Paul Ryburn's Journal

People say I’m crazy
Doin’ what I’m doin’

Well, they give me all kinds of warnings
To save me from ruin

When I say that I’m okay,
You know, they look at me kind of strange

“Surely you’re not happy now,
You no longer play the game”

I haven’t given an update on how things are going for me career-wise in a while. Let’s see… last time I wrote about it, I had been a contractor with the Memphis City Schools for a year. They had a permanent position come open, and offered it to me and I took it as of April 16. Not only did the position offer long-term security, but it had great benefits. And of course, society teaches us that there’s nothing more important than finding a safe, secure job with good benefits.

So it looked like I’d be there forever. Interesting ASP.NET projects to work on… the opportunity to learn new technologies like Active Directory and Microsoft SharePoint… great manager who was interested in my professional development… co-workers who I got along with very well.

So, when recruiters and people with jobs to offer would contact me, I’d say, “No thanks, I already have a very good job.” They contacted me quite often by the way, because I still have a resume online and it performs well in Google searches. I’d estimate I get 1-2 calls or e-mails a week about jobs.

In mid-May, I got yet another e-mail, from a local company that builds websites for client businesses. They were experiencing such tremendous growth (partly because they have an excellent sales guy) that they needed to bring another person on full-time, on a contract basis. Would I be interested?, they asked.

No, I told them just as I told the others. Even though I’d make more money with them (as an independent contractor), I’d lose my security and benefits with MCS. Not interested.

The guy replied saying that he understood. “But, there’s one thing you should know. The position is 100% telecommuting, except for occasional meetings with clients. You can work from home, or anywhere where there’s an Internet connection.”

Suddenly I was VERY interested.

You see, as much as I liked the MCS job, it was still the Rat Race in a sense. There were still rules to be followed that I saw no point in having to follow. I had to be there by 8 every morning, take an hour lunch between 11 and 1 when all the restaurants are crowded, and stay there until 4:30-4:45. I’ve worked that schedule for 6 years and have never adjusted to it. From times when I’ve been able to work on my own schedule, I know I’m at my physical and mental best when I go to bed around 2 in the morning and get up at 9:30.

Another thing was, I had to sit in a cubicle all day. I know the kind of environment in which I perform my best, and it isn’t a cubicle. I tend to be sharper mentally when there’s a TV on in the background, or when I can get up and bounce a Nerf basketball around for a few minutes. I also tend to be a lot more productive when I take my laptop to a Wi-Fi enabled coffee shop or restaurant than when I sit at a desk all day.

I also have problems with some of the other rules of the Rat Race. Like, if I want a day off, I have to schedule a vacation day – if I have any to schedule. As a contractor, I can just say, I’m not working today, don’t pay me (as long as I don’t endanger any project deadlines by taking too much time off). I like that better. Why does some corporate or government entity get to determine that 12 days off a year is the right amount for me? Maybe I want to take 6 days off a year. Maybe I want 25. Pay me when I work, don’t pay me when I don’t.

Again, none of this is meant to criticize the City Schools, I enjoyed working there. But these kinds of things are business as usual in most offices, and in my opinion business as usual sucks.

So, anyway, I e-mailed the web guy back, and told him I was interested. We talked on the phone a couple of times, I e-mailed him a portfolio of sites I worked on, and he told me I was hired. My last day with the City Schools was Friday. I start the new gig today.

When I told people I was leaving, reaction was mixed. “But Paul,” some of them said, “You’re going to be giving up your BENEFITS. What are you going to do? You won’t have any health insurance. And you’ll lose out on the City Schools’ retirement plan!” Come on. Please. I can buy my own health insurance. As for retirement, I’ve been self-directing my own IRA through Ameritrade for years. And the thing these people are failing to understand is, HAPPINESS IS A BENEFIT.

One other reason why I took the job – I was worried what I would do if my mother, who lives by herself in Little Rock, got sick. I’m an only child so I’d have to be there. At the City Schools, I’d have to apply for an unpaid leave of absence in order to do that, which technically I’m not even eligible for until I’ve been an employee for a year. And if I missed, say, two weeks of work, that would be two weeks without a paycheck. Whereas, as a telecommuter I can just jump on her Internet connection and keep rolling. That’s a huge burden off my mind.

