Brooklyn I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down

I love Brooklyn. I don't ever want to leave. However, the economics of living in such an expensive place might force SHR and me to decide to leave at some point in the next few years.

We've talked about many places that are possibilities if we were to leave.

The odds of us moving to each city are strictly mine and don't reflect SHR's input. She looked at me like I was absolutely crazy when I asked her if she was willing to help me come up with some odds.

Chicago
A dark horse candidate. This city came out of nowhere within the past fewweeks. A former co-worker let me know about an opening at her school - a quite prestigious one. If I were to get a job there, the boys might be able to go to school at a great independent school for free (or close to it) - all the way through 12th grade!

Pros:
- Great job opportunity.
- A good friend nearby in East Chicago who I would be working with.
- One of the few cities that SHR could get a music industry job.
- Two major league teams!

Cons
- So far away.
- The winter.

Odds: It all depends on the job. With job: 3-1. Without job: 100-1

New Jersey Suburbs
Never thought I'd want to live in the suburbs ever again but now that I have kids, the suburbs look a lot better.

Pro:
- SHR's family.

Con:
- It's the suburbs.

Odds: 15-1

Memphis
Probably not realistic but we love this city.

Pro:
- Team Plumley

Con:
So far away.

Odds: 18-1

Seattle
Pros:
- One of the best cities in the country.
- A few good friends nearby.

Cons:
- Expensive
- So far away.

Odds: 18 - 1

Austin
Pros:
- Cost of living much lower.
- We know a few people.

Cons:
- I don't think teachers get paid much in Texas.
- Outside of Austin's city limits, we're in Texas Texas.

Odds: 12 - 1

Pittsburgh
I've been threatening to move here for at least 10 years. This has got to be one of the most underrated cities in the country. I love it.

Pros:
- Good friends
- Cost of living very low.
- Public school teachers make a lot of money.
- I've heard rumors about the city paying college tuition if you send them to Pittsburgh city schools.
- One of the best ballparks in the country.

Cons:
- NY is a long drive away.

Odds: 3-1

Durham, NC
I actually lived in Durham for a year in the mid 90's. I never thought I'd move back but who the hell knows?

Pros:
- Pace of life much more what I need.
- Team Watson!
- Relatives to help with the boys
- The Durham Bulls

Cons:
- Far from NY
- Far from major league baseball.

Odds: 5- 1

Philadelphia
I've never had a bad time in Philadelphia. Ever. I love this place.

Pros:
- Equidistant between our two families.
- Relatives
- Much more affordable than NY
- Will still be able to see our friends regularly.
- A few friends live there.

Cons:
- Still not the easiest city to live in. A lot of the problems of a big city.
- Public schools aren't that great.
- The Phillies

Odds: 3-1

Portland, OR
Pros:
- Great city.

Cons:
- So far away.
- We don't know anyone.

Odds: 18:1

Seoul
I want to live there for a bit so the boys can be immersed in the language and the culture.

Pros:
- Might be able to make really good money.
- Double Trouble in Korea!
- SHR could tutor and add to the income while also being home with the boys.
- We could travel to nearby countries easily.
- We'd be living in Korea!
- I'd love to go to Korean baseball games on a regular basis.
- Some of SHR's relatives live there.

Cons:
- So far away.
- I don't speak Korean.
- The completely different culture might be difficult for us to acclimate to.

Odds: 3-1

Or perhaps we'll just move to Queens or something.

As First Seen on HBO

Recently I've been thinking about canceling HBO to save 15 bucks a month. Would it really kill me to watch Big Love on DVD 8 months or so after it originally airs?

But I don't think I can bring myself to do it. I've been a subscriber for over 10 years at this point. I like it. I like their documentaries. I watch some of the movies. And I really like most of their original series. In fact, the more I thought about it, I realized that since I've been a subscriber there have only been three shows that I haven't watched.

I brought this up to Mitch and Suzy last night. Without hesitating, they nailed all three shows and even added a fourth.

Suzy quickly said Sex and the City. Check.

Mitch mentioned Carnivale and The Mind of the Married Man - a show I had completely forgotten about it.

As soon as Mitch was finished with his guesses, Suzy confidently finished it up with a declaration of True Blood.

Am I that predictable? They didn't even have one incorrect guess.

But now that I think about it, I need to add Tell Me You Love Me to this list.

And no, I never watched Dream On because I did not have HBO at the time. Still one of my biggest regrets ...

Halloween, Part II

After the festivities at Skippy and Cortney's, we headed to Mitch and Suzy's for part two.

However when we saw this sign on their door, we almost decided to head straight home!

Anne and Big Boy

Jim, Elliott, and the Big O


Daddy Larry and Amelia

I didn't get many good pictures. Luckily, Jim bailed me out with some great photos. The next 15 are from him.






Balgavy as Guy Fieri.








Off to Sidecar. Bart as the Prisoner.

Courson as a scary baseball head.

He got this jersey while serving as a batboy for the Buffalo Bisons. He claims he doesn't remember when he was a batboy. My theory is that the number on the back tells the story. He insists no - that he was a batboy earlier than 1990. I think he's just too embarrassed to admit that he was a 15-year-old batboy.

A little after I left Sidecar, Balgavy showed up. After posing for photos in countless establishments along 5th Ave, they ended up at Floyd to end the night.

For the movie, check here.

Halloween, Part 1

SHR readied Otis the Lion for his big day.



Sam the Peapod


We ran into Samantha on the way.


First stop - Skippy and Cortney's



By far - the scariest costume of the night.


Too hot to stay in costume.

Back in costume.

The Pickle has already broken Sam's heart once. Sam refused to play along this time - for a brief moment.

The caption from Skippy's Facebook page, "Seriously, I'mma let you finish, but I need to tell you something. It's not you, it's me. Look at me, I'm batshit crazy." SHR commented, "Pickle Jones, breaking poor little Sam's heart once again."

Before we left the party, Bart was already sending me harassing text messages complete with this picture imploring me to come to Sidecar to see his Prisoner costume. Pretty damn good.

No Longer a Homeowner

I miss Clinton Hill already.

I've lived in Brooklyn for 12 years. 9 of them have been in Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill. 3 of them in Park Slope. Now I'll be adding to the Park Slope total. In fact, we are living only one block from we used to live.

I prefer Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill to Park Slope but Park Slope is impossible to beat for the kid friendliness of it all. Plus, most of our friends now live within easy walking distance.

I'll write more about the new apartment later. It isn't perfect but it will do for a year or so. I will say though that the move was awful. Much more expensive than we expected. It rained most of the day. And the foreman on the moving crew was a big jerk. I also had to spend 30 minutes blocking 3rd St. from traffic so our movers could park the truck for unloading. The street is too narrow for a truck to double park on.

The closing today was very bittersweet. It is nice to not be tied to a mortgage right now. It isn't so nice about the amount of money that we lost in the sale. The closing was more fun than last time though because this time Double Trouble were in attendance.

The boys celebrated being renters again.

Actually, not really. The move has been stressful on all of us. They have not acclimated themselves to the new digs and seem a bit sad about it all. Or maybe I'm simply referring to SHR and me.

The day after we moved, I took them back to the old apartment to pick up some things. As soon as we got to the courtyard, they started chattering and singing happily. They thought we were coming back home. Instead, we arrived at an empty apartment.

Soon enough, the new apartment will feel like home to them and to us. I'm looking forward to that day.