Michael Jackson

I've been pretty sick of Michael Jackson for some time. I loved him when I was a kid during Thriller, but I remember that by the time Bad came out, he was already too weird to be cool. Then the issues with the kids came out and he turned into even more of a freak. When he died last week, you couldn't get a way from him in the news. What struck me most was how now, all of a sudden, I like some of what he did. Now that he's gone, its actually ok to like him again. Most of all, you can't forget how good he was in the early 80s.

Irene's Blog

You have to love Irene's blog, which has a name no one can understand. Where else can you see all the hits like this? I want one of those sweaters!!!

Finally, Pictures

I've finally gotten to a point where I have time to post pictures of the apartment. We don't have a sink yet, but we have a toilet (hallelujah) and a shower. Well, not a shower, exactly. The shower head is up but the tub faucet isn't so the best you can get is a jet shooting out of the pipe from the wall. If you can withstand the blast, you can actually use it. It's not ideal and we're hoping to get a sink real soon, but at least we don't have to go downstairs anymore, because, yes, you can brush your teeth in the shower.

Here's Nilda modeling the toilet (and the new floor tile) while installing the toilet paper holder. There is actually an object called a "flushometer." It's true! I didn't make it up.

This is the bedroom, which has come a long way since we painted it and since Matt helped put up the wallpaper. Although those "blinds" are still the paper ones that came with the apartment. Classy.

The kitchen isn't done yet, but it's going to look awesome. We already have a ton of cabinet space, even though we don't have a countertop or a sink. You see, we absolutely "needed" to get the special granite composite sink, of course that's a stupid question Brian. Luckily, the sink is on back order throughout the east coast and they cannot install the countertops until they have the sink. So yes, this is going great.

We've put all of the stuff we're waiting to unpack in the second bedroom. That's right, we have a whole room dedicated to storing crap we haven't put away yet. I can't get over it, either.

The foyer's still full of crap but what can you do.

This is the living room, which is going to be great when it's all done. Notice the sconces, which Nilda luuuuvs. And, of course, the new sofa.

So here we are so far. It's still not home yet, but it's hard to call a place home when it doesn't have a sink. We'll keep you posted.

Under Construction

So we finally have a toilet, and even have a semi-working shower. I've spent the past two nights trying to reconfigure the wireless router so I haven't had a chance to post new pics. Here's hoping to posting tonight so I can shut Matt up about wanting to see pictures.

Living Without A Bathroom Is Terrible

This is merely an interim post. The move was on Friday and it went well. Usually, things get easier once the move is done, but not this time. Because I DON'T HAVE A BATHROOM. We don't even have a sink in the apartment. We pushed out the move far enough to avoid this exact situation, which clearly worked out splendidly. This means that whenever we need to go to the bathroom or use a sink, we have to take the elevator to the basement. We're showering at the old apartment, Nilda's mom's or the gym. None of this sounded so bad before, but trust me it sucks at 3:30 in the morning. When we finally get cable and internet, which is supposed to be tomorrow morning, I'll be back.

The Kitchen Cabinets Are In

So, in the middle of packing and getting ready for the move on Friday, for which, yes, we're still packing, I take the time to post pictures of the custom kitchen cabinets that were installed today. Wow, world, you're very lucky.

They look amazing! I thought they would look great, but they're even better than I thought they would look. It's incredible what these cabinetmakers are able to do. There's still some work that needs to be done and the countertop and backsplash need to be put in, but so you can see how it will turn out. See for yourself:

One of the best parts is where the trash cans are located. I love it. There's two right next to each other so we can have the trash and the recycling right next to each other. Yes, they're environmentally-minded cabinets.

This is where the fridge is going to go. That little tube is the water line, which means that I shall finally have AN ICE MAKER!!!! A dream becomes a reality.

I'll even have a dishwasher, too. This just doesn't get any better. Here it is in the living room, which was just painted but sure as hell not painted by me. The color of the paint was "Iceberg," which is one of the most manly things in the house. Also in this picture is the new chandelier that Nilda is in luuv with, although Nilda's presently more enamoured with how the light in the new oven turns on and off. It really doesn't take much.

The bathroom is almost done. We're just waiting for the floor tiles, which apparently take a long time to get because they're made of unicorn smiles from special organic farms in Fantasia.

P.S. Happy birthday, Jonah Samuel, and congratulations to Yael and Bryan! He's amazing and we wish you guys the best of luck. Bring him to see us soon!

Note To Self: Watch These Later

These are a bunch of songs from the Phish show in Camden on June 7, a few nights after we saw them at Jones Beach. Andrew, you and I are so getting this show on livephish.com.

Antelope:



First Tube (check out the light show):



Limb By Limb:

The Dark Days Begin

The move is scheduled for June 19. At first, I was happy that we would finally be moving in. At least if I had to spend my weekends working on the new place, I would already wake up there. But then I realized this meant that we had to pack up all of our stuff in just two weeks.

We had already done a lot of packing, filling 17 boxes of crap crap crap. But there's still so much to do. The kitchen alone will take forever. And since we're going back to Philly this weekend, we only have nights to pack things up. This means no Tudors, no Nip/Tuck, not even Deadliest Catch. I have to come home from working all day to working at packing. Sorry in advance if the blog suffers.

