Moving from Texas

Today is my first day at the University of Chicago where I will be a part of the Computational Mathematics program in the Department of Computer Science. It will be fun. Cheryl and I moved up to Chicago from August 28th to September 3rd. After packing every square inch of the U-haul trailer, we piled the back of the pick-up truck full to be the self-appointed Hyde Park Hillbillies (Hyde Park is the neighborhood where we live in Chicago). The hardest part of the trip was getting out of Texas. We really wondered if we could leave the state, then the bearings on the water pump decided they for sure were not leaving, causing us to spend the better part of two days in Shamrock, TX. Luckily, we found an honest mechanic who worked on the truck in a garage that resembled a farm shed built during the industrial revolution filled with rusty parts from everything from lawnmowers to irrigation tanks. We made the rest of the way with relatively few hitches. We did stop off at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows which was quite interesting and most definitely the highlight of the trip.

We arrived at Chicago on September 1st but were unable to move in till the third so Cheryl and I decided to scout out how we were going to move into the apartment. Never living in the city we thought it to be a good idea to check on things like parking and getting the keys to the apartment and what not. First, we find that there is no parking. Well that’s not quite right, the streets in Hyde Park are lined with cars that might move on a monthly basis. I think it takes at least a month of the public transportation system before people are willing to deal with finding another parking spot. Second, the freight elevator looks like the same mechanic actually built it in the industrial revolution not to mention that it is between the buildings dumpsters, adding that wonderful smell to a hot and muggy day. Finally, our apartment is nice except the architect wins the award for smallest kitchens. I guess I can’t complain, I can turn side ways in it but if my Buddha belly grows anymore I might have a hard time getting out.

Moving in was fun. The one problem was we didn’t listen to the flight attendant’s warning about the load shifting during the flight. I’m sure somebody got a kick out of seeing the Hyde Park Hillbillies race the truck down the street and slam on the breaks to a sudden stop several time while praying that it works this time. Fortunately, the U-haul door opened and the movers marveled at how efficiently it was packed. If a field mouse could get in there, the cat chasing him would definitely have no hope. After the grueling task of putting all the boxes in our apartment, we only unpacked enough to get by and then made our way off to NYC for the honeymoon. But that is another story.

As far as my website goes, I hope to update it with updates on Cheryl and I, Andy’s ranting of different stuff, and anything that I find particularly interesting on the web. This of course has never happened before but I will still pretend that it can happen someday.

God Bless,
Andy