Somewhere in the back of my head, I got this crazy idea that I wanted to buy a new car. Keep in mind that I’ve owned my condo for about three months. And I just put a nice chunk of money into putting a tile backsplash in my kitchen. (And it looks awesome!) My current… Continue reading Car Shopping
Two Weeks
Browns Originally uploaded by mikehillwig Two weeks ago today, I became a home owner. I also took on a ton of debt. But now I’m sleeping in a place that is truly my own. This is a great little condo. Sure, it needs a little TLC. The up side to that is that everything it… Continue reading Two Weeks
Closing Time
If you follow me on any social networking sites, this blog post won’t have any serious surprises. In my last post, I mentioned that I was going back to look at a property. Long story short, I made an offer, haggled a little on the price and we close March 19. I’m buying a two… Continue reading Closing Time
House Hunting, Part Two
When I first started thinking about buying a house, I made the decision to use a realtor who knows and lives in the neighborhood where I want to buy. That may have been one of the smartest decisions I’ve made recently. My friend Ulli and I went house hunting again today. This time was a… Continue reading House Hunting, Part Two
Lemon Grilled Chicken
The other night, I came home from work and needed to cook myself some dinner. I knew I had chicken breasts in the refrigerator, but that’s pretty boring. So I started looking around my kitchen. I found the following: lemons, fresh rosemary, fresh garlic. That chicken was screaming to be marinated. So I zested and… Continue reading Lemon Grilled Chicken
House Hunting
If you’ve been following me on Twitter or Facebook, you may know that I’m looking to buy a home. The lease on my condo in Salem is up, and I was not planning on renewing it. A few weeks ago, I was looking for a new apartment in Boston. For the first time in many,… Continue reading House Hunting
Passport Check
When I travel, I prefer to use my passport as ID instead of my driver’s license. I’d hate to lose my driver’s license. When I got my passport almost ten years ago, I didn’t have the actual copy of my birth certificate. Because of this, the State Department only gave me a passport valid for… Continue reading Passport Check
Apartment Search
Several months ago, I told my landlord that I wouldn’t be renewing my lease when it was up in mid-March. I love living in Salem, but it’s incredibly inconvenient. With chorus rehearsal once a week and the doctors I see in the city, Salem becomes more inconvenient. That said, I started looking for a place… Continue reading Apartment Search
Ringing in 2010
They say that how you end the year is an indication of how you’ll spend the rest of the following year. If that’s the case, I’m in pretty good shape for 2010. On Thursday, I took the Acela from Boston to Washington, DC. The Acela is a great ride, even if the whole length makes… Continue reading Ringing in 2010
In Need of Music
The Boston Gay Men’s Chorus has a new CD called “In Need of Music.” It’s the first recording the chorus has done since I’ve joined. Most of the pieces are from our March 2009 concert series, Outside the Box. One piece is from our December 2008 concert series. There are two pieces that are from… Continue reading In Need of Music