My mom always said “wave bye-bye to Denver!” when we’d leave town, when I was a kid. (She still does, but winkingly.) I’m here at the airport, ready to wave bye-bye to San Francisco. So long, old frenemy. It’s been real. But I have to go make different mistakes elsewhere now.
Open thread! Anybody else got anything fun planned, now that our collective crippling anxiety is slightly less crippling?
debit
Safe trip!!!
I’m having my floors redone and get to see the stain when I get home. Very exciting! I’m thinking of tipping the crew (the owner of the company and one worker). Anyone have ideas on what percentage is appropriate?
Major Major Major Major
@debit: oh boy no idea but new floors are always exciting!
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
Boo? Yay? It’s an odd feeling, isn’t it, leaving a city that’s been home for a while, first in the weird transitional non-place that all big airports are, then watching it get smaller in the plane window? San Francisco will miss you, even if you don’t miss it. But I’m looking forward to hearing about your adventures in NYC.
I’m going to see the “Jewels of the Maharajas” exhibit at the Legion of Honor tomorrow so I can drool over pretty glittery things and then go for a walk by the ocean. Right now, though, I’m trying to not pass out from boredom for my last few hours at work before a four-day weekend.
JCJ
Going to see Ithzak Perlman at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee tonight. This afternoon looking at individual health insurance policies for my daughter who ages out of my insurance soon. She has pretty significant problems from lupus, so I was greatly relieved by Tuesday night’s results.
Major Major Major Major
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: the Legion is great, enjoy!
rikyrah
Have a safe trip
Gin & Tonic
Best of luck in the city so nice they named it twice. It’s different, but you know that.
I have the pleasure of the company of my grandchildren for the next few days – since they are napping right now, it’s quiet. Soon it won’t be, but that’s part of the joy.
debit
@Major Major Major Major: The wood had 70 years of pet damage, so we had to go with an ebony stain. It will be be very dramatic, I’m sure.
Is your kitty all set to travel too?
C Stars
Congratulations on leaving the land of avocado toast! I hope it wasn’t too much of a shitshow…. We moved across the Bay around four years ago and still like going to some of our old haunts for day trips (mostly the museums and then some cheap, steamy pho in little saigon), but are always quite happy to get the bart out of there at the end of the day.
Our little’uns are going for a weekend/sleepover with relatives, so I’m looking forward to some grown-up time. Any recommendations for not too gratuitously violent TV shows to binge? I’ve heard the Romanoffs is good. I kind of hate pretentious HBO-style dramas, and don’t want to be reminded in any way of our current political shitshow…so…there’s probably nothing out there, eh?
Also: Way hey, big surprise here:
Defense Secretary James Mattis’s office made the decision to drop the name and issued the order on Election Day.
trollhattan
@debit:
Pizza and a keg of Bud Light?
Confess the idea has never occurred to me. You are a saint.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@debit: How long did the job take? I’d say $20 apiece or $10/person/day, plus a big cold bottle each of soda or mineral water.
Major Major Major Major
@debit: Samwise went on ahead and is staying with a friend.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@C Stars:
Ooooh, do tell – place or places you’d recommend? My office is not prohibitively far from that area.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
Maybe celebrate your relocation to the Big Apple by hosting a meetup?
trollhattan
@C Stars:
What, “Operation get the fuck outta here and leave our perfect republic be, you disease-ridden Guatemalan scum!” was taken?
Major Major Major Major
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: Pho 2000! Turtle Tower if you want north Vietnamese.
schrodingers_cat
@C Stars: So General Theranos is not so wonderful afterall. Whocoodanode?
JPL
My niece and her hubby made the same move last year, and they both are happy they did. Good luck to you.
debit
@trollhattan:
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice:
It was a rush job, and they squeezed me in with less than a week’s notice. I was mid carpet removal when my mom had suddenly decided I was hosting Thanksgiving. The day after I sent over pictures of the floors the owner came over and patched three old vent holes, sanded the day after that and today just put down the stain. I was going to tack on $300 for them to split. They saved my holiday.
Gin & Tonic
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: When I visit I try to get to Turtle Tower on Larkin St, as it is (I think) the only Northern Vietnamese-influenced restaurant in the city, and I loves me some Hanoi-style bun cha.
