The Mouth That Roared

Still feeling like crap, but at least all of the coughing means that I'm actually getting air...

But, I wanted to write about last week.  A friend was traveling out of Chicago by train for just over a week, and rather than pay to have her car sit idle in an expensive downtown parking garage she asked if I'd like to use it for the week and then just pick her up at the station when she got back. Now, I've lived in Chicago for more than 20 years without owning a car, though I do the occasional rental and am a member of a car-sharing service for bulky errands.  But this was my first experience with regular commuting by car.

A few things I noticed right away:

• I have no idea how long it takes to drive anywhere.  Programmed by public transit, in my head somehow Arlington Heights, Wheeling, and Naperville are all the same place - they have hotels there that I get to by going downtown, getting on a Metra train for half an hour, and then take a shuttle the last bit.


• Driving a Smart Car on a regular basis really redefines your sense of what constitutes a "big enough parking place".  I was never very good at parallel parking - it wasn't part of Drivers Ed and NJ has parking lots everywhere so it wasn't really an issue.  But with this little thing, I got really good at taking those little leftover spots on the end of the block, or those half-plowed ones at the mall.


• There is a surprising amount of interior room for a car that looks more like you put it on than get into it.  I managed to fit 5 IKEA bags full of warehouse club groceries plus a case of toilet paper into it, though there wasn't much room to spare.  Trunk Tetris FTW.


• Joining the 21st Century was kind of cool.  I was able to plug my phone in to an outlet in the glove box, turn on navigation, and the car told me where to go.  I love living in the future!

I also found that I quickly got out of the habit of wearing hats and gloves.  Wasn't outside long enough to need them and they just become more crap to tote around.  Same thing with my bag - I ditched the backpack for a week in favor of a smaller tote that was easier to toss in the passenger seat.

I found that going from my home in Rogers Park to the office in Roscoe Village in the morning it was slightly faster to take Damen, but coming home if I got out on time at 5 Western was the better bet.  I was usually able to find parking within a block of my home, and easily about  block from the office on Belmont.  (Belmont has timed parking restrictions so I usually just put the car on Melrose and left it for the day).

Comparing times, when I take the bus I walk out the door at about 7:38 and between busses and the last 3 block walk (if there isn't a bus around) I get to work at 8:30.  Driving, I was really only able to get 12 more minutes, as there was still the need to walk to the car, get around the one-way streets and onto the right road.  So time-wise it wasn't a great savings.  It was nice to have the ability to get to places that are less accessible by public transit, but the up-side just wasn't that much of a swing for me.

Throughout the week, I noticed a LOT of people stopping to look at the car.  I think partly because it's pretty distinctive and people were impressed with where it could park, but of course it may have also been the "Don't blame me - I voted for Dead Bob" bumpersticker...

I did find that I missed my commuting time on the bus - that's when I do a bit of reading or listen to an audiobook, or check my e-mail and generally chill and sort of mentally "check out".  You can't do that when you're driving.

I started the week with a pretty full tank, drove out to Schaumburg and around one day, hauled heavy stuff another, and went to Niles once but other than that I did mostly in-city driving.  That took me down to about 1/4 tank, which I filled back up for just over $27 at Sams Club prices of around $3.86/gal.  So it's very efficient but also has a tiny tiny gas tank.

I think that if I had the means to have a car this one might suit my needs,  It's utterly unsuited to more than 2 people or any kind of family setting.  But if it was just me (and Winslet) it would work just fine.  I've been considering (once the housing situations stabilizes) looking into getting an electric scooter or moped for the commute, but for my lifestyle at this point a car really doesn't make sense.

​Now, yesterday, the Acts of Whimsy fundraiser (to enable author and cancer patient Jay Lake to get a full genetic sequencing) went over $30k in under 24 hours!

Its been an eventful last couple of months.

I started working full-time as of October 1.  I really enjoy my job - my boss really needed a "me" - he comes from the construction end of property management and I come from the paperwork side of things.  That plus my condo board experience means that I can be a big help to him in seeing that his business grows without bits falling off around the edges.  The pay is fine but more importantly, he thanks me at least once a week.  I'm supported, valued, and appreciated - that's about ideal in my books.

