Have a nice day!  

Posted by Jonathan E Johns

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So I have had a few really good days recently. Of course this is completely subjective. You may read about my good days, and feel sorry for me or laugh at me, or just sit in wonder. I suppose this is the same for all of us. I suppose that the days we've had leading up to the 'good ones', definitely influence the level of goodness in any given day.

Suffice it to say, my days were pretty darned good.

So I was interviewing with Target a few weeks back. Now, you may think, Target = Wal-Mart. Just about the same, with Red instead of Blue and Starbucks instead of McDonald's, and pretty Latino girls in read shirts, instead of fat white trash women in blue vests. Well, you would only be partially right. Target seems to have a great many ties to Starbucks, not only in its front end, but in its back room philosophy. So I seemed to be a perfect fit. So, I went in and filled out an electronic application, and a day later got a call for an interview. So I went in, and that day, I was in Target for five hours! I had three interviews that day, and they asked me to come back the next day, so I did. Another five hours and four interviews later, they said they would call me back. I went back a third day, and had two interviews, and they asked me to come back again. Unfortunately, by then I was working a temp job, and they could only interview me while my other job was going on. I tried to reschedule, and the one girl who was 'handling' my interview process was very very weird. She got all up in my grill, and told me I had better do whatever it takes to get out of the other job and come in for the last interview. I asked if she expected me to call in sick, or not show at my other job just to come in for an interview, and she said yes. Here's the kicker, I was working a temp job for $15 per hour, which, if hired on would make me around $16-$17 per hour, maybe more. The target job which required 8 interviews pays $9-$13 per hour. I guess an unemployed person should suck it up, but I felt very big red flags waving around, and passed.

So I was saying, one of those four or five hour days at target, I had a 45 minute wait in between interviews, and decided to go get something to eat. I had only been back in Nor Cal for a few weeks at this time, and still had many things on my list to do. The target I was interviewing at was located on Santa Rosa Blvd, and there are many other stores in that shopping center. A Best Buy, Trader Joe's, Beverages and More, Sonoma Valley Bagel, Starbucks, Old Navy, etc etc, you get the picture. There were plenty of places for me to eat, but on my short list was a $1.50 Dog and Soda from Costco. So I walked over there, and grabbed some lunch, and walked around a little, and, well, it started.

I started having a really good day. I was not yet disillusioned with Target, and was feeling pretty good about my chances there, and feeling pretty good about being asked to come back for more interviews, and I was in Northern California, and the sun was out, and I was at Costco! It just all felt right. After my Dog and Soda, I walked over to Trader Joe's, and was overwhelmed with warmth, and happiness. If you've never been in one, well, you're missing out. If you have, you know what I am talking about. I sauntered over to BevMo, and looked around at beautiful bottles of alcohol, and glassware, and snacks, and well, just wandered. That was an incredibly good day for me. It was the start of me feeling at home, and feeling like I had arrived, and feeling a calming sensation after years of anticipation.

Yesterday was kind of like that. Although not as varied. It was a work day, which for me is exciting in and of itself. A One Day Temp job, but in an office and paying pretty well too. Then, I got my first real paycheck, and drove to the bank to deposit it, and get some cash. For the last week, since I opened my Bank Account, I have had to go to the bank as if it was the 1920's or something. It takes a week or more to get an ATM or Debit card these days. (I see that changing dramatically in the next 18-24 months) So all week, if I needed gas or whatever, I had to go to the bank, which is what I did last night after work. As I was waiting in line, I was thinking about what I was hungry for. On paydays, I tend to treat myself, because in between paychecks I tend to eat bag lunches, and casserole dinners, and toast for breakfast. So I was running down the list of things I was hungry for, and came across my mental list of things I wanted to do when I got to California. Costco hotdog and Soda, CHECK, In-N-Out Burger, CHECK, Jack in the box, CHECK... What was missing? Oh, now I recall! Shangri-La Himilayan food from Cotati! Holy Crap, I missed that. So I got myself all worked up, drooling, and antsy in line waiting to cash my check. I got all that done, and drove home, wondering if my roomy might want to share in my dinner plans, but alas, he wished to eat of the Red Lobster, with a pretty girl, and see a big screen film at the cinema. I was to dine alone, and savor my experience. My roomy pointed out that I had received some Mail, and to my surprise, my bank Card had come! Now my day was starting to pick up speed!

If you have spent any amount of time without a debit or ATM card, you should know what I am talking about. There is just so much that one CANNOT do without plastic! So getting the card was like getting some freedom! I was very very excited now, and drove off towards the Tandoori place for my dinner. But as I drove on, I figured that I would need some kind of entertainment. I stopped off at Blockbuster, and looked for a film to watch, and had a pretty hard time. I grabbed something that a few people told me they liked, and as I was walking towards the checkout line I spied some Games for rent, and checked out a few.

Now, for those of you who don't play Guitar Hero, you will probably not get much of the next paragraph, heck, even you air guitar aficionados may not get it. But I have to tell you, there was really only a few songs I ever wanted to play when I bought the Guitar Hero game, and I was too dumb to realize that there were different versions of the game, and that some songs were only available on certain versions, and the complexities are just too weird to go into, suffice it to say, I have the game, and have fun playing it, but the songs I want to play have eluded me. Until I spied the game on the shelf. Guitar Hero, Smash Hits, for the PS3 has a lot of the biggest hit songs from PREVIOUS VERSIONS of the game! Al those songs I always wanted to pay from GH1, GH2, etc etc, are on the GHIII Smash hits game! I rented it, got my food, went home, and ate.

Now, if you've never had Tandoori style food, well, you are really missing out, my friend. Creamy, spicy, aromatic, flavorful, succulent. There are just not enough mouthwatering words to properly describe it. And after five years, well, the hunger pains were crippling. I savored every morsel, I sopped up every drop of gravy with fresh warm Na'an bread. I stuffed myself into near coma. Then, I remembered I had to rock out, with my socks out.

YYZ, Godzilla, Killer Queen, Freebird, Carry on my Wayward Son, More Than A Feeling, Smoke on the Water, and many more. I had a blast! With a full tummy, and exhausted air guitar skills, I got the sleepy eyelids, and ended a great day. Saturday morning here, and it just feels, I don't know. I was trying to describe to my roomie this morning how the Saturdays here just feel different. Better, I guess. It just feels good to be home.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 11:39 AM . You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments feed .

2 comments

Anonymous  

So...what comes after "and would" at the end?

August 22, 2009 at 8:09 PM

Whoops! Looks like I need a professional editor. Sorry!

Edited post for TYPO

August 22, 2009 at 8:23 PM

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