Cleaning House

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The following is a list of stuff I’d like to sell before moving. All of it is lightly used, and all of it hasn’t been used in a while, which is why I’m bothering to sell any of it. Photos and additional information available upon request.

  • 28′ fiberglass extension ladder (paid $250, asking $200)
  • 5500 watt gas generator (paid $659, asking $525)
  • JVC stereo VCR (paid $289, asking $100)
  • Technics component stereo (paid ~$800, asking $200)
    • 40 watt x 4 channel tuner/amp w/ remote
    • pair of 3 way, 12″ speakers
    • dual cassette deck (both decks record)
    • cd player
    • turntable (SL-1200 motor)
  • 2000 Nissan Xterra SE, 4WD. 116,000 miles. Dented rear passenger door (wife bumped a pole at the gas station) but otherwise in very good condition. New tires, timing belt/water pump/belts, all fluids changed. $6,500.

All prices negotiable, but note that I already know for instance what CarMax will give me for the Xterra, and I’m not planning on dumping stuff if I don’t get a decent price for them.

Whiplash

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We’re looking for a house in Vienna, VA. Scratch that, they’re too expensive and without any character. We’re buying a cute bungalow in Herndon. Hmmm, too many problems the seller won’t fix. A job offer in Kauai? Hard to pass up, but we don’t want to be that far from family. Four interviews and four pending job offers in Chicago. Okay, so I’ve accepted a Sr. Web Developer position at Mbira. Trying to manage the logistics of relocation is stressful and far more expensive than I thought, but we’ll mange.

Then this week I got the official offer from Citadel Investment Group. And as cliche’ as it sounds, they made me an offer I can’t refuse. Full relocation, buying out the stock options and bonus I’m leaving on the table at AOL, and a significantly better salary and bonus. So with yet another change of course, today I’m officially accepting it. Starting January 29, 2007, I will be a Unix Engineer at Citadel’s Chicago, IL office. Here’s to hoping the financial industry is everything I expect it to be.

Celebrations

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This evening we celebrated our daughter;s first birthday with Thai food at 4912 in Sterling. Okay, so it’s not quite cake and ice cream, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a one year old eat so much steamed broccoli, rice, chicken, and potstickers before (and besides, she’d already stuffed herself with ducky cake at her birthday party two weeks prior. When we got home, she opened her birthday and Hanukkah presents. All in all not a bad day for a one year old.

As it so happens, today is also my parents 30th anniversary. It’s easy to remember how long they’ve been married, since I’ll be 30 in May. We’ll be taking them to Hawaii in January to celebrate (by the way, if you ever visit there, be sure to pick up a copy of The Big Island Revealed, which is the best travel guide ever).

After Christi said the word “presents” this evening and the little one looked to the bedroom and pointed at where they are stacked, she jokingly wondered last night what eight nights of presents will do to a one year old on Saturday when Hanukkah is over. I think she’ll forget rather quickly about her new nightly ritual of opening them. I think.

High-priced Moves

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Oh the joys of relocation. Yesterday Christi met with JK Moving & Storage to get a moving estimate. When she called me to tell me their cost, I spit my coffee across my desk. Then I drank some more, and spit that across the desk, too. To pack us, load a truck, store our stuff for 60 days, deliver it, and unload, they wanted almost $11,000. ELEVEN GRAND! Funk that.

So last night we started working on a plan. We’re still weighing our options, but I think our plan will be to pack our stuff ourselves and rent an 8x8x16 portable storage container and a 14′ Budget Truck. Unless we go with a 6×12 trailer, I have no intention of using U-haul after the awful experiences some of my friends have suffered at their hands.

Packing ourselves will save us about $2,000, and the PODS container and self-service moving truck will save at least $3,500 (possibly more if we take more than 60 days to find a house, since their storage cost is 40% of what JK Moving charges). I’ve tentatively set up Beltway Movers to load our stuff in Virginia, and All Star Movers in Chicago (Note: there are a number of companies in various states DBA “All Star Movers”, but I don’t believe this company is related to any of them), at a cost of about $600 and $300, respectively. All told I expect this move to run us under $4,000 including packing materials – not insignificant, but not nearly the $10,700 JK Moving & Storage was talking either.

Our next step is to sign a lease on an apartment, which we hope to do on January 3rd. And of course, start packing.

Top 10 Albums

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Every so often I think to myself “If I had to whittle my music collection down to 10 albums, what would they be?” The only rule I impose is no “Greatest Hits”, compilations, live albums, or soundtracks. It’s far harder than most people think, since the goal is really to find albums in which practically every track is good, and to come up with a decent assortment of music. I like really 2/3 of Dave Matthew’s Under the Table and Dreaming, for instance, but that’s not good enough to make this list. I find it’s a good way to recommend music to friends as well, so here goes (in order):

  1. Matthew Sweet – Girlfriend
  2. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II
  3. The Beatles – Help (I couldn’t decide between this and Revolver)
  4. Pearl Jam – Ten
  5. They Might Be Giants – Flood (Lincoln comes in a close second)
  6. Van Morrison – Moondance
  7. The Grateful Dead – American Beauty/Reality
  8. Cake – Fashion Nugget (Prolonging the Magic is a great album, too)
  9. Weezer – (Blue Album)
  10. Ben Folds Five – Whatever and Ever Amen

Runner up for the list is Squirrel Nut Zippers’ Hot. Honestly, I probably could come up with 50 great albums (Pink Floyd’s Animals or Wish You Were Here, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Texas Flood, Live’s Mental Jewelry, and Rush’s Moving Pictures immediately come to mind), but I’m limiting myself to 10, so that’s that.