The Day I Ended Left To Fry

It's not dead. This hobby is not dead.

But I've got a different life to chronicle now. A more focused one. LEFT TO FRY was always meant to be a written documentary of a life-in-the-making. Well now that I've got a lot of my life organized and put myself on a healthy path, I think it's time to move the blog forward. 

From here on out, I'll be writing in this blog:

4,469.52 Dollars

That's my current bank account status. That's what I'm leaving Old Soul with (not counting my two final paychecks, which will be saved exclusively for rent). That's it. 

Basically I know that I don't want to get another coffee-shop job. But what's a guy supposed to do when his resume reeks of espresso and customer service? I need to break free. I need to take my writing seriously and I need to stay focused at school. I need to get experience with teaching, I need to volunteer and seek challenges. It's too easy to stay in an easy job. I'm too old for easy. 

I want to see how a constantly-dwindling budget will challenge me. It's an experiment. It's forcing me to find alternate, more rewarding income. It's forcing me to be smarter, more creative and crafty with my money. It could all work out just fine. It could be a disaster waiting to happen. Either way, I'll keep track of it and chronicle the changes, for better or for worse. 

- Left to Fry

The Day We Laughed To Remember

As expected, continuing employment past the two week notice is difficult to swallow. Not that I don't want the chance to say goodbye to a lot of neat people, but the main reason I'm leaving is to have free time to focus on school and studying. So being scheduled for three opening shifts this week is just another reminder of why it's time for me to leave. 

Today marks 10 years since 9/11. 

I was 14, a freshman in high school, getting ready for class and not all that interested in whatever my mom was watching on TV until she told me to come in and watch with her. One plane had already struck and the first tower was breathing smoke over New York City. I remember my mom said that the whole situation felt double-weird because she knew that if she'd stuck on the path she'd started with banking (if she hadn't had kids, basically), she would've probably been working at the World Trade Center. So I guess she was watching a hypothetical version of herself die. Meanwhile, I'm more worried about being late to class. Come to find out, no one's all that worried about school and then the towers fall and we're all watching on TV and people are crying and the principal sends out a memo that excuses us from class. That was ten years ago. 

They were hosting a memorial concert on Capitol Mall. Jenny and I meandered through on our way to find the new donut shop. The only part that really plucked my heart-strings, besides the obligatory patriotic country music, was seeing the hundreds of little flags meant to symbolize the hundreds of lives lost on 9/11. That's a lot of death. Say what you will about the war that followed, the fact remains that tragedy is tragedy. 

I won a pair of lost-and-found Ray Ban aviator sunglasses in a game of ro-sham-bo with Landon. Fuck yeah.

I haven't told many people about my two-weeks notice. I kind of want to wait until I know the exact day that will be my last. At the very least, I know I won't be there past the 25th. 

Second Saturday was spent riding around on bikes with Iven and Andy to look for houses in Midtown. We found a couple. Not many. More two-bedrooms available... But Andy seems pretty excited about the idea of moving, so it should work out. I told him about my two-weeks and assured him that I have enough financial aid to survive a few months. He seems okay with the idea. Better to be upfront. After house hunting, we found ourselves at Golden Bear, drinking on the patio and watching the night-life wander by. Tessa happened to come by to visit friends of hers sitting at the table beside ours, so we joined circles. I found myself hoping that Tessa and Iven would get together. Wouldn't that just be the craziest thing. Jenny and her friend, Jenny, came by not long afterward and so we bought another round. Finished the night in the room with some late-night snacks and a little bit of Fantastic Mr. Fox before Iven and Jenny left and Jenny and I passed out, exhausted. Good night. 

Went to Old Sac today to see Mark's band (Mere Mortals) playing at Laughs Unlimited, which garnered us free passes to the comedy show that followed. Not a very big crowd. It was neat to see Mark doing what he obviously loves most, besides coming into Old Soul to order the "Markenstein." At the comedy show it was just four couples and the comedians on stage, but they embraced the intimate crowd and the jokes were still funny and my gut hurt from so much laughing. We were all sitting near the stage so the comedians made small-talk to get to know us. It was Jenny's first time at a stand-up show, certainly not the best she could've seen, but a good start. 

I made flash-cards for my Linguistics class. Can't remember the last time I needed flash-cards for anything. Cool thing is, I'm actually learning again. 

