We are plugging away here in Philly, finally nearing the end of the "getting settled" phase. I feel as though these past two months have been spent dealing with boring details--transferring bank accounts and 401ks, getting settled in a new job, enrolling in health insurance, getting used to commuting by bike and bus, getting the apartment in shape...the list goes on. But I feel that the settling-in stage is almost over.

Despite being busy with boring stuff, we have managed to do a lot of exploring and walking about the city. We found the gayborhood, which, even on a Sunday evening, was far more boisterous than the Short North ever was. We saw the Phillies lose to the Mets, and were irritated by the loads of New Yorkers sitting in our section (and in the whole stadium) who made the trip down for the game.

And we had a couple of good dining experiences. We found a strange little vegetarian and kosher, oddly enough, restaurant while wandering around Chinatown--specifically, at 10th and Cherry streets. It's called Cherry Street Chinese Kosher Vegetarian Restaurant. Clever.

We had some mediocre pizza at Pete's Famous Pizza, which is in our neighborhood. We are quickly learning that food in this neighborhood is a bit overpriced yet a bit subpar. I thought there would be excellent pizza all over the place in this town, but so far we haven't found anything awesome. (Admittedly, we haven't looked super hard at this point.) I miss Hounddog's.

For my birthday, Mike took me out to a nice dinner at the Continental Mid-Town at 18th and Chestnut, which we later realized is one of local restaurateur Stephen Starr's places. By looking at it, the place looks like the most mod '50s diner you ever saw. Thus, I expected an upscale diner-type menu. Unexpectedly, it was a tapas-style menu, featuring mostly dishes with an Asian flair. We had great drinks, an excellent meal, and very chocolatey desserts. All in all, highly satisfying.

We are having a party this weekend, and I wish that all of our friends all over the country--and, in fact, all over the globe (hi, Brian M.)--could come along and chill with us. We miss you all!