who am i?
I have had a really odd couple of months. I guess yeah I have been really depressed but I haven't wanted to sit here and continually bitch about my situation on LJ. I have had a few people ask seeing as I haven't really said much at all. I wanted to thank everyone who sent me a message from my post about this before. Sorry I didn't do much to reply.
It's been a bit of a mystery why I was fired from the Eagle/Hole In The Wall, not only to me but the rest of the staff as well. I had no "warnings" nor any threats to my employment in the 10 years I worked there. There were random "do this" and "don't do that" phone calls but nothing warranting me being fired. Though I was well aware that my bosses were bipolar and generally inconsistent and made rash decisions . It was somewhat of a joke between all of us as to who John was mad at this month ...Joe...on the other hand is pretty much mad at everyone all of the time. It's quite possible that I was being punished for something that happened 6 years ago, whatever that could be. I really thought there was more to them but no, they are just pricks. It also made me realize that they had little to do with how unique those places are and why people hold them as special. We all worked there ...they didn't
For the last year I have only had two shifts at The Eagle, Thursdays and Sundays. Were they unhappy with my Sunday nights take? Do they think anyone else would make it better?? Sunday night was a shift I inherited from Brian about 5 years ago when he moved. It's a shift thats always sucked. It's post "beer bust" so I'd walk into a dirty, understocked bar with drunks I'd have to babysit for the rest of the night. The shift change was also everyones cue to leave, or the "oh my god I have been here for 9 hours" cue. So, the money sucked, but if that was the problem, didn't having just made all that money from beer bust make up for it?
Thursday night which was "band night" is thorny, and I feel like I've kind of been robbed of it. This is the one that has really hurt. I have done quite a bit to cultivate that into a "thing" over the years with Dug. I can't even tell you how many times I have also played on that stage and with how many different bands. There was a huge social aspect that tied into it which has been difficult for me in many ways. I'm not sure what to do about it. Now, it's awkward being there and do I really want to play a show there?
A huge amount of resentment I have is because of the Hole In The Wall. I'm really sorry that I gave a shit. I'm really sorry I got them a bunch of press(Guardian, Chronicle) and disseminated info on hearings so we could all show our support when we thought it was going to be closed down (or not opened).
There was also this thing about them selling The Eagle which was just weird. On Dec 27, out of the blue the bar staff got a short, cryptic email from John with the subject line of "bar for sale". The body of the email said little more than that, gave the address and a phone number to call. It was a headscratcher not to mention crass and insensitive leaving everyone in somewhat of a panic. Apparently it was true. I waited a couple of weeks and then said something about it here and word got around. They got a ton of inquiries. After about a month Dug offered to buy it at their asking price, went through the process of getting the money together, getting paperwork and everything drawn up (which ain't cheap) and was ready to enter an escrow agreement. They them decided to keep the bar. They really should have told Dug though instead of him finding out from a customer. It was really amazing to me that they'd fuck Dug over like that considering how much money he has made them. Seriously.
They pulled out of the deal and designated Ron as the manager. The Thurs. after IBR weekend I worked and it was busy. I looked at the schedule and it had Brian working my Sunday night, which I thought nothing of because I usually give it to him when he comes to visit. Friday night I got a message from a number I didn't recognize and then a message from Ron on Sat afternoon. The first message turned out to be Ron calling from home which I wondered why he just didn't talk to me Thursday night when I saw him. I called him back at the bar on Sunday before it got busy which he just asked me to come in and see him on Monday. I knew something was up and confirmed it that night. So, Monday I walk into the bar, had about a two minute conversation with Ron and handed him my key. John and Joe went on vacation and he apparently was instructed to axe me.
So that was it. My last check from The Eagle was mailed to me, but to an address I hadn't lived at in 6 years and did not include the 72 hours of PTO I had racked up. The things that suck immediately is that I should be receiving EDD unemployment but that is in limbo. Somehow EDD is under the impression that I voluntarily left my job. Who told them that? The other thing was that Rob (who did all the mud wrestling events) was also fired, after 16 years and being employee number 3. This wasn't a "reduction in staff" either because they've already hired some straight guy and two other newbie bartenders.