What this means for the blog: There will be no more lunchtime posts. I know a lot of you have gotten in the habit of checking around noon, 1:00 to see if I’ve put anything up. Now you’re going to have to check 24/7. The posts will be a little more frequent and of higher quality than what I’ve been doing the past couple of weeks. Since it’s Tube Top Month, more posts = good thing.

I’ll probably still hit the Wi-Fi spots I used for lunchtime posting with good regularity – Otherlands, High Point Coffee, the Midtown and Poplar/Prescott Starbucks, Bon Ton Cafe, and the Flying Saucer. In addition, the Majestic, McGuinness, and Blues City Pastry will likely see more of me during the day.

I’m going to to a detailed post at some point about how to get a resume online, how to make sure it has good keywords, and how to make sure Google has seen it. I’ll also post my findings about getting my own health insurance and such. Maybe I’ll make a site all its own for that stuff – “Resources to help you get out of the Rat Race” or something like that. And I’ll be able to add to it over time, without the content getting lost in a sea of old blog posts.

If you see me around town, chances are I’m going to be in a much better mood. I’ll say it again – happiness is a benefit. Outta here for now.

I’m just sittin’ here watching the wheels go round and round
I really love to watch them roll
No longer riding on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go

– If you’re not subscribed to the Center City Commission’s Livin’ it Up in Downtown Memphis weekly newsletter, you should be. It will keep you informed about everything going on downtown. A couple of notes from this week’s issue:

Development is finally starting to happen in the South of Forum (SoFo) neighborhood. This week it was announced that a new gated community called Butler Rows will be built at Third and Butler. These will be townhomes built in a New York brownstone style. These are going to be big units – 3 to 4 stories with an elevator in each unit, a two-car garage, 2750-3500 square feet. They will cost between $550,000 and $700,000. I hope they have a plan to make that area safe, because a lot of SoFo is still the ‘hood right now. For that kind of money I’d want to be able to safely walk down Butler from Third to Main to catch the trolley to other parts of Downtown. I know they’re working on it – they’ve done a lot in particular to clean up Abel Street (which runs parallel to Third, just east of Third) this year. Hope they keep up the good work.

This week’s Livin’ It Up also gives details about the upcoming South Main Association meeting, to be held Tuesday night at Chiropractor Memphis at 45 N. Third. The reason I wanted to mention this is that chiropractor Matt Hayden will be speaking. I got to know Matt several years ago when I was in a business networking group with him, and he’s a great guy who really cares about his patients’ well-being. If you have any curiosity about what chiropractors do and whether they can help you, you should go hear Matt speak. Social at 6, program starts at 7. Dammit, I never get to go to these because of my trivia team.

– The Commercial Appeal had a good column yesterday explaining how to get legitimate secret-shopper jobs and how to distinguish them from the ones that are scams. I have known a couple of people who have done this and they tell me it’s a fun part-time job that can get you some free meals. Here are links to the three legit companies mentioned yesterday in the CA:

• Consumer Impressions (restaurants/fast food)
  
• Amusement Advantage (amusement and theme parks)
• Count on Us (restaurants, stores, banks, hotels)

Hmmm… maybe you could get a mystery shopper assignment at a retail store, and buy a tube top in honor of Tube Top Month.

– If you’re out at crowded bars or restaurants, make sure you keep your purses and bags where you can see them. This weekend I heard a story about a woman who was at a popular downtown bar the Saturday of BBQ Fest. Her purse was next to her, but she turned her back on it as she talked to her husband and friends. When she turned around, it was gone.

– Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. I’ll be at brunch at the Majestic at 11, then at the Saucer in the early afternoon. This evening I may grab the laptop and get some more work done on my new online store. Then I plan to head to Blues City to catch FreeWorld, who will be playing from 10:30 until about 2 AM.

Wait? I’m staying up until 2 AM on a Sunday? How will I possibly get enough sleep to be able to make it to the rat race on time at 8?

Thursday night I ventured to EP Delta Kitchen for their rooftop party the first time this year. I wanted to see how it compared to the Peabody and Madison.

EP’s is a little different in that it’s not a “rooftop party” in the traditional sense: The band still plays downstairs on the stage, as they do on other nights. The upstairs patio is open with a bar and seating at tables. Whereas, at the Peabody and Madison, the band plays on the outdoor patio itself.

