The octopus did not reanimate during cooking. Turned out fairly well- I managed to get the texture right, but since it was already marinated, I probably shouldn't have used quite so much vinegar when I simmered it. For a first attempt, I declare it a success. With easy access to such ingredients, I will almost certainly try again.
People on Craigslist apparently do not understand what "curb-shopping" means. When I had a bunch of crap on the curb after loading the truck, I announced on Craigslist that I was leaving a bunch of good stuff on the curb. The folks helping me move got first dibs, some guy was really happy to have a table and chairs, and old CDs, and everybody won. People from Craigslist are still emailing me about it though- "Do you still have X?" No, no I don't. Because if it wasn't already taken by passerby, the garbage man got it on Tuesday morning. Now leave me the hell alone!
In housing news, we're leaning more towards the condo in Shadyside. There's a few extra things that put it over the edge for us. For one, I'm planning to go back to school in Fall '08, doing a class or two during the nights. CMU and Pitt are both extremely close to here and easy to access. I don't want to do home improvements. The condo might be more expensive, but it will be cheaper to heat, cheaper to maintain, and won't be full of space we don't use (as it is, we barely use an entire one bedroom apartment). The condo can be flipped into a rental property- if we're diligent while living there and throw lots of extra cash against the principle, we'll be able to reduce our payments and make it an affordable (and profitable) rental property in some years.
There's one more condo to look at, for $143,000. It doesn't have hardwood floors, which is something I'd really like, but it has lovely woodwork on the walls. It's across the street from the other condo.
People on Craigslist apparently do not understand what "curb-shopping" means. When I had a bunch of crap on the curb after loading the truck, I announced on Craigslist that I was leaving a bunch of good stuff on the curb. The folks helping me move got first dibs, some guy was really happy to have a table and chairs, and old CDs, and everybody won. People from Craigslist are still emailing me about it though- "Do you still have X?" No, no I don't. Because if it wasn't already taken by passerby, the garbage man got it on Tuesday morning. Now leave me the hell alone!
In housing news, we're leaning more towards the condo in Shadyside. There's a few extra things that put it over the edge for us. For one, I'm planning to go back to school in Fall '08, doing a class or two during the nights. CMU and Pitt are both extremely close to here and easy to access. I don't want to do home improvements. The condo might be more expensive, but it will be cheaper to heat, cheaper to maintain, and won't be full of space we don't use (as it is, we barely use an entire one bedroom apartment). The condo can be flipped into a rental property- if we're diligent while living there and throw lots of extra cash against the principle, we'll be able to reduce our payments and make it an affordable (and profitable) rental property in some years.
There's one more condo to look at, for $143,000. It doesn't have hardwood floors, which is something I'd really like, but it has lovely woodwork on the walls. It's across the street from the other condo.