I hate moving. It's not the act of packing or leaving an apartment that bothers me. It's the worrying about my stuff the day of the move. I work hard for my stuff. I owe it a fiduciary duty of loyalty. The worst part is that you can worry for as long as you like, but the move itself will only take a few hours. It's just not worth it.

For those who want to know about the renovations (Matt, Dr. HGTV), here are some pics of the bathroom, electrical wires and all, which they should hopefully start tiling soon:

This is the living room. We're moving the ceiling light about 5 feet over so we can hang a chandelier where the dining room table is going to go. This is very exciting for Nilda because she luuuuuuvs the new chandelier. That's fair because I luuuuv the new kitchen light.

We're painting the kitchen now. Well, "we're" not painting the kitchen as much as we're having it painted. That part of my life is over. The cabinets are scheduled to be installed on Monday and Tuesday, after which we can have the appliances and countertop installed:

This is an image of the pulls we're getting for the kitchen cabinets. For some reason, I keep looking at pictures of them on the internet. I have no clue why and it's starting to worry me. Also, do you have any idea how many websites there are that have "knob" in the address? There's myknobs.com, knobs4less.com, knobsandpulls.com, and that's just a few. And don't get me started on how many "faucet" websites are out there!

Brian Isn't Handy

This pisses me off. What is that supposed to mean, anyway? Is that some kind of an insult? Is my not wanting to spend my Saturday afternoon putting together a bathroom vanity and staining a closet door somehow a negative? Why is my not wanting to do things that I am not good at and don't enjoy doing make me lazy, it proves that I'm efficient with my time.

One thing I definitely can NOT do is take out the door frame to the kitchen and turn it into an arch. What they're able to do with plaster and sheet rock is amazing. It looks great and makes the kitchen look bigger, but who thinks of doing stuff like that? Here's the progression:

I like doing other things that are work related. I can pack a mean trunk and if you need to set up for a group of people coming over, I am totally there. But it's pretty clear that I was not put on this earth to install a toilet.

Nilda's just lucky I'm not decorating. When Andrew and I lived together, Addi hung a happy birthday sign on the wall for Aashish's surprise birthday party. Two years later, when we moved out, that same sign was up, and it was our only decoration. We weren't even imaginative enough to put the National Geographic maps we got up on the wall.

The plan is to move on Friday the 19th, less than two weeks from now. This is something that I can handle. Nilda, I'm in charge.

Live Blogging The Phish Show

Andrew and I went to the Phish show on Thursday night, and it was amazing. I went in not really being into it, but I still can't get over how good a show it was, definitely the best show I've been to. Here are the highlights:

• Andrew took pictures of the mustard dispenser for his work project, and then promptly got mustard all over himself. You really can't take us anywhere.
  
• The first two opening songs were amazing, probably the best I've ever seen. By the third song, as expected, I started to get bored.
• I got into Phish in 1996, and thought I was late. I'm having a hard time understanding how the high school kids at the show must feel.
• No singalongs, please.
• The boys are watching Phish in the rain. Phish isn't in the rain, the boys are.
• Jones Beach is an amazing amphitheater. It sounds great and has a really nice atmosphere. They don't sell beer, but the trade off is that there is less security.
• I inhaled enough second hand smoke to last me for a while. The smoke was from cigarettes, of course. No one smokes anything other than cigarettes at Phish shows, right?
• The show is really loud and we forgot earplugs. Damn, we're old.
• I spent a lot of the show working on my blog, because the people have to know. My iphone is awesome and I don't care how shitty my service is.
• I just don't get the dancing, especially the dudes. They go for hours, even through the boring parts.
• Hellers don't dance, but we do occasionally do the head bop. Actually, we rock the head bop.
• The dancing guy next to me who is really annoying is probably retarded. He's wasted, falling all over the place, keeps giving me the thumbs up and is looking for a high five, which I refuse. I want to tell him to go away, but I can't because he might be retarded.
• Andrew and I went in knowing we'd be buying t-shirts. Phish fans have gotten jobs and older, and will spend whatever it takes to walk away with a t-shirt.
• Hanging out at a Phish show with Andrew is just like the old days. It's good that Phish is back, and it's good to know we can still do that.
• I'd post the set list from the show, which was awesome, but the only person reading this who would be interested is standing right next to me.
• Andrew and I kept talking and thinking about work. We're old.
• Twix during intermission is never a bad idea.

• I always felt like an outsider listening to Phish, but I probably know more about this band than half these douchebags.
• Sitting down is good. We are old.
• People just don't realize how good they are. They create a world and then fill it with structures.
• Nilda sent me an email of cabinet handles and knobs. Even at a Phish show, I can't escape renovations.
• Andrew got these tickets through a friend from work. He knew a guy who put in about 23 requests for tickets, 4 tickets per request. Two of those requests led to tickets. Andrew and I put in about 4 requests and got nothing. Thanks, Andrew's friend from work.
• Last night was cold and rainy and I didn't get home until 1:45 am, only to have to get up a few hours later to go to work. It was totally worth it and I can't wait until the next tour.

What I'm Getting On Sept. 9

The layout is messed up on blogspot (again), so here's a clearer video. Thanks, Irene!