I’ll be right back.

AREA WOMAN HOME PACKING

Chicago, IL (AP) — After an arduous bout with the dark forces of health care and consulting, and a skirmish with the Radio Shack guerillas, Miss Weeza has emerged from the fray and made it home, where she is currently in the midst of preparations for her vacation, which begins tonight. Concerned that she will forget the charger for one of her myriad pieces of electronic equipment, she has made a number of packing lists. We wish her well in this endeavor, and advise her not to forget her toothbrush.

More on this breaking story as it develops.

AREA WOMAN INSANE

Chicago, IL (AP) — Authorities confirm that Miss Weeza, despite a head that feels stuffed with cotton and a severe state of sleep-deprivation, has reported to her workplace in the Loop area to “wrap up some stuff” before going on vacation.

Weeza’s coworkers greeted her with a tentative mix of confusion and outright disbelief. “I couldn’t believe she was here,” said Scott Peterblinken*, a developer on the technical team. “On the day after her birthday? There’s no way I would have come in. She doesn’t look too bad, though.”

Weeza maintains whe will be leaving at 11:30 for a chiropractic appointment, and will not thereafter be in the office until Tuesday the 30th when she returns from her trip abroad. Some in the office regard this statement with skepticism. “If the client calls with a problem this morning, she’ll come back in the afternoon,” said an administrative staffer who declined to be named. “She can be really dumb like that.”

Dumb, insane or otherwise, Miss Weeza insists that “it’s just a little writing and some HTML” and she’ll “be out of here in plenty of time to pack.” We wish her a pleasant journey.

Davezilla would have you think this site is entertaining. That’s because he hasn’t been taking his medication. He would also have you think it’s my birthday. On that count, he might just be right. But by way of supporting his delusion, or just confusing the hell out of you all, I give you this bit of absurdity from my morning commute. (Yes, that is a phillips-head screw):

[happy birthday to me!]

CHICAGO MAN HAS DATE

CHICAGO (AP*) — Following an initial meeting at a party last Saturday night, it is being reported that Chicago man Eugene M. Sheuenhauser* has secured a date for this Friday with a young woman in the advertising industry.

“She said that she liked going to this one bar in her neighborhood for fish and chips, so I figured that would be the path of least resistance,” said Sheuenhauser*. “Looks like I was right.”

Costello’s friends reacted favorably to the news, sending the 32-year old’s social reputation up several points in late trading. This marked a large percentage increase after a difficult first quarter. It remains to be seen if this is an indicator of a strong recovery for 2002, or perhaps just a more temporary rebound from earlier losses.

[thanks to Coz for the end of day treat]

So I’m going to be 30.

I keep telling everyone that I would rather do my teens over than my 20s. That may or may not be true, but it’s certainly true that my very best memories come out of my teens, my twentieth year, and the last few.

Whatever the case may be, whichever of my years have been worse or better, I somehow feel that this is an event I am not to miss, pass by or gloss over. I owe my life to date a debt of gratitude. I feel a need to honor my past, to have a moment of silent love for those who have loved me and strengthened me and thereby made me who I am. A lot of them are now out of my sphere of contact.

So to those of you whom I miss, to those whose numbers I do not have or cannot call, to those I don’t call often enough, to all of you who have made me laugh and cry and think and feel and all that is good and true, I say Thank You. With capital letters. I like who I am, and I would not be this person if it weren’t for – if it weren’t for everyone I’ve loved. I am made by the intersection of myself and you.

In the spring, here in Chicago, we sometimes are blessed at dusk with the most brilliant, perfect, deep blue skies. The lights of the city look like a carnival against that blue, or a fire, or candy. The colors play tricks with your eyes – with your depth perception, your sense of distance. The air is charged and heavy and utterly beautiful. We had one just the other night. See?

I got the Love in the music.

[mp3, 8.4 MB]

So this morning, standing on the el platform at Belmont Ave, waiting for a Red Line train, I heard the following announcement:

Attention Northbound CTA riders. Due to an emergency at Addison, there will be no further northbound train service. Shuttle buses will be available to take you to Wilson.

and then, a few seconds later:

Attention Southbound CTA riders. Due to an emergency at Addison, no further southbound trains will run through this station. I repeat, this is the last train until further notice.

So we all got on the Brown Line train and I got to work at about 9:30. Upon arrival, I heard about this and this.

Guess the RTA is having a bad day.

I am having one of those moments where the world seems impossible. Not hostile, not menacing, just – hard. Difficult. Incomprehensible. Where is this? How and why did I get here? Where’s the place I wanted to be? When do I get to move on? How do I begin? Hokusai says don’t be afraid, but I am. Today, I am.

So I went back and looked at some things that used to inspire me, some things I wrote when I was inspired. And I found this:

“If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are – if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time.”

– Joseph Campbell

And I suddenly felt so small and petty and just plain rude. Look at all I have. Friends, family, money, love, laughter. All I have to do is decide to follow. Well, damn. OK, then.

Let this be a lesson to me.

And now I’m off to see Bob Mould.