Life updates

[10sun]

I bought an 83 bronco to restore/play with.

I can't figure out why the alternator isn't charging the battery aside from the new alternator being bad off the bat.

[Drem]

Congrats sir. And thank you for giving him a normal fucking name.



My update: We are packing up the family and heading to Portland on Sunday (3-25). I actually had two job offers to consider over the weekend... felt like Lebron James all weekend, comparing the two offers side by side. I made my decision live on TV

wait, no... I sent them an email and all is well... totally looking forward to starting my new life with the liberals

I will TERRIBLY miss my giant family in Texas. But, that's the only thing I'll look back at... Screw this place, Texas sucks so bad.

i'm down in eugene. we might have to meet up for beers. wife and i go to portland a lot for that fubonn asian market. and good music. you're gonna love it imo. thinkin about moving up there in a year or two ourselves

[leah]

i got a new job and start in two weeks. PANTS!

incidentally, i have chosen to take a different new job and will probably still start in two weeks. PANTS! hahaha. life is crazy, man.

[Tossica]

i got a new job and start in two weeks. PANTS!

incidentally, i have chosen to take a different new job and will probably still start in two weeks. PANTS! hahaha. life is crazy, man.

"like"

[leah]

^_^

[brinstar]

hmm haven't shared anything recently

got a second job in september, been working about 60 hrs a week since

joined a folkmetal band in november and have played a half dozen shows already (including one at the historic Zoo Bar)

i almost ran for state senate but changed my mind at the last second

i got an 07 hybrid ford escape in december, and the $$$ i save on gas over my old 98 explorer xlt is literally equal to the monthly loan payment

plus occupy stuff, education stuff, softball is coming up very soon, blah blah blah

[Ganzo]

I'm gonna be moving again (I swear in my entire life I have never lived in one place longer than 5 years), I moved to Grand Rapids MI 3 years ago from Detroit area for a new job, and now I'm moving back to Detroit area for another job. Other than that not much new in my life, I turned 37 today so i'm starting to get a little more mature. My daughter is going to the first grade this fall, and she just tested for a green belt in Tae Kwon Do and told me that she thinks "swords are better for killing people than guns, because if you shoot someone they may not die, but if you chop their head off they will die forever", that was my proudest moment as a father.

[ClakarEQ]

WB home Ganzo, saying /wave from Auburn Hills / Shelby Township area.

Whereabouts you living anyway? Don't say downtime /giggles :p

[Ganzo]

WB home Ganzo, saying /wave from Auburn Hills / Shelby Township area.

Whereabouts you living anyway? Don't say downtime /giggles :p

moving on the 5th to Novi not too far from Twelve Oaks mall

[ClakarEQ]

Ahh, I used to live off beck and pontiac trail, The Village or what I used to call Sardene City (sp). Between Walled Lake, Wixom, and Milford, those were my stomping grounds back in the day :P

[Lyion]

Ganzo, if you are ever near Cedar Point <or anyone here> Let me know. I'm 15 minutes away.

I'm still in the same house I was 10 years ago in Ohio, working the same job I've been in for the past 13 years. I'm 43, but having lil kids seems to require one to pretend they are younger. I'm the opposite of Vonk, as I miss Texas and especially the fun that was Dallas. I do not miss the traffic or schools. I'm a native Californian though, and I still consider that my home. I'd like to go back to San Diego someday, but I doubt it'll happen.

[vonkaar]

wtf was 'fun' in Dallas?

[Kramer]

i'd have to echo ol vonk's remark....

[Lyion]

There's lots of work and easy to contract, tons of good restaurants, fun nightlife, lot of shopping, lot of things to do, airport is an easy hop for travelling, and fun sports teams. I enjoyed my time there and also miss no state income tax.

I've worked in Portland. Give me Dallas any day of the week over that shithole. I've lived and worked in Ohio, Cali, Florida, Oregon, Texas, Tenn, Maryland, the UK, and overseas for the military. Texas outside of the crap summer weather was as good as any and far better than Oregon. Far better taxes, more things to do, generally. I'm not a fan of the weather in Oregon, although it's beautiful there. Cost of living and taxes are also far better. Schools in Texas suck, though. Then again, they suck pretty bad in Oregon, too. It's not nearly as good as Ohio.

