Time Warp

What I hope is the very last installment of

A View from my Office

A little background information to set the scene... Part of my job has been to work with and staff our board of directors. It's not always fun but some of been some really amazing women so its been worthwhile. And while I understand that I know them better than they know me, there are 2 memories that are my favorite that sum up so much of what the work is like.

1) A past board member insisted on calling me Jennifer all day at an event, while I was wearing a name tag that clearly did not say Jennifer

2) I received an envelope that I had created and sent out which was pre-addressed to me with one of the letters in my last name crossed out and changed. Because ya know, after 30 years I'm still having trouble with all those M's and N's.

Which brings us to the final tale....

Today marks the day that I will send out my very last Board mailing. A Board mailing, for those not in this particular position, is what my organization sends each month before a Board meeting and contains all the hand outs, agenda, etc. A standard part of each mailing is the memo. This is where the Executive Director creates a letter that talks about what the meeting will be about and provides any short, necessary updates.

In today's memo there was a paragraph at the very end announcing my imminent departure. Excited to see what not just my boss, but THE boss, of our tiny little world would have to say about me and my dedication since that fateful summer in 2006 when I joined up with the gang, I eagerly read through it.

There it is...thanks for my outstanding service...aw, that's nice...for the past...wait, what...THREE YEARS.

Yup. After four years with this organization I have been kindly thanked for my three years of service. That boys and girls, is the sound of the bell indicating this game is officially over.

Are We Really Surprised?

So in case you've been living under a rock in Chicago these past few days, I'm sure you've heard about our good king Daley retiring. Or more specifically, simply choosing not to run again. The way the news sites and social networks were ablaze yesterday when the news was announced you'd think it was the second (third, fourth, whatever) coming of Christ here in the Windy City.

The two major papers here, the Chicago Tribune and The Sun-Times, both used the quote caption "It's Time" on their front page, full picture story, which leads me to believe the rest of the announcement either sucked or was so poorly written for our sound bite loving culture that "It's Time" was all they got. The internets are awash with headlines like "Decision Stuns Political World" and "Business Lament End of an Era", Facebook yesterday had posts from friends ranging the gamut from elation, to sadness, and queries of whether or not now that Daley was stepping down, could they run for mayor (this being from a friend who actually doesn't live in the city anymore, but in a close suburb, and I'd totally vote for him!).

But as I sit back and watch the news filter by and the accolades flow freely, I have to wonder, why the hell is everyone so surprised by this announcement? Taking a step back, lets look at 3 simple things that have happened in the past few years.

1) 8 Years ago his wife, the woman that has stood solidly at his side for 38 years was diagnosed with breast cancer. And just this past year a malignant bone tumor showed up. That's a hell of a lot to deal with, and maybe, just maybe, the man wants to spend some time with his family after 20+ years in office. Hey, stranger things have happened.

2) On a less family friendly note, remember this spectacular failure? After pouring millions into the Olympic bid, Chicago was booted in round one. Round one folks. The banners were barely up before the city was shot down. Not exactly a way you want to be remembered.

3) And finally, on a services note, there was this amazingly disastrous blunder. Nothing gets folks involved faster in politics than fucking with a day-to-day service that almost everyone encounters. Snow removal, garbage pick up, parking - you get the idea. And boy did Richie fuck up the parking system. To the little guy it felt like we traded our best and only cow for a handful of worthless beans. And then, when there was a glimmer of hope that maybe those beans were magic, the bully down the street stole them in the middle of the night and blamed your brother.

Just looking at those 3 things, I'm confused as to what the fuss is all about. He's a man. He had a job and has decided to not do that job anymore. End of story? Unfortunately not in Chicagoland it won't be.

Moving Day!

This moving thing in 158% humidity sucks. That plus the fact that I'm old, fat, and lazy probably doesn't help much.

After a long, stressful, drawn out process I finally got the keys to my new place at around 11 o'clock last night. A wonderful friend who was with me did a power move of about half the stuff in my back two rooms in about 15 minutes and we left the rest for today.

So I set my alarm for my usual work wake up time and by 7:30 I was hauling boxes. By 7:50 I was already sweaty and exhausted. This should be fun.

I've set the pace at about 15 minutes of moving and then sit for 5-10 to regain my breath. I really need to utilize this gym membership I keep paying for. I've got friends scheduled to come move the big stuff around noon and I'd really like to have most of everything else done by then. I even have a friend that offered to come over on his lunch break. Seriously, my friends kick ass.

I've already taken one break to cancel my internet (yay for free highjacked wi-fi to write this!), move my Com-Ed service, and change my address. Now I've used this break to write this. I guess it's back to the grind.