Read,: July 2007

moved in

So, I am moved in! I have a working futon (*very* comfy), a working desk courtesy of craigslist (very cool - and, actually the exact same as my roommate), working car, and a very awesome bathroom.

The only thing not working is ME. hah, get it? Actually I am working at home for ookla. Its a bit tedious, but its work I can do in illustrator and I love it. And, there is more coming.

Tomorrow I have an interview at a "Creative" staffing company called the smart dept. Last week I had an interview at another staffing company, they're in the hancock building too! I felt like a real naive country-boy "in the big city" when I went to check in at that building. The guy at the front desk thought I was a messenger. The lady operating the elevators reaches her hand out to take the trash from my sticker name-tag/pass thing and I thought she wanted to shake my hand, so I shuck her hand. I take care of my own trash! She was really amused by it.

Mike is interesting to live with (so far). Very disciplined, lots of energy. He stomps around when he walks barefoot (no shoes on in the house), and he does everything as quickly as possible. I'm not used to that, so I always have to remind myself that he's not mad at me, or cranky, thats just how he is. I wiped down the granite counter in the kitchen with a hand towel on the oven handle, and he showed me very quickly his rules for cleaning the granite (spray it with mr.clean stuff, then windex and use paper towels to prevent streaks). He is a very fun guy, and we are a lot alike, but his strictness is a bit more strict than mine.

I like to be clean, and I enjoy cleaning up my house. I love having an organized desk and room, etc...but I don't have rules about how to go through with it. So it will be interesting to see how we compromise and deal with me making mistakes or when I accidentally drop something of his or something like that. I am respectful, but I can be clumsy.

So, we're moved in. I miss my bike. I miss my things, I miss my environment. The hills, emeryville, jen, jonathan, my parents, my job, the cats. I've been replanted and my roots have to start growing out again. I hung out with a friend of jens today, we've hung out before. It was really really nice. Sam and her friend Bill, Mike and I. We got dinner at Handlebar. Great fries. I got a grilled cheese. I can't remember the last time I had a grilled cheese that wasn't on whole wheat. I guess since before I moved, or perhaps on the road.

I tried a beer the other day, after helping mike get his stuff out of storage. It just felt like one of those things to get when your friend is buying you dinner for helping him move stuff. Pizza and a beer. I tried Maudite. I've heard its really good, and I've tried sips of it before. I drank maybe a half a glass. Then the pizza came, and I tried to drink some after eating a bite. But I didn't like it and I just drank water.

So far Piece has the best Pizza. But I might only be partial to it because it reminds me of pizza from home (tomatinas). Kind of tough dough/crust and fine sauce, not too cheesy. Its very popular for pizza to be either very very very thin - thinner than the thinest pizza I've had at LaneSplitter, or deep dish with crumbly dough, almost like pastry dough. So far, the deep dish hasn't been as satisfying as Zachary's. But I think its just because of the dough, and the nostalgia. I still have a lot of pizza places to discover here.

Hot dogs have been a let down too, although I've only tried one or two places. There is a carry out place a block from home called Chicago Carry-Out. They have hot-dogs and fries for $2.50. They're pretty tasty. I get one of those huge Arizona fruit punch cans for $1 and throw the rest of my change in the tip jar. The hotdogs aren't very good, but apparently they're vienna beef...It fills me up and its super cheap, so oh well.

I also found a good dive bar a few blocks away, on Divison. There are always bikes outside. But people smoke inside here. Mike doesn't normally drink, but he's gone with me both times. His tolerance is very low, and I recommended a very tasty cocktail, so he drinks very fast and then wants to go. I just want to go and unwind and watch people or talk. So we'll see how that works. I shouldn't even be spending money on things like that until I get solid work. But I need R&R too. Being unemployed isn't as stress-free as you'd imagine.

Tonight I did 150 situps and 30 pushups then I jogged a mile and a half (ugh, in 20 minutes though - including stop lights and stretching). Its almost 1am and its 68f, about 10 degrees warmer than in Emeryville right now. It wont last, but its amazing.

The traffic here is terrible.

Hope you are well.