Onto the Next (on, on to the next)

Today is one of the first beautiful days of Spring. It's the kind of day that makes me crave a Long Island Iced Tea in a way that the days of winter never could. And so I sit sipping on my patio, thankful for those years of bartending that left me with the ability to mix up a mean drink.

Eh, back to the blog.

January 2009
My journeys in Peru came to a timely end, and I found myself back in chilly Philly looking for a job. Any job would do. Luckily, the Japanese restaurant was happy to take me back and to rid themselves of my replacement (a man I never met, but will forever be referred to as "Mustache" by the employees who knew him). After a few weeks, however, business became really slow and I was cut to 12 hours/week. No calculus class needed to determine that my expenditures far outweighed my income.

I distinctly remember looking at my bank account in February 2009 and seeing $200. People say that money isn't everything, but let's not pretend like it it's nothing. With 24 hours left in my paycheck that month, I literally had no idea how I was going to pay my rent. Or eat. Eating, of course, was far less important at this point.

I remember making statements in college like, "I never want my life to revolve around money." And it's true: I never wanted my life to revolve around money. But when I didn't have any, suddenly my only priority was getting some.

And it's not like I wasn't trying. My stress levels were unprecedented. I was Craigslisting out to wazoo and calling up bars when FINALLY, in my hour of greatest need, someone answered. A popular upscale nightclub in Rittenhouse Square told me to come in for an interview. Two interviews and a couple martini's later, my new boss told me my start date.

My rent got paid that month. Now that my finances were a bit more stable, I was able to fully dedicate myself to searching for the job I could make into a career.