Highmoon's Ponderings

I knew of Imogen Heap; her name is uncommon enough that once you hear it, it tends to stick in your memory. I knew of her from the song “Let Go,” featured years ago in the soundtrack to Garden State (though it took some time before I learned that strange voice belonged to a woman!). Beyond that I had heard a couple songs here are there, especially on Pandora, where her music would sometimes come up as part of some of my playlists. So I knew of Imogen Heap, but I didn’t really know Imogen Heap. Until last night.

It was my wife’s idea to go see her in concert at The Fillmore in Miami Beach; tickets were cheap, general admission and given her non-top-40-radio status, the attendance would probably be manageable. Sure! And then it snuck up on me. Yesterday I played her latest album, which you can stream from her website, but that was it. I was going in cold, ready to soak up the new music.

There were three short opening acts: Euphoria, a trio of high-school kids from Boca Raton who won a contest held by Imogen; Geese, a violin/strings duo who are also part of Imogen’s band; and Ben Christophers, a guy and his guitar, also part of Imogen’s band. They each played 3 songs (Ben did 4) and were each good. The kids from Boca were very good for this being their first show (and what a show!); Geese was weird (in a good way), using computers, loops and effects to create soundscapes; and Ben was fine with his guitar, especially on a very trip-hoppy number that actually got the audience listening. About half an hour after these three acts were done, Imogen took the stage.

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We’ve been looking for a new apartment to move into since late September. We’re frankly tired of the area where we live (Normandy Isle, North Beach) and given that leaving Miami is not a possibility at the moment, the next best thing was to move to a new area of Miami. Thus South Beach.

Now, when most people think of South Beach, they see this:

And granted, that’s part of South Beach, but not all of South Beach. This side of SoBe is a few streets east of where we’ll be. This is my South Beach:

Very different, no?

Between Washington Av and Alton Rd sits a veritable village made up mostly of apt buildings with a few single-family homes, all inhabited by people looking to live a normal life in South Beach. We’ll have Flamingo Park less than 2 blocks away, and pretty much everything we need within 10 blocks at most. The place is highly bikeable and getting more so every day, not to mention connected to a large number of public transport options and perfectly located should we decide to start doing more long-range bike commuting. I can literally foresee parking my car and not having to move it for days on end. And that’s if I keep it, but more on that later.

Trust me, I was as surprised to find this here as well, and we both fell in love with it.

I can’t wait to move (although I dislike the process of moving!) and see what life feels like in a place where we are far more connected to other people and the city around us. Expect to hear more about the moving odyssey; after 7 years in this place, it’s a bit like a hermit crab moving into a new shell.

We’re moving!!! 

We found a new apartment in Miami Beach, right in the area where we wanted. The place is cute as heck and should be available by Feb. 1st.

Goodbye Suburbia! Hello Miami Beach!!!

– Highmoon
Trying to meet a Friday deadline (and wasting time online, go figure)