MLB Predictions

After suffering through abysmal football and basketball seasons, I am ready to look forward to the baseball season and the Mets getting back on the field. Thank God I have the Rangers for a few more months. This feels like one of those seasons when a lot of established teams look to be taking a step back and a lot of up and coming teams may finally break through and get to the playoffs. Here's how I see the final standings breaking down.

National League

East                                         Central                                   West

z-Washington                         y-Chicago                               y-Los Angeles
Miami                                     w-St. Louis                             w-San Francisco
NY Mets                                 Pittsburgh                               San Diego
Atlanta                                    Cincinnati                               Colorado
Philadelphia                            Milwaukee                             Arizona 

                                               
                                                                                                                  

American League

 
East                                         Central                                     West

y-Boston                                  y-Chicago                               z-Anaheim
w-Toronto                                Cleveland                                w-Seattle
NY Yankees                            Detroit                                     Oakland
Tampa Bay                              Kansas City                            Texas
Baltimore                                 Minnesota                               Houston

Tonight's playlist

Six hours on my feet, serving pizza, refilling beverages, and cleaning the salad bar. My first shift is over. I feel pretty good mentally, but my feet are pretty exhausted. Right now, I think I'd prefer to date a female professional foot masseuse above all other jobs. Chilling with two pieces of deep dish and two cans of Bud now. By the way, there is no more annoying tweet in the world than two people talking about how much they adore each other on Twitter! That's what you have texting, phone calls, and friggin face-to-face conversations for!

Anyway, on a freezing, cold, tiring night, it's time to play mellow music and a lot of country.

1) "Till I Get It Right" Tammy Wynette
2) "Stardust" Nat King Cole
3) "Old Man" Neil Young
4) "Out on the Weekend" Neil Young
5) "Somewhere In My Broken Heart" Billy Dean
6) "Good Ol' Fashioned Love" Tracy Byrd
7) "Going Where the Lonely Go" Merle Haggard
8) "You Take Me For Granted" Merle Haggard
9) "Last In Love" George Strait
10) "Living For the Night" George Strait
11) "Dreaming Again" Jim Croce
12) "Valentine's Day" Bruce Springsteen

Happy Singles Day

1) Thank the Lord that it is Valentine's Day. For one reason. The incessant jewelry and flowers commercials will now go away until next November.

2) There is no fitting music than old country music on Valentine's Day. Keith Whitley's "I Never Go Around Mirrors" and "Addicted" by Dan Seals work especially well.

3) So I've worked five shifts at Gino's East in the week since I've been hired. I certainly feel like I'm getting more ready to go on my own and wait on tables. I still need to get a server number, apron, and all that jazz. Oh, and can they order some company t-shirts? I mean I have a few black t-shirts I can wear, but I would like to wear a company shirt. I really feel my biggest issue will be knowing that I can't be everywhere at once and just learning to stay calm. But as far as the menu knowledge, I'm feeling very confident.

4)  I tried tending bar for the first time too. I was hoping watching all those episodes of Bar Rescue would pay off. I must have spent about a half hour free pouring for the first time, trying to master the 4 count that should equal one ounce poured. It wasn't easy; too many times, some water fell on the bar top. But I enjoyed doing it and I kept getting better with my technique.

5) Will I really try to do another Fuddrucker's challenge Wednesday night??? Last time, I went after 7 pounds of food, five pounds of burger and two pounds of bun. I got through about 3/4 of it in 50 minutes. before calling it quits. This time, it's a mere three pounds of beef, but there's also a pound of fries. I'm seriously debating...

All at once

Well, in the last 48 hours, my life has changed quite drastically. It looks like we are reaching a conclusion to the eternal job search. I'm not going to mention specific company names as there are several situations that are still pending. It's a lot to keep up with, but it's a fun ride to hop aboard.

I was supposed to do a phone interview with School A, but I found out it had to be rescheduled to Wednesday. Another day of finishing homework.

I interviewed with School B on Tuesday in person. Now this is a good school on a local campus. It's a financial aid position and it's full time. The people in the office are a great group too. However, there are a couple of drawbacks. For instance, the hourly wage is a low range and even if I got the upper end of it, it would not be a great amount of money. The truth is it is a receptionist job within the office and I am overqualified for it. I felt okay about the interview process and I felt if they would offer me the position that I would accept it. But I knew they had more candidates to interview throughout the course of the week, so I couldn't feel too confident about it.

Later that afternoon, a temp agency called me. They asked if I could come in and meet with them to discuss my skills and see if there were any matches. So even if there wasn't a specific offer, it could lead to some possibilities.

