Yes, there is a more elegant solution. Go into the Control Center (vasmCC). Select Service, select Services, choose your default runlevel (4 for most users) and check the box next to wicd:wicd daemon. wicd will automagically start and your network will come up on the next boot. If your network is wireless you'll also have to check the box that says "Automatically connect to this network" directly below the listing for your essid.
That's it!