I was approved for bankruptcy on October 22nd.  The half hour before the trustee hearing was the most anxious I have ever been, but the hearing itself took all of 3 minutes, including making sure that my name was being pronounced correctly for the recorder and a but of banter as to whether Winslet qualifies as an asset or a liability.  See, I wanted to be very thorough when I did my household inventory so I listed her as a misc asset with a value of her adoption fee.  I got the paperwork back for signature with her listed as One (1) rabbit - pet - no value except to owner.  I didn't tell her that because I didn't want to hurt her feelings...

Then my boss announced that he's moving to SW Michigan!  He and his wife were planning on something like this in a year or so - they have young kids and want to live in a more suburban setting with room to run and better schools.  They lucked in on an amazing deal on a foreclosure on 5 acres in their target area with good schools, and he felt that since I'm on board and so much of our stuff is in the cloud, they could move up their timetable.  He plans to come in to Chicago 2-3 days a week for meetings and such, and is going to try and buy out one of his rental tenants early (March-ish) and set up a pied-à-terre.  I suggested that since the point of renting an actual office was to get the work life away from the family life, and now the family life was moving, why pay the extra for a second space when I could work just as easily from a desk in the apartment.  So some things are still up in the air as far as what and when, but it's pretty daunting to realize that he's basically handing the day-to-day operation of his business to me after less than a month of full-time work!  But it's exciting too.

Windycon went well - The theme was Zombies, so I set up a workshop on Friday where people could bring in old clothes and distress them with fake blood, mud, grass stains, tears and claw marks, etc.  AT least 5 people made their outfits on Friday and then wore them on the catwalk on Saturday, which is EXACTLY what I want to have happen.  Two women were really nervous backstage, and then they took their turn on stage, sat down, looked at each other and said "Can we do that again?".  :)  The beginning sewing panel also seemed to go well, and my Stage Blood Cookoff was not only well-attended but I managed to squick out a nurse and a vet!  

I finally have medical overage again!  It's through the state's IPXP.  My boss is paying for it.  I had to have no coverage at all for 6 months and be denied for private insurance, and now I have free preventative care, a $500 deductible, and 20% copay on prescriptions.  I was able to fill 4 of my meds for 90 days for only $32 last night - I nearly cried with relief at the pharmacy window.  I had a full physical including pap, bloodwork, pee test, mammogram referral and re-ups on all of my scripts for free.  You have no idea how much that is a huge weight off my shoulders.  

Winslet went through a territorial pooping phase after we sent Izzy/irving back to Red Door.  She wanted it known in no uncertain terms that this is HER home TYVM, and no icky boybunnies are welcome.  She calmed down after a few weeks, and has started nibbling random things again.  She even figured out how to get into my bedroom while I was at Windycon.  I'be not looked for all the damage but while the featherbed seems to have survived unscathed the duvet was a bit nibbled as was a nightshirt and a vest that was on the floor.

So all things considered, I'm pretty relieved for now.

The Chicago Poetry Bordello, to be precise
(a recent Sun Times article)

The rest of the report consists of anecdotes, because things were getting pretty blurry by that point.  I remember specific things, but not when they occurred.

Monday - Worked an 11-hour day to make up time for later in the week.  At lunch I deposited my paycheck and got a cashier’s check for the final $166 that I took downtown after work to drop off with the doorman at my Bankruptcy Attorney’s building.  That was the final step we were waiting on to file.  You know, because I didn’t have enough stuff to do this week...

Tuesday - worked 8:30-3 then headed to the Hyatt to start work. Mostly organizational stuff - making sure that each pile was labeled and sending it off to it’s designated home as gophers appeared.  Began sending out grid to set up on party floors.  Was not specific enough about which tower I was talking about - these things happen when you are stepping into a job you have no experience in - so they had to go looking for them around 10PM after I left for home.

