Friday Free-For-All

Why has the reporter become the subject? I still haven't fit my appearance on NBC's morning program into my schedule yet, although yesterday I found a few minutes to talk with a guy who's writing about the Chicago comedy scene for Midwest Living magazine (you know, the one your mom reads). He called me the "doyenne of ChiCom," which goes hand-in-hand with Dan's tagging of me as the "den mother of Chicago comedy," which, thankfully, didn't make it into the Tribune piece. (I'm semi-kidding. It's very flattering but also funny that all of these descriptors allude to me being old and a mother many times over. I'm pretty young and energetic, and ain't got no cute babies to show for all of my nurturing. Plus, I tend to think of K-Rock as the den mother of Chicago comedy.)

As if things weren't busy enough, this morning I got an e-mail from someone wanting me to do a half hour radio interview piece. I asked him if it would be cool to interview me and Dan at the same time, since I am more used to being the interviewer, and sort of dread the thought of having to talk about myself for 30 minutes straight.

In other news...

Melissa is moving to Los Angeles! Yes, my dear niece, best friend, and invaluable emotional support during my transition to life here in Chicago is spreading her wings and heading for the land of sunshine, bikinis, and more film editing and graphics work than she'd ever be able to find here. She and her partner in crime (and business) are keeping a blog about it here. Please note the fantastic looking custom graphics she's incorporated into their blog, and click on the PayPal button, should you feel so generous. Also, feel free to call and console me in a few months, when I'll be an emotional wreck...I'm going to miss her terribly. But I'm very proud of her and I have every confidence that she's going to make a smooth transition and impress me with many accomplishments in a short time.

My adorable boyfriend is in the home stretch of his mighty mustache-growing efforts. (Feel free to donate here! Scroll down to find "Bryan Bowden.") He thinks he looks skeevy with the current facial hair configuration. I think he looks like he's in rehearsals for a musical, roller-skating off-Broadway production of Starsky and Hutch. The children of Chicago benefit from whatever donations he collects by enjoying continued free tutoring and writing classes at 826 CHI. Wednesday night he and I headed to a pub in Wicker Park for the weekly mustache growth assessment and photo documentation, not to mention a few pints of beer and the reading of silly mustache-themed poetry. Before the night was over I also volunteered to help 826 CHI with some PR efforts for some of their upcoming events.

I'd also like to offer a respectful little tip of the hat to Quiet Rebel Writer, a very inspiring freelance writer here in Chicago who I know through ideaXchange. I actually have not met her yet, but I hope to sometime soon. Quiet Rebel Writer is an amazing resource of insights and good information about finding success and satisfaction as a communications professional. And on top of that, she just seems like a cool person - creative, smart, thoughtful, and independent of mind. Just what I want to be when I grow up (but for the fact that she's younger than I am.) If you're the least bit interested in freelance writing, you should make QRW a regular read.