Amazingly enough, I didn't post 'cause there was too much to post about...

I realize the logic there seems flawed, and I should have just written a throwaway post that was about something nonsenseical, but I kept thinking that I would get everything under control in a manner that I could just drop a bomb on you yesterday.
Alright here's the deal: We bought a pinball machine. That's right This Little Beauty is sitting in our basement right now. And let me tell you another thing, that blind little deaf and dumb P.O.S. doesn't have anything on me. I'm a god amongst men in both blackjack AND pinball.

After my meeting with University of Illinois at Springfield, I decided to go through with it. I've already applied, and I'm thinking about just taking one class next semester. We'll see how well my job situation is and I may add one more in August. Also it turns out there's quite a waiting list on creepy little hunchback assistants, you really can't claim to be "Master" without one of them following you everywhere.

"But Rob, how are you going to sign up for classes in Springfield without a job secured?" Well kiddies, I got offered one yesterday. Its doing data entry for Wells Fargo, and not for as much money as I would like, but lets face it, I don't have business's beating down my door at the moment. So I'm taking it. Signing papers in Springfield today, and still going to the job fair on Saturday. We'll see if I can get a better offer before I even start. So yeah, that's it. Looks like I'm heading to Springfield. Who'd a thought? Guess the end of the world really is here...

Woah, Hold the Phone

Is this disention amoungst the ranks? Tabitha and Melinda... what do you think you are doing? Maybe you missed the memo about your role to blindly worship and obey me. And those weren't the only two, you've left me little choice but to call each of you out individually right now.

Tabitha: You said that it was great that I got away from my recent string of "semi-serious" postings? I can ONLY assume that by that you mean that I cut straight to the MOST SERIOUS posting of all. Because if for one second I thought you were trivializing my lustrious blackjack career by calling it anything less than serious... well... there may be children who read this blog and you're lucky I'll cut it off there. We'll just say that I'm Disgusted. Consider all your future postings ignored until you appoligize, not just to me, but to the entire Blackjack World.

Melinda: I almost let you slide because for the most part I agree with you. Trust me, I've seen firsthand the kind of idiots that colleges will slap a nice title onto. Just ask Ro about the girl who (in her own words) was "too stupid to live" and is going to be teaching blind kids soon. However the reason for this repremand is simple. By speaking poorly of all titles, you have indirectly attacked me and my title: Mr. Rob "The Supreme Ruler of Life, The Universe and Everything" I know this was unintential, so I'll let it slide as long as you address me this way in your next posting. Unlike Tabitha, I doubt you set out to malaciously destroy a perfectly legitamit social structure.

Jamie: Don't backtalk or I'm aluminium foiling your dogs legs again so she can't stand on the tile floors. If your allegid "birthday luck" was truely with me, I would have walked away from there with a good $15 more dollars at least. But NO, instead of my Ace, YOU gave me a 5. From which I had to use all of my own natural skill to comeback from. Forget it, I'm foiling the dog reguardless.

Breyn: I'm not working for Pixar. I never wanted to work for Pixar. That's YOUR dream, not mine. Stop trying to live your life through me! I'll never be the boy you wish I was. Why can't you just love me for who I am?! I'm not who you wanted me to be, just accept it! I don't want to play! I don't like rough games! I don't like football! I wanna be a dancer Daddy!

ummmm....

er....

nevermind.

That's Master French, to you...

So when someone get their doctrate, they are refered to as Dr. So-and-so. So I think that if you get your masters, it should have similar applications. And I think I'd rather have my mail come to me as Master French rather than Dr. French anyways. Alright, I guess I should clue you all into what the hell I'm going on about. Am I definately going back to school and getting my masters? No, I am however taking steps right now to leave that option available to me if I want to.