Major Major Major Major
Boarding now, so in the event I don’t have in-flight WiFi, play nice everybody!
ETA ffs everybody in the jetway is talking about web development get me away from here
Gin & Tonic
@debit: Since you don’t know (and don’t want to ask) how they handle their bookkeeping and tax accounting, an envelope with some cash in it might be a better gesture.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@debit: Wow, good for them. In that case, I heartily endorse your plan. They saved your holiday, brighten up theirs.
@Gin & Tonic: ETA: cosign.
Mnemosyne
I’m using NaNoWriMo to fuel the rewrite of my novel so I can submit it for the Golden Heart contest in December. I’m almost done tweaking my outline (aka my roadmap for the revisions) and will be using a few write-ins this weekend to boost my word count.
debit
@Gin & Tonic: We actually do their payroll and bookkeeping. :) I’m paying the invoice with a check, but the tip is going to be cash.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Major Major Major Major:
Ugh. Headphones and a vacant gaze are your friends. You’ve almost achieved escape velocity.
Mnemosyne
Also, my election anxiety was bad enough that I managed to chip one of my crowns, probably because I was clenching or grinding my teeth (though the actual piece came off thanks to a sticky Halloween candy). We’re trying to squeeze time to do the new one in before the end of the year so I don’t leave any dental benefits on the table.
C Stars
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: When I worked (and lived) in SF we used to go to Pho 2000, which doesn’t have much atmosphere but was good for big groups of soup slurpers, but the last couple of times the spouse and I have been in town we’ve eaten at a tiny nook, also on Larkin St.—red walls and a small loft dining area in the back, from which you can peer down at the gigantic vats of broth and noodles in the windowfront kitchen….and dangit, I can’t remember the name. If we go there this weekend I will get back to you!
eclare
Best of luck on the big move! It’s a weird feeling, but definitely freeing in weird way!
Major Major Major Major
@C Stars: that actually sounds like Pho 2000…
CarolDuhart2
@C Stars: Will be “Operation Go The Fuck Home For the Holidays” as soon as the cameras turn away. Who wants to spend Thanksgiving-Xmas-New Years in a tent eating reheated dinners and with nothing to do?
J R in WV
Well, you’re probably in flight now. Congratulations on the new set of challenges and opportunities in NYC !! Glad Samwise is already all set.
Have fun! NY is an exciting place to visit, and several of my friends have made it forever home, so to live in too I guess.
blackcatsrule
@Major Major Major Major: I love your posts, I love your kitty, I love NY…best of luck to you and yours!
Mike in NC
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is a fun show.
trollhattan
@debit:
Now that’s what I call burying the lede. :-)
Yeah, I get it. 3x$100 would be very generous and you’ll go into the customer hall o’ fame.
cain
I understand that now that there will be Democrats in charge that the war against christmas has started yet again.
Major Major Major Major
@blackcatsrule: thanks!
@J R in WV: they’re just now kicking us off the datatubes—and thanks!
cope
When my wife and (then) two small children got on the plane at Stapleton to begin our relocation to the mildew state, she told the kids to take a good deep breath of cool, dry air because we were leaving it behind.
Characteristically, I am sitting here waiting for the new AC guy to call and come over as we have been without since yesterday afternoon. The weather has failed to note the date and insists on hovering around 89 degrees even this late in the afternoon.
C Stars
@Major Major Major Major: Yes, I am a dork…the red-walled place IS Pho 2000 and that is where everyone should go for a pho-steam facial. I was getting it mixed up with another place that has great pho but doesn’t serve alcohol and closes kinda early…Golden Lotus? I dunno. Obviously I am no longer a true San Franciscan…
TenguPhule
@C Stars:
Of course they’re still gonna deploy troops and fully armed border agents because Mattis is a fucking tool and Trump really really wants to kill women and children by proxy.
debit
@trollhattan: To be fair to my mom, she’s only recently started to feel normal again after ending chemo and still gets tired easily. I’m guessing that she wanted to try but my dad talked her out of it. So it’s probably his fault.
TenguPhule
@cain:
Trump is going to blame the yet to be installed Democratic House for the lack of Chinese made goods and increased prices this Christmas.
