Time Out

I’ve taken a break from writing for awhile but I’ve missed all of my readers. A lot has happened in the near-month I’ve been away, too. Although I tried to give everyone a generous severance package at work, that money doesn’t go very far and as a result I have been frantically searching for jobs (and getting turned down at every turn). BUT I was finally hired yesterday. It’s not in HR and I don’t think I’ll ever be returning to that world. I’ll be working at Bruno’s neighborhood bar, or lovingly referred to by all of the regulars simply as Bruno’s. I bartended in college and it was the only job I could get after searching for over a month. I’m grateful to have this job, even though my budget is definitely going to have to be put on a diet. I start next week.

Because money is tight I’ve been looking at apartments that are cheaper than the one I’m in now. I crunched the numbers and paying the rent in my current apartment is just going to be impossible if I want to be able to buy groceries without dipping into my savings (which is actually going to be used to pay off my student loans repayments until I get a second job). So, I’m looking for an apartment. That takes cats.

The girls have been put on alert and have been on the lookout for any open apartments they see. So far, I haven’t had much luck finding an apartment that meets my ideal rent payment, takes cats, and is also livable. It’s like I only get to pick two out of those three things. I’m discouraged but I’m hopeful that I’ll find something.

Stormy came over the other day to watch the new Project Runway: All Stars.

“Where’s Tim?” He asked.

“Stormy, we’ve been through this. Tim isn’t on the All Stars season.”

“But…Tim is the best part of the show.”

“You’ll live.”

Personally, I’m Team Mondo. Stormy keeps changing teams because all of his people keep getting kicked off.

“Fine, I’m Team Mondo, too.”

“No.” I said.

“What? Why?”

“Because every time you choose a team they get kicked off and I want Mondo to win. If you join Team Mondo he’ll get kicked off. Pick Austin or something.”

Stormy threw a pillow at me. I told him about my new job when the pizza came.

“Gross, a bar?”

“It’s all I could find, okay? Plus, I don’t think HR is my thing anymore.”

“Why?” He reached for a slice.

“Because firing people is too hard for me. I don’t want to go through everything that happened again. I can’t.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I think the majority of us are doing okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I got that freelance job I told you about-”

“Yeah but it’s not under your actual name.” I snorted.

Stormy looked at me with confusion, “Uh…yeah it is.”

I started choking on my pizza because I was so confused.

“What? Your name isn’t Adam.” I said recalling the name I saw on his most recent article.

“Do you really think my real name is STORMY?” He started laughing.

“Wait, so I’ve been calling you by the wrong name for like a year?”

“Closer to two, really.”

“How did I not know this? Why didn’t you correct me?”

“Faith, Stormy Allen was just a name I used for the station and when they opened up the paper it was just so people would try to be sold on the paper by the brand of that name. It’s just a showbiz name. Lots of people do it.”

“So…should I call you Adam now?”

“You can if you want.” He shrugged, “You’re the only one from the paper who still calls me Stormy. For the record.”

“EVERYONE ELSE KNEW?”

I threw a pillow at him and then grabbed my cell phone.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

“Editing your name in my contacts.” I shot him a dirty look and he started laughing again.

“Anyway,” he continued, “most of us are doing okay. I got that free lance job, Steve is working as an assistant to a publicist, Tom is working at that women’s magazine with your friends, and Suzy and Dina both got picked up at the same daily newspaper ours used to compete with. You shouldn’t worry about us.”

“Still, I don’t think HR is for me. I’m going to try some things out, do some research, and keep my options open.”

“By working at a bar?”

“I had to get something and Bruno offered me the job. It’s not like I was getting offers from other places, Stor- Adam.”

He raised his eyebrow at me and smiled.

“It’s weird.” I said, “I feel like my whole world has been turned upside down. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me what your real name was until now.”

“I think you’ll get over it.” He said.

“What kind of name is Stormy, anyway? If you think about it, you should have just stuck with your real name.”

“I don’t know, it sounded cool?”

“Ugh, you’re such a dude.”

“Shhh, Tim Gunn might show up any second.”

“No, he won’t. Just let it go.”

“No, the dream is still alive.”

We couldn’t stop laughing for the rest of the night. It’s nice to just hang out with Adam and not have it be weird. It’s kind of weird how much renewal I’ve had since ending things with Sean. It feels nice, actually.