Hello, Alchemy.

It's been a long while since I set out to make a day of sitting in Alchemy Coffee and blogging my day away. I haven't been in Alchemy to write since October, I think. And, for whatever reason, I haven't been writing anywhere as much as I used to.

It's not that I don't want to or feel like it. I think I just kind of hit a lull wall, of sorts. I started getting wrapped up in other ways to express myself and my zany creativity. Whether it was making videos on YouTube or recording phonecasts via iPadio.com.

I get easily distracted when it comes to being silly in some way, shape or form. Whatever I can do to get my message out there, I'll give it a whirl. The funny thing is that I don't really even have a "message", per se. I just like to share moments or stories from my life and elaborate on them.

If anything, it gives the vast viewing and listening audience on the internet an open door to the world of Mike. I know how much people enjoy peering into the lives of others. We all have a voyeuristic tendencies.

For over a year I came to Alchemy to write, write, write and drink coffee... and write. I'd also do actual productive things like look for work and create my popular website here at www.mikethejanitor.com.

Alchemy Coffee became my home away from home and I became quite a regular here. If I sit here and try to calculate the amount of hours I've spent in this little coffee house, I think it would be safe to say it's close to 800 hours. Probably more.

I base this assumption of time spent sitting here from around October 2008 to October 2009. Last year at this time, I was working for Honey Bucket and making really good money. About that time, I had three days off. Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I'd usually work half a day on Wednesday, too.

During my days off, I would come here to Alchemy and write of my exploits and post pictures. I was constantly telling stories of my adventures at Honey Bucket and things I would encounter during my job of cleaning portable toilets.

I have to admit that I really miss that. I miss Honey Bucket. It was hard, sometimes grueling work. But I was far more respected doing that by my fellow peers and management than what I'm presently suffering at this employer I'm at now. And people that knew me respected me, too. They got a kick out of my Honey Bucket days.

Now I'm just this guy doing a dead-end job that any moron could do. Come to think of it, there are some morons I work with. So I can say that.

There is nothing fascinating about my job. There are no great stories to tell. I work in a warehouse and help run a shipping/receiving department for a local envelope production company. La-dee-freaking-da.

I don't mean to trash my employer. That isn't my point or intention. But it's obvious that this isn't the place for someone like me. And it eats at me every day. However, I put myself in the situation that led to me gaining employment at this company.

At the end of April, 2009, I had walked off the job at Honey Bucket. Things came to a head one morning and I got fed up. My management accused me of something that I didn't do and I quit. That's how strongly I felt.

I quit at the beginning of the unemployment crisis that is still plaguing our nation. I didn't have a plan nor did I have any money saved for a "rainy day". I didn't care, either.

After I quit, I sold off some of my high-end electronics to live and pay rent. During that time, I sat here in Alchemy Coffee browsing the internet looking for work. Not only did I put out resumes for regular, blue-collar jobs but also for radio gigs across the United States.

I interviewed at a few places during the month I was unemployed. I spoke with two radio stations that were interested in bringing me on-board in California and Texas. But the only thing that seemed promising was the interview I had with the employer I'm now at.

The radio gigs never panned out. The various interviews I had done for the blue-collar jobs generated nothing more than rejection letters. The only place that seemed to really like me, ironically, is the place I've come to not really enjoy now.

I've shared this story before but I'll state it again. I wasn't the first choice for this position I now hold. Their actual first selection didn't pass their drug test. Since I came in at a close second with the silver medal, they passed down the gold and I got the job.

Yay.

I must admit that I was pretty damn proud of myself for landing a job in less than a month. Again, this was during the time when the jobless rate was growing increasingly and quickly. I think I was able to land a new job so quickly because I never got down on myself. I was constantly projecting a sense of happiness and confidence.

In my mind I knew that this job was mine and I was going to make it mine. Not because it was something I really wanted to do. But because the hourly wage was as close to what I was making at Honey Bucket when I left. I took this job for the money. Not for the position.

I have to keep reminding myself of that whenever my blood starts boiling there. And, believe me, that happens on an almost daily basis. Hands down, this is one of the worst work environments I've ever been involved in.

But I digress.

So, here I am at my old stomping grounds bitching and moaning on the internet. GO ME! WOOT! It's nice to be back. Some of the other regulars are drifting in and seeing me here in the corner. They've said they're hello's and asked where I've been. It's nice to see them again and make conversation. Yet another reminder of how I've missed this place.

I think I've met my quota of Americanos. I've tossed back FIVE of these highly-caffeinated espresso drinks. And I'm tweeking like a damn meth head. My mind is going a mile a minute. I need to find a rest stop in my tweeking highway mind and pee some of this out. Jesus!

I set out this morning to go and buy some dish soap. But before walking out my door, I changed my mind and decided to come to Alchemy and tap into a part of my life that I haven't visited for a while. I'm glad I changed my mind. I needed the distraction.

I still need to buy the dish soap and some other things for my living space. I can't spend the majority of my day on the internet, you know? There are chores to be done. Fences to mend. Cows to milk. Chickens to feed.

The usual.

I'm going to gobble down some quick lunch here at Alchemy and get back to my weekend grind.

Kisses.

-Mike The Janitor
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Millenoma Publishing