Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

So, about a week ago, I moved to sunny Tucson, AZ, with my cat. I've got a really cool place, which is now mostly furnished, and the Internet's hooked up, so it's pretty much coming together. Rather than bore you with a travelogue, here's a bullet point summary of relevant info:

• Did I mention my place was really cool? I've got a one-bedroom apartment with a full bath, walk-in closet and pantry, dishwasher, and balcony in a quiet neighborhood that's near plenty of shopping, restaurants, banking, and the like for $535, including covered parking (sun's an issue down here) two pools, a hot tub, and sauna on the grounds, plus available gym passes for free. Compare to the $275 I was paying until a little over a year ago for a shithole shotgun apartment in the county between Carbondale and Murphysboro, and I feel pretty good about the deal. Here's the view from my balcony:

• And here's part of my living room, namely the TV I bought and the coffee table I took from a curb (OK, it was next to a dumpster - still, free)
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• My cat travels really, really well. She was out of her cage in the backseat of the car pretty much the whole 23 odd hours of the trip, and we barely heard a peep out of her. Mind you, this was without medication. She did seem a little glum when we got to the apartment and didn't have any furniture, but she cheered up once I got a bed that she could hide out under:

• I'm way more impressed by being able to eat at Inn-N-Out Burger and having three different Targets within a ten minute drive than I probably should be.
  

• I saw a coyote hanging out on the grounds of the VA today when I was walking over to the employment office to hand in some paperwork. It looked hungry. I didn't know if I should be worried or what. Fortunately (for me) it didn't do anything.

• As a federal employee, I have the option of signing up for one of a number of health plans within the next 60 days. I presently have no idea how to go about making this decision, even after watching a 20 minute video in the training today in which actors playing federal employees had detailed conversations about federal benefits while ostensibly performing their regular duties.

• It's nearly 8:45 in the evening here, and it's still 100 degrees outside. But it's a dry heat, which, no bullshit, actually makes a difference.
  

• I took a trip to Phoenix last night to drop off Alicia with some friends. Despite having some decent Chinese food there, my experience didn't do too much to dispel my impression of the area as an overdeveloped Republican doppelganger of L.A. Also, I got on the wrong part of some city loop on my way back to Tucson and wound up driving around for an extra forty minutes. In conclusion, fuck Phoenix.