Back Home Again: T-11 Days to Relocation

Thanks to everyone who showed the fiancee and me support over the weekend.

Also, amazing how well a Blog can keep people updated on my life. It helped to clear up a little communication mixup with a friend over the weekend because of the screwed up apartment situation.

One good lesson: If someone has a Blog and updates it on a regular basis, read it on a regular basis. You may pick up some important information about their current life situation that you may not get if you tried catching them by phone or through e-mail.

THE REST OF THE STORY

Monday morning, the fiancee and I met up with the current tenants of the place we found on Easter Sunday night and the management company. We filled out the applications. Unfortunately, the company told us that we probably wouldn't hear back from them until Wednesday, a couple days later and the original day we planned on heading back.

We took the rest of the day easy and called off all the other apartment appointments. Figured that checking them out would just waste a bunch of time, ours and their's.

The day filled us with plenty of trepidation. I had left my job effectively last Friday. Combined, we also had some spotty parts of our credit history.

Nonetheless, at some point, we rescheduled our flight home to Tuesday, a day earlier than we originally planned. We really wanted to get home for something happening Tuesday night and also to deal with a ton of errands, packing and job searching that needed doing.

That night, while watching some Law and Order and before heading out to dinner, we got a call from the management company, two days ahead of schedule, to tell us that we got the apartment. Woohoo! We just needed to stop by their office Tuesday morning to sign the lease and drop off a certified check in time to make a flight at Midway Airport at noon.

Pretty early in the morning, we woke up, had some breakfast, stopped by a bank, got a certified check, dropped it off at the management company and signed the lease, ran back to the hotel, caught a cab to the L then ran from the Midway stop to our gate, pretty much five minutes before they started boarding the plane. Exhausting and quite fitting to the whole weekend.

But the weekend turned out quite worth it. Like I said, we've fallen in love with this 900 sq. ft. apartment that has turned out exponentially better than the previous apartment and only costs something like $70 more a month. Great view, awesome interior, affordable laundry, great location near a 24-hour diner, the Lake, a couple minute walk away from church and some other awesome features. Woohoo!

FUN AFTER GETTING HOME

Got home yesterday at around 3ish after an hour drive back from the Manchester (soon to be name Manchester-Boston Area Aiport, apparently) airport. Rested for awhile then went out for some great Indian food in Jamaica Plain with some good friends and interesting people then off to karaoke at the Milky Way Cafe. I did get up to perform on my own, but I got up to do backing vocals for the fiancee and danced quite a bit.

Good fun.

LOTS OF DRIVING AROUND FOR ERRANDS TODAY

That really about says it.

Tomorrow, bunch of job searching, packing and some errands.

Honestly, though, I appreciate that kind of slow life compared to rushing across half the country on a plane for an errand.

I'm getting somewhat anxious about riding on planes lately, after all. Nothing rational at all, just worrying about what could happen to it while I ride it.

Surreal Weekend: T-14 Days to Relocation

The fiancee and I have had one of the wierdest weekends in a long while, as many readers already know.

When we got home from work Friday, my last day, we opened a letter that told us we no longer had an apartment secured for us in Chicago. Suffice to say, we went through a couple stages of acceptance that night. I'm not yet sure we have made it to the end yet. . .but we're getting close.

Amidst the anger and bargaining and cursing, we booked a flight out to Chicago for the next evening then booked a sweet hotel room the next morning. The plan: get to Chicago, find a new place to live effectively sometime between 5/1 and 6/1 after boarding a plane at 6:45ish in Manchester, NH.

Until we leave the apartment that afternoon, we had three friends over who helped the fiancee pack up a bunch of our stuff and another friend over to buy some Magic cards.

BTW, I've decided to quit Magic and sell my cards. . .getting rid of the addict's drug to spend more time with the fiancee and kittens. Figuring that I could better spend my procrastination reading, browsing the Web or watching TLC, Animal Planet, the History Channel or the Discovery Channel, which will help me have more topics for discussion.

