As for what I do to pay the rent and put red beans on the table ... well, no need to talk about that too much. Some people are defined by their jobs, by what they do from 9-to-5 (uh, actually it's 10-to-6 in my case) to earn their filthy lucre. I'm not.The Grateful Dead used to do a song called "Keep Your Day Job", the chorus of which went "Keep your day job / until your night job pays." (Incidentally, that song was retired from their repertoire at the request of the fans. Fo' true.) Well, my "night job" is a once-a-week night job, and it's in public radio so it ain't never gonna pay. The ol' website here does pay a bit from the text ads, but not enough to live on unfortunately.
The day job's okay, though. It's a good company, where I've been for the last 18+ years. I'm proud of them, too. They do some really good stuff. I like them, and I do my job well, but it's a non-creative job, and it doesn't define me. It's not how I make a difference in other people's lives, like I do in my own small way with my radio program and even this web site. It's a pretty good job, though (although the commute blows), and it's not nearly as stressful as it used to be. I like them 'cause the pay and benefits are great, and they really take good care of their employees. That said, if I win the Lotto, I'll most likely put in my two weeks' notice.
For a long time I've been trying to figure out how to translate my life's passions into an actual living. I'm not sure if the strange combination of radio, writing, web site, food and cocktail stuff will ever pay off, but we'll have to wait and see.
Not all that long ago, I thought pretty seriously about quitting the cushy day job for a living in food at some point in my future, but I dunno ... There was a friend of my family who spent $50,000 on tuition and supplies at a great culinary academy and got a great education and a job in a great restaurant's kitchen. The pay was about $8/hour. Um. Not what I had in mind. I've gotten used to having a nice paycheck. Perhaps catering, working as a private chef, or something where I'm in a litttle bit more control of my income might be more along the lines of what I'd get into one day. My current daydream has been to open a little po-boy shop somewhere in this area, which would also be known for its killer gumbo. Who knows?
In the meantime, probably for a good long while, I'll keep my day job, until my night job pays. Let's see what happens.
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