I was informed by my good friend (and fellow author) H.K. Snapp that I haven't written an epic blog post about the move. I can't guarantee an "epic" (I'm not much of a hero, and I doubt I could get the meter and rhyme down), but I'll try.
My girlfriend/fellow author, T.R. Stampz, and I left GA on Tuesday, 10/24, after stopping by Movie Stop at 10am to pick up my reserved copy of The Raven. We also got several horror movies, as well as Stranger Than Fiction, the only Will Ferrell movie I like, on Blu-Ray for $3.99! Anyway, we left Movie Stop, got breakfast at IHOP, and then were on our way. (By the way... Movie Stop called me the VERY NEXT DAY to tell me that the Ray Bradbury Theater DVDs I'd ordered--and forgot about--had come in. That pissed me off, but I got my sister to go pick them up for me and mail them to me.)
We had some interesting adventures along the drive. We ran into some drivers who didn't seem to grasp the concept of interstate speed limits. We passed this one guy, whose vanity plate proclaimed him "NORM," several times, only to have him mysteriously wind up in front of us again. One trucker seemed to have fallen asleep at the wheel. We passed him and my girlfriend beeped the horn and yelled, "Wake up, Grandpa!" That was in either NC or VA, I forget. We got to travel through some mountains in VA, and there was a VW driver who couldn't wrap her head around single lane driving on a mountain. She was pulled over by a cop, but managed to catch back up with us after we stopped for supper at an Applebee's near the VA/WV border. By the time it was fully dark, we wound up behind what appeared to be a student driver in a semi on a state highway (Ms. Stampz avoided the interstate going through Cincinnati so that we'd be able to sleep before midnight... which we didn't).
We made it to the apartment complex around 11:45pm. I called my dad (who had refused to go to bed until I called) to say we were there and safe. We then crashed without bringing in my stuff.
The next day, we brought in my stuff. I still haven't put everything away, because I don't have my own dresser. I suppose I could have brought one from home... but so far, all the furniture I've brought from home (with the exception of my computer desk, knock on wood) has broken. I guess GA furniture isn't accustomed to OH weather, either.
I hung my winter clothes in the bedroom closet, and in order to do that, I had to pack away my warm-weather clothes (which, so far, I haven't needed much). In doing so, I learned that for some strange reason... I'd only packed three pairs of undies, plus the ones I wore along the trip. I made those four last until I got paid on the first (please, don't ask), and then went to Wal-Mart and bought some more. Also, I called my folks and asked them to mail me some, with the Ray Bradbury Theater DVDs and my mail. (I'm still waiting for that mail, as they had the box taped up without it.)
The first weekend I was here, I was still exhausted, but we managed to go out that Saturday to the nearby Foy's Halloween block party. That was a lot of fun. There was a group selling some Shock Theater DVDs (not to be confused with Augusta's Fox 54 Shock Theater, which I watched regularly as a kid, when I could get away with staying up late enough), starring the late Ohio horror host and charity king, Doctor Creep. I wish I'd had the money to get one of those DVDs, because I've heard great things about Doctor Creep and would love to see him in action. Perhaps we can find him on YouTube...
Other than the Halloween decorations and Foy's stores all along Main St. and the Doctor Creep DVD salespersons, there were face-painting tents, Halloween jewelry for sale, and a lady from the local library advertising their free Halloween movie double-feature (Sunday 10/29, The Wolf Man and The Mummy). Ms. Stampz tried to get me a signing at the library, and the lady gave us free 3D bookmarks with their website on them. I'll have to look them up.
The biggest draw to me on Main St. was the News Reader, a going-out-of-business used book store! Everything 50% off! (None of the books I was interested in cost more than $4 anyway, but then 50% off is even better.) I had to go look... and it was an opportune time to do so, because this shitty band were playing in the middle of the square and we had to go inside a store to kill the noise. It didn't help too much, but being distracted by books helped me tune them out. I picked up a Dave Barry book and... something else. I'd have to go through the stack in the bedroom to remember. They were $0.50 each. Once I got paid, we went back and got a bunch more for $14, not paying more than $1.99 for any of them. Hooroy!
When we got back home from Foy's, we found out that our town was doing its trick-or-treating that Saturday rather than Wednesday... and, we weren't home for that, so we missed All Hallows' Read. Dammit! So, on the 31st, we took a trip to the Dayton 2nd & Charles to make some trades with the kiddie Halloween books. I didn't get much store credit for my stuff (and spent what I did get on a few MAD mass market paperbacks), but Ms. Stampz also took some stuff and got a bunch of credit, but only bought one thing... and it was an Edgar Allan Poe graphic novel that I wanted. I felt kind of guilty, until I bought some stuff to save her money, with the condition that she'd let me use the rest of her store credit. hehe We went back and I got like, 6 more MAD mass market paperbacks, plus Vol 1 of I Luv Halloween. It was a few days late, but I just wanted to read it again... which I did.
So, as you can see, with the traveling adventures, the Movie Stop debacle, the underwear shortage, the breaking of my two chairs, the Halloween celebration, and getting major hauls at the News Reader and local 2nd & Charles... it's been quite the experience.