The packers did a great job. They packed the same amount of boxes that had been packed before and doubled that amount. We plan on getting back to Boston Wednesday (Tuesday if things work out perfectly), which will give us a week to pack before the movers come pick up our stuff.

We got in last night, got room service, watched some TV then hit the sack.

Today, on Easter Sunday, we looked at three apartments in the morning, took a long nap, got a massage (oh yeah, so stressed out on the way to the airport that I pulled a neck muscle while driving over a roadside curb -- and figured that we needed something to relieve the stress of this weekend) then saw another apartment.

We've fallen in love with the last apartment. Tomorrow, we need to meet up with the current tenant and the management company to have our financials checked and to sign paperwork if everything works out all right. We feel very very excited about it and hope that everything works out. . .especially since this place is MUCH MUCH better than the orignal apartment secured.

Maybe my mom knew what she was talking about when I talked to her Friday night, all angry about the situation, to let her know that we wouldn't make it Easter dinner. The original apartment could've fallen through so that this new arrangement could work, especially since we'll be helping the people who live there now a whole bunch. Maybe this whole immensely stressful and surreal weekend happened for the best.

Tomorrow, we will know for sure.

Hope you have had a less stressful weekend!

Cookies Taste Good: T-17 Days Until Relocation

Second to last day at work, co-workers get me two boxes of vegan cookies, chocolate chocolate chip and oatmeal. They both taste very very scrumptious!

I also received a touching card that I could show to interviewers if they ever ask what my past employer would say about me. My boss/dad said that I'm a great asset to the company and will regret losing me.

Customers and associates at insurance companies have also been giving me plenty of accolades and expressing regret at seeing me leave.

As much as I don't really like working in insurance, a metaphorical tear runs down my face.

MAGIC LAST NIGHT WITH THE GUYS

Unfortunately, can't say that I've accomplished much more than that over the past couple days.

Last night, played some Magic not so great at the gaming store across the river. I didn't play as horribly as I originally think back to it, looking back in hindsight.

Coming down from one beer without much in my belly might have contributed to my bad mood along with some moral indignation at an illegal move that someone else made that I had to accept (but proved was illegal today through e-mail. . .hah!).

I also did some damage to the other guys, though, just not as much as I'd like.

NOT MUCH ELSE ACCOMPLISHED

Tonight, I organized some cards one of the guys gave me as a birthday gift (note to readers: my birthday happens May 12), which used up a bit of time. Probably not the best idea, but I'll probably do some deck construction later while watching some TiVoed TV.

Speaking of TiVo, anyone else record The Daily Show and The Colbert Report and not have enough time to watch it all before it fills up your TiVo, so you end up not recording the shows that you really really REALLY REALLY want, like Lost, Doctor Who, or Scrubs? Sucks.

Read the job message board on the Chicago Craigslist and did some research on a financial information/publishing firm that has an editorial position open. Could be an interesting prospect. I just hope that I do the research quickly enough to dazzle them with my resume and cover letter.

NOT WORRIED ABOUT BEDTIME

So I'm not too worried about my bedtime. After all, tomorrow's my last day at work.

I just need to make sure I get to bed at a good time tomorrow night. After all, hiking a mountain or two on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to the hiking. I haven't done anything good in nature or too strenous for months, maybe even almost a year.

Being busy with tons of things sucks.

At least I'm making some degree of progress on my college Project. Worked on the outline today.

Which reminds me again: Have to call adviser to let him know that most everything's going good, and I will get this darn thing done.

For now, though, I'm signing off. Goodnight.

Lex has Taken Fate in His Hands: T-19 Days to Relocation

I'm proud of myself.

After wasting last week and last night on feeling sorry for myself and lonely because of all this crap I have to do, I have been brainstorming and outlining for the Marlboro Plan Project on my commute and tonight, I did some job stuff.

Not much to say about the Project. I've still got a lot going on in the clouds. Then again, the Project has metaphorical Cities in the Clouds and Chimerae as its topic so can you blame me?

