I've been looking for places to stay in Chicago. They're not quite as expensive as I thought but still very expensive. I don't care though. At the moment, I'd still rather live there than anywhere else in the world. I don't mind being poor. I don't. I'd rather be happy than rich. I've come to the conclusion that not only do I not care about the finer things in life (except beer), I actually want to avoid them. Luxuries are a distraction I don't need.

I've got it all worked out in make-shift, half-ass kind of way. I'm moving to Chicago. I'm gonna get some crappy job I don't have to worry about. I'm gonna write, play music, read, meet people, worry about paying rent, fall in love, and generally have a blast. It'll all work itself out. I figure if Henry Miller can bum around Paris for years without a damn cent in his pocket and become one of the greatest writers in the history of our fine country, I can bum around Chicago and have a good time.

The vast majority of people in this world are satisfied with bullshit, with going to college, with finding jobs and nice apartments, with 55 channels of cable. For the longest time, I thought I was one of these people. I'm not. I went to college. I got a degree in computer science and engineering. I could have a job right now. I really could but I never worked at it. Over time, I realized I wasn't trying to get a plush, white-collar job not because I'm lazy but because I didn't want one. A job like that feels like prison to me. I'd rather paint boat bottoms. No joke.

So I might end up poor. So I might end up jobless and hungry. So what? At least I'm trying to get away from the tedium that I've been drawn into my whole. Nobody likes rich people anyway. Seriously. J.P. Morgan was rich but he's remembered as one of the greatest assholes in history. So many artists die penniless but are loved for generations after their death. Who would you rather be?