So, there is all that bullshit, but just two weeks before all this went down.... Hammers Of Msfortune, had just got signed to Metal Blade Records and then I was unceremoniously let go from the band.
Penteo is looking good though.
It's been a bit of a mystery why I was fired from the Eagle/Hole In The Wall, not only to me but the rest of the staff as well. I had no "warnings" nor any threats to my employment in the 10 years I worked there. There were random "do this" and "don't do that" phone calls but nothing warranting me being fired. Though I was well aware that my bosses were bipolar and generally inconsistent and made rash decisions . It was somewhat of a joke between all of us as to who John was mad at this month ...Joe...on the other hand is pretty much mad at everyone all of the time. It's quite possible that I was being punished for something that happened 6 years ago, whatever that could be. I really thought there was more to them but no, they are just pricks. It also made me realize that they had little to do with how unique those places are and why people hold them as special. We all worked there ...they didn't
For the last year I have only had two shifts at The Eagle, Thursdays and Sundays. Were they unhappy with my Sunday nights take? Do they think anyone else would make it better?? Sunday night was a shift I inherited from Brian about 5 years ago when he moved. It's a shift thats always sucked. It's post "beer bust" so I'd walk into a dirty, understocked bar with drunks I'd have to babysit for the rest of the night. The shift change was also everyones cue to leave, or the "oh my god I have been here for 9 hours" cue. So, the money sucked, but if that was the problem, didn't having just made all that money from beer bust make up for it?
Thursday night which was "band night" is thorny, and I feel like I've kind of been robbed of it. This is the one that has really hurt. I have done quite a bit to cultivate that into a "thing" over the years with Dug. I can't even tell you how many times I have also played on that stage and with how many different bands. There was a huge social aspect that tied into it which has been difficult for me in many ways. I'm not sure what to do about it. Now, it's awkward being there and do I really want to play a show there?
A huge amount of resentment I have is because of the Hole In The Wall. I'm really sorry that I gave a shit. I'm really sorry I got them a bunch of press(Guardian, Chronicle) and disseminated info on hearings so we could all show our support when we thought it was going to be closed down (or not opened).
There was also this thing about them selling The Eagle which was just weird. On Dec 27, out of the blue the bar staff got a short, cryptic email from John with the subject line of "bar for sale". The body of the email said little more than that, gave the address and a phone number to call. It was a headscratcher not to mention crass and insensitive leaving everyone in somewhat of a panic. Apparently it was true. I waited a couple of weeks and then said something about it here and word got around. They got a ton of inquiries. After about a month Dug offered to buy it at their asking price, went through the process of getting the money together, getting paperwork and everything drawn up (which ain't cheap) and was ready to enter an escrow agreement. They them decided to keep the bar. They really should have told Dug though instead of him finding out from a customer. It was really amazing to me that they'd fuck Dug over like that considering how much money he has made them. Seriously.
They pulled out of the deal and designated Ron as the manager. The Thurs. after IBR weekend I worked and it was busy. I looked at the schedule and it had Brian working my Sunday night, which I thought nothing of because I usually give it to him when he comes to visit. Friday night I got a message from a number I didn't recognize and then a message from Ron on Sat afternoon. The first message turned out to be Ron calling from home which I wondered why he just didn't talk to me Thursday night when I saw him. I called him back at the bar on Sunday before it got busy which he just asked me to come in and see him on Monday. I knew something was up and confirmed it that night. So, Monday I walk into the bar, had about a two minute conversation with Ron and handed him my key. John and Joe went on vacation and he apparently was instructed to axe me.
So that was it. My last check from The Eagle was mailed to me, but to an address I hadn't lived at in 6 years and did not include the 72 hours of PTO I had racked up. The things that suck immediately is that I should be receiving EDD unemployment but that is in limbo. Somehow EDD is under the impression that I voluntarily left my job. Who told them that? The other thing was that Rob (who did all the mud wrestling events) was also fired, after 16 years and being employee number 3. This wasn't a "reduction in staff" either because they've already hired some straight guy and two other newbie bartenders.
So, there is all that bullshit, but just two weeks before all this went down.... Hammers Of Msfortune, had just got signed to Metal Blade Records and then I was unceremoniously let go from the band.
Penteo is looking good though.