So we come to Wednesday morning. I didn't wake up overly happy. I scoured the job sites and the college employment pages, looking for whatever I could find. That afternoon, I had a phone interview  with School A. I have a manager who I used to work with who recommended me for a job at this school. I spoke with the employment manager, who was a really nice lady. She thought I might be suited for another position at School A. So we had Job A1 and Job A2. We talked about the first job, which is what my boss does. It's full time and I could develop a career doing it. I liked that I could get up to six weeks of travel, going to other campuses around the country and I would have my expenses covered. However, the more I thought about it, the less enamored I felt with it. For instance, I'd be working between 11-8 four days a week as well as every other Saturday. And the hourly wage wasn't phenomenal. So I felt better about A2, since it was less of a call center environment.

Fifteen minutes after hanging up with School A, I got a call from School C. They wanted to offer me a job. It's a very good school and I would be an FA representative, which is what I want to do. However, there are two issues. One, it's part time; I can only work 29 hours a week. But that's how companies avoid paying benefits. Two, for legal reasons related to the college, I can't start until March 23. That's six weeks with no pay. So I realized I would be wise to get a part time job in the interim. Even better, it would help if I could keep it a night job so I could do both jobs simultaneously. I promised the employment manager that I would call back with a response. I felt confident I would accept it, but I wanted to know more about what would happen with School A. After all, I wasn't looking for a part time job. But I'd take it if it could lead to a full time job.

Twenty minutes after that call ended, guess what. Another phone call! This was from a mortgage company that I had never heard of. The position was a research staff writer. I have no experience with the mortgage or banking industry. 40 hour week, 8-5, in Lake Zurich, which is about 40 minutes away from my house. We arranged for an interview on Friday morning. The pay is better than the other positions, but since it's such a stretch, I wonder if it's the right fit.

So all those phone calls happened in the span of 90 minutes! It was pretty crazy. Part of me was really happy, but I couldn't help but wonder why this didn't happen sooner! I decided I needed to call School A the next day, as well as look for some part time jobs to do until I could start at School C. I started considering coffee shops, grocery stores, and restaurants. I needed something that wouldn't take a while to learn and could also offer me flexible hours. After all, this job is just a supplement. I drove to a local grocery store and dropped off an application and planned a few other places to go on Thursday morning. Keep in mind, of course, that I had an appointment with the agency on Thursday afternoon.

Now we get to Thursday. I applied at three grocery stores, two retail shops, a restaurant, and a local restaurant. Some seemed promising, some not so much. During the course of the drive, I called School A. I told her about the other offer I had from School B and she felt it was best for me to accept it, especially if I preferred job A2 over A1. She gave me some new news, which was that they were looking towards some internal candidates to fill position A2. And the other factor when I calculated my wages for the year, the part time job at School C was only going to pay me about $200 less than Job A1. And that's working 10 fewer hours a week with a shorter commute. The only advantage of Job A1 was I would have benefits.

I felt best about the liquor store, but I decided to check Pizza place B. The owner greeted me at the door and immediately invited me to sit down. He then offered me a soft drink, which was really great. I sipped on iced tea and he came over and asked me a few questions. He asked everything from if I had transportation, to what I knew about the company, to if I hated any groups of people, to my favorite movie and music. I made sure to tell him I used to work at California Pizza Kitchen and I was an elite Yelp reviewer. After a 15 minute conversation, where he didn't even look at my application, I walked out of that pizzeria with a job.

I then immediately called School C and told them I would accept the position. I asked about what hours I was to work, so I could coordinate the two jobs if necessary. I don't have set hours yet, but the manager is willing to be flexible. The only catch is I must work one evening a week. At this point, since I have Alpha on Tuesday nights, I'm thinking I might try to keep it on Thursday nights. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. As it stands, I have six weeks to figure out the pizzeria before I have to scale back my hours.

But the story doesn't end there. I still have the mortgage interview on Friday morning. And then, I'm making lunch today, on Thursday afternoon. I get a call from an 815 area code. I know that's the south suburbs of Chicago. It's School D. They want to set up a phone interview with me for Monday. It's a full time job that can pay a little less, the same, or a little more than School C. I know I'd have to pay highway tolls to drive there. Of course, there is the possibility of benefits and it's also a financial aid job. Right now, I'm planning to explain that I have another offer, but it's part time. If they want me, then I'm going to need the highest end of the range. I really have nothing to lose by telling them that at this point.

So after 48 hours of insanity, here's what I'm thinking. I'm putting Schools A and B on the backburner. I can't imagine going with them now. As for the mortgage, it's kind of a wild card. I don't know if I'd accept it, unless it felt like a perfect fit in the interview tomorrow. I can only see this going two realistic ways. I take School C and the pizza combination or I will  just take School D.

It's taken a long time to get to this point. Nine months of pain, rejection, and frustration. But the end is in sight. Better days are ahead.

Five quick hits

1) I'm disgusted with this government. I should not have to pay for health insurance if I don't want to. Especially if I'm young and in good health. It is nothing more than an added expense that I don't want and currently don't need.

