Bread and Crises

(listening to "Are You Lonesome Tonight" by Elvis Presley)
The apartment is almost completely empty. It's creepy and desolate, just like the times at college when I was one of the last ones in the dorm to leave for break. Deafeningly silent.
I forget where he said he heard it, but my father-in-law said "Moving is one of life's great crises." I had never thought of it in terms other than "pain in the ass" or "ordeal," but he's quite right. When you have to spend fifteen minutes trying to figure out what zip code your socks are in, you're outside of your normal state of being. The upheaval has made me weary. Back and forth, pack, carry, disassemble, assemble. It has also prevented me from writing here. My wife and I have put all of our energy into moving our life through a distance of 14.5 miles. We own a lot of shit. Less than many people, but enough to create a couple of stressful, sweaty days.
("Incident and Neshabur," Santana)
Anyway, we are almost done. We have spent our first few nights at the house. The cricket symphony is good sleeping music. It's great to have a house in Raleigh. An apartment in Cary is the blandest place to live, except parts of San Diego. Now that I think of it, I can't wait to get back for a visit. I lived in San Diego for eight years.
Great Things about San Diego, CA:
1)Cool neighborhoods with cool bars, particularly Pacific Beach and Hillcrest
2)Food (sushi, fish tacos and Mexican food in general)
3)Weather (it's not a hellish sauna in summer, nor does it ever snow)
4)The roads almost actually make sense there.
5)Trader Joes and IKEA
Drawbacks about San Diego:
1)Yuppie assholes (think Cary by the Sea)
2)The cost of putting a roof over your head is THREE TIMES HIGHER than in Raleigh.
3)No acceptable barbeque
4)Shitty traffic
5)A weak museum situation for a city of its size

It was nice, but what I miss most are my friends and my brother Bryan. I want to get them to visit my new palatial estate here. I can turn up the music, and the neighbors can't hear it. I like that.
("Outside Woman Blues," Cream)
I've only been here for a year, but here's a preliminary list:
Great things about Raleigh (The Triangle), NC:
1)It's green (things grow without being irrigated. Incredible!)
2)There are lots of parks and open spaces
3)Comparatively little traffic
4)Barbeque
5)People are polite (except in Cary)
6)Affordable housing
Drawbacks about The Triangle and Cackalacky in general:
1)Astonishingly bad drivers. I mean, holy shit, pull your head out of your ass.
2)It's a hot, steamy hell in summer.
3)NASCAR - What the hell? A bunch of rednecks driving around in circles, burning gas and occasionally crashing? The grandeur is lost on me.
4)The mere mention of an ice storm shuts down the state's entire economy for days. Get some balls and some snow plows. And learn how to drive. I spent my first 23 years in Michigan. You can do it.
5)No good Mexican food. No, that melted cheese crap that you call "queso dip" is not Mexican food.
6)How many fucking decades does it take to finish some road construction?

And now, I'm going to turn off my computer and put it in my car. The cable will be hooked up tomorrow, and my next post will be from the house. What should I name the house? The Biltmore East? The Batcave? Suggestions, please.