On tha rebound (health-wise)

Ah think last nites yoga really helped, as well as consumin massive amounts of vitamins n otha immune-system boosters. One of these was Alka Seltzer Plus Immunity Complex, available in orange zest flavor. Something about tha specific chemicals in this particular medicine is also turnin my pee neon-green, which is sorta cool, n sorta weirdin me out.

Did anyone know they made a Garbage Pail Kids Movie? Well they did, n ah watched it so you don’t hafta. Unless yer studyin cheesy 80s actin, its pretty worthless (like ah expected anythang else).

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Know What's AWESOME*?

Ah think ahm gittin sick!

So ah went to yoga ta try n sweat tha toxins out…n still feel pretty shitty. And my back is fawkin KILLIN me from tryin ta kerrect my shitty comptha posture all day at werk (via E-Cises). Also, my throat hurts so ah can’t take my pain medication in tha usual way.

Luckily most stores carry said medication in a variety of forms, including marshmallow squares made out of Fruity Pebbles — which really IS awesome.

*-note, generally if ah say somethin is AWESOME in this manner, ahm bein sarcastic

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What ah did fer 7.5 hours today (n will dae tha day aftah, n tha day aftah…)

Ah have a temp assignment! Finally!

It’s w. a non-profit (n one you’ve prolly heard of, they dae good stuff) just ovah tha bridge daein data entry. Tha pay is…bettah then my bare minimum, n it doesn’t start at 8 am (it starts at nine) so ah really can’t complain. Howevah, this is tha most TEDIOUS temp job ahve had since my FIRST EVAH back in Bawstan, Jan. 05, which was also data entry. Actually, this one might be even MORE tedious.

Note tha differences between tedious and boring — Boring is when thars nuthin ta dae, so its soooo borin cuz you don’t hafta dae anythang OR at least nuthin that requires ANY sort of thought. These are usually receptionist jobs at someplace quiet, er puttin bindahs togetha, er (my favorite) puttin thangs in envelopes. Sometimes, tha organizin borin jobs will have weird temp co-workers as well, which make them less borin cuz you have someone ta talk ta.
Tedious is when you have somethang ta dae, that just nevah stops. It requires just a SMIDGEN of thought or paying attention (altho if you make a mistake w.o noticing, odds are its nawt THAT big of a deal, and that it won’t come back ta you. thas why temps dae this stuff, obviously). Tedious is generally data-entry, or makin copies of irregularly sized papers, er filin, etc.

By tha way, while wakin up at 7 sucked, hopin on my bike to tha BART first thang in tha mornin felt really good!

Anyway, my assignment:

Each page of paper in that stack has about 50+ names on it, each w. an 8-digit member id. these are tha people who don’t want to be called anymore. ah type that 8 digit numbah in, dae two keystrokes, click my mouse (ta move tha cursor) make anutha keystroke, n hit entah. Then ah cross that name off tha list. Repeat.

If ah make tha slightest mistake (a wrong numbah, er invalid code fer tha data field), ah hafta start tha program ovah, sign in again, etc.

Ah moved ta california fer this?

time ta stop typin…

Posted in boring, boring jobs, data-entry, tedious | Leave a comment

Yoga and Acupuncture are a delicate mix…

So fer tha past 6 weeks, ahve been daein Bikram Yoga which is hard as hell. Ta continue along on tha hellish metaphor, its also done in heat…100 – 110 degrees farenheit ta be a lil more specific. Tha instructors are like drill sergeants, constantly pushing you hardah, n tha workout is EXACTLY tha same EVERY TIME! 2 breathing exercises (one at tha beginnin, one at tha end), and 24 postures, more er less half standin n half on tha floor. Exact same ordah, exact same length, w. people shoutin commands at you. Ah don’t RECOMMEND Bikram, but ah really like it. Must be tha yin to my yang, er ratha tha M to my S. It also reminds me of wrestling in high skool, altho less gross n w. bettah scenery.

