A brief recount of my recent move, after the jump.
But first: Top Comments appears nightly, as a round-up of the best comments on Daily Kos. Surely you come across comments daily that are perceptive, apropos and .. well, perhaps even humorous. But they are more meaningful if they're well-known ... which is where you come in (especially in diaries/stories receiving little attention).
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Tonight’s diary will be somewhat short, as I am still in the process of completing a move I made last Friday. Admittedly, when you move only seventy-five minutes south, it’s not like going cross-country. Still, I’m relieved that it came off well … and advance preparation helped.
I have lived in the Connecticut River Valley (along the border of Vermont and New Hampshire) for most of the past twenty-five years, and have grown to love the area. Alas, I lost my job at Dartmouth College’s medical center (DHMC) - where I had worked for a dozen years - back in 2011, when they had a major downsizing. And this past February, the small firm that hired me in 2012 also cut staffing.
Mercifully, I was hired this past May …. but at a company which was a fifty-five minute drive south. That drive isn’t bad in the summertime: 95% of it on (lightly-traveled) Interstate highways, leaving when the sun is out in the AM (and also when returning home in the evening). But that isn’t something I want to do long-term ... and especially not during the New England winter.
So I sought a new place to live, while commuting for a time. And given my experience the past few years: before moving, I wanted to be sure my new employer was a good fit. My new boss (and her manager) were delighted that I would not require relocation expense, and needing only two days off to actually move.
I found some good condo and rental properties along the outskirts of Keene, New Hampshire – also a college town (though Keene State College doesn’t have the same caliber of guest speakers, conferences and concerts that Dartmouth College does). With only a twenty-minute drive, the commute is OK and with (again) light traffic. And the place I wanted had mid-August availability, which would allow me to:
a) Make sure I felt comfortable at my new employer
b) Have ample advance time to throw-out accumulated junk, and
c) Have a week to begin some advance moving of items.
In my youth, friends could help one move solely with a U-Haul rental truck (as long as there was enough beer/pizza promised). But in one’s mid-50’s ….. well, there’s not enough beer in the world to persuade others to pitch-in. So I contacted a local mover (that we used for storage and moving at DHMC) who were able to squeeze me during a busy stretch on a Friday that was neither at mid-month, nor at month-end. They have a minimum charge which – if I played my cards right – I could avoid exceeding, by doing all of my own packing ahead of time.
And that I did over the past few months, although there’s only so much you can pack in advance without having to live on a subsistence level. Still, I was able to bring five boxes of books, DVD’s, CD’s and the like to keep at our office storage bin. And I grew to like my new employer; seeing familiar practices (I am to handle construction projects and major leased equipment accounting) so I felt comfortable signing a lease on August 15th.
Over the next few days, I was able to stuff my vehicle with clothes and other items to drop-off at my new place (before returning home) and also using a Rent-A-Wreck van to transport messier items (snow tires and the like) on the Saturday before.
That left Thursday of last week for the final push. After some appointments that morning (returning the cable/Internet boxes, saying goodbye at some familiar food stops, hair salon, etc.) I began at 1:00 PM ….. knowing the movers would arrive at 8:00 AM the next morning. I was a bit nervous; skipping one last trip to the Salt Hill Pub (in favor of getting delivered Chinese food) just to play it safe.
And at 9:45 that night …… I finished. Whew; so much to do and worrying I’d be up long past midnight … but it came off. Plus, I had just the right number of boxes; everything had a place.
More luck: the following day saw excellent weather, the movers were two personable fellows who were able to load my furniture/boxes on in less than 90 minutes – with some help from myself.
I still have some boxes stacked to the ceiling, and I still have some sore muscles and scrapes on my hands/arms. But I have the Labor Day weekend to finish, and I have quite a bit more closet/storage space than I did before.
Truth-be-told, I wish I was still at DHMC …. but such is not the case, and for all of my worrying .... things have worked out well so far.
Back to some more profound Top Comments diaries going forward ... for now, let me close with my Cheers & Jeers song for the week: So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star - not the original version by The Byrds, nor more celebrated cover versions by Tom Petty, Pearl Jam, Patti Smith or Bon Jovi .... but instead, the earliest known cover version of the tune (dating back to 1968). This was a British band (which featured Jeff Lynne, who morphed it into the Electric Light Orchestra later in the 70's). But at the time, they were known simply - and appropriately for this diary - as ... The Move ....
Now, on to Top Comments:
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(Nothing from the field tonight .... this is where we need your help).
And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the diary by PeteInTx about the arrest of a woman (at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport) with gun in her carry-on luggage .... namely, the wife of Ted Nugent - radabush worries about the fallout as the result of a conviction - yet 88kathy manages to sympathize with Mrs. Nugent.
In the front-page story about the Montana judge who handed down a 30-day sentence to a rapist because the victim 'was as much in control of the situation' as he was - annieli makes a comparison to a failed GOP candidate from last year.
And in the diary by OnlyWords about the Sabbatus, Maine resident who was peeved to receive a visit from the Secret Service for a Facebook post about President Obama where he says to "Shoot the [N-word]" - and who (incidentally) may lose his town positions following an emergency meeting tonight - a baffled commonmass delves into the man's rationale after the fact ... and comes up wanting in the end.
TOP PHOTOS
August 28, 2013
Next - enjoy jotter's wonderful PictureQuilt™ below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment that features that photo.
(NOTE: Any missing images in the Quilt were removed because (a) they were from an unapproved source that somehow snuck through in the comments, or (b) it was an image from the DailyKos Image Library which didn't have permissions set to allow others to use it.)
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And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:
1) Um, no. by MBNYC — 144
2) I am the former Blue Floyd on huffpost. My old by Floyd Blue — 112
3) Crackpot Realism is a perfectly suitable phrase. by Jim P — 112
4) Good post. Very civil and well argued. by TomP — 104
5) more applications of Todd Akin theory of Rape /nt by annieli — 85
6) We have deployed some fresh anti-spam measures by elfling — 82
7) Joe whoâ„¢? by JeffW — 78
8) My comment on another site: by lcbo — 78
9) Christ. All this is known about this guy and by navajo — 75
10) This is one of those places it's hard by I love OCD — 75
11) Welcome! by smileycreek — 72
12) There are many parts to this by ivorybill — 71
13) Thanks for the diary! by Jen Hayden — 70
14) Dammit, quit making me cry! by Senor Unoball — 70
15) in a war by 3ofspades — 67
16) your outrage is noted by Laurence Lewis — 67
17) Great perspective- Thank you. by Remembering Jello — 65
18) Only part of the story by dizzydean — 62
19) No one should choose death because by blue aardvark — 62
20) honkeysplaining! by left rev — 60
21) indiscriminate by its very nature. by BOHICA — 59
22) Amazing how liberal view of wars of choice changes by billmon — 58
23) You mean like people who sit outside by JesseCW — 58
24) Welcome new users! Something you may... by Meteor Blades — 57
25) Short Answer: Police Cams by xaxnar — 56
26) This was a good overview of the players by Justanothernyer — 56
27) i can't help convince your husband either way by ivorybill — 55
28) I have got to say, that last image almost got my by mrsgoo — 55
29) That's exactly what I was thinking by Avilyn — 54
30) Oh, well then it wasn't "forcible, beat-up rape" by bastrop — 54
31) Agreed by david mizner — 54