| A New Beginning December 19, 1998 Chris Maus [RAMBLE INDEX] |
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| My Web Archive |
December 14, 1998 I just got home from work and I feel like my last few "Rambles..." didn’t live up to what I intended my "Rambles..." to be when I started writing them a year and a half ago. So as my birthday, Christmas and The New Year rapidly approach I figure I’ll start my reflections a bit earlier than I usually do. Prior to firing up this word processor to compose this "Ramble..." I spent the time I needed to pay off that 12 year old speeding ticket AND the balance on the last of the joint debt I have with my ex-wife. As far as I know my "ex" does not have a personal e-mail address so I made a phone call to notify her that I FINALLY did it. (Fulfilled the terms of the divorce) and I AM DEBT FREE!!! The ticket fiasco requires another step but I am way too excited about my debtlessness that, even though I sent one of these "things" a few days ago, I may send this one out in the true spirit of stream of consciousness writing. Getting debt free, car free, gainful / fun employment, a wonderful partner, annoying cats and all that I have worked for over the past 2+ years, is making me just plain stupid. It’s so weird for me to think about having ONLY rent, utilities, groceries and a CTA pass to worry about (as far as "living expenses" go). I want to have a major party! I’ll wait until the holiday hangovers have subsided before I schedule anything. I’m thinking about the first weekend in February. Ground Hog’s Day has a very special meaning for me but it’s a Tuesday in 1999 so I’ll study the calendar for a few days before I pick a Friday or Saturday to PARTY! Since a lot of folks on this mailing list are over 400 miles away from Chicago I figure I need to inquire about whether you would like to come to Chicago for a stupid party celebrating my debtlessness? At this point I know I can afford to travel and visit. So trips to Boston, Minneapolis / Cold Spring and Phoenix can be planned (after the holidaze) without much of a financial burden. (I’ve never been to Phoenix, the connection there is Alison’s Mom, grandparents and brother, all people I have not met yet ;-) I’ve been thinking about making my "Rambles..." more journal like and lengthy. So whether I send this out tonight or wait until it’s a several screen message will be determined when I have Alison proof read this for me and I get her opinion on the matter. In the meantime, I bought a "new" 30 day pass for the CTA and PACE. It will begin to work tomorrow so my transportation expenses are taken care of for the next 30 days. It’s a good deal for me but there are those that will suffer a few bucks a month with the new fare structure. The $75 / 30 days is a hell of a lot cheaper than the $150 / month I was paying to park the car I had. I only miss my car on the rainy day trips to the grocery store. We had a miserable one 2 Sundays ago... Another issue is finding a bigger place to live. In the past month I’ve reduced my monthly "outgo" as well as my "income" (I took a cut in pay to reduce my commute and hours) so a decision regarding our home will require some discussion. Another waiting thang... Alison is still at work and I want her to get home so we can talk about it. It could coincide nicely with my getting Illinois Driver’s Licenses. That is, if we move before I get my "Clearance Letter" from the rude Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I’ll take a break now... (December 17, 1998) This journal type of "Ramble..." may prove to be too much. I’ve been sitting on this file for 3 days now and there is not much to write about. So, a few people have asked how things are for me working at the Chicago Tribune. I’ll try to write something about my work so the "gainful / fun employment" mentioned above means something. Plus sitting on this file gives me lots o’ time to proof read, edit and re-write things. I got my business cards the other day and am starting to feel like I’m part of the team. I’ve been working on solving some technical problems with a new UNIX server. The plan is to get it setup, tested and put into production with a grocery list of problems fixed and better performance than the existing server. It’s been time consuming and I feel like I’ve been running into brick walls on a daily basis. I sought work that would be technically challenging and I’ve found it. I’ll wait until tomorrow to wrap this up... (December 19, 1998) I survived my birthday quite easily. With less than a week before Christmas arrives I guess better send this file pretty soon. Alison gave me a gift certificate to shop at the store where she works. I spent a couple of hours there this afternoon trying to decide what I wanted to buy. I couldn’t decide so now that I have a better clue about their prices I’ll stew for the night and maybe go buy something tomorrow. I’m bored with this so I have to assume you are too... |
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