Ah have also been gittin acupuncture fer a lil ovah a month ta help w. my right hand/wrist/arm/shouldah injury. Ah fawked my right wrist up a few years ago at a desk job, n its been gittin worse until when ah moved here n decided ah NEEDED ta dae somethin. Ah git acupuncture at tha Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine Clinic in downtown Berkeley cuz its VERY CHEAP (as in, if you make an appointment with 24 hours er less, n have a referral from one of tha interns, it is only TEN DOLLERS!)

Both of these thangs are helpin my wrist and arm n shoulder feel much much bettah thank you, but today ah learned that while Acupuncutre AFTAH Bikram is AWESOME, but Acupuncutre BEFORE Bikram is AWFUL!

Somethin about stirrin up all that chi was just NAWT good fer me today. Ah had my worst class EVAH, eventually leaving 3 postures early because it was becoming tortuous (n nawt in tha good way). Ahve nevah left early before, but ah just couldnt relax.

This is especially unfortunate b/c my cheapie 1st-month trial will be ovah on Friday. Howevah, ah have made some pretty good improvement since beginning:
1)My first class, ah could nawt dae camel pose, n now ah ken
2)Ah am able ta lean back VERY FAR now
3)Ah ken ALMOST git intae “toe stand” (gittin out is anutha thang altogetha)
4)ah unnerstand how triangle is supposed ta werk, even if ah cant’ dae it rite
n today
5)ah was able ta lock my elevated knee (briefly)in Standing Head to Toe

Ah also dae bikram w.o a shirt (cuz its fawkin hawt in thar) n it always amuses me ta be called “Dragon Tattoo.”

Posted in acupuncture, bikram yoga, repetitive stress inury | 1 Comment

Frustrating Things (in ordah):

1)Applying for a job that you are definitely qualified fer (hello, werkin fer a musickal institution as an Admin Asst. in their Marketing Department – ahma musician, ahma admin asst., ahve werkin in an advertising division – n a really big one too!) and being told ahd be contacted within 3 weeks if they’re interested

2)nawt hearin anythang fer 3 weeks

3)findin exact same post on craigslist.org some 3+ weeks latah

4)upon furtha inspection, realizin that b/c ah hadn’t started usin a macro-date/time on my resume, ah had dated my original application November 118, instead of 18.

luckily ahm persisten, so this time ahma apply n practice NAWT GITTIN MY HOPES UP!

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Ridiculous Catering Story #1

With so much buildup, ahm sure everyone needs an update on that mega-corpo-party ah werked at (n technically will be gittin paid fer).

This is tha playing field of AT&T park (apparently tha SF baseball team is tha Giants, which ah nevah wouldve guessed in a million years). While tha quality is bad (its from my camera phone, you should be able ta make out 1)a dance floor (one of at least 2, n prolly 3 er 4) on tha left, followed by 2)a sledding hill and then, 3)an ice skating rink. 8,500 people were expected at this party, apparently biotechnology is a pretty profitable field these days. 2 of 3 floors of suites and otha high-rise ballpark real estate were rented out, stuffed w. food, bars, bands (ah was stationed near one of tha main entrances, stocking two buffet tables w. food n desert, just next to tha 80s cover band that played 3 sets, each time appearing in a different clothes), airbrush tattoos, n who knows what else. Call time was at 5 pm, aftah wich we were served pasta (ah stayed clear of tha meatballs, but am sure ah ingested some animal protein one way er anutha), n then stood around outside in tha cold, a mess of penguin lookin waitstaff of all types (college student through senior citizen). Then a 45 minute procession of callin off our names and assignin us to stations took place (when all they really needed to do was pick a group of us), n it was ON!

It might just be tha years ahve spent in hospitality, but ah’ve nevah unnerstood who people ken be so fricken oblivious to thar surroundins in crowded restaurants n partys. Despite our big assed white chefs coats, we were pretty much invisible to tha patrons. Walkin from one section to anutha took 30 minutes sometimes cuz tha assorted bio-techno people were too busy tellin themselves how great thar party was ta GIT THA FAWK OUTTA OUR WAY!

ahll also mention that a bunch of those folks looked real young ta have fancy jobs, but part of that might just be my own projections.

