Top o' the mornin' to ya'!

Getting to work at o'dark-thirty wasn't that bad  today.

TGI...Tuesday?

I went to T.G.I. Fridays for some after work cocktails today with some coworkers.  I'm all about margaritas for some reason.  Anyway, sorry for the dark pic.  It's hard trying to take a covert picture when the people you are with REALLY REALLY don't want to be photographed!

I am finally getting my car back from the mechanic tomorrow.  We won't mention how I have been without my own wheels for over a month now.  We also won't mention how my back-up wheels (my relatives' late model mini-van) busted a fan belt while I was driving it last week.  Something tells me maybe I shouldn't be driving???  Anyway -- over the past week or so, I've been getting to work through the kindness of the fellow co-workers I had drinks with tonight.  On the days I'm not able to hitch a ride, I've been taking the bus.  Getting up at the butt-crack of dawn to get ready to go to work is NOT cute.  What is normally a 20-25 drive to work has been escalated to about an 1 hour and 15 minutes riding the bus with a transfer of lines in the middle.  'Tis the life of living in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Tired.

It was a long day at work today.  Can you say, "Inventory?!?"  Ugh.  I"m not sure if the counting (and even more counting) all day is more worse than the 7:00am turnaround to do the reconciliation(s).  Ugh.

Lunch break.

Just me and Katie from work having lunch at a local Japanese restaurant.  We had a couple of rolls and some tempura.  Mmmm.  I don't know what I would do without rice.  LOL.  Meanwhile, it's totally not helping with the Dr's recommendation of me losing 40 lbs for this anticipated surgery this summer.  Ugh.

Cover your cough.

From Pic a day

(seen outside the employee restrooms at work)

Indeed! Cooties are NOT cute.

Done.

From Pic a day

It's finally the end of a crazy week. With the welcome end of the holiday shopping madness at work, now comes the onslaught of the holiday returns and the spring season redesign of the store. Yayy me. Oh yeah -- my car broke down too. At least I was able to go out clubbing with my friend Ferdie last night. DJ Paulo was spinning the closing party of a big Masterbeat party weekend. Although I've had more fun at a lot of his other parties in the past, it was nice to be out and about again. :-)

Catching up (again).

(Ketchup ... get it?!?)

I have so many things to talk about but nothing much really to say... Got writer's block much? Aside from not making any sense as well, this summer has proven to be such a big roller coaster ride for me. First off, the job transfer / promotion that I was vying for didn't come through as I was hoping for. I was hoping to be moved back home on the east coast by now but due to the current economic climate, I was passed over by some local candidates. (That's the answer they gave me at least.) Am I bitter? Yes, slightly, but short of quitting, what can I do, right?

I actually went OUT last weekend. Believe it or not, I actually went out and about in the big city to enjoy the musical stylings of MURK (Oscar G. and Ralph Falcon). The kicker is that I actually went out by myself...to a straight club at that! What?!? It was the first time in over a year that I've been to a club in LA. Come to think of it, it was the first time I've actually gone clubbing at all since my trip back home to DC/NY this past December! I'm not sure what really prompted me to go. I just had that 'itch' I guess. It was fun, albeit short. Gone are the days of my marathon weekends, so my timing was a bit off. I didn't get 'rolling' out of the house until after 1:00am. By the time I got to the club, I only got to catch the tail end of MURK's set. Back in the day, the headliner was always on last. Oh well -- what I did hear was great. I ended up staying until 5:00am and headed on home. Mind you, I had to work later that afternoon at 3:00pm. We had inventory at the store that day --- trust me, it wasn't cute. Also paying $35 for a club night out wasn't cute either. It most especially wasn't cute when I missed buying the $15.00 pre-sale by a few minutes online! Ugh.

I've become much more of a TV-holic nowadays more than ever before. I scored some tickets to the season finale of SO YOU CAN THINK YOU CAN DANCE. As you know -- TV show audience tickets are generally free. Ticket requests are basically available when they're available. For this particular show, I applied for them last year! The same goes for AMERICAN IDOL too. The regular tapings have limited audiences and because of their popularity, I only got called in for the BIG ROOMS. This particular taping was held at the famous Kodak Theater in Hollywood where the Oscars are broadcast from. It was amazing. We had drama, though, trying to get in. I had a specific call time to fall in line and apparently I was directed to the wrong line. By the time I finally got to the correct line, they cut me off by like 5 people!!! I had to then wait for standby seats. A few hours later in a mass of 3000+ people later, we finally got in. You can see pix from our seats here. Oh yeah -- when they tell you that a show is LIVE on TV ... it doesn't necessarily mean that it's broadcast live! The taping I went to was recorded the day BEFORE it was broadcast. I know for a fact that the finale for IDOL was, but this particular one was not. We were there in the theater for over 3 hours and the show was edited down to 2 hours.