2) I want the doctor to tell me I'm not getting enough gluten in my diet.

3) Grad school update: 11 classes down, 3 to go. In terms of time, it's 16 months down and 4 to go.

4) Going to take a break from social media. As in Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Plus sports radio. Anyone who knows me knows that's a huge thing for me to give up. Basically, it's a way to avoid the bullshit about the Super Bowl and Satan winning it. I'm going to try to make it through Tuesday night, if not longer. We'll see how it goes.

5) I should have been heading to Nashville this coming Friday for a couple of fun days watching the Rangers play the Predators, listening to country music, and visiting a lot of museums. I was really excited about it. Instead, I'm staying home. Thanks for screwing it all up Dad...

Miserable

Fuck the New England Patriots. From their bombastic owner, their asshole coach, their queer, overrated QB, the Judas that plays cornerback, down to the ballboys who cheated. All of them can go straight to hell. If there was a way that I can have some kind of operation to forget everything I know about sports, I would sign for it today. My life has enough pain as is. This shit only magnifies everything that is bad in my life and in this sorry, dark, disgusting world.

Communication

I have no respect for a company that makes promises and offers potential, but has no clue how to communicate with its employees. Not to mention having a communication system that is so flawed that it hampers the ability for its employees to make a living. Let's break this down.

In this joke of an insurance job, I get a pack of leads to call and set up appointments. These are from people who have filled out a little yellow union card, indicating that they want someone to call them and speak to them about receiving their benefits. There are about 40 pages in each pack, 3 leads on each page. So it's about 115 leads total, when you factor in duplicates and what not.

Here's the issue. A lot of people call someone, do the appointments, and never turn the pack back in. So when I request a certain zip code, I'm getting some of the same leads that some other agent just worked over. When I call someone, and they actually pick up, I frequently hear that someone was out to see them just last month. I wish I had five bucks for each time I heard that. I would have made enough money to pay for my laptop computer that I had to buy to do this joke of a job.

Then, there is the factor of internal communication. Twice, I have gone to do appointments and a manager promised they'd be there...and then they weren't. That left me on my own. If that's not enough, I had a Thursday afternoon presentation at 12 pm. I had a different manager who promised to meet me there. So it's 11:58 AM. I'm waiting in front of the house in Bartlett, waiting for Oscar to show up so we could go in together. Two minutes before the appointment is set to begin, my phone buzzes. It's Oscar. He tells me that his daughter just got sick at school and he had to head home. He said he was one minute away from the house when he got the call. I hate to call out the integrity of someone I don't know. But the timing was just too perfect. Two minutes before, and he gets the phone call?! After some serious reflection, I think it was a setup. I understand the need for me to grow and the need to get comfortable doing insurance presentations on my own. But I don't appreciate the swerves.

Then, it's today. We just had a pretty big snowstorm that lasted about 36 hours. We always have a weekly meeting on Monday at 11 as a large group and then we have an agency meeting at 3 and then call night begins around 4 or 4:30. I drove 40 minutes to Lombard over a ton of ice. The lot was maybe 20 percent full. That raised my suspicion as the whole agency is there on Monday morning. By 10:50, parking is usually at a premium. So checked GroupMe, which is the app we use to communicate with each other and motivate one another and all that crap. I checked it and it said I had been removed from the group 28 days ago. I know that's not true, because I was on it two days prior. So, there's no meeting and I received no communication about it. If they decided not to renew my contract, which I'm guessing is the case, they could have had the balls to tell me. They didn't have the decency to give me the courtesy of an e-mail, which would have been low class to begin with. And I was pretty much ready to quit anyway. I'm better than they are and it's no wonder their turnover rate is higher than the Oakland Raiders head coaching position.

The bottom line is this. I didn't make a dime for AIL. But their crap communication system hampered my ability to make me money and help their business. So on that note, I would like to extend a farewell to this company. Thanks for costing me $700 and for letting me work for you for the last six weeks without a single cent going into my pocket. You are pathetic.

Not a good idea

I've had quite a few jobs now in my life, some full-time, some part time. Some I was good at, some I wasn't so good at. Some paid okay, some paid peanuts. And in the 15 years I've been working on some level, I've learned a few things. One of them is do not embarrass your employees publicly. And that just happened to me.

