Across the Universe (Pleasantville)

Now this is a trippy version... pretty cool actually.

Per YouTube, "Uncut music video for the song, "Across The Universe," by Fiona Apple (written by John Lennon), from the motion picture soundtrack, Pleasantville."

'Across the Universe

Going To A Town

A New Place to Live

As pointed out by a friend, I have been remiss in my bloging duties.

A lot has happened over the past couple of months. The biggest is that I have changed residences.

Two months ago, the managers of my old place informed me that my new lease would include a 20% rent increase! Twenty percent! That translated into an additional US$145 a month. Now I do not mind (and even expect) rent increases every year, but 20% is excessive.

In 2005, the place was sold to new investors. True to form (and the American Way), money trumps people. Starting last year, the new ownership proceeded to raise everyone’s rent in an effort to get it up to what they deemed to be market rate.

This year, the raises were even more dramatic. I was one of the lucky ones; some had their rents raised over US$245 per month. Needless to say, there is a mass exodus from my old apartment complex. The sad thing is; no one will be missed because the rental market in Seattle is so hot right now. Managers can pretty much charge what they want and gouge the consumer.

Fast forward to last week. I finally found a new place to move to. It’s a bit smaller than my old but still includes a balcony so I can keep my outdoor plants. In addition, there is an in-unit washer/dryer so that is a plus. My rent at the new place is pretty much what I was paying at the old (before the 20% increase)

Unfortunately, the new place is literally 60 feet from the freeway. To throw salt in that wound, the freeway is elevated at that point so every truck that rumbles by is amplified by the space underneath the bridge. I hope I’ll get used to it.

I started moving stuff over on the 16th and did the big furniture move with a U-Haul on Saturday the 19th. I had the help of two friends who made it go quickly. The first friend volunteered to come up from Portland, Oregon to help with the move. Yup, he is definitely crazy but I love him anyway! *evil grin* For the second friend, all I had to do was to promise that he’d get a great workout from moving all the heavy stuff and he was there (oh, and the promise of food and beer at one of his favorite pubs didn’t hurt either).

Now, with the move finished, I started the task of unpacking. That quickly came to a screeching halt when I discovered that the supposedly clean kitchen was actually pretty filthy. Great, I got to clean not only my old place, but my new place as well. I don’t mind cleaning up my own filth, but when it comes to cleaning up a total stranger’s filth, that is where I have major problems. Yuck!

I’ve finally got the new place cleaned and have gotten half way through the unpacking process. Smooth sailing after that right? Not so fast! Did I mention that I have one more friend? His name is Murphy... as in Murphy’s Law!

Monday I had taken the day off from work so I could go clean the old place and paint over the accent wall I had done when I moved there. I stopped at Starbucks for coffee before heading up to the apartment. I go to pick the cup of coffee up from the cup holder in my car and the lid pops off spilling coffee all over my car. Most of it was contained in the cup holder though. Unfortunately, the garage door opener to the new place was in the cup holder (there are two) as well.

I didn’t think much of it until I got back to the new place and discovered that the opener did not work anymore. Argh! Another two days of trying to get a new opener and I finally got one. But, that one did not work either. After another day of trying to get a hold of the managers, I finally was able to determine that the opener code was reversed. It now works.

Sometimes, you just have to stand back and laugh your ass off. I’ll have to wait until after I finish unpacking.

The Pacific Northwest According to Jeff Foxworthy

This is currently making the rounds at my office so I thought I'd add it here. It looks to be at lease a year old but still relevant; a little too true I think.


The Pacific Northwest According to Jeff Foxworthy

1. You know the state flower (Mildew)

2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.

3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what it means.

4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.

5 You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.

6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.

7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" Signal.

8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain.

9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Veneto's.

10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon.

11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon, Yakima, and Willamette.

12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.

13. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food.

14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark - while only working eight-hour days.

15. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.

16. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain," and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."

17. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.

18. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of mind.

19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see through the cloud cover.

20. You notice, "The mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.

21. You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but still wear your hiking boots and parka.

22. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the socks on.

23. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.

24. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.

25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time.

26. You measure distance in hours.

27. You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day.

28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.

29. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Raining (Spring), Road Construction (Summer), Deer &Elk season (Fall).

30. You actually understood these jokes and will probably forward them!