Done

Ok, so I decided that, two weeks after the fact, I am DONE moving in.

Stir-fry is a good sign that I'm settled in.

I finally got a shelf for all of my CDs and DVDs.

Getting Out

I moved in at just the right time. I have plenty of time to get situated, and then still over a week left until school starts to just chill out for once. But I figured it would be a good time to try and get out and meet some people. So the first thing I found to do? Scrabble. That's right. There's this website called meetup.com where you... meet up with people to do stuff. There were two interesting groups in Ann Arbor, but the Indie Film group isn't meeting for a while. So Scrabble it was. And man, it was an UGLY game. For a while I had E-I-E-I-O, plus U and Y. But it was fun, and we played at this nice coffee shop in nearby Ypsilanti.

A note on Ypsilanti. It's pronounced like the first letter is an I, or Ypsy (Ipsy) for short. It's a town just to the East, and it's more working class, more red-neck. It's home to Eastern Michigan University, along with all the big box stores like Target, Walmart, etc. I went there last weekend for their Heritage Festival (imagine a county fair minus the livestock), and it was pretty nice. They had this great African drumming/singing/dancing band performing.

I also went shopping for banks. The excitement never really ends for me. So I've been reading up on socially responsible banks, and how they can make a difference in a community. My current online bank, Citibank, is known to have one of the worst social responsibility ratings. So I did some research and visited 6 banks within walking distance. I asked them about what kind of community services they provide, how much they support local small businesses, and how they invest their (ie my) money. Some banks told me how they donate to March of Dimes, etc. One guy looked at me like I asked him if he liked purple cheese. I ended up going with Flagstar, a regional bank. They are heavily involved in the Community Reinvestment Act, and they require all employees to do community service. Last year they renovated a poor elderly person's home. Also, they offer pretty good services, including a CD at 7.5% APY, which is ridiculous.

I've also been looking for musicians to hook up with. Today I had a rehearsal with a guy trying to start a "deep funk/R&B" band. He linked me to this video as an example:

They're still in the early stages, but it looks promising. We just need to find a bass player and a trumpet player, and we'll be set. Plus I'm hoping this will be a way in to the music scene here.

I also found this craig's list ad looking for someone interested in doing some sight-reading, so I emailed this guy. I went to his house after playing Scrabble again, and he has stuff everywhere. Sheet music, computers, plants, instruments, literally, everywhere. So we started off with some duets by Carl Stamitz, him on mandolin and me on flute. Then I got tired of flute (which doesn't take long), and I switched to clarinet. Although I'm better at clarinet than flute, that was offset by the fact that I had to sight-transpose the music. But I did ok. Then we played some violin-viola duets with Gale on guitar, followed by me switching to tenor sax, then followed by some jazz duets. Overall, a good time--I've always enjoyed sight-reading.

Besides that, I'm probably going to look for some Yoga classes, possibly through the school.

Orientation for school starts tomorrow, so my freedom is running its course.

Settling In

Finally getting settled in...


Weather-wise it's been interesting since I got here. The mornings have been overcast but nice, followed by a scorching afternoon (90-ish and humid). Then all of a sudden around 6 or 7pm, there's huge thunderstorms that come in and drench everything for about 15-20 minutes before clearing back up. But I think the humidity's been around 85%, which is quite a shock coming from the Inland Northwest.

So my patio's at the bottom of a hill, and during these thundershowers it fills up with water:





So to explain... I bought this countertop dishwasher, but I was having some problems finding a space for it. My kitchen's pretty small, and it's too big (ironically) to fit on the countertop. Plus, there's a problem with my sink that makes water leak everywhere. So my solution: put it in the bathroom. Genius, I know. I was wondering what to do with all the extra counter space in there anyway. Plus, I can use the fan to ventilate all the hot steam.

I've been steadily filling my apartment with free or cheap stuff. My main tool has been Craig's list (craigslist.com), which is a site for free online classifieds. I got a vacuum for $20, lamps for $10, an iron and board for $10, a free microwave, and a bunch of other stuff.

A big bookshelf for my library--only $24.
I have a larger one coming soon for my CDs.

It may not be a looker, but it's comfy. Plus, FREE!
I strapped it to the back of my car, if you can imagine that.

An older bike, but only $20.
It was the only thing of value I found at garage sales.

And one last shout out. Nicolas Vigil, bandleader of Milonga, songwriter and accordion mofo, gave me a parting gift before I left town. And I have to say, this is one of the best presents I've yet to receive.

Nick, you are a giant among men (physicially and creatively).

The New Pad

Ok, so here's some pics of my new pad in Ann Arbor

The floor plan

The small kitchen

Now I'm cooking with gas!

It has a nice little patio

The bedroom

One nice thing is that it has a large walk-in closet.
More than large enough for my meager wardrobe and horns.

It has a pool with a (small) workout room

And a pond

The Journey East

I'm creating this blog as a way of letting people back home know what's goin' on. Here's a recap for those of you just joining the story:

Our brave young hero, having undergone two years at the University of Idaho working on an undergraduate degree in Materials Science, has decided to embark on a long and perilous journey. He has set forth in search of an education that is not just free; nay, one that actually pays money. A mirage, a fantasy you say? With a letter of acceptance and an offer of a Graduate Research Assistantship in hand, Brian set forth to the promised land: Ann Arbor. It is there that he was promised by the powers that be free tuition, health insurance, and $1,921 per month while pursuing a PhD in Materials Science.

First step: after teaching at the Jazz Camp for two weeks, I needed to get all of my stuff half way across the country. As moving trucks are reaaaaly expensive ($1200-$1800), I decided to hock my bed, dresser, microwave, etc, and mail all of my non-fragile belongings. Because most of my stuff consists of books, sheet music, DVDs, and about 500 CDs, I figured I could use media mail and get a cheap rate. So I'd say I ended up spending about $500 on shipping. Then I packed the rest of my stuff (saxophones, computer, etc) and made ready for the long journey.

Eri, me, and my little car

I decided to take the I-90 route through South Dakota, even though it's a tad bit longer.


The first day was a long drive. VERY LOOOOONG. 898 miles to be exact. I didn't leave until 11am because I had to mail the remainder of my stuff, and I ended up getting to Rapid City, SD at 2am. The only real thing of note is the fact that Montana's normally beautiful skyline was marred by thick, brown smoke. Plus it was HOT, especially since I don't have AC.


The next morning I left at 9am to take a quick jaunt to Mount Rushmore (named after our nation's founding father of talk radio).

An exciting view of the Mt. Rushmore parking lot

The original sculpture that the mountain is based off of

A random picture of Rapid City

All the rest stops in SD had these

So I drove another 770 miles to stop in Madison, WI. Wisconsin has all of their state highways labeled with letters instead of numbers, which is a little weird.

Then on through Chicago to my final destination of Ann Arbor, MI. More later on my new digs.