I just returned from Niagara Falls, Canada on Sunday night, I have tons of pictures and lots to say, but before that I’ll catch up on other, non-linuxy, things I’ve been up to the past week or so.
Last Sunday night I took Michael out for an early birthday outing to see Peter Murphy at the Troc in Philadelphia. The concert was amazing! One of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. I discovered Peter Murphy back in 2002 when I was browsing Michael’s mp3 collection on our network. Love at first listen. My favorite song ever is Socrates the Python. So when the opportunity to see him live on his own (rather than touring with the Bauhaus and NIN as he did last year) at the Troc was something we really couldn’t pass up.
I also saw Wall-E, and Pixar didn’t disappoint. Cute, deep, visually satisfying and original. Probably the best movie I’ve see this year. So I went with my friend Mike from NJ. Prior to the movie we wrapped up our respective rough days by hitting Michael’s Deli in KoP. I think I’ve blogged about it before, they’re a jewish deli and diner with a surprisingly fantastic beer selection. So dinner last night? I had a couple Monk’s Flemish Sours and some pancakes, Mike went with Chimay and some French toast. Mmmm breakfast and beer at 8:30PM.
Over that past weekend I also got Blinker, my 2000 Pontiac Grand Am GT, transferred to me officially. She now has a PA plate, the title in my name, and Wednesday morning I dropped her off for inspection… which she failed. A worn out tie rod and a bad break like were her downfall, so I got them replaced, tossed in an oil change and walked out with a significantly lighter wallet but a passed inspection. So the car was ready for my trip to Niagara Falls! I also finally received my PA title in the mail today from Harrisburg, so she’s all super officially mine now :)
And since I can’t seem to stay in town lately, I decided to head with Mike from NJ to HOPE, the 2600 convention, in NYC in 2 weeks. I just received the tickets in the mail late last week. I’ll be staying in Jersey Friday night, and crashing with friends in NYC following a LinuxChix-ish get together at 9PM at the Ninja. Should be a lot of fun, I’ve wanted to go to HOPE for several years and finally decided to make it a priority this year since it’s the last one (gasp!).
Aaaand the weekend after HOPE I’ll be going to the Brew at the Zoo. Last year’s event was a blast at the Norristown Zoo, but I was so excited to learn they’re having a change of venue this year – and moving it to the Philadelphia Zoo! Awesome! The PHILLY zoo in the evening with just adults and microbrews! I should snag some tickets, and some fellow drinkers and a designated driver. Volunteers?
The only trouble with my inability to stay in town lately is gas prices. Now I’m not one to complain about them, and this isn’t a complaint, but I think $4 is officially the mark where I really start noticing the expense. I’ve really had to cut back on other things to afford to drive to all the places I want to drive to, but I really have no place to complain, I have no commute so pretty much all the driving I do is optional/fun.
Finally, I’m moving out of Nita’s this month. I am thoroughly thankful for her for offering me space here, she’s really a great friend, but it’s been almost 5 months and it’s time for me to move on. I need to be somewhere bigger than a room where I am comfortable, I think I’ve done all the healing I can under these circumstances and need a change of living arrangement. More on that later though, I have a lot of thinking to do, wish me luck!