Job And Apt Searches Back In The Day

That was the first time in twelve years before that I had been another resume looking for a job. So I've had to look for a job maybe twice now, not counting my and not counting the entrepreneurship, but like traditional job work, I will say twice in the last twenty twenty five years. So spent a long time for me.

I lived in the era in the eighties and nineties and early two thousands where I was working in San Francisco, even in Sacramento two when I was there, we would get jobs through our friends from a good job somewherever in a management position and say you want a job, come James, before we gotta get a couple hours then you go over there. And I remember, I remember I had three jobs. One I went to, I went through a catle call process and got it. Another one was

with a friend, another one was with a friend. They just got me jobs there. So I was working part time here, part time here, part time there, and when I was getting paid, like every five days, I was getting paid. It was kind of crazy, but I remember I moved it. When I moved to San Francisco from Sacramento in the nineties mid nineties, I had to do it. I had to look for a job attrition away, had at a resume, got it, I was let go. I kind of quit let go. The same time I went

to apply to another job. It was like it was like three months later, so it was like within three months. I went out there with a resume. The girl hired me on this but girl said, no, we don't have any openings. I got home and I was like, you have the job. So I got a job there. From that job, a friend of a friend got another job and said, you guys should come in. So I had my resume in hand, went in and the guy just hired us on the spot. Dude to my friend. So

then I left that job. It was like super and had to pound a pavement another it is super easy. I went from that job to that job. While I was there, I got a second job as I needed money. That's because a friend of mine from that job became a manager at another place, and so he just hired on a spot's to do merchandising part time. So then I had two jobs for a while, and I was doing that and from and then from that that, I left the original job and I had that job and

that job on our business. I had my resume, but my buddy hired me part time at his watch store, so I was working there part time. Okay, so I had something there and then he heard about his face hiring down the street. We went together. I went through the countercall process, got hired, so I was doing both and then I was also a part and then I said and then I was like okay, did that for a while, and then I joined a staffing service, so I left the watch job. That job I had there

before they moved me up. I had a staff job, so I was getting I was getting staff work. I do the typing test all that stuff and Smith, Captain and Devlin. I remember them. They were great, great ladies, and they put me on jobs. So I left one of my original original jobs and so then I was I was just doing staffing. I was I was like, they were gonna call me, And at one of those jobs at Morgan Stanley Dean Winter became permanent. So I went on there from the livery just slid into their

I was swissport operator in cashiering. I was there for nine eleven. So that's all their story really, But I did that and then while I was Whilst I was doing that, I got a second job at a video store through my friend was working at and said, yeah, my job's at part time. And I was with them for several years and then I left them to go to my friend nickt job doing insurance. The opening I went to help for a conference and I asked for I DELI just ask for a job. They hired me

and I stayed there until I left for LA. So it's kind of like the some of these jobs I got were just like I just went through a friend or this. It was like a main thing major. So I look back at that, I go, wow, that was amazing and a lot of a lot of folks we went through that. It was very much so we did. And I just I feel bad for folks because I think that era is gone, right, that's not they don't.

That doesn't really happen very often anymore. And I remember having to go in and talk to someone with the you go, you get application right there, you fill it out. Narraw thing's online, so there's no personal like you can't get an inroad. I usually go in if you're good looking or personally you could use something to get you know, get you something. If they're black and you black, You're like, you know, I'll be black together. You're like, that isn't

that didn't work nowadays? It's not. You apply online and then they go through your name and you know, and the number. And I remember the art of resume writing, what kind of paper you use, and some people put scents on their paper, and I was like, that's just gone. Another thing I was thinking about, too, was that I remember in nineteen ninety eight, ninety nine, I believe, for a place to live in San Francisco, the first dot com boom was happening, So there was something like one

percent vacancy in San Francisco. I mean everything was people used selling the news. People were just getting there was

hating an event. People were just moving to San Francisco, and people were getting apartments and houses and town homes and people and people were and the whole thing was people were cramming to get this one apartment somewhere, and they were sending fruit baskets and muffin baskets and gift cars like they were like they were trying to sweeten the deal to get these apartments, especially where I want

to live, which was in downtown. And I remember pounding the pavements walking up friends, inking place to live right too, right now too. It's kind of crazy. So I remember walking up and down the streets. Now I just took a block in the area for me, it was I picked the it's called the Knob Hill tenderloin Theater District area. I call it tender Knob. So I went over. They had friends over there. So I was just looking up

and down. And one of these scams, which was not illegal, but one of the scams was that most places would do a credit check, but they charged for the credit check like thirty to forty bucks, and so knowing they had all this this for them. You know, we only have one place of vacancy. They would take up to ten, twelve, fifteen, twenty applications. That money was theirs, so you could make two hundred three hundred. Well there was twenty times twenty

four hundred dollars easily in a day. And you're like, I don't know any of them, let's pick one any whatever. It was crazy. So so as a renter, potential renter, you gotta be really careful. We do. But I remember pounding the pavement again getting the paper. Were of the paper folks. There's no Internet, so you get the paper, pound the pavement. I happened to go to one place in that area, and how I got in was I gave my application, asked where do you work? Who's your boss?