Nothing much else to say except that I'm just gearing up to go to my baby brother's wedding in Toronto the first week of September. My passport renewal finally came in this week. I kind of put it off until the last minute. Luckily for me, the normal 4-6 week processing time only took a little over 3 weeks to complete. I'm poor so I'm totally going BUDGET on this trip. I will be using buddy passes from an old co-worker from the airline I used to work for. That means that I will be flying standby LAX-JFK-BUF and then taking the bus to Toronto. Glamorous, eh?

.

AIDS WALK LA 2008.

 

We did it! I walked with a group of coworkers today for AIDS WALK LA - a 10K walkathon through West Hollywood. It was a great day in Los Angeles (sunny and in the low 70's) too! Although I wasn't able to reach my personal goal for donations, my team raised over $5000 total! Thank you to everyone who donated for this worthwhile cause.

Remembering 9/11.

Seven years ago today, I was on my way to the 3rd day of training for a new job. I was so excited at the time because it was going to be with a new start-up airline called JetBlue Airways. The station was set to open up later in the month and the training classes were held near Washington-Dulles Airport (IAD) which was over an hour's drive from my home in Maryland. Since I listened to my cd player on the way, I didn't find out about what happened in New York until I arrived in the classroom. As I walked in, I wondered what was going on. Everyone was just huddled over the TV set watching the news reports of the collisions and crashes. The instructors were frantically checking their blackberries and trying to call through on their cell phones to their families and the home office which was also in New York. The phone lines were jammed. Everyone was at a loss and just tried to carry on with the day the best we could. We even ventured off to the airport to try to get our ID badges done. The airport was crazy and within minutes after our arrival it was shut down and evacuated. I find out later that day the American Airlines plane that crashed into the ground left from IAD. In the weeks that followed this day, it was unsure what was to become of us and our jobs. We actually went through and finished our training and at the last minute we were told that the opening of the IAD station was going to be delayed about another month. Relieved to know that we still had jobs, it was definitely a rough time for everyone. Needless to say, we all moved on and I stayed with the company for almost 5 years...

Yes Ma'am, Pam!

I'm going on vacation in a couple of days back home to Washington, DC. You just don't know how excited I am! I'm currently just trying to tie up loose ends here before I go (getting errands done, etc.). Although it's only going to be for a week, I just want to make sure I don't come to a mess, ya know???

Work is always on an up and down scale for me. Currently, I'm just a little bit over it all. I work too hard and just don't get enough finacially back. (Saving money and actually making efforts to get myself moving on is a whole other story! LOL.) In the past couple of weeks I've been entertaining the idea of moving back to the east coast. There was a position open (the same one I currently have) in one of the DC area stores that I actually had paperwork initiated for the transfer process. I came back with the position already being filled internally on their end. After I got that discussion with my boss, reality set in and I gave up almost immediately. Why would I rationally transfer to a lateral position across the country WITHOUT relocation assistance?!? I just miss home I guess.

Weather is getting HOT over here. This past weekend it was supper sunny and into the 90's on both days. Since I live near the beaches, the heat really isn't all that bad. I had to put together some furniture pieces at work today and I did the assembly outside on the loading dock. Everyone kept saying, "How could you work out here in the HEAT?" I was like ... "What heat?" It felt quite a bit warm, but I wasn't dying from the 'sweltering' temps or anything. After the fact, I realized that after growing up on the east coast and living in the Philippines for a few years, I actually knew what humidity + heat felt like. These kids here are spoiled and don't know what they're talking about! LOL.

Getting in gear.

I had one of the best IM conversations with an old friend from DC last night. We talked about 'old times' and how surprisingly, to me at least, how much he cherished our friendship. He was one of my earliest introductions into the DC 'party scene' about 4 or 5 years ago. He hosted an after-hours party (my first ever attended) where there were dozens if not hundreds of people crammed into a little 2 bedroom condo on an unassuming winter Sunday morning just sitting and gossiping and listening to music. After a full night of clubbing and being strung out on crystal meth, and ecstasy, and whatever other combination of letters in the alphabet -- what else is there to do, right? Anyway, as our IM session continued, he mentioned how much he's changed both physically and mentally and how he's lost a few friends and acquaintances along the way since his own departure from DC. "Discount drugs can only get you so far." was a quote from him that stuck to me the most. I was like, "Whoa!" We were almost having the same experiences POST-party scene. Not that I personally sold drugs or anything, I did run in the same circles, though, where I was privy to getting them with general ease. In my personal growth from being just a shy little nobody in the clubbing world, I did eventually get to the point where I would go out and about and actually KNOW dozens of people out in the clubs. A little nod here, a hug there, and quite a few air kisses in the crowds. It was kind of crazy but I did know it was because of being a part of the 'party world'. In the long run, though, I took it as what it was - nothing more or nothing less. These club acquaintances weren't necessarily real friends per se, but I know my IM buddy was definitely a FRIEND!

