Mikey Cheese

I went to one of my favorite delis to grab my lunch. Their menu is huge and not very themed. You can order hamburgers, enchiladas, breakfast, salads, smoothies, and egg rolls amongst many other international treats. It is cold and wet here, and I was really craving a burger and fries. By some miracle, I passed up the burger for a salad. A chicken caesar salad. Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch about how many calories are in that salad, I have already thought about it, and frankly, don't give a damn. I am just trying to insert as many green things into my digestive system as possible, without worrying if there is a layer of slippery, yolky dressing. The owner made the salad. It's never as good when he makes it. He scimps out on the dressing, and I have no soupy runoff to dip my bread into.

I ran into an old coworker at the deli. This is the 2nd time I've seen him this week after almost a year of not seeing him. I saw him last week at my 2nd time at the movies to see AVATAR! Last time before that was at a mutual friend's place for a card game. The mutual friend is a nice guy, but I thought he might have a crush on me, so being the mature adult that I am, I just stopped talking to him, and totally ignored him. So the old coworker, Mikey Cheese, is just a fantastic guy. He worked in the cheese and wine department, and always had a genuine smile on his face. He quit "The Hole" after many years of dedicated work, to work for a local cheese vendor. He told me he's interested in going back to the hole.

I see a lot of people going back to Whole Foods after time away. It was an extremely hard thing to do for me to quit, and it took months of panic attacks, stomach pains, and tears to finally make my big decision to quit. The company offers fantastic benefits, a great working environment (if you aren't in leadership!), and room for growth. It's hard to leave that, but for those gung-ho achievers like myself can get burned by the WF process. I equate it to going through a divorce. There are feelings of post-separation anxiety. Did I do the right thing? Will I find anything better? But, I love the people I work with! So many emotions involved with leaving...JUST A JOB. But, the kicker is that the company sets it up in a way so that it's not just a job, and you feel personally invested and responsible for the profits and losses. This can be a great thing for awhile, but I do have to say, being responsible for someone else's business, with someone else's rules, can really take a toll. But, for some people, it's a permanent goodbye, and for others, it's just a see ya later. As I've seen some very shady things happening in the company I used to love, I'm glad I was a permanent goodbye. Although, it was tough, with a couple of "oh, I fucked up, please take me back" moments.

I normally don't update at work, but today is an unusually lax day. The boss is in court and we spent all morning preparing for a hearing. After a very stressful week, I'm happy to take a few minutes out of my workday to gab with myself.

I touched base with the potential roomie again. Looks like it is still a possibility! I would be so thankful if that situation worked out. It seems to be a very good fit for me, and I love the idea of living near a river, so I can take walks and bike ride. I don't have a bike, but maybe this means I will get one. In my head, there lives a cute, little vision of walks on the river, canoeing, winter sledding on a garbage can lid, finding a fabulous job that makes me feel that my student loans were worth it, and finding some great people to get to know. I just need to keep that little film in my head going and manifest the crap out of it.

There is a city there that is well known for being a foodie town. There are many foodnetwork challenges, and other fun food related events happening there. Also one of the best culinary academies in the country is centrally located, and I think it would be pretty rocking to take a cooking class or two.