The band and billy manager was like, wait a minute, you work for Bob West and I go, yes. This guy's name was Augusta Iliote. I hope he's doing okay and he's out there. He's Puerto Rican also, which is another great combo. But he was like, oh my god, I went to high school to go together. We were high school friends, went to high school together. And I was like what and so he called Bob said his James trustworthy blah blah, and Bob was like, yeah, we

love James. And I got the apartment and that's my favorite apartments ever. I had no kitchen, it's called deficiency, but I had a big, beautiful room and it was like it I'm like, right now, I'm picturing her. It's so funny. So I was on the second floor, I think the second the second floor, so I could up the stairs a lb elevator, but also we had stairs. But I was on the second floor in a corner and I shared a wall with another apartment that we were both. We both entered in next to each other.

But their apartment was like an L shape went to the right and mine was like a It was like a the other shape went to the left. So we shared a wall, but their wall, my wall was from my one side. My apartment was mostly my TV is like that. That was their hallway going to the to there, so I didn't hear them unless they walked in. Had a giant room. And what saved it is I had a giant window. It only it only faced the back

of another apartment building. But what's funny is my friend Mike used to live in that apartment building so we could commute Kate through there sometimes. So he was that because he was on the street behind me. So if I had a big beautiful window, I put you know, folks knowing, you guys don't know me by now. I'm a plant daddy. I have beautiful plants covering that whole window. I saw. I get to open the window and you can still look out. It was like these beautiful plants.

I had a chair in the corner, this cute chair out by his green chair in the corner, and right next to it was a kitchenette area, Like what's a kitchenette? It was like sunk it in and it had two cabinets, a sink, well I call them dorms dorm room college size refrigerators, and had a thing underneath the sink and they just had a counter. And I was like, that's a trip. So I had a microwave that fit right there. I had a hot plate, a rice cookery. I've had air fire nowadays or in there. I had a rice

cooper or airplane air hot plate. And I just couldn't go shopping a lot. That was why I couldn't go shopping because I couldn't get that much food. So when I was young, I was working five jobs. Some of my jobs were food related, so I was getting food all the time. I was gy. I had I always. I would eat out all the time. It was the wag deal. We had laundry service. But right below us we had laundry service, so I would get my laundry done wrapped in those blue piece of paper. I used

to love that. So I didn't do my own laundry. I did all right. So there was so there was a kitchen area. Then there was a wall so that I had where are various things over there? I had no table. I was thinking with it just now. I didn't have a table. I kind of got a couple

of TV trays, but by winter stuff. But in my door it was like a little enclave my door area, and a little second thing from my phone, my answering machine, yes, kids, the answering machine, and I had that in there, and then I took the answer ste and then I curved out and then I had a I had like a little like high table. It was like a little tiny table area, and I had a gecko that lived there and a little a tank, then a wall. Then had

a walk in closet that led to my bathroom. So my bed which I had a big out of queen, out of queen size bed. It took up most of the room, so it's kind of funny. I put sheets on the walls for sound. I was always told for sound put sheets on the walls because I did share not a wall with anybody. But the way the next apartment building was right, it was close. It was very close, and it was and so I could hear them sometimes,

but it was it was kind of funny. So if I put it on the walls anyway, I had pictures of it. That little that little walking closet, had a sliding door closet, which was my size closet. On the other side, we had a sunken in dresser built in dresser, so I was like, that was great, and I had I had thing on top and I had all my pictures and everything up there. I made really cute. See. Then I had this bathroom that was very narrow, but

it was cute. I had I had a tub and a shower, which is like shocking, right, Then had that little toilet and anything and a sink in there. I sink at the end. There was a sink toilet next to a low, low cabinet thing in there too, and a window actually had a window, but I remember on a sequence next says the toilet was next to the window, as it was, the seque was next to the shower, so I would sell on the toilet. I just looked right over and if their windows open, we had a