We chatted for a little while more and he also said, "I'd probably be DEAD now if I had stayed in DC." WOW. Talk about food for thought, huh? We both had our own personal reasons for leaving it all behind and moving on. As for myself -- I just needed to get myself back into gear. At the point where I left, I was pretty much jobless for about a year or so. Partying without any real form of income got really complicated and difficult living day to day. Coming to Los Angeles was a big ol' time out in more ways than one. I'm glad to say that both myself and my friend finally had some sense to come to terms with our destructive behaviors. Don't get me wrong, though. It's not my place to pass judgment on others for what they do. The whole drugs and partying were a major part of my life in the past where I had a lot of fun. Do I still do them now? No. Would I do them again? Hmmmm, probably. There's a time and place for them I suppose. But it's now been another year after my big move and I'm sitting here thinking, "Where to now?" I have a job now that I can say that I enjoy but financially isn't cutting it for me. Thank goodness I still have family behind me with a great living situation but I'm pushing 40 this year! I seriously have got to break free and get out on my own again real soon. Today after work, I spoke with one of my part-timers who works for an employment agency during the day. She mentioned a good lead with a major company here as a contract worker with excellent pay. I just need a game plan. It's time!

Rags to (not really any) riches.

At work this week, they transferred us department managers around into other departments. Since the store opened last May, this is the first rotation. During our weekly department manager's meeting on Friday, there was a big ol' discussion about change and how we deal with it. In theory, change is supposed to be a good thing, right? Well -- it sucks. LOL. Eh, I'm just being a big baby. Just when things got all comfortable they had to change things up on us! Anyway, the upper management presents us with our department assignments by giving us random 'gifts' from the departments we're supposed to oversee. On the first round, I was presented with a green plastic cutting board. This represented the GOURMET department in the scheme of things. My 'gift' this go around was a bag filled with a couple of taupe 2-ply pique egyptian cotton hand towels. Erm, the first thought running through my mind were ... c*m rags? (Yeah -- my mind was in the gutter.) It turned out that I was assigned the FURNITURE AND TEXTILES department. Well, we'll see if that at least could be fun. ;-)

What's up (Part 2).

As an addendum to my new job announcement, another friend of mine just told me that I just raised myself on the totem pole of the gay retail worker chain. Wow. Is that a good or a bad thing?

What's up?

I’m actually bored right now. I’m sitting at my desk trying to look busy. Wandering aimlessly seems to be a popular theme of sorts for me in the past year. It’s now been over 6 months since I made the big leap to California from Washington, DC and I really haven’t done much except gain like 35 pounds. This place is definitely what I expected it to be. Work-wise, I’ve surprisingly been (barely) able to stay afloat working part-time at the mall. The travel agent gig I initially found in October didn’t work out and trying to find something in the airline industry again has pretty much fizzled out. I was pretty much set on giving up here in Los Angeles until about last month. I found a desk job working for a pretty well known women’s shoe company in their headquarters. It’s okay, but definitely not one of the most challenging things I’ve done with my life. A week after I started, though, I actually got offered another position with a pretty well known national housewares and furniture store as a department manager. Wow – talk about the old adage, “When it rains it pours!” It’s a totally different type of job and I ended up taking the latter. Mind you, it’s NOT a 9-5’er and I will NOT have weekends off and I will NOT be surfing the web all day at my desk as part of my daily work routine and ... you get the picture. My friend Jay from New York told me that I was essentially making a big mistake, but I’m just not the one to totally take the easy way out. If I did, then I won’t have anything to complain about, right? I submitted all of my new hire paperwork yesterday so it’s official. I start the new gig on April 9th. It’s going to be a new store opening up in mid-May. I think it will be exciting. We’ll see.

Job hunt (cont'd.).

A friend of mine from DC just sent me this clipping from back home. If I can't find me a decent job soon, I just may be tempted...

Another chance.

It snowed today in Malibu. We're averaging temps in the mid-upper 40's this week. The posted lows for the rest of the week are in the upper 30's. How come it was warmer back in DC this past weekend than it was here??? Something just ain't right! I thought I left the east coast for a reason!!! LOL.

I'm calling the title of today's blog "Another Chance" because I think that's what I've got to give myself living here still. I officially sent in my resignation with the travel company yesterday. I actually haven't been to work since the middle of last week, hence all of the extracurricular activities I've been writing about here. It's back to the drawing board so to speak with finding my REAL niche and reason for moving so far. We'll see.

Sleep iz guud.

... too guud! LOL.

