Pete Nickeas

is a wonderful city.

The bars stay open past midnight. The food options are diverse. You can have a few drinks and not worry about getting picked up for a public intox. Hell, they encourage it — the downtown district has a free shuttle that stops almost every block. The view of the mountains is wonderful, and Coors Field is clean and classy.

All the things we want in a city, basically.

But since I got a job in Chicago, that will probably be our last time there. For the foreseeable future anyway.

Details to come.

Until then, I’m going to start jacking fools on their way from the ATM.

Just joking.

If nothing else, not having enough money has taught us a lot. I feel like I’m ahead of the game anyway because I’ve never really had a ton of money and have been paying for some of the “necessities” since like 5th or 6th grade. I feel more responsible, more self sufficient, and more in a position to build a future based on my experiences and I’m grateful for all of that.

BUT DAMN I’D BE GRATEFUL FOR SOME MORE MONEY TOO!

Here’s the thing. I was half stupid and half broke in college, so a chunk of my credit card debt is 40’s and handles of whiskey. The other chunk is rent, tires, books, moving costs, etc.

One of the things I’m most proud of personally is not having incurred any debt since living in Wyoming. Erin and I have been out like 4 times since being here (more than three months now), and our recreation consists of at-home-drinking. Which, I’m good with. In my personal life I’m very fiscally conservative.

I just gotta get rid of some of this interest bearing debt. It’s a joke. It’s amazing what percentage of my monthly expenditures are from credit cards.

Work is going well, though. This last week was a grinder but I loved it. I didn’t feel like, at the end of the week, that I worked as much as I did. It flew. I was out of the office a lot, met a ton of people, etc. Plus, what I’m working on is material of consequence. I’m not pissing in the wind.

Here’s a random string of sentences:
Erin just started working full time. I’m debating the idea of getting another job. If work stays this busy I won’t have to, so I’m hoping that it does. My two brothers aren’t gonna make it out for Thanksgiving, I don’t think. That saddens me. I’m going back to Chicago for Christmas and my brothers will be there. Big ass party on the 26th. Everybody’s invited, as always. I’m glad winter is around the corner. I’m sick of people warning me about the Wyoming winter. GET ON WITH IT MOTHAFUCKA! I’m ready.

I think that this is the last nice weekend we’re going to have this year.

They’re calling for snow in the “lower” elevations of this county (I think that’s us) sometime next week and while it’s supposed to be gorgeous tomorrow afternoon and Sunday afternoon, it’s still getting into the low-30s overnight.

I’m still really excited for Thanksgiving since my two little brothers are flying in from North Carolina, where they’re stationed (2nd Marine Division). Mike just had laser surgery on his eye, so he’s chilling for the next couple weeks I guess. It will be nice to see some familiar places.

I finished “Great Expectations” today, which was mildly disappointing (ironic?) and I began “Team of Rivals,” which, 25 pages in, is amazing. That book will probably take in the 40-50 hour range to read, and as it cools off I’ll have more and more time.

I forced myself to run today, and I didn’t want to really. But, as there’s only a handful of good weather days left, I thought it prudent to take advantage of the weather. I’m going to run tomorrow morning and probably Sunday morning and then I’ll have to start doing different stuff once winter gets here. I haven’t ran in the winter before.

Our finances are kinda tight right now. This concerns me. I want to go out and buy a few candles, maybe some type of something to make this place feel more like home but we’re strapped for cash right now. I think a second job is in the very near future, because our combined incomes just aren’t cutting it.

Stay tuned.

I gotta say, the transition to Wyoming has been far smoother than I anticipated.

Not as much in my personal life as it has been at work, which, has been a smooth transition … but it’s been difficult at times. We can’t just, on a whim, walk around the city. I mean we could, but the city is only a few blocks wide by a few blocks tall and stuff shuts down at like 5. So what’s the point?

But work, I mean, I feel like I’ve been there a long time and it’s been a month. I just kinda got there and started working.

Anyway, I have this problem where I’m always forward looking. SOUNDS GREAT RIGHT? It’s not. Because I have a hard time being happy in the present. At work, I bet the bosses love it because I’m always pushing myself but it’s not great for me because I feel like a bitch when I mess up or when I’m running in place.

Progress is the name of the game! Not just in work, but in everything. Not having a ‘next semester’ to look forward to is weird. I’m learning to pace myself.

