August, 1997 Updated, November 22, 2005
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August 19 August 21 August 23 August 25 August 28
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Welcome, I guess... this is my first entry so I don't even know where to begin. If you have visited my home page in the past, or know me, you know that the past few months have been really hectic for me. I've been in flux since July-- Interviewing for the job that I start on Monday and getting ready for all the changes that are going to be taking place very soon.
The job at Six Flags requires that I move to Chicago. Presently I live in Kenosha, WI which is only about an hour's drive to Chicago-- in GOOD traffic. However, I am not upset about that.. it was actually a major bonus, if just getting the job in the first place wasn't bonus enough. You see, I have wanted to live in the Chicago area for the last few years, and have been trying to find a job down there so I could do that. And, I have always known that I would end up working full-time at Six Flags, so this job is really a 'dream come true' in two senses.
But there are problems... it doesn't pay that much in flat salary... at least not much more than I was making at Educators Credit Union, where I worked prior to this. I'm only making about $2,000 a year more. Pennies when you get right down to it. But at least I don't have to make car payments anymore-- I get a company car with the job! :)
The money worries me... I think I can afford to LIVE down there, but eating dinner may be a bit of a problem. We will see how that goes. I have done a budget analysis that says I can afford it, so I am not *too* worried about that. I'll just have to take it a day at a time and see how things work out.
I won't be moving to Chicago until October, so that gives me some time to save up for the big move. I have so much furniture to buy-- bed, dresser, entertainment center, computer desk... all the stuff I have at home right now I'm leaving here. It's old, ugly, and just not my style anymore ;)
I know I'm going to be IMMENSELY homesick for a while. Think about it, if you lived at home for 26 years, had mom and dad there for you ALL the time... and all of a sudden *BAM* you move out... that's a BIG change! I am ready for it, but I just know that I'll be nervous as hell for a while...
I'm moving to the Wrigleyville area in Chicago, a place I've always wanted to live.. even since I was a kid! I remember going to Cub games as a kid looking at all the big old houses and asking my mom "Mommy, why are all those houses so close together?" She just laughed at me. I'd never seen that before. I guess I've always been intrigued by that for some reason, because now I want to live in one of those places! ;)
Today I am going to go back to my Credit Union (where I worked) to get a Line-of-Credit loan so I can cover 1st month's rent, security deposits, etc. I am then going to Chicago to meet up with my friend and future roommate Scott and his friend and also future roommate Chris. We are going to do some apartment hunting for the next few days... until we FIND one. Could be a major pain in the ass, or it could be pretty quick. We shall see. We all know what we want, and how much we want to spend, so finding the right place should be fairly easy.
Every Tuesday for the last few weeks we have been checking out the Chicago Reader online on Tuesday nights and downloading listings for the areas we want to live in. We then make phone calls and try to set up appointments. It's a major pain-in-the-ass, let me tell you... but it will be all worth it if we find a great place.
So anyway it's 2:00, I have to run.. get to the Credit Union, get a haircut, and get down to Chicago. It's going to be a busy next few days!!!
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(Tuesday August 19th)
I took off frantically at about 2:00... and headed to the Credit Union where I signed for the loan and talked with people a little bit... it was really strange being back there only a few days after my last day of work. Funny thing, it was Casual Day. I intended on going in there with my shorts on and being all comfortable and on vacation- and here was everyone else wearing jeans and T-shirts. Oh well, at least I'm on vacation ;)I signed for the loan and headed back home. I wanted to get my checkbook before I left for Chicago.
When I got home I called Scott to see if he was going to get home on time. He was running late-- I had time to kill.
I decided to get a haircut. I figured if I was going to get an ID photo taken on Monday, I'd want my hair to at least look neatly cut. Lucky for me there was a good stylist open. I'm not one of those types that goes to "Marcel" at some fancy hair salon with a goofy French name like "La Coiffure"... uh-uh. I prefer the cheapo joynts like "Great Clips" or "Cost Cutters". I get the haircut I want at a price I can afford. Nobody should have to spend $50 just to get a haircut.. .it's ridiculous.Anyway, after my haircut I took off. My pager went off twice on the way down and I was getting nervous, thinking something had happened. I pulled off once I reached Chicago to check my messages and Scott was still running late. I figured I'd set up shop in a coffee shop downtown 'til he got done with work, but as it turned out, as soon as I got to "Boystown" where he lives, he had arrived at home. So it was rather perfect timing.
