I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. -Thomas Jefferson

Some would say - and have, at times - that I've always lived something of a charmed life, had luck on my side, a guardian angel watching over me. I'll be the first to admit that there's been times when things have inexplicably gone my way but I like to think it's more about karma than luck. Both good and bad, of course. That whole circles thing. After a hellacious 2002, when it seemed all the calls were going against me, 2003 has been slowly shaping into a rebound year.

Latest evidence: we got the apartment! [uncrossing aching fingers...]

Picked up the lease last night and should be moving in by the 15th of June, at the latest. They're replacing the kitchen floor and bathroom sink and giving us three new air conditioners, plus the usual clean-up and detailing. Turns out it's a rent-stabilized building, too. With some creative planning, there's no reason we couldn't live there for at least three years, at which point Isaac and India will need a bigger room, if not rooms of their own. That would be a record for us as we haven't stayed anywhere for more than a year and a half since we got married. Before that, my two years in Ft. Campbell ranks as the longest I've lived somewhere since high school in Mt. Vernon.

Next up, getting our stuff out of storage in VA and not killing each other over decorating the house. Even with the Trading Spaces/While You Were Out influence, I hate spending money on big-ticket items. I don't know why I find it so much easier to spend $500 on a bunch of little things than on one big thing, no matter how necessary. And we do need a few big-ticket things, especially now that our bedroom will be a decent size again. IKEA calls this weekend. Wish we had Amy Wynn or Ty in the backyard to just build shit for us!

In other news, the article I mentioned a while back for the new spoken word magazine that's in the works is going to be a critical essay on the relevance of slam, or lack thereof. I see it as something of a follow-up to the piece I wrote for Poets & Writers Magazine back in 1999, coincidentally the last time the Nationals were in Chicago. That piece concluded with: << On the verge of its 10th-Anniversary, the National Poetry Slam will return to its birthplace in Chicago, bigger than ever, and Smith is preparing a homecoming that will further imprint his vision on the slam. "Every revolution becomes an institution. Though it's being adopted in academia, the main movement is still very radical. It's still fresh and evolving. The mission isn't anywhere near completed." >> Marc stepped down from PSI after that Nationals and has since returned to his President for Life position. After some of my comments earlier this year, I wonder if he'd even grant me an interview again!