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Monday, February 28, 2005
more moving stuff
Well the moving estimator just left and now I'm worried about a whole new host of things in conjuction with the move. Looming large is cost. Before moving to Walnut Creek, I had moved to Oakland, and to Oakland, and to Oakland, which is fairly cheap since Oakland is quite close to Oakland, as luck would have it. Moving 800 miles away is a totally different price bracket. If moving costs were food, most of my moving until now would be Taco Bell, with an occasional trip to Denny's for a 2-egg breakfast with no meat and extra tabasco sauce. This move is like a nice sushi restaurant. We are going to buy a house once we get there and live with relatives in the interim. So this means that as an added bonus, we will have storage unit costs during that time and we get to pay for movers again once we find a home. So when all is said and done, it will be like we went to Chez Panisse or French Laundry, if you know what I mean.
Plus usually when I get around to spending this kind of money, I have time to really think about it and make sure I'm doing the right thing. For this amount of money, I would usually think about it for over a year. Needless to say, I have not had that long to ponder the amounts being spent. So I am a bit scared. Jonathan says it is healthy to be scared about it, and that everything will be OK. He is excited becuase now that I've just charged twice as much to my credit card as the largest amount I ever charged before, things are starting to feel "real". We have a check coming from the investment brokerage to cover the charge, but it is still nerve-wracking.
Jonathan and I are fairly conservative with money. We have no debt besides my car payment and have compatible risk profiles (take it for some things, avoid like the plague for others). But, he has a lot more savings than I do, since he makes roughly twice my salary. (He types for a living and I talk or draw pictures. Apparently typing is harder.) So perhaps this amount weighs a little less heavily on his shoulders. He has also been planning to return to Seattle for several years, where it is a relatively new one on me. (Although my Mom reminds me that I was so ready to move there after college for a while that when I bought new car tires, I got the special ones that do well in the rain.) Jon is the boy who spent about half what our relocation will cost on a new computer as a birthday present to himself without any warning at all. So perhaps this cash is a bit easier for him to spend.
For me, perhaps I am just born to worry about money, or may be it is all happening a little too quickly. Do I want to buy a house? Yes I do. I want to paint the walls whatever color I like and make noise without worrying if they're sleeping in the downstairs unit. I want to feel like the largest check I write each month is going towards an investment, not down the drain. But dreaming about that happening "some day" and getting ready to actually meet with a mortgage lender are much, much different! So that is worrying me a bit too.
I am envious of Jonathan. After we move, he will be surrounded by family, friends, and a job he wants. None of which I will have. But I will have him, and in the end, he is as much of my world as any one thing can be. And in a way, while I don't have a job lined up (or are even sure yet what i want to do- although I better figure it out soon with a mortgage on the way!) I am also joining family and freinds, since he'll share. My Mom has already scheduled her first visit and I'm going to an artist retreat in the area, where I hope to make new Seattle-ite pals. Perhaps I just need more sleep and more time to think about it to start getting as excited as Jon.
Perhaps I just need to see the house we will buy to get REALLY excited. I am sure for the right place, I'll be more than ready to hand every penny over to own something to love that will last.
.: posted by Zemlet 6:06 PM
Friday, February 18, 2005
Moving
OK... on with the moving story. Jonathan is leaving his position at EA to work in a start-up environment building his vision of interactive storytelling. His last official day is March 18th. He will be joining a business person with a similar vision, an entertainment producer, a creative Hollywood type and a game person, to build a company that will blend books, games and movies into the next generation of interactive entertainment. He'll be technology architect and be able to develop the products he's been dreaming of and help create prototypes for the firm's short-term projects currently in the pipeline. He'll have a high degree of ownership and freedom, which is very exciting- just what he was questing for.
They are located on Westlake, which is near my favorite neighborhoods, so we'll be able to look for a house in Greenlake or thereabouts. I also really like Freemont and have heard good things about nearby Wallingford, Queen Anne and Ballard, so we'll see what we find. We'll probably have a good-bye shin dig on March 19th before our house turns into a box only zone and move to Seattle before the end of March. I have an art retreat I'm attending in Shoreline, Washington right at the start of April, so hopefully I'll be able to make some new art buddies who live in the Seattle area, so I'll get a jump on meeting friends and getting to know the area. We'll be staying with J's sister and brother-in-law, Britta and Kevin, at their lake-front house in Laurelhurst, until escrow closes on our new home, or we all drive each other crazy- whichever comes first! Jon and I are both first-time home buyers, so we're going to take it slow and work hard to find the right financing and the right place for our new life.
