Day 65 - Fixin' to vs. Finda'

Today at work, I was flexing my multi-dimensional skill set. I really ought to be employee of the month. I spent the majority of the day in the textbook department, learning the computer applications and helping customers. I processed web orders and was left a lone for what seemed liked the longest 30 minutes of my life when I was hit with a random barrage of customer questions. Hopefully it will get better in the days to come. One thing that the textbook department has over tradebooks is the limitless supply of random conversation. Today did not disappoint. Patsy is from Tennessee and she says I'm fixin to go to the store. She also has fixins with her big Thanksgiving dinner. Jimmy is from Chicago and he says I'm finda go to the store. They ask me which one have I heard more often. I said finda sounds a little more natural to me, but I try not to say either, because it may be difficult for the average person to understand. This led to my learning that a person from Michigan may call a shopping cart, a buggy and a water fountain a bubbler. Language variation is a funny thing.

The evening was uneventful. I have been riding my bike for the last few days, I think that my lock issues were due to the colder temperatures. Now that it has been a little warmer, the lock works fine. The store is open later on account of rush, so I had to bike home in the dark. I really wanted some pancit from Noodles Inc, but the night and my budget said go home and make ramen noodles instead. Not quite the same, but I'm not hungry anymore. I'm happy that Modern Family is back, and I watched Revenge, the newest Wednesday night drama on ABC. I also attempted to do a little background research on the subjects that Bea suggested from the DuSable Museum. I found out that my friend Lauren has purchased her tickets and will be visiting on October 14, that should be a good time. Exploring will be a lot more fun when one of my besties can join me. I'm off for the next couple of days, let the fun/retail therapy begin!

Day 64 - Bored Dialing

I was not feeling very well today, I came home during my lunch break, I took an hour instead of the normal 30 minutes allowed. Funny how no one noticed, if this bookstore was in a horse race, it would be the horse that never left the gate. That is how oblivious the management can be at times. My interview at Johnson Publishing Company was pushed back to next Thursday. I did get an email from the BMRC archivist about the paid position which includes working with the DuSable museum. It looks like the position requires the candidate to be in school, hopefully they will make an exception for me, especially if I promise to enroll in a certificate program in January. I haven't heard back from Coleman and Rebecca, and that is okay.

I can't tell if people are blowing smoke up my caboose or not, but Arlene and Evelyn think that I am a great writer. So great, that I should write more articles for the museum and help Arlene draft a letter to encourage Black sororities and fraternities to collaborate with the museum. I am supposed to supply a draft of the letter by tomorrow afternoon. I always read what I submitted and I can see all kinds of areas for improvement. I am grateful for the opportunity to add more samples to my curriculum vitae but I am not really excited about being a ghostwriter without any compensation. Why would I shelve books for minimum wage when people who have problems communicating their ideas in writing, are make twice as much as I have ever earned? I guess that is why I am hustling, so that it won't be like this for me forever.

After I watched the results show of Dancing with the Stars and couldn't tell anyone about it because of my time zone, I was bored. I also watched the New Girl, the new sitcom with Zooey Dashenal, it was so cute. I love it when she sings. She plays the same quirky character in Yes Man, one of my favorite films. I'm scrolling through my phone, I called my Aunt Vern, and she didn't answer. I called Christian and he was preoccupied with his own issues, and couldn't talk for long. Who else? How about the new nerd, Rob, from Lauren's Labor Day party?

Of course he answers. I learned alot about this guy in our 2.5 hours of conversation. As I am writing this, the themes that echo are his fascination with the Bible and the corresponding Middle Eastern history and his slightly veiled pessimism. He is so strange, he needs friends in the worst way. Someone to let him know that he doesn't have to be smooth and charismatic for people to want to be around him. For every discouraging notion that he had, I tried to give him something positive to focus on instead. He said that he appreciated my perspective, was glad it worked for me but he was not buying it. He's like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. He doesn't understand why people don't just accept the misery that is life, and he is not going to pretend to be happy for anyone's sake.

He's mad that life hasn't turned out the way it was supposed to, he's frustrated with hypocrites at his church and he tries to rationalize why there is evil in the world. There were times when I wanted to hang up the phone because he fixated on the same point even after I acknowledged that I understood but could never agree. It was like two people taking turns hitting each other with hammers. I told him he was like Silas form the DaVinci Code, an ascetic who berates himself to no end. He doesn't allow himself any leisure, no movies, no music...just documentaries and books. That is ridiculous. I told him that I would help him figure out a way to move to a third world country, find a simple way to give meaning to his life and to those of others, talk about it on TED Talks, garner funding, and use his MBA to create a business that will save the world and put a little change in his pocket. He doesn't know it, but I just solved all of his problems.

