Well so much for growing up

I had worked very hard to try and leave Starbucks under good terms. One carefully constructed lie combined with a proper two week's notice, and I thought I could avoid the "do not rehire" list. So much for that.

I woke up this morning with nothing left in the tank. The last time I worked was payday, and not only was my paycheck noticeably smaller but my tips were over 50 percent smaller. To understate the obvious, I was feeling disgruntled. It didn't get any better over the past four days. If anything, the time off has made me realize how much I can do without having to be bound to Starbucks.

Monday I applied to four jobs, Tuesday I attended a career fair (and thankfully, unlike the first time, I wasn't the only white guy there. I was however the only one there with an engineering degree....it obviously wasn't meant for me). I did the laundry, cleaned the house, and even watched a movie - all with energy to spare. That never happens on days I work.

Do I feel bad about it? Not really. I haven't blown off a job since walking out mid-shift at TGI Fridays in Tampa. I believe I was 23 years old then, and I've put in nearly a decade of hard work since then. I feel for the people who probably scrambled to cover my shift, but it's nothing I haven't done myself from time to time. Besides, perhaps this forced one of the managers to do a little work for once.

Shamed into blogging

I've just gotten an email from an old Blue Plate friend mentioning how I should sign onto LifeJournal. I checked out her site and was amazed with both the consistency and volume of her musings - thus reminding me that I had my own neglected journal here. I'm not sure if anyone reads it, but there are certainly worse reasons than posterity for keeping up on my own journal. So much happens here that it can sometimes be overwhelming to try to put it all into words, but I'll do my best to condense it to the main points for this entry.

I got a job......that I am two days from quitting. Starbucks was kind enough to hire me despite their initial reervations (my age and education level had them worried I might get bored. I did), and now I have just two more shifts to show up for before I am permanently done. I wasn't just bored, I was dissatisfied and disgruntled. Perhaps the straw that broke my back was when one of the managers tried to show me how to use a timer, repeatedly. It's not a bad place, I mean they do offer health insurance, but it doesn't cover psychiatry - which is what I would need were I to stay any longer. Still, for those with little to no skill or experience it is probably the best job out there. Once elevated to manager you apparently no longer have to work....you can just sit in the back and chat with other managers.

We also attended a wedding not too long ago for some friends of ours who happen to have more money than Ana and I may ever see. The reception was held in a rooftop penthouse complete with swimming pool, gardens (yes - with real grass and everything) and fantastic views of the city. It made me feel royal for an evening, although I was able to better relate to the servers than the guests. I'm sad to say I took full advantage of the open bar, and paid for it dearly the next morning. Isn't that what wedding are for?

We also recently went to a party celebrating the new tenure of NYU's genetics professor. His name is Todd and he is a fellow Sconnie from Stevens Point (you's actually be surprised by how many Wisconsinites are here, perhaps less surprised to find out how tightly knit the community is). The guy is perhaps the strangest cat I have ever met. His pedigree is from Cornell and Harvard but his heart is all Lambeau. He's got a mohawk which he says he wears because his wife hates it, and he is famous for giving presentations to his intellectual peers with little more on than a t-shirt and sweats (complete with red, white and blue Converse All-Stars). Unless the discourse is about genetics, his vocabulary sounds as though it came straight from the gutter - which of course it did...Stevens Point. And of course, he's a pervert. It's a good thing he's so brilliant because I have a feeling no one would tolerate him otherwise.

Job and social events aside, New York is really a fantastic place. I am enjoying city life, minus the oppresive heat, and I can't tell you how thankful I am to have such an extensive subway system (what is it now...$3.00 per gallon?). Sure, there are lots of other little minor annoyances that get under my skin from time to time, but that would be true no matter where I happened to be. Truth be told, I wpuld have kept that Starbucks job if it had meant staying versus going.