Man. The one Mexican food place in Salem has closed, due to lack of business that can pretty much be blamed on the gigantic Tavern on the Square that moved in just down the block from it. It was tasty Mexican food, if a bit too overpriced, and it was a small local business. I hate to get all Davis Square-y "fresh local foods!" but damn, it saddens me to see a unique local business go under. That Mexican place was where we got lunch the day we closed on our house (is that right? maybe it was the day we looked at the house... it was something to do with buying the house), but we never went back, despite thinking "oh we should go back there sometime." It's not like Tavern on the Square is Bennigan's or anything, but Tavern is not part of the small & local vibe that really attracted us to Salem in the first place. And I'm worried, because reading comments in the Salem News (and I know, comments on newspaper articles on the internet are pretty much a wasteland), people are predicting that a couple other local bar/restaurants are close to going under, because of the new Tavern.

Oh my god, I totally feel like a taxpayer. I've never actually loved the city I've lived in before, but I feel such warm fuzzies for Salem, and I really want it to keep the attractions that made us move there. We definitely haven't been going out nearly as much as we used to these days, so I suppose we need to start spending our dinner & drinks money more wisely and spread it around to the places I want to see staying open (I will absolutely die if Gulu-Gulu closes). I also really need to make an effort to buy at the local bookstore, but I'll admit I'm extremely guilty of wanting what I want when I want it, and if it's not stocked at the Cornerstone, I go to Borders. And the Kindle is making even my Borders spending dwindle to peanuts.

God, I am hyped up on coffee and chatty today.

We went to an amazingly fun wedding in Maine this weekend. Consequently, I lost my entire Sunday to the throes of a mighty Boones Farm hangover. I seriously need to get a better internal "you are done drinking now" monitor. But the wedding was a blast- you can't go wrong with beer, bbq, good friends, a red bus with a busdriver who let us drink on board, and a dj that complied with my excited request for Everything I Do (I Do It For You). Good times.

On Friday last week our local bank handed out free cider and donuts at the commuter rail station. I really love living in Salem. There was a parade last Thursday to kick off October, and we caught most of it from the comfort of the Lobster Shanty, where we have now attained regular status. I am going to be happy about being a regular without giving too much thought to the shambley state of most of the other regulars.

Finally, I give props to cosmicserpent for recommending The Bugle, because this podcast is a fine way to spend half a commute.

So this was a busy long weekend. We officially bought a house on Friday, after many headaches and stress. But it is worth it! We got our first Salem parking ticket during our closing.

We've started cleaning/fixing the place up, and exploring the food and drink offerings of Salem. I think this place is going to be our new favorite place ever. Belgian beers! Good vibe! Cheese plates!

And today, thanks to the cajoling of starflow and cosmicserpent, today I ran a 5k! And it was actually fun! Ok, so I did have to break down and do some walking in bits, but I ran more than I thought I would. Yay! What a pleasant surprise, especially considering the terrible night's sleep I got last night because I had 5k-related nightmares all night (yes, I was really anxious and worried about it, even though as Drew pointed out, all I had to do was move for 5 kilometers without stopping, and when you put it that way, it sounds silly to be scared of it).

Well well. To make up for the crappiness that has been February, today was actually a banner day. Got tickets to see The National in May. We went up to Salem to poke around and get a lay of the land, and while there three marvelous things happened. One: Went to a couple of bookstores with the vague hope of finding a book that I have been hotly anticipating for a year. Since it's not supposed to hit shelves until March 1, I was prepared for disappointment. But lo! One store had it on shelf early. Then we found a cupcakery in Beverly that has amazing cupcakes. Like, better than Lyndell's. And it was supposed to close at 2:00, but somehow was still open when we got there a bit past 3:00. These cupcakes are so good, seriously you guys. And then, on our way back to Somerville, the radio played a brand new My Chemical Romance song (shut up, I love them). Finally, we topped our day with a Metafilter meet-up and the Cinematic Titanic show at the Somerville Theater. Success!