I vote Portland, because I want to move there. :)

makes plans to start pimping St. Louis as a good place for Buffistas to reside

I feel like a big fat dope...but a happy one.

Almost four years ago, I packed up my apartment, moved in with my parents, then in September, moved to the Boston area. I packed both suitcases with enough clothes to last me till I got to Boston.

I also packed up my favorite jewelry in a ziplock bag, and stuck it in the suitcase.

When I got to Boston, I unpacked everything in my new room, and was devistated, because I had lost my favorite pieces of jewelry.

I just found them. In the suitcase I took to San Francisco. I have no idea how many times I've used that suitcase in the last four years. But, I'm thrilled to have the jewelry back.

Teppy -- that is so something I would do -- which is EXACTLY why I try to pay my bills online as much as possible.

And it's 89 degrees here and it's not even NOON.

What a great surprise, vw! It's like new jewelry that is ALREADY your favorite!

I KNOW!

Most of it is cheap stuff that I just really liked. BUT, it also holds my Tiffany's bracelet that I adore.

Having lived in Portland and LA (but not SF) I can tell you that Portland combines a major small town feel with a fairly urban environment - decent variety of ethnic food, though not up to SF, decent variety of culture - though not up to SF. (Up to the LA I knew, but my LA knowledge is too many decades out of date to useful.) Also - though good on the shopping and resteraunt thing - not anything like as multi-cultural as LA or SF. It has great public transit. It has powells and that is a mega-cool bookstore. Plus a fair number of other indendet bookstores. Not really making a case over SF am I? Advantages over SF - lower cost living, and I'll bet the small town feel is smaller cause it is a smaller city than SF. SF has a much higher numbers of buffistas including JZ and Hecubot and Deborah Grabien as well. I think we have two Portland Buffistas, but have not checked map lately.

Teppy -- that is so something I would do -- which is EXACTLY why I try to pay my bills online as much as possible.

This happened back when online bill-pay was just barely starting -- now, I pay every single bill online. I can't remember the last time I mailed anything.

vw -- I had this weird habit of losing one earring from the same pair (my blue scarabs) on vacation, and then the next time I went to use my luggage, I'd find the damn earring. It happened at least 3 vacations in a row, with the same pair of earrings. I think the earring just really likes my luggage.

Yeah, I don't pay anything by hand anymore.

Great news, vw!