I'm curious if you've lived anywhere but Texas, Vonk. I guess it'd suck if it's all you've ever known.

[vonkaar]

It's all I've ever known. I have no basis for comparison but I can definitely speak with confidence on the merits of DFW. After 28 years, I'm allowed to be jaded by the metroplex. Texas isn't so bad. Actually, I have a lot of pride for the state. North Texas, however, is a pit. I can't say much about Portland because I hardly know it. I really enjoy life here so far, but only time will tell. The only other city (outside of Texas) that I know really well is San Diego. My wife is a 5th generation San Diegan, from an old Jewish family that used to own much of Mission Valley and started the nearby town of Julian. I've spent several months in various vacations there and I love the city, but would never want to live there. Otherwise, Texas is all I know.

To your points...

Food? Steak... yes. Absolutely, the best in the state. My dad was a traveling salesman who covered the entire nation over a 45 year career and he said that Dallas had to have the best steak houses in the country. What else? Every other cuisine is marginal at best, and much better elsewhere. BBQ? You want the Hill Country (3 hours south). Seafood? Go to the Gulf (6 hours southeast). Mexican? San Antonio has you beat (5 hours south). There's no good Italian to speak of and the fine dining is trumped handily by both Austin and Houston. Last I heard, Dallas has something like 6 James Beard winners and that's fucking pathetic for the 8th largest city in the US and 4th largest metropolitan area.

Bars? Night life? Perhaps in the 90s when you were here... not today. Deep Ellum is a ghetto, Lower Greenville is trashy, the McKinney Bar area is douchey. Oddly, Oak Cliff actually has some of the best bars these days and you can chalk that up to good ole gentrification. Still, even after such a small sampling in Portland, I can tell you with total certainty that they take alcohol 1200% more seriously up here than they do down there. And people actually go out and enjoy themselves. Most of the bars in Dallas are just depressing. I'm sure it's better elsewhere and my brother in NYC could make a stronger case than probably anyone, but listing the Dallas night life as a positive just shows you haven't really been here in years. We do have strip clubs, if that's what you mean.

Nature? Wait, you didn't mention this... and that's good. Texas has it, but not here. Big Bend is a national treasure, but it's twelve fucking hours away. The Gulf Coast is amazing, and six hours away. Palo Duro Canyon is awesome, and 6 hours away. I'm curious about the 'things to do' bit. We basically have some lakes, bowling alleys and bars. Whee.

Oh... Sports? Okay, you got me... it's actually a very good sports town. The fans are (often) terrible and both fair-weathered and bandwagon'ing, but the city does support them whole-heartedly. You'll never ever see a situation where the Rangers are threatening to leave to Vegas if the city doesn't build a new stadium or anything like that. Of course, everything - EVERYTHING - is secondary to the Cowboys.

When I started telling my family and friends about wanting to leave Texas, people often asked me why. I turned it around and asked them to explain what was so great about North Texas. They all replied the same - the economy and job market... and then randomly threw in various areas of the state hours outside DFW as examples for Texas superiority. Yeah yeah, low cost of living. But you more than make up for it by having terrible commutes, high work weeks (#2 in the nation in average weekly hours worked, only behind NYC), ridiculously high tolls (Houston is #1 in the country, Dallas is close behind), high city taxes, high crime (Dallas lead the nation in violent crime through most of the 00s), abysmal public schooling and... the god damned weather.

Did you know that we had 27 days of 105°+ last year? It was the hottest summer in the history of Dallas. The average temperature from May to September was 89.8°. That beat the previous record by over a full degree and that was a record that stood for over 70 years. And we have humidity t'boot. It doesn't snow, it freezes. We have black ice and idiots on the road who think 4-wheel drive helps them stop better. And we have our natural disasters. According to the New York Times, nobody has it worse. Seriously, Dallas is the #1 worst city in the country if you want to avoid a natural disaster. We have it all - floods, softball+ hail, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, mudslides, droughts, high wind, lightning strikes... we even had a 4.4 earthquake last year. Go read the article. Guess where they said the #1 best area to live is. Oregon. They basically get a freak blizzard every 20 years and an occasional baby earth quake.

