My New Job

I'm at the Starbucks on the Syracuse University campus. While I'm typing this post my iPhone 4S is plugged into my MacBook and the iOS 6.0 software update is downloading. I like this Starbucks because of the free WiFi, the lively ambience and the fact that there's lots of cute college guys, as well as a lot of vegan-friendly restaurants in the area.

I'm very sorry that I haven't blogged in a long time. I can't think of a good excuse except to say that I just felt like stopping, but now I'm back. The most recent change in my life is the addition of a new job. I got hired by a 100 percent vegan restaurant two weeks ago. It's about a 20 minute drive from my house and I've been working about four days per week. I mostly work the closing shift and right now the only things I know how to do are the dishes and making milkshakes and shots of espresso, but I was told by my boss that they're going to "fast-track" me onto other responsibilities. I feel very nervous and insecure here because I don't know how to do a lot and it's quite different from my job at Dunkin' Donuts. Speaking of Dunkin' Donuts, I'm going to continue to work there about twice a week, on my days off from my new job because it's more money in my pocket and I get to keep my health insurance, plus if my new job doesn't work out I can return to more full-time hours at Dunkin'. 

My new co-workers are okay. I have a few female co-workers but most nights it's an all-male crew and they're all straight and love to talk about women and all things related to heterosexuality. I think they assume I'm straight, but I haven't expressed much interest in the women that come into the restaurant or about sex in general. I almost came out last night and said that I'm gay, but I was too scared. The context for me almost doing that was that they asked me about why I don't have a girlfriend, particularly why I'm single. I'm an average looking guy and I'm relatively normal so it's a fair question to ask. I downplayed the question by stating that I'm happy being single because I like my freedom, which is somewhat true. I went on to say that if the right "person" came along I'd want to take it slow and see if we were compatible before pursuing a more romantic relationship. I did purposefully use the gender-neutral word "person" so hopefully they got the hint. I just want to be myself at work. I don't want to pretend to be straight. I want every aspect of my life to be honest and transparent. 

Anyway, that's about all for now. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment and/or ask questions.

Some Updates

I am happy to report that my parents are feeling better. Last February my mom got the flu and she had a terrible cough which lasted for about three weeks. My dad wasn't as sick as my mom and he recovered quicker, but I'm glad that things are returning back to normal. Fortunately I managed to avoid getting sick.

I don't have anything interesting to write about. My boss D got promoted by the company so she's moving on and I'm going to have a new manager named D2 (her name also starts with a D). D2 is also nice and I've been told that she likes me (as a worker). My assistant manager K is also going to work at a different store and the shift leader L will become D2's assistant manager. It's not going to affect me too much, but it is a change. I don't know when the changes will go into effect. I've been learning more areas of the business, such as how to organize the doughnut display case for the evening hours and I've been getting practice on taking drive-thru customers' orders.

In other news, I want to visit my friend in Massachusetts. A few months ago he e-mailed me about the best times to visit him and April seems to work for me. I miss Massachusetts and some aspects of my life in that state.

I'm currently reading Black Boy by Richard Wright. I'm almost finished with it and then I'm going to read Stephen King's novel 11/22/63. I want to begin doing video reviews of all of the books I'm reading, starting with the one I'm currently reading. I like to watch video reviews of books on YouTube because it helps me discover new books that might be appealing.

Updates 2/6/12

Last night I watched the Super Bowl by myself in my living room. It was a great game and the first NFL game of this season that I watched in its entirety. I was cheering for the Patriots since I have some friends who live in New England. I had a big meal which consisted of a bag of the cracked pepper and sea salt variety of Dirty Chips, a can of Blue Sky Organic Soda (Root Beer Encore), and almost all of the roasted vegetable pizza from Amy's. The last slice is in the refrigerator and I'll probably eat it tomorrow. It was the second time I had that pizza and it's pretty good. It's hard to find frozen vegan pizza. I have yet to try my local vegan restaurant's pizza, but one of these days I'll do it.

Today is my day off from work. I was supposed to have a day off on Saturday but another franchised store near me was short-handed so my manager asked if I would be willing to work there on my day off. I'll be honest, I didn't want to work on my day off but the thought of working with this really cute guy who normally works there was a compelling motivation, so I enthusiastically agreed.

Both of my parents have been sick for the last few days. I hate being around sick people. I feel fine and I hope they get better soon.

I wish I could afford to buy some much-needed kitchen appliances so that I could cook for myself more often. My parents don't have a lot of equipment and the stuff that they do have is usually being used or is inadequate for what I want to do. And I would like to get a good pressure cooker and a rice cooker so that I can buy beans and rice in bulk, thus saving me lots of money in the long run.

Before I go, I wanted to mention that I checked-out three DVDs at the library this afternoon. Two are documentaries: "FOOD, INC." and "Saint of 9/11." The last DVD is a feature film titled "The Boys Are Back." It stars Clive Owen and it's about fatherhood. I've seen "FOOD, INC." before but I can't remember much about it and I'm sure it will have more meaning to me now, compared to back then.

Until next time...

Entry 1: An Introduction

One of my New Year's resolutions was to consistently blog and I'm finally getting around to it. I decided to create a new blog for a fresh start. That's another defect of mine: I create blogs and quickly abandon them, but hopefully this blog will be with me for a very long time. I have no theme for this blog. I'll post whatever is on my mind and updates on my life.

Because this is an introductory post, it would be appropriate to tell you some things about me. I'm a happily single 30-year-old gay man. I am currently living with my parents because I'm too poor to afford my own place, but I plan on moving out as soon as my debt is paid off and I'm able to start saving. I work part-time at a coffee shop, and I mostly like my job. Most of my co-workers are nice and the customers are cool too. I live in upstate New York and I don't like the winters, but so far winter hasn't been too bad, except I hate feeling cold. Another fact about me is that I've been an ethical vegetarian since the middle of December. I also enjoy reading fiction and watching movies and TV shows. I also enjoy nonfiction books and documentaries.

Well, that's all for now. -- Jordan