Thursday, June 22, 2006

Welcome To The Hotel Wales, It's Such A Lovely Place...



Yesterday, June 21, year of our lord 2006, will go down as one of the BEST days of my short, happy life. I landed two prime gigs, one a fulltime job and the other a choice freelance assignment. First, I got the Hotel Wales job. R. called and told me I got the job. He actually said, Welcome to the Hotel Wales. Those were some sweet words to hear! He said J. from S. Communications, who I used as a reference, said glowing things about me. I will begin training during the day, possibly as soon as tomorrow, and then switch to the 11pm to 7am shift, known as the graveyard shift for obvious reasons. But I am an off-peak kind of guy, yes, someone who has tired of the whole 9-5 world after doing it for years and years. Never mind the mainstream. The job has excellent benefits, including a 401k, health benefits, vacation time, etc.

Secondly, I am now a freelance proofer for L. TV over on 49th and 8th . L.T. is the cable network that reruns shows like Golden Girls and Frasier around 20 times a day. Check the listings, I'm not making this up. I will go work on premises at their offices a few times, but then they will send me the work to do at home, and then i can send it back online. Best of all possible worlds. And not a moment too soon.

Yesterday and Tuesday I worked down at S. on Varick. I love that place. And everyone seems to like me. They're alway saying things like, we're so glad you could make it, and thanks so much for going over this stuff. God bless my freelance agency, especially K., who has been incredibly helpful and nice at a time when I was down and out. Thanks to them I now have three very good freelance accounts. I hope to keep all of them them indefinitely and then procure even more assignments. These gigs range from 22 to 25 bucks an hour, but of course the work is usually sporadic. L.T., however, seems to be promising a steady stream of work. So things are looking up.

Well, just wanted to get this on the record. Thanks to all who were there for me during the darkest hours: my brother, sister, Bob & Holly, Chrys, Tony, my Aunt Vickie, and to all who listened to me bitch day after day. I had to stay mentally tough during this long hard slough. At times I felt on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The low point had to be the horrible market research job on Irving Plaza. One of the worst jobs I ever had -- and I once worked in the garment district, as a messenger, as a roofer, as a truck loader in a warehouse in beautiful Secaucus, New Jersey, along with many other horrible jobs. Also horrible was the shipping and handling job I had, stuck in a freezing cold garage for hours all by myself, with only a radio for company. And then to be let go by a supposed friend with no prospects. That was tough sledding. At least I had the balls to walk away from the market survey job. I always tried to take the high road, although there are some people out there who deserve my wrath. But that would serve no positive purpose, even to those who claim Revenge is its own Reward. But as John Cooper Clarke once said/screamed in the 1977 punk non-hit Innocents: "Revenge is a strong emotion, friction is the mother of pearl; it's a disappointing, disapproving, disappearing world ... NOW WHAT'S THIS!"

This week continues to just fucking rock! Just seconds ago got another call from A. informing me that S. needs me back yet again tomorrow. That's four solid days of freelancin' this week! I have no idea when I will draw my first paycheck from the Hotel, so this will give me a nice check to pick up next week until the new job kicks in. Peace...

No comments: