Hatboro-ian observations

This is the second day in a row in the mid-60s

(and every morning here I've woken up to sunshine instead of an alarm clock)

The Adventures of Brad & Maggie Continue:

CHAPTER ONE: The Arrival
So we survived the 11+ hour drive, toll booths, caffeine overdoses and sedated cats escaping their cage and are now settling into our new apartment. I have chosen a photo that will be representative of what two 22-year old, somewhat newly-weds can accrue in their lifetime, and that no neurotic, overly-organized person can overcome. That's just the dinning room. Holy cow.
CHAPTER TWO: The Grocery Store
Oh, to be in West Michigan, wandering the aisle-ways of our friendly Meijer store, complete with everything from strawberries and motor oil to pepper spray and alcohol. But nay, in the quaint suburbs of Philadelphia you will find there are several pit stops for groceries and the like.

For general groceries (food, toiletries, etc.) we have found Giants Food. A lovely combination of D& W and Family Fare, we discovered the key to savings: a Giants Card. Sign-up is free, and the savings are endless. Organic cherry tomatoes are 2 for five dollars today...

CHAPTER THREE: Alcohol
I have not yet searched where to buy motor oil or pepper spray, but for alcohol, there are rumored to be several complexities to the system. For wine and hard liquor, you must seek out the "Wine & Spirits" stores, which are run by the state of Pennsylvania. As for beer, you will find it at any "Beer Store" or the few shops that say "cold beer" on their flashing neon signs. Curiously, because of extremely costly liquor licenses, the city of Philadelphia literally has it's own BYOB tradition, that when entering a nice establishment that does not carry a liquor license, it is customary to bring your own six pack or bottle of wine. They provide the glasses, and you save a couple bucks. Interesting.


CHAPTER FOUR: Tomorrow
I (Maggie) will be starting my first day at LSA tomorrow morning. Much is to be done to empty the many boxes scattered around our apartment floor, counter tops, and living space. We shall see in the days to follow what will become of the ever-growing pile of cardboard boxes.

-M

Moving along a long list of to-dos...

In the spirit of all of the to-do lists that we are moving through before we relocate, I have an in-progress list of things I am looking forward to about Philadelphia (as a side note, you apparently cannot call it Philly until you live there):

• NOT waking up at 4:30
• NOT having us both drive 70 miles a day
• The sun
• A new exciting job for Maggie
• NOT breathing in chemicals forty hours a week
• Starting afresh
• More space
• Exploring a new city
• with historical significance
• with new restaurants
• Having the chance to pursue some freelance writing
• Meeting new people
• ...

Of course there are things that we are not happy about, such as leaving really great friends (oh, how we've been reminded of that over the last week or so), family and the Saab - but we're certainly concentrating on the positives, and being very excited at that.

Packing is in progress...