California is too damn long. Twelve hours of driving and I still only made it as far as San Bernardino before collapsing from exhaustion.

And can I just add that I-5 between Sacramento and Bakersfield makes Kansas look downright fascinating? Somewhere along the way, I think I died of boredom, had judgement passed on me, and was sent to Hell, which happens to be I-5 between Sacramento and Bakersfield.

The upside of pushing myself so hard today is that tomorrow’s drive should only be about seven hours, depending on traffic in Phoenix.

At least the road directions from Seattle to Tucson are easy enough: follow I-5 for 1,150 miles, then hang a left onto I-10.

Coming at you live from a hotel room in the bustling metropolis of Medford, OR. You know, there was a time not too long ago when I wouldn’t have been able to get online on a night like this, in a town like this.

Lots of driving done. A lot more driving left to go. That’s all for now.

Last night at dinner with my extended family, I managed to chip a front tooth by biting down on a fork the wrong way. It’s a very small chip, so small that it may have just been a calcium deposit and not tooth at all, painless and unnoticable. But I can still feel the tiny jagged spot with my tongue, so guess what I’m going to obsess over during the next few days?

Presently, I’m sitting cross-legged on the floor of my room, which is now empty save my briefcase, laptop, and wireless internet hookup. My car is fully loaded and sitting in the driveway. Jim is at work; I said goodbye to him on his way out this morning.

I still have to gas up, then get lunch and a few travel toiletries. After that, I’m off for good. I think I can make it to NoCal by tonight, or at least the OR/CA border. Tomorrow is the long drive through California. I should arrive in Tucson on Tuesday.

So long, Seattle. It’s been interesting — and I mean that as a compliment.

Hello, whatever’s next.

I was going to post about this last night, but I was so exhausted that instead I just dozed on my futon while the last of my laundry ran through the dryer.

Yesterday was Moving Day One, in which my brother and I loaded by bed, boxes of books and DVDs, and other belongings into a U-Haul trailer. Then we drove it to a U-Pack facility in Kent, WA, south of Seattle, and re-loaded it all into a 6′ x 7′ x 8′ storage unit. That unit will be transported to Tucson starting on Monday.

As a result, my back is ultra-sore and my hands and arms are covered with scratches and bruises I don’t remember getting. I suppose it could be worse — at least my head doesn’t hurt from continuously bonking it on the roof of the U-Haul truck.

After that, I attended a Christopher Moore appearance for his new novel A Dirty Job, which came out on Tuesday.

Tomorrow is Moving Day Two, when I pack up my car and start driving back to Tucson. In between, today is earmarked for (maybe) selling my TV, giving stuff to Goodwill or the garbage man, then a family get-together with two aunts, two uncles, and two cousins — Patty, Ward, Kristen, and Lisa are in town from Illinois. I haven’t seen them in ages.

Busy busy busy.

Yesterday was my last day at work, so Nick and Amy took the office (all four of us) out for a farewell Thai lunch. They also gave me two parting gifts: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, taken off my Amazon list, and… a gold watch, as pictured on the left. A cheap gold watch, of course, but possibly useful since my last watch broke a few months ago.

The “inscription” pasted onto the base that you can’t read in the picture says “For Mike, In Honor of Your Brave Year of Service with Bel-Red Web Consulting.”

I’m highly amused.

I saw V for Vendetta the day before the rest of the world did. Neener.

My initial thoughts: well, the ending was sentimental Hollywood crap, but otherwise the plot was pretty close to the comic. TOO close at times, as entire issues’ worth of subplots race past in an incomprehensible flash. This is the first adaptation of an Alan Moore comic you’ll probably enjoy MORE if you read the original first.

That is, unless you’re looking for Moore’s politics, which have been somewhat understandably altered to reflect the filmmakers’. The comic was about anarchy vs. fascism, chaos vs. order. The movie is… more about happy populism, I guess.

Which is why Moore had his name taken off the film. In the original, V’s anarchism reflected Moore’s personal beliefs, as he explains in this interview (part 1 and part 2). He’s also taking his name off the new print run of the original graphic novel, which may seem like he’s overreacting, but he is an anarchist, after all. One who worships a Roman snake god.

Moore may be the greatest comic writer of all time, but he’s also a bit eccentric. The two facts are likely related.

Anyway: even though I’m making it sound lousy, the movie’s worth seeing. Just know the comic’s ending wasn’t as Up with People as all that.

