Get A Job

When I first moved to this town - I had planned on being a country squire who would sit on the front porch and drink lemonade and living off the rent I collected from my properties.
Okay, I don't really have a front porch. The image just seemed nice when I'd imagine it.

But being retired at 33 gets old really fast.
I had to go do something.
Volunteer work got depressing - I got tired of seeing a bunch white people helping a bunch of Black people who used these services as another level of dependency.

I had to actually work to make some money.
But after being out of work for a few years with no references - I was stuck.
I could run clubs or construction sites - but here, nobody knew or believed me.

My first construction job was gained from driving by a house being built in my neighborhood and seeing the lack of progress.
I had helped the owner's parents earlier when they were having problems making a repair to their home.
When the owner's mother told them that I could do construction - "No, he's just a California pretty boy" was their response. "Look how soft his hands are" was another common response from neighbors.

But one day I happened to have my tools in my truck from making repairs to some of my rentals.
I stopped and said,"You need help".
"No thank you", they said.
I told them that I wasn't asking them if they needed help, but that I was telling them that they needed help.
After a few hours of making corrections (The old California earthquake codes are similar to the new Texas hurricane building codes), I went home.
That night, the owners and the mother came to my home to pay me and to ask whether I could finish building their home.
I had only stopped to help them make some corrections at no cost to them.
But they wanted to pay me a pretty nice sum to finish building a three bedroom 5,000 square foot home.
After I finished building the home, I couldn't keep up with the offers for employment I'd received.

It gets hot and humid here during the summer months.
I didn't feel like sweating all day.
So, I decided that I would do a little bar work to enable me to sleep late and to keep cool.
But no one would hire me.

I came across a struggling club that was looking for a bartender.
But all of my references were out of state.
I told the owners that I would work two weeks for free and that if they liked my work, they could hire me.
At the least, it would be two free weeks worth of labor - it was a win-win for the club.
After the first day, I was hired.
After two months - I was part owner.
After six month - I was a full partner.

After this stint, I had created a service of setting up and opening bars.
I can pick and choose with whom and for how long I wish to work.
So, what's the point?
To be creative in proving your worth in a tough economic or social environment.