Six Weeks Removed

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.