Posted in big-assed parties, biotechnology, catering, jerks | Leave a comment

Just cuz everyone cares….

Ah finally gawt around ta readin tha latest Harry Potter book. And thar was STILL nae mention of fun, kinky wizard sex. Just in case anyone was wondering. Which is totally a dissapointment, as tha possibilities were friggin ENDLESS! More surprising, is ah couldn’t even come up w. a naughty harry-potter cartoon/forgery to include as a picture. Brownie points to anyone who can (ahll admit ah didn’t try very hard).

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Spendin $$ to break even

Ahve taken one step closer to tha corporate restaurant world today….made me a lil weak in tha knees ta tell ya tha truth. Yesterday ah attended an “Open Call” fer a very large corporation that does event staffing, etc. It took me ovah an hour ta git to, and involved a couple miles of biking (in tha rain, only second time its rained since ah gawt here). Ah filled out an application (noticing that in my recent employment history, only one of those positions was in hospitality, and that was from Australia), n took a written test asking all sorts of important questions like “What side of the plate does the fork go on” (the left) and true/false “The knife should face the plate?” (true). Instead of lookin at my application, ah was asked to summarize my experience, which ah did. (ahve been in interview mode these last few weeks so this part was easy), n was told to come back tomorrow for a final interview. 20 minutes aftah ah arrived, back intae tha rain, on my trusty steed (bike). Aftah ah went shoppin, etc., ahd been out in tha rain fer ovah 3 hours, was way gross, n had spent 7 bux on transportation.

Today ah woke up to tha sound of meowing cat (spoonfull is its name, n thar will be at least one blog post focused on his annoying characteristics), n shovelled off to Pleasant Hill again. Pleasant Hill, as they mite say here, is hella far away from me. My second interview we went over all tha clusterfucks that come w. workin w. a corporation, tha expectations of all their servers, how we were pretty much out on our own ta figure out how we were gittin to n from events w.o travel compensation, n tha incredibly impersonal manner in which we would get assignments (signing ontae a slow website, listin our availability, n then waitin fer one of tha calendar days to turn red, so that we could investigate tha situation and confirm our availability). It’s a far cry from tha work ah dae fer Hands On! Gourmet, who organize carpools and compensate you for travel. Then ah found out that my high level of skills, which had guaranteed my “final interview” (quotes used b/c this was nae interview, this was me fillin out w-9s n signin papers sayin that ah wouldnt commit workers comp fraud) would give me tha much-sought aftah compensation of $11.50 per hour. I won’t even accept temping assignments fer this little, n those are usually at least full-days werk.

So ontae tha title of todays post, ahve done tha math n factoring in two days of travel to obtain this stupid job (close to 15 bux total), buying an all-black tie which is necessary fer tha event ahm werkin tomorrow ($20 bux at Target, if anyone has evah set out to find a single-color tie in discount clothing stores, they know how frustrating an excursion this is), n transportation from tha event (which is being held at tha fricken AT&T Ball-Park, tha same that some sports team plays at), 6-7 hours of work at my meager (fawkin MEAGER) hourly rate, minus taxes, will maybe put 10 bux in my pocket aftah accountin fer all tha cash spent in tha last 48 hours.

This will howevah, be tha biggest event ahve evah worked (75 servers will be on-call), so ah can’t imagine it bein very difficult. Ahll consider it a good day if ahm able ta git back to tha BART (Bay Area Rapid Transport) before tha last train leaves fer tha East Bay. Far from tha idealistic sprout who arrived in CA 6 weeks ago w. a gleam of hope in his eyes fer tha ultimate job, now ah will be happy if ah don’t git stuck in downtown SF overnite in dress clothes.

In job-hunt news, tha place that turned me down fer someone who either 1)really is intae a career in development or 2)is a bettah liar then me, passed on my resume to tha place they share thar workspace with. While thats very nice of them, ah dont know how well ahd actually handle working in tha same office as a place whose rejection ah couldnt help but take a litle bit personally. Not to mention tha office bein pretty unaccessible unless you are LOADED, n ah doubt tha otha organization has tha same kind of budget as tha one ahd initially interviewed w.

