12 Things I Love About Cleveland

1. The state abbreviation is "OH!" which makes me smile. I like a state that's continually surprised.
2. The RTA. We could not survive as a one-car family back in Vegas. It would be a nightmare.
3. The massiveness of Lake Eerie and the fact that it affords the opportunity of a beach despite Ohio being firmly ensconced in the Midwest.
4. The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo!
5. When spring finally breaks. It's like the world is alive again. It feels like "Here Comes the Sun" sounds, if that makes sense.
6. The fact that I can see a great band on almost any night of the week if I were so inclined and not so lame.
7. The Westside Market.
8. The food. Seriously, there have to be more great restaurants per square mile here than anywhere else in the Yoo Ess Uv Hey!
9. Birthplace of Devo and Guided By Voices. I'm drinking all the water I can, but so far whatever it is that's in there isn't rubbing off, osmosis-wise.
10. The Cleveland International Film Festival. It's my first year, really, but man, I'm loving it. It's like an independent film buffet.
11. The Cavs & the Indians. It's great to have home teams to root for.
12. Ghost signs painted on all the old buildings.
13. I feel really skinny in a town this full of fat guys.
14. The solemn-faced guys holding various forms of transportation that stand guard over the Carnegie/Hope bridge.
15. The fact that I can get all of this big-city-ness for about half of the price of a comparable, more snooty/kewl city. I'm looking at you, Portland.