Unquiet Desperation

photo credit: artnoose

The house transferred today. I am no longer a home owner.

I have mixed feelings about this. Everything little repair is no longer my responsibility, but we won’t be able to change things as much in the new townhouse, since we’re renting.

I will not miss yardwork, however.

My family and I have descended like locusts upon my poor in-laws, filling their dining room with boxes and miscellaneous items that were pulled from the house at the last minute. They are good, kind folks who someone should write a folk song about. They are driving out with us on the trek across these United States to help us get settled in at our new home.

Driving? Yes, indeed. Movers cost around $8000, and we would still have paid for our own gas and lodging for driving across country. We’re going to save about six grand for doing it this way. Sure, it’s harder, but it’s worth the cost savings.

The plan is this: pack and start driving on Friday the 15th. Stop and spend three days in Oklahoma to visit with my wife’s extended family (I’ll also be working during that time…projects demand attention). We’ll take off again on Thursday morning and get to [[[Woodland Hills]]] on the 22nd. We’ll unpack the truck on the 23rd, and I’ll have until the 27th off to get the kids ready for school, buy some necessities (a refrigerator, a car, bunk beds for the kids, etc), and settle in a bit. My first day at the Mahalo Mothership will be Thursday, Aug 28th.

Whew!

I’ll try to blog along the way. We’ll see how exhausting the driving is.

View more photos up on Flickr.

After several days of looking at houses, apartments, and condos, we’ve finally settled on our new place in LA. We’re renting a townhouse at The Summit at Warner Center, and we’re very excited about it. The kids are looking forward to the move, Cathy is thrilled with the new place, and we really liked Woodland Hills.

The next step is to finish some small work needed on the house, and then the title will transfer on that. We’re hoping to be out in L.A. by the 22nd, but we’re not sure how possible that is. The kids will start school on Sept. 3rd, so our drop-dead date to get out there is Aug 28th. (Need a weekend to get settled, go to school orientations, etc).

Sorry this is so short…more on the trip later.

Update: Yes…we felt the earthquake. I have to agree with this infographic.

photo credit: myrtti

I missed Windows for a while this weekend.

I was looking for a game to take my mind off of selling the house and moving to L.A. I wanted to relax and play a game, and I was craving a game like Galactic Civilizations. A sci-fi empire builder with exploration, colonization, and a little warfare.

No. Such. Luck.

Understand…I don’t play computer games like I used to. That’s not only because I own a Mac, it’s also because I just don’t have the time to play. Up until now, I’ve never had a reason to miss gaming on Windows.

Heavy Sigh. Looks like I’ll have to fire up my Parallels VM and install GalCiv II. Pity. Wish there was a Mac version.

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It’s been quiet both here and over at the Secret Lair. You’ve not seen me much on Twitter in the last three weeks. For all you know, I’ve vanished off the face of the planet.

Not so, good reader. There are two reasons for my silence. The first is that I’ve been traveling: went to the Google I/O conference in San Francisco then to Santa Monica for Codejam V at the Mahalo Mothership. For more about my views on how Google I/O went, check out the interview with me over at the Command Line Podcast.

The second is that we’ve decided to move to Los Angeles. This one…well…it’s huge. We’re looking to get the house on the market as soon as humanly possible, which means that we’ve been painting, patching, and handling all the stuff we’ve been putting off for a while. It’s a tough market out there for selling a house, and we’re hoping to have it done soon so that we can be in L.A. by Sept 1. Too optimistic? Maybe. So far, things have fallen into place every step of the way, and we’ve been incredibly lucky to have a our families and friends helping us out as we prepare. The insanity of all of this is the reason I’ve been off the interwebs for a bit. There’s simply not enough time in the day anymore.

For those of you who know the area, we’re looking to settle in Sherman Oaks. My good friend Nicole took me on a tour of the neighborhood while I was out there last week, and I really liked the feel of the place. If you know anyone looking to rent a three-bedroom house out there, hook me up.

Finally, I’m dropping a little something into my podcast feed this week. J.C. Hutchins interviewed me for his Ultracreatives series. We had a great time, and I think it’s my favorite interview to date. I got to talk about a number of things that I rarely touch on in my blog or the shows I produce, so it was a real treat.

More on the move as it develops. Otherwise…it’s good to be back.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

While I was out in L.A., I had the chance to sit down with Nicole Gustas. Nicole has spent the last thirty days going vegan, and she has some tips and tricks for anyone else doing the same thing.

Links:

• Nicole’s Blog
• The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan.
• [[[Whole Foods Market]]]
• Wikipedia entry on Veganism
• THE Jon Moncrief
• Healthy Chef Alex and her book, The Great American Detox Diet

Podcast: Play in new window | Download