I started my new training shift last week at the travel company and it's totally getting the best of me. I now work early mornings from 6:00 am to 2:30 pm. It's been rough. I'm already a bad sleeper in general and the inner insomniac that I truly am just doesn't want me to get to bed early. Lately, I've been just plopping down into bed by the time I get home which is around 3pm. Once I catch up so to speak, I find out it's already 8 or 9 and then I just don't feel like getting out of bed anymore. It's just too late to do anything productive, right? Last night I fell into the trap of doing just that. This time I woke up at around 8 and then once again around 12. Of course this morning I had so much sleep that I didn't wake up on time. I ended up being an hour late for work. Just my luck, huh?

Halfway done.

Yup. I'm halfway done with training at the travel company. My classroom sessions conclude this week with the *final*. Now I've got another 4 more weeks of practical on-the-job training with real live calls. What is going to suck is that my PRODUCTION time, as they call it, will be during the morning shift. That's the one that starts at 6:00 am! I am NOT so thrilled.

KNOW-IT-ALLs vs KNOW-NOTHINGs

I'm still in training with my new job at the travel company call center. It's now coming on to the tail end of the 2nd week of a 5 week classroom session. After that I've got another 4 weeks OJT (on-the-job training) with "live" calls. After that and another 3 months, I'll be a full-fledged travel agent with IATAN credentials. I'll be traveling again but getting the full exposure of the lodging (for free sometimes) at all the best hotels and resorts too! Cool, huh?

It's not a hard task of learning all of the concepts with the job at hand, but there is a lot of information that I have to drill into my head. The theories behind certain aspects I can grasp. It's the actual memorization of airport city codes and state capitals that are another story. Yes -- I'm back to middle-school Civics class, but you try to MEMORIZE 300 separate things backwards and forwards. It ain't easy! I also have to contend with daily reviews and quizzes on the material covered too. The pace is somewhat slow -- we read, we discuss, we read some more. Since I have some travel experience working with the airlines, I was put into an advanced class. (The novice class has another 5 more weeks of classroom training!) There are some people, however, that just don't get it. Because of that, the classroom pace slows down A LOT! We got reamed out yesterday for our general demeanor in class. That is, for coming in late; interjecting in discusions; inability to grasp basic things, etc. It just got ugly when one of my classmates just didn't know when to shut up. Bless her heart, but this woman is a little older (probably in her 50's) just didn't appreciate being spoken to in the manner our instructor was addressing us. The teacher said one thing. The woman had to answer back. This went on for quite a long while to the point where it was just unconfortable for everyone. After the fact, the class mate pretty much pouted and I knew she was just about to go over the edge because it appeared she was diverting her agressions to a piece of paper writing continously something like, "I will learn how to shut up." (as if she was on a time-out with a dunce cap on in front of the class). This older woman is actually quite nice and friendly, but from day one in orientation, I just knew she would get on my nerves. She was one of those types that needed EXPLICIT explanations and had to verbalize everything. It totally appeared that she couldn't restrain her own inner "inside voices" at all! Needless to say, the class went on smoothly and for the remainder of the day, people raised their hands and didn't ask a lot of unnecessary questions. Wow, it was like being in 8th grade again! Thank goodness I have a pretty good handle of the whole experience. I'm far from a "know-it-all," though. Just don't call me a "know-nothing" because I'll kut you! I am in southern LA after all. HOLLA!

Snap.

I work a part-time retail job in the mall. Not the most glamorous thing to do, but it provides some extra cash in my pocket and the opportunity to get nice clothes at a decent discount. It most definitely isn't the most difficult thing to do with your time except for standing all day long and iwreaking havoc on your lower back. Since I'm pretty much one of the new guys, I don't really have a lot of close friends there yet. After getting my assigned post for the shift, I see that one of my sections of the store is in a little disarray from customers picking over things. In an effort to tidy things up, I decided to tackle the unruly denim wall and started to contently fold and stack away. Apparently, I embarked on a project already started by someone else who was on break. When this person came back, he clearly sees what I'm doing (quite well, actually) and proceeds to talk to me as such with another coworker present:

KID: Hey, what was your name again?
ME: Mike.

KID: Do you know how to fold jeans?
ME: Yeah.

KID: Let me show you. [He then demonstrates.]
ME: Yup, doing that. [Mind you, I was already in progress with a couple of stacks already done.]

KID: [Chimes in after a few minutes.] You gotta tuck the flap here. And you gotta size them too.
ME: DONE!

GIRL: Have you worked in retail before?
ME: Yeah.

GIRL: Oh really? Where?
ME: BANANA REPUBLIC in both Orlando and DC for about 3 years. It was a long time ago though.

KID: [Had no comment.]
ME: [Not missing a beat, continued to fold away to a most splendid wall of jeans!]

Jeez. Talk about getting irritated to the nth degree! To be berated by some post-teen who thinks he knows more than you ... when he clearly doesn't. Ugh. Anyway, the moral of this story: Pay little Asian kids NO mind.