I've said before that I wouldn't mind picking up a night class or something when I got to Springfield, well in order to do that I need to be accepted by the university. And its no secret that I've been looking at government jobs (city/county/state/federal) so what could help me better than picking up a political studies class or two? University of Illinois at Springfield is one of the best schools in the state (for obvious reasons... state capital). And the master's program pretty much said they'd accept me (my grades weren't too bad at ISU). All it takes is 10 classes, two internships and BAM! I'm a master. And I will command that respect that I therefore rightfully deserve.

Also of importance, there's a massive job fair in Springfield this weekend. And yours truely will be in attendance. I'll have my fingers crossed and we'll see how it works out. I mean, this is what I've needed right? A face to face interview opportunity... I'm cute, I'll just let that do all the work.

So... That's the semi-important stuff I needed to get out. From the looks of it, you guys liked my last post. I do more of that later, I just had to get all of the above out and in the open. Let's see... in the meantime, for those of you who love the sunday funnies. Now you can have them EVERYDAY!!! Talk to you tomorrow.

Cinematic Moments Part 2

The best part of this is, I don't know if Part 1 was on my blog or a comment on one of Scott's posts months ago... and I don't care either way. To bring you up to speed, a "Cinematic Moment" is a term I came up with to describe a something that was so fluid and perfect that normally it only happens on TV or in a movie. Kind of like if you're playing pool and you call a ridiculously complicated shot and it all works (even though you could never do it again). Or sometimes its just a bit of banter that you and someone else may be having and you are on fire with the comebacks. Anyways, This weekend:

It was my sister Jamie's, 21st birthday and my family and a few friends all went out to "The Boat" to go gambling. I'm not a big gambler, but I like it. And blackjack is my game. I know the odds the best on it and I tend to win more than I lose. That's because I only bring $20 to the table, so I can never lose too much, but my winnings vary. I was doing pretty well that night. My high was $75 and my low was about $15. Near the end I had $50 in chips in front of me. That's when the bad luck started to hit. I, pretty much, lost 5 hands in a row. That put me down to my last chip ($25) and I walked away from the table. I've got great self control - I've left the casino up by $5 before and I'm fine with that. The problem was that Jamie had just recently sat down at that table and my mom and friend Phil were still going strong. So I sat there and "advised" and such for the next 5 or 6 hands. But a man can only take so much!!! I visibly wrestled with the idea for a moment and then slammed down my one $25 dollar chip.

The casino went silent and everyone turned to look at me (at least in my mind) . I picked my chip up slowly and looked at it, turning it in my fingers. "This was it," I thought to myself "my whole life has built up to this moment." I held it out to Jamie for her to blow on it, it was her birthday and all, and I could use some of that luck right now. The dealer made the final bets signal and it was on. My first card... a 10 of spades lay before me. I didn't even see what everyone else got. I could hardly swallow, my throat was thick. At that moment the odds were in my favor, odds are the next card is going to be a 10 or something close. And if it was an Ace, I'd be buying a round of drinks for everyone at the table... I wouldn't need to worry about getting a job ever again. The Dealer's eyes and mine met, he knew how much I had riding on this. Then the dealer did something I didn't realize they could do... He peeked. But it didn't matter I saw it flash in his eyes, as briefly as it was, and I knew that look wasn't good. A five of hearts. That put me at 15 and the dealer had a King of Clubs showing... It was over in my mind. I wanted to lean over and smack Jamie for her damned luck. A 15 is the second worst hand you could have (next to the dreaded 16). I looked around the table and asked disparagingly, "What should I do?" That's when one of the strangers looked me in the eyes and said, "There's only one thing to do." I whirled around to the dealer and slammed my hand on the table. "Hit Me." And he knew I meant business. No peeking this time, the dealer threw my card down for everyone to see. My stomach clinched... a 6 of Hearts... wait... that put me at 21... I couldn't believe it. I did the math several times in my head to make sure I was right. The dealer flipped over his face down card to reveal a Jack of Spades. My 21 beat his 20. I was a GOD AMONGST MERE MEN!!!! "I'm King of the World!!!" I shouted as I threw my hands into the air. The entire room burst out into thunderous applause. I had stared the devil in the face, and the devil backed down. I left that place with 3 times the money I had when I walked in.

