Day 170

Live from good old Cleveland, Ohio. I'm back home ladies and gentlemen. Lets rewind a little bit. All of those feelings you read in my last blog were very genuine. I was sad to leave all of my friends and the amazing city of Chicago behind. But onward and upward we go. We spent our last day packing and getting our place clean. Had a lunch and a sad goodbye with my man Mark P at Riverview Tavern on Roscoe. Dave and Sara came over with their dog and we watched Casey and Yoffie battle it out while we talked and got one last round of chicken gyro pitas from Four Moon Tavern. Monday morning was kind of surreal. We finished cleaning up, packed the rest of the car up and headed out. I honestly was expecting to be very sad, somewhat depressed, and shed some tears. None of that happened. I was fine the entire ride. A little nostalgic perhaps as I looked at the city in my rear view mirror, but being in bumper to bumper traffic at 11 am on the Dan Ryan definitely made me chuckle. Talk about something I will not miss. But again, I wasn't as sad as I thought I would be. My focus at this point was on my new life and how excited we are to start our next step here. So we caravaned home. Leah and Casey in one car, and me in the other. We arrived at my mom's around 5:30 and began to unload the cars. Mom cooked us steaks and corn on the cob as a welcome meal.

We have been here a few days now and it still feels like we are visiting and I will be back in Chicago in my condo soon (which still hasn't sold by the way). I will say though that I really am enjoying this first week. I set myself up my temporary office in my mom's dining room. I installed my wireless network so I can work down here. Working has been pretty much the same thus far. Still very busy, but I made sure not to travel this week or next week. August and September are different stories. The interesting thing i've found here is that my weeknights are totally going to change. In Chicago, with everything being so hectic, sometimes hard to get to, and Leah not having to get up at 5:15 to commute, we are totally willing and ready to do things on weeknights. Tuesday night, we went to dinner at Hunan on the Falls, which was as good as I remembered (FYI - The one thing Cleveland food has on Chicago is Chinese. I never got into a Chinese place there). We got home around 8:30. No problem at all. Last night, Leah made and grilled chicken kabobs and after dinner we took Casey on a long walk. Got home around 8:45 or so. Tonight we have dinner with my Grandmother. In Chicago we were always in be no later than 10, Leah would be out by 10:15, me around 11. Here, so far my earliest bed time has been 11:30, yet I am still getting up at 6:30 with Casey. I am definitely getting a lot accomplished in the mornings.

The other aspect that I have found myself really enjoying here is the peace and quiet. We went on a couple of walks around the neighborhood with Casey and it is just so serene and peaceful. There are a few others out walking, Casey has met a few of the neighborhood dogs, and everyone is so friendly. It is just such a different lifestyle here than in the city. I know this sounds like I am being the master of the obvious, but it is the truth. There is so much green grass, the streets are so clean, and there is zero traffic. Its good for me. I just cannot wait until we move into our house at the end of August. My number one concern here for now is making sure Leah gets adjusted. So far, she is really enjoying her mini-vacation and the laid back aspects of suburban living. We are going to be getting together with a lot of new and old friends here over the next few weeks and start our social lives here. I expect lots of dinners and lots of movies. Its been nice that people have been calling and welcoming us here. Everyone has been great. Looking forward to my first weekend here. We are going into our house Saturday with a decorator and a handy man, and my first Tribe game Saturday night. Looking forward to it.

Don't even get me started on our moron President George W. Bush vetoing the stem cell research bill. W and his morals make a great team. Hope all of your people who voted for him are happy with your choice!

Finally, I have to give a happy 30th birthday shoutout to my girl Jaimo. Jaimo has been a close friend since 6th grade, when I came to Brady Middle School as a new kid, she was my first girlfriend. We have always stayed close ever since. We went to overnight camp together for 5 summers and share so many great memories. I miss her dearly already. Happy 30th Jaimo!

Song of the Day: "Lady, You Bring Me Up" by the Commodores