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Bagel, Dragon Ball & Work!

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Weds. August 8, 2018

Just relax.

I have to say, working a dinner shift is the best because I get to sleep longer in the mornings. I did not get up until 9:30 this morning. It felt great! So great that after brushing my teeth I put shoes and a shirt on, grabbed a hat and took off.

I woke up with a taste for a cinnamon raisin bagel and coffee. I figured it was a great way to start my day so I jumped in my car and drove right over Dunkin’ Donuts. I wanted to be productive at the same time so before leaving the house I set a load of clothes to wash. The truth is, when I rolled out of bed and looked down at the clothes I remembered that I actually needed them for work tonight. Luckily, I thought about it or else I would have had to put on my good clothes and risk ruining them.

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(photo found on Google images)

Afternoon confusion.

Back in the house I worked on the blog for a bit. I am not sure if I want my post to show in full length or summary. I think it looks clean in summary but I also like how the entire post can be read in full view. I went back and forth with it a few times and decided to leave it in full. I might change it back. Very confused.

While gathering a few articles for the Motivation page I watched a few episodes of Dragon Ball. Only 145 more to go. It has been a while since I have seen these episodes so it is a little shocking to witness how perverted the show is. I always knew Master Roshi was lady chaser but he does not even compare to the rest of the anime. Very interesting to see the difference in episodes from then to the new series. Also interesting is how as a child, we are innocent and do not even realize what is happening. Youth.

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(photo found on Google images)

Time to make it.

Around 3:15pm I left the house to head to work. I had to meet the lady I work with at a luxury apartment building in Hoboken. Before getting there I thought I would pick up a snack from a local healthy place. While trying to find it I realized it was going to more challenging than it should have been. The entire place had double parked cars and the street parking was all ‘residential parking.’ I mean every street within a mile radius had a bright green sign on it. I just wanted to stop for an acai bowl but with the parking restrictions I never got it.

At the site I met up with the lady. It was now 4:15pm, I was bowl-less and thirsty. The temperature was at its peak and all I could think about was how refreshing that bowl filled with acai and fruit would have been. I had to let the dream go.

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Bitmoji ME sad

After shifting our cars three times, for better visibility from the door, we got right to work. The last time we were there it rained on and off but the number at the end was pretty good. There were also three of us so the process moved smoother. Today the sun was shining and it was just she and I. 90% of the time we were on fire. Keeping a nice pace and making sure people did not wait too long. During the final stretch we were exhausted from the heat and our bodies had slowed down. The last three customers had to wait but thankfully they did not mind.

We shut down at 8:45pm after completing a great service. 

By 10:30pm I was home in the shower. Right after I sat down to have a really late dinner while watching another episode of Dragon Ball. I’m dedicated to watch it all.

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 An Interesting Time At The Café!

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Tues. August 7, 2018 

Last night was rough.  

I woke up at 3:30am to the power going down for seconds. I am a light sleeper and heard it in my sleep. I knew the air conditioner had shut down along with my computer because the room had gotten quiet. Then I woke again at 6am thinking it was time to go soon realizing I was an hour ahead of my alarm. When it did go off I was basically already awake. My mind was focused on not sleeping through it. 

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Bitmoji alarm ME

I had to meet the lady I work with at 9 so we could head into New Hope, Pennsylvania. We were going to set up the café as best as possible with the appliances we had from the delivery on Friday. Today we had even guests, her son and his friend, to help us move things around. The more we muscle the merrier.  

Getting things set! 

On the way to New Hope, we stopped at Panera Bread for breakfast. I order a Superfruit smoothie again but instead of a butter-less bagel I chose a new item in the pastry window, triple berry scone. It was my first time eating a scone and I have to say, it was good. It was a bit thick so next time I will grab a coffee to pair with it. I think a hot cup of joe would make it better. 

In PA we got right to it. Well as best as possible. After tearing half of the box from the refrigerator we could see an issue. I looked slightly bigger than we hoped. Even the contractor as he left us said, “I hope the fridge fits.” At the time we paid it no mind but taking a few measurements it was very obvious that the refrigerator she order was too big.  

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Bitmoji ME, confused

Scrambling for ideas the only option the lady I work with could think of was to call the contractor back as reinforcements. Our minds – the lady I work with, her son, his friend and I – could not find a way to get it in. Besides that, we could not even figure out how to get it off of the double pallet it was on. We were in a serious bind.  

Thankfully the contractor and his buddy were not too far from us. After waiting about 20 minutes they showed up and were the most help. Right from the door they started to plan out how they were going to get it off the double pallet and possibly squeeze the 54 in stainless steel refrigerator through a 44 in walkway, to then get it past the door frame.  

