Today is my last Friday off.

I don't talk about my job much - we all know it's better to not talk about anything job-related on your personal site. I don't really even talk about my previous jobs, with the exception of the one job years ago I had that I truly, passionately hated. That job sucked my soul from my body, had some of the most insecure, toxic people working for them and brought only one good thing to my life and that is my friendship with Jen, without whom I might have never made it through my divorce.

And, I suppose, now that I look at it that way, maybe it wasn't so awful. I am nothing if not a silver lining individual.

Anyway, with the exception of the aforementioned Job of Doom, I've always loved where I worked. I just don't feel much need to talk about it. And this isn't just because my employers know about my Web sites, a fact I've never kept secret because you only have to Google "erin" and I'm the 4th result you'll get. Besides, much of what I do for a living was a direct result from this site anyway. I've needed to tell them about my Web sites. They're on my resume. But not talking about work is amusing to me since I'm such a work-focused person. I'm not necessarily a workaholic, but much of my identity is wrapped up in what I do for a living. And I will tell you: from my first day on the job at the Sun-Times News Group, I knew I'd come home.

I've been working on the Web sites of dozens of different suburban properties owned by STNG, working four days a week from one of their north suburban locations and one day from the cozy confines of my home office. Since Thanksgiving, this arrangement has been in place and has afforded me a luxury I've not once taken for granted and that's the Friday off. Sure, I still work on Saturdays, but there has been something so decadent about having Fridays off. To say it's been blissful would be an understatement.

And now it comes to end.

This week, I was offered a job downtown working solely on the Chicago Sun-Times Web site. Ever since I was little kid, all I've only ever wanted two things professionally: to work at a major daily newspaper and have it be in downtown Chicago.

Check! Check!

The new job starts Monday, and it's promised to be more stressful and with more responsibilities and I couldn't be more thrilled about the challenge. I say goodbye to the dreaded suburban commute I've been dealing with for years and years, and hello to the dreaded CTA. I'm keeping my car - I'm a car person - but I'm really happy to not have deal with the expressway as a rule. Besides, it makes me feel much more a part of the city to actually be working and living in it as opposed to leaving it for the majority of my day.

Today, however, I'm going to be poolside, slathered in sunblock, with a book, a beverage cooler filled with vodka lemonade, and the new Tegan and Sara. I could do a million other things, I suppose, but this seems like the more appropriate way to celebrate.

Posted by Erin at 10:09 AM | filed under: Odds and ends