Anyway, that being said, I’m looking forward to the next few months. I’ve got a lot of stuff I’m looking into at work, I’m beginning to settle at home, and our finances are improving just because both Erin and I are making some money right now.

I still am having a little trouble settling though. I miss some of the big-city amenities. It’s just going to take time is all.

ALSO! If you buy a couch and it reeks or is hideous then get a drop cloth to throw over it. We got two big ass drop cloths for a total of 50 bucks and they’re super solid. They’re durable, have a cool industrial smell to them, and don’t tear easily. What more could you ask for?

We need a couch damnit but we don’t have enough money to pop for one. Not yet anyway. Maybe after we both get our next paychecks.

On that note, we’re starting to get settled and it feels nice. Where we’re at feels like home. The inside of our apartment, I meant. Wyoming still does not feel like home but we’re starting to learn streets, neighborhoods, shortcuts, etc.

The job is going well and I’ll be starting on a project in the next couple weeks, so I’m excited about that.

The work blog is coming along nicely, too. I’m looking forward to being able to market it - in the next week or so I’ll be making a concentrated effort to get the readership up.

Runner Blog Day 5:
Ran alone yesterday. Erin felt sick. It sucked. Usually I’m the one telling her to run more and at times I forget I’m running, which is exactly what I need. Running alone was different but I suppose I better get used to it. Erin does not share my enthusiasm for running and said she’s not going to do the 30-days thing. Which sucks, but, oh well.

I got just as far as Day 4 but quicker. I made the mistake of running about an hour and a half after lunch, though. My bad. I feel like I could’ve ran the whole way if I didn’t run so soon after lunch. I’ve noticed that about 3.5 or 4 hours is optimal for me - long after lunch but not quite hungry yet for dinner. So I’m running tonight after going to the movies with Erin.

I think that, because I’ve never had a real office job before earlier this year, I’m probably a bit too excited about having my own half cubicle.

Before this, I worked as a reporter in Springfield, IL, cut grass and did a bunch of other grounds-related-things at Illini Country Club, worked for Pace Setter Tree Service, did stringer work for a chain of weeklies in the south suburbs of Chicago, worked at a flower shop, owned a landscaping company, worked at a couple convenience stores, and worked at a baseball card shop.

See the workspace? I’m already making it my own. That’s a Dwight K. Schrute bobble-head over there, to the right of my fan.

And yes, that’s Outlook. Not a fan, personally, but what can you do.

Worked on a few stories today, and it was a lot faster-paced than I figured my third day to be. Good times though. OH! ALSO! I did my first blog post. The interface is kinda chunky - probably the only thing ever that doesn’t work in Firefox but works in Internet Explorer - but here it is.

As you can imagine, being three days into the new job, it’s a bit thin.

Check back Monday night for a post about how this job is different from the last one. I gotta get a flick of something hanging in the bathroom. Some of the differences between the jobs? Bathroom signage, the sum of personalities, importance of the internet, and compensation.

This weekend? Got some family stuff in the hopper I’ve been thinking about writing. Definitely a few photos from last weekends wild ass party.

We got goofy, and that’s the only way to say it.

More to come!

And man I’m geeked.

First! Apologies for the lack of video and photos. More tomorrow. There will also be a blog post about this weekend …. oh man. Damn, distracted. Back to work.

I gotta say - aside from the fact that I’m using a computer with a 6 gig hard drive and some of the technical issues that were a bit difficult to navigate - getting paid to do what I love is an amazing feeling.

I didn’t write today - I think that hope kinda died when I got there and couldn’t get into my computer til about 10 and had to do a couple hours of employee training.

The other reporters on the city desk seem to have a deep understanding of their beats and it gives me a lot to live up to. Plus, they seem very open to new ideas and I don’t have to worry about turf wars or too much of that political nonsense.

Speaking of political nonsense - Illinois AG Lisa Madigan not running for governor OR Senate? CRAZY!

I guess that means everyone wanting to be her Lt. Gov. are shit-outta-luck and all those hacks afraid to run against her for Gov. or Sen. will have their choice of a race with a relatively weak field. Gov. Patrick Quinn is getting bloodied up something fierce by the legislature, so everyone’s piling on him. (More on this later … getting distracted).

Anyway, I’ve got stories in the hopper for tomorrow, took care of a lot of the back-end stuff (contact sheets, desk organization, etc) (that’s what she said) so I’m going to rock out tomorrow.

HELL YEA