So on with the clearing out of the clutter- the less we move the better! Actually, since I know there is going to be a couple of months I'll be living out of a room, I am making a list first of what I'll need there. To the rest of my possessions, I am going to apply this logic: "if I can do without it until summer, could I do without it forever?" So hopefully that will help me pare down all the art supplies, clothes, etc that I seem to have acquired. Today I am going through all the paper. What files do I need? What about the enormous pile of magazines and clippings I've amassed? What about all these emphemera items I swear I'll make art out of "some day"? Do I really need all of that? So that is today... hopefully I can make a dent in that. When I see how many magazines are at my folks' house, I realize I have a genetic propensity for collecting them and want to work very hard to not move a single magazine. My plan is to rip out the things that interest me and organize them into binders.
Then I'll still have to go through all my clothes, office items, art supplies, CD's, cooking gadgets, games, books, etc! Like Laura, a few things are missing that I would seriously like to get my hands on, so hopefully I'll come across my wristwatch, my MP3 CD's and my Hondo jacket. Well I better get back to it, before I lose the groove. I've already filled 2 large trash bags with crap, and Jon has over a box load of books that are all NOT going to Seattle. So we are well on our way.
.: posted by Zemlet 4:07 PM
Monday, February 14, 2005
Burning Desire
On Friday night, J & I went to Bohdi & Jeffrey's "Burning Desire" party, which featured love potion and a kissing booth. Everyone was told to wear red or pink. At first I wore my new red suit (yes I bought a red suit, just like I am the first lady or something... but now have no idea when to wear it) but that didn't really go with anything Jonathan had. So I changed and we both wore maroon: him in a "precious you are" T-shirt (perfect for a valentine party) and me in everything I could find that was maroon, garish and sparkly (which was several things). When Jon was in the kissing booth, I visited so often, I had to get out my credit card when I ran out of cash. One guy came dressed as Santa, which I thought was hilarious. Flower petals were strewn all about to tromp on- a lovely touch, and we all got to pet Sara's new gigantic engagement ring. I met an artist there who makes jewelry and is part of artspan and her name was Cheyenne, but can I find her web site? Noooo. She was really cool and has a studio in Mission Bay, so I wanted to buy some of her stuff. Oh well!
Right now I am working on a sales presentation for my biggest client at their office. They are off working on developing slides, so I thought I would waste time waiting for them by either knitting or blogging. Blogging seems less obtrusive, since to the casual observer, I am "working on a computer". Not that I cannot sit in a board room and knit: I got a good 1/3 of my second fingerless glove done the last time I was here. This group loves to split up and work on their slides alone, so I'm left to wait for hours at a time sometimes before the team all gets back together to show me what they've come up with. I don't want to charge them for this down time, but they insist that if I am here (and it ain't my fault there is no work) I should charge them. So I am going to charge them for half of the time I spend waiting without work (read: goofing off). That seems like a good compromise. So as I write this column, in effect, you, Dear Reader, are my client at the moment, and you are getting half off my usual hourly rate, but someone named Ben is paying for all of it. Go you.
In the "Hands Off, He's Mine" category, last night Jonathan expressed an interest in obtaining MORE DISHES. That is right... he actually feels we should have several sets of China, despite the fact that we already have 2 full sets. I warned him that my mother had to have her entire kitchen redone to accommodate her growing dish collection and he didn't have a problem with such an endeavor. Can you believe how great this guy is? My last boyfriend thought we had "way too many dishes, there is no place to put anything in the cupboard" and we only had 4 plates. Speaking of my last boyfriend...
Wait that needs a new paragraph... we cannot discuss two guys in one paragraph who are so different. Ok good. According to George, Oakland has "shot its wad" and is no longer the best place to live on the planet ever. So he is going to move... to Arizona. I think he will be the only one there listening to Daft Punk and wearing New Balance. Like me, he'll have to return to the Bay Area from time to time to get haircuts and buy clothes- especially when they open the new H&M flagstore! The only one on the west coast. I am already saving money for a big spree there for new duds. (G- if you are reading this, that is the clothing place in Paris where I spent all my money.)
