Further Adieux

Here's how to depart like a clown: Quit your job, and then get laid off two weeks before your scheduled last day.

Ha. Wow. I can't imagine anyone being more prepared to leave than I am, or better personal circumstances in which to be laid off, but it's still the sort of thing that leaves you dazed.

This means I can sell the car sooner, and I spent part of the evening drafting that ad. That'll be a little sad too. I've dreamed of living carless for a long time, but this is the first car I ever actually bought, and she's an old friend. An old and faithful and very tired friend.

Last night we watched Blues Brothers in Grant Park, and that's a fitting farewell to this city. (Maybe more so because the rain got unbearably heavy right around "It's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.") When people cheer for the first shot of the skyline, you know you're in a pretty good place. (The shot of Wrigley Field, incidentally, drew mingled cheers and boos. Okay, I can understand being a Sox fan, but surely you're not going to argue that the Cell is superior to Wrigley? I mean...it's just not. It's just not.)

So, anyway. Now I have more time in which to say goodbye to the city, and write, and pack the new duffel bag, and all that. I think that'll wind up being good, really. It's disconcerting, but it'll be good.

I hope this doesn't mean the car is going to crap out right as someone is test-driving it.