Notice

I gave notice to the green apron company. My last day was going to be this coming Thursday, but they found a transfer from the 'burbs and didn't really need me, so my last day is tomorrow. I've been wanting to write something about this latest move of mine, but I'm still punching two clocks and I'm just so tired that I'm finding myself with little energy to devote to things like this blog. That's a big part of why I'm leaving.

I'm not currently enrolled in school, and soon I will be working one full-time job and that's it. I'll be back here to write more, as I will have the time to go with my motivation.

After I get some good sleep in, of course. Goddamn, but I deserve it.

-C.

Life, Sans Rodents.

I euthanized my rat Giggle today. She had mammary tumors, very common in female rats. She developed them about 6 weeks ago, and I gave her anti-biotics and anti-inflammatory meds to help stave it off. But I knew she wouldn't last much longer; in fact, she held out longer than I would have guessed. Cancer is pretty aggressive in rats.

I think that she will be my last rodent pet. They don't live very long, and they aren't as easy to treat as cats and dogs when they are ill. Frankly, I'm looking forward to not having to clean cages on top of scooping litter boxes, too. But I'll miss Giggle. She was a good rat.

Not much else to say about that.

-C.

Happy, indeed.

Today is my birthday. I know this because Facebook reminded me that today was my birthday, and also because the Secretary of State of Illinois sent me a letter telling me that my driver's license would have to be renewed. It isn't likely that I would forget my birthday (I never have before) but still, it doesn't hurt to have a reminder here & there.

I requested the day off & got it. (Unpaid, of course, but sometimes time is better than money & more on that subject later). I woke up at 5:15 a.m. to the sounds of Chicago Public Radio, smiled, then slept for a few more hours. I made it to the DMV shortly after it opened and was blessed with a series of very short waits. I passed my eye test (barely-I need new contacts but since I only drive about 4 times a year I'm not worried and neither should you be). The man behind the counter asked if I was still at the same height & weight. I told him to add twenty pounds to the old figure, with a laugh. That number is still not accurate but I figure that I'm a voting, tax-paying, law-abiding citizen so this really is the only time I give my government the finger and screw 'em if they can't take a joke. The picture on my renewed license is pretty bad, but I'm comfortable enough in my hot-babeness to blow it off. I take comfort over vanity these days, and that is the gift of being in my officially late-30s.

I drank some great coffee and decided to forgo an over-priced steak burger (my original lunch plans) in favor of cheap Cajun in Evanston. As I trekked to my bus stop I noticed that there were blooming lilac bushes behind the shield. Lilacs are one of my favorites; in color and in fragrance they have no match. I whipped out my camera and snapped some pictures, and noted more blooming lilacs as the bus took me up Sheridan Road to Howard, as the Purple Line dropped me off on Davis Street in Evanston. I shopped for books and ate gumbo on Church Street with the scent of them in my hair. I was blessed with even more visions of lavender and violet as the Purple Line took me back to Howard, and as the Red Line carried me into downtown Chicago, past the Loop, into a diner where a friend awaited me with cake and hugs. I saw more delicate blooms as I trekked into Andersonville, shopped some more, met with another friend, walked the mile home. I'm uploading some of the pictures now, for my photo blog, and I am leaving a window open tonight as I sleep; I hope that the scent fills my nose in my slumber, slipping into my dreams as I rest and ready myself for another week of challenge and change.

Happy birthday. Indeed.

-C.