As they planned, most of it worked. We were able to eliminate one pallet getting it onto a platform with wheels. From there the contractor and his buddy tried to wiggle their way through the door frame only to wedge it tight letting the fridge prove its point, too big. After that we tried to remove all padding but that did not work. The last option was to have all six of us – the contractor, his buddy, the lady I work with, her son, his friend and I – hoist that 519 pound beast over the counter. That was a no-no. Way to heavy. She called the retailer to return it right it away. We tried our best. 

After the contractor and his buddy left we handled the rest since the refrigerator was no longer in our way. the two boys and I unboxed and built a hot table while the lady I work with took off to meet a local realtor. She is the market for a closer home to the café and for her mother. We also throw out the trash from the torn boxes and broken pallets. 

Café project ceased.  

Around 2:30pm all of us left the place as clean as possible. On the way back to her house we stopped at a place in Hopewell with good fresh food, Brick Farm Market. I had a teriyaki sandwich with spicy pickled cucumber salad on top. Very good. 

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(photo found on Google images)

Back at her house a bit before 4pm. I stayed for a short time to talked about the fridge situation. We need plans to replace it but cannot afford to make the same mistake. We thought of a few ideas but what to do, what to do? 

On my way home, I had the biggest scare. It was well into the 90s today with the sun beaming down on earth as if it were trying to roast my side of the equator. It affected me big time. I ended up slightly falling asleep coming close to the highway divider. If it were not for an empty bottle that I ran over I would have definitely hit it. The bottle woke me up in shock with just enough time to react. 

Finally home I went straight to bed. I needed some rest. 

I ended up being woken to the sound of thunder and rain hitting the side of the house. It was very frustrating to be up because I could have really used another hour of shut eye. I even planned on it by setting my alarm beforehand. But since I was up I decided to eat. Pepper steak with white rice. As I ate I listen to a few mixtapes. Artists that I used to listen to in the past came out with new music. I was excited but, in the end, they were not good. 

Then I watched two episodes of Dragon Ball, the original, before getting on Fortnite.

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(photo found on Google images)

It Started Good, Got Bad, Then Better!

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Mon. August 6, 2018 

Is this night 2 or 3? 

I probably woke up about three times last night. Not to use the bathroom like yesterday but because I could not sleep. I did not even dare to look at the clock in hopes I would fall back to sleep. By the time 7:30am came around I was already up and moving. I thought about going back to sleep but my mind would not let me.  

Instead I turned on my 22 inch monitor and got to typing, reviewing articles, looking for a new car and watched a live stream of the new Call of Duty game coming out in October.  

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(photo found on Google images)

9am. I was walking out of the door to car.  

I had to stop by the bakery before heading into Jersey City for work. While at the bakery I went to order my usual two cappuccinos but overheard the guy in front of me request ice coffee. Interested I asked the cashier if they had any. To my surprise they did. But not some regular iced coffee, it was iced cappuccino. After getting it and taking a sip I realized something. They have a great idea going and it beats any Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks out there. Teixeira Bakery has out done themselves.  

Driving into Jersey City I decided to take a bridge that was opened up a month ago. It was supposed to be a faster way into town but I have doubts now. Traffic was a pain in the butt to get through and I do not think I will be taking it again. When I did make it through I took the back streets. It was a much smoother rider.  

After parking all I could think about was the lady I work with trying the iced coffee. We are big fans of the bakery coffee and after this I knew we would be hooked. She loved it. Even drank it faster than me and I had a whole car ride with it. 

Not a good start. 

The day started off happy. She was bright and joyful loving her coffee. Then an email came in from the catering we did on Saturday with not so good remarks. For our first time trying something like that, it seemed we failed. The people at the party were not satisfied and it hurt the lady I work with. She gets disappointed when people do not like something she offers. Unfortunately, not everyone has a tongue for a foreign taste. Especially when they expect it to be something else. But lessons learned for the future.  

For today – win some, lose some. 

After that her day went to the trash. Business was slow, it was over 90 degrees and all she could think about was the email. The only good part of our shift was all the love received from our regulars. After a month of not being there they all came out to chat and eat. So many happy people. Unfortunately, it was not enough. 

Business night! 

We finished up around 2pm and officially shut down around 3. I was home within 45 minutes and enjoying a nice cool shower. Today is Monday which means office night. I missed a big event on Saturday because of the catering so I was glad to be going in. But I was home earlier than normal and able to relax.  

Around 6pm my parents showed up with my nephew. I love that little guy. After playing with him for a bit I had to get ready to go. My outfit for the night was olive green chino pants, a light blue button up, brown belt and shoes. It was my first time wearing the combo so I hope it looked good.  

