And I've been fluttering all over the damn place.

Since my lease on my apartment in New Orleans was almost up and I planned to move rather than renew it, last month I set off on an 1800-mile roadtrip to check out the various places I was considering moving to. I decided on Knoxville, TN, for several reasons. I've really been wanting to live somewhere mountainous, and Knoxville is certainly satisfying in that respect. Andrés and Amy had just moved there for grad school and plan to be there for at least two years. Geographically it's within a few hours' drive of lots of the places where I have friends — Atlanta, Clemson, Raleigh. There is a healthy aviation scene in Knoxville — there are at least three good flying clubs with great rates, and there's a large commercial airport and a smaller regional airport and lots of private grass strips all over. It's a small city, so I have access to all the stores and resources I want, without having to deal with city blocks and traffic and nowhere to park.

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With my impending move, I've been trying to figure out how I'm going to move both of my cars. I plan to rent a U-Haul truck to move my stuff, so I can tow a car behind it, but getting the second car there would be trickier — I'd either have to drive the truck with one car in tow, then fly back to Covington to drive the other one, or I'd need to pay a friend to drive my other car alongside the U-Haul and then fly them back home or something. Neither option is very appealing.

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It's official — the Evo is sold, and I'm holding the check in my hands. As much as I loved that car, it's an incredible relief to be rid of the financial burden. I ended up letting it go for $23,000 — a ridiculously low price for that car, especially considering the inflated price of all cars in Puerto Rico. But I'm OK with that. The economy in PR is just not very good right now, and it was pretty clear that most people just couldn't afford to spend that kind of money on a sports car. And I did still get money back above what I owed on the car, so it's hard to feel too upset about the price.

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The apartment is starting to feel a bit more liveable. At first I planned to buy cheap crap for it, to kind of replicate the Compound. But after seeing how nice it is, I've been striving for a little bit more orderliness. I remember visiting friends' houses from time to time and using their clean, pure white towels and marveling at the hotel-like feeling of it. I also remember being quite infatuated with Meej's white, fluffy room, and so I've been keeping these things in mind as I do my shopping. My bed is clothed in 600-thread-count sheets and a wonderful, fluffy white comforter, and it's delightful. My towels and shower curtain continue the white theme.

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Moving in is going well. There's great things and not-so-great things about this place. I love the apartment itself — very spacious, nice carpets, etc. And the location is awesome — about half a mile down the road I have a Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Circuit City, Books-A-Million, Sav-A-Center grocery store, Waffle House, IHOP, and a bunch of other stuff. About five miles away there's another large collection of useful stores including Best Buy. And of course, being a two-minute walk from Bryan and Cat is great — quite a step up from having a four-hour plane ride separating me from my nearest friends.

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The visit in Clemson was perfect. I didn't miss out on any visits, and I got to do all the things I had on my list: I watched Metalocalypse with Meg, ate at Waffle House, took pictures at the abandoned mill in Newry, finally hung out with Katie in person, went to Super Taco, spent a good amount of time with Alia, did an Irish Car Bomb with Jeff and Bobby, hung out with Kells, and even got to see Jenn, which I though would be infeasible.

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I made it to Clemson without too much trouble. They took their time carefully checking all of my computer and camera equipment at the airport, but after that they let me through without a fuss. The computer fit fine in the overhead bin, and the box I sent as luggage arrived without damage. That went surprisingly well.

Scotty picked me up in his gold automatic '82 MK2 Supra L-Type, which is good, because my stuff probably wouldn't have fit in the Civic. I had forgotten how much I like MK2 Supras. His gold '82 is a very pretty car, despite a few spots of rust here and there, and mechanically it's in great shape — it only has 82k miles, which is damn impressive for a 24-year-old car.

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It's a great place to get stuff packaged up — they're very professional and know what they're doing — but I feel sorry for anyone who actually ships things from there.

I packed up and shipped most of my stuff yesterday. It came out to six large 60-70 lb boxes and one poster tube. For your edification and amusement, I will list the prices The UPS Store quoted me for shipping via USPS, along with the prices that the USPS charged me for the same services when I loaded the boxes back in the minivan and took them directly to the Post Office.

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I haven't been spending any time on the computer lately, so I thought I'd make a short post explaining what I've been up to. Andrés and my cousin Mia flew down last week for a visit, and then I had my last day of work on Sunday night. Since then I've been packing up my stuff, trying to sell my car, and spending time with Andrés and Mia. We've hung out with Michelle, Andrea, Isa, and Jose. Today I went back to "The Spot" with Andrés, Mia, and Michelle. The water was much higher and rougher, and there were two other guys there this time, so it wasn't the placid, relaxed, isolated experience that the first visit was. Still, it was a good time, and many pictures were taken.

Andrés and Mia leave on Sunday and Monday, respectively, and then I'll have two days to feverishly get the last of my stuff shipped up to New Orleans before I fly up myself on Thursday.

I haven't posted in a while, I know. I've been busy making the preparations to move to Covington, LA — a town about an hour away from New Orleans. I'm excited as hell about the move — it's something I've been really wanting for years. I've already got an apartment in the same apartment complex as my friends Bryan and Cat. My move-in date is September 8. My car is up for sale — I'll be back in the good ol' cow-spotted Civic once I get back up there. I'm also giving thought to the idea of beginning to consider packing. Fortunately, I never really unpacked when I moved down here two and a half years ago. Most of my belongings are still in boxes, so it should be a much easier move this time around. Hooray for practically living out of a suitcase for two years.

In other news, today is System Administrator Appreciation Day. I don't need to be showered with expensive sports cars (that would hurt), but perhaps a peck on the cheek would be appropriate. You do like receiving your email, right? I'm just sayin'.