Ode To Public Trans And Paychecks

Okay, not really an ode. There is no way I could pull off the rhyme or meter of an ode -- especially since I don't know the requirements. Think of this as a stream-of-consciousness essay with the emotions of an ode.

This slacker has a job. Perhaps slacker is a strong term. Lord knows I've managed to find things to keep me busy up to this point, but now I have a place to go to in order to be busy and will soon receive a paycheck for said busy-ness.

No details here -- just an announcement that I will be receiving a regular paycheck for the first time in a long time. Oh, and my office is inside a library -- how freaking cool is that?

My place of employment is not far from where we live -- another bonus -- and the weather of January has already provided me the opportunity to explore public transportation as a means for getting to work. I walked and took a bus to work, and then walked a shorter distance, took a bus with many, many public high school students, and then took the el to get home. Except for a few bumps (six inches of snow; a bus stop with no bus stop sign; many, many high school students; a fare card that ran out on me just as I got on the bus with many, many high school students; etc.), the experience was pretty good. In fact, I may employ the bus and el route even when inclement weather does not require me to do so. Hell, I might figure out how to ride my bike here when it is warm?! Who would have thought that a job where I sit at a desk would actually facilitate me becoming more physically active?

Speaking of inclement weather, I love the Midwest! Since my employment we have seen six inches of snow, much blowing and cold, even more rain (luckily we avoided the ice that was forecasted), 60-degree weather with thunderstorms (?!), and today the temperature is plummeting to the single digits and we have snow again. A sixty-degree turn around in twenty-four hours. I am so digging this weather. Though I work in a semi-cubicle, I have a view of a window that has no view (parking garage), but it still affords me the chance to see what is going on outside.

This working thing is working out.