Take that you pirate-bastards.

Painting with a full palette

Am I gonna run that analogy into the ground? Yes I am. Sometimes (most of the time) I need someone to keep me grounded so I don't get carried away... and Lisa's always there to do that for me. Here's an email she sent me:

Rob,

First, you don't have to read any of the following. I'm grouchy, and your blog today made me happy and sad and I wanted to tell you about it. I wanted the chance for a personal rant, but didn't want to start 'nuthin on your blog page (bad politics and all). Prepare for the airing of the grievances:

Point #1: I totally agree with you. Close-minded people are dumb. Separate but equal has never ever worked -- a pretty big historical precedent that probably won't ever change. Separate implies different. And in most cases, different means unequal. If this were geometry, someone would fail because the proof just doesn't work.

Point #2: (This is the one that makes me cranky). Liberals can be just as close-minded in their views as conservatives. Personally, I think either end of the spectrum is likely to vilify the other end, and refuse to hear out its "enemies." The minute a person says "I'm an open-minded liberal and I will not listen to your close-minded conservative bullshit because you have nothing to teach me" s/he becomes close-minded. And those people piss me off. A lot. End rant.

Thanks for listening, and I hope my rant doesn't offend. But down with self-censorship! Gandalf for President!

Lisa

PS -- I heard that those ribbons peel the paint off of cars when people try to take them off, so they'll get what's coming to 'em :)

Anyways, Lisa (much like my girliefriend) are a bit over-conscious when it comes to offending people. I think they and Scott have a lot to learn from one another. I agree totally with Lisa's argument that both sides have polarized so that neither one makes a lick of sense any more. That is bad for our country. When it comes down to it there has to be a middle ground and not everyone will get everything they want.

Which brings me to my next point... Which person is worse: Michael Moore, Ann Coulter or George Lucas. I'd like to hear your views but with this ONE stipulation: If you know who the person is, you have to admit at least one negative point about each. I'll do mine in the comments section.

Finally, its time I should fess up to why I really hate those ribbons and bracelets. Plain and simple... I didn't think of it first. Well, that's not entirely true. Also I think its a way to make a profit off a tragedy... which was the first thing I thought of when those ribbons came out after 9/11. And those bracelets all suck 'cause I have arm hair. A tight band of rubber around MY wrist is not the most pleasant thing in the world. Anyways, that's what I'm giving you for today. What do you think?

Selling out on a Thursday?

I have to ask, don't these people have jobs? I just got back from the Cubs v. Cardnials game and that was the first thing I noticed. It's Noon on a Thursday, and it's sold out crowd. I mean, I realize that I'm there... But if all these other people are jobless too, this place is in a bad state.

An impromptu baseball game was a pleasant suprise for me, I'm not the biggest baseball fanatic, but I like it. And I do like the Cubs/Cards rivalry. And they were lawyer seats - Lisa's husband is a lawyer and they were from a lawyer friend, right behind first base. I rate the seats 4.5/5. Mainly I bring you two things I noticed at the game (besides the before mentioned unemployment rate).

One, John got peanuts at the game, of which I had a few. I can't decide what I liked more: the peanuts, sucking the salted shells, or the joy of leaving a nasty pile of shells at our feet. I rate the experience a 4/5.

Secondly, how is it that when I went to get a Hardee's thickburger and a coke the reception that they had on the TV's around the outter part of the stadium had the WORST RECEPTION EVER. I mean seriously... what's with that? It looked like the game was coming from Cambodia, not the otherside of a plywood thin wall. The TV's get 1/10.

But we won, the game was fun and it was free. No complaints here.
Join me tomorrow when we will discuss the necessity for a few more shades gray in political spectrum, decide who frustrates me more: Michael Moore, Ann Coulter or George Lucas, and the real reason I'm jealous of the rubber bracelets. Later!