As for the job search, I just sent my resume to a Literary Agency that just started up. The guy who owns it posted a request for manuscripts on the Chicago Craigslist. I don't have a manuscript yet, but even before I seriously started a real search, I made up a resume for the purpose of applying to literary agencies. How cool would it be if this worked out?

I WOULD WRITE MORE BUT BLOGGER SEEMS TO BE ON THE FRITZ

Lex Don't Have Game: T-21 Days to Relocation

I'm certainly not at the top of my game these days.

It probably has to do with the stress from so much going on at once.

1) Moving halfway across the country

2) Searching for a job when I get halfway across the country

3) Cleaning up everything at my current job by the end of this week

4) Packing

5) Scheduling all types of appointments to polish things up around here

6) Seeing as many people as possible before leaving the area while doing everything else

7) Figuring out what the heck is going on with my academic avocation

8) Coming up with some kind of thesis statement for a paper I'm working on

9) Setting up an appointment with my Project/Plan advisors

10) Planning for a wedding just a little more than a year in the future

11) Trying to keep a relationship going with passion and love

12) This BLOG

I'm saddened that I put the relationship as 2nd to last. I think I'll rationalize that one by saying that it stresses me out the least. =D

But after listing 12 things that have me all stressed out and worried, I can't wonder too much about why I procrastinated a whole ton this week when I got home for work.

This whole procrastinating thing doesn't feel like me, though, especially when I can't come up with a plethora of ideas to riff on that no one really understands on my Blog.

Crap and ugh.

A FUNNY THING ABOUT WRITER'S BLOCK

The more I focus on it, the less I write.

Again: T-22 Days to Relocation

I've done it again. Stayed up late, got plenty distracted and feel as if I haven't gotten much done.

Ah well, it's Friday.

Starting with 'Ugh': T-23 Days Until Relocation

I don't mean to stay up as late as I do.

Things just get away on me.

I have to do chores and errands.

Then I get distracted the TV and other silly things.

At the end, I find myself still up at 10:30, hungry because I haven't eaten much and disappointed because I haven't finished the things that I wanted to do.

The next morning, I get to wake up, work for 8 hours and commute 2 hours for a job that doesn't touch my soul on a regular basis then back home in the evening for the same old cycle of getting nothing done.

Annoying, I tell you, annoying.

Especially when I can't get a decent thought track to latch onto for sharing with my readers.

Blast it!

Not Taking the Time to Think

With the help of a career counsellor and a couples counsellor over the span of a year or so, I've gathered that I don't sit down, think and prepare for big things like meetings, job interviews, dates and the such.

Apparently to get what I want out of them, I've got to sit down, think and prepare for them.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Yet Another Saturday: T-29 Days Until Relocation

I didn't accomplish nearly as much as I would have liked today.

Instead of doing job search stuff in the beginning, I addressed some financial things and tried to pay my taxes in a convenient way. Of course, things have yet to work out my way. I still have to wait for an e-mail from H&R Block.

The IRS isn't Burger King, after all.

Otherwise, sent out a follow up letter on an interesting looking research position and updated resumes and cover letters on a couple company Websites.

Tonight, people come over to hang out and possibly play some games.

The other day, I went with the fiancee to watch her play polo and hang out with her polo friends afterward. Fun time hanging and just shooting the poop with people. Been awhile since I could just lay back and hang out.

Not much else to report, sir.

Getting Back into the Groove

Got back from Chicago a couple days ago. Haven't really gotten back into the groove of home life only to get out of it again to make the final move to Chicago.

Ugh.

The Orb Says. . .

Something that I don't know yet. The fiancee and I will see them on Monday at the Metro on Clark Street. Going to this concert will come as one of those interesting fortuitous events that may not have presented itself outside of the vacation.

I also have fun seeing bands that I like in cities where I don't currently live, even though it will all happen in my future neighborhood.