window run across me in the next building. I guess it look right on in. But there are times that he really went in there. That and I had and it was carpeting. Re certain row four was carpeting. It was my favorite apartments of all time. I will say it was my and it went for It went for eight hundred and fifty dollars a month. It was back in nice ninety nine. I was there three years. I had a Thanksgiving that I washilarious. Yes, I actually had a face to hear your guests and everything. The bed

was the table. We all kind hung out. My place was like that. I've had really interesting places I've lived in over the years. And I'll tell you about another one another time. I'm on a Sacramento fi e sis Ago. But that was I went pound the pavement found. It took me three weeks. It took me three weeks to find a place. And I was leaving this huge because I had to plot out with my roommate. I said my friend. I was leading this huge three bedroom apartment

and a groat all stuff. So I love that place. I made it so cute and so cozy, and it was the bomb. It was a bomb danty if I was single. I don't high packed everything in there. And I have a lot of stuff, and my records are ran into my record players against the wire and stuff. I it was so those those old buildings that were that were built up one the twenties and thirties or back in the day and all kind of it was kind of our deco style. I loved it. And I

was in the city. I have a view of nothing, but I was in the city and I would come downstairs and I'd be right out in this front. The bus stopers right in front of my building, or I could walk down the street, or I could walk in the direction I was at vanask Like. It was just like such a We had restaurants and we had stuff all nearby. My favorite magazine places around the corner, my favorite video places around the corner. Everything was just there and I

just I loved it so much. It was just it was amazing, and I if I had to get a place to live and it's at eight ninety one Posts Post and Hide, I would want that place again, just like if I could have a if I have a place in San Francisco, I would want that place again because it was so I have such great memories and a reason why I left it was to move to La which I didn't I'd say, that's no story, which I didn't do at that time. I ended up moving in with my friends Nick and David in Airplace, So

I love that place too. But I if I if I said, James, you want a place to live in San Francisco, I would say, I want to place just like that efficiency that I had, and I want that and now I mean, my place are good. It was just so cozy and I felt safe, even though I was like I guess, I mean I found out I was right next to the stairs or whatever, but I had friends in the building. It was a lot of fun.

I had some cute places. So I just I think about that today, just thinking about as I've been I've been working on a bunch of books that are coming out and audio dramas with some of my collaborators, and we're writing fiction and nonfiction and everything in between. And we have some really great stuff coming out and have some interviews coming up and all this stuff and talk about life that I was like, this is this is

actually some of the best times of my life. And I feel bad for my friends who are now my age and the age I was when I was gonna. I was an in situation in l A. Is just so different now San Francisco is just so different now. Looking for a job, it's different looking for I remember I had a job where I was. I did a lot of operator to work all over the years, and I would that's what I would do again if I if I had to be a operator, I'll do that again,

dispatcher whenever I do that again. As one job, we worked for an answering service. Now those you guys are younger, like, what's an answering service? I'll tell you what answering service is. You had to someone would call leave a message, then you would page that person and person would call in for their messages. And so I remember we had this little room. It was cute. This little room off of it wasn't even woo office thing. Nobody knows going on. And we had a cute little room we had. We

had little TV's in there, you watch some TV. We were chit chatting with each other. They made two or three operators, only two or three percent a time, and we all knew each other. We'd all go get food and you know, and eating they there and I have a little a little set ups and stuff, and it was just so cute. It was so cozy and cute in there. And you sit there for hours or your eight hour shift and do it. I mean, I remember that my little area. I wish. I wish I made

my area cuter. When I was at Morgan Stanley, it's just an it was just an early shift. Well I wish that I had I didn't take I didn't. I was kind of fighting because I was working such an early ship the Morgan stand. They had to be there at five in the morning. And now I was a night and back then I was in my late twenties thirty thirties, and I was a night guy, and I was like Jay, but I did not need this job and this job was it paid good, paid very good. And I just was a night guy, a party guy

at night. So it was just it was like I didn't I wish if I was not a night guy, if I had a job now, I would be I would make my area a little more cozy. And that's why I've learned a lot of my desk jobs. But I later got a cubicle. Make it cozy, have your little music, have very little set up, have a comfortable chair point. And so that's why at home now I'm trying to make my little area nice and cut see and I have my plants, and I have my little music, and I have I have my couple of chair and

you have make acute. And so that's why I think that's was one of the things I'm some of the jobs that I had that I loved, but those those jobs are still out there. Dispatchers for my mother's dispatcher airport police. She had her little area was cute, she had all set up and everything too. We have that in common, and uh and and it was it was on fun and and like her, I've worked with graveyard shifts,