Basically, at this insurance job, the week runs from Thursday at 2 p.m. to the next Thursday at 1:59 p.m. Then, we get a check the following Monday...if we make any money, that is. So I've had no sales in the first four days. Today, we have our team meeting from 12-1. Our boss gives us one of his rah-rah, fire you up speeches where he talked about the opportunity that's out there. There's all this money to make, there are this people to see, this is what you're capable of achieving, start setting goals. All the typical BS. He gets through that and then two managers step up to the podium. They go through the halftime list. Now I've been at this company five weeks and I've never heard of this. They proceed to publicly call out every agent who has not made a sale in the last four days. They then ask them what is the reason and what our goal is. I knew I was getting called out. I haven't made a sale yet in the three weeks I've been doing presentations. Most of it is pathetic leads. But some of these pricks who started after me are making money and I'd be lying if I said it didn't burn me up. I'm hurting enough already inside. I don't need to be publicly embarrassed in front of 30 of my peers. I said my ALP goal was $1300 by Thursday. That would translate to me making about $310 for the week. The truth? All I want is to get a $600 check and get out of here. In other words, I just want to make enough to pay off my laptop, business cards, temp license, and gas money. I would be satisfied with just breaking even and getting the hell out of here. Because through five weeks, this job has cost me a whole lot more than it's given me. Hopefully, it'll work out, but right now, it's getting worse and worse.

Drifting

1) And Satan defeats Baltimore in the dump known as Foxboro. Two wins away from the worst possible scenario. Please Denver...I'm begging you. Kill those bastards.

2) I have no desire to eat today. I know some people eat when they're miserable, because it helps them feel better. To me, if I'm not going to enjoy the food, why would I eat it?

3) 28 degrees today...and it seems warm.

4) I don't know about this insurance deal. Two appointments, no sales. Six door knocks...nobody home. In other words, I made zero money. My manager told me it's the first Saturday he's ever had where no one was home on a Saturday. Unbelievable. I'm looking at other jobs. Because I am not happy where I am.

5) I am amazed how some people can look at one incident and think they can tell everything about someone's character when they have no clue what else may be going on in that person's life. Especially slightly older females who live in the Midwest. Seems to be the norm...

6) 10 A's down. 4 classes to go. Can June 23 get here already?

7) Would you please come back...by the time I count to fifty?

8) Debating whether or not to see Taken 3

9) One month till Nashville...

10) I changed my mind; I feel like eating something incredibly unhealthy.

Florida-Days 4 and 5

As I tend to do too often, I slept right through the alarm clock. So I rolled out of bed at 7:40 and hit the gym for a half hour, doing some abs, power walking, and a little bit of weights. Breakfast was whole milk and half a FitCrunch bar. We headed to Clearwater Beach around 9:30. This place was rated the top beach in America by USA Today. Well, we learned something. Never go to the place on a weekend. It is a thin inlet, with two streets going north and south. And I don't know if I have ever seen a place that is harder to get a parking spot. By 10 am, the traffic was bumper to bumper.

 

We wound up grabbing lunch at Frenchy's Saltwater Grille. There are maybe eight different Frenchy's restaurants in the area. This one is off the water, so the location wasn't the best. We had fried alligator to start. I've had fried gator a few times and this wasn't one of the best. The gator skin was dark and I had to chew pretty hard. It came with a BBQ sauce on the side, but I think remoulade works much better with gator. Mom got a Greek salad with grouper that had a huge hunk of potato salad in the bottom of the bowl. I'm sorry, but has anyone ever heard of a Greek salad with potato salad in it? Anyway, I had candied bacon wrapped Sriracha scallops. The scallops were flavored in Sriracha and lime, wrapped in brown sugar bacon, seared, and baked. They were sweet, salty, smoky, and spicy. Very good. I also ordered a side of steamed veggies: broccoli, cauliflower, and two baby carrots. They definitely needed seasoning, so I used plenty of lemon, salt, and pepper.

 

I knew parking would be impossible, so I took a quick 45 minutes or so to check out a few shops. I was sure to check out Hogan's Beach Shop. It was so much better than Hogan's Beach. There was tons more merch to buy. I really thought about getting a Hulkamania tank top, but for $20, I felt it was a little much. Instead, I get a yellow koozie. The funny thing was they even had dog shirts. If only I could have gotten one of those for Hogan when he was still alive. I also walked onto the beach for about ten minutes with my shirt and shoes off. Felt great to feel sand beneath my feet!

 

I went into two or three souvenir shops, looking for a decent tank, but decided against it in the end. So we headed out and checked out a dog parade at the Largo Botanical Gardens. Mom found out about it through the local newspaper. Unfortunately, the paper failed to mention that dog registration starts at 12. We took it to mean the parade started at 12. We got there and found out that it didn't start until 2. I took pictures of a couple of plants and just left. Since Mom had to do laundry for her upcoming tour, we headed back to the hotel around 1. First, we stopped at Rita's Italian Ices. They had something called a gelati, which is an Italian ice topped with soft-serve ice cream. I got the pina colada ice and vanilla ice cream. One of the most refreshing things I've had in a while.