Day 63 - Pursuit of a Mirror Ball

Season 13 of Dancing with the Stars has returned and brought so much joy to my heart! This season's contestants are very diverse, and I am looking forward to seeing what they are going to bring. I used to talk to my friends and the volunteers at Civic Center Library about every episode, luckily I have stayed in touch and will be communicating via email my impressions of the upcoming episodes. Lauren has never watched the show, which would explain why she chose to run her mouth through two of the numbers. I kept glancing over her shoulder at the screen, but she wasn't picking up what I was putting down. Ah, that is what Tuesday's show is for.

I think that Lauren and I had a breakthrough last night. She was telling me all about her friendships and her habit of befriending people that need "help" and the way that people have taken advantage of her in the past. So many of her stories involve someone trying to trick her, sabotage her or not giving her as much as she thinks she deserves based on what she has given to them. At the same time, she talks about how she would never bring a man around her single friends and she is wondering how long it will take Ola to get over her, since she broke his heart. I'm confused because how can you have such a high opinion of yourself and allow yourself to be abused at the same time? I can't call it. Today, she is fixated on finding another job because her supervisor is driving her crazy and she might interview at Johnson Publishing Company, the same place I am interviewing at on Thursday. She thinks it would be fun if we worked together and lived together....no it would not. If that happened, I would move out for sure. I'm glad that she likes me. However, it is unfortunate that she doesn't know me very well. I'm the glacier, like Kevin James in Hitch, and that is alright.

Day 20 - Let the Rain Pour Down

I had great plans to check out the Chicago History Museum today but some laziness got a hold on me. I wound up spending the morning and early afternoon dozing in and out of sleep. Lauren and I watched The Blind Side, Flipped and episodes of Basketball Wives. We spent commercials talking and getting to know each other better, and after 19 days of discussing her disappointing love life, she finally asked me about mine. I summarized my three transformative relationships with the following statements....

Bachelor #1 - I loved him, he loved someone else
Bachelor #2 - He liked me, I was not ready for him
Bachelor #3 - I liked him, he played me

You all can guess who these lucky bastards were. At any rate, I felt a little exposed, so I took a little walk. It rained in the morning but it looked like the sky was cleared up and the temperature was cool. When I got back Lauren decided to go to Border's to use her gift card, I invited myself to join her. Since she works at the downtown campus of Northwestern, she can get covered parking near the Magnificent Mile for free all the time. After parking, we took the bus to the South Loop for Borders. Then we got some Garrett's popcorn, a Chicago classic. We waited in line for 40 minutes to cheese flavored mixed with caramel flavored popcorn. It was good, a little rich for me, I can only eat a little bit at a time. Then we took the bus back uptown to check out Nike Town and The Gap. When we were leaving the Gap, the rain started. Everyone was crowded at the entrance trying to wait out the down pour...not us. We tied up our hair and our bags as best as possible, and made a run for it. It was fun at first, and then it was cold, damp clothes and cool breezes are not a good mix. I love that Lauren was not too prissy for the rain, I think that we will continue to get along.

Ola came over later with some Nigerian food, it was alright. I had a long and thoroughly entertaining conversation with my dear sister (I'm still waiting on that list of 25). Finished up the night with the latest episode of True Blood, nothing to complain about on this side of the Mississippi.

Day 16 - Inside is for the Birds

I am constantly battling the impulse to go outside and explore. On one hand, I'm in Chicago, why am I watching Judge Judy? On the other hand, I need to be on the computer, researching jobs and following up with inquiries on archives. I need to sit my happy ass at home, this is not a vacation. So, I spent the morning cleaning the condo, responding to emails and taking a quick walk to the grocery store. I spent the afternoon taking a nap, writing more emails and making a spaghetti dinner. I caught Dinner for Schmucks, this may be the dumbest movie ever created. If you haven't seen it, consider yourself blessed. In the evening I watched two episodes of America's Next Top Model and researched various repositories in Chicago. There is a Bronzeville Historical Society where they are collecting oral histories of Black people who moved to Chicago from southern states in the 50's and 60's. That might be a cool project to get involved with. A email and a phone call from two of my favorite mentor/friends really brightened the day. I am in constant need of positive reinforcement, anything confirming that I didn't trade broccoli for peas, I'm here for something better, like rainbow sherbet ice cream!