The Square One

I'm unemployed, again, this winter. There is a certain horizon in your mind when you realize someone has crossed it and there is no looking and no going back. I feel like I have been mistreated, mislead, completely and totally unappreciated. But I guess that's the way most jobs go. This was different though, because I dedicated the last year of my life to this business as a manager and now it all means nothing. Not because I was refused pay, or held accountable for every mistake, or the cold hard fact that we were rated 'worst coffee shop' in Albany behind Dunkin' Donuts. Talking down to your employees to make them feel like they are nothing just so you can walk all over them is not any way to do business. And all of those people who have complained the most about being incredibly mistreated are still working there because they either don't have the means, or the balls, to tell him to fuck off. I'm lucky to have someone by my side who will support my irrational decisions, simply out of love.

Apparently, taking all of my baking items and my recipes out of the place before I leave for 12 days isn't a big enough "I QUIT," because he's still texting Connor and I to work after I told him I'd never put up with his bullshit for minimum wage. You can't pay the rent? Let's just drop everyone's pay to minimum wage and see how many stick around. Not this guy.

The job I started before I left sucked and I haven't heard from them, so I'm off on a clean slate. All of this piracy protesting online has shut off my communication to the job world for today so I'm just sucking it up for now, getting my life back from vacation world and joining reality again (cleaning). At least this time I came back with good news and something to look forward to.

I finally have an opportunity to get back to California. My Uncle owns apartment complexes near my parents and is willing to offer me a place to stay for cheap until I get on my feet, which is all I could ever ask for. It's about an hour east of San Francisco which is far, but closer than I've been in the last 4 years. For now I just have to make ends meet until the car payment is done in September and then we're off. Finally a chance, finally a plan. I've dipped out of Albany life pretty much since I moved into our house with the only people I care to talk to, and I plan to keep it that way until I'm gone for good.

The Shit in the Fan

Things have been awful. I was puke sick on Christmas and cold sick on new years eve. I'm supposed to be leaving for California on Saturday, I was so excited and now I'm almost dreading it. The cafe seems to be indefinitely closing, and oh yeah, I'm not getting paid either. "There is no money" is not a valid excuse in my book. I don't want to get into this, I've been stewing about it for the last 3 days I feel like my head might explode. I'm writing because one of my dad's best friends from the beginning of eternity has just suddenly died this morning.

I've never dealt well with death, it's almost a denial thing. It just doesn't seem real enough to be dead. At such a young age, dying at 41 can only mean a human error of some sort. A patient being monitored for a fatty liver should be tested for every disease you could possibly think to be related, is this not apart of their job at hospitals anymore? Do they send out the bills without double checking their work? My dad's best friend is dead because someone was too fucking lazy and incompetent to do their job. How did no one no he had diabetes? His body was swollen, his pancreas, kidneys and liver were swollen. He died in a medical induced diabetic coma from internal bleeding that they couldn't find the source of. And I bet in less than three weeks there will be a medical bill waiting in his mourning parent's mail box.

I'm leaving for California on Saturday, a trip that was supposed to be about giving my parents a break from all the grief in their daily lives. Now I have to watch my entire family and friends go through their mourning period because someone fucked up and killed my dad's friend. He had the best laugh, he was always smiling, and everyone is going to notice when they don't hear that laugh at the next get together. I hope someone is held responsible for Kaiser hospital's 1,000,000th mistake. They almost killed my grandpa 2 years ago, if it wasn't him it would be someone else.

You never know that the last time you say good bye would be the last time forever.