 

Back at the hotel, I sat by the pool, mostly tanning and following the final Jets game of the season. We stayed till around 5:30, when we left for an evening service at BridgePoint Church. It's a growing church that had four services a day and is leasing their current space until they move to a new facility in three months. Great to see they're growing. Then, around 8:00 it was dinner time. Back over the bridge to Tampa for some pizza at Garibaldi's. The antipasto appetizer with Genoa salami, olives, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers, fresh basil, and baked bread was great. All I needed for perfection was a few marinated artichoke hearts. For the pie, I appeased Mom and went with bacon, mushrooms, and tomatoes. I knew it was a mistake; I think their Italian sausage and meatballs are better. And I certainly feel roasted peppers add more flavors than tomatoes. The pizza was fine, but it should have been better. Also, there was not enough sauce, which always bugs me. And the fact that they charge $2 for extra sauce is a joke too. Anyway, I'll stop there.

 

Monday morning came. Mom was supposed to leave early in the morning for the tour. Unfortunately, this joke of a bus company never returned any of her messages regarding who the driver was and if she would be picked up, if I had to drop her off at a certain spot, etc. And she began leaving messages on Christmas Eve? It's just pathetic. So we had to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to call these fools again to find out where the hell we were supposed to go and at what time.

 

We drove ten minutes west to largo. Mom missed one of my directions and we band in from the north instead of from the south. And it's a good thing she did because as we were turning onto the street where the bus company is, we passed the driver in the bus! I saw the Mayflower tours sticker on the website and I knew it! Thankfully we got his attention and hooked up with him. It turns out this driver found out he was driving for this tour one night prior! One night! That's terrible communication and shows a total lack of planning and preparation.

 

Anyway I took the car, went back to the hotel, worked out, cleaned up, packed, and checked out. I headed to south St. Pete to get cash, gas up (only cost me fifteen bucks), and grab food. Mazzaro's opened at nine, so I figured why not. While I was in the parking lot, I got the great news that Jets general manager was fired and the terrible news that coach Rex Ryan had suffered the same fate. I'll have another post about that later. I had a sausage sandwich, which was really good and would have been great if they had put marinara sauce on it. And I had the pistachio cannoli, which was perfect. Back over the bridge to Tampa. I played the acoustic version of Hotel California and I felt so free, if only for a few minutes.

 

Nothing too exciting at the airport, except it was cool to have the TSA guy compliment my Mets cap. Time to go home and pick up my girl from the kennel

Florida-Day 3

The second full day started with a two-hour drive south down I-275 and I-75 through Sarasota and Bradenton until we got to Punta Gorda, a town I had never heard of. But Mom is taking her next tour group over there, so we checked it out. We took a quick drive through the town and it seemed very old-fashioned and quaint. There didn't appear to be a ton going on and we were struggling to see why a lot of people had mentioned it as a good town to visit.

We had a 10 am tour at Babcock wilderness, which is a 91,000 acre property filled with wildlife and different ecosystems. It must have taken 25 minutes of driving from any hint of civilization until we got to the place. We took a 90-minute buggy tour with about 40 other people. One of the highlights for me was getting to pet a baby alligator. She felt very scaly and jagged, but still smooth. I also saw three-horned cows, wild turkeys, and an actual Florida panther named Ossie. In the sea, I must have seen 20 alligators. In the air, I saw a blue heron, a few hawks, and a group of circling vultures. It was a fun experience and was worth the time.

We headed back to Punta Gorda and checked out Fisherman's Wharf. It was basically a pier with a bunch of local, unique shops. I really liked this place, as there was a nice blend of expensive stores and casual stores. I nearly purchased a really nice black, short-sleeved, button-down shirt, but since I already have one like it, I took a pass. We ate at a New England style seafood restaurant. Mom had a lobster roll, which was about as predictable as the sun going down come late afternoon. Thankfully, she liked it. We split an order of onion rings; this place makes over 25,000 pounds of them every year. They tasted light and had a nice crunch. Really good rings. Also, the portion size was manageable. Too many times, I order onion rings or strings and there are just so many that I feel full. Thankfully, that didn't happen. I ordered a whole belly Ipswich clam roll. It came on a toasted hot dog roll, with nothing. No tartar sauce, no lemon, no lettuce and tomato. Just the clams. They came out crispy and full of flavor. After all that fried food, at least I ordered a salad for my side. Unfortunately, the waitress never refilled our drinks. But she must have been in her 60s and I give her credit for learning to take orders on a tablet.

I did a little more window shopping. I went into an ice cream parlor and I was tempted to try either the orange pineapple or they key lime ice cream. I asked to sample them and I was told that the staff was not allowed to hand out samples. So I walked away. I liked the board game store too. I thought about getting games like Rook, Cribbage, and Sequence for Dogs. They even has bacon toothpaste, bacon bandages, and Jesus soap. I really wonder how excited the Lord is to know we're naming soap after him.