Coming Soon

I kid you not, as I was just typing this post my phone rang.
Lisa's Husband John Fischer called and JUST acquired 2 Cardnials Baseball tickets.
Game starts in like an hour. I WILL post sometime today. And Its a good one.

The Dawn of a New Era

Its funny how one line can threaten to derail a post. 'Cause that's all it was. Let's review the pertinent parts of that last post. For starters I'm making money for the first time since January (excluding Tax Refund). And following that was my dialogue on those Rubber Bracelets. I liked the originals (great idea) and how it was bastardization by "Git 'er Done" rip offs (hollow get rich scheme). Finally at the end I took a slight shot at an annoying employee at AWR (with the 10 ribbon comment... I'm sure I mentioned that while I worked there) and then I decided to try and "slip in" a joke about the general ridiculousness in the world. Here's what I think (refer to "Rob's World" in the sidebar at the left) and almost posted about several times:

"Any anti-gay legal movements out there now will eventually lose - because separate but equal is bullshit. And other than that you have to say that Homosexuals have less rights than the rest of us... because we all have the right to love and family. If it's against your religion fine, your religion can ban it. You can ban it... Don't marry a homosexual. If knowing that homosexuals are married "cheapens the sanctity of marriage" and lessens your personal relationship - Wow. I feel sorry for you. Until the mid 60's interracial marriages were still illegal too (Loving v. Virginia). If you fail to see the connection, there's a reason they call it being "close-minded." Hey but maybe you're right. If you try and make life hard enough for homosexuals, maybe they'll go away. Maybe its just a disease and you can be the cure."

That's what I have wanted to say. That's what I've probably started to go into numerous times on my blog--along with the Terri Shiavo Case, Politics of ANY sort, International Affairs and Religion to name a few. But I always censor my posts for the sake a few people, because I they take them as personal attacks or something and go on the aggressive-defensive. Because I know I can't go anywhere near those without all out Armageddon again. But I've decided that its ridiculous for me to go SO far out of my way when it doesn't matter anyways. I can't win. I tried to "slip in" a joke on my own blog. What the hell is that? I knew as I was typing that it might "be too touchy" and that probably bothers me more than anything... the fact I have to go through that sort of thought process. Did anyone notice it was an SUV? I picked the ultimate self-righteous republican mobile. Anyways, I'm done. The Good News is that the posts should start getting better again 'cause I've got tons of backed up material to work with. So start getting excited! Even if you don't want to comment on this particular post - I understand. But starting Thursday, I'm expecting greatness from you.

Monday's Missing Post...

TOTALLY NOT MY FAULT!!!

So Monday I was gone all day with the family in St Louis. I had a post prepared--I wrote it in my head while showering. However when I went to make it, there was an Internal Server Error and I couldn't. I even tried posting a comment to let everyone know that I tried, wouldn't let me do that either. Anyways, here's your update:

I GOT A JOB!!!!




PSYCE! (man, Psyce should have never died.) Alright, I didn't really get a job. I have a job Tues & Wed but that's it. Just doing "I don't know what" for some extra cash. Lets face it, I need it. My old temp agency just called me outta the blue and asked how things were going, and if I wanted a job. I said yes. More on this Wednesday's Post I'm sure... speaking of which, this is Tuesday's post here. I realize it's still technically Monday, but that's just 'cause I didn't want to wake up early in the morning to write this.

