unemployment

After eight years of working at the same job, I got the news last Friday that I am laid off. Although there was a bit of a heads up, it still hit me hard when the time came, mostly because I didn't realize how much time had passed. I came to realize all the little things that I had taken for granted like interacting with clients and mostly of all the friends I made with my co-workers in the IT and facilities department.

Still, I have to see it as nothing but a bitter-sweet ending and a new beginning for hopefully what I really want to do... which I'm still unsure of except to be a roadie for Erase Errata. :P

One thing I know for sure: I will never work for Computer Sciences Corporation, an outsourcing company that should never ever be trusted.

Like I said, bitter-sweet.

35

When I found out Erase Errata was playing in Portland on my birthday, I booked a flight up there. It was just too perfect since my brother lives up there, a city I would move to in an instant if it wasn't for my love of San Francisco. Since I was going to be up there and EE was playing the next night in Seattle, I figured, why not?

I got there the day before the show and met up at the airport with my mom who also decided to fly up for the occasion. We decided to stay home and have some of my mom's awesome Korean food which she lugged in a huge bag. By the time she left, there was nothing in the bag.

The next day, I really wanted to have some of the awesome crawfish at Jake's but eventually we had to settle for Outback Steakhouse. I've never been there and while it wasn't great, it wasn't bad either.

Incidentally my brother picked up a 50 inch plasma TV which is insanely huge and I thought was excessive but in the end I was convinced. We got to watch the Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks in a nail biter. The clarity and detail of the plasma is incredible. We also spent a few hours oohing and ahhhing at the Discovery Channel's series called Planet Earth. It's a bit ironic that HD TV can make a convincing case for environmentalism. Again, the detail on the wildlife must be seen to be believed.

After dinner I drove to the venue and experienced one of the best Erase Errata shows ever. They even said happy birthday to me on stage! My blog of it can be read here. I got home and didn't sleep until 3AM cause I was so amped from the show.

The next morning we drove up to Seattle and what a long three hours it was. We stopped by McDonald's for a quick smoke/bathroom break and eventually got to our hotel. We went down to the fish market which happened to be THE tourist spot so it was packed with tourists. It was pretty cool to see all the giant fish and for some reason, equal amounts of flower vendors. I guess due to the climate Seattle is an ideal location for horticulture. It was absolutely beautiful green everywhere.

After a wacky lunch at a tourist restaurant where an Australian waitress kept messing up our order, we stopped by a French cafe staffed by French servers with delicious deserts and coffee. Then a quick unexpected stop at a Finnish DIY store.

That night my brother went to meet his friend and they dropped me off at the venue. What can I say, another amazing show which I'll blog soon.

The next day, we headed back down to Seattle and had some amazing Japanese food in Portland to finish off one of the best birthday weekends ever. "An interesting musical opportunity is in the future" indeed.