PICTURE IT...CHICAGO...SEPTEMBER 2008...

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My my my, how much difference a week can make in a gal's life.

For those of you who have never moved away from home (aside from going to college), it is a process I cannot possibly explain. With the way everything worked out back in St. Louis, I had a very small window to get my stuff together, find a place and get on up here. Therefore, I pretty much took a blind leap of faith that I would be able to find work quickly and everything would work itself out.

Well, the days kept passing me by, and all I was doing was looking, looking, looking, without much promise. While I had secured one part-time bartending gig, I was going to need quite a bit more to make ends meet (and pay for my expensive-ass car that I don't even need).

When you can't even get hired for positions you are completely overqualified for, it can be a real test. I think my breaking point may have been last Thursday, when I walked into an interview to serve food at a shitty Mexican chain restaurant and had the Manager tell me to "act peppy and spit my gum out" as he went to grab the General Manager for my SECOND interview for a SERVING position. It took EVERY ounce of willpower not to look at him and say "Are you fucking kidding me with this?"

Oh yes, this move has been a test. A test of my decisions, my self-worth, my patience, my everything. I started thinking, "Oh my god, what have I done?" for several days straight as the bills began piling up. I looked around my apartment and wondered when on Earth I would again be able to afford the little pleasures in life, like a kitchen trash can, ice cube trays and clothes hangers. A realization suddenly overwhelmed me:

I had either just done something really fucking stupid or really fucking brave.

So which one was it?? It probably all depends on who you ask. Personally, I have settled on the latter, as many positive things are finally happening, and I feel more at peace and happier than I have in a while.


And now for a mini-update:

1) CLASS IS IN SESSION! I am enrolled in Intro to Creative Nonfiction, and we had our first class last Tuesday. Class is located in the Gleacher Center (adjacent to the Sheraton & NBC towers) and it overlooks the Chicago River. Lots of different folks in the class, from all walks of life. Very refreshing. There are a couple other newcomers to Chicago, so I don't feel awkward +/or out of place. My teacher is a published author who has written several memoirs, essays, etc. After doing some research on her, I discovered she is an HIV+ mother and most of her work is about living and dealing with her condition. We already had to write an in class exercise, and I was one of the peeps who shared with the class. It felt good, and I even got a little chuckle out of the room (where humor was intended, thank God). It's exciting to be in a learning environment again....strange, I know.


2) I SECURED J-O-B #2! I never thought I would be so excited to serve Italian food and fill catering orders in my entire life, but I will be working ~35 hours/week doing just that. My boss is great, as is the staff I work with, and I've already developed a dirty little secret crush on one of the delivery drivers. He walked in (late apparently) with his hippie sunglasses, giant coffee, long wavy brown hair, black skinny jeans and hightops...and I was super intrigued. I SO wonder what his story is....

Anyway, back on subject....the whole job search is humbling and eye-opening, and I have definitely left that little comfort zone where I used to reside. I think maybe this is called 'character building' or some shit like that. I will continue to look for something more permanent that may actually use my college degree/talents/abilities, but this will do just fine in the meantime. Plus, I get a free tasty meal everyday. Sayonara ramen noodles and tuna fish.


3)OLD FRIENDS, NEW FRIENDS, ROOMMATES & EVERYTHING ELSE! So last weekend was the time when everyone I know decided to come up to the city. My girlfriends from college, my guy friends from highschool and my good buddy Phil were all milling about, and it was so great to see some familiar faces. I got to dance to some shitty DJ with my ladies on Friday night after work, and then on Sunday, Phil and I played Paper Boy and Mario Bros. on a Nintendo big screen and listened to an indie hip-hop group sing about sandwiches and perform a remix of The Golden Girls theme song. Estelle Getty would have been so pleased. I also ran into my favorite DJ from Austin, TX - Chicken George - and he gave me his new Chicken Soup cd. HELL to the YES.

I've befriended a girl from Louisville, KY that I bartend with on the weekends. Somehow I managed to find another semi-cynical, no bullshit, single twenty-something girl who recently relocated to Chicago for school and can't find a job. She is way into music and let's me drag her to shows, while also introducing me to some stuff I've never heard. At the least, we always seem to have an adventure when we go out. She tends to attract random, stray guys who won't leave her alone, so I just follow behind and shoo them away. Hehe. Last night we ended up dancing until 4am....there may or may not have been glowsticks and Elvis sunglasses involved. ((ick!))

Lastly, my second (and final) roommate arrives on Monday. WELCOME TO CHICAGO MEGHANN! You are gonna love this place.


Since I usually sign off with a visual, I won't break tradition. Back home I used to have recurring dreams I was falling from really tall buildings (and the occasional tree). The other night I had a dream I was flying from them. It was a lovely change.