There are photos of Thom and my journey here and here.

I’ve officially been in Seattle for 5 whole days now, and I have an official box count for you all:

17.

17 Boxes.

But I am missing one (thanks, USPS), which luckily did not contain anything of importance. 

So 18 boxes. Which is still less than 20. So I’m going to go ahead and pat myself on the back here.

My neighborhood’s great. I’ve chosen my two favorite dive bars:

Most definitely here.

And here. And their diner food isn’t terribly shabby, either.

Mister Kitty is doing well, we’re a happy duo!

With my actual drive less than a week away (Thom and I depart the 5th of April from Milwaukee and after 14-16 hour drive days, will likely arrive in Seattle by mid-to-late Saturday), let’s start to focus on the immediate gratification of not being in a car after 3 days: My New ‘Hood.

I’ll be residing in a neighborhood named Lower Queen Anne, at the base of Queen Anne Hill. 

According to the NFT guide, I’m in good company: 

The residents of the LQA are mostly single, urban professionals in their mid-twenties to early thirties who enjoy a healthy nightlife and unassuming upscale residences.

Damn, do they have my number.

There’s also a purveyor of an endless supply of sushi on a motorized beltline, and the first time I get falling-down drunk (hereby to be known as “getting Milwaukee-ed”), I will have to Eat a bag of Dick’s.

I’ll be back in my new city around April 8th, just in time for Zombie Jesus Day.

In the meantime, I have a lot of packing and cleaning to do.If you want to help, I pay in pizza, beer, and hugs.

But…I can look forward to moving into my new apartment, which is not a craphole.

I’ve been in Seattle proper for just over 36 hours.

I’ve experienced:

2 job interviews

1 rock show

1 hangover

1 day of jetlag

1 day of partial sun (No link, because I’m already starting to forget what it is.)

2 days of mostly rain

1 afternoon of over-caffeinated bliss

1 potential lead on a dj gig

And one terrible falling out with an ex (What can I say? I have a knack.)

Tomorrow will be my first day of relaxation since arrival, with nothing scheduled except derping around the city like a deranged tourist fueled by fancy coffee drinks and and unyielding will to tell people that I have been in the goddamned Space Needle and window shopped at Fleuvog.

When I initiated researching this move to round-out my half-baked plans, my first step was to decide how I would actually physically undertake this task. Furniture I could replace, but what about other important stuff?

I looked into PODs, I checked out U-Haul trucks, I considered setting fire to my apartment and letting State Farm sort it out.

PODs started at around $1k, truck rental started at about $12k not including gas, which is slowly creeping up in price again, and arson is never a viable option, regardless of what anyone tells you.

The ideal solution, considering the fact that my wonderful parents had decided to gift me their old ‘94 Ford Explorer, was to rent a trailer. This would work out exceptionally. In fact, it almost seemed like kismet, as another MKE to SEA transplant - my pal Thom - was also looking to move some boxes and drum kit parts from the 414 to the 206.

In short:

Road trip from MKE to SEA + old friend to take on some of the drive time and offer company + split rental/gas costs = WIN

And this would have been the reality, had U-Haul not stepped in to piss all over my moving party. You see, unbeknownst to me, U-Haul has a long and sordid history with the Ford Explorer and refuses to rent trailers to tow behind them, which you can read all about here.

My favorite remedy to this issue is as follows. If I had bigger balls, I would so try to pull this off:

Solution was simple: Went to a body shop and bought a “used” Expedition plate for the back of the vehicle for $1.00. Then removed the Explorer one and replaced it with the Expedition. A little touch-up paint was required, but that was easy.

Went back to U-all-haul and told them I had an Expedition. Pulled around and they put a 12 foot trailer on the existing hitch. No sweat.

Note: Keep the old Explorer plate to replace if case you want to sell it!

In reality, my remedy is to mail more boxes, utilize a heavy gauge nylon rooftop carrier, and hope that Thom and I have room for all of our shit, plus Mister Shitty and his endless howling and the elimination of bodily fluids out of every orifice (did I mention that my cat doesn’t travel well?)

And yes, the title of this post is absolutely a reference to this.

BOX COUNT (MAILED): 4

The job hunt begins.

I still have yet to receive final notification from the State of Washington that the State of Wisconsin has forwarded the necessary documentation for license verification, but armed with a letter from the illustrious Congresswoman Gwen Moore, I’m pretty sure the State of Wisconsin will move a little bit faster than molasses.

After roughly a month of research, my short list of places I’d like to work is as follows:

• Rudy’s - A smaller chain relegated to Seattle, Portland, LA and NYC (you know, the “important” places). Punky, a little more low-key, and a great place to build clientele with walk-ins. I’m lucky to also have “ins” here.
• Red Chair - Located on Mount Hipster, AKA Capitol Hill. Lots of walk-in clientele, and a decent price point for intro-level stylists. Not thrilled about the idea of using a “natural” color line, because really, I haven’t found one that doesn’t fade in a flash.
• 5th Avenue Barbershop - I walked by this spot last month on one of my solo sojourns through downtown. It was busy, but not rushed, and without sounding too granola, I got a good vibe.
• Valentines - Upscale, appointment-only, men-only. This might be something I wait on until I’m a bit more masterful, however, they’re hiring now, and it might be a good idea to get on that.

I’ll also throw some resumes out for full-time reception gigs as “safety” jobs.

And since I’m likely going to have technical interviews in conjunction with the sit-down, face-to-face, I’ll have to check my bags that will be full of dangerous things like feather razors and shears.

BOX COUNT: 5

UPDATE: In a bid to totally knock my socks off, Rudy’s got back to me within 30 minutes of my initial email. Boss.