Let me get you up to speed since this is the first time I’m
recording this with audio. A guy at work
told me he really likes my voice. He said if I narrated a documentary he’d
watch it. He said I’m like the American David Attenborough. And Teoli oli Oxenfree
told me he reads my blog in my voice so I figured I just make it easier on him
and try out this in podcast form.
I left a job and a relationship. Which is a very adult
sentence.
I’m about to leave my job as a Japanese chef. The restaurant
is Japanese. I’m not.
One of my bosses took it kinda hard, but I think she was
dealing with some other stuff at the time. The other boss really likes me and
we talk about music and so he was totally understanding. Still I feel bad, I’m
only just now competent enough to actually be contributing to the kitchen.
My new job is like “Strawberry Consultant”, I’m hired by
this company that monitors a bunch of strawberry farms for the season. I
shadowed the guy last Thursday and what I’ll do is I’ll go around to a bunch of
farms in the area, walk through the fields and
look at the plots for certain
diseases or plant stresses. Often there will be mites, or mold or caterpillars
and based on how severe the problems are I make a recommendation to the farmers
on what they should do, use a pesticide or whatever.
I like to think of myself as a strawberry doctor. I diagnose
and prescribe.
Am I qualified to make these decisions? Not quite… I’ll have
a week or two of training, but I can already identify certain kinds of mold and
bugs, so I’m good and they gave me a little mobile microscope and I can use
that.
I got the job by applying for a job at the monitoring
company, they breed predatory insects to eat the pest insects. And I applied to
be the guy who counts the mites. Like thousands of them haha. When they got
back to me they said that that position had been filled but they liked me and
said I showed initative so they might make a supervisor position for me.
I did show initiative. I found the mite counting job on a
site that requires you to pay them to contact the job poster, and I was like
fuck that, I’m not stupid, I can find an insectary in Donnybrook, there’s not
gonna be that many. And then I found them and met them and they liked me and I
liked them and here’s the kicker. They need me to drive around to the farms
right? So they’re giving me a car!
So I have to learn how to drive manual. Gotta take lessons.
I’ll miss my chef job, I was just getting good, and making
friends there. I left too soon, but this is just a better job. I gotta move out
to the country though, gonna eat a lot of peaches. Maybe I’ll get my own house.
There’s one available in the area but that seems like a lonely existence.
Unfortunately nothing with a single room seems free yet.
Spoons is what I like to call my "three day
girlfriend". I kinda miss her.
I'll come home through the back gate and past the pool where
we last kissed and think about her. And stare up at the hallway in the window
where I'd fight off sleep to talk about our days.
It's good to have someone to talk about your day. You don’t
need a romantic relationship for it. Just someone you’re really comfortable
around. Let’s you let off steam and simmer together.
And part of me really wants to risk it all for a week. Hitch
hike up to cairns. Stay with a friend of a friend for free. And surprise Spoons
and hang out and go snorkeling for a week. I think that'd be really fun. And
big romantic gestures are... Well big and romantic.
But then there's the rational part of me that's like
"you have literally 170 dollars. You can't afford to snorkel. Let alone
get there in time. What are gonna eat sand?"
And then. Really I've only known her for less than 20 hours.
I've had meals longer than that. I'm not in love. I just found a person I like.
There will be others.
There's a really cynical part of me that believes that
everyone is replaceable. Everyone is unique. But as far a fulfilling a role in
my or anyone's life, you can always get more people. I have had hundreds of
acquaintances, dozens of friends and a handful of relationships. And not that
they aren't special. But as far as a support structure goes you'll always find
someone.
So maybe I'm just clinging to Spoons' support. Or maybe I just liked getting to know somebody that cool.
There's a final part which is of course whatever Spoon's
wants. It's probably just as nuanced and unclear as I want. But I get the
feeling that planning to come visit each other is not what she wants. Either we
had one fun little blip in the radar of our lives. Or a second blip pops up
unexpectedly with a pair of goggles and swim trunks.
So I don't know what I'll do. I might have to work this
week. I might be replaced. I'll find out tomorrow. Then I'll think again.
So I’m going to go to do that now. I’m gonna see if I work,
decide if I chase Spoons, find a place to live, move out to the country and if
you like the audio version of this let me know and maybe I’ll do it again.
