waiting to derail
I like how it's been over four years since I've been here. FB is the chosen venue these days, and I tried the Twitter thing but that's way too much work. Irritating, in fact. I've even reached the point where FB isn't so much a necessity any more, it's just one more thing that gets cumbersome and old, albeit it did take seven years for malaise to kick in with it.
So. What's happened in the last four plus years?
Last I checked in with myself back in early May 2008, everything kind of sucked, personally, professionally, financially...I'm running out of -lly(s) to fill in the blanks. I was sleeping on a fold out couch in my sisters' family front room.
Didn't answer the question very well...
I know. I'll give the brief rundown numerically:
1. Got job in Charlotte, NC at end of May. Started on June 6, 2008, just in time for hell week(end). It was the annual food festival. I purchased 960 pounds of wings in three days.
2. I was hired in as Sous Chef. No big deal. Went through multiple candidates for Chef, hired one, he didn't last longer than two weeks. Second guy, he lasted until the following April until he literally disappeared off the face of the planet. During the entire time I was still essentially running the show from day one, the one primarily answering for everything from scheduling to inventory to just plain day in day out bullshit.
3. Had a fire at the end of May, 2009. That was fun. I have pictures on my FB. Melted plastic and the soot covered stature of St. Patrick is kinda cool. We were shut down in CLT until March 2010.
4. In between I did a lot of office work, menu research, looked at a lot of temporary workshops for the refurbishing/rebuilding, etc. And then I got a nice deal where I got to go and help open up the Atlanta location June/July of 2009. That was nice.
5. Before ATL, however, I was able to go back to Columbus for my grandmother's 90th, do a bit of family reunion thing, move all my crap from Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Madison down to CLT. It was good therapy, in that I did get to hang out with a few folk in Pittsburgh that I hadn't seen in a few years. But ultimately, it was just a waste. I realized I didn't want that crap anymore.
6. Anyway. After ATL, I was pretty much on the road constantly, filling in at Bethesda, Arlington, and a great place by the name of Evansville, Indiana. After spending weeks upon end at Arlington I finally ended up transferring there, officially on January 26, 2010, but considering the fact that I was pretty much there from the end of September 2009...eh, who's counting.
7. I met a nice girl around the first week of October 2009. I later found out she was a big shot lawyer. And just like most of my ex-girlfriends, she keeps in close contact with most of her ex-boyfriends. The former was highly interesting. The latter proved to be just one more instance of me playing nice with former boyfriends in tight quarters and failing miserably.
What was the question? Oh yeah...
8. Found a nice place in NE D.C. It worked, was overpriced, but I was never there so...so what. I was working 70 hour weeks and usually sleeping at her place. Things fell apart, I spent more time spending the off days around the H Street NE sector, and really liked it. Eastern Market is great too, by the way.
9. Got fired in June of 2011. That was a fun day.
10. In between going on endless interviews, both telephone and on site, I worked with a lot of head hunters. It was fun.
11. At the beginning of October 2011 I accepted defeat (and also rapidly depleted funds) and moved to Southern Maryland with my brother, his wife, two nephews, and a niece. It was interesting. Family is fun.
12. Middle of January I moved into a one bedroom group home owned by a divorced guy with two kids and who likes to kayak.
So.
So?
So, you listed all this crap out, had a nice give and take before but then just decided to take the easy way out and list it all, and of course skipping things along the way. Aren't you tired of this crap yet? As in, It's Been Over A Year.
I guess we're back to this. Yes. In the past year I've made amends once or twice with the ex-girlfriend.
That's not the question.
What is the question?
What have you done with yourself?
At first I was gung-ho, throwing myself out there, never knowing when the phone would ring, resumes, recruiters, people across the board. I honestly couldn't keep track of them (I'd provide snapshots of my notebooks here but eh, who cares?). I did a working interview numerous times, and I do appreciate the free cruise on the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. It was a fun time.
You're getting off topic.
I dealt with no less than ten different recruiters/headhunters over 10-12 months. I kind of got...disillusioned.
Disillusioned? How?
I talked with folks from independent firms, corporate firms, even independents.
So.
They did the best they could with what they were working with.
Um. Are you going crazy at this point? You're carrying on interviews with yourself right now. Pretty sure that's a red flag for potential employers.
Have you worked in the restaurant business? We are the ones who keep it all running.
Perhaps we should continue this tomorrow after a good nights sleep.
Cheers.
*
In all seriousness, I'm stuck trying to figure it all out again in my mid-late 30's. It's not fun. My added benefit is a friend who has cancer that is now pretty much terminal. I used to think that my lackluster life, doing nothing aside from drinking and smoking it all away was pretty bad and wanting, but then, well.
I'm yet to hear how bad it really is, but considering it's been in his head (literally...I have pictures and they aren't pretty) since early last year, even his hopes aren't high.
