In retrospect it occurs to me that just zooming through montreal could be a little rude. If anyone there would like to meet me, and would be willing to put me up on a couch or the like for July 11th, I’d be happy to spend a day in your fair city. Or I could get off my ass and get a hostel room, but the primary point is that someone has to want to meet me for me to change my train plans. =)
Catching up with Subscriptions: Victory Declared
I “caught up with” my subscriptions, by only going back about 150 entries, but I did catch up. I should resume typical lj activity levels soon. =)
Musical Options
So, I’m going to be in NYC.
I’m thinking I should see a musical. Sadly, I can only see one on tuesday, so, I need guidance for which should be my top choice.
What do you think I should see?
[EDIT: Please leave a comment telling me why you recommend one or the other, if you would]
If you have other suggestions for what I should do with Monday evening, I’m all ears.
Places to go, things to see, people to meet, stuff to do, and restaurants to eat at are all valid categories. What do you like most about NYC?
Ouch
3 days in a midtown manhattan hotel costs more than 1 month in a chicago apartment. Yikes. That’s going to hurt later.
[EDIT: Okay, I found a guest house for a much more reasonable $50/night. It’s a bit out of the way, but I figure $100/day is more than sufficient for all my cab fare needs. =)]
Next Steps
Options to consider:
Do I take off on Sunday the 2nd or Monday the 3rd? (maybe getting to see
Do I go straight to nyc, or take a day in philly? (if the 2nd, once again, I might get to see
Do I stay until the 5th or the 6th?
Do I meet [up with] interesting lj’ers in nyc (or philly), or whomever I happen to bump into?
Do I stay in a hostel near the train station, or beg lj’ers to put me up?
Or do I take a more radical plan and head down to DC to hang with familiar people? (who’ll probably see me in a month or so anyway when I’m out for GAO training. =)
In Pittsburgh
I’m in Pittsburgh, and staying until next Sunday. Locals: say Hi. =)
-Stephen
House hunting dilemma
I checked out 8 places in chicago in 36 hours. Not bad. One in lakeview. 2 in andersonville. 1 up by howard. 1 in wicker park. And 3 apartments very close to the morse stop in rogers park. Lakeview dude struck me as a stoner, and the apartment was poorly maintained. Not bad. The first roger’s park person was a self-described fag hag. I started getting guilt twinges just from hanging with her and chatting briefly, and the place was a bit iffy. Wicker park had no laundry in the unit. Also, my potential roommate was waaay too cute. In his presence, I was starting to overlook fatal flaws. It would have had the shortest commute, but just, no. I happened across a place to check out in andersonville on my way to lunch on day 2. It wasn’t bad. Extraordinarily cheap. Nice roommate, though totally run down place. I quickly nixed that one. The last “no” was another cute gay guy, this time in rogers park. He wanted a bit too much separation, and his place was pretty expensive. Very nice, decent commute, but not very homy.
Now on to the maybes.
Howard guy had his own condo. A long commute, (I’d estimate 45 min each way minimum) and the farthest from boystown and other fun neighborhoods. The most expensive one I’m considering ($600 + 1/3 utils). But he’s a great guy. And the gym (Bally’s, also a nationwide chain, $4/month to have access to all) would be between the train station and home, eliminating all excuses for not working out. Grocery store right next to that. He listed a PS2 as an amenity of the apartment. Laundry in the place. He seems totally affable and easy to get along with. Also a homo from SF.
Next place. A 3 BR in Andersonville with two women. One ex-SF-er who will be moving out in January. One Polish lady. $500 a month, including everything: laundry, internet, electricity, heat, you name it (imagine how quickly I could pay off my credit cards…). Polish lady smokes on the front porch, not a problem. An easy walk to see
Last place. Two straight guys. Friendly, mellow. $500, utils not included. Not really close to anything. I just liked the social vibe of the place. (ouch, okay, this one just moved to the bottom of my maybe list).
So, fundamentally, it’s a choice between low rent, and long walks for groceries and gym (~10 min to the gym ~15 to the grocery store, maybe less) Or, over $100/month more for a handy gym and grocery store (and a slightly longer commute). I did feel a bit cozier with the Howard guy, on a personal basis, but the location, especially at that price is too hard to beat. Plus, if the roommates don’t work out, I’ll have a hand in selecting a new one soon. Okay, decision made.
Documentary: Meth
I can strongly recommend a documentary I saw at the SF G&L Film Fest: Meth.
It’ll be showing in chicago on wed & thu for free. Details below:
Wednesday, June 21st and Thursday, June 22nd
Film Screening: Meth
This documentary takes an unflinching, provocative look at past and present gay users. A panel discussion will follow the screening. Panelist slated to attend include Dan Berger, MD; Dan Bigg – Chicago Recovery Alliance: film cast memeber Jim Johnson; and Jim Pickett – AIDS Foundation of Chicago.
Bailiwick Repertory Theatre
1229 W. Belmont
7:00pm
The screening is FREE and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
All you San Franciscans
Hey, I’m in town. Right next to Duboce park. Anyone want to hang out & chat? Or meet me in person for the first time? I’ll be here for a few days before returning to the east bay. I now return you to your originally scheduled browsing.
WoW servers
I currently have 7 characters spread across multiple servers. Only one has a ten’s level digit greater than 1. I’m sticking with my main on the server I share with Simon, Lili,
[ETA: okay, you may be able to tempt me with a Horde alternate, so I can build up restedness on my main. Feel free to make server suggestions. I will only do one. It should be backed up with a list of people I know and love, or you can make me believe I would rapidly come to love. =)]