I am highly favored to wake up and experience a day like this. It didn't start off too extraordinary, just an english muffin for breakfast and Windy City Live on television before work.
Less than an hour into my work day and I am approached by a bearded stranger named Marvin. Marvin is looking for a book about diets for your blood type to give to his cousin. We don't have it but I went ahead and put in the order for him. You would think that would be the end of the story, but Marvin doesn't see it that way. He keeps smiling and talking and my interest is piqued. I wish that you all could see him, he has a medium build, just jeans, baseball hat and a t-shirt, a FULL beard, a bald head (I bet he used to have locs) with a very nice smile, a patterned Hezbollah type of scarf, a little kabbalah string around his wrist and an arrowhead charm around his neck. Something about him was instantly nostalgic and familiar. He looks like he jumped off an Al Green album cover from 1976, pointing and grinning. I could see him in the 80's, hanging out on an air force base with my dad in Germany, with little gym shorts and tall striped tube socks.
We talked about Chicago, family, and balancing work and school. When he called his cousin to tell her about the book and other random family information, he handed me the phone. I talked to his cousin for almost 10 minutes. Her name is Shekentha, and she thinks that we should all go out for coffee soon and she invited me to her birthday party. I told her that her cousin kept smiling at me and I didn't know what to do about it, she said his smile does have that effect on people. This man is a trip. Before we exchanged numbers he explained that his schedule is jam packed and he prefers texting with people, so I won't be holding my breath on any extended late night conversations. It was nice to connect to someone today, it really was one of the highlights.
When I picked up my phone at lunch time, I saw that I had a missed call from the Johnson Publishing Company, they offered me the job!! There it is, two birds in the hand. I can work at the bookstore and the archives, giving myself a little more financial stability. First thing in the morning, I will be calling Coleman and Rebecca and withdrawing myself for consideration. Those will be tough calls because I feel like they might have staked their reputations in support of me, I suppose it is better to let them know sooner than later. I had a great talk in the lunch room with Brittany and Curtis.
When I get back to the trade desk, I am asked to look up a few books for a Mr. Wayne Winter. We didn't have his books but he said that he would be remiss if he didn't ask me which church I go to. I explained my situation and how I have been exploring different options in Hyde Park, he said that his was non-denominational and they had services at the Illinois Institute of Technology on Sunday mornings. I will definitely be checking that one out. He gave me his wife's phone number in case I wanted to talk to someone about religion in the meantime. I thought that was very kind of him, it let me know it was really about the religion and nothing tawdry.
The last king to visit me was Mr. Ford who had plans to recruit me in his entrepreneur training program. He asked me about college and how I felt about making money in new ways. I told him that I wasn't business oriented, but that was a nice sales pitch. Then he got a little indignant and said it wasn't a pitch, he was just trying to prepare young people for this tricky economy and show them how to become independently wealthy. I wished him luck and said that I would call when his books arrived. The rest of the afternoon was uneventful, other than the fact that my favorite pack of cookies experienced a price hike. They added one cookie to the sleeve and raised the price 20 cents, which was embarrassing for me when my dollar didn't cut it, it is good that I am down with the cafe crew. I bet that Caitlyn would not have been able to walk away with those cookies like I did.
I'm still pushing through my Susanna Clarke novel, and ABC Wednesdays didn't disappoint. Today was definitely a good day.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Day 78 - 50/50
I have no excuse for not posting last night. I was watching the Ken Burn's Prohibition documentary on PBS, which was fascinating because so much of the drama took place in Chicago. 1925 Chicago had Al Capone, flappers, jazz, murder, sex, hypocrites, fugitives, crime syndicates and alcohol, what more do you need? I tried to watch Jay Leno, but Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries were on, and I had to turn it off. I try hard not to be a hater, but they are so stupid, I don't know what brought them together but I doubt that it will be enough to keep them together. I love celebrity nonsense, but they don't even pretend to be normal, it seems like they stalk cameras instead of the other way around, that's enough about them. I went to sleep with barely a notion of turning on the computer.
Yesterday was pretty good. Work was busy and I was off by 2:15. I was feeling restless so I called Coleman and asked if he wanted to go to the movies. Silly me, he is a grown up who works all day and doesn't have time for movie on a week night. He said that we could go another time. I decided to go anyway and see the new Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen movie, 50/50. The critics said that it made cancer, funny. I would like to take issue with that point, cancer is miserable for anyone who has seen it first hand. Maybe I am a glutton for punishment but that movie just pulled my heart out. When he has to go in for his surgery and he reaches for his mom, I lost it. It was a good movie, there were a few funny parts but overall it left me feeling depressed. I never used to cry at movies, but now I am a big sap, maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, between this and The Help, I might need to start carrying around a little box of Kleenex.
After the film, I went to wander around Target. That might sound boring, but this Target is in the South Loop and it is two stories high, on top of two floors of parking garages. The parking lot at the top gives good views of the city, and there are high rise buildings all around the store. A campus of Columbia College is located over here, so there are all kinds of interesting people to see. I have been looking at Craiglist and other apartment finders for places in the South Loop. It is so close to the museums, Soldier Field, and the trains, it has an urban feel without being as congested as the north side. However, it is more expensive than Hyde Park, I will just keep looking. In Target, I bought some groceries and avoided the Halloween candy aisle. The man at the register, Gabriel, was talking me up. I was telling him that groceries are so expensive. He said that is why you get a man take care of them for you. I was like really?? Then he said that if I let him take me out, I wouldn't have to worry about it. That's funny, because it would never happen. He wasn't really my type. I loaded the car and headed home. I paid attention to the signs this time and didn't park on a street that was being cleaned on Wednesday. As I was walking in the house, I realized that I had made it in time to catch the DWTS results...poor Kristin.
Yesterday was pretty good. Work was busy and I was off by 2:15. I was feeling restless so I called Coleman and asked if he wanted to go to the movies. Silly me, he is a grown up who works all day and doesn't have time for movie on a week night. He said that we could go another time. I decided to go anyway and see the new Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen movie, 50/50. The critics said that it made cancer, funny. I would like to take issue with that point, cancer is miserable for anyone who has seen it first hand. Maybe I am a glutton for punishment but that movie just pulled my heart out. When he has to go in for his surgery and he reaches for his mom, I lost it. It was a good movie, there were a few funny parts but overall it left me feeling depressed. I never used to cry at movies, but now I am a big sap, maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, between this and The Help, I might need to start carrying around a little box of Kleenex.
After the film, I went to wander around Target. That might sound boring, but this Target is in the South Loop and it is two stories high, on top of two floors of parking garages. The parking lot at the top gives good views of the city, and there are high rise buildings all around the store. A campus of Columbia College is located over here, so there are all kinds of interesting people to see. I have been looking at Craiglist and other apartment finders for places in the South Loop. It is so close to the museums, Soldier Field, and the trains, it has an urban feel without being as congested as the north side. However, it is more expensive than Hyde Park, I will just keep looking. In Target, I bought some groceries and avoided the Halloween candy aisle. The man at the register, Gabriel, was talking me up. I was telling him that groceries are so expensive. He said that is why you get a man take care of them for you. I was like really?? Then he said that if I let him take me out, I wouldn't have to worry about it. That's funny, because it would never happen. He wasn't really my type. I loaded the car and headed home. I paid attention to the signs this time and didn't park on a street that was being cleaned on Wednesday. As I was walking in the house, I realized that I had made it in time to catch the DWTS results...poor Kristin.