Checklist

Taxes done: check.

Apartment applied for and employment verification—er, arranged: check.

Salman Rushdie East, West short stories read: check.

Coast of Chicago finished: check.

Phone calls made to have-yet-to-see-them-in-the-city friends while freaking out over what plans I can make for St. Patrick's Day: check.

Calendar updated, taking exactly 12 seconds: check.

Wild call from cousin Fred in the movie biz to discuss the new budget (it's too big! Now we'll have to pay the actors more than we can afford!), the daughter of Hollywood royalty signed for filming, the possibility that I will sing background in the studio during post-production: check.

Call from Fritzie, bored at Sak's, with free movie tix for tomorrow night: check.

Voice message to Red to yell at him for not having read the short story I sent him: check.

Room cleaned, taking exactly 2 minutes and 30 seconds: check.

Second call from Fred asking me to check out a rental location tomorrow: check.

Finally showered after hours contemplating pros and cons of personal hygiene: check.

Another call from Fred with the plea I go to Second City's teen workshop to scout kids for the smaller roles in his movie: check.

Fourth call from Fred sharing a long-distance cocktail and the discussion of how to stop anxiety from making us shake from head to toe: check.

Re-read latest short story to make sure it really was finished: check.

Obsessed about the difficulty of moving the rest of my belongings while autistically rocking and dreaming of a glass of Scotch: check.

Making of lists to assuage unbearable anxiety: check.

Re-read several writings just to beat myself up for not trying to publish anything: check.

Taking of herbal sleeping draught to further deal with anxiety: check.

Still anxious yet succumbing to uncontrollable urge to nap: check.