The morning after my wife and I decided that Portland was the right choice, I picked up my Dallas Morning News at the cafe in my building. The cover story was on the urban growth boundary in Dallas and it was basically describing 'how wrong' the city planners got it. The article described how you could stand in the middle of downtown, spin a bottle and travel one hour in whatever direction it landed; when you stopped, you would STILL be in the metroplex. And you would have passed through multiple ghettos, gentrified neighborhoods, sprawling shopping centers and countless car dealerships. In any direction, it would all look the same. The writers named one city in the states that got it right - Portland. It was a very condemning article and I'd love to show it, but DMN.com is subscriber only... I kept the hard copy and could scan it if you really wanted... Anyway, it was nice because we had decided the night before to make the move. Then here is the newspaper of Dallas explaining how badly planned the city is and how ONE city got it right and it's the place we're headed.

anyway...

You could just be trolling and that's fine, I haven't had any dialogue like this in a while up here and some might like to know why I'm leaving. North Texas is a cess pool. All the best areas of Texas are hours away and the one thing that Dallas has going for it is cancelled out by all the many negatives. I can speak to all of this because I know the city intimately. It remains to be seen if I'll see Portland in such a light. What matters to me is that my wife told me today that she can't explain how blessed she feels to be living where we are. We hated North Texas and now we are happy. Mission accomplished.

[Arlos]

2 places you'll want to go to in Portland:

1) Powell's Books. Largest bookstore west of the Mississippi. They literally give you a map when you go in. They have new books, used books, rare books, everything. The place is absolutely amazing. MUST stop.

2) The Gorge. Just head slightly out of Portland toward The Dalles on I84. Stunning.


Also, there's one of my favorite seafood places of all time, Jake's Famous Crawfish. Owned by McCormick & Schmick's now, but from all accounts still excellent. When iw as there 20+ years ago, was the best shrimp scampi I've had before or since. Kinda pricy now, apparently, but worth it as an occasional thing.


BTW, one thing I do feel sorry for you leaving: All the work you did to put in that fiber-optic star system in your kid's bedroom, oof, leaving that behind. Ah well, new project for a new house, I am sure.

-Arlos

[Lyion]

No, I'm not trolling at all. It sounds like a fresh start is a good thing for you, Mike. These are just my opinions. I have two buddies who live in Portland who love it. Ironically, both are retired military and very conservative in their political views. I hope it works out for you, and you've done your homework, like I'd bet you do for most things.

I'm honestly curious why one would pick Portland over Cali <better cities weather and beaches> or Washington State <Seattle is great for work and like Dallas, although the rain is sucky>. I've lived and worked in Oregon and didn't care for it. Granted, I was coming from San Diego. Oregon cannot compare to Southern Cali, IMHO. I'm curious why you would never live in San Diego, especially North County like Carlsbad or Fallbrook, or even Riverside county? Especially if your wife is from that area. I do think the schools have gone downhill in Cali, but San Diego remains amazing for weather and 'nature' things to do. Close to Big Bear, beaches, desert, tons of shopping, great sports, etc.

Your points are also valid as I haven't lived in Dallas since the 90s. I really do not miss my commute from Coppell to downtown. It was just like that opening scene from Office Space. I also can't argue with the 'nature' comparison, as Dallas is what it is. I think you're being a bit harsh regarding things to do, though, but it does sound like things have gone downhill a bit since I left. I really enjoyed my time in Dallas, as one day I was driving to the beach, one day going out offroading, the next I was at ION Storm gaming, the following I was at a work convention downtown, or hitting a Cowboys or Rangers game, and on the weekend I was building a new PC with stuff from Frys. The malls were easy to get to and huge, I hit the same sports bars a few times a month with my work crew, and I did enjoy the night life as it was hopping with a minimum of douchebags compared to L.A. or MD.