BUT UP UNTIL NOW

Pretty much the same type of stuff has been happening since I last wrote.

The fiancee and I just got back from eating at the Green Zebra, a vegetarian/vegan restaurant with a fish entree south of here. I don't know which neighborhood. Good food, good service.

I just made the mistake of having a couple glasses of wine and some tea. You probably don't want to hear the rest of that story.

Otherwise, though, I would say check it out if you want some good food and want a mellow adventure. Mellow works as the best adjective because the food tastes like food anyone would like and not like that distinctive taste that vegan food can have that scares omnivore/carnivore people away. Pooh on them.

Too bad I don't remember the dishes or really have the energy to provide a full review. Little too late right now, and I have to type up a resume then send it off to a couple ads on Craig's List. You won't hear much more of a description about the opportunities from me, though. Maybe once I get one of the positions.

WE ALSO HAD SOME GOOD LAUGHS

The fiancee and I have come to appreciate the multitude of comedy clubs here in Chicago.

One of the first times we came, a friend of a friend bought us tickets to Second City, named after the fact that at one time, Chicago was the second largest city in the United States after New York City. Once again, I don't remember too many of the details from that night, but we had a pretty good time laughing a lot.

Apparently, Second City has two other venues, Second City College and something like Second City, etc. We haven't visited those clubs, but the fact that one organization has three comedy clubs says something about the city. . .maybe that it likes a good laugh.

We went to a comedy club last night called The Playground. Two comedy troupes put on 45 minute skits each. Once again, I find myself too tired to remember many details, but the fiancee and I enjoyed a lot of the skits, almost too my surprise.

My surprise comes partially from the smallness and intimacy of the venue. They had it set up like a theater with only three rows of movie seats. We sat in the third row, but I had the impression that the comedians stood and ran about right in our faces. The hosts also came up to talk with us a little in ways to let us know how the place worked and so forth.

In a way, the intimacy felt awkward, as if we acted as voyeurs, sitting in on this private performance that a small group had put on for their friends. They more than likely appreciated that we had come and paid the cover, I'm sure, but realizing those facts didn't necessarily push the feeling away. The comedy and unabashed showmanship of the comedians did.

While looking through the Chicago papers and wandering around the city, though, we've seen plenty of comedy venues. The name of one really sticks in my head: The Improv Kitchen. The description of it doesn't totally appeal to me, though. You eat a meal there, but instead of having a comedian servicing you with funniness on stage in front of you, you watch them on a small TV at your table.

Long story short, though, Chicago has plenty of comedy for those who want it.

BYOB

The fiancee and I have felt completely fascinated by the Bring Your Own Beverage custom that Chicago seems to have. At least most of the establishments in our future neighborhood do it. We haven't taken advantage of it, but we look forward to doing it.

Last night at The Playground, we just saw people pulling out cans of beer or popping them open while wandering around this theater. I don't know how to accurately describe my fascination with seeing it, but the fiancee and I look forward to picking up some drinks then heading on over to the comedy club for some good laughs and drinks. . .especially after living in the Puritan city of Boston for so long.

Chicago is sooooooooooooooooo different.

I need to head on over to typing and posting that resume, though.

More will get written later. Don't worry. . ..

3rd Night in Chicago

Mostly been tooling around Chicago, eating, exploring and so on and so forth.

Haven't done any career stuff other than research, though, which I had planned on doing originally. Like I told some people already, however, my hope of visiting temp agencies that specialize in editing, copywriting or public relations really wouldn't do much for me.

I need to reconsider my job search strategy and the type of job that I'll take until I can go back to school or finish my Marlboro Project (no longer calling it a thesis).

Tomorrow we will take a look at one site for the wedding.

I should call the good friend that I have in the city to try meet up for a meal or something. . ..

Artsy. . .

I kid you not. . .

Tomorrow. . . . . .

I got to Chicago. . . . . . . . . .

For a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Week!