Anyway, we headed back north on the Tamiami trail. Port Charlotte was the first city over the Peace River after we left Punta Gorda. Suffice to say, there is nothing that would entice me to return there. It's just blah. Around Sarasota, there was some punk kid blasting his music so loud in the truck next to us that I felt my eardrums vibrating. Actually, I take that back. It wasn't music. It was vulgar rap. And our car windows were closed! I'm sorry, but that crap deserves a ticket. We eventually got back to the hotel around five.

After watching two episodes of Forensic Files, I left for Engine No. 9, a hockey-themed burger bar in downtown St. Petersburg. Of course, I wore a Rangers jersey and asked to watch Rangers vs. Devils. I had a Dogfish beer, which I enjoyed, before switching to a Yuengling draft. I ordered the Demi-God burger, which had Swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, portabella mushrooms, caramelized onions, and horseradish mayo. It came out cooked perfectly medium and juicy. This burger was absolutely tremendous and I would definitely order it again. The sweet potato fries were crispy and thick. They came with ketchup, so of course, I just had them as is. Also, they had a little bit of a vanilla flavor to them. As for the game, the Rangers were winning 2-0 when I left and wound up winning 3-1 as Derek Stepan notched a hat trick. And for dessert, I finished off that last cannoli. I might need to work out in the morning before church tomorrow...

Florida-Day 2

I woke up at 6 am and headed straight to the gym. I ran on a treadmill for the first time in maybe eight months. I really wasn't sure how my right leg would hold up after suffering my leg injury in May. I started with a brisk walk at 4.0 mph. Every quarter mile, I increased the pace by half a mile. Eventually, I got it up to 7.0, which is a pretty fast run, but not an all-out sprint for me. I stayed on the treadmill for about 21 minutes. I could feel a little tightness above my right knee, but it went away pretty quickly. I don't know if I'm ready to run a 5k just yet; I think I may want to wait until I actually have medical insurance again before I do that. I also hit the dumbbells or a half hour and went down to grab breakfast. As part of our deal with Courtyard, we got $20 worth of food every day. I got an OJ and a "healthy" breakfast sandwich, as well a smoothie for Mom.

The first stop of the day was St. Pete Beach which is off the west coast of mainland St. Petersburg. We drove down the inlets, noticing a lot of hotels, summer beach homes, and small shops. It would be a really neat place to spend a weekend. One part of the inlet where we spent a lot of time is called Pass-A-Grille. Very laid back area, that may be best known for the Don CeSar hotel, an enormous pink hotel that has a lot of history in the area. They only had a few places to shop and eat, but it was just a really cool beach community.

We headed back over to the east side of St. Petersburg to check out Mazzaro's Italian market. This was in a tough area of town, surrounded by car washes, empty parking lots, and the site of a future Dunkin' Donuts. But I could tell this place was the real deal because it had statues outside of lions and the Virgin Mary. We went in and I nearly fainted. The smell of garlic, roasted peppers, and Italian cheese permeated through my nose, just making me feel so alive. We went to the deli counter, where about 20 people were waiting for their sandwich orders. Mom got a roast beef while I got a salami and capicola. They topped the sandwiches with provolone cheese, Romaine lettuce, Italian slaw, tomatoes, red onions, roasted peppers, oil, vinegar, and Italian spices. First, having lettuce and cabbage was really different. I almost feel like I didn't need the lettuce with the slaw being on there. And the red onions didn't work for me, I felt they were just too strong. But the meat was fresh and that bread was just perfect. Soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside, and just thick enough to keep all those ingredients inside. Really good, though next time, I'd go for an Italian sausage or a chicken parmesan sandwich.

We also got two cannolis. I had never had a cannoli quite like this. The cream wasn't bright white, as most are. This had some brown specks. Later, I found out the brown specks were cinnamon oil. The oil gave the cannoli a richness and sophistication that I have never had in another cannoli. Just tremendous.

We then headed over to downtown St. Pete. I wanted to check out Haslam's, which is the largest bookstore in Florida. It wasn't as big as Powell's in Portland, but they had some cool things. One was an assortment of vintage jigsaw puzzles with some unique themes such as pencils, vending machines, the 60s, the Three Stooges, and state postcards. One of the interesting books was titled "Things Every Man Should Know." It had everything from dressing to changing a tire to poker terms to how to fart in public...Then, Mom spent about 45 minutes checking out shorts and shoes in a local shop. Meanwhile, I sat outside watching five dudes walk into an antique store together. They were either queer or...nah I guess there's no other possibility.

