cww.blog!

Some time between 8:45 and 11:45 this morning, I officially moved into my new place in Squirrel Hill. I'm typing this from my laptop, which is connected to the Internet by some lovely neighbor's unsecured wireless network.

The new house has its ups and downs, but in the end (and in the winter), I think this will be a very nice place to live. On the other hand, this means I'm no longer living with Katy, and that is very sad, upsetting, and depressing. You see, we didn't actually "break up" or anything; we just figured out, over the past few months, that we really aren't very good at living with each other. So, now, we're trying to keep bad things from happening to us in the future by preventing the future from happening. This was a difficult decision to make, and it has been even more difficult to live through its consequences. I have a feeling our cats are going to miss each other quite a lot, too.

To add insult to injury, the gas companies of Pittsburgh are wreaking havoc on my brain. The two largest (I think) gas companies here are Equitable Gas and Dominion Peoples Gas. It is now apparent, after filling out forms on the Internet, spending at least two hours on hold, waiting for various people to get back to me, manually reading my gas meter serial number, and so forth, that neither of the gas companies service my new address. Before I get really desperate, I'm going to try the other game in town, T. W. Phillips Gas Company. They, however, are only open for business from 8 to 5 on weekdays, so if I can't get something arranged tomorrow, I won't have gas until next week. Something tells me I'll have to get used to taking cold showers (one of which I took earlier, grunting and grumbling and cursing the entire time).

Another problem that arises from not having gas service is that I can't cook anything, do dishes, or wash my laundry. I posited to Arin earlier that I might just buy a microwave, which could solve all three issues to some degree under the proper circumstances. Instead of buying a microwave, however, I went to the grocery store and spent $150 on lots of food and beverages; nothing of which needs to be cooked. I am presently eating the simplest of those purchases: chips and salsa. At least the electricity works — without a refrigerator, I'd really be in trouble.

In somewhat unrelated news, a frontal system is in the process of passing through here at the moment, and along with it have come some fantastic thunderstorms. I'd really like to sit outside and enjoy the storms, but I have more pressing things to do right now. Like write this blog entry. Or something.