Wednesday - Worked 8:30-3 again.  At lunch I got the pile of signature forms for the bankruptcy so I signed and sent all of those.  Then after work I headed down to find that the ConSuite truck was 3 hours late.  This was the start of a pattern for the weekend, when that department was consistently 2-3 hours late on every time frame they gave us.  I know they were busy but this really caused a LOT of problems for us.  

Also discovered that Lisa had had to fire our ONE staff member who wasn’t specifically a truck driver.  After the 6-hr smoke break, leaving without telling anyone on Tuesday, and not showing up for the one time-specific thing we had asked him to handle on Wednesday, we’re done.  When it’s 3 days into prep and I as the department Second have yet to actually meet you?  Yeah - get lost.

After a pretty intense load-in I came above-ground to a message from a friend who was crashing at my place prior to the con after driving in from CA.  Apparently he had managed to pull the doorknob off the bathroom door and drop it down the toilet while it was flushing.  So at 11:00 at night, I was in the hallway of my condo with my hand up the back of the toilet.  Yay.  I couldn’t get to it, even after disconnecting it and popping it off the bolts.  So I had to take him back down to the hotel with me that night to crash on a cot in our room because my place had no functioning bathroom.  So I finished packing at the last minute and forgot a fair amount of stuff, and got to the hotel well after midnight to crash and burn.

Yeah - and the con hasn’t even started yet....

As many of you know, long-time Chicago-area fan and regular convention staffer Ken Hunt passed away suddenly last week.  Ken was heading up the Logistics Department for next week’s Chicon 7.  Lisa Hunter has stepped up to fill Ken’s shoes, and I’ve come on-staff, but this still leaves us a bit overwhelmed and also short-staffed in the days leading up to this huge showcase for Chicago fandom.

Many people who are already attending Chicon has asked if they can help.

We know that you are going to be very busy, but...can you give us “An Hour for Ken”?

Logistics has an office that is supposed to be staffed from 8AM to 8PM for the duration of the convention (Thursday-Monday) in order to address any last-minute transport runs or grid orders.  What we could really use are volunteers to come and sit there for an hour or two at some point during the convention  (in particular Friday through Sunday) to answer phone and/or radio calls and drop-ins.  This would allow our small staff to actually get out and see the con a bit while still remaining in radio contact.  Or just drop by the office to say “hi” and maybe offer to do a food run for whoever is on-deck.    

We can’t offer gopher hours or anything else for this - just the satisfaction that you helped the Chicago fannish community get the job done when it counted.  

(of course, gophers are still needed, especially before and after the convention, when hours count double)

We’ll have sign-up sheets available in the Logistics office, so as you plan your programming choices, please think about donating an hour or two.  For Ken.  For Lisa.  For all of the people who are counting on us.  For your friends, and for your community.

Please share this message with anyone you know who will be attending Chicon.  

Gratefully,

Wendy Z and the rest of the Chicon 7 Logistics staff.

Well, after a little more than a week on hiatus, it was back to the tub again for Izzy and Winslet...

She still seems to have an irresistible urge to bite his flank or butt. She has realized that this has consequences, and she seems to have figured out where the spray is coming from, so she's still trying to be sneaky about it. She spends a lot of time looking to me - not sure if it's for reassurance or to see if I'm watching to see if she can get away with a bite, I'm not sure.

Aside from that, they are doing fine. They ate hay together, and he even flopped at one point and let her sniff his foot. In a dog, that would be a sign of submission - does anyone know if that's true of bunnies as well?

At another point, she laid down in the middle of the tub (possibly using her size to crowd him slightly?)

There was also a bit of "nose wars" as well - trying to maneuver each other into being the groomee - which is hard when neither one is actually grooming.

We did about 70 minutes, and they even ate pellets together. I was afraid there might be some aggression over them, as both of them get tremendously excited at pellet time. But other than a bit of head-maneuvering things seemed to go well. I ended things on that note.

I'll probably do another tub session or two before trying to up the ante again, since that seems to be where the problems start.