Anyway, tomorrow is band practice with Warren Teagarden and his drummer, Anthony, n then ah turn intae a faceless drone at some uber-corps holiday party. Let’s hope somethin interestin happens so ah ken blog about it, shall we?

Posted in catering, corporations, squirrels, still broke, suckers | Leave a comment

Crazy Blind!

If you live in Austin, TX, Boston, MA, NYC, er tha SF Bay area, thars a new internet meeting site that cuts through all tha bullshit n puts you in a face-off w. someone of a desirable sex IN REAL LIFE!

CrazyBlindDate.com is apparently run by tha same people that dae OKCupid, only the main difference is that you have virtually nae contact w. tha otha person before you meet them at a bar/coffeeshop. You answer a few basick questions fer about what yer lookin fer that tha otha person ken see, n then a few more about who yer lookin fer (that they can’t see) n then tha fun is supposed ta begin. You dae upload a photo, but they pixelate tha shite outta it so you have nae idea what tha person you are meeting actually looks like:

Ah had one of these last Friday, which had various drawbacks….my date was ovah an hour late (at least she let me know) n it lasted all of two (very strong) drinks at a bar, before she had ta run home ta her 4-month year old son (in San Jose). These thangs werk fast howevah, fer in just tha last hour ahve set up anutha one fer this evening. Of kerse, an unemployed and broke musician who lives in tha burbs is sure ta knock ALL tha ladies off their feet, so we ken rest assured thangs will gae smashingly THIS time around, rite?

Posted in blind dates, broke, internet meeting | 2 Comments

Current Musickal Endeavors

So, the job hunt is, how should ah put it, gaein very shitty. Ah’ve had interviews at 7 places, n am just waitin ta hear back from tha last one (which ahm guessin, will be a “no”.). Some of them I’ve really wanted, some ah would’ve been okay w., n thar was one that ah think would’ve made me pretty unhappy in tha long run. Howevah, w. 5 weeks intae tha SF n nawt a single offer, ahm feelin a lil down. Even catering work is currently nawt turnin up much, n ah can’t help but think it’s cuz tha owner of tha company saw me stuff a fish taco down my mouth (which is really, far from against tha “rules” er lack thereof, but still).

Luckily, my musickal prospects are a lil more promising (n ahd fawkin hope so!). Two weeks ago ah met a man named Nathan, who operates under tha name Warren Teagarden fer “reasons unknown”. Nathan is a nice guy (even if tha whole “My name isn’t really Warren” thang is a lil confusing), n we met up to play some musick, which went very well. Nathan has a drummer (oddly enuff, named Anthony), and is hopin ta git a live band togetha ta support his new album, which he is independantly releasing in February. Ah like tha tunes pretty good, n hear great thangs about tha “other Anthony”, so I’m looking forward to tha prospect of jammin out in front of a live audience w. these two gentleman.

Tonight, ah met w. some folks in tha Mission District (which is a great neighborhood in downtown SF that ah’d really like ta find a way ta live in) for an audition with tha group think13. think13 is mostly run by two performance artists, Christoph and Dee, who met a couple years back (according to thar bios) when they were lead actors in some production. They’ve taken tha musick they write (which they refer to as “Progressive Indie Rock”) to tha next level by involving a HIGH level of stage theatrics (suchas gymnastics, fire spinning, and trapeze stuffs, nae shit!), n are also usin tha band to spearhead a non-profit organization that will teach young ‘uns how ta put shows like these on. Tha current percussionist works w. his mother, who just recently gawt a very large grant to teach SF youth how to write, record, and produce musick. Needless to say, all this stuff gawt me pretty interesting, n todays auditon went very well. At tha end of tha third song ah was told that ah was “hired”, which began to spark more interesting conversation regarding tha future of think13, tha vision, and VAGABOOM, tha non-profit organization. A less-biased write-up of think13 ken be found here.

So if all goes well, yers truly will be rawkin tha fawk out on stage soon enuff! N please keep those fingahs crossed fer payin werk (my landlady will thank you!)

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