DrStink

Mrs Stink and I ate at Sun and Moon last night with a buncha medicine interns; it was excellent! Certainly better than our favorite place in New Haven, and almost as good as our favorite Korean place in Oakland. My only complaint was that the Yook Gae Jang could have been spicier - but that's a quite a typical experience for me at any asian resturant. No one ever believes this silly white guy really means it when he says he wants it very spicy. Oh well...

Just wanted to let everyone know that MrsStink and I have officially arrived. We couldn't sell our place in CT in time to make buying feasible, so we're renting a 2nd fl apt on Rochambeau for the next 12 months. We're staying in the Hotel Providence for one more night and then we're unpacking our POD tomorrow and moving in to our apt. Good times! Anyway, I look forward to putting faces to names at the next UP GTG. Cheers. Stink.

Full disclosure - I was already a Brooks fan before this book while my boss can't stand him, so keep that in mind. My wife and I saw him in person last year at a CT Forum event with Ralph Reed, Frank Rich and Margaret Carlsen. (Tonight, we're celebrating my birthday a month late and going to see Tom Friedman and Malcolm Gladwell.) Regarding On Paradise Drive, it was much less even than Bobos in Paradise, his previous foray into social commentary. Bobos had a better unifying thesis and had better flow but the very best parts of Paradise Drive were so insightful and cutting and funny that I was repeatedly laughing loud out while reading it. And not little chuckles but full belly laughs. Here's a free copy of the rest of the original Patio Man essay. I stopped before Brooks described his wife Cindy - Realtor Mom- and their children Haley and Cody and their cul de sac friends Cory and Britney. And yes, Chapter 1 opens in the urban core, with equally cutting commentary on the "urban hipster zone". So yes, read OPD. With regard to his writing at the NYT, I don't think you give him enough credit. I don't think he's a token kneeejack conservative at all. Rather, he's been described as "a liberal's conservative." First of all, he is ideologically a conservative, but I think he wants the same things progressives want: social justice, educational and economic opportunity, etc, but he doesn't agree with big government approach as a means to that end. Second, he is actually a thinking conservative, meaning he doesn't only drink the company KoolAid. He'll call out both sides when appropriate and he'll reacch across the aisle and give credit when credit is due. Consider his Sept 8 column on Katrina: Supporting mixed income integration and giving credit to a Clinton era program doesn't sound like a "defender of all things traditional, Republican, and conservative. " to me, but as I said, I was already a fan. Now as urbanists, we may not like the idea that only the suburbs can provide middle class values, but when I read that column, I think he's showing some rather progressive ideas filtered through language that conservatives can relate to. Ask yourself whether his message of high standards and achievement is very different from what Barack Obama is selling - I don't think it is. Anywho, back to work.

The desire for the perception of safety is a reoccuring theme in Behind the Gates by Setha Low. A bit dry in parts perhaps - doesn't make you laugh out loud like David Brooks' On Paradise Drive - but certainly worth reading, especially for this group. I can honestly say that having read these two books shortly before we starting looking at where to live is part of the reason we're looking in Providence rather than out in Sciuate or Foster, in spite of it making my commute to Storrs that much longer. I truly fear becoming Brooks' 'Patio Man.'

Our first official house hunting trip in tomorrow. We're rolling into town around noon and looking at properties until about 3 so we can get back to CT in time to get the little one from daycare. Wish us luck!

Well, our favorite brunch spot in New Haven (Bella Rosa in Westville) doesn't allow strollers, so we've gotten used to just lugging the car seat. If your friends would be willing to talk with us about pros and cons, we'd love to have their input! Email or telephone would be fabulous, or we can certainly meet for coffee with enough advance notice. We'll be in Providence this Thursday during the day to start scouting places. Thanks to everyone for their insight. Stink

Priscilla. Any chance you wanna rent from me and MrsStink? We promise not to be too uppity when the Big Red destroy the Eli's. (Like today in men's lax. 16-6. ouch.) Of course, I gotta admit I do have a softspot for East Rock pizza and Archie Moore's wings.... ObProvContent: Any more feedback on living in Federal Hill or the Armory with a new baby?

So today, my wife gets this email from the real estate agent she's contacted: What I can't tell is: a) whether she's right in suggesting that Federal Hill and the Armory are still a little rough, considering our new child (<6m) b) whether she's wrong and doesn't understand that we're actually looking for a more urban experience c) whether she doesn't know that part of town, and is more comfortable steering us toward properties in other parts of town she knows better. Based on stuff I've read here, and stuff I've noticed with the mapper at provplan, it seems like Federal Hill is really patchy with good blocks and bad blocks. Given that, I'm not willing to write it off just yet. Any input?

Ah. Thought that might be the case. Not a bad policy. But thanks for the head's up. You can check my 1100+ posting history at tdiclub or I can just wait patiently and try to contribute here and there where I can.

I tried to do this via PM, but the forum software said I didn't have permission to do so. Anyway, she matched in Internal Medicine/PC. In an odd twist of fate, my sister and her husband are also moving to Providence so he can start a fellowship. So yes, we'd love to pick your brain. Email to my username at gmail.com should work and we can go from there. Thanks!

Well, it's official. Ready or not, we're coming to the Providence. Now I just hope it's half as cool as you people make it sound.

Longtime lurker, first time poster. Anyway... My wife and I find out on Thursday afternoon (Match Day) if we're moving to Providence in July. Very exciting. She got a great vibe at her residency interviews and I've found a great lead on a postdoc. I can hardly wait. A couple weeks back we drove up from our house in CT to visit and I just fell in love with Federal Hill. Wasn't planning on being a landlord before that, but I've realized that if we want to live there, we pretty much have to buy a multifamily. Is this indeed the case?