Here's what I've been thinking about lately... Those cheap rubber bracelets. When Lance Armstrong started that campaign with his LIVEstrong bracelets, I thought to myself... Hey, that's a good idea. They're super cheap (just a few cents) and then 100% of the profit goes to a charity. However, what I've been seeing lately is sickening. Seriously, I've seen every organization and their mom producing one of these things... and that instantly put it in the same category as those magnetic ribbons everyone has on their vehicles (at first, GREAT idea). I hate it when a van has like 9 or 10 on the back... it just cheapens the whole thing. But what has really pissed me off was the "Git 'er Done" bracelets and the "Coon Hunter" camouflage bracelets I saw (example1, example2). Makes me want to kill. Just like the (Man) + (Woman) = Marriage Bumper Stickers (by the way, asshole with that sticker, yes it was me who keyed your SUV). Now if you'll excuse me, I have to work tomorrow and now I'm partially worked up. This is going to lead to some messed up dreams... probably where I hurt someone.

Eh, who am I kidding, those are my favorite kinds.
I need to seek help.
Later!

Not a single angry comment??

I didn't post not once, but twice and I there wasn't a single rant and rave about it? I'm impressed. You guys better watch out though, or I may start taking advantage of this new found freedom. I feel pressured to make this one good, and anytime I feel pressured I choke... so how about I just accept that this post is gonna suck? Right then.

Job Update: I've applied for several jobs for the city of springfield now, and I will of course bring you notice of any signifigant leads as they come.

Where is Rob today: Bloomington. There's a job with the sheriff's department that I'm gonna put in for. Why? Because I'm applying for everything I can with which I can afford a move. Yesterday I was in Springfield dropping off applications and crap mentioned above.

Why is Rob better than Scott: Rob is hot, Scott is not. Anyone else want to add to the list?

Other News: So other than that I saw a JEW concert. It was pretty good, there were some other JEWish bands there as well. I gotta admit, I wouldn't have gone had Josh not had an extra ticket, but I enjoyed myself. (*JEW = Jimmy Eat World)

Conversation piece for the day: Death. What's an interesting or unique death related story? For example: How about when you die, you get creamated, and then put your ashes in a hole in the ground and then in that hole you plant a Great Oak Tree or something. Weird or Cool? Any other examples? And there's always The Darwin Awards to spark conversation as well...

Who says April 12th isn't special...

Today I want you to do something you've never done before, or have been putting off for a long time. We are going to make April 12th a day of firsts. Ro went to class today for the first time without putting on make up. Me? I think I'm gonna start working on my Europe Journal, just a little each day. To explain: I kept an awesome journal in Europe, but its all a bunch of chicken scratch written in a cheap little notebook that cost me $1.25 at walmart. Its very scatterbrained and incoherant at times, written as I was fallen asleep or on a long train ride or whatever. I bought a REALLY nice leather bound book from Florence Italy and I'm gonna transfer it there. Anyways, its quite a process (one that has been put off for a year now) and I'm gonna start that today. Even if it's just a half hour a day. For some more inspiration here's what happened on this day in History:

1633 Galileo is convicted of heresy by the church for saying the Earth revolved around the sun (yay! the church, chalk that up as another "oops")
1811 First US Colonist arrive and Texas became a US Territory in 1844 (silly Texas)
1940 Herbie Hancock was born (Rockit was a hit)
1945 President Roosevelt Dies (FDR = Good President)
1947 David Letterman born (I'm more of a John Stewart guy...)
1961 First man in space (Good ol' Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin)
1979 Claire Danes born ("And what other satisfaction can thou'st receive tonight?")
1981 First launching of the space Shuttle ("And there was much Rejoicing... yay...")
1983 Harold Washington becomes Chicago's 1st black mayor (a step forward)
1988 Sonny Bono elected mayor of Palm Springs CA (a step back)

So there you go. Do something. And tell us about it.

I'm gonna leave you with two "interesting" sites. First one is short, second one is a long one... But I enjoyed them both. Smile Therapy. Lucid Dreaming.

Hello From Springfield

Alright, at Josh's laptop and he's gotta take this for studying purposes so here's my quick little post. KYGIYHB (that was Josh banging the keys). I went to the JEW concert lasting night. It was pretty good. Jimmy Eat World and Taking Back Sunday for those of you who care but on to my links for the day.

