Feeling resigned
Was told today that I have to write a quick letter of resignation for my file. My first draft says:

Dear [boss's name]:
I quit! Hahahahahahahaha!
Sincerely,
Diane

Perhaps I'll rewrite it.

I'm back at work after over a week of vacation. I only have *four* more weeks here. Kind of scary. On the plus side, I was feeling peckish and opened my desk drawer to find food remnants, and discovered a bag of salsa-flavored Doritos. Woo!

We canoed the Chicago River last weekend. The water was pretty dirty (big rainstorms the day before), but the weather was gorgeous and we had a great time. I thought it was more interesting than the North Shore Channel, which is 100% artificial and therefore very straight, and since its sole purpose is to feed water into the Chicago River, the MWRD keeps it clear of brush and low trees where interesting birds or animals could lurk. The Chicago River, though it has been straightened and channelized, is ironically a bit more wild. Much of its length is fronted by homeowners who incorporate the riverbank into their landscaping, and many have piers or docks for their own boats (ranging from canoes to zillion-dollar cabin-cruisers). We saw tons of birds, most of which we couldn't identify (might have been juveniles, which are tough). Baby mallards galore, and some white ducks (or geese?) with orange beaks, kingfishers, a great blue heron, and what might have been black-crowned night herons. Also, a male mallard with a gorgeous blue head. Just south of Addison is the decaying hulk of a wooden boat, looking a bit like a Viking ship. Standing up in the middle of the river at Addison is what looked a bit like a shrouded figure on a cross. River Jesus! we exclaimed. When we got close, we discovered that River Jesus is made of random vegetation and a couple of condoms. It's reassuring to know that River Jesus is watching over us, and making sure we only have Safe River Sex.

(ObMontyPythonJoke: How is American beer like making love in a canoe? It's fucking close to water!)

Just south of Foster is River Park, where the North Branch and the North Shore Channel converge to form the Chicago River. The North Branch comes in from the west over a spillway, and I suppose it's possible to portage around it but we just turned and headed back south. The current was fast enough that we didn't bother paddling on the way back, just floated and enjoyed the day. What a life!

Saw Harry Potter 3 and Spiderman 2. Both yummy. Theaters are absolutely *vacant* on July 4!
- posted by Diane @ 10:45 AM