Welcome to Buffalo!

Hi there!

It's been quite a whirlwind since I moved to Buffalo (last weekend!), after spending the past 15 years of my radio career in Albany.  As I've mentioned, I'm originally from Jamestown, a graduate of SUNY Fredonia, and no stranger to WNY.  As I get settled, little by little, I'm starting to remember why this area is so loved, so revered by its residents.

While I love my time in the Capital District, "the city of good neighbors" has, so far, lived up to its name.  From my landlord to the corner store clerk, my new coworkers to the nice lady I met in the elevator, I'm genuinely impressed!  People here smile back when you pass them on the street....they actually answer back when you causally say, "How ya doin'?".....they wave you in when you're clearly an out-of-town driver....they hold the door for you!  Sure, I'm making a blanket statement here.  I'm not so naive to believe everyone in the 716 area code is living in a Norman Rockwell painting.  However, I'm content in the bliss of ignorance at the moment, and must say, I'm genuinely happy I decided to take this  leap of faith.  Moving to a new city certainly has its stresses and challenges, but I'm up for it, and you're making it much easier to assimilate!

We'll get to know each other each weekday morning more and more.  For now, I'll just list a few silly things I know to be true about me:

• I'm an avid animal lover.  I own a 15 month old yellow lab named DJ...she's a ball of furious energy, but a cute ball.  (She's a terror of a puppy, but she's going to be a GREAT dog! Just gotta get through the first 3 years of lab-dom!)
• I LOVE to cook.  I haven't yet made a full grocery run, but when I do, I'll share recipes like crazy!
• My dad and my grandma still live in Jamestown, and my mom and brother live in Rochester.  They're all thrilled I'm so much closer to home....especially with the holidays approaching!  I can almost smell my late grandpa's signature Albanian side dish called "drope"....and yes, I'll share that recipe too! :)
• I am addicted to The Walking Dead, and I'm a total Star Wars geek.  I also love The Golden Girls, and find myself quoting episodes at the most inappropriate times....
• I can spend hours in a CVS, Walgreens, or any other chain drug store.  So many neat little finds.  Plus band aids.
• I can recite all 50 states alphabetically in less than :30 seconds.  So far, that little tidbit hasn't come in handy, but I'm confident that one day I'll save the world with my little known talent.
• I have far too many sunglasses, nail polishes, and spare socks.

So that's it for now...those of us who get up at 3:30am need to hit the hay pretty early.  I'm really looking forward to spending mornings with you.  And from the bottom of my heart, thank you for making this transition such a great experience!

Oh, and tomorrow morning (November 13), I've got a chance for you to pick up some holiday spending cash, a swanky new coffee mug, and friends-and-family-four-packs of tickets to Thursday's Twilight saga marathon!  See you in the morning!

<3 LD