Epiphany in Baltimore

Saturday, Mar. 06, 2004

Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com

I worked Saturday brunch today at the restaurant, making around $60 for myself in my quest to recoup the damage of the towing and parking ticket fines. I've got a long way to go. I guess I'm kind of glad I made a triple car payment last month, because I think that means I'll be okay not to pay this month. I just got approved to refinance my car loan through my credit union - a sign that my credit is improving, since I've been denied every other time I've tried - but I have to put 10% down to do so, and I'm not there yet. Once I get refinanced, the credit union will take the payments directly out of my pay check, and they'll figure it so I won't have to pay off the car during the summer when no money is coming in. That would be very nice. I also just want to have it with my credit union, so I can go and make payments on that car loan whenever I have a few extra dollars around, through the ATM.

With coaching, I've had to cut down my hours at the restaurant to two shifts during the weekend. They still like me there, and I plan on keeping the job indefinitely, maybe even during next year. It's been really nice to be able to pay off stuff this year, and that would only continue next year. Unfortunately, it sucks to be so busy, but overall it's been okay. If I hadn't had the other stresses this year (the eye surgeries, the layoff scares), then the extra job wouldn't seem that stressful.

Tonight, I think my old friend Mike (who I actually went to middle school with in Redford, then taught with in Lansing, and who now teaches in Virginia) will be driving up, and we'll be heading off for a night of carousing. He's only ever been to Fell's Point, and this time I'm leaning towards a tour of Charles Street - Brewer's Art to 13th Floor to Owl Bar to Midtown Yacht Club to that Irish Bar a little south whose name escapes me right now. Or, there's always the Federal Hill Circuit; it's been a while since I had a Thirsty Dog pizza. Either way, it should be a fun night. I'll be taking a cab home.

Wow, I'm an updating fool lately.

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I'm already a little drunk on cheap merlot. It's like I'm in college and pre-drinking to save money. Should I have shame in that? No? What if I told you it was on $6.99 merlot drank out of a plastic cup? (You should see this bottle, it's the most generic thing in the world, saying only "California merlot" on it. Although I now work in a fancy restaurant in Fell's Point ["we're everything a white tableclothes place would be except we have no white tableclothes"] on the side and now know my wines a bit, I still haven't become a wine snob. Obviously. At least it's not in a box.)

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The Dan Bern "Swastika ep" is incredible, and the songs "Jail" and "Lithuania" are two of his best ever, songs that certainly are amongst the best written.

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However, that CD is in the car, so np: Belly, Star. Take your hat off, when you're talking to me, and be there when I feed the tree.