And with this post...

I tie the rest of the year for most posts. Since the start of this year, excluding the month of September, we've posted only 12 times; since the start of September, we've posted 12 times. I can't even figure out the math on the percentage that we increased our productivity! Thanks, everybody, but mainly Waple!

The bad news, the good news, and the ugly news

The Bad News
It doesn't look like the job I thought I was going to get, the one that would have been permanent, will be mine after all. About a month ago someone made it sound like it was going to happen and then... nothing. And I can't afford to wait around worrying where my next paycheck is going to come from so, since my contract with them is up in a few weeks, I went on to...

The Good News
I landed a three- to four-month contract with another company. It was totally out of the blue, but perfect timing. They actually want me to start the day my other contract ends, which couldn't be more satisfying. Plus, the position offers me more opportunity to manage, which means I'll be building new marketable skills instead of doing essentially the same thing day-in and day-out.

The Ugly News
I'm still far from my ultimate goals, but I suppose I should look at the bright side: 1) I have goals and 2) I have my whole life to reach them.

Come see me perform!

If any of you are free on Sunday nights around 7 or 8pm, I'd love if you could come by and see me perform with my improv group at iO! It's the student graduation run, which lasts for eight Sundays, and we've had six shows so far. So we'll have one more show this coming Sunday (10/3) and then our last one on 10/7. The show is $5, starting at 7pm at the iO Theater (3541 N Clark). If you wanted to come at 8pm that'd be okay too, cause there are five groups that perform and they start at 7pm, but the group I'm with is always either 8 or 8:30pm. The last group finishes at 9:30, so if you wanted to make it a shorter night, you don't have to be there right at 7pm. If you all can't make it, I won't hold it against you. It's kind of short notice on purpose, cause student shows can often times be extremely painful (see: tonight's show). But I've been doing well and it's looking like I have a shot at getting placed on a team that will perform there consistently! All of these eight shows serve as auditions, basically. So if that happens, you will have so many opportunities to see me!

an annual sara update!

Hello! It’s been about 11 months since my last post, when I announced that I lost my job but gained a boyfriend. I kept saying to myself “I will post again when I get a job and have something good to report.” Well, the day has come! I just got hired for a temp position as an assistant to the school nurse at a middle school on the south side. It’s just data entry and filing, and will most likely only last 3 or 4 months, but still, it’s something.

Being unemployed for nearly a year has definitely been a learning/growing experience for me. I spent most of the year being depressed, doubting my skills as a social worker, and not knowing what to do with my life. I had always been an overachiever and worked really hard at school and then at my job, so when that was taken away from me I just didn’t know what to do with myself. You don’t realize how much of your identity is tied up in what you do for a living until your job is gone.

It took about 10 months for me to finally realize there is more to life than working and making money. I realized being unemployed was not the waste of time I thought it was, and I actually accomplished quite a lot in the last year. When I had a job, all I wanted was a boyfriend, someone who really knew me and I could talk to about anything. And here I am, about to celebrate my one year anniversary with Matt! I’ve never been in a serious relationship or been in love before, so the fact that I’ve been with Matt for so long is a huge accomplishment for me, just as big and important as landing my dream job. I’ve also become a lot closer with my parents, and especially my brother, whom I never used to talk to at all. I’ve gotten more involved in my hobbies, such as taking dance classes again, doing yoga multiple times a week, knitting, and learning to cook. I’ve had the time to really think about and work on things I didn’t like about myself, and finally break some bad habits, such as my m&ms addiction. And I’ve also been able to do a lot of fun things in the city that I wouldn’t have been able to do if I was still living and working in the suburbs. So while I’m still not sure what’s gonna happen with my social work career, I am much happier with other aspects of my life than I ever have been.

Here are some other exciting things I’ve done this year:

-went to Vegas for the first time

-had my car window broken and ipod stolen

-learned how to file a police report and insurance claim

-had some minor surgery on my cervix

-saw Lady Gaga at lollapalooza

-went on a yacht in Lake Michigan

-went to my first Sox game and Bears game

-ate a lot of sushi

-gotten much better at NY Times crossword puzzles

How cute!

I hope you all watched the season premiere of "How I Met Your Mother" tonight. It was good, so good that it had, wait for it... lipstick lesbians!

Now, as a buzz-kill to that, cute kittens dressed in suits:
http://twitpic.com/2qfzh0

Be honest...

do you think I would be a good creative writing instructor and/or professor of English?

Hello.

Survey: Are you reading this? Please respond within the next week by commenting on this post.

Carmelo?

Those of you who follow the Bulls, which is probably just Waple and me, should take note that Carmelo Anthony, an all-star who Charles Barkley calls "the greatest pure scorer in the NBA," wants to be traded to the Bulls. I was getting pumped about our new lineup for next season, but I must admit it'd be nice to bring in 'Melo. Of course, the Bulls will have to give up a lot, possibly Noah and Deng, but if we keep Rose and at least one good big guy (Boozer), it might be worth it.

Stress

I might get employed (for real) soon, but I'm a bit stressed about it. I need to discuss it privately. E-mail me, friends!

I want a time machine.

That is all.

Starfucker?

Can anyone suggest if Starfucker is worth a listen? This song caught my ear in a recent Target Pharmacy commercial and I liked the style.

I'm going to try and post more.

This blog has gone stagnant again. Maybe it's futile to keep it going in the midst of facebook and all, but I want it to live on, so I will post. Maybe this will just become my blog in the future.

School starts in five days. September 7th, to be exact. I'm totally unprepared (not totally my fault). I have read a lot this summer, but the curriculum of the course was changed by the admin like three weeks before school started, so even if I had done a lot of prep work it would have been a waste. Also, I tend to underestimate my abilities and over-worry myself. Mostly, I'm just bummed because it's so great to be so free in the summer and get personal things done (reading, organizing, etc.) that I can't do in the school year when I am swamped. And I will be swamped this year, since it's a new school and subject. I will mostly miss seeing all my friends. In addition to being overly busy, I know being in the city prevents me from seeing people as often. That sucks a lot, and I don't know what will happen to change that.

In addition, my kitchen is still non-existent. I hooked up my new fridge five days ago, and it was the first fully functional fridge my place has had in its year of existence. So it was a great relief to have an appliance hooked up at all, first of all, and secondly to have it work well. The rest of the place is in shambles - no mounted cabinets, no functional range, nowhere to sit, and a bedroom full of most of my furniture and everything else I could cram in, leaving nowhere to maneuver freely. My one place of refuge is the 10 sq. ft. around my computer. I hope that it's all done soon, like in a few weeks, ideally, so that when I'm stressed after a day of school I can come home, relax on a couch, watch TV, and make some food. All things I can't do right now.

Finally, on the new student front, I saw some of the names of the students I'll be having next year. It only took two names before one of them was named after liquor. Cavoursier. It's a misspelling, I know, but it still sounds the same. I saw some more names today. Majestic was one. It's an interesting cultural phenomenon. Maybe that would be a good name for a kid. Phenomenon. Phenomenon Waple. I actually kind of like it. And kids would call him 'Nom for short.

Anyway, I hope all's well and that those of you looking for jobs are making progress. I'll be really stressed this year, but really thankful to have a job too. Please come visit me any time.

Love,
'Nom.