Never mind the escalating trade war he’s kicked off and worsened.
trollhattan
@debit:
Reward dad with a yuge to-do list. He’ll appreciate having responsibilities. If he’s like Cole’s dad, maybe a new deck or something.
C Stars
@CarolDuhart2: Right. Exactly. Never to be heard from again. Well, I’m glad if some of those troops will be able to go home for winter holidays. Too bad that amid all the other batshit crazy news that drops every week, no one will pay any attention to the massive expense and corruption of Trump shuffling our military around for partisan point-scoring.
(one can only hope the Trump die-hards in the military will have a clear-eyed view of how they’ve been used)
Major Major Major Major
@C Stars: I wanted to go there for my farewell lunch at the SF office branch but they said cash was hard to expense and so we went to Yank Sing. I think they just wanted to drop three figures on dim-sum.
J R in WV
@Mnemosyne:
I too have damaged slightly several molar crowns fropm grinding in my sleep.
Fortunately my dentist doesn’t think they need replacing as the bite is still OK. I have had a crown removed once, they use medieval technology akin to an automotive body-shop dent puller to do that. Won’t do it again unless absolutely necessary.
ruemara
Safe trip! Welcome to NYC! Congratulations on the new job. Maybe I’ll see you when I visit.
Gin & Tonic
@Major Major Major Major: Yeah, Yank Sing is great and all, but it adds up really quickly.
laura
Hey MMMM, don’t forget to leave your heart -I have it on good authority (Tony Bennett) that it’s mandatory.
Best wishes for a satisfying life on el otro coast.
TenguPhule
@CarolDuhart2:
Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the plan.
According to the reports, the media is being kept out of the area where they’re deploying. So there already are no cameras there and they’re still being sent and reinforced.
I fear Trump is still going to use them badly.
debit
@Major Major Major Major: If you check back in after you land, keep Momofuku in mind for some awesome food. The last time I was in New York we had this absolutely luscious dish with sausage and rice cakes that were like little pillows of heaven and pork buns that we sort of fought over when we got down to the last one. I think (am pretty sure, anyway) this was from Momofuku Ssam.
Yutsano
@Major Major Major Major:
You make it sound like such a negative.
I also feel like a bit of an idiot. I decided to drop $16 for Delta wi-fi…except I get it for free through my T-Mobile account. Ah well. A little extra hookers and blow for someone.
C Stars
@Mike in NC: Oooh, that looks interesting. I’d heard of it, but I think I was getting it mixed up with that dumb Zooey Deschanel vehicle from a few years ago. We’ll try it!
HeleninEire
M4 you will love NY. I’m at JFK leaving now for Dublin and feeling sentimental.
Haroldo
@Major Major Major Major:
Safe travels! (And I hope any mistakes are truly new ones.)
Major Major Major Major
@C Stars: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is one of the best shows on TV right now.
Brachiator
I’m going to be away from the Internets for a few days starting tomorrow. I hope to take a peak at the international news covering the centenary of the end of the Great War. The War to End All Wars. World War I.
It’s really been interesting to see how this has been observed in the UK. History magazines and news programs covered each year of the war. And they went deep into the archives to get interviews and diaries of voices that previously went unheard. Women who became engineers, or who worked as nurses or maintained farms, people who were children at the time trying to make sense of the anxieties of adults, soldiers from Africa and India (because it really was a world war).
I understand that there are going to be big observances in France and the UK, and leaders from all the Allied nations involved have been invited. Trump, of course, is one of those leaders. I hope he behaves himself.
Here’s a fun link to an article on The Complex Legacy of World War I’s Women Scientists.
One of the comments to this story contained this amazing historical anecdote:
Yep, Haber received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his invention of the Haber–Bosch process, a method used in industry to synthesize ammonia from nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas. This invention is of importance for the large-scale synthesis of fertilizers and explosives. The food production for half the world’s current population depends on this method for producing nitrogen fertilizers.
brendancalling
I spent the day writing about people grieving. If I have the energy for a run, I’ll do that. Otherwise bong hits and beer.
TenguPhule
@Brachiator:
We’ll be lucky if he settles for merely embarrassing us.
