Week One Highlights

It’s been a little over one whirl-wind week since I rolled into St. Louis.  There was no climb to the top before the immediate descent as on most roller coasters.  I was dropped right off from the beginning.   I finally got into an apartment Friday and it hasn’t taken me too long to unpack some things and settle in.  I even found time to celebrate the end of the week with St. Patty’s Day.  Here are some of the highlights:

1) Invested in a wardrobe.  I now own more suits than I have my entire life, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.   ZZ Top would be proud.  It took four days for my neck to kind of get used to the closed button.  I didn’t wear a tie on Friday and I didn’t shave through the weekend.

2) Joined a gym.  I did this day one.  Found a place that is quiet with little traffic.  Their strengths are the amenities to include a spa in the facility.  If I decide to spend an hour in the locker room it sure would be the bomb, but I don’t plan to do that.  The downsides are…well there are tons of downsides like no track, older equipment, small, etc. I’m month to month and will swap gyms once we get a home.

3) Reconnected with Adelphia Alumni.  It turns out Charter is full of Adelphia Alumni striving to finish what we started.  I can’t tell you how many times my eyes welled up when learning that an old colleague was just across the street.

4) Found some places to eat.  My nav system in the new hotness has hooked me up.  I used it to find Fuji Sushi and Teriyaki.  You would never stop in there if you saw it but the service is great, the food is wonderful, better than you can get in Waynesboro Virginia at least.   I ate at this place called the Old Spaghetti Factory which is like the McDonald’s of Italian sit down.  “Oh you ordered the most expensive wine on the menu,” exclaimed my 16 year old server.  My one glass of Chianti cost more than my entre with salad.  At the Old Spaghetti Factory you can super-size your pasta.  For only a $1.50 more you can go “Large” before heading for the ultimate in carb intake, the “Xtra Large.”  I couldn’t finish the regular size.

5) Bought a boom box.  Once I saw that the apartment had no means to provide music, I had to make this a priority.  So I picked one up at Target with some other essentials.  It has a three-CD changer which works marvelously with DMB’s Live Trax Vol. 7.  (A side note here:  I must thank Panovec for giving me the gift of the DMB.  I had enjoyed their music somewhat over the years but now that I’ve been purchasing and listening to the live recordings, it’s hard to do without the Dave.  Saaa-lute!)

6) Fixed my own lunch.  I went to the market Friday night to grab some things.  I can’t tell you how good it feels to fix a sandwich after eating out for a week.  I had some breakfast items at the hotel but to eat a smoked turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce, tomato, sprouts, and a slice of swiss was just about heaven.

7) Did my laundry.  Yes, a highlight!  I washed my gym clothes Friday night which was greatly needed.  It just got me even more pumped to go in the next day smelling like a springtime mountain meadow.  I almost cut the fabric of my shirt.  More laundry is in the washer now – sweet.

8) Celebrated my first week of work and St. Patty’s in one.  I reluctantly entered this pub called The Country Club.  It looks kind of shady from afar but inside it’s just like Cheers.  No one knew my name but with Fat Tire on tap and the kitchen serving up corned beef and cabbage I made myself right at home.  It’s down the street from the apartment conveniently located on my commute.

9) Ruined breakfast.  Really a subject for a whole separate post but the jest is right as I cracked my farm fresh organic eggs into the pan the smoke alarm went off in the apartment.  I don’t understand why because it wasn’t smoky but disaster befell me.  The eggs over easy became eggs white and yellow (kind of like the black and white cookie), my toast burned, and then to top it all off the fresh sausage I bought from a local butcher sucked.  The smoke alarm now resides on top of the refrigerator.
10) Finally after many days of grocery and household shopping, I cooked my first dinner.  Tonight I had the best meal in months:  A little chicken breast cooked with cold pressed EVOO and ground pepper, field greens with artichoke hearts and no-fat feta (I threw in some black olives and tomatoes too), orzo pasta with lentils, whole grain bread, and paired up with Ruffino’s ’02 Riserva Ducale ($37 in Waynesboro = $23 at Trader Joe’s St. Louis).  A meal worthy of a celebration but it’s Monday.  Now I need to do the dishes.

Post script:  My Internet connection didn’t get up and running until today – a snafu with the relocation service.  But after several phone calls and email, I’m up and running.  I’ll catch up on posting as best as I can this week.

Buenas Noches Amigos.