Chicana on the Edge

I'm back on the (RESTAURANT) job search and as usual I interview like a dream and my resume is excellent and people want to hire me. Getting the job is never the problem. Making a decent decision about which job to take is the problem. If my last three job decisions...

My new restaurant still isn't open and it isn't looking too good for it happening any time soon. Temp work is very unsteady. I haven't been fully employed since Nick and Tony's went out of business at the end of December. What the hell is this bad luck?? From Bar...

Day nine of the diet: absolutely no change in weight.

I wish I'd known about International No Diet Day before it happened on Saturday. Established in 1992 by Mary Evans Young, director of the British anti-diet campaign Diet Breakers, on this day we are all to:Take a day off from whatever crazy diet plan you are following...

I’ve located the extra weight. Two weeks ago I posted that the weight scale showed a gain of several pounds, while my tape measure didn’t show much difference. It’s because the weight has gone south. I was focusing on the wrong half of my body.Okay, so now that I’ve...

I'd never been part of a political demonstration that felt more historically significant, politically urgent or personally important. I marched from Union Park on Chicago's westside into downtown with no ambivalence at all, no vacillation about the issues and no doubt...

Monday's forecast for Chicago:Rain showers early, becoming a steady, soaking rain later in the day with a few rumbles of thunder possible. High 62F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%.Evening: Showers and thundershowers likely. Low near 55F. Winds SSE at 10...

I'm a Bad Mexican, Part One is here. Even though I’ve attained a certain sense of peace about the position I occupy as the English-dominant, more-American-than-Mexican granddaughter of immigrants, I’m aware of the complications of my position regarding the planned...

Maybe this is appropriate with Mother's Day coming up. Here's yet another reason (among several) that it's good I never reproduced. From the April 24, 2006 Newsweek article Not Always 'the Happiest Time':Pregnancy probably doesn't cause depression, per se, but just...

The new restaurant is straightening out problems, training cooks, stocking up on tableware and supplies, and having "mock dinners" (we invite a sympathetic and patient audience and practice serving and feeding them. They give us feedback and we give them a free meal)....

How is it possible that I've gained eight pounds since the fall, but when I measure myself I'm still the same size? Is it possible that I could be gaining weight in a way that doesn't show on the outside? Maybe I'm increasing my muscle mass. Or increasing the density...