And so....

So, it seems that my decision has been made for me. The Corner Bakery doesn't seem to be able to get their shit together. They said they would call with their offer on Thursday. I finally heard from them Friday, telling me I they would have it on Monday. The problem is Monday is my travel day for the Cattle Company. I start training with them on Tuesday. So useless there is a radical shift in the next two days, I will be training in Fort Payne, Alabama for 8 week and then moving to Hammond, Louisiana. Of course these means packing up and moving. Which is a huge pain in the ass! HUGE!!!

I am suppose to be cleaning and packing up my apartment right now. But I just don't have the focus. I has been so beautiful the last few days. Highs right a 70 lows right at 50, blue skies, light breezes. BEAUTIFUL!!!! Its the type of day that you turn the AC off and just cool the place by opening doors and turning on fans . Maybe having a cool drink while sitting in the yard. Spring is definitely on the way (which reminds me day light saving times starts tonight). Traveling and Road Tripping weather!

The weather is so nice I shot down to Hattiesburg to rock out with my friends down there. The The Juke Joint Duo rocked the Thirsty Hippo. The great thing about friends is they know what to say to make you have a good time, even when they are fighting against our better nature! I should have been home packing but I needed to get out of my head and have some fun! In my opinion, there are few things better in life than drinking some beers, listening to a good band and dancing with some beautiful women.

While I can't stand just cleaning and packing, I am excite to get on to the next phase of my life. I got some regrets about leaving Jackson. But I think I have done everything I would do in this place. I just got one last bridge to burn here and then I can get out free and clear.

In a Holding Pattern

GGGGGGgggggggrrrrrrr...........I got so much stuff I could be writing about but I just can't stay focus enough to do it.

On the job front, I quiet the sporting good store so i could focus on getting a "real" job. Or at least one that pays better. Its funny because my last day was Sunday and not two hours after quieting Dick's, I got a call from a guy opening a Corner Bakery in Jackson. I went on an interviewed with the owner Monday and I have a follow up interview tomorrow with one of the company directors. On the other side, I passed my drug test and we are just waiting on my background check with the Cattle Co. I could start training with them next week in Alabama. Now if Bakery gives me a competitive offer in salary and benefits and they also want me to start ASAP. So if both jobs start soon, and have equal(more or less) pay and benefits. Which do I take?

The basic difference seem to come down to where I want to live. The steak house job will require me to move to Hammond, LA. I must admit a bit of excitement about living in Louisiana. Hammond is about half way between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. It would be nice to be closer to some good rock shows, but not having to live in those town themselves. And I do have friends in NOLA. But if I took the bakery job, I won't have to move. I won't have to deal with the problems of finding a new place to live and setting up a life. Plus, my family and Amanda is here. It is only a three hour drive, but still.... Leaving would probably mean the end with me and Amanda. But is a relationship with a person, really a relationship if you only see them once ever few weeks? I know her life is complicated, but is that fair to me? Can I put my whole life on hold, for a woman I am very attached to, but rarely see?

I find it strange in this hard economic times that I left one job to weight the options of take two others. Hell with my luck I probably will not get either! So basically I'm in a holding pattern waiting on the big wheels of industry to move into the proper places.

The Continuing Adventures in Not-So-Unemployement

Okay, so I have a job!

I am in charge of Team Sports (Baseball, Basketball, Football, Soccer, etc) at Dick's Sporting Goods. Its not a great job and I really don't know what I am doing there. But at least it its a job.

I am still looking for something else. I got a call from The Cattle Company about coming to work for them. I was suppose to go to work at their Hammond, Louisiana store, but a corporate change caused it to be franchised out. Now it is possible that I might still work at the Hammond store, working for the franchisee, or go to work for the corporate store in Tupelo. So that is at least good.

Then in a weird little twist, the new owner/operator of the Basil's in Belhaven (the place I was suppose to take over last fall) talked to me yesterday about coming and helping run the restaurant. Of course we talked about this over a few beers and some shots, so who knows if that might ever really happen.

What a Long Week

Lots going on this week.....

The Inauguration


What can I say, write, think, or feel what hasn't been said, or written, or felt a thousand time already. I will just say for once in a long time it was a good day in America.



Still Adventuring in Umemployement

While I am sure that almost everyone got to watch the inauguration Tuesday, I did not. I have spend alot of time this week in my car. I drove down Tuesday to McComb, to meet with a rep. from Sante Fe Cattle Company. I had a meeting at 10am and I finished up just in time to hear the President give his address. I guess I was good enough, because they called me back later that day to set up a second interview in McComb with the VP of south eastern operations.So I was schedualed to have a second interview on Wednesday afternoon. So I drove back on Wednesday. Basically after talking for 30 minutes they said they would send me an offer letter. So I don't have a job with them yet, but I guess they want me to come work for them. The only problem with this is that the job will be in Hammond, Louisana. Normally this would not be a problem, except for the fact that I am see some one here. But, my relationship with Amanda is complicated. Sometimes it feels like no relationship at all and then other times it seems very serious. I guess I will have to figure out what to do after I actually have the job.

Anyway, right before I left on Wednesday, my buddy Stephan called to tell me Debbie(his wife) was giving birth to their first son, Conner. To congrats to Stephan, Debbie, and Conner. And seeing that I was in South Mississippi anyway, I rolled on over to Hattiesburg to visit with folks.

