I’m not in Bangalore.

I’m at the Office here in Strawberry.

It’s around noon. I’m sitting at my corner table. The usual crowd.

The old beat up dude is doing laps

he’s looking natty with his color combinations. Circling the tall tables. He’s gotta stay in shape. We all need to stay in shape. Or get in shape. I work out at a gym four or five days a week and yet I keep getting older. Maybe I should just do laps here at The Office like the Old Beat Up dude. I mean, I’m going around in circles anyway.

Homeless ladies in the corner, shooting the breeze.

Part of the have-not crowd.

I’m not quite there yet, thanks to Scruffy.

Bird’s one of my dependents, awaiting a handout. This one’s Mutt or Jeff. They look the same, especially when they’re scrunched down in the begging pose.

Mutt and Jeff are not part of the have-not crowd.

In the Sea Gull world you’re either a Winner or you’re Waiting To Be Dead. This is not entirely true. I used to know a Sea Gull with one foot missing. He got around pretty well. Used to hit me up for scraps. Flew in low and landed with a couple hops like a bush pilot landing on rough turf. Anyway, I’m still rooting for him.

Am I?

Robert, my ghoulish looking buddy who introduced me to my future (yet not quite decided on future) as a Booze Sample Dude is holding down the fort at the front counter.

Here he is offering wine samples at the Safeway

Another fashion maven just strolled by.

How about this guy

I used to think we Boomers were the generation that dressed like bums.

It’s gotten worse.

I don’t care what kids dress like these days. Hip people can dress like bums if they like. It only makes it easier for me to get dressed in the morning.

A desperation job

I’m watching the Ghoul work the counter.

The Ghoul’s got me thinking.

I need to decide if I’ll take this wine sample gig. I did an hour of training with the Ghoul.

Say I’m serious about this suck-ass loser job? I need to apply for a beverage license. I gotta pay 5.95 and read some shit and take a test and then I’m a licensed beverage server.

This is called a desperation job.

I guess there’s worse. A worse desperation job would be scraping dead animals off the freeway for 20 dollars an hour…

That’s about what the Booze Sample job pays, 25 dollars an hour before taxes.

The Ghoul does not know exactly how much he makes.

I bugged him about it. I said, okay, they direct deposit your pay. How much do they direct deposit for a four hour shift? He said a hundred bucks. Then he had to think about it. Six years he’s been a Wine Sample Dude!

He’s not terribly swift. He is a nice guy. I like him. I like him because he’s not too swift. I’ve been around Swift people all my life. I mean, it’s hard to keep up with them. That’s why I like Dogs and maybe Three People.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah, the Booze Sample Job. The Ghoul may be getting only 18 dollars an hour after taxes. Who knows what the IRS takes out these days. I could find out. But that would require an effort at communication.

I got scammed!

I tried to sign up for the beverage license course. They took my 5.95 then directed me to the ABC website where I need to register and pay three dollars more in order to proceed to the course. But ABC will not recognize my Email address. I tried to contact the Test Server Outfit. The same ones that took my money, but they don’t respond. So it appears I’ve been scammed for the 5.95.

This is disheartening.

I’m trying to sign up for a license in order to get a job I don’t even want.

What the hell’s wrong with me?

It’s going on 5pm. I’m tired of fucking with this.

A better deal…

Anyway, I got a better deal.

I think.

This woman called me this morning and signed me up for a One Day Survey. They’ll pay me three hundred and fifty bucks in cash. They provide breakfast, lunch and snacks. They provide parking in The City. (that’s a big deal) It’s only an 8 hour gig but before you leave they hand you an envelope with cash.

You do one of these, OTHERS MIGHT POP UP!

Meanwhile, another Atmospheric River is on the way…