cha-cha-cha changes

Finally quit my job. The chefs are very supportive, and I've got a great reference at Soba. They're good people. But it still felt great to get the fuck out. Anyway, I guess the ninth is my last day.

I'll be working as a prepared foods cook at Whole Foods from now on. It'll definitely be nice. If you work there, aside from other benefits, you get a 20% discount from anything you buy there, all the time. I'm even going to have health insurance, dental, vision, etc... The idea of being financially stable as well as covered if I ever fall off my bike and break more bones than I can ducttape back together is very comforting.

Also, Trevett at Legume bistro in Regent Square may be my new best friend. He treated Diane and I to a free meal on Friday, and it may have been one of the best food experiences of my life. I felt drunk after that dinner, especially considering he sent out way more food than we ordered. The place is beautiful--it's the size of my old apartment, and looks like somebody's dining room. They give you coffee in little French presses. The food is fantastic and tastes like somebody really cares. I'll probably be helping out part-time, because he's getting some serious business.

There's a good chance I'll be doing the occasional job for Big Catering, too. Those people like me, and it's always wise to keep your foot in the door. Plus, the money from those gigs is unbelievable--the one last Saturday was 110 plus tips for 525 people, for six hours of work.

Riding a bicycle is still so much fun for me. Last night I went for a 20-mile ride around the immediate area, and rode down the steepest fucking hill in the city at 50 miles an hour. It was such an incredible rush to do that--I let go of all the crazy shit that's going on in my life, as well as worrying about my bike's derailleur moving into the spokes, and just held onto my drop bars for life.

I was obsessed with getting a much lighter chromoly bike for awhile, but it can wait. The Concord feels ten times smoother with the new rear wheel I put on it, and I ordered a seven-speed freewheel and an extractor yesterday so I can replace the old sprockets and bearings. I'm also thinking of painting the frame red and black.