Settled

From the time my stuff was delivered to getting everything sorted and settled, it took me less than a week. In large part that was due to the fact that I forced the issue by having a house warming on Friday, 4 days after delivery. The house warming went well. I made some beer brats and cheese dogs on my grill. We can check the grill off the list of things to test. It successfully held burning charcoal briquettes while simultaneously hold raw meat mere inches above those.

Even though I have only been there about a week, the new place feels like a home already. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the fact that I have all of my stuff for the first time since March, but more than that I just really like the neighborhood and set up of my place. It has everything it needs and nothing else. I wouldn't want anything bigger or smaller. It is perfectly sized for what I need it for. Not only that, but it is dead quiet. I live at the end of a dead-end street and the opposite side of the house is a bike/running trail. Yes, I can hear footsteps and music from my neighbor above, but there is no outside noise. It's almost strange how quiet it gets, but I love it.

Another thing I really like is the kitchen. For the first time, I have a convection oven. I'm still learning the ropes on that one, but the fact that I can cook a deep dish pizza in 8 minutes is awesome. It has led to a fair amount of burning, but I've already gotten the hang of it for cooking fish and other meats. I plan on testing out how well it fares with bread tomorrow at my first weekly TV-on-DVD night in the UK. Wednesdays are no longer workable due to open gym basketball night, but Tuesdays are just as good. I made a ton of chili yesterday. So much chili, in fact, that not all of it fit into the refrigerator and I had to freeze half of it. I think that marks the first time I have ever made something fresh and put it into the freezer. Hopefully it doesn't end up sitting in there for the next couple of years.


Other than organizing, cleaning, and loving my new place, I haven't really been up to much. I did have a chance to go to some friends' place for a Tour de Franzia party this past Saturday. Basically, you dress like a bicyclist and drink boxed wine. The goal is to get through all of the stages (different types) in the fastest time. Like what often happens when I plan on only having "one or two" but don't have a good reason for setting that limit for myself, I had a lot more. I don't really consider myself to be too competitive, but I do consider myself to be skilled at taking advantage of the situation. I took about 20 minutes to drink my first glass of wine and the next closest person was on their third. By the time I hit 3, most people were on 6. By the time I hit 6, most people were on 7. When all was said and done, I finished second. I think they should re-write Aesop's Tortoise and the Hare fable to cover drinking for speed. It applies.

Coming up this week, a friend from Hawaii who is now in Australia will be visiting. We are going to spend a couple of days in Northern England followed by a few days in Ireland. After that, it's back to the US for about 10 days for a conference and a wedding. This summer is flying by.