shorewood. It's not as peri-menapausal as it sounds.

Cheese Nun

Funny things happen when two thoughts collide....I was thinking about moving back to Wisconsin, had added a new appropriately titled blog category, "Once a Cheesehead...". I was also taking inventory of my belongings, deciding what to sell, what to toss, and what to take on moving day.

It then seemed natural (and not at all the activity of a bored and lonely person) to take inventory of my cheese drawer:

-plain Chevre
-honey Chevre
-crumbled Blue
-Roquefort Blue
-Oregon Smokey Blue
-parmesean in block form
-parmesean pre-shredded
-Gruyere
-cream cheese
-Farmer's Cheese
-Mimolette Vieux
-Feta

I think I might have a problem.