Why, you ask would I have to return to the bay area to get my hair cut? Well! I am glad you asked. I am moving to Seattle, which (sorry George) I think is going to be a helluva lot more fun than Arizona. More on this later, as I might have some work to do now. (Cliffhanger, ha!)
.: posted by Zemlet 10:27 AM
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
oooah
Here is the first scan with my new printer/scanner/copier, which we've named Trianoma. All the hardware in the house (keep in mind, we are now up to 9 computers, some with dual booting) is named by things inspired by Ars Magica, an RPG Jonathan is into. Everything was named after Houses of Hermes, but we are running out of those, so we're looking at expanding. J's old machine is Jerbiton, plus he's got a laptop called Mernita (or is that his second desktop?) and his new machine is Criamon. Virditius is my old desktop and my new one is Bonisagus. I cannot recall the rest off the top of my head... I think one of the servers is Mercere... because that was the order of messengers. Anyway, since Trianoma was a student of Bonsagus, it seemed appropriate, since that is the CPU it is connected to. Boy that was TMI, wasn't it? Anyway here is my first scan of sketches for the handbags I am making for Artfest. Weee!
.: posted by Zemlet 5:13 PM
Burma Smoothies
I had a dream about those smoothies from that Burmese restaurant... I must need to go again!
.: posted by Zemlet 12:32 PM
No More Waffles
We went out for pommes frites then saw Hotel Rwanda last night and both cried like little babies- very powerful film. I am currently listening to the soundtrack from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" which makes me want to watch the movie yet again. I really love that movie. It also makes me want to go to LA to see Jon Brion at the Largo. While we're talking movies, I'm not sure I agree with all the Oscar® nods this year. I mean ok Aviator was good... but not THAT good. Neither was Sideways. I better try to go see Million Dollar Baby soon.
I had a campari cocktail last night, you know, like I was Steve Zissou or something.
My HP laser printer finally died after 5 years of loyal service. To replace the laser cartridge would be overly expensive and the feeder was to the point where you had to load one sheet at a time. So I bought a new "little brother" for my computer. Actually it is one of those "all-in-one" dealies so it is like I bought my computer a little brother and a little sister plus a new cousin. Check out the small footprint! Everything folds up and it fits on a very small shelf on my desk. We now get to eliminate 2 scanners and 2 printers to use this one exclusively on the network. See? I'm all about getting rid of stuff!
Well, that and playing World of Warcraft. I think I am all about that too, lately. I am now a level 22 and my mining is up around 113. But something is going on in the guild. Four of the high level regulars decided to leave. I am sure there is more to it, but there seems to be a disparity between the highest ranking players and the new folks. This was heated to boiling by remarks made on the chat channel apparently. Some people don't think we should go on raids all the time or something? But that makes no sense. There is nothing wrong with level 60 folks going on raids... isn't that what they are supposed to do? Other people don't like when high level players help lower ones walk through a dungeon. But again, why is that anybody's business? What about going just as backup or to give them a tour so they are ready to do it right? How else can new players learn things like the importance of pulling and communication if not by teaming with experienced ones? I just want to be high enough level to help out on the big dungeons and to play with the people I know in real life. Last time I was in Seattle, four of us played together on 3 computers and a laptop in the same room. Soon we'll add two more computers and then up to 8 people will be able to play together on desktops and laptops. It is a heck of a lot easier to yell for someone to run or heal or not go around that corner then to type it out. They are dead by the time you can type "you're hurt" or "don't go there".
Ack enough about goofing off, I need to be posting about progress made on WORK things... hehe. Oh and an update on the decision. Jonathan chose the small one. Which is not a surprise at all. He added another provision to the contract based on talking to a few more people about possible scenarios and covering those. So he is getting a lawyer to go over it and they'll sign everything, etc. This is so exciting that he is finally going to pursue his dream. I feel like I held him back a little just when he was getting ready to make it a reality two years ago. He was gearing up right when we started dating and I pleaded with him to let our relationship grow first. Well grow it did, so now we can both fully support his vision. I'm so proud of him. For anyone who might think this is a sacrifice on my part, it really isn't. I know if I had a calling as strong as he does, he would do everything he could to support it. The thing is, I don't have a big dream like he does. So until I find it, we're going to be working on his. But don't think my dreams are not coming true. I have always wanted to own a house where I can alter it however I want: paint walls, add cornices, etc. and it looks like that one will be a reality this year, if we can find the right place. Uh Oh this is a long post. But I wanted to let folks know that the decision is almost ready to celebrate.