We were maniacs on the phone! We got our listings from the Chicago Reader's Web site. I recommend that if you EVER move to the Chicago area you make that a very familiar spot... Bookmark or make it a "Favorite Place" NOW. Because it's the most valuable tool you'll have to find a place in this city. We downloaded three zip codes... Wrigleyville, Lakeview and Wicker Park neighborhoods. We had about 6 appointments made on Tuesday night, and booked 4 more on Wednesday during the day.
(Thursday August 20th)
Our first appointment was at 8:30 AM. WAYYY too early for me... but hey, we were on a mission, we were focused, and we did what we had to do. We looked at the place. It was nice, only a few doors down from Scott's place, but the bedrooms were the size of closets. I couldn't deal with that and neither could Scott. We took applications but decided we had a LOT more searching to do.We visited about 10 places during the day. It was an adventure, let me tell you. One renter in particular stands out in my mind- an older guy, gay, queeny as heck... I swear he looked like Rip Taylor- remember him, the guy that hosted the $1.98 Beauty Pageant in the 70's? He looked and acted very similar- too bad the place was crappy... he would have been a hoot as a landlord.
We finally found a place in Wicker Park- one of the many neighborhoods of Chicago. It is gorgeous- third floor of a new building, vaulted ceilings, big bedrooms, dishwasher, washer and dryer, fireplace, deck, security system... it couldn't be more perfect. The neighborhood, however, has a bit to be desired, but you know, who cares? We fell in love with the place immediately.
The price was great too. Better than most we had seen. We applied for it that night and celebrated our good fortune afterward.
Chris went home and Scott and I went to Girlbar, which is a Lesbian bar on Halsted Street. On Wednesday nights it becomes "Boybar" for the boys... it's a fun place, small, but the crowd is good. We had a couple pitchers of beer and stumbled into a cab. Hey, we were celebrating!!!
(Friday August 21, 1997)
Morning was HELL. My head pounded so badly that I didn't think anything could help it. Luckily Scott had some Excedrin in his cabinet. They say it' the Headache medicine- they are right about that! It got rid of that headache quickly. Of course, not 'til after I had been up and laying around in bed for hours and hours. We were really lazy this morning.There wasn't much more to discuss, but we did discover one loophole in the plan- Scott starts his new job in Iowa on Monday, and I start mine that day as well. We move on the 1st of October, but we didn't know what day it falls on. Turns out it's a Wednesday-- and that could be a problem for Scott. Hopefully there's a way we can work around that, because he has to move out of his apartment on the first as well. Then he has to be at work in Iowa that week. Hopefully he can get that figured out and be there at least a few days that week.
When I got home I told mom and dad all about the apartment. Dad went on about money as usual. See, my parents are not in a good financial situation, and my living there makes it harder on them. I won't go into it, but I have to pay him some money (I owe it to him anyway). I decided to sit down and sort out my finances once and for all. I did that, and I figured it out that I not only can afford to pay the rent at this apartment, but I can also afford to pay him the money he wants (and needs) from me. So not only did that please him, it also pleased me, because me being rather stupid about money, I now knew that I could afford to live there.
I got the call back from the leasing agent that handled the showing of the apartment- our applications were approved and the landlord would love to have us as tenants. That pretty much made it official-- I'm MOVING!!!!!!!
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(Saturday, August 22, 1997)
Yesterday I wasn't planning on going out anywhere, but I had to go down to Chicago to sign my lease before 5:00PM, so I decided I would make the trip despite my desire to get some well-earned rest. I wanted to leave Kenosha before 4:00 so I could make it there comfortably before 5, but I got sidetracked by the parents; plus I wanted to call a couple of my friends to see if they'd be home so maybe I could stop by. I had been invited to a party in one of the western suburbs of Chicago, but it didn't start until 8:00. Then, of course, you can't just show up right at 8:00-- every good gayboy knows that you HAVE to be fashionably late! :)
I didn't get a hold of anyone, and it was getting closer to 4:00 so I sped out of the house and got to the freeway. Everything was great until I got past the second toll plaza- and it crawled from there. What a weekend to go down there- there was a Cubs game, an Air and Water show, a bunch of fairs and festivals-- it was NOT a day to just drive down to Chicago and back. Traffic was a nightmare. I made it to the Realty place at exactly 5:00, and luckily they hadn't locked the doors yet. I signed my lease and was out on my own.
I decided to visit "Boyztown" and see if Scott was home. He wasn't. I walked up and down Halsted and Broadway and stopped in a Thai place to get something to eat.
