Monday, January 18, 2010

I'm Tired

I'm out of shape these days. I know this comes as a shock to many of you (and by many, I mean the 8 of you who read this) but I'm not talking about my gut or my ability to run for 30 seconds and keel over in intense pain (it's a gift).

I haven't worked in a long time. Working is not easy. I suppose that's why they call it work. I'm not used to it. I work for 6 hours at Ye Olde Lube Shoppe then it's off to wrestling practice until 5:30 or so. At this point, I'm plum tuckered out! It's not yet 9pm and here I am struggling to keep my eyelids open. I'm out of shape.

I never thought of myself as one who would get old and tired. One who prefers nights in to nights out. I thought I'd still be having a ball.

It's strange how my idea of what "having a ball" is has changed. I have a ball falling asleep on my couch, watching astronomy TV shows. (Seriously, check out The Universe on The History Channel. It's a fascinating little bedtime story, and there's like three seasons of it.) I have a ball sitting around a fireplace with my friends. I have a ball NOT having a ball.

I sort of dread going out places these days. It's taxing. It's taxing on the wallet but also on the energy reserves. Most places are too loud. This is fine if you're going to see live music, but if you're out for a night with your friends, why on earth would you want to spend that time shouting at one another because Lady Gaga is deafeningly loud? This is tiring, not to mention nauseating.

Meeting people for me, these days, is also tiresome. Getting to know you, small talk, "gee those are interesting socks," etc. is just draining. And as I have recently become single again, the fact that this is going to soon be my reality is pretty glaring. I'm old, I'm tired, and I'm not looking forward to looking for someone. I'm fine with being single, but you know and I know that that feeling won't last.

So I must endure. I'll get back into the swing of things, the dating game, "the hunt," as it were.

But first I'll take a long nap.

My lips to yours.

Phil

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Daily Lube, Day 2

Second verse, same as the first.

The upside to this so far is that my days go by really fast. I work from 8 -2 then drive straight to wrestling practice which lasts until about 5:30 or so. I'm tired, but it's that GOOD kind of tired, you know? From doing work and being productive and such? It's quite different from the kind of tired that comes from lazing around all day, not having anything to do but wishing that you did.

And being that I am thusly tired I'm going to not write anymore, suffice to say...

My lips to yours.

Philberto

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Daily Lube, Day 1

So I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to enjoy this job.

It's not me. I don't get excited about people getting their oil changed, their radiators flushed, etc. I am expected, however, to be very excited about this. My passion for customer service in the lube 'n' tune industry is supposed to translate into big bucks for me and my bosses. But I'm not passionate. I can be cordial, respectful, professional, but I can't possibly get excited about this. It doesn't matter whether or not I like the job because I need the job, but I can't fake enthusiasm. This may make for a very short Jiffy Lube career. That's fine by me as long as it's on my terms and I have something else to move on to, but right now... yeesh!

I've heard this before. "Be more enthusiastic." What can I do? I'm a laid-back guy. Former employers, ex-girlfriends, my parents (to name but a few) have all been confusticated by my lack of excitement, intensity, panic, passion or what have you in a myriad of situations. My lackadaisical nature has cost me employment and relationships and has driven people around me nuts. I've been accused many times of being passive aggressive and in my teenage year this was probably true. But I've never really thought of my lack of passion as a weapon, at least not an intentional one. I just don't find that a lot gets solved with intense arguing. In the words of Monty Python, "let's not bicker and argue over who killed who."

I prefer to think before I speak. In intense situations, I've always found it hard to keep up. I don't like regretting saying things that I don't mean. Therefore, I'd rather keep my mouth shut until I've had the time to think things through. I know there are situations where this isn't possible, and I suppose that these are the times I've gotten into trouble. I've never dealt well with people being angry with me. I tend to shut down instead of rising to meet the level of intensity of the angered party. This, of course, is usually viewed as me not caring or attempting to blow them off. Really, nothing could be further from the truth. I just need some time to think peacefully about the issue. But by then it's too late.

And so here I am, bored to the gills by that which feeds me. I suppose I could be excited about money, but other than its inherent necessity, I've never been excited by money. I can't hang on to a dime no matter how much I make, so money's never been something that really revs my engines. So I'm not sure about how I'll summon the enthusiasm necessary to be successful in my latest endeavor.

And I'm not sure that I care.

Well... my lips to yours.

Phil

Monday, January 11, 2010

Maybe the Most Important Literary Remake in History

http://www.runleiarun.com/lebowski/

Wow. Just... wow.

Learning to Lube

It's official. I blog.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I do know that I haven't been writing enough (or really at all) for the past few years, so... here we are. Me and you, gentle reader. Off on a journey through the recesses of my brain and, where applicable, my lower intestines.

Bon voyage.

Today we'll begin with a brief recap of my recent employment woes.

June, 2009 - I end my tenure as an English teacher at Archbishop Spalding High School.

August, 2009 - I receive my final paycheck from my teaching job and have yet to find other employment. Brief salvation comes when my friend, Christine, offers me a job pre-screening applications for Baltimore City Schools. The job pays well, but is only temporary.

October, 2009 - My temp job as a pre-screener ends. Other than doing odd jobs for my parents, I have no income.

November, 2009 - My brother's friend offers me a temp job working as a researcher for a company in Canton called Prometric. I research public speakers for their upcoming client summit. It's supposed to last 10 days. I try to do a good job and work quickly and accurately with the hopes of being hired on a more permanent basis. This, however backfires as the job I was performing was nothing like any jobs they had available, they had no way of knowing if I was a good fit for their company. And as I finished my task early, I lost two days worth of pay.

December, 2009 - My temp job ends after 8 days of work. Again, other than the occasional odd job for my parents and some Christmas money, I have no income. God bless my parents.

January, 2009 - Birthday money helps a bit. My uncle offers me a job for 8 bucks an hour in his warehouse. I don't think he had any room for me there, but offered the job to me any way. Something would be better than nothing. I'm not sure how I will pay rent this month. My parents are nudging me in the direction of moving home. However, I convice powers that be to pay me for coaching earlier than they normally would. Thus rent is covered! And a better job offer comes on my birthday!

Tomorrow, I'll begin working at Jiffy Lube. I'll be attempting to sell things like radiator flushes, tire rotations etc. to people who came to get their oil changed. As my brother noted, I'll be putting that English degree to work! I begin training tomorrow and hopefully things will work out ok. It doesn't pay a whole lot, but it's more than nothing.

Actually I will be putting that English degree to work. I'm helping (for pay, I'm no saint) a young lady with her doctoral thesis, making sure her references and bibliography are on point. Should be a few hundred extra bucks which would be ridiculously helpful. Things are starting to look up for little ol' Philbertun.

So the Good Lord has taken care of me. I've made it through some pretty lean times of late and just when it's seemed like I've gotten into impossible situations, something has come along and helped me out, be it my family, friends or work associates. Whatever it was, I doubt it was sheer luck. And really, through all of this, I haven't had to adjust my lifestyle all that greatly. Things have been good. Nerve-wracking at times, but good.

So, this is where I'll end for now, hoping and believing that 2010 is already looking better than its predecessor. Well... my lips to yours!

Philbertun