Shoku Baby

Shoku Baby. This is what "Grandma," the matriarch of Shoku Japanese Restaurant has called me. I am told this is a term of endearment, and that she really likes me. This is great, because Grandma is a tough cookie to please. She definitely adds quite the interesting element to my new job at Shoku. Grandma is the mother of the owner and is a permanent installment at the establishment. I was prepared for this even before going in for my first interview after coming across a customer review online titled Mean Old Lady. Since I just got this job, and this blog is under public domain, I will stop there. For the record, I haven't run home in tears at the end of the night yet, and I haven't had a night off since I was hired a week ago.

I am putting my master's degree to good work in the food service industry, as you can see. It has been approximately three years since I was a waitress, and back then it was at Happy Kobe, a tiny little 20-seater restaurant (plus the sushi bar). The owner (Tencho) was the manager was the boss was the everything we had to answer to. He let the servers eat during work, rice if we wanted and one free sushi roll per shift. My mouth still waters thinking about the double crunch spicy tuna roll, one that is unmatched at any sushi restaurant I have been to since. If there was a customer with a history of being rude or difficult, Tencho would encourage us to say that we were out of rice and couldn't serve him or her. I wore sandals most days, which is totally against health code, but oh-so-comfortable (especially compared to the horrible wounds my closed-toe shoes are inflicting upon my heels at Shoku now). We always got weekends off because the restaurant was closed. Every fall Tencho would rent a cabin and throw a party for the employees where we would eat and drink to our hearts' content for free. To this day I maintain that my job at Happy Kobe was the best job I have ever had. (Border's being a close second). My only complaint was that at the end of the night, the tips were divvied out in an unfair way, with the two waitresses splitting 40% and the two sushi rollers splitting 60%. Considering that the sushi rollers got paid more per hour in addition to the fact that people tip thinking that it will all go to their wait staff, not the other workers, I felt this was rather unfair. And until recently, I thought that Tencho just invented his excuse for why he would not allow women to roll sushi (because their hands are hotter than men's). But I am finding out that this is a common belief in Korean and/or Japanese culture. I still need to look into the reality of this claim, but I respect cultural beliefs, so I will let that one slide for now.

Now I get to keep all of my tips because we bus our own tables and serve as host(esse)s, so no more tipping out. I am making more at Shoku than I was teaching Spanish at OU, which speaks more of how educators are underpaid than of how waitresses are paid well. I have a feeling that working in nonprofit will also not be as lucrative as working on tips, but I continue seeking employment in that sector, now focusing on finding such a job Columbus until I can save up enough money to move back out of my parents' house.

More to come soon on my optimistic and ambitious new ventures and pursuits, including documentary filmmaking and electronic music creation. Maybe my artist name should be Shoku Baby? I have some other ideas, too. Of course I'm thinking of names before I even get my music equipment and software, but I'm well on my way. Sold my bass to Music-Go-Round  for store credit, and plan on going back to get some new stuff once I do a little research. Any help/ideas on Akai APC20 hardware and Ableton and ProTools would be much appreciated!

Rootwire Arts & Music Festival 2010

Well, friends, we have reached the end of the first Rootwire Arts and Music Festival hosted by Papadosio. My only regret is that I didn't take more photos. I suppose I was having too good of a time absorbing the experiences firsthand to hide behind a camera documenting said experiences all weekend.

I am ecstatic to say that I was able to participate in the festivities as a volunteer this year. I started out flyering and spreading the word about Papadosio and Rootwire during Camp Bisco and in Columbus in the weeks leading up to the festival. I joined other volunteers the Thursday before liftoff to make signs and Tshirts, and perform other odd jobs that were necessary to bring it all together before Friday. I sporadically (wo)manned the Happy Helping (first aid and lost & found) Tent along with the front gate, and participated in other odd jobs such as errands to the outside world and trash duty. And in everything that I did, I was thanked, appreciated, and rewarded. There was nothing thankless at all about the work I put in this weekend, which made the work I did that much more enjoyable.

Although the weekend was exhausting, it was a rewarding experience full of love, dedication and community. The musical and visual artists, performers, participants, and organizers all came together to share a glorious weekend, and everyone played a role in making this festival memorable. The installations, decorations, performances, and art showed all festival-goers that this festival was for their pleasure and enjoyment. I'll probably never successfully remember all of the activities going on over the weekend, but they included guided morning yoga, environmental workshops, glass-blowing demonstrations, hoopers, fire dancers, acrobats, knife-jugglers, star gazing with telescopes, user-friendly and hands-on art installations, and lots of badass music all weekend long. It wasn't a Lollapalooza or even a Bonnarroo, bent ultimately on the bottom-line and the almighty dollar.

The most positive aspect of Rootwire was the feeling of community it created. Everyone was working for the benefit of everyone else, and that is a feeling you don't get at the big festivals and shows. I think this moment was solidified for me when I saw Jessy on the first night, and Alyese on the second night, tirelessly carrying the heavy flaming lanterns from one end of Kaeppner's pond to the other, just so we could look at their beauty floating on the water. Every person who was able to lend a helping hand did so, often times even if they were not technically a volunteer. Things would get stressful, tasks would pile up, chaos would ensue, but by the end of the night I would see Annie, Kim, Jess, Alyese, Grace, Katie, Jessy, Ed, Julia and others smiling, dancing and soaking in the positivity that the festival had to offer "by the light of the stars."

I know that because of the overwhelming positive feedback from this year's festival goers, attendance next year is going to go up. Those of us who were lucky enough to be a part of Rootwire's first go are always going to look back fondly at this year's festival and talk nostalgically "remember when..." about the vibes of the 2010 experience and about how close-knit the community became. So many faces at each show were familiar ones, and walking from the front stage back through Magreenery Woods felt like walking through a forest planted with friends. By the end of the weekend, those you didn't know before became new friends, and the bonds between old acquaintances were solidified, whether it was at the front gate at 9am or the dance tent at 5am. I am truly, truly grateful to have been a part of it all. Rootwire 2010 and its workers and participants will remain in my heart forever. I cannot wait for 2011 and the chance to make this festival happen once again.

Thank you guys for making this possible, especially Ed (pictured left) who put this all together from the get-go. I will miss everyone who heads out to Asheville, NC to continue pursuing the dream.

And now I am off to sleep for an entire weekend's worth of hours, because I have never been so exhausted in my life and I already started my new waitressing job at the sushi joint yesterday right after the festival. Needless to say, that was a little rough, and tomorrow they might have to train me from scratch all over again.

Day-O!

I have had a really bad past couple of days. Maybe you have felt the same way lately. Maybe this will cheer you up like it did for me, if you have the same nostaglia for Beetlejuice and love for Catherine O'Hara as I do.


And here's another great music moment from The Royal Tenebaums that's lovely.



That is all.