Normally I only give $10 at a time to a politician. No particular significance to the number, it’s just something I do.

But I just contributed $20 to Russ Feingold’s Progressive Patriots Fund. The way I figure it, that’s $10 for trying to filibuster the Patriot Act and another $10 for introducing the measure to censure the president over his illegal wiretaps. Rewards for good behavior.

Feingold was also the only vote against the original Patriot Act. He’s the only true libertarian in the Senate.

So far, only Kerry and Harkin have endorsed the censure measure. (UPDATE: unbeknownst to me, Boxer and Menendez were also on board as of last night.) While I’m at it, I should probably give Feingold another sawbuck just for saying this:

I’m amazed at Democrats, cowering with this president’s numbers so low. The administration just has to raise the specter of the war and the Democrats run and hide. … Too many Democrats are going to do the same thing they did in 2000 and 2004. In the face of this, they’ll say we’d better just focus on domestic issues. … [Democrats shouldn’t] cower to the argument, that whatever you do, if you question the administration, you’re helping the terrorists.

Nooo! Mustn’t upset the 33% who still support Bush! Must be bland and cautious! Must triangulate! If one side says 2+2=4 and the other says 2+2=6, we should say it’s 5!

On that note, if you missed it, go watch Tuesday night’s Daily Show segment featuring outspoken Democrat Paul Hackett. It explains with wicked satire why we keep losing elections…

UPDATE: According to this poll, censure has 46% support (48% among voters) to 44% against. Heck, 42% even support impeachment. Now watch the Democrats leap on the Feingold bandwagon…

Moving Day is only two weeks away now. In between the mad scramble to either pack up or give away everything I own, I’ve reflected on what I’ll miss about Seattle and what I won’t.

I won’t miss the Seattle Chill. This Craigslist post from a few weeks ago lays it out pretty well, although I only agree with the first five reasons listed. I was concerned about the Chill before I came here, and it’s a real thing, probably worsened by my own socially-backward tendencies.

(There’s a Tucson Freeze, too, on a lesser scale, and for different reasons. All the retirees stay in, naturally, and the U of A is its own insular society. The locals tend to hang out, date, and marry within the circle of people they grew up with. That leaves the transplants to try to connect to each other in a city without much culture or nightlife. The ones with social hobbies — religion, cycling, gaming — do better than those without.)

I’ll miss the clouds, even if the rain got obnoxious at times. I always prefer overcast to sunny.

I’ll definitely miss the green.

I’ll miss walkable neighborhoods. In Ballard, I’m able to walk to the gym, a good movie theater, and several bars and restaurants. However, walking sucks when it’s cold and dark and rainy, which is roughly November through February.

I won’t miss the lack of parking that results from walkable neighborhoods. It’s a double-edged sword. Tucson is basically a giant parking lot connected by wide roads, which is both convenient and a horrible fault.

I’ll miss being able to wear a jacket eight months out of the year. I look good in jackets. Plus, they’re a good way to carry a cell phone. It’s surprising how important that is to me.

I won’t miss the 30-minute commutes to Trader Joe’s. Eventually, I gave up out of frustration and settled for the local Safeway. Also, strangely, Seattle has no equivalent of Bookmans in Tucson.

I won’t miss the state-run liquor stores and high taxes on alcohol. How is anyone supposed to be an alcoholic in this state?

I’ll miss liberal bumper stickers. I still see the occasional Bush sticker up here, but Tucson is filled with them, along with 700 Club anti-gay stickers and such sentiments as “Get the US out of the UN.” And Tucson is, believe it or not, Arizona’s Democratic stronghold.

Actually, I’ll miss liberals, period.

I’ll miss the fact that every band and author made a tour stop in my hometown. Nobody comes to Tucson. It’s that whole lack of culture and nightlife thing.

I won’t miss not being able to see my Tucson friends anymore. I dated a lot in Seattle, met some good people, found some new friends. But when I’m really in need of some advice or conversation, the first four people I think of calling are in Tucson. I left a lot behind there.

…but I laughed at McSweeney’s fantasy baseball team made from old-school Nintendo characters anyway.

6. Dog from Duck Hunt, 1B

Despite having the reputation as a “clubhouse cancer”—one gotten from always laughing at others, no matter how serious the issue—the large canine is an annual Gold Glove recipient. However, his batting leaves much to be desired, as he continues to ignore the advice from the batting instructor to grow opposable digits.