Fall Preview

It's beginning to feel a lot like autumn here. Yesterday we felt the affects of the hurricane as it rained all freaking day. Walking to the train yesterday morning, a truck drove by and doused me with a tidal wave of muddy water. For real. It was like a scene out of a movie where someone is having a bad day and then of course gets splashed and has an ever worse day. Kinda like the opening credits of Sex in the City.

This week, I've been subjected to taking the Metra to work since it's the fastest way to downtown from where I live. Metra is like a plane on rails. There are comfortable seats and you can even drink booze on the train. The best part is, you don't always have to pay. You're suppose to buy tixs in advance, but you can also pay on board. Three times this week, the ticket person didn't check so I got free rides. The Metra confuses me to no end. I never know if I'm on the right train and fear ending up in the 'burbs. It's also more expensive than the EL, but you get to ride in style. Today is my last day at the temp job I've been at since the beginning of July. Of course I fear unemployment and being in financial ruins again, but I'm looking forward to actually having time off to do things. It's been difficult working full time and trying to freelance. And the more I write, the more money I'll make, but I'm not looking forward to waiting for pitches to be approved and editors getting back to me. Hopefully something else will come up. I still need to finish a long overdue project that I'll get paid decently for. My apartment is in disarray, too. I need to get a real mattress and set up my furniture and organize everything. I haven't even been able to go to the post office to get my mail because it closes at 5pm everyday. It's the little things I need time for.

This weekend is our final Saucony match of the season. Sunday afternoon, we're doing a Field Day thing like playing tug of war and activities like that. Then, we're having a big open bar party at a bar down the street. Just another thing I have to do this weekend. Yesterday, I interviewed the band Presets. They're from Australia, so I got my Aussie fix for the week. I'm going to start doing live reviews for a publication and am already slated to cover the Cut Copy show in a couple of weeks. I'm so excited to see them again. My b-day is creeping up. I don't want to be older! I've decided to just have some friends hang out with me at a bar next Saturday night. I need to decide what bar, though. I don't want anything elaborate like last year's pinata festivities. I also need to decide where the boyfriend is taking me to dinner on my official bday. So many places to choose from. Last night I had dinner with his parents. I'd met his mom before, but it was my first time meeting the dad. Overall, we had a pleasant dinner. We ate at a top notch Japanese fusion place and since his parents knew the chef, we got free dessert and sake. His parents are so cultured compared to me; it's a little intimidating. They've been all over the world including Iran and even lived in Japan for a few months. I've done nothing of the sort. I don't know anything about wine, either. I think you can learn a lot about things through reading about them and such, but I want to experience things hands on. I want to travel the world and see for myself. Hopefully all of this will come into fruition. I really should learn more about wine, food and travel.

So, some big news: I'm taking over as editor of Chicago My Open Bar in October. At first I didn't even want to be considered for the job, but then I changed my mind. It's a good opportunity. I like having the title of editor and being able to boss the boyfriend around in a professional setting. I'm really nervous about the job, though. I've never managed people before and my current editor has to deal with irate bar owners and readers sometimes. I just hope I can handle it. It never hurts to try. I really want to focus on my creative endeavors right now. I'm going to start writing screenplays again, too, yunno, actually put my degree to use. A few years ago, I wrote a short horror script that was a finalist in a horror film fest. Unfortunately, I have lost all record of the script. Since reuniting with my long lost cousin, it turns out he's a horror freak and wants me to rewrite the script and send it to him. He's going to pass it around to some of his filmmaker friends, so hopefully it'll get made. The boyfriend and I have been talking about writing something together, so here's our chance to recapture the magic.

I'm also trying to talk the boyfriend into moving in with me full-time. Our rent would only be $150 a month! Can you imagine? It's almost disgusting having rent that cheap. To me, it's a win-win situation. We both would save money, he doesn't have to live with the parents anymore and if it didn't work out, he'd just go back home. No big deal. He's over every night anyway. He's basically throwing away rent money that could be used towards taking me to the Caribbean. We'd have to allocate some more closet space, though. That might be an issue.

I'm really sick of always having stuff to do. I just want to get things done so I don't have to fuss and worry about them. I just need some time.