Move: To Madison, WI (Day 2)

When it became clear that I would have to drive to the sublet leasing office to drop off the application form during business hours, looking up its exact location became necessary. The relocation agent had driven her and myself there yesterday. Upon determining its location, it was too close to a freeway to be considered as even a short-term residence. Re-evaluating all the options, I chose the sublet that was the furthest from freeways and industrial areas. It also just so happened that the chosen sublet was the closest to the new employer.

To make matters happier, the application process could be done entirely online. Ba-da-bing, done! No word from them yet, but it is still the weekend.

In the meantime, I’ve looked up community events and volunteer opportunities.

The two Madison-area makerspaces (Sector 67, and The Bodgery) have their open houses on certain days of the week; otherwise, only members can access the spaces.

The Madison Astronomical Society has their next meeting on Friday April 14.

Corey Feldman’s Whad’ya Know performance will be on Saturday April 29.

The Monkey Business Institute has weekly improv shows, every Saturday.

I called up a contact for a Learn to Hunt event, only to find out the that target audience is for children. The good news is that the contact is willing to take people out turkey hunting, provided that they get a hunting license and camouflage.

I then called the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), to ask about non-resident vs resident license options. The short story is that one needs a Wisconsin Voter ID or Driver’s License for at least 30 days to qualify for residence license. The longer story is the licenses are purchased yearly. So, if I want to hunt right away, I need to buy the non-resident license for the year. The cost for a non-resident turkey hunting license is at least $63, plus stamps. For resident, the cost is $18 plus stamps.

I also e-mailed the contact for Hunting for Sustainability program, to ask if the program would be offered for 2017.

The Wisconsin State Park System is looking for volunteers.

One of the prerequisites to enter the EMT program at Madison Area Technical College, is to have a CPR certification for professionals. I need to call up the EMT program, to ask if one should put down their program’s contact details on the application form, or their own personal contact information.

I ate a late lunch at Monty’s Blue Plate Diner. Had the Blue Plate Burger with French Fries. The blue cheese and grilled onions on the burger were succulent. Monty’s Blue Plate Diner is recommended.

Then, for fun, I drove to the Post Office to check the mail. There was no mail.

Then, for necessity, I drove to an Aldi, and bought bananas, party mix, beer, and a frozen dinner. Total was about $15.

Oh, by the way, the above driving was done without a GPS. One of reasons to drive to the (west-side) Post Office was to figure out how to get there from eastern Madison. Granted, I looked up where all this stuff was online, and studied the maps carefully. Nonetheless, I had to navigate by memory of places previously driven to, or of maps as seen on a laptop.

For tonight’s entertainment, I drove downtown (still without the GPS) to see John Scalzi speak at the downtown library. It turns out that there was a “special event” happening downtown, so the cost to park in a garage was $8.

A Special Event: The Essence of Wisconsin

Usually, I drive in ever-widening circles, in search of free parking. If none is to be had within a mile or two, then I use mass transit. This tactic worked reasonably well in Houston, especially since the light rail has recently expanded. The oh-so-Progressive Madison does not have light rail running down University Boulevard from the airport to downtown to Middleton. For shame, Madison. For shame.

Anyway, I didn’t search for free parking; my vehicle still has a lot of my belongings. From that perspective, eight bucks didn’t buy so much a parking space, but rather a lower probability of broken windows and missing stuff.

Oh yeah, John Scalzi was kind of funny. He’s a goofy nerd who kept bringing up how much money he wanted for options for his intellectual property, and how that options money is paying for college for his kid. He also read excerpts of his material. If what he read is typical of his product, I’m glad to have saved the time and money. Especially the money. I just spent eight bucks on parking.