Grrr.

My people, I'm in a bad way. For one thing, I keep sensing Spring right around the corner and you know what? It most definitely is not right around the corner. Not by a long shot. That's right. We've got February, March, and probably most of April. I don't understand why my mind would play such a cruel trick on me. I'm like one of those dogs that starts to think that a stuffed animal is its puppy. Either way it ends in heartbreak. Not only am I ready to move on from winter, I'm sick of complaining about it and I LOVE to complain! I'll leave the winter rant at that.

There are other things holding me down, y'all. Work? Busting my balls. On the list of things that I complain about the most, weather is #1 and work is #2. Right now, there isn't a lot of benjamins being tossed my way with this whole economy fiasco. That's bad enough, but the bosses are choosing this time to be all "we're not providing uniforms anymore" and "you need to get your shirts dry-cleaned" or "blah blah teamwork through hard times." And I'm all "teamwork goes both ways" and "no, I won't pay to have my shirt cleaned because I'm not making any money." Plus, I kind of feel like I've somehow stumbled onto my manager's bad side and don't really know when this happened. All I know is that lately she's been scolding me like I'm in elementary school. I think that I'll shift back into her favor because, well, we're friends. Like 'have hung out outside of work' friends, but until that time when I'm welcomed back into the fold, I'll just have to give her no reason to be annoyed at me. When she picks me out of the crowd to quiz me on what grape varietal a Vouvray is, I can say "chenin blanc" and then we'll high five or maybe have a toast.

And then there's school life. It's not all bad. My classes are pretty interesting and I only have one day a week when I have to be on campus before noon (that day is Friday so some of my crankiness might be explained). Still, it kind of feels like my mind is still on vacation or maybe it's already graduated. It's the same with living in Madison. I'm here and will likely continue to be until I graduate (which is at least a year away), but my mind feels about a thousand steps ahead. Perusing Chicago apartment and job listings are a weekly event for me... or maybe it's just weekly torture.

In short, all I want to do is quit my job in exchange for one at The Daily Show, move to a big city (because then all of my problems will be solved, right?), and live in a world where it's only winter for a month out of the year. Or at least have a marathon of The Wire this weekend and not think about school or work or the cold. Until one of these options becomes true, I'll just look at this photo: