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.

Not There Yet

So in my rush to get my debt paid off, I called American Express to get the most current balance & mailed the check ahead of time, rather than wait for my statement to arrive. I had the cash, so why wait?

Alas, though the check was indeed in the mail, it wasn't fast enough. The billing cycle turned and I was charged interest. I now owe American Express...$1.98. Then I will be officially debt-free.

My friend R. said that I should write the check for $2, then ask for a $.02 refund. I'm considering it.

-C.

Ode to a Mouse (part deux)

I euthanized my other mouse, Mischief, today. Starting with her cagemate, Oops!, a few months ago, I've said goodbye to all of my rodent pets except for one. It's been a rough go, and the last rodent standing (Giggle the rat) has developed problems of her own. Her days are numbered.

Mischief was a great mouse. She was mostly black, and the black became gray on her belly and muzzle as she got older. When her Oops! became sick and was having difficulty moving from her bed inside a plastic igloo to the food dish just outside it, Mischief took food out of the dish and ran it to the igloo so that Oops! could eat. Maybe I'm over-anthropomorphizing here, but I was really touched by what appeared to me to be concern and generosity from one creature to another.

It reinforces my theory that the littlest creatures get it right sometimes, maybe more often then the bipeds with the brains. Peace, Mischief. You were a way cool mousie.

-C.

Worthwhile

All the hours put in, all the posts about how much I work, how tired I am, blah, blah, blah.

It's all been worth it. Know why? Because yesterday I wrote two checks, and with the stroke of a pen, a couple of envelopes, one bus trip, and a single postage stamp, I am completely debt-free. I don't have much, but I owe nothing, and it's a glorious feeling to have.

Hopefully soon I'll be more energetic, therefore articulate enough to really put into words how pleased I am right now. But the long work-weeks are still stretching onward, so I only have a moment to sit here and punch in a few jumbled sentences, for I've more yet to accomplish. And now that I have this moment to enjoy, I'll be doning the blue scrubs and the green apron with a renewed spring in my step, looking forward to a few more glorious moments of accomplishment yet to come.

Sometimes, all the hard work can pay off. Big time.

-C.

And the busy stay busy...

Just finished another long work stretch. I'm logging in around 57 hours a week between the two jobs, and average about 1 day off per 15 worked. The economy may be in a slump, but my finances are the best they have ever been. I just wish that it didn't take so very much to be that way, but given how many of my friends and family are struggling right now, I can't really complain.

Cubs season has begun, which means lots of green apron time. The coffee job has been my saving grace for the past 18 months that I've held it, but the big guns are making it more and more difficult to be flexible. More availability is required now than when I started back, and juggling responsibilities is getting tougher. I'm hoping that, with all of the extra time put in, I can reach my goals sooner rather than later. Fingers crossed, and support soles firmly in place, I persevere.

The demands of the jobs have also negated my taking another semester off from school. I'm looking to re-enroll come fall, with a new projected graduation of December 2010. Not what I had in mind, and my impatience is sulking in the corner, stamping her feet. But I remind myself daily that it is a marathon, not a sprint, and that I have a whole lifetime to build this career. The important thing is to see that it is done well, and if that means taking a little longer than originally thought, so be it.

My photo blog has been great fun, and a wonderful distraction for when the work-worlds bear down on me. I'm also getting into crocheting (2 dishcloths down, and a scarf in progress) and jewelry-making (I can custom-size bracelets to fit my scrawny wrists!). Next up is knitting....

As for the urban zoo, it has gotten even smaller. My hamster Kenya passed away last week; she had developed an abscess near her amputation site over a year ago, but medication had kept it at bay for much longer than had been anticipated. The night before she died she seemed perky enough, though a little slow, and ate her Cheerio treat and ran her wheel as she always did. She was inspiration in a plastic pear, and I'll always be grateful that I took her in.

My guinea pig Puppy also passed away suddenly. This happened about 6 weeks ago; I didn't post anything because, coming about so soon after the dual loss of Pickle & Panda, I just felt overwhelmed. He was seemingly quite healthy, and I was watching him like a hawk, given what had happened to my other two. He was fine in the morning, but had a distended abdomen come evening (at which time I started him on meds) and was gone the next day. A co-worker found info on something colloquially called "guinea pig bloat", a condition where bacteria can build up in their intestinal tract causing a blockage; its cause is not clear, though stress and food conditions are implicated. I'm not sure if his parsley just wasn't clean enough or what, but I miss him and his squeaky demands for attention. I'm not looking to take in any new critters for a while; I like having my urban zoo, but multiple pets mean multiple loss, and I'm feeling a bit leery at the moment.

Off to run errands now. If you can't hit a moving target, than I'm as impenetrable as Superman...

-C.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

It is the beginning of April, and it is snowing as I write this.

Chicago, you never cease to crack me up.

-C.