*
But I suppose this is all too much now. I'll try to break it down again later.
*
Wanting, needing, fighting, feeling...
Embrace it.
So. What's happened in the last four plus years?
Last I checked in with myself back in early May 2008, everything kind of sucked, personally, professionally, financially...I'm running out of -lly(s) to fill in the blanks. I was sleeping on a fold out couch in my sisters' family front room.
Didn't answer the question very well...
I know. I'll give the brief rundown numerically:
1. Got job in Charlotte, NC at end of May. Started on June 6, 2008, just in time for hell week(end). It was the annual food festival. I purchased 960 pounds of wings in three days.
2. I was hired in as Sous Chef. No big deal. Went through multiple candidates for Chef, hired one, he didn't last longer than two weeks. Second guy, he lasted until the following April until he literally disappeared off the face of the planet. During the entire time I was still essentially running the show from day one, the one primarily answering for everything from scheduling to inventory to just plain day in day out bullshit.
3. Had a fire at the end of May, 2009. That was fun. I have pictures on my FB. Melted plastic and the soot covered stature of St. Patrick is kinda cool. We were shut down in CLT until March 2010.
4. In between I did a lot of office work, menu research, looked at a lot of temporary workshops for the refurbishing/rebuilding, etc. And then I got a nice deal where I got to go and help open up the Atlanta location June/July of 2009. That was nice.
5. Before ATL, however, I was able to go back to Columbus for my grandmother's 90th, do a bit of family reunion thing, move all my crap from Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Madison down to CLT. It was good therapy, in that I did get to hang out with a few folk in Pittsburgh that I hadn't seen in a few years. But ultimately, it was just a waste. I realized I didn't want that crap anymore.
6. Anyway. After ATL, I was pretty much on the road constantly, filling in at Bethesda, Arlington, and a great place by the name of Evansville, Indiana. After spending weeks upon end at Arlington I finally ended up transferring there, officially on January 26, 2010, but considering the fact that I was pretty much there from the end of September 2009...eh, who's counting.
7. I met a nice girl around the first week of October 2009. I later found out she was a big shot lawyer. And just like most of my ex-girlfriends, she keeps in close contact with most of her ex-boyfriends. The former was highly interesting. The latter proved to be just one more instance of me playing nice with former boyfriends in tight quarters and failing miserably.
What was the question? Oh yeah...
8. Found a nice place in NE D.C. It worked, was overpriced, but I was never there so...so what. I was working 70 hour weeks and usually sleeping at her place. Things fell apart, I spent more time spending the off days around the H Street NE sector, and really liked it. Eastern Market is great too, by the way.
9. Got fired in June of 2011. That was a fun day.
10. In between going on endless interviews, both telephone and on site, I worked with a lot of head hunters. It was fun.
11. At the beginning of October 2011 I accepted defeat (and also rapidly depleted funds) and moved to Southern Maryland with my brother, his wife, two nephews, and a niece. It was interesting. Family is fun.
12. Middle of January I moved into a one bedroom group home owned by a divorced guy with two kids and who likes to kayak.
So.
So?
So, you listed all this crap out, had a nice give and take before but then just decided to take the easy way out and list it all, and of course skipping things along the way. Aren't you tired of this crap yet? As in, It's Been Over A Year.
I guess we're back to this. Yes. In the past year I've made amends once or twice with the ex-girlfriend.
That's not the question.
What is the question?
What have you done with yourself?
At first I was gung-ho, throwing myself out there, never knowing when the phone would ring, resumes, recruiters, people across the board. I honestly couldn't keep track of them (I'd provide snapshots of my notebooks here but eh, who cares?). I did a working interview numerous times, and I do appreciate the free cruise on the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. It was a fun time.
You're getting off topic.
I dealt with no less than ten different recruiters/headhunters over 10-12 months. I kind of got...disillusioned.
Disillusioned? How?
I talked with folks from independent firms, corporate firms, even independents.
So.
They did the best they could with what they were working with.
Um. Are you going crazy at this point? You're carrying on interviews with yourself right now. Pretty sure that's a red flag for potential employers.
Have you worked in the restaurant business? We are the ones who keep it all running.
Perhaps we should continue this tomorrow after a good nights sleep.
Cheers.
*
In all seriousness, I'm stuck trying to figure it all out again in my mid-late 30's. It's not fun. My added benefit is a friend who has cancer that is now pretty much terminal. I used to think that my lackluster life, doing nothing aside from drinking and smoking it all away was pretty bad and wanting, but then, well.
I'm yet to hear how bad it really is, but considering it's been in his head (literally...I have pictures and they aren't pretty) since early last year, even his hopes aren't high.
*
But I suppose this is all too much now. I'll try to break it down again later.
*
Wanting, needing, fighting, feeling...
Embrace it.