Movin’ On Up

Extra ExtraI have news. This isn’t really a secret but I don’t think it’s exactly common knowledge among my Twitter followers, so this serves as your official announcement. And I’ll see if anyone actually reads this blog! It’s a twofer!

The news is: I’m moving. No big deal, you move all the time Josh! (You think if you’ve known me awhile.) This is a bigger move than usual. I’m moving to New York City.

Here are the basics. More details will come later. Why? Because my boyfriend was offered a temporary position there with his current employer, and I felt like it was a good opportunity, plus I’ve been ready for a change from Chicago and on the job front for awhile. Temporary, you say? Yes, it would be two years with a possible option for a third, after which we could return to Chicago, or possibly go elsewhere. When? Looks like early June. Do you have a job there? No. I’m going to be a house husband and dedicate myself to charitable pursuits. Really?! NO! I wish! But I’ll have to find a job. I don’t have one lined up yet. Isn’t New York expensive? Yes. Yes it is. Good God, yes. =sigh= Where are you going to live? Don’t know that yet. We get two months of corporate housing paid for, so there’s time to figure that out.

That’s all for now. I’ll keep you posted as the planning progresses, and maybe even share some thoughts and feelings (GASP! I know…) on the whole thing. In the mean time, have a great weekend! Feel free to ask questions in the comments.

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by josh on February 3, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by josh on February 3, 2012

http://bruiserblog.com/2012/02/03/movin-on-up/

Saying Goodbye

clutterAfter my last post, you might be expecting something maudlin about dealing with the passing of a loved one. But that’s not what this is about; it’s not something I wish to dwell on. So on to other things!

How do you declutter your life? I am not a hoarder as you may have seen on TV, but I think I’d qualify as a pack rat. I–without a doubt–have too much stuff. That needs to change, and soon! Unfortunately it’s hard for me to get rid of things. I tend to associate objects with memories, as many people do. But the problem is I keep lots of  things that aren’t associated with significant memories. Like a mundane memento from an insignificant trip. I also tend to keep freebies, which I almost never need. Like a Frisbee from some bar that was used a plate at a food event. I can’t remember the last time I played Frisbee! Most of them aren’t even on display or anything. They’re just sitting on a pile or in a box.

So how do you make yourself get rid of these things that are just taking up space in your life? For many people it’s probably easy, but I find myself getting oddly attached to these silly and pointless doodads. Or I think “I might need that some day!” Never mind that I haven’t had a need for it in years and could probably acquire a new one in the unlikely event that the need some day arose.

I’ve been working hard on decluttering the last couple weeks and I’ve made some good progress (the freebie Frisbee is gone). But I am not there yet. I know I’m still holding on to too much stuff.

So how about it? Any other recovering pack rats have advice on how to say goodbye?

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by josh on January 23, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by josh on January 23, 2012

http://bruiserblog.com/2012/01/23/saying-goodbye/

Reflections

purple violetI am now down to one remaining biological grandparent. My paternal grandmother, Violet, passed away over the weekend shortly after her 89th birthday. She is survived by her 91 year old husband, my grandpa, Burt. For how long, I don’t know. My mom’s parents passed about a year apart, a few years ago. And I still miss them.

In my mom’s family, when my grandparents passed the family started to unravel. I wouldn’t say it’s fallen apart, but it’s not what it used to be. We used to all get together every Christmas at my grandparents place to eat, exchange gifts and play games. There hasn’t been a full family Christmas since they passed. There are occasional family reunions, but they aren’t as well attended, and just really aren’t the same. This makes me sad.

I’m afraid the same is going to happen with my dad’s family, and based on conversations I had this past Christmas, I’m not the only one. Because my relationship with my dad (biological father) was strained after my parent’s divorce, I never spent as much time with his family as with my mom’s or step dad’s. Often I’d only see them at Christmas. There are first cousins on that side that I couldn’t name (in my defense, there are 25 of them in total!) and that’s not even getting into my cousin’s kids. I haven’t spent enough time with these people as it is, and I’d hate to see it reduced even more.

But there will be time enough to worry about that. For now it’s time to mourn, commiserate and remember. Grandma Vi lived a long and happy life and had a big, loving family. She will be missed, but her memory lives on in all of us. RIP, Grandma!

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by josh on January 10, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by josh on January 10, 2012

http://bruiserblog.com/2012/01/10/reflections/

Bruiser Blogs on Burgers

Five Guys burgerOne of the items I’m retrieving from my defunct previous blog is my Burger List. In a nutshell, the BL is a list of places I created based on several “best burger in Chicago(land)” lists from Grub Street, Chicago Magazine and Metromix. These are places I want to try a burger. It is my mission to try them all! The list is as follows, including my current progress toward my goal (*’d places are on the two original lists; the Metromix list was of new places, which I added in 2010): Read the full post »

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by josh on January 6, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by josh on January 6, 2012

http://bruiserblog.com/2012/01/06/bruiser-blogs-on-burgers/

Bruiser Blogs

This is my new blog. My old one is caput. I will miss it, but it’s time to move on. I’ll try to use Google’s cache of my old blog to bring some stuff over, but most of it will not make the cut. It’s a time for changes.

I haven’t been blogging much in the last year or so, but with another election cycle now in full swing, I have a feeling I’ll be needing an outlet for my ranting, and the 140 characters Twitter allows is barely enough to get started. Also, some big changes are coming up for me (stay tuned!) and this will give me a place to document them.

I can’t promise I’ll blog with any regularity. This is really out here for me, but if people read it all the better! If you do read, please leave comments to let me know. Dialog is fun, yo!

That’s all for now. More to come soon.

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by josh on January 5, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by josh on January 5, 2012

http://bruiserblog.com/2012/01/05/bruiser-blogs/

Santorum

Santorum (n):  The frothy mix of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex.

Spreading Santorum

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by josh on January 5, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by josh on January 5, 2012

http://bruiserblog.com/2012/01/05/santorum/

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