Since all Patrick and I have been talking about is lately is our excitement about the move, I thought I'd spend our last night in Cleveland posting a list of all the things I'll miss. I am very tired after a long day of moving so I'll probably forget something, but...

Tremont - I love my little neighborhood with its park and its restaurants and its friendly people who say hi when you walk by on the street despite being a neighborhood in the middle of the city.

My friends - You all know who you are and I will miss all of you.

Kerry - I know I've mentioned already that I'll miss my friends, but we've seen each other at least once a week for about 3 or 4 years and you're the first person since high school I've called my best friend.

(And now I'm really getting tired so you just get a one word list from here on...)

My garden

All the restaurants I love

The West Side Market

The Metroparks and the Towpath

Being close to where Patrick grew up and where a lot of his family is.

Low housing costs

And I also have to say that we are moving not because of anything about Cleveland. I really like Cleveland and have enjoyed my seven years here. It is just time to move on and I am moving on. So good night. Next time I post I'll be a New Yorker. |

We are now done with work (well - for 2 weeks for me and then I start doing some projects remotely), I have sold my car, and last night we said goodbye to a lot of our friends. Now we have a week filled with last minute things such as repainting the apartment since some people may not like a bright red living room and a bright blue bathroom, packing whatever isn't packed already, and going out to dinner a lot.

We have no less than 4 dinner dates and one lunch date this week with family and friends. We are also checking out Michael Symon's new restaurant Lolita on Tuesday and getting one last take-out meal from our favorite Cambodian restaurant (ok - it is the only one in town, but they're super-good) Phnom Penh. And the night we're loading the truck Kerry has offered to go in and get us take-out from one of Patrick's former employers incognito.

I am also realizing that moving involves lots of drinking. Ok - lots of drinking for me at least. I made my first batch of mojitos last night and they are now my new favorite drink. They are deceptively non-alcoholoc tasting too, but I think at least I stopped myself before I got stupid. Tonight Kerry has promised us mango cocktails. And Saturday we're going out for one last trip to Lava Lounge and they're giant cocktails (seriously, I usually can only drink one).

Finally Monday we return the (extremely crappy) rental car, pick up the uhaul, and load up the truck to move out eaarly Tuesday morning. |

I wish job searching was like getting a movie part in Mullholland Drive, where Angelo Badalamenti would look all gangster-like and hold my picture up to the manager of the company I want to work for and say "You will see her and you will say 'this is the girl'". |

We got an apartment in New York! We will be living on the corner of 7th Avenue and 11th Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Park Slope is a really great neighborhood full of great restaurants and shops and lots of people around our age, and 7th Ave is one of the 2 main commercial strips in Park Slope. We ended up in a really great location and the apartment isn't too bad either - it's a corner unit, onthe second floor, and has a fire escape balcony where I can put potted plants.

More info on Park Slope is here. Pictures I took of the outside of the apartment and the corner we're on are below, and there are pictures of the inside on our broker's site.


Close up view. Just above the cleaners - the bedroom windows are behind that tree.


A wider view of the building.


Across 11th Street - there's a little cafe just on the right there and the rest is residential.


Across 7th Avenue.


Diagonally across the street. |

Nothing really to write about except packing up stuff and getting ready to move. Poor Oliver, who has moved about 7 times in his 8 years, has taken to sleeping next to the boxes, I guess ensuring that we don't forget him. One month from today we will be on our way out the door. Kind of overwhelming how fast it's approaching. |