My friend Phil and I were googleing the names of people we know just to see what we would hit. Check this out: Rowela Quiaoit. Yeah, that right, My girlfriend won nationals in Pointe (Ballet) and did tell anyone. But more importantly, check out some of THESE hits for Scott Gresham.

Finally for anyone who uses AOL Instant Messenger check this out. Ad-Hack will get rid of the advertisements at the top of your window so you're left with nothing but a clean buddy list.

Alright, later gang. Time to go hand out these 20 resumes I printed out.

Filipino Folklore

Its time for another "Getting Real with Rowela" or "Rowela's Rants" or "Ro's Ridiculously Rad Report." Whatever you call it, she's gonna inform us today about some popular filipino childrens' stories that I found SO entertaining I said she had to share them with the world... or at least the 5 people who read this. Without Further Adu... ROWELA!!!!

*** Crowd Cheers ***

These are stories that Filipino parent's like to tell their kids to explain why we look the way we look. My mom told me these stories when I was younger and it made me kind of proud to be Filipino. Now however... they kind of make me laugh.

Here's one.

God was in the kitchen in heaven and he was making man to place on the Earth. After forming them he placed them in the oven to bake them. When they were done baking he opened up the oven. But these people were burnt and God put them aside. Again he placed people in the oven. When he removed them he discovered that they were not baked all the way through and he set these aside too. Again he put another batch of people in the oven. This time when he opened the oven door and found that they were baked just right. Beautiful and golden brown. These people were the Filipinos.

And a second one....

All of the people were waiting in line in heaven to get their noses. The noses were placed in a large bowl on a very high table. All of the tall white people were able to get the very best noses, that were long, straight and had perfectly shaped bridges. The Filipinos could not reach the high bowl and we were left with the noses that had fallen from the bowl and had been trampled. And so our noses are round and flat and missing the bridge.

So... I feel bad about the first one because of the blatant racism. And the second one just kind of makes me sad that I got the crappy nose that no one wanted and to top it all off, it got stepped on.
I invite you all to share the sad stories your parents told you when you were little... or feel free to laugh at mine.

And we thought Adecco was the weird one.

So I had my interview with Adecco and they'll call me if they get any 11+ an hour job offers, which they seemed fairly optimistic about. True they hooked me up to an electroshock machine and forced me to take ridiculous pictures for their "yearbook." They also tried to slip a form in between the W2 and the Background check page, saying they could surgically remove my lips so that I could better fit the Adecco Image. But reguardless of all this, they were normal compared to this other agency. I'm not gonna use this agency's name, for reasons that they would be likely to maim and kill me if they found out I was releasing this information, so I will call it Jobs'R Us.

I first contacted JRS last week, when I called EVERY PLACEMENT SERVICE in Springfield. I informed every company of my situtation and used the same speech on all of them on how I've got student loans, want a different line of work, moving as soon as I secure employment and need at least 11/hour. I made appointments with 2 of the places that thought they could help me and sent more or less pointless resumes to the other ones (so they could "keep on record.") The weirdness started happening on Tuesday when I got the phone call from a lady I had spoken to once and for like 3 minutes:

Hey Rob, it's ______ from _____. And I noticed you're on the schedule and I wanted to forewarn you that I am back. I just did want you to walk in shocked and be like, "What are you doing here? Didn't you close your business?" Yes I did close my business... ...Its kind of awkward to talk right now because my office is right off the main room and the secretary can hear every word that I'm saying... ...she's gone right now and I imagine I'll have 15 minutes of privacy where I can actually talk... ...so if you could give me a call in the next 15 minutes that would be great... ...Thanks again, bye Rob.