One thing you didn't mention is travel which is pretty easy. DFW is nice as you can get a quick direct flight most places in the U.S. Driving anywhere in Texas is really simple as well, although a bit time consuming. It's nice doing 90 and being in the slow lane, sans the few bumpkins doing 35. Also, the weather the last few years is a bit of an aberration. Everyone knows summer is nasty in Dallas. I actually liked the weather in Dallas, moving there from MD. Anyways, I hope you dislike the sun, as it didn't seem to exist when I worked in Oregon:



I do actually like Austin more than Dallas as it's much prettier and far closer to the ocean and I love the hill country, although I've never lived there. San Antonio is a cesspool, but Dallas has great suburban communities and a lot of things to do in day to day life especially for families.

New is good sometimes. I'll be curious what your opinion of Portland is five years from now.

[vonkaar]

Arlos,

The starfield definitely bums me out. I have some plans for the next house but it certainly sucks to leave that behind. We have been to Powell's a few times now and love it. The gorge is a love hate thing. I drove into Portland at night in the rain (naturally) via the gorge and that was terrifying. Probably the scariest driving of my life. I've experienced worse conditions but not while also transporting a wife, two babies and a dog. Not cool at all. Since then we've go.e back and hiked a few waterfalls and snapped some pictures; had a blast. Amazifng area on both sides of the Columbia. Some points are absolutely brrath taking.

Lyion, you have a point on the airport. It spoiled me so much that we expect that kind of effeciency with other airports and hate life when it's (often) lacking. San Fran, for example, is TERRIBLE. You have to leave security and recheck just to make a gate change! How are 30 minute layovers even possible there ?? DFW? NP.

Much has changed on the commutes. The whole system is ripped up in rebuilding efforts. Grapevine is WRECKED just north of the airport, 114 and 121 are basically shut down. Then in Dallas, 635 is destroyed until 2015. And you probably were here to remember how ineffecient our planning is (remember central expressway taking 18 years from the planned 6?) so who knows how long all this will really take?

Anyway... I love Pdx so far. One complaint - the fucking drivers. Th

[vonkaar]

Last time I try typing that much on a phone. I'll cover the shit, rude, asshole drivers when I get home.

[brinstar]

so markarado probably lived through the quake/tsunami they had over there this morning

it was on the news that experts said the earth moved from side to side this time instead of up and down like the big 2004 tsunami that killed six digits, so there weren't nearly the wave dangers

oh well, MALAYSIA MALAYSIA MALAYSIA is safe for now

[leah]

first week of new job is almost over and it's been pretty freaking fantastic. the only downside is commuting from lincoln to omaha every day; it's about an hour's drive and that's unfortunate for my evening routine. but, i'd rather commute to a job that i love than have a shorter drive and eight hours of misery. plus my officemate and one other person here commute from lincoln so i'm going to jump in on their carpooling setup. AND i bought a hybrid civic that gets about 480 miles out of each 12-gallon tank, so i'm at least not throwing away more money than usual on gas.

anyway! yay new job.

also, to contribute to the texas vs. oregon debate: oregon all the way!!

[Arlos]

Just met The Vonkaar in person on Friday. Even got some extra-long tours of random freeways and side streets of Portland in the bargain too. Finally met Azlana in person as well. (Side note: Jake's still has excellent seafood)

-Arlos

[Tikker]

.

[Spazz]

I dont have shit goin on. I been on a role goin to a lot of concerts. Its kind of a hat trick of sorts for me. Saw frank turner Not too long ago just saw lucero and finna see possibly my current fave musician twice this weekend. Thats bout the best I got for a life update.

[brinstar]

band's gonna cut some tracks in about five weeks, we're doing eight tunes

Tesseract, Saturn Returns, Rosemary's Baby, High Plains Thunder, Tribute, and Bury the West are going on a self-released EP

The Sow Is Mine and Home from the Trenches are going on a 10" split with Kill County, some friends of ours

of all those my favorites are tesseract and HPT but i gotta say it will be damn cool to be on wax