Poop on Technology

Instead of thinning out my inbox so that I can better organize my job search, I had to let my computer do its monthly adware destruction, registry cleanup (the first two occurs twice a week, actually) and full-computer virus scan. Argh!

Not a big deal, really. I accomplished what I had intended: fixed up my resume nicely for temp agency visits this week during my visit to Chicago.

Also got to do a little extra "reward" reading.

Still on the straight thought highway to landing a job, though.

Online Job Sites

Don't trust them. I have never seen them reliably format anything you upload to them or try to format in their text windows.

Jerks.

After spending about two hours struggling with a couple of these job boards and shopping today for another suit and some clothes (only really intended on getting a sport jacket. . .but one thing leads to another).

I look forward to finally get a job I like. I've dedicated approximately a year, so far, to accomplishing this goal.

Eat your heart out, Chicagoland job scene! Here I come.

Undependable

I guess I haven't been all that dependable when it comes to updating this Blog.

Tonight is a little different.

Not by much, though. I've had something of a stomach/digestive tract issue today. Not exactly sure what it's really about, but it stopped me from going to work and made me take things easy today.

I can't really bring myself to say much more, though. I should get some sleep so that I can hopefully feel good tomorrow.

Here's to health!

Productivity

HEALTHINESS

Lately, I've had issues with low blood sugar and consequently, not getting enough protein. This issue made it difficult for productive efforts last week. Tuesday night, I pretty much just watched Scrubs (BTW, awesome entry) then fell asleep on the couch until the fiance came home to wake me.

(Sometimes. . .now being one of those times, I have this strange feeling of connection with JD from Scrubs and his inner monologue. I think it happens a lot while writing in this Blog).

Trying to deal with the whole low blood sugar/protein issue, I did some research. I learned that for my body weight, I should be eating 49 or 50 g of protein a day (Your weight in pounds * .35 = how much protein you should be eating a day, supposedly).

I hit, according to my calculations at midday, about 25 g. I'm too tired to calculate how much I ate during the whole day. If the midday calculation is any use, I probably did hit the amount of protein I need.

Thinking about this protein calculation often makes me value my cruelty free diet (not so vegan). Whereas people who love their and would like to keep my body weight and stay healthy probably should only eat two hamburgers or a steak and a half or something equivalent to that, I can eat quite a bit during the day and have a hard time getting past 50 g of protein in a day.

I enjoy the taste of food. I like staying healthy. I like to maximize the things I like. This relationship between my health and the taste for good food works well.

THE MOMENTOUS JOB SEARCH

With the help of Resumes for Dummies, I revised the first page of my resume. It now provides more pleasure to look at, does a better job highlighting how I've demonstrated applicable skills in positions not so relevant to the ones I want and makes explicit that those responsibilities demonstrate those skills.

Tomorrow I will work on the second page then try revising the cover letter to make it much more exciting for prospective employers.

I really should get the resume all jazzed up, though, because I need to make appointments with temp agencies for next week when the fiance and I visit Chicago again.

THEN I'll revise the cover letter.

And after that. . .I will get myself a friggin' job to love.

Identity

MY EDUCATION

I've already inspired some discussion affirming me going back to school somewhere other than Marlboro and not finishing my Plan of Concentration.

Today, I had epiphany about how things started going wrong.

To illuminate the whole thing, I'll quote the Marlboro College (or as some refer to it, "That School"):

What is a Plan? An integrated study that focuses on an area of the curriculum or on a set of related questions or issues that cross disciplinary boundaries...

* an integrated course of study planned by the student
* in one or more areas of the curriculum
* under the guidance of a faculty sponsor or sponsors
* approved by the entire faculty

[. . .]

How do you do a Cross-Disciplinary Plan? Carefully.
Such Plans involve study in two or three different fields, sometimes with fairly equal distribution of weight, sometimes with one field clearly dominant. Whatever the structure, a cross-disciplinary Plan should have the same goal as a single-field Plan. That goal is the investigation in depth of a single problem or a set of clearly related problems. In cross-disciplinary Plans, it is the notion of clearly related that determines the success of such Plans in meeting the stated goal. Any student who ignores or forgets this essential Plan concept risks considerable disappointment when the whole is finally evaluated.

