2002-03-15 5:17 p.m.
ch-ch-ch-changes

another day, another dollar. or a few.

today I've been looking into nontraditional ways of earning extra money in this bizarre city. it turns out of one of them is by taking part in focus groups, where a marketing person picks out a group of people according to specific guidelines, sits them in a room, and asks them a variety of questions about a product, a general topic, or lifestyle. It all sounds ridiculous, but it pays about $100 or so per session, so who's to complain?

I also sit at work with John, the decrier of the Evil Empire (which I wouldn't say doesn't exist; but for Christ's sake, shut up about it), who goes on at length about corporate evils and our corrupt government.

Which, if you're trying to deal with job and other life troubles, gets very old after a while. I still have to pay the bills and fund trips out of town.

Which reminds me...I'm going to ATLANTA!!!

Okay, not yet, but in a few weeks, early April. I can't begin to communicate how excited I am about this trip.

First of all, it's a break from everything I've been living since I got laid off � drama with D., and Rachel, intense times with S. (the three of which make up my microcosm), my soul-tiring temp job, etc. � and it's a chance to see everyone I haven't seen in years. Shaggy, Ariel, Maia, Brian, Jonathan, the whole Flagpole crew, the Dad's Garage crew...

and I get to SHOP. I feel very, very good about this. I'm going to go thrifting in the wilds of small-town Georgia, which, if I can avoid getting pulled over repeatedly, can yield hilarious amounts of kooky old clothes.

old haunts, great restaurants, driving (which I miss, despite how happy I am to not be a Brooklyn car owner)...it all sounds good.

I even found a beautiful sounding place in Athens to stay for one night, if I get around to it. I can't decide if I want to blow my expensive-hotel night in Athens or Savannah, but whichever it is, it's got to have a huge bed and a clawfoot tub. I intend on having a posh dinner and a long, hot soak that adds some years back to my life. A little pampering. Not much to ask, I think.

D. and Rachel are moving to Miami, and I'm going to have to find a new place to live, tout de suite (or at least by July). This is also a good thing.

D. and I were doing well for a long time, but I'm looking forward to doing something else with my home time and my space...either moving on my own and being able to put an apartment together for the first time (okay, be fair, a studio), or moving into a new roommate situation, one that's fresh and not full of family emotional buttons. I remember how fresh and free things were when D. and I saw each other just after I moved to NY, and again, after I moved into our current house. I'd like the space for our relationship to get lighter again.

I'm going to run away tomorrow, head for the hills (assuming it doesn't rain) of rural NY, wherever I can. Expect a report. Maybe bug bites. :)