Joy's Noodles is an open-air place... the front windows open up completely and you can walk right in through that entrance. You can also see, yell at, talk to, whatever the people walking by. Since I was alone, they seated me right in the front by the open window. I watched people go by as I ate my dinner.
As I was finishing up and paying my bill, I saw a guy crossing the street and immediately thought he was VERY cute. He walked directly past the restaurant and I thought maybe he would be going to the bookstore next door. I paid my bill and headed directly to the bookstore.
Now mind you, I never usually do this. I am usually too shy and nervous to flirt with someone this obviously. But I figured I'd see where it would get me... you never know, this could be "the one".
When I walked into the bookstore, he was right there in front. Our eyes met immediately, and we both nodded "Hello". The cruise was on! I felt so weird, but I wasn't letting it go.
So I start looking around through the store. I check out the biographies, the fiction, the magazines... all the while keeping an eye on where HE is.
Finally I saw him by the humor section, reading a comic book. It happened to be a "Fox Trot" book, one of my favorite comics. So I picked up a "Calvin and Hobbes" book another old favorite. I started reading, giggling at funny ones, just like him. I then put the Calvin and Hobbes book back and picked up a "Fox Trot" book for myself. He must have seen me doing that because he said "This one's great!"
I said, "Cool... I love Fox Trot, it's one of my favorites."
"Me too... almost as much as Calvin & Hobbes"
"I know, that was always one of my favorites."
"I was so upset they stopped that one," he replied and started walking past.
"Me too," I replied, and he moved on. I couldn't believe it, we actually talked! He headed into the back of the store and I stayed by the comics, hoping he'd come back soon. He did, and walked past again, our eyes meeting once again. I then headed toward the back as he headed to another area of the store.
I decided to see what they had in the "Gay" section. There was TONS there. So of course I started browsing through. I found the "Gay Manual" book, a book I had wanted to buy for some time. I also found a "Nude men in film" book which caught my interest. I started reading these and browsing a few others, when HE came by and started browsing the same section. He picked up a book and started reading it, giggling at the funny parts.
10 minutes passed, and they seemed like a lifetime. He wasn't moving, and neither was I. Finally I turned around and grabbed a book near to the one he grabbed. He asked "Finding anything?"
"Yeah, this "Gay Manual," I've wanted to get this for a long time.
"It's great- you should get it."
We continued with more small talk, then finally we introduced ourselves. His name was John.
Then came the brick through the stained glass window: "I'm just visiting. I'm from Phoenix, Arizona."
AUUUGH!
I was so disappointed!!!!!!! All this time and he's from another state!
See, lately, my luck with guys has been that they are either from another state or they are moving soon. I swear, this is no lie- but I have met by chance 3 different guys (including John) that were from other states... and have met three other guys that after I met them they tell me they are moving away. After a while you tend to ask yourself "What have I done to deserve this???"
Well I wasn't going to worry about it. John was very cute, very nice, and in town in need of a tour guide. I figured, what the heck, what can it hurt?
It didn't hurt at all. We went to Starbucks and had coffee and a really great talk. He's 24, a computer software designer, and he is in Chicago for a training seminar. He bought himself Fodor's Gay Guide and was outlining things to do and places to go, and Boyztown was the first stop on the first day of his visit. He was hoping he could meet someone nice enough to show him around and bring him to the 'hotspots'. Well I told him, I am an out-of-towner too, but I am very familiar with this area, so I could certainly be his tour guide with no problem.
He thought that was cool, so we finished our coffee and hit Halsted Steet. We started at Sidetrack, where the crowd was still pretty thin. We toured it quickly and headed to Cocktail. The crowd was a bit more lively, but Cocktail is a smaller bar. We had a couple drinks there and headed across the street to Roscoe's. It was dead there too-- it was only 9:30, after all! Who goes out before 11:00 anyway? ;)
We finished the bar tour with Spin- of course it was dead there too... so we headed back to Sidetrack, where we could at least watch videos. There were some cute ones to watch (not just videos)...
Well by this time I had decided that I was nuts about this guy... and if this was going to be a one-nighter, then I was going to do my darnedest to enjoy it. The conversation never stopped-- we were really comfortable talking to each other. We checked out guys, talked about different experiences, and in general had a great time.
We then headed to Roscoes and met up with a few of my friends. While we were there we finally shared a couple kisses. And John said, "I knew it was going to get to this point eventually- but I wasn't sure how you felt about it.." I responded, "Well now you know!"
