DECISIONS!

I had a great talk with Kel about, among other things, my move to New York, specifically how to get there. We discussed my pitiful finances,the time constraints, and the nightmare of having a car in the city, and she pointed out that driving that whole way so fast would be silly. She reminded me that on my other trips, I went just because I wanted to, so I could/should take the time to do a real cross country road trip, when I will have time to visit lots of people and would be able to stop to look at interesting things if I want to.

I figure that if I were to drive, gas would cost around $250. Motels would cost $30-50 a night, for at least four nights. Tolls would cost maybe $30-50. Food would be at least $100. That's $600, plus the costs for the weekend in Maryland (hotel, food, transportation, fun stuff), not to mention money to park in New York City, gas, insurance, and an overall pain in my ass.

Flying one-way to New York is about $150. It would take one night. I would have to ship my computer, books, and clothes, which would probably be kind of expensive and also a bit of a pain. I looked at the commute between New York and Maryland, because that was half the reason I wanted my car. Amtrak goes to Aberdeen several times a day, and it's sixty bucks one way. Greyhound also goes to Aberdeen, takes at least twice as long, for thirty dollars each way. It's also possible that I catch rides with people already going, which would definitely be more fun and hopefully a bit cheaper too.

Anyway I spin it, it's at least twice the cost to drive than fly. And my huge concern right now is money. The rest of that money, assuming I have it somewhere, will go to rent for the summer. And, you know, food.

So I took the leap of logic and MADE A DECISION to fly. Hoo boy. Bought the ticket to New York. Emailed people about trip details. I'm gonna do this!

Mom and I continued making the plans for her trip to New York. We are going to stay in a hotel with a pool near Central Park for at least two nights! Very swank. We'd talked about taking a day trip out to Wallingford to visit the river and the labyrinth, which is something I'm really excited about doing. Not having my car to take that trip will either mean we won't do that, or it will cost even more money (for a train/bus or to rent a car). I figure if she's not up to the expense and extra time, I'll do it on my own some other time.

Ooh! This means that I will have more time to go see Movin' Out! Hurrah! And a few more days to work and see people. Altogether it's pretty clearly the right decision.