[. . .]

DON'TS
. . .
3. Don't forget that it is your responsibility to maintain a strong focus on your central question/ project, and to consult with your teachers and sponsor if you have any misgivings about the direction of your work.

Suffice to say, this e-mail that I sent to the fiancee sums up my experience:

I took on more than I could chew. Not because of what Marlboro required of me but because of misunderstanding on my part and miscommunication.

Marlboro doesn't require a thesis. It requires some kind of project, which generally includes papers that are related by topic but not by some problem or thesis statement necessarily. They can just address a topic from different angles or different "expressions" of a topic (like three different novels).

As for the miscommunication, I took on the sociology teacher as a sponsor, but I really just wanted to draw on sociology for theory and understanding. I didn't want to study sociology or even real life utopias/dystopias, per se. And somehow, I couldn't get this part across. . ..

Fun, fun, fun. . .not really.

Unfortunately, I have to focus on getting a job before even thinking about going back to school.

WILL WORK FOR EXPERIENCE AND NEED EXPERIENCE FOR WORK

My life situation has become something of a Catch-22 similar to the one a band experiences when it first starts gigging. I need work to get experience, but I can't get work without experience (unless I take an internship, then I can hardly pay the bills to survive to work).

The whole Catch-22 wouldn't give me trouble except that it grates on my self esteem and mood. Lacking a demonstrated education (in the form of an associates or bachelors) doesn't help, either.

Neither do I want to work some job that will bore me.

I feel like I can't do anything except insurance, but I don't like the insurance industry. It came as a fallback job years ago. When I try, I can make up descriptions that make it sound noble and even exciting.

On an everyday level, though, it bores me.

Having the feeling that I don't have skills to offer and that I feel strained marketing myself (when I generally don't do well talking about myself in the first place), I feel useless as a member of society.

It sucks, but I've got to get going to a games night.

Maybe that will get my mind off of my bad-employment self esteem.

Disappearing Tricks

I guess I've disappeared a couple times over the last couple weeks.

This moving thing has gotten pretty stressful. Monday night at the couples counsellor, I got a little emotionally worked up because the fiance wanted to come up with an education plan for me and the counsellor fell into the trap that everyone does: trying to help me by trying to come up with ways to negotiate less work, different advisors, etc. etc. when I've tried everything.

Tuesday night, I just shut down, felt depressed and fell asleep on the couch. It could've happened because I had a whole plastic thing of watermelon, though, just went hypoglycemic, making me feel horrible and depressed and so on and so forth.

The fiance and I went out for dinner last night with someone I hadn't seen for awhile. Funny really. We needed something like two months to schedule the dinner out so that I could give him his Christmas gift. Other than the gift, though, we had a fun time just getting to know each other more. Always fun to learn about someone you've known for years but never hang out with.

THESIS PROGRESS

Have been making some habitual progress on thinking about the thesis. After five years, finally have come up with some of a useful definition for utopia (duh!):

Utopia - 1. An archetype of an organizational type that is generally seen as good 2. An organization that attempts to embody an ideal or set of ideals.

Dystopia - 2. An archetype of an organizational type that is generally seen as horrible. 2. An organization that embodies a horrible organization archetype.

I have to thank Kik from the City-of-Kik and City-of-Utopia fame, a Yahoogroups list, for coming up with his own description of utopia that inspired my definition for it.

JOB SEARCH

Bought three more Dummies books last night:

* Job Hunt
* Cover Letters
* Resumes

I've only read a couple pages in the Cover Letters one, but it's provided some really great advice for sending job inquiries over the Internet in the new information transitory age.

Now, though, I really should get moving onto the job search and setting up my new Palm Z22.

Afternoon Haiku #1

The cats layabout.
   I've just awoken, relaxed.
Darn! Nothing to write.