Yesterday while I was out at breakfast I heard a BIG rumor which a couple of different sources said was going to happen… a legendary Downtown Memphis bar is said to be making its return this spring. It won’t be back in its original location, but it will be within walking distance away from the original location in the Downtown core. For now I will withhold the name since it has not been officially announced. This bar is where I got my start in the Downtown scene and I will be very happy, as will a lot of other people, if it does indeed come back.
On to the next piece of big news, and this one is personal. I’m going back to work! I received the offer letter yesterday. I don’t like mentioning names of places where I work on the blog but it is a great company near Poplar and Kirby Parkway. I will be programming in C# and using some cutting-edge client-side frameworks. I have also been told there may be future opportunity to utilize my communication skills as well as my programming skills. My start date is Monday, March 19, so I still have a little time to wrap up side consulting projects and see my friends who are out during the day.
I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has been there for me in the 8 weeks since my old position got eliminated. The first few weeks it happened, I simply didn’t believe in myself. So I did the only thing I could do: I turned to my friends. All of you helped me find the strength within myself to fight back and recover fully from this unexpected setback. I couldn’t have done it without you.
One of the things I dreaded was having to go on 8, 10, 15 interviews before finding a company where there was mutual interest. As it turns out I only had to go on 3 interviews with 2 companies before I had a desirable offer. LinkedIn really is effective in getting yourself out there in front of recruiters and employers. There’s all kinds of things you can do to highlight your skill set and stand out in searches done by employers.
I have not touched Fireball since I gave it up on January 22. I feel so much better and have been told by many people I look better. I have done a handful of other shots (maybe five total) since then, but only quality liquor and only in celebration or special occasion (you just don’t turn down a Jameson with Aldo when offered), never to dull any pain.
Let’s get on to the news… Diana Krall plays the Orpheum on June 30. Tickets are now on sale at Ticketmaster.
Max’s Sports Bar is doing another crawfish boil this Sunday. Doors open at 11:30 with the first batch of crawfish coming out around 12:30. As always, the crawfish come with sausage, taters, corn and mushrooms. They’ve lowered their prices a bit – $9 for 1 pound or $16 for 2 pounds.
By the way… this will be the first time since 2009 I will be off for the Thursday-Friday first round games of March Madness. May have to do a little watchin’ at Max’s. In particular, I will be down there if Arkansas has a day game… ESPN Bubble Watch has the Hogs as a lock for the NCAAs, so even if they stumble against the winner of South Carolina/Ole Miss they should be in.
Drink-n-Draw returns to Ghost River this Friday 7-9. This event is part game show and part art class. Whether you are an artist or not, you will enjoy Drink-n-Draw. Prizes for best and worst drawing and there may even be a singalong during the activity. Of course there will be plenty of great craft beer too.
The airport is hiring an Airfield Maintenance Seasonal Utility Operator.
There’s a doubleheader at Landers Center Saturday featuring two great Memphis teams. The day starts off with basketball as the Hustle take the floor at noon. That evening the arena switches over to hockey with the RiverKings. For $30 you can get tickets to both games, a RiverKings hat, Hustle sunglasses, and a coupon for cheese dip at Maria’s Cantina.
Tennessee lawmakers are looking to clear the way for liquor and wine sales on Sundays and holidays. Welcome to the 21st century, Tennessee!
The new arch is up at Beale and Main:
The arch is meant to serve as a gateway for the Beale Entertainment District. There’s one at Beale and Fourth as well.
There will be a Timeout for Fitness with the Grizzlies Saturday and Sunday, March 17-18. You’ll get a ticket to Grizzlies-Nuggets on March 17, a Grizzlies/Methodist Health Care yoga mat, and the opportunity to win prizes, as well as the opportunity to work out on the arena floor on the 18th with up to 3 classes: Yoga at 2, an Ab Lab with Mark Akin from Envision Fitness at 3, and a GrizzFit bootcamp at 4. Each session is 45 minutes long. $5 from each ticket will be donated to the Methodist Healthcare Foundation.
I can’t resist a couple of comments about the web design on the Timeout for Fitness page: I shouldn’t have to click “View More” to learn what I get with my ticket purchase – after all, that’s what brought me to the page in the first place. Secondly, the pop-up “Why did you not decide to buy tickets today?” when my mouse leaves the viewport is annoying.
On Thursday, March 15 there will be a community forum to discuss improvements to be made to Dr. MLK Jr. Avenue including bike lanes.
I finally got around to trying dinner at Pontotoc Lounge last night. Since the Mississippi Pot Roast has already been pictured on other Memphis blogs, I decided to go with something different and simple: the Fettuccine with bacon cream, mushrooms, and arugula. Bartender Jonathan suggested that I add shrimp to the dish, which sounded like an excellent idea. He asked if I wanted the shrimp to be Cajun, and I did.
Oh man this was SO good! The fettuccine came out covered in Parmesan cheese. The bacon cream sauce was fantastic, and it wasn’t just a sauce – there were big chunks of bacon in there too. The shrimp were excellent. I wondered why they brought out a side plate with my bowl, but not for long – the shrimp still had their tails on, so keep that in mind before you dive into this dish too quickly and accidentally swallow one. The arugula gave the dish a nice texture and there were plenty of mushrooms too. This was completely outstanding and the service from Jonathan was outstanding as well.
Watch the U.S. Women’s National Team play England in soccer tonight at 6 at the Brass Door.
I’ve actually got 5 more news items but this post is getting long, and none of the news items are time-sensitive so I’ll save them for the next post. Check back for lots more news.