.: posted by Zemlet 12:26 PM
Friday, February 04, 2005
What is up
You can download WOW MP3s and play them in background at meal times, which might get your boyfriend to pay attention to you for a while, instead of his new night elf. Actually, Jonathan and I had to have a conversation about the fact that I am levelling faster than he is in World of Warcraft... so perhaps I should only play when he does. (I cannot help it if I have to keep an eye on my Iron Forge Auctions.) I am playing on Cenarius with a Human Palidin named Far who is currently level 16 and a 98 Miner. I am told this is the doldrums of mining, but as long as my stupid copper bars keep selling as well as they have been, I'm not sure I care. I'll be damned if I get a mount more than ten minutes after I hit level 40.
I am an Initiate in the Avowry guild, which is very cool. This is an awesome guild that is all about being nice, which works great for my Paladin persona. It gives me a chance to give away neato items that I cannot use to people who will use them and often provides a group ready to cavort with. Everyone in the Seattle crowd (well, except Wolfe) plays, so if we have to ask Kevin a question: we log onto Warcraft. Want to swap gossip with Britta: log onto Warcraft. Got a new recipe for Lois: log onto Warcraft. Want to see who is hitting on Slinkie this week: log onto Warcraft. Need to tell Aaron a pun: log onto Warcraft. You get the picture.
I had a busy day yesterday and felt like I ate all over the world. I had lunch at Dave-who-lives-on-Fulton's favorite restaurant. I cannot reveal the name (he is worried everyone will go there) but I can tell you it was Burmese food and the name reminds me of a Sims X Expansion Pack. It was so-o-o yummy- who knew Burmese food was so damn great? They also have these amazing smoothies in flavors like toasted coconut and fresh mango (inspirational colors!) and serve lemonade with a touch of mint and ginger. I was there for a business lunch, so that made it extra fun for me. Hurrah more web sites for me to revamp!
Then Melissa and I went to knitting class to learn to make these fingerless glove things- perfect for keeping your hands warm while still allowing your fingers to be beading, kitting, typing, etc! We made ours out of cashmere, so they are so f-ing soft and luxurious, you want to sleep in them. They are quite unique, but easy to make, so if anyone wants a pair for themselves, send me 150 yards of worsted weight yarn (I recommend something that feels cuddly) and I'll knit ya up a pair. (It is like real-life Avowry.) Where your fingers come out is one big hole, so they can slide up or down depending on how active you are being or how cold you are, etc- so versatile!
 
Then Jonathan and Eric joined us for dinner at a Moroccan restaurant called Tanjas. This place is just great! Would be a neat date spot, since it is so unique and the service is so good. It is open late and has authentic food that is quite tasty. You eat with your hands (which they ceremoniously wash for you during key moments during the meal) and sit on these low, leather tuffet things in a big tent. Apparently there is even a floor show. I highly recommend this Oakland destination located on easy-to-park-at Telegraph & 49th. They encourage large groups, so bring all your pals.
I am quite busy this month, revamping three different web sites, including my own, plus I have another presentation next week to do for the company I used to work for. The last job I did for them went very well- they won a strategic contract in a market they need to get into, and I got major kudos for my participation. Too bad while working on it, I had to get locked out of the Portland office with the head of the region and a few other high-ranking folks in the middle of the 33-degree night wearing no jacket and a skirt and it was not a nice neighborhood and I had to convince a guy in a smelly, bright green van with bullet holes in the windshield and no rear view mirror to give us a ride because we didn't know the last names of anyone who actually works in the Portland office- but hey! We won the job!
This month I am on a personal mission to get rid of stuff. I am going to buy huge trash bags and keep a tally of how many leave the apartment bulging with stuff. (Don't worry, I'll be recycling.) And of course we have superbowl this month, during which I'll be doing ab crunches and eating junk food at the same time (go me), plus Valentine's Day, which Jon and I like to celebrate in a traditional manner by eating a pan full of tater tots and dipping them into heart-shaped kethcup on a pink (Paden City Minion) plate. Then in March is Artfest and I'll get a few more clients hopefully and just be so busy and crafty that it will be so great! I am so happy, I am like a big purple bubble. Hope that makes sense... bye!
.: posted by Zemlet 4:37 PM
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