I had NO IDEA what this woman was talking about. I seriously felt like I had been drunk dialed by my prospective employer. Or at least "Drama Dialed," because that's what I think that place is right now, more drama than a college sorority house. I called back the next day (I had afterall missed my 15 minute window by the time I got the message) and spoke with this lady again. She didn't acknowledge the previous phone call or act as if she knew me, although she knew she was talking to the person she called earilier. When I confirmed my appointment and the 11 an hour she told me "actually that's the extreme upper end of our pay range, I'd hate for you to waste your time. I can just cancel your appointment." I didn't suggest canceling, she did... it was weird, I almost felt like she was getting rid of me. Reguardless - its hardly and environment I wanted to get tangled up in... sheesh.

And now Random Facts about Vin Diesel

More eating of things...

My girlfriend eats babies. But my sister's developmentally delayed dog eats bunnies... and lots of them. There are patches of bunny fur laying all over the yard and fuzzy tails blowing in the wind. The other day mom found a pile of rabbit's feet in the corner of the garden... Jasmin's been stockpiling. So the newest addition to Nippies is gonna be Jasmin's Rabbit's feet... $1 a piece. Its a family business now.

Anyways, At Ro's... hooking up her new computer.
Don't have time for quality post.

Hungry? Try Baby...

So my girlfriend eats babies. At least that what she's fond of telling people as of late... it's cute. Lets face it, I think everything she does is cute. I guess I'm partially responsible for this, or at least stumble is, and I'm responsible for that so vis-a-vis... yeah. If you're bored and feeling a bit morbid (in a humorous way) check out Eat Babies.

My other humorous contribution today is going to be to recremend Shaolin Soccer to any of you hipsters whom hasn't already seen it. Its like Robin Hood: Men in Tights or Spaceballs... but Ninjas playing soccer. Throw in some cheesy matrix moves, rinse, wash and repeat. Its great. Side note: you either have to watch it dubbed or subtitled - so that may be a turn off for some of you. Dubbed movies is way worse, in my opinion, than substitles. Anyone else feel that way? Anyways, in case you've seen SS (and love it) there's a new movie coming out. Same style same main character/director: Kung Fu Hustle. That's another one I won't miss. Also, as another side note: if you've seen Kung Pow or whatever that spoof movie is, these movies are nothing like that. That's like comparing Scary Movie 3 and Men in Tights, it just doesn't work.

Anyways, that's all for today. Later!

Jobs, Jobs and More Jobs

Ok. Update. As brief as possible so I can get on the good stuff.

1. The City of Evanston is hiring a "Recreation Program Manager." That's up in Chicago and it's someone who puts together city programs and functions and stuff. I can SO do that. And they pay 20-25 an hour, 40 a week. I can SO VERY MUCH do that. That is getting taken care of first thing this morning.
2. There's another job in Skokie that I qualified for, that I haven't decided what I'm going to do with. If it was in Springfield, I'd take it, but being in Chicago - I don't think that the $11 an hour starting pay will cut it.
3. I've got an appointment with 2 placement agencies in Springfield on Tuesday and 3 others that I'm sending resumes too that didn't seem real optimistic. (as a side note, I had one of them laugh at me when I said I was trying to get a job through CMS... he said with the state's hiring freeze and them laying more and more people off right now due to budget cuts, there was little to no hope there.)

But here's my GREAT plan, Ro agrees. I should open an icecream shop, but not just any icecream shop, The Icecream Shop. I'm gonna make Icecream Shops the cool place to hang out again. "But Rob, Icecream Shops are lame!" Not this one! For one, it's gonna be the highest quality Icecream imaginalbe... that's right, Gelato (delicious italian icecream). But that's not gonna be the kicker, there's more. It's gonna be the "Hooters" of the icecream world. That's right, a sit down "Hello, May I take your order" Icecream shop with hotty-hot waitresses and skimpy clothing. Ro's contribution was that you give the icecream as Two Scoops side by side all the time, and top each one with a cherry. And when you want more, we have larger scoopers. You can get an A-Cup (of icecream) through a DD-Cup. There's always the Trainers sized for the lil' kiddies. "So what, then may I ask, are you gonna call this wonderful new place?"

Nippy's