We were over the bar pretty quickly. We went back to my car and we drove to the Palmer House where he was staying. We went up to his hotel room and... well... there isn't much more to say except that he is one HELL of a kisser! ;)
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(Sunday, August 23, 1997)
We woke up around 11:00 and got ready to hit the city. We went to Ed Debevic's and got harrassed by "Cha Chee", who looked like a mix between Fonzie and.. .well... Chachi. We got the whole treatment- straws thrown at us, water spilled on the table... it was worth the visit. John was a bit taken aback- he hadn't been to an Ed's before. He knows better now. ;)
We then hit Michigan Avenue; Eddie Bauer, the Viacom store, Sony, Crate & Barrel and Chicago Place. By the time we were done with the tour, we were pretty tired. I took John back to his hotel, we exchanged phone numbers and called it a day. We promised to keep in touch. He gave me his E-mail address too, so hopefully we can keep in touch. He was so cool.
The rest of the day I spent getting ready for my new job which begins tomorrow. I have to get up at 6:00 in the morning, and I'm not exactly looking forward to that. My sister is taking me to work tomorrow because I will be getting my company car. We're going so early because she has things to do early in the morning. Otherwise I'll be starting at 9am, a much more reasonable time. :)
So wish me luck- This is a big day for me! I'm nervous, but I'm sure everything will be fine.
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Today was my first day at Six Flags Great America as a Sales Representative. I didn't do much selling however-- it was more socializing, getting to know my fellow Reps and the staff of the park, many of whom I already knew. It was a good day,. and I am very excited about my new job!!
I also got my company car-- a black '94 Chevy Corsica. It's a FAR cry from my green (very much like the color of the background of this page) '96 Grand Am that I sold. It smells awful inside- of cigarette smoke. The Rep before me was a CHIMNEY and it certainly smells like it. I need to fumigate the thing. Ugh. Luckily I won't have it too long-- it has 41,000 miles on it, and when it hits 50,000 I trade it in for a new Plymouth Breeze. At least that one will be NEW! :) And I get to choose the color and all... Black is most certainly NOT my color of choice.
Well I got dealt another bad hand in the relationship game-- a guy I was sort of "Matched" with by my friends on IRC chat just told me tonight that he went out with someone this weekend and now they're "Dating"... wow... we had talked about getting together sometime this week just to meet, and already he's dating someone. Can you say OUCH!? Talk about rude. Oh well as I told him, that's the story of my life- there always has to be something to get in the way of the possiblity of finding someone for me.
But then at the same time, this guy's roommate is also on, and we've been chatting a lot... and he's CUTE, COOL and would like to go on a date once I get down to Chicago. Seems he's having some problems with a sick family member right now and is travelling to Wisconsin a lot (go figure) and hopes that things will be resolved by October. We'll see. I guess until then I'll just keep my options open as always.
Damn, I'm lonely.
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The job has been going VERY well so far. I went out on Sales Calls with a couple Reps yesterday and today. They were closing out accounts for 1997, and it went really well. I don't think I should have any problem jumping into it when they need me to.
I learned a lot about my new neighborhood in Chicago through an E-mail I sent to people that live in Wicker Park on AOL. It's not as bad as I had thought at first. I think my first impression got the best of me, and I just let that ride my opinion all the way. Well now I'm finding it won't be as bad as I had thought. I even talked to someone that lives on the same street as I will! Now THAT was cool. He told me all about the neighborhood I'll be in specifically and what it's like... nothing like I had thought. I think I'll be safe there.
This weekend I will be camping up in the Wisconsin Dells with a group of my friends. I'm looking forwad to it-- I need the time away from all the insanity lately!!! I leave Saturday morning and return Monday afternoon. Luckily they gave me Monday off at Six Flags- Labor Day isn't a holiday in the Theme Park biz. :) But in exchange I have to work on Saturday. :P Oh well, it won't kill me. :)
I haven't started packing yet. It's kinda making me nervous, even though I have one complete month to prepare for the move. I know what a procrastinator I am, and if I sit on it long enough I'll never start. So when I get back from camping, I MUST start at least in one area. I am going to be throwing away SO much stuff it will be pathetic. Figure, I've been living in the same bedroom for all 26 years of my life- there's going to be some stuff that I won't need anymore.
So that's one issue- the other is that I need to buy some furniture (great, more credit-- UGH) before I go. I need a bed, a dresser, a computer desk... .and that stuff costs MONEY!!!!!!!!!! If we're going to have this great place, I'd like it to look good too ;)
Anyway I need to get to bed before too long, so I'm gonna close... probably won't type more til I get back from camping. So happy Labor Day to all.
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