my life is becoming

i quit my job yesterday. (gave 2 weeks notice). cannot even begin to express how good it felt.

and of course, i have some mixed emotions. they've been unbelievably flexible with me for the last 3 years as i went through grad school and started applying for teaching jobs. i've taken vacations and days off and set my own hours. i'm certainly going to miss that. and we frequently order out for lunch, and end up drinking wine at the office on special occasions, and laugh and have a good time. we gossip a little and poke fun at one another. a few coworkers in particular i will miss.

but overall, it's time to move on. it's BEEN time. i officially have 6 more scheduled days at the office. and then...

i've been hired as an assistant cafe manager at boocoo (www.boocoo.org) where i'm already scheduled to teach tap and poetry classes a few nights a week. although this means working some nights and weekends, i'll never have to work before 10am. which means i can be the night owl that i am. and with 3 managers, there is some flexibility. and it's all organic and fair trade. it's all affordable. it's a good organzation with good people. (and health insurance!) it's good for me AND good for the community.

and so i'm spending my summer living in chicago, working for a nonprofit organization where i will be making coffee, dancing, and writing.... this is my life. i mean, MY life. the life i've been looking for since partway through college, back when i started joking about how i just wanted to be a barista and an artist all the time. and now i'm doing it. in the fall, i'll start up again teaching at harper college, and my cafe hours will cut back. it's all just falling into place. all of a sudden.

it's a little surreal, watching your life actually BECOME your life, right before your eyes...