Tracking the Storm

My parents have no idea what I went to school for or the kind of freelance writing work I’ve done. I’ve done freelance work for Chicago SEO and web content companies, advertising agencies, newspapers, magazines, Internet web zines, and even a few pieces here and there for the city of Chicago and job placement companies and staffing firms. I originally went to school for a degree in English, but then went on to get a masters degree in creative writing. However, whenever asked about what I did, my parents said I was in journalism. This didn’t mean that they secretly wished that I was a journalism student. On the contrary, they both thought that me being a writer was pretty interesting. They just didn’t know the difference between fiction and non-fiction. My mother tried to read a few of my short stories, but kept thinking that I was writing about myself or my brother or the family when it was really just something I’d made up. Of course a lot of the time I was writing about vampires and aliens and ancient Ireland and Rome and a dozen other things that had nothing to do with my own life or anything resembling it.

One of the shows I really enjoy on television is American Chopper on the Discovery Channel. I really like watching how they conceptualize the bikes and seeing how it materializes into the final product. One of the things I find most interesting about the show is seeing all the high tech cutting tools that they use to cut all of the metal into the proper shapes. Some of them are laser guided and can cut the most difficult designs. Others are capable of complex artwork and other design functions. It truly amazes me every time I watch the show. The show is great, because not only do I get to see how a chopper is made, but also the interactions of the Tuttle family are hilarious. The father is very much like mine, very critical and demanding, but also fun-loving. They fight a lot on the show, but they also do some really goofy things. I have seen them knock down doors with axes and sledgehammers, and get to fly in fighter jets. I think it would be a cool job to build bikes for a living and get to do all those cool things. It is too bad I am afraid to ride a motorcycle.

I’ve been sitting here at my computer all afternoon trying to make sense of these Phoenix bankruptcy laws. I think I might have to hire a lawyer. I’m so tired right now. I think I’m having such a hard time concentrating because I keep thinking about the date I went on last night. I hope there’s a second. I haven’t been out with a guy who was that nice in a long while. I think I’m really starting to like him. I couldn’t have imagined things going more perfectly. I wonder if he feels the same about it? The only thing I would’ve changed is how the date ended. I would’ve wanted him to give me a kiss. He didn’t even give me a kiss on the cheek! I honestly wouldn’t have minded one bit! I know he was just trying to be a gentleman. We felt really comfortable around each other. For a first date, we managed to cover a lot of ground in our conversations. I know I’ll be disappointed if he doesn’t call. I want to know more about him. There are so many things I wonder about. I have so many questions that I didn’t get to ask him. At this point, he’s more complex than these Phoenix bankruptcy laws!

My accountant said I was a first for him in Austin Chapter 7 filing by a band is something he never had to deal with. He referred me to a good attorney and I found one of my own. I had managed to get myself overextended and was not very good with my accounting. It caught up with me. I had incorporated my band business many years ago, and had used an accountant for book keeping until her rates got too high, and I let her go. I see now that it was a big mistake. I have ended up costing myself 20 years worth of work. I can’t cry about it. I can only figure I’m not done yet, and that I want to get started on trying to make myself over and get on with the next 20 years or so. It’s not too late to start over, and hopefully I can work smarter now than when I was younger and make up some of the time. I’m disappointed in myself and will have some explaining to do to my wife. She has mostly stayed out of the business, so she won’t see this coming. I would wait until I got the attorney lined up before telling her.