Starting Anew

Still unpacking the new place.

I have a method when I do these things. It's called "do as little as possible."

You don't need everything in your apartment all at once. You need specific things in specific rooms, and the rest is ornamental. In my case, I need a computer, a working kitchen and a bed. Bath towels and toliet paper are nice. Otherwise, I can rough it.

This leads to dozens of unopened boxes that, for all intents and purposes, would lay there for months on end unless I need something from them. (True story: my old boss bought me a TV for Christmas once. It stayed in its box for nearly a full year, just inside my front door. I used it for an endtable.)

Fortunately, someone decided I needed a housewarming party this past Monday (Labor Day), which forced me to make the apartment hospitable to others. My girlfriend and I did in three hours what it would have taken me days to do otherwise: organize things. It's amazing how quickly you can make a place presentable when you own as little as I do -- granted, don't try to walk into our walk-in closet because the stacks of boxes will attack you -- although we could certainly use a decent couch.

Hint.

******

While I live very near Tazza D'oro, the fact remains that the cafe closes earlier than any Crazy Mocha, which means I need a backup plan for those nights when I'm feeling nocturnal (which is most). Making a wrong turn in Shadyside led me to the Crazy Mocha on Ellsworth, which I'm happy to report is open until midnight.

Oddly, it also allows smoking.

I'd prefer not to come home at night smelling like I was at the bar for four hours. Then again, I'd prefer to come home knowing I got as much done as possible.

Procrastination or secondhand cigar smoke? Weigh the options...