[eta: Oh, and before our walk we went to Bubby's (the Brooklyn branch) for brunch. NYCistas will recognize this as the restaurant where Teppy mocked us for our seasonal candy.]

Good times, good times.

So, ARE the Mallomars back yet? Has the annual Migration of the Mallomars returning from San Capistrano happened yet?

Oh, Steak n' Shake. I loved their placemats. Sniff.

I just had a minor meltdown upon hearing that my psychotic semi-boss is, in fact, trash-talking me to MY OWN FUCKING FRIENDS. Which is kinda funny in that she is that clueless, but on the other hand: wow, it's exciting to discover that as much as I hated her already, apparently I had a whole world of hate still in reserve.

So. Is anyone here self-employed/freelancing? Because at this point I'm really curious how much I need to earn from TWoP and such to be able to quit my job. I just cannot deal with this shit; it's making me crazy. Crazier.

I'm gonna schedule an appointment with my accountant, but some first-hand info would be useful so I know how (un?)realistic I'm being here while I'm freshly pissed off.

Steak -n- Shake was grand!

Alas, however, those bastards at Tiger Schulmann have ruined my iron stomach. Now that I've been healthy-ass work-out girl for the past six weeks I feel all bloated and burpy after eating a 'frisco melt, cheese fries and a double dark chocolate fudge shake.

I know Ginger is, Strega. She's been most generous with helpful information on another topic for me, so I'm guessing she'd be the same for you on this one. I think, though I could be wrong (stunning thought, I know), that she works on writery type things, even.

Thanks for that encouraging bookstore news, Tom! And Strega, freelancing is the second part of my scheme to open a bookstore and still support myself. I have a friend who's a freelance grant writer, and has more work than he wants.

I just babysat for a kid I never even saw -- he was asleep when I got there and stayed asleep the whole time! (I have seen him before.)

Oh, Steak n' Shake. I loved their placemats. Sniff.

I have been kicked out of Steak n' Shake so many times for disorderly conduct. Never when drunk, though! The first time it happened I was 17 or 18 and we'd just come from seeing a production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

I get nervous when I go into a Steak n' Shake now, because past experience indicates that 75% of the time they'll boot me out before I finally get my fries and my chocolate shake. Maybe if it didn't take an hour to get served we wouldn't have to amuse ourselves.

JenP & Jesse -- Oh, that's reassuring, thank you. I'm all sleep-deprived and pissed-off and bleh. And I feel bad even asking for assistance when I have not been here much lately, on account of being too sleep-deprived and pissed-off to participate.

I should probably go sleep now. And see if I'm still pissed tomorrow, and if so what my actual questions are. I know I don't earn enough now to quit the day job, but it's a "if I quit the day job and had more time for other jobs, how much would I need to do to pay for health insurance & such?" issue. And there's math there, and I'm rambling, so, yeah, I should sleep before trying to think about that.

Pardon my venting.

Oh god, health insurance. Is the Freelancer's Union national, or just in New York? I'm pretty sure that's a good source for group rates for individuals.

I got kicked out of a Rio Grande once. Well, my whole party did. It totally wasn't my fault.

Good sleep to you, Strega. And everyone gets to vent, man. No pardon needed.

Strega, when I went freelance, I joined NASE and got health insurance through them. (The provider is MEGA Life & Health.)

They sent someone to my house who sat down with me and walked me through all the different options I had (HMO, PPO, etc., plus dental and life insurance options) and what they would cost.