Major Major Major Major
Thanks everyone! (I’ve been using way too many exclamation points lately…)
Mnemosyne
@J R in WV:
They put the crown on in 2010 and then had to drill through it in 2013 to do a root canal. It broke at one of the seams between the crown and the filling, so my dentist feels it’s better to replace it entirely than risk having it break in a worse way and potentially damage the remaining tooth underneath. It is NOT going to be fun, I know, but better to do it now than to ignore it and have something even worse happen later.
Mnemosyne
@C Stars:
I love “The Good Place.” Love. It. I think the first two seasons are on Netflix.
Don’t be put off by what might seem from the promos to be a religious theme. It’s much more about philosophy and ethics. And fart jokes.
Yarrow
@Major Major Major Major: Congratulations on your move and safe travels!
Sab
@debit: That is going to be my house someday.
My Dad’s cat is not enjoying the transition to a five cat two dog household. He pees in the corner of the bedroom in the middle of the night. So I put down puppy wee pads. In the morning he sneaks up beside me and pees in the corner of the kitchen while I am making tea.
He also pees on the front doormat.
The meangirl kitty pees at the corner of the stairs to upstairs.
The rottweiler mix pees on the bathmat at night because she is afraid of the tuxedo cat.
Before we got my Dad’s cat we had a normal house of housebroken pets with four cats and two dogs. This is weird now.
C Stars
@Major Major Major Major: The difference between the cost of dim sum at Yank Sing and the cost of dim sum pretty much anywhere else is remarkable. I am a cheapskate and the only occasions I’ve dined at Yank Sing have been with work or in-laws. Literally, twice for work dinners, once with in-laws. Never when I had to pick up the bill. Because Yowch!
BUT ONWARD! A plethora of cheap-but-delicious and overpriced-but-delicious (or mediocre) options await you in NYC. And, me, in Oakland, once the kids are able to babysit themselves…
Mnemosyne
@Sab:
Everyone at your place is feeling territorial and weirded out by the changes. You should go to Werebear’s website (wayofcats.com) and see what her advice is.
C Stars
@Mnemosyne: Oh that’s a great suggestion too. I chomped through the first two seasons but Season 3 looks like a humdinger so far…
debit
@Sab: I am so sorry, but I laughed. I’ve been lucky with most of my pets, but have had renegade urinators as well. I used to have a cat that would pee in my shoes. I still have a cat that will make for a certain corner if I don’t block it off. So you have my sympathies.
West of the Rockies
I’ll give you to the count of ten to get yer no-good yellow keister outta California…
Keep the change, ya filthy animal!
Seriously, I hope it all works out wonderfully for you!
Brachiator
@Major Major Major Major: Have a great trip and a great adventure. A co-worker just came back from a work assignment in New York and I got a nostalgia jolt just hearing him talking about old haunts in Manhattan. He was taken by the energy of the city. He stayed at a hotel in lower Manhattan near Wall Street, etc, and was astounded by the scurrying of the workers getting the hell out of the city at the end of the work day.
He remembered a little tip I gave him, that you could immediately recognize tourists because they actually stop when the Walk sign turns red, while natives just keep on going.
Just One More Canuck
@debit: Maybe a bottle of their favourite beverages to go with the tip
And safe travels to M4
West of the Rockies
Honestly, with the fire burning 15 miles away in Paradise (CA), I wouldn’t mind moving as well.
Anyone else near it?
TenguPhule
@Mnemosyne:
And stereotypes.
TenguPhule
@C Stars:
In NYC? Is that even possible?
Mnemosyne
@C Stars:
It’s been a rollercoaster, for sure. Do you listen to the official podcast? It’s hosted by Mark Evan Jackson (he plays Shawn ?) and they get a wide range of guests, from the actors and writers to the costume designers and casting directors. It’s very good and shows how much thought gets put into everything on the show.
(There are a lot of “Good Place” fan podcasts, so make sure you download the one that is the official NBC podcast.)
Major Major Major Major
@TenguPhule: NYC, like the rest of earth, is cheaper than SF.
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major:
Waikiki is arguably more expensive then SF.
geg6
Good luck on the move and I’m sure you’ll love NYC. After my own, it’s my favorite city in the whole world.
Steeplejack
Fun? Hell, yeah! I bought a new microwave. Yee-haw.
