Welcome Back Summer

I checked the date on my phone last night. It was then that I realized that my old enemy was back and he had bushwacked me like nefarious bastards are prone to do.

Summer was back.

Some of you may be saying "But Summer is awesome! There's festivals, vacations, you can go swimming.." My only response to you is shut up. Yes, I know it's not the most eloquent of responses, but Summer affects me like a brick upside the head does, a very hot brick.

Heat. That's Summer's main weapon. Debilitating heat that makes breathing a big pain in the ass. Generally Heat will bring his pal Humidity along for the ride and then life really becomes an energy-sapping, sweat-soaked joy ride.

As I may have said before, I'm going to college to become a writer and I am currently working as a cook. You may think that I am becoming a writer so that I can get a better job and make more money. You're half right. Remember when I mentioned I was a cook? Go back and reread the paragraph if you need to or just take my word for it. Until they get that whole cold fusion thing working, most cooking involves heat. That's just how it's done. So Summer in a kitchen is just joy on top of wonderful. (In case you haven't been paying attention, that was sarcasm)

"But," you say, "restaurants are air conditioned." Ah... insightful... insightful and painfully wrong! Air conditioning costs money, it costs even more when you are trying to cool the hottest room in the place. Most restaurant owners are in it for the money, and you don't make money by trying to cool off a bunch of cooks that you gotta pay in the first place! Customers are giving you money, it makes sense to make them comfortable. That makes them come back and that kind of recidivism is a good thing. Some owners go so far as dressing up their cooks in thick chef jackets. Think about it, it's called a jacket. You wear jackets in the Spring when there's a little chill in the air and your mom tells you to take a jacket. You don't wear them in the Summer, especially not in the hottest place you can think of.

Why am I studying to become a writer? (technically a journalist but I've found that people look at you like you told them you're going into a career of killing puppies when you tell them you're studying to become a journalist.. thank you very much Ann Coultier) I'm studying to become a writer so that I can be the guy sitting in the air conditioning without a jacket. Maybe then Summer and I can be friends.

Maybe.

The Virtual Gamer World

I may have said it before, I like playing video games. I'm not great at video games, but generally I can hold my own.

Also, I remember growing up in the country where it was difficult to find other people to play games with. Now I live in the city and close to friends who like to play video games, but I, like my friends, have a job and it's not also easy without planning to get together for playing a game. One of the beautiful things about the internet is that it has created a way for people from all over to get together and play video games. Of course that also usually means that you end up playing against someone who is much better than you. I've learned not to mind that. After all, playing against someone better is a good way to learn how to play better.

But now video games incorporate the sounds of players. It's nice to be able to chat with a buddy while you kill orcs or tell a teammate where the enemy is. It also let's other players chastise you when you play poorly. Generally most people are pretty cool about not being mean about it. Especially if it's obvious if, like me, you suck compared to the rest of the group.

But nothing feels quite as humiliating as being ridiculed by a disembodied voice from a kid. I don't know how old he was, but with Summer Break going on he could have been quite young and it didn't sound like his voice had changed yet. Worse, he was one of the administrators for the game server I like to play on and had the ability to ban me from playing there if I said anything. Even worse, I had made a rookie mistake and he was right to say something.

Ahhh....

Ain't technology great?

wOOt!

I got a job!

I Try to be Creative

Follow-Up

Received at 9:30 pm Wednesday..

Dear Rob,

Thank you so much taking time out to come and interview for the cooks position.
I have hired someone to come in and take over the kitchen.
Sincerely
Jeannie

I wonder if it's Chef Dave?

The Interview Process

So yesterday I went in for an interview at a pizza place on North Avenue, across from Judge's Pub. (Very near where I used to live) As I approached the place and got a good view of it, I was a bit worried. The windows had that writing on it that you often see in stores going out of business. They were advertising their different specials.

I went inside anyways and when the bartender asked what she could do for me, I told her I had an appointment with Jeanie. She pointed to a woman holding a baby, at a table strewn with papers. I introduced myself and she asked me to go into the kitchen so that I could make some food.

There were three guys in the kitchen. One was probably about my age and looked a little dumb. He seemed nice enough but there didn't seem to be that spark of intelligence. The next guy was a little guy with full sleeve tattoos on each arm. He was nice enough, but he had scabbed over scrapes on his face that are generally consistent with fighting. Although he may have fallen on his face, who knows. The last guy was an older gentleman named Sal. He had a very thick Italian accent and seemed like a very nice guy. I made a pizza, Sal pointed out the mistakes (minor) that I had made. Then he showed me how to make a stromboli.

Apparently the woman was the kitchen manager and Sal was the head cook. It was easy to tell that there was a lot of tension there. Sal obviously bristled at doing things the way he was told rather than how he wanted to do them. He said something to me about doing something the way the bosses wanted it done rather than how he knew it should be done. I told him I knew how it was, that I had dealt with similar situations.

I made the pizza, some alfredo and a shrimp scampi. They seemed to like it all. Of course, I burnt my mouth on the pizza. I really want to work, but it seemed like a place filled with tension. They told me they would call me last night and tell me their decision. I got an e-mail this morning telling me that the kitchen manager still had to meet with the owners before she could make a decision.

I seem to remember a saying about too many cooks and what happens to the broth..

I Need Some Time Off

I think that most people, busy with life, have wished that they had more free time. I've found myself in the situation that with a job, school, married life, and trying to have a social life, I find myself without enough free time. When I used to landscape, we would be laid-off in the Winter, only working if there was a snowstorm for which we spent the day doing snow removal. I remember thinking fairly recently that I wished I was laid-off, then I'd have more time to do stuff.

Then I lost my job.

This, of course, happened right around the end of the semester.

Suddenly I had nothing but free time. At first it seemed pretty cool. Then, after a day or two, it started to get boring. I found that the things I like to do, like play video games, are more fun when you only have a little bit of time to enjoy them. When you have time to play, you find yourself playing until you get sick of the game. This might change if I was better, but I kind of suck at most video games.

Not having a job means I'm not bringing money into the household. Which means if I need anything that costs money I feel too guilty to spend the money I didn't make. Which means less groceries. I like cooking, and working as a cook generally means you can eat what you want at work. Suddenly, not only am I not eating the stuff at work, but I also don't have the resources to make good food at home.

I am so sick of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Although we just ran out of jelly so that's just going to get worse.

Man, I need to go to work.