Hi! Glad to see you on the blog. I hope to keep this one short(er) and sweet, given that (much like the last time I wrote) I am trying to stuff 7 months of clothing etc. into two suitcases and a carryon. I suppose this is a lesson in simplifying, whatever that means.

Just a quick update: this week has been fabulous here in Columbus with my parents. Their new house is beautiful and the metro area is fantastic. We spent the first few days out and about shopping for home decor for mom and dad and found some things that complement their digs well. I will say that every store you can think of (and more) are within a 20 minute drive from here, which is super. Mom’s new favorite is World Market, a place not far from their home, where we found many an accent painting and some bottles of wine to accent the hanging of said paintings. Dad’s gym is about 5 minutes away and there are so many festivals and other cultural events going on all the time. It’s really a great set up for them. Oh yes, one more thing: the people here LOVE their Buckeyes! Perhaps this year is it for them. Perhaps the Jayhawks might surprise everyone and be back in Miami for a certain January football game?! I guess we’ll see. I will miss the excitement of the college football season . . .

This week, I also had occasion to head to the Apple store to see what was going on with my wireless card as I had a few problems with connectivity. Because the Apple people were truly awesome, it took the guy who was helping me about five minutes to say “Hey, we can’t figure out what’s going on really, other than it’s a bad wireless card and because we don’t have the part in stock, why don’t we just swap it out for a new computer?” Who was I to argue?! They migrated all my software while Mom and I ran some errands, and lo and behold, I have a brand new Macbook. Fabulous.*

In the evenings this week we’ve been watching movies after dinner in M&D’s home theatre. It’s unbelievable. Dad held nothing back on this one. Some of the speakers are built into the walls/ceiling and the projection screen is 100″. Yeah. One. Hundred. Inches. It truly is like having a theater in the basement. That, by far, is my favorite part of the house though the screened in porch on the back of the house is a close second as the weather has been enjoyable enough in the mornings and evenings to eat outside and enjoy the wine we didn’t consume hanging the pictures.

Yesterday we finally got around to seeing the new Indiana Jones movie (I made them wait until I got here so we could all see it together). I thought it was entertaining and was glad we all got to go together. I suppose the last time one came out we all watched it together too, though it’s been more years than I care to count. After the movie, we headed for the Columbus Jazz and Rib Fest. Despite high humidity, the ribs we had (from Smokin’ Joes) were worth the wait. There were so many people there but it was a fun activity to end the day.

So yes, here I am, once again putting off packing by writing a blog. I hope this manner of procrastinating doesn’t become a habit, but I guess at least it’s doing something productive rather than watching America’s Next Top Model Marathons like last weekend . . .

Anyway, I better get to it. So the next time we chat I’ll be in the land of cheese, windmills, and coffee shops. I cannot believe it’s almost here! I’m really looking forward to spending some time with my bro exploring the city.

Doei for now.

*Fabulous as long as the MacBook does not present with any new problems while I’m roaming the globe, that is.