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.

Having a Tasty Kake for breakfast isn't a really bad thing, is it? Especially when you wake up feeling extra-special gronky...?

What started out as an attempt to get my TV recycled turned into an unmitigated disaster, with the plastic shell of the TV shattered into pieces in the lobby of my building. (Thankfully, the tube stayed intact). So the TV isn't going to get recycled, but at least it's out of my apartment now.

TV is bad for you!

In defense of American Girls: While they may be corny, overpriced and have nicer clothes and furniture than I do, I'm happy to buy my nieces something they love and that isn't all about boobs, boys, make-up and wearing short skirts. The eight year-old gets enough of that!

I had something else, unrelated, but I doubt I'll remember until I get through this cup of coffee.

TV is bad for you!

Only if you try to break up with it.