i could sit here and bitch about uconn winning and pretty much ruining my chances to win $1200 (unless georgia tech can pull a miracle out of its ass), but i'm not going to. even though i really really really hate uconn, i'm done talking about sports for a while. the last week or so of college basketball has been getting me pissed off lately, and sports is a dumbass thing to be pissed off about. so, i'm trying to forget about it and move on to more important things.

what i'm trying to figure out now is my next move. i mean that quite literally. i have now accomplished the three major goals i set for myself when i moved home. i bought a car, i went to europe, and i will have my totally kick-ass computer in the next week or two. so, now i need to move somewhere.

the problem is that i don't know where to go. austin? philly? denver? chicago? they are all good options, and all places i would like to live. but, i can't figure out which one of those cities offers me the most. hell, i don't even know what that means. i can't determine what is important and what is not so important.

let's take a look at the positive things that each place has to offer.

AUSTIN

--warm almost the entire year
--the job market is very good
--consistently ranked as one of the best places to live by many publications
--college town extraordinaire/tons of young people
--one of the best nightlife scenes in the country
--great indie music/movie scene
--not terribly expensive for such a lively city
--never lived there before, new experiences

CHICAGO

--huge city with tons of diversity and variety
--awesome public transportation, almost no need for a car
--great nightlife, restaurants
--i have friends who live there
--already familiar with city and it's environs
--hard to ever really be bored, there's always something going on
--i could see myself living there indefinitely

DENVER

--"hi, we're the rocky mountains..."
--i've never lived there and would have new experiences
--i have many friends there
--did i mention the rocky mountains?
--great weather, lots of sun
--perfect for a one year excursion before moving back east

PHILADELPHIA

--i know it well
--i could see myself living there a long time
--lots of friends there
--on the east coast
--far enough away from family to be away from them
--close enough to family to be nearby
--reasonably priced
--cheesesteaks (yes, this is enough of a reason to list it seperately)

now, how about if we look at the negatives for each place.

AUSTIN
--it's in freaking texas
--i pretty much dont know anyone
--it's such a fun place, i may not do anything worthwhile
--most of the jobs are in industries that i know nothing about/have no interest in
--i only plan on living here a year or two, but i may not want to leave

CHICAGO
--and i think the weather in connecticut sucks?
--oh, and the pizza... awful (with a few exceptions)
--my good friend who lives here may be moving away soon
--if i move there it will be for a long time, not sure i'm ready to settle down yet
--all the neighborhoods i like are overcrowded and overpriced

DENVER
--i think i might get bored quickly
--only real reasons for going would be rocky mountains and friends
--the worst nightlife of the four cities i'm considering

PHILADELPHIA
--not the nicest/cleanest city
--if i moved there it would probably be for a while, not sure if i want to do that yet
--job opportunities are not as plentiful as in chicago or austin
--last time i lived there i couldn't wait to leave (although that might've had more to do with other things...)

i'm sure there are many more positives and negatives that i can't think of right now. if you happen to know of anything that i can add to this list, or want to take a defensive position as to why i should remove something from the list, please let me know. i'm always open to suggestions.

as of right now, i think i'm still leaning more towards austin than anywhere else, but it's too early to be certain. i mean, who knows? when i visit austin this summer i may take one look around and be like, "screw you guys... i'm going home."

seriously, i must be crazy. after all, i have a hard enough time figuring out what i want on my pizza, let alone what i'm going to do with my life. oh well, that pesky "life" thing is at least a couple more months away, no reason to worry about that, right?

now, let's see, pepperoni and bacon? or ham and pineapple?