It was around 3:30 and we weren't quite sure what to do, so we went over to Hogan's Beach to grab a drink. This place opened two years ago and is a shrine to Hulk Hogan. It is in Tampa, right near the airport and on the water. It's also attached to a Best Western hotel, which may not be the best hotel to be associated with! I walked in and it was like a museum. On the wall were Hogan's movie posters and classic pictures from wrestling and films. There were glass cases filled with action figures, championship belts, and plenty of other Hogan odds and ends. We went to sit in the outside bar, but it was totally filled with smoke and there was barely any room. I refused to sit around smokers unless absolutely necessary. So we went back inside and sat at the empty bar and were told it wasn't open for five more minutes. We did not care about that. Here's what we did care about. Numerous tables had empty plates and baskets on them and had not been cleaned. Also, all the liquor bottles at the bar were covered with paper cone cups instead of pour spout tops. Even worse, three girls were standing around at the merch table, just yapping away and refusing to clean anything up. And the inside dining room was way too dark. There are championship belts on the highest parts of the walls. The problem is the lighting is so dark that they can barely be seen. Outside though, there are three bars and two sand volleyball courts. I guess this place is just a nightspot. The drinks were fine, though they took about ten minutes, came in plastic cups, and weren't exactly large.  I had a Hogan's punch, which was similar to a rum runner. And it was happy hour so I got it for $5.00 instead of $8.90. Nice discount. I went once and can't imagine returning.

After chilling at the hotel for a bit (homework time for me), we drove 25 minutes back to southwest St. Pete. We had dinner at Ted Peter's Smoked Fish. I can't imagine coming to this area and not eating there. I had a frosted mug of High Life $2.99. Mom's wine was served in a frosted mug as well, which was kind of crazy. We both ordered the mahi. It came with their German potato salad, which is unreal. It is loaded with bacon and bacon grease and had NO MAYO! It also comes with pineapple cole slaw and a slice of tomato, sweet onion, and a pickle spear. There are also sides of horseradish sauce and spicy horseradish sauce as well. I like to squeeze lemon on my fish and smear it with the spicy horseradish. Then I cut the tomato, pickle, and onion into small pieces and eat some of those with the fish. The mahi came out moist with a little bit of smoky flavor from the red oak that they use. It's just such a unique product and it tastes great and healthy at the same time.

Florida-Day 1

I was up at 2:45 am, going on about four hours of sleep. We had a 5:50 flight to catch to Charlotte on US Airways. It's very rare that I don't fly American, but the American flights to both Miami and Tampa were oversold, even the 5 am Miami flight. So we left around 3:30 am and headed to Blue Sky parking, where I always go. $8 a day is a pretty good rate at O'Hare.

So we checked in two bags and headed to the employee security line. This is the advantage of Mom being an active employee, well, just one of them. We get to skip the whole security line. We've been through this procedure a thousand times. Shoes off, belt off, liquids out, pockets emptied, laptop computer in its own tray. Not too difficult. Except Mom was held up. All of a sudden, one of the TSA guys produced a steak knife. It looked like one of ours, but it still didn't click for me. I then realized mom had packed four apples and some small containers of peanut butter. She brings these to work every day, along with a knife, which is no problem since she enters the airport through another entrance when she works there. This time, she simply forgot to take the knife out of her bag. They conducted an investigation, even calling in the Chicago police. I was worried we would get detained. Obviously, they confiscated the knife, which was not a big deal. But fortunately, after about a 20-minute wait, they let Mom go. As we were walking away, the chief cop called out to Mom, "Bananas tomorrow!"

We made the flight with about 20 minutes to spare. I was out of it; I probably slept 90 minutes of that 2-hour flight. In Charlotte, we split two slices of Sbarro pizza. They had a variety slice with meat and veggies and I chose a slice of cheese for the simple reason that it looked fresh. It held us over, at least. I also checked out the EA Sports store. It had a few places to play video games as well as some local sports gear. I thought about picking up a NC State shirt, since I took a class there, but nothing really suited me. The Tampa flight was pretty smooth. We got our luggage after what seems like 15 minutes and rented a gray Hyundai Accent from Alamo. We had two economy cars to choose from and I made the call based on it having a lot of plugs. Of course, I tried plugging my phone into the USB plug and...the plug is shot. I know it's not the charger; it worked in my car two days ago! So it's a good thing I brought along my portable multi-charger.

We checked into the Courtyard in Clearwater, which looks like a replica of the Tampa Courtyard we stayed in last year. Same layout, same lobby, same features, the whole she-bang. We headed to Ybor City in Tampa for Christmas dinner at Columbia. Even though our reservation was at 3, we were sat at 2. We got a different pitcher of sangria; this one was the imported. It used Torres brandy, plus a very high quality Spanish wine, called Sangre de Toro. I enjoyed it since the different liquors added a little sophisticated, well-rounded flavor to the sweetness of the fruit. Of course, we started with the 1905 salad with spicy shrimp. It is the simplest salad, but it is so good! Iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, Swiss cheese, green olives, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Romano cheese...and that garlicky shrimp. It's just perfect. And of course, you get a hot loaf of Cuban bread! I just love my carbs! My entrée was Mahi Mahi veradero.  They took a piece of Mahi Mahi and crusted it in crushed plantain banana chips, topping it with a citrus butter sauce and fresh lump crabmeat. They served it with yellow rice and a mix of broccolini, red onions, and garlic. Just an amazing seafood dish.