My kitchen is small, and there’s only one logical place for the microwave, between the stove and the refrigerator. But that spot has a hard limit of 19" wide. When I moved in six years ago I found a cheapo dorm-room microwave that fitted in the space, but it is a little underpowered and is getting long in the tooth. I would look occasionally for a replacement, with no luck.
Then a few weeks ago I accidentally ran across a sexy LG model that looked perfect: 18¾" wide, 0.9 cubic feet, 1,000 watts—$118. Went to Home Depot to pick it up but found that it had gone off sale. But the helpful clerk said it would be going back on sale late last week. Couldn’t get over there until today, but finally made the big score after lunch. Haven’t deployed it yet, so I’ve still got that to look forward to. Good times.
J R in WV
@Mnemosyne:
Yeowww !!!! that sounds terrible.
I’ve never had a root canal, dunno why, my teeth are terrible. Thank Dawg my dentist is a gentle compassionate guy. Drilled through the crown, no wonder it broke!!!
Best of luck with the whole project! Take things easy going through that whole thing.
Ohio Mom
@TenguPhule: Yes, there are many bargains of all kinds to be had in NYC. This lore is passed down from one generation to another, along with the secrets to finding parking spaces (I may live be on Ohio now but I was born and raised in the Bronx).
RBG is still alive, but I just read she fell and cracked some ribs. Ouch! Get well soon, please!
debit
@Ohio Mom: We need some bubble wrap, stat.
J R in WV
@Steeplejack:
Hope that 1/4″ is a real thing. Best of luck with it fitting the fixed space!
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@TenguPhule: Also, or so I’ve heard, Vancouver is more expensive than both SF and NYC which is hard to fathom.
I did my fun thing yesterday – took a hooky day and a day trip to Harper’s Ferry from the DC suburb of Takoma Park. Did the hike up to Maryland Heights, which gives a panoramic view of the town and up both the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers and on to the WV Alleghenies. Fall color was good. Not gonna lie, it was pretty spectacular.
On the way home I spent $1,900 on a wood burning stove insert for my fireplace. Two chimney sweeps have told me that I need to have the smoke shelf rebuilt because it has some nooks and crannies that they can’t clean properly. The second one that told me that I was like, suppose I get a wood burning stove insert? He said, well since the fire would be contained in the stove/metal chimney liner I wouldn’t need to get the smoke shelf rebuilt as there would be no risk of a chimney fire from the buildup in there. So it was either $3 grand to rebuild the chimney for a fireplace that sucks heat out of the house, or $3 grand for a stove plus install, but this will increase my heating efficiency, and when I lose power in the winter, which is bound to happen, it’ll heat the whole house pretty well.
Mnemosyne
@J R in WV:
I’ve had either 4 or 5 root canals — I can’t remember now. I tend to grind or clench my teeth when I’m stressed so, not surprisingly, one had to be done shortly after my father-in-law died and another had to be done after my father died. (That’s the one where the crown is going to be redone.)
Fortunately, I found a fabulous endodontist who takes my insurance and believes in “profound local anesthesia,” which means that the procedure itself is completely painless (except for injecting the novocaine, but even then he used a little topical anesthetic on the gum first).
The last time I saw him, he worked on a tooth in my lower jaw and I was numb on that side up to my eyebrow for several hours afterwards. He takes no chances.
TenguPhule
@Ohio Mom:
I thought those were a myth!
TenguPhule
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
What is this thing you call autumn?
Sab
@Mnemosyne: I have been to Werebear’s site. I also bought and read her book. That’s why meankitty and I are friendly now. Her book is also why nobody has killed or been killed by the new cat. He is a sweetheart, but he is also a former street cat who tries to be tolerant but eventualy says enouh of this shit.
Hopefully she will correct me if I am wrong, but my two biggest takeaways from her book is that 1)cats do have feelings and do care if you like them, and 2) unlike dogs, cats are colony animals, not pack animals. They don’t think about status or rank. They only care if they can get along or not with the other cats , people and dogs. This has been a real adjustment for me. I am tempermentally passive. I have spent my whole adult life toughening up to function at work and at home with my bossy dogs, and now I have to revert to 15 year old me to get along with the cats. Life is weird.