- Left to Fry

The Day I Put In My Two Weeks

Also, Monica and Robert are both moving out of this house. I've offered the idea to Iven about taking Robert's room next to mine. That would be too perfect.

Honestly, the final straw was the afternoon when Jason reprimanded Jake and I for a lousy morning rush, when he said we handled the line poorly and inefficiently, when Jake grabbed yogurt for Lance and I failed to acknowledge the waiting customers to tell them we'd be with them shortly. He called me a veteran. He said I should be teaching Jake appropriate work ethic. First of all, we both thought that we'd handled that rush just fine. We'd even high-fived about it afterward. Jason thought otherwise. He held up a stack of resumes and said, "This is how many people want your job. Just this month. Okay? So do your job. We don't pay you to be nice. We pay you to be efficient." He was trembling when he spoke. He excused us from the office and probably didn't realize that he'd just inspired me to leave the coffee-culture once and for all. Jason basically put it all out there: You're a tool, you're part of the mechanism, you're replaceable and you're shit to us. Then he wants me to go back out there and earn minimum wage for a dead-end job. Like fuck. 

There was only so long I could work at a coffee-shop. 

I'm done. It's over. In two weeks, I'm out. Fuck coffee. 

But where does this leave me? What does this mean? What's going to happen next? That's a good question. I don't have the answer yet. I want to write more, read more, spend less, submit stories, get published, support myself. Until any of that happens, though, I'm starting at Square One with about half my financial aid, few monthly bills, no car, necessary dental work, twelve units at Sac State and an unimaginable amount of free time. 

Also, I burnt all of Monica and Dan's wood. Thought it was communal. Woops. I have to remember to buy them a bunch of of wood to replace the stacks. Damnit. 

Jenny's delayed trip puts her at a departure of October 6. We've got about a month left to share this room and my last day at Old Soul will be the 23rd, which gives us about two weeks of sleeping in together. Working at a coffee-shop has made such happenings a rarity. It'll be awesome to have that many late nights and late mornings in a row. 

Tim asked if I'd stick around until the 25th because they're not sure if Merideth, who comes back on the 19th, will return to the espresso machine. We doubt it. 

I love everyone I've become friends with through Old Soul. I love the people I work with. I love the memories and the moments. This job certainly ties for Favorite with my two-year gig with A'romas, both in work environment and friendships. It's impossible for me to remember all the good things that I've experienced at Old Soul. Little chapters of a big part of my life. From my first days with Meredith, Zoe, Kristin and Adam to my final weeks with Jake, Landon, Nick and Megan. From Tammie to Bronwyn to Devon to Strongbull. From Stephanie to Jack to Joe to Ciera to Meghan. From Drew to Eric to Hank to Tyler to Hank to Dan. From Mort to Andrea. From Tim to Jason to Jill to Eowyn. From Renovation to Airport to Reading Partners. From Training to Morning Shift to Night Shift to Morning Shift. From Chris to Chrispresso. From "We Need Fives Please" to "We Need Fives Like Harry Potter Has Daddy Issues." From Sarge to Sarge. From No Tax to Sales Tax. I've tried to keep track and bond with the couple hundred people passing through those doors each week. I've tried to make the most of it. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for that job, and certainly that's a given. Wouldn't have heard of H. Letham. Wouldn't have held bonfires. Wouldn't have met Jenny. Wouldn't have found this house. Wouldn't have had these friends. In that case, I think I did make the most of it. I had a really great time. It hurts still to think about the good things I'll miss: the people, the coffee, the food, the ambiance, the music, the blackberry scone and the fifty-percent discount. 

I won't miss the unfortunately dictatorial rule the owners had over us. I won't miss the dulling repetition of latte after latte. I'm done making lattes. I hate lattes. I hate foaming milk. I hate worrying about the quality of an espresso shot. I hate fake interest. I hate handling cash. I hate getting tips because I know how much I need them. I hate standing for eight hours. I hate meeting amazing people and then watching them fade away soon after. I hate the rules. I hate the dramas. Most of all, I hate waking up early. I abso-fucing-lutely hate waking up early, especially for that job, especially since it feels like I've been waking up early for that job for seven years. Ugh. 

That's why I'm quitting. 

I'll never leave if I don't take the first step. 

I've still got time to fuck shit up.

Also, I went on a photo walkabout with Jenny and happened across this year's Chalk-It-Up with Iven, so here are some pictures of that.

- Left to Fry