night shifts, day shifts, all that stuff. You know, I actually am a person who likes I used to like the nighttime shifts and the graveyards. I didn't like the midshifts because you couldn't sleep intoo much and then you when you gott for work, it was kind of your day was gone, your night was gone. I'd rather either just have the day and I go in at night, which it was just fine. I didn't like those two o'clock shifts, so those are three closes. Was like, I'm

in the middle of something. I don't want to leave it. I was like, I don't want to leave that shift. I don't want to leave. I'm like, I want to say so it's hard. But if it was a nine o'clock shift at night, it was different. I had the whole day and then I go out at night to go to work. At night, I had one. I had one ship. It was nine forty five and five thirty, and it was fun because it's not it's not crowded. It's that there are a couple nights are a little crazy,

like Friday sight, I feel a little crazy. But most of the time it was quiet. We'd have the lights down low, We're just relaxing, talking to each other, catching up on life, playing music, playing movies, whatever, and then like and in the morning, we all go to breakfast because everybody's going to working. If go to work, we go to breakfast because you know, for us it was like dinner or whatever. We go to breakfast, and then and then we all go to our homes. And for me,

I would I would do a few things. I wouldn't go to sleep right away. It took me a while before I went to sleep, and then I'd go to sleep, and I would sleep till about well two or three. I'ld give my eight hours, six eight hours, and then I would get up and I said enough time. Because I worked so late, I had enough time to do stuff. And I was raising kids. I was able to talk to them, see what's going on in school. If I

had a second job. A couple times I had second jobs, that maybe maybe on that day I went to that job that day. I tried not to work on the same day, and it always worked. I would say this. So I tried to make sure my I worked every single day, but rarely both jobs the same day, if that makes any sense, And that maybe once in a while, but I U see, it was like, no, today is the watch place. Tomorrow is a video place. Tomorrow is the gym. Like you're saying, it was all different days

I tried. It was a lot of Sometimes it would it would be like the morning shift, here after and there. It depends. It's not you filling in for people whatever. That did happen sometimes, or I took extra shifts because I saw extra shifts. But I wonder, could I be a waiter again? Can I be a dispatcher again. I've been working nights recently. I've just been up late and working nice ta get napster in a day and working nights.

It's quiet. There's something magical about the nighttime and kind of scary at the same time, and I like it for some reason. I like it. I was just like, Okay, this is good. I'm just like I'm up here, I'm getting shit done. It's good. It reminds me of the old days of that. But I always always want to be like, could I work a nice shift? So I remember when I was when I back going back to you looking for a job in ten years ago. I looked at They're all office jobs. They were all office

jobs or jobs inside did entry stuff. Or I didn't want I didn't want to work in retail reserves. I did get a retail job again word of mouth. I was working for this client as an organizer. They hired me on the floor and I actually paid me my rate and the problem I didn't for like three months, couldn't do anymore. And she was she was very interesting boss and I still love her today and I love it as a person. As the boss was a little out there and I felt restricted in what I could do.

There are things I really wanted to do there, but it's not my store, it's their store, and they weren't and this person wasn't really open to ideas. They wanted things a certain way and that was it. So I was restricted, couldn't do much, but I was an opener closer. It left me alone most of the time, and it was like but it was bored out of my mind. It wasn't a busy store, so I was bored most of the time. So I can't do things. They're really

and basically babysitting. You know. I was getting paid like forty bucks an hour thirty four eight, which is good for retail. And she was like, I really want a manager, but I was like, I don't want management. I have my own business. I literally have my own business. I'm just trying to figure this out right now while I'm dealing with some stuff with my business. I don't want to be a manager because I didn't want that job. And and and then I knew quitting. I just couldn't

take it anymore. And I differently once and I realized retail, I can't do anymore that that shit had sailed. Food starts I haven't done in years. I've been a waiter in years I have. I wonder if I could do it again. I have no idea. I'm being a dispatcher of our operator, you know, part of me things. Should I look for that and see if like I'd be kind of curious, like do it for a few months, you know, I like to go somewhere. I always wonder if I can still do that, because I have good

memories of doing it. It's a lot of work, it was a lot of fun. I don't know, mar it's the other thing about But I said, luck and blessings and the right place for my friends and family who are looking at places to live for my friends family looking for jobs. For you out there looking for jobs and places to live. I know some some for you

where you live is ugh uh. And I understand that and totally get it, and I just want the best for anybody, anybody working and making money and doing things we do noversta on here rich, So we gotta we gotta do it. I'm James Satt Junior says fifty plus. It's like a longer episode I've done in a while. It got me reminiscent. But we this shows out every Tuesday. Talk to you next time.