highlights from a thursday

  1. received yet another ticket for expired plates.
  2. drove to the secretary of state’s office at lunchtime and renewed them in about :30 seconds with a machine.
  3. reviewed my tally of tickets online. realized I had been cited by a camera for a red light violation. got the phone number for setting up a payment plan. will call tomorrow and pray to vehicular gods not to get booted.
  4. learned that since my car insurance check cleared, my rent check won’t. not sure how to solve that one.
  5. while driving to and from car reg lunch excursion, ran through a homeric catalog of possible second jobs, meanwhile decimating cuticles.
  6. wished for the gazillionth time that I were smarter and better at making/managing/saving (ha!) money.
  7. driving home from work, felt about .5 inch tall. 20 degrees and wicked windchill. knew I should go to the gym, that it would be the Right thing to do. wanted, fervently, only to crawl into bed. reminded myself of a certain donkey-photographing promise, so instead made a couple of stops and operated the camera with icy fingers. afterward felt enormously happier and calmer, nearly even sane.
  8. then the car engine started making an unsettling high-pitched noise.
  9. watched people bicycling down the frozen chicago streets and thought, what virtuous people. and then soon that will be me.
  10. saw a woman pushing a shopping cart and wearing a black plastic garbage bag and drew the line right there.

13 Replies to “highlights from a thursday”

  1. girl, you are just such a satisfyingly funny, tight writer, even when you're recording a shit day. :) feel you on every single line of this post. if i had a nickel, no even just a ha'penny for every time i was broke, bounced a check, and had the car break down all in the same day, i'd actually have the retirement fund i worry about not having all the time.in solidarity!b

  2. Ye! See – that's what a camera does for me. Calm and happy. Mental health photography. Doesn't always last that long (sometimes it does), but for that moment it is wonderful!
    I'd like to put in a photography request if the right situation arises. I want to see Jolly Roger with icicles depending, if there ever are any. Maybe a sneak attack with a bucket of water would be necessary first? Kidding, of course – about the water.

  3. It is posts like this that make me rethink my Chicago nostalgia. I do not miss the winters at all.Sending you lots of good thoughts in hoping that the ticket/money issue is resolved quickly and fortuitously. May a ginormous winning lottery ticket come your way.

  4. I'm sorry that you had so many shitty things happen yesterday….if its any consolation, your writing cracks me up. Seriously. Out loud laughing.
    (i do the cuticle thing too….I actually chew on them and am left with bloody, ragged snagged-up things….not bad if I didn't use Glycolic Acid face wash).
    Hang in there and know that there's happy vibes coming to you from Minneapolis.

  5. I love your imaginary economics. brilliant. pretty much I'd just like to have a ha'penny for the novelty of it. tho, knowing me, I'd spend it, and the novelty would be short-lived.

  6. that's what a camera does for me. it's really amazing. more and more and more I'm grateful for your gift. stay tuned for my assignation with mister laundry pirate. (p.s. I'm loving the assignments! you people need to keep it up. that's your assignment. ;) )

  7. I love a laughing-out-loud nancy mitchell! and one-a these here days I'm gonna plop miss een in Big Su and hit the road north so I can see one for myself. I do not, however, want you to come near me with your scary acid face wash, miss phantom of the opera. yikes.

  8. I would love that….Dan and I keep talking about a trip to Chicago too. I love that city and its been way too long since I've been there.
    Hey, I'm old. I need SOMETHING to lighten my old lady age spots! :)

  9. Ugh. So Bill Clinton here because ahh feeyl yor paayn on the financial circusry front — it would be entertaining if it weren't sad. Too bad we don't get paid extra for our juggling act, eh? I'm so getting a second job. I've already thought about pimping out my fat cats but they're fixed so meh…

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