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.

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?

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!

• Hot Chocolate*
• Kuma’s Corner*
• David Burke’s Primehouse *
• The Capital Grille
• Hop Haus
• District Bar
• Duchamp *
• Smalll Bar
• Flub a Dub Chub’s
• Cross-Rhodes  – Actually in Evanston, but I get up there from time to time
• The Counter
• Feed
• Green Door Tavern
• Jury’s
• Medici
• Rosebud Steakhouse
• Wiener & Still Champion – Another Evanston location, the only burb to make my list.
• J. Wellington’s
• The Portage
• Revolution Brewing Co

Places I’ve already checked off my list:

• Billy Goat Tavern – It’s not bad…the cheezborger would be much better if they used actual cheese
• The Gage – Not the best I’ve ever had, but a very strong contender.
• The Twisted Spoke – Haven’t been there for awhile. I need to go back for a Fat Boy.
• Marc Burger* at Seven on State – Good, but messy and spendy for basically a fast food burger.
• Yoshi’s Cafe – Good, not amazing.
• Five Guys Burger and Fries* – Yum! Among the best of the fast food type burgers in Chicago. Great fries, too.
• Epic Burger* – Overrated. Pricey, greasy and bland. The toppings do all the work.
• Custom House – Fine but not particularly memorable.
• Naha — Pretty good, but not cooked to order & over-priced. There are much better values.
• Bull & Bear – Kobe beef, good stuff. Not cheap but you get a lot for the money.
• Paramount Room – Had this a long time before updating this list and can’t remember much about it now. Also may have been tipsy at the time.
• Sola – Excellent burger.  Properly cooked, good flavor, great toppings, on a perfect pretzel roll. Top 10!
• Benny’s Chop House – Wow! Fried Egg and Truffle Aioli Burger, one of the best! At least as good as The Gage burger, and a tad cheaper.
• Sable Kitchen & Bar – Good, but again not memorable (and I wasn’t drinking this time).
• M Burger – Just had another one tonight. Among the best for a fast-food style burger.

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.

Spreading Santorum