Wow, this is one of those times where I haven’t written
anything in six weeks, but it only feels like six days. Usually it feels the
other way around. Ok let’s drop our 10 hits.
1) First and foremost, let’s talk about work. After 19
months of working at Tucano’s, I have given them my notice. Why am I giving my
notice? Let me count the ways.
·
A more free social
life
·
I have met certain
financial goals, such as eliminating all my debt and funding my emergency fund
·
Physical toll on
my feet and back from walking six hours at a time
·
Many lousy tippers
in this area. I will not stereotype, but you learn that certain types of people
are better at tipping than others
·
I don’t respect my
co-workers
I will stay there through Valentine’s Day weekend,
however. On that Saturday, we’ll be charging a little extra, so it might be one
last payday. As of this writing, I have 4 shifts over 3 weekends left to go.
And there’s only one time when I work back to back days.
2) In the interim, I’ve begun a new sidejob,
delivering groceries through Shipt. Now, is it the most lucrative job I’ve ever
had? Not exactly. But it so easy and the flexibility is what makes the
difference. In reality, it isn’t something I need to do to make a living. But I
can sneak an order or two in before or after work and then when I have days
off, I can spend half a day doing it. Right now, I’m making $8-10 per order and
it usually takes 45 minutes to an hour of my time. Considering a typical shift
at Tucano’s would pay me $50-$60, I’m making about the same amount of money per
hour and that’s even if the Shipt customer doesn’t even tip me. Throw in the
flexibility and the lack of strain on my body, and it’s a much better deal. The
only drawback is the additional driving, which means buying a little more gas.
3) I purchased a ticket to see the Oak Ridge Boys
outside Washington D.C. I only remember one concert I’ve seen of theirs, and
that was around 2005 in Elgin, IL. I know Mom and Dad took me to a few of their
shows when I was a kid, but that was the age when I couldn’t handle loud
noises. These guys are in their 70s so who knows how many more years they’ll
continue to tour as is. Gonna be a privilege.
4) Mom recommended I try a run at NC State this
weekend. Now keep in mind, this is with 2 days’ notice, so it was too late to
sign up anyway. But the gimmick is you run from the famous belltower for 2.5
miles east, then eat a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, and then run another 2.5 back
to the belltower. The challenge is to do it in under one hour. Now I can run an
8k in 36 or 37 minutes, so I’m not worried about the running. I’m actually more
worried about the 2,400 calories! Well, I have 12 months to prepare anyway.
5) Speaking of which, I had to take care of mom for a
couple of days after she had what she called eye surgery. Well as it turned
out, nothing was wrong with her eye, it was actually a brow lift, so it was a cosmetic
procedure. I had to monitor 5 medications, plus ice, plus 2 different eyedrops.
It was a lot, but she’d have done the same thing for me.
6) Nine years of Yelp Elite status! And now with the
Tucano’s job about behind me, now I can probably start going to more events.
Every Elite event, it feels like I’m meeting everyone all over again. But when
I can only get to one every 2-3 months, I guess that’s the result.
7) Double Bitter Valentine from Alewerks. Perfect beer
for lonely single SOB’s like me as Valentine’s Day approaches.
8) Two days till the world gets the honor of watching a
Super Bowl without Satan representing the AFC. It’ll be nice to watch one of
those games again for the first time in 3 or 4 years, whatever it is. Kansas City,
San Francisco, doesn’t make much difference to me but I would like to see Coach
Andy Reid finally win one and get over the hump.
9) Tonight, I’m hosting a VIP Party at Guy Fieri’s
Dive & Taco Bar. I have about 50 to 60 people expected to come right now. I
am certainly excited, but I know myself pretty well and with me, this goes one
of two ways. I either have a fantastic time, but if I am feeling left out, I
tend to retreat to myself and after enough time, I get bored and I leave. As
the party host, that would not be a wise idea. So I have to be prepared if I
have that feeling of exclusion starts to come over me.