A bit of pee is worth everyone being happy at home.
Brachiator
@Ohio Mom:
Used to hang out in NYC in my college days, and don’t think I ever saw an empty parking spot in Manhattan, and few in da Bronx.
J R in WV
@Mnemosyne:
Yeah, that sounds like a real pro doing your work. My guy you can’t even feel the first shot, he’s that smooth. Also uses a topical anesthetic first, I don’t think it would hurt much anyway. I’m a bit of a grinder too, especially lately. I tried to use a guard while asleep, couldn’t do it.
Mnemosyne
@Sab:
You may also need to invest in a big jug of Nature’s Miracle and a large roll of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Nature’s Miracle will get rid of the smell, but it can take a week or two and sometimes more than one treatment, so you use the aluminum foil to deter the cat from re-using the peed-on spot until the smell fades and they’re no longer drawn to pee there by the lingering smell. To a certain extent, peeing in the wrong place can be a habit, so you want to get rid of the smell to break the habit.
Even if you think you cleaned up enough, use the Nature’s Miracle anyway. Kitties have much more sensitive noses than we do and can probably still smell the pee.
Dan B
@Sab: Have you tried the plug in cat pheromone gadget? We used it for calming one straight from feral boy kitty. He turned psycho killer when we brought his still-feral sister here two weeks later. It seemed to help. He’s stopped trying to murder her.
You might want to get the dawg version for your anxious puppy.
Steeplejack (phone)
@J R in WV:
I measured everything several times, same as I would do before cutting anything, so I think I’m good! Even measured the inside space on the display model to make sure it was big enough for my biggest plate.
Now I’ve got to figure out how to recycle/”freecycle” the old microwave.
Sab
@Mnemosyne: I have been to Werebear’s site. I also bought and read her book. That’s why meankitty and I are friendly now. Her book is also why nobody has killed or been killed by the new cat. He is a sweetheart, but he is also a former street cat who tries to be tolerant but eventualy says enouh of this shit.
Hopefully she will correct me if I am wrong, but my two biggest takeaways from her book is that 1)cats do have feelings and do care if you like them, and 2) unlike dogs, cats are colony animals, not pack animals. They don’t think about status or rank. They only care if they can get along or not with the other cats , people and dogs. This has been a real adjustment for me. I am tempermentally passive. I have spent my whole adult life toughening up to function at work and at home with my bossy dogs, and now I have to revert to 15 year old me to get along with the cats. Life is weird.
A bit of pee is worth everyone being happy at home.@debit:
So busy responding to Mnem I forgot to respond to you. I laugh too, usuallly. As far as I can tell everyone here is mostly happy and safe, so phuck the eventual state of the floors. I’ll be long gone by then.
Dan B
M4
I’ve got a New York friend you might enjoy, Dominic Holden. Gay guy who writes for Buzz Feed. I’ve known him since I did the landscaping at his parents’ house. He was 14. He’s a great energetic people guy.
debit
@Mnemosyne:
When Dani decided that a certain corner was her pee corner I tired putting down foil, as internet wisdom assured me cats hated walking on it. Dani walked up to it, put down a cautious paw, then romped all over it repeatedly. For her, foil was awesome. I do agree about Nature’s Miracle. It’s good stuff.
debit
@Sab: Totally get that. My floor guy is freaking out that the coverage isn’t perfect and I told him that in 24 hours a cat was going to puke up a hairball on the floor and that he shouldn’t sweat it. Houses are meant to be lived in.
eclare
@Dan B: Yes, the Feliway has worked wonders for my cats.
FelonyGovt
Late to the thread but I hope my old hometown treats you right, Major Major Major Major. California will miss you. Safe travels and best of luck.
Mnemosyne
@debit:
The foil is mostly to block more pee from hitting the carpet. If kitty decides to play or nap on the foil but doesn’t pee on it, it’s a win!
Jacel
I got a lot out of moving to New York for several years in 1983 to work for PC Magazine. Got a little burned out, but there’s some great memories. Hope it is a good change and experience for you. Having the continuity of an employer helps the transition a lot — especially if they pay for the move, as Ziff-Davis did for me.
debbie
Safe flying! I left NYC 23 years ago, and I still miss it!