On the way to the office I stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts to get an iced tea lemonade. If the lady I work with was to get a break, today was not the day. It actually got any worse. We are going to be at the café tomorrow and needed a key. After taking an hour drive to New Hope, PA, the key was nowhere to be found. One of the managers of the building had left it in a cup but someone had walked off with it. I felt so bad for her. That means we have to rely on the contractor of the building to be present. If not, tomorrow we won’t be getting in the building. 

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(photo found on Google images)

At the office I was ready to learn. The topic for the night was ‘Mastering Communication.’ I thought my talking skills were good but I learned how to improve them. Some highlights: ask, empathize, don’t rush, talk to the decision maker, speak well of others. 

Good night! 

Home by 10pm back in front of the computer. I am determined to find a new car. I also need to figure out a schedule for the Motivation page. Timings will be changed over the next few weeks to see what works. 

In bed by 12:30am to wake up at 8am 

 

The Date I Have Been Waiting For!

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Sun. August 5, 2018

Nightfall horror.

Last night was a rough one. I got up to pee at least FOUR times and each time whining about the last. When morning came I wanted nothing more than to sleep in until noon. But that could not happen. Today was going to be awesome.

I got out of bed around 9:30am and jump right on the computer. I worked on a few things for about an hour before I got up to use the bathroom. Apparently last night was not enough. Then back to the keyboard as the brain juices mixed.

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Bitmoji ME thinking

Around 12:30pm I had myself a cup of coffee as I looked through my closet for 90 degree weather clothing. Today was going to be hot, actually it was already hot. After putting on 3 different pairs of shorts I found one I really enjoyed. I do not wear shorts often so sometimes they feel funny. To go with my chino shorts was a light grey polo and all white Adidas sneakers. A half an hour later I was on the road headed to my girlfriend’s house.

A long overdue date.

Finally, there I let myself in with the spare key I have in my car for emergencies. My girlfriend was doing her sister’s hair and could not let me in. I just made myself comfortable by grabbing a fresh banana and cold bottle of water.

20 minutes later she comes down from her room. The entire time I thought she was in the studio so I did not even bother to check upstairs. I even unlocked the back door because I thought they locked themselves out. I was very surprised. Why were they so quiet!? Apparently her sister was reading a book out loud to them and I just could not hear.

The moment she came down we gather our stuff and headed out. We were going in the city today. New York, New York. There is an eye glass place called Warby Parker with really nice frames. A couple of months ago my girlfriend actually put two pairs on hold. All she needed was her prescription for the order to finalize so today was the day to do it.

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(photo found on Google images)

The trip into New York was a ‘sarcastic’ blast. We got lost adding 15 minutes to the GPS and then had to sit in traffic as we made our way to the Holland Tunnel and then through. We did get into New York until 3:30pm. Surprisingly finding parking was not so bad. We drove around the block 3 times and voila, a spot opened up as we pulled into the street. It was only a two block walk away the shop and we were there.

We even visited the Apple store to use their bathroom. After sitting in traffic for 45 minutes our bladders were hurting. Thank you Apple for having clean public bathrooms.

Next on the list.

While my girlfriend got her glasses situated I decided to get myself a pair as well. I needed a new pair with my updated prescription so it worked out. But the purchase was almost on impulse. I needed them but did not really want them. I am glad though. I know when they arrive in a few days I will be more than satisfied.

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(found on Warby Parker)

Finished with the glass talk she and I took a walk around for a bit. We were hungry so that was our next mission. Thanks to Google Maps I was able to find a Cuban restaurant about a 7 minute walk away. The name was not very creative, Cuba, but the place was nice. Outside does not do it justice. The food was even better. Nothing like I thought it would be. I had medium well salmon with coconut rice, shrimp and lobster sauce. It was phenomenal! It was also the first time someone ever asked what rarity I wanted my fish.

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She and I also shared a pitcher of sangria which I drank most of. I might have left there a bit tipsy. Good thing I was not driving. But on the walk back to the car with the heat and exercise that buzz quickly evaporated. I was a bit sad.

Done in the Big Apple.

Leaving New York was a piece of cake compared to getting in.

On the way back, I even had my girlfriend make a pit stop. I wanted a really good acai bowl from the place that introduced it to me, Tiki Bowls. Compared to the place by my house I would prefer these guys any day. Their bowls taste fresher and the servings are larger.

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Back at her house by 7:30pm and ready to relax we dropped ourselves on the couch. For about 2 hours we tried to stream a TV show, “The Missing”, but the internet kept dropping forcing me to stop it entirely. I tried my best to keep it going but I was so annoyed and over it. Back to actual cable we flipped through the channels until we found a good movie. The remote landed on SyFy because they were playing “Rush Hour 3.” One of our favorite series of movies and a perfect way to end the night.