We drove over to the AMC theater to catch the premier of "Unbroken." I have a tremendous amount of respect for Louis Zamperini. I have heard him speak several times and I have read the book that this film was based on. So I was looking forward to the movie, as were many other people, apparently. By the time we got on line, at least sixty people had already formed a line.  It was an incredibly emotional and powerful movie. My only real disappointment was that they overlooked his life once he returned from war. I know the film was over two hours long, but there is no doubt they could have extended it another 20 minutes. I would have liked a scene where he actually went back to Japan and met with his captors. Even if they ignored his faith conversion at the Billy Graham crusade, a scene in Japan would have helped bring the story full circle.

There wasn't much else to do at night except drink water, watch the Food Network and a Jeff Dunham special, and do a little homework. I tried studying the script for work, but without the videos, it's just not clicking for me yet.

The wait is over. Hired.

After a phone screening, a group interview, and 2 in-person interviews, the news is official. I have been hired as a union benefits representative. It's similar to working insurance, except I don't have to make cold calls and I work with unionized employees and not the general public.

I could go farther into the details of the position, but what's the point? Here's what I will say. I have been out of a full time job for eight months. I have had some very good times during those eight months and I have had some incredibly dark moments. Perhaps the lowest was the Monday before Thanksgiving when I realized I would not get any unemployment beyond six months. Aside from my weekly minimum wage job at Andy Frain, I had no more funds coming in. And that job was nowhere enough to pay my monthly bills; it was barely enough to put gas in the car.

I had applied for over 350 jobs and never had so much as a job offer. I was in school, earning all A's, and I had been promised I would get benefits till the end of my benefit year: April of 2015. And some prick at the front desk turns me away and says I can re-apply in six months. I know I don't have six months. I remember the pain of that Monday morning as I walked out of the unemployment office in Elgin, sat in my car, and I cried, I screamed, I cursed, I slapped the steering wheel.

I drove right over to Willow Creek Church and met with a care pastor. It was a young black gentleman, certainly younger than me, which seemed strange to me. But I went with it. He encouraged me, as I expected and gave me a few resources. I felt a little better, but still felt like I was totally drifting. I knew I had a few job opportunities, but until you get the actual offer, they're just that, opportunities. He did encourage me to give financially, which I knew I needed to do. And now it was even scarier.

Fast forward to Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve. Harvey Carey was the guest speaker at the midweek service at Willow Creek. He is a pastor in Detroit, full of life, energy, and passion for God. I knew I had to go. The topic was giving thanks in a strange place. He said so many memorable things but one of them that really stuck with me was this. He said it wasn't about just praying for circumstances to change. But I needed to pray to God for him to change me through my circumstances. That prayer is so much more powerful and impactful.

I can't say what changed, but I knew I was not going to be the same after that. And it took almost another month, but I finally got hired into a full time position. It is a radically different position than what I have been doing previously, but it required good communication, a willingness to help others, and a strong work ethic. That is me.

So $480 later, after having to buy a laptop and a temporary insurance license, I'm ready to go. Let's see what happens.

Twas the Friday before Christmas

And all through the condo, not a creature was stirring, except for the dog because she was hungry again. At least that's the way the story plays out here.

1) Maggie's appetite is relentless. She was even begging for some of Mom's salad. At least Hogan had discernment. He'd go for meat, cheese, and ice cream. Maggie, on the other hand, will go for anything you will put in front of her. I was eating sliced turkey and stuffing for lunch and she stared at me as if she was entitled to half. Of course I gave her about half a slice of turkey. So hard to resist that face!

2) So with another small bald patch on my goatee, I had to trim the sides off, leaving me with a mustache, soul patch, and some chin fuzz. The latest famous person I've been compared to...Captain Jack Sparrow.

3) I find it hysterical that this movie "The Interview" is basically banned from every major movie theater in America. Let me see if I understand this. Two drama movies can come out within a month about plotting to assassinate the U.S. President. But an absurd comedy about knocking off the North Korean dictator is so offensive that it cannot ever be mentioned again. Really? You know it's going to become a cult classic.

4) What is it with me and getting along with people who live out of state? I guess there is the advantage of being able to word your answers just how you want to before you hit the send button. Yet, it's not a real connection. Then, you might find out somebody is not who they said they were. Happened to me twice this year. Found out two certain females were complete frauds, for different reasons, living in the same state and both fans of the same baseball team I root for. Just lame. And pathetic.

5) "You must arrange your days so that you are experiencing total contentment, joy, and confidence in your everyday life with God." Dallas Willard. It's not easy. But I'm going to try.

Song pick: "There'll Be No Peace Without All Men As One" Ray Charles