I did stop off at the hospital first, but I never found anyone I knew. Those place are like mazes. So I called and went to dinner. I met Charlotte and we had a grand old time having drinks and just generally being the fun kids we are (or as much fun kids as a 26 and 31 year old can be). I even spilled my beer right on Charlotte! I felt bad about that. So we then made plans to go rent DVDs and watch some movies. Somehow it turned into a "B movie" night, we watched Freaks and The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. The second one I recommend because it is a modern homage/spoof to 1950s "B" horror/sci-fi films. Charlotte's boyfriend Hank arrived home and watched most of the movies with us, as we made plans for the next day.

See, for a long time now I have been wanting to go down to Abita Springs, Louisana and visit the brewery of Abita Beer . They do a free tour. But for one reason or another I have never made it there. But with Hank and Charlotte's support we had planned to go down and and enjoy the day. And what a beautiful day it turned out to be, Sunny, high in the low 70s. Prefect day for road tripping. You might think it irresponsible of me to drive down to a brewery, when I don't have a job or money coming in, and your right. But really what else did I have to do. I didn't have an interview that day and I had been offered a job, in theory, the day before. So anyway, after waking up I found out Hank couldn't go, he got called into work(see, work is bad!). So me and Charlotte went. The drive down was boring and what not, but we had fun, I filled her in on my whats going on in my life, she told me about Hank, her sister, and herself moving to NOLA. We got a little lost between the Interstate and the town of Abita Spring, but made it with plenty of time for the tour. The tour starts in their Brew Pub with free samples of beer. Then you watch a video that explains the brewing process and then you get to walk the brewery. The Brewery itself isn't that interesting. Just large tanks and hoses. So unless they are mixing the mash there isn't much to see. After the tour, we went and eat at the Abita Brew Pub, which in the original brewery but was quickly outgrown. I dropped Charlotte off with Hank and headed home.

Because I did have an interview with Dick's Sporting Goods. Not to be full of myself, but I could tell the guy wanted to hire me, but I have no retail experience. Still he called me, late in the day to say he would bring me on, but as an hourly manager and he would call me next Friday.

So in theory, I have two job offers, but no job!

Anyhow all this traveling kinda of wore me down and yesterday, I did as little as possible. But I still put in an application with Broad Street Bakery and got my invite for the JFP Best of Jackson party tonight. Why am I invited? No idea, but free food and drink is hard to turn down for an unemployeed guy!

Adventures in Unemployement...Day 6

So, I lost my shitty little job on Sunday, does that make today the sixth day or seventh day with out work. I don't know. I did work on Sunday, so I guess today is the sixth day.
Anyway, I had a strange thought last night. Instead on one "Full Time" job, I might look for two "part time" jobs. I had two run-ins yesterday that brought this to my attention. A friend of Zuga's said I might be able to get part time work at Be-Bop and then I might be able to cook at this new restaurant opening in Fondren called The Auditorium. Both would be cool job and I would not have to be responsible for other people. I still want to look in Brewmaster school, but I the best one in Chicago is full till fall 2010.
I did get a call from a restaurant called Sant Fe Cattle Co. I have to drive down to McComb on Tuesday meet with a guy about it. The problem with this job is that it means moving out of Jackson. While Jackson is perfect, I have spent the last three years craving out a life here. I don't know if I am ready to just up and move and start again. That gets harder the older I get and I would be leaving someone behind this time.
What to do, What to do?

Adventures In Unemployement...Day 3

I meant to write yesterday, but I really didn't have anything new to add to what was written Sunday. Plus I suffered a slight freak out. I had hoped that the freak out would come on Sunday night while I was drinking a case of High Life but no, it waited till I sobered up. But I have been getting my resume out to people. Between Careerbuilder, Monster, and the head hunters that uses those boards I have made a good start. I even heard from one of the head hunters today. So that is a plus. I hopefully will have another soul crushing job in no time. But....

I can't help of think of the holy words of Tyler Durden,

" Only when you have lost everything are you free to do anything "

They just popped into my head Sunday night. And I can't shake them off. As long as I am paying my bill and whatever I really could do anything right now. I have thougth of going to Brewmaster School and learning to make beer. I have thought about enrolling in Massage Therapy School. I have thought of selling everything I own and moving to New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, Sengal, or Fuji. I know that last one is just a pipe dream, but I seriously feel like I am missing out on something. I have never been the 9 to 5 type and I knew I don't want to work in an office. But I'm not really trained to do alot. My study of history has not made me ready to do anything but study history or teach history. Neither of those sound like good options at this point. I can cook, which is how I have ended up where I am. But do I want to go to culinary school. If I was going to do something like that I would rather learn to make beer.
I guess I just don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Which is sad and scary at 32.

Adventures in Unemployement

So, here I sit, unemployeed...again.
I really don't know what else to say about it. The restaurant wasn't making money. The owner decided to close it. Me and my whole staff were laid off. So I here I sit unemployeed again. I would like to say that I didn't see it coming but that would be a lie. Sales in general have been going down hill, and no one gets into a business to lose money (unless its a tax dodge). Still I can't say that I haven't been looking for other work, I really never stopped after the whole Basil's thing.
But it just sucks.
So tonight, I'm drink a case of cheap, CHEAP, CHEAP beer and having some hot-wings. After I sleep that off, I will gather together my thoughts and get to finding new work. At least with the time off, I can write a few article for the JFP, finish some piece of art, and play my guitar more. I might even chronicle my "adventure in unemployement".