Moving on up, or down...

. . . to Long Beach, that is. Genevieve and I finally found a new place, and it is in Long Beach, roughly 30 miles south of LA and a mere 10 minute drive from G's work. For the price we couldn't get anything even remotely as nice in the LA area. We wanted quiet; a reasonably nice neighborhood with some shops and a pub; to be closer to G's work; to allow a dog; and at least two bedrooms. This place, a pretty, new building, has all of that, plus it is 1 mile away from the ocean and the sort of Irish pub we have so sorely missed since moving here. In additional it is at least $200 cheaper than the few dumps we could find in LA which met other criteria but which were, well, dumps. We're going to start moving our stuff in on the 26th. The commute for school will be a drag, but I will have the option of taking the train more or less directly there, which would be fine with me and only takes about an hour. Anyway G has been commuting a minimum of an hour and often more ever since we've been married -- she is long overdue for an easy trip home, and anyway, her schedule in the afternoons will be way more regular than mine, so I will be able to drop Jack off at day care and she can pick him up.

So we're very, very pleased and relieved. Apartment hunting is such a giant pain in the ass. Photos of the new pad as they appeared in the listing are below.

In other news, I found out yesterday that I am the recipient of a $10,000 scholarship. This means 10K comes right off the top of my tuition (read: loans) which is totally fantastic, beautiful and exciting news. I am not one to toot my own horn by I am very proud of this honor.

Finally, went to see Batman Begins tonight and wow, the Batman movie I've been waiting for all these years. I hated, hated, hated Tim Burton's and Joel Schumacher's asinine takes on the character -- I mean, I like Michael Keaton, but as Batman? And don't get me started on Bat-suits with nipples -- and this movie, I loved from beginning to end. Run don't walk.