Life at an Intersection
Chicago Phoenix, indemnity bonds, journaling, really really really want a zigazig ah, travel, books, travel books, relationships, values. It is hard to pinpoint precisely, but I'd say about 82% of what you read here is true. The rest is fictional nonfiction.
The sadness doesn't fill me anymore. It visits me occasionally, touches me lightly, tousles my hair, and then moves along. I feel better. I am making some friends and connections. I am planning towards the future, a bit. I feel happy. I am moving on.
Wonderful things are happening in the world. Scott and Tami have a new baby girl. Our bank cut back our hours of operation, which means I get an extra hour of non-work life every weekday and two on Saturdays, without taking a pay cut. This is not comparable to having a new child, nor is its inclusion in the same paragraph meant to imply this. Just both wonderful things.
In two weeks I will be taking a long weekend and travelling to New York City for the second time in the past year. I'm going to be visiting with a couple of friends and spending some time laying around Central Park and staying somewhere with a moderate amount of swank and just generally enjoying a little freedom. I am excited about this trip.
Little marbles of hail just started coming down from the sky moments ago, making the most wonderful ping and clang sounds on the heating units in the alley below my window. Thunderstorms and random downpours today, like a summer day that is full to its breaking point.
Currently Can't Get Enough of:
April by Sun Kil Moon
Even though it is being overshadowed by bigger news events and won't make anywhere near as much press as the Prop 8 battle in California, something about the gay marriage decision in Iowa feels very real, more personal and exciting for me. A state which is not my state, but is located directly adjacent to my state, and is not located in the very progressive Northeast or the very libertarian left coast but in the very heart of America, has decided that people like me should have equal access to marriage.
Here is a most awesome quote from the unanimous Iowa Supreme Court ruling: "We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective."
Damn straight.
Currently Watching:
Slumdog Millionaire
Yesterday was a very stressful day. My bank branch was audited by our company, which basically means that two guys came in first thing yesterday morning and looked over our shoulders and all of our paperwork from the last year for the entire day. It is very nerve-wracking and tense-making. They ask you questions that you couldn't possibly know the answer to, and count everything and go through notebooks and folders and drawers and everything. But we got through it and did very well. They only found the most insignificant errors possible, which makes me happy and reflects well on all of us at the branch.
In the afternoon, the human resources director of our bank came into the branch and asked to speak with me. She raised the possibility of transferring me to a supervisory position at our main bank location. That would have been a very good opportunity for me, promotion and networking-wise, if I was interested in a continued career in banking. I thanked her for thinking of me, but explained that I am tentatively planning on returning to school this fall to pursue a Master's Degree and my career in education. I'm riddled with doubts now, though; isn't this all a little bird-in-the-hand considering quitting my job means facing 10% unemployment and acquiring new debt?
I have a cold. Can't breathe. Bad timing, bad timing.
Tuesday night I got to see Jersey Boys, the Broadway musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. A couple of Kevin's friends (does that make them my ex-friends in-law? former friend's friends? ah, nomenclature) came into town for a mid-week visit. I trudged through the Sunday morning snow to meet them for breakfast, and Bethany mentioned that they were going to see Jersey Boys, that she went to college with a cast member. I guess I kind of invited myself along by saying how much I would love to see it. Well, the show was pretty great. If you were ever forced to listen to oldies in the car with your dad, you probably know many of the songs. Bethany's friend didn't go on that night, but he hooked us up with some sweet seats. We all went out for drinks after the show which was great, great fun. I know just enough about Broadway to carry on a casual conversation about shows and showtunes with him, so that was cool, too. Melodie and Bethany are the sweetest girls, just wonderful, wonderful people. Great huggers, great talkers, great fun. I hope that I will get to see them more if I move to Georgia later this year, which is where they both live.
Facebook is interesting. It is a lot of work, lots of messages and pictures and stroking people's egos. I'm kind of lazy on the internet. I read a lot, but try not to do too much that takes effort. Sad but true. Since I was two years late for Facebook, I also signed up for the internet thingy du jour, Twitter, which I am actually enjoying more, I think. I can send a quick txt message from my phone during the day to say something important or mundane, and I enjoy reading other people's micro-posts. If you are interested, you can find me at Davie_St. I've never used an underscore for anything before, thinking it looks just a little too self-congratulatory, but I guess DavieSt was already taken.
Just finished watching:
The Wire, Season 2
