Movies, Groceries, Living

I'm staying in a "corporate" apartment until my "real" apartment is ready for me to move in. This "corporate" apartment is something between a hotel room and a real apartment. I have a real kitchen, with kitchen stuff, but was without dish detergent and napkins until I actually bought my own. There is a washer and dryer, but I had to get my own clothes detergent and fabric softener. I even had to buy my own toilet paper. Thankfully they include wireless internet and cable TV.

Whoever lived here before I did didn't seem to forward their mail (since May!); I found letters from lawyers, a justice of the peace, the election commission, a collection agency, and a card from the Sheriff's office stating a warrant had been issued.  I returned all the mail, but I'm now curious as to what that person's story was.  The guy's wife received a couple magazines, including an alumni magazine, and an appointment reminder card for their dentist.

I've sampled a couple grocery stores in the area, although it will be a while before I have an opinion on them all. Albertsons' is about the same as it is anywhere else, although I was impressed with their cheese selection and amused by their special on "crab cheese dip". I went to Central Market today, which is somewhat on the spectrum of Trader Joes and Whole Foods, leaning towards Whole Foods without the snooty attitude and the prices that go with it. I was most excited that they seem to stock a variety of British foodstuffs that I'm fond of there, and they have a most impressive bakery and cheese selection. I will probably visit Tom Thumb and Krogers eventually, but I think Central Market is where I will do most of my grocery shopping.

I've heard lots of people here shop at Wal-Mart, but after escaping a Wal-Mart-only kind of town I refuse to shop there. Thankfully Target will suffice for those things I can't get at Central Market.

I went to see Captain America at the local AMC here, and the experience was somewhat of a disappointment. I guess I got spoiled on Arclight Cinemas in Los Angeles. Luckily I've been told that the Angelika Film Center here in both Dallas and Plano show art and foreign films and is probably more on par with what I'm used to. I'll have to catch a film sometime this week to find out.

I went out to dinner the other night; I sampled the sushi offerings at Sushi Sake.  They have some really fantastic spicy tuna, but the albacore I had tasted a little off.  I do recommend their Spanish Makerel, get it as sashimi and have the chef deep fry the rest.  It's a real treat.  At least I can get decent sushi here!  I was lamenting the fact that I might not get to have some of my favorite foods as often as I might otherwise.

I'm quite homesick and miss my boyfriend a lot. We were constant companions before I moved and it's hard to not have that camaraderie to fall back on. Skype and the phone are nice, but it's not the same.

I've been going to yoga as often as I can; I found Sunstone Yoga and I can at least say that the sessions are helping me adapt to the Texas heat. After my workout I walk out of the studio into 100-degree weather and feel cold. I still sweat when I'm outside, but at least I don't feel absolutely uncomfortable.  In fact, this has been my greatest surprise (and delight) in moving to Dallas: the heat isn't as oppressive as I thought it was going to be.  Considering we are in the midst of a heat wave, I take that to be a good thing.

Virgin America Rocks!

I flew out to Dallas for good this week. I had a one-way ticket on Virgin America, and I have to admit it's an awesome airline. The overhead bins are extra big, even the coach/business class seats are upholstered in leatherette and you can order snacks and beverage service from the personal TV screen in front of you. Not to mention the free wi-fi (which I did not take advantage of).

Even the stewards and stewardesses are extra nice, as well as the people at the ticketing counter. The boarding passes (if you get a "real" one) are the perfect size as well! It's just a very well thought-out, well implemented business. I'll definitely be flying with Virgin America again.

Apartment Hunting

I've found apartment hunting in Dallas to be a lot easier than in Los Angeles.  Lots of apartment complexes have floor plans available online, and websites with photos.  It's very nice to go back and compare after a day of looking at apartment after apartment.

One thing that seems common is that very, very few apartments include any utilities with the rent.  Most apartments I've lived in include at least water and trash.  I guess I'll chalk this up to the whole Texan Independent Spirit.  Another thing that I will attribute to the Texan Independent Spirit is the many, many choices in electricity providers available.  Almost no one was able to tell me how much electricity costs for an apartment per month.  The universal answer was, "It depends on which electric company you use."  Maybe a better question would be, "How many kW/h does this apartment use per month?", but somehow I don't think I'd get a more useful answer.

I've heard a lot of people recommend Reliant and Green Mountain, and the Wikipedia article on Dallas mentions TXU and Cirro, so any one of those four are probably OK.  Luckily for me, there are a couple utility-comparison websites out there.

Power to Choose

Electricity Texas

Another thing I find a little strange is this idea of paying for covered parking.  Some apartment complexes seem to give you one rate, and then you have to calculate in *all* your utilities, as well as if you wanted a garage or whatever other perk added in.  I guess I can see their perspective, if they wanted to offer a detached garage or whatever, but it's almost a disincentive to have a car if you have to pay $100/month just to secure it.

One really nice thing was that apartment complexes in Dallas seem to be more pet/dog friendly than in California.  Or maybe that was just my apartment hunter taking my interest in getting a dog seriously.  At any rate, some apartments have reasonable pet policies (we accept small dogs up to 40 lbs), others don't ($600 pet deposit, $300 nonrefundable).  Most apartments' pet policies include some kind of pet rent, which is fairly reasonable at $10-$20/month.

It's also fairly easy to find apartments which include washer and dryer connections (it's that ol' Texas Independent Spirit again!).  I'm really happy about that, as I'm kind of getting sick of going to a laundromat or shared laundry facility to wash my clothes.

One last thing I find interesting is that it seems variable on how much notice you need to give your new landlord when you do eventually move out.  Some places are 30-days, but a lot of apartments that I looked at require 60-day notices.

Texas Turns

It's fascinating to me how different just driving can be in different parts of the United States.  When I moved to Los Angeles I remember being intimidated by all the fast drivers.  Now I've become one of those crazy L.A. drivers!  I drive too fast and pass too close.  If you do something stupid I honk with great gusto.

In Dallas they have horizontal traffic lights, and they have what's called "Texas Turns".  If you miss your exit on a freeway, you can just remain in the left lane and be immediately funneled into the on-ramp to go the other way.  It's very convenient for those who are new to the city and are a bit lost (even with Garmin by your side).

When I moved to L.A., I thought that I would stay there, that L.A. would be the place where I put down roots.  Now I'm relocating to Dallas for work, and until this week I'd never set foot in the city.  This whole unanticipated adventure has just become my little detour, my Texas Turn into I-don't-know-what-comes-next.  I'll admit it's not the perfect analogy.