After about 4 months of being unsure about where we can park our house, we have finally moved for the last time... at least for a couple of years! It wasn't easy. We really had to make things happen to get settled in our new place before the end of the year. There's still a lot of work to do on the place, but by the spring it will be looking great and we are in a prime location for our summer activities with Broadway Under the Stars. My commute has grown to about 40 minutes, but it is a gorgeous, scenic drive through Sonoma wine country, which I don't mind at all. It's just the right distance to offer a decompression time after my work day without adding stress to it. Things are looking up for 2014!
   Another bonus of being in our new place is that we have a mailbox that we can receive packages in right on our doorstep. This may seem silly, but after 8 months of going to a PO Box to look for my packages, I can't wait to see little brown boxes in my mailbox and on my porch... I HAVE A PORCH!!! One of the first things I will receive are the razors pictured above from Dollar Shave Club. I loved the commercial that they put out a while ago for their off beat sense of humor combined with a really good idea and REAL SAVINGS. I went to the store during tech week of my last show to buy a new leading brand razor cartridge for the 3 week run and couldn't believe the cost. I ended up paying over $10 for a single cartridge (since I was feeling the lack of appreciation for good art in my wallet). I can't wait to get 4 good razor cartridges in the mail every month for less than $10! My wife and I use the same razors, so it's a good deal for the both of us. It's a great gift idea for the shaving enthusiast in your life. No more running out of razors or using them until the comfort strip is completely gone and the razor feels like a cheap disposable that rips my skin with every stroke!
    I'm also really excited to be in the heart of the Sonoma Valley so that I can do more wine tasting. As I drive by local wineries that refer business to us at Kaz all the time, I will have the opportunity to check them out and see which ones I would really like to recommend. Usually I stick with recommending the little vintners, but I should give some of the mondo vinos a shot, too. Regardless of whether or not they end up being favorites of mine, it will be fun investigating them! Leesa and I are headed to a mixer at what is known as the castle of the Sonoma Valley on Wednesday. She has been talking about going there since we first drove by and she remarks about it almost every time as I turn up my nose. I decided in the spirit of the season and since they are going to be all decorated, this would be a great time to check them out. Maybe we'll even get some good pics of us for the annual holiday facebook posts!

I love my truck. I never thought I would say that, but it's true. Dusty has become an old faithful companion that has already helped me numerous times since I purchased it back in August. My GMC Sierra 2500 is everything I need on a regular basis for hauling things in the bed and pulling my trailer whenever I need it.
There are few times when I find myself needing more than what Dusty has to offer, but this is one of those times. In order to move into our new place in Sonoma, I need to find a way to move the trailer of a deceased resident whose family can not be contacted. That trailer is one with a 5th wheel hitch. That's the kind that goes across the bed of the trailer, on top of the truck's axle, where the two humps are.
To rent one would cost us a couple hundred dollars and we don't want to add that in to our move-in costs, so we are exploring the power of social networks to try and find one to borrow for a couple of hours while I move the trailer in question. I am even willing to trade my faithful ol' Dusty during the time that I am using it. I joined a group on Facebook called "Hitch and Barter," and put in my request. We are asking everyone we know and I intend to go to my old school, face to face networking fraternity this week to see if anyone there can help me.
I have been saying for a long time that I think there will be a movement with social networking soon, which will get people to come together IRL (In Real Life) and create a stronger global community than we have ever known. I'm always pushing to see if that time is coming. It's kind of like an experiment. Here goes. Can anyone help a brotha out?!