However, I think the main selling point of EP’s rooftop party is the crowd. There were a lot of people there and I’d generally describe them as young, hip, and sophisticated, compared to the Peabody rooftop where I usually get a vibe that the crowd is young and trying REALLY, REALLY HARD to be hip and sophisticated. EP’s is more laid back, it seems slightly easier to get service at the bar when the place gets crowded, and you don’t have to deal with those stupid drink tickets.

I also think the later hours of EP’s party (8 to midnight) contribute to the good vibe. You get a mix of people – people who’ve already been to the Peabody or Madison and have chilled out a little after having a few drinks; service industry people who have gotten off early and are ready to have some fun; and people who don’t have traditional 8-to-5 rat race jobs who can stay out late.

So who has the best rooftop parties? For my tastes, I’m going to call it a draw between the Peabody and EP’s – the Peabody for the outdoor stage and the sense that you’re overlooking all of downtown; EP’s for the great service, great food and the crowd that goes there. I have to rank the Madison third, although that’s nothing against them, they do an awesome job too – it’s just that their rooftop is smaller and they tend to attract an older crowd. When I go to the Madison I’m usually in the youngest 20% of the people there. Next Thursday, however, the Madison will get the nod because the Dempseys will be playing. I’ll probably stop by EP’s afterward.

While at EP’s Thursday night, I met the drummer of a band called Blackberry Wednesday – he gave me the link to their MySpace page and I checked them out. They have a great sound. They’re performing on my building’s rooftop next Saturday, so I’ll get to check them out in person then.

Also had a great conversation with one of my regular blog readers at EP’s. We must’ve talked for hours. In keeping with the theme of the month, I tried to convince her to wear tube tops more often. After she left, I thought to myself, “I better go soon, it must be after 11:00.” I checked the clock on my cell phone and it was 1:18! Needless to say, Friday was a rough day at the rat race.

Didn’t go out at all last night… stayed home and got some quality sleep. Trying to decide whether to drive to the mall and buy some shirts today, or stay Downtown and work on my newest online store, which is taking forever to finish. Tonight I’ll be going out somewhere to celebrate.

Celebrate what?, you may ask. I’ll tell you Monday.

– Well, I had a special video all ready to post – of a crackhead dancing on the sidewalk, taken with my camera last night – but once I uploaded it to YouTube, I found it was so poorly lit that it’s not worth anyone’s time to watch it. That’s the trouble with digital cameras, they’re not good with light – and since it’s a video not an image I can’t use Picasa to correct it.

– So, I finally ate at Pearl’s. After getting my hair cut, I swung by there and took a seat at the bar. Both the bartender and one of the servers immediately said, “Hey Paul! Good to see you again! Where’s the rest of the gang? Are you coming Saturday night?” I ordered the Pearl’s Seafood Alfredo, pasta alfredo with shrimp, crawfish and scallops. Very good. Unfortunately I drove to Pearl’s, so I couldn’t complement my dinner with an alcoholic beverage. At least in that respect I act like a responsible adult. Next time I plan on having the blackened amberjack sandwich, which comes highly recommended from a friend. The shrimp & grits have also been recommended by just about every person I know who has been there, but I’ve never been much of a grits person.

– The Belmont Stakes is this weekend. It’s the third leg of the Triple Crown, but there’s no chance of a Triple Crown winner this year because different horses won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Trivia: No horse has won the triple crown since Affirmed in 1978. The following year, the powers that be, having witnessed blowaway victories by Affirmed, Seattle Slew, and Secretariat in the years before, decided that restrictor plates should be installed on all horses, in an effort to make the races closer and more competitive. This was the beginning of the “Horse of Tomorrow” that we now see in all races.

– Tonight’s rooftop party night, which always makes for some good socializing and tube top watching. This week’s lineup:

Peabody: The Soul Shockers
Madison: The Billy Gibson Band
EP’s: Garry Goin & G3

I may hit either the Peabody or EP’s or both – it’s possible to do both in one night since the Peabody runs 6 to 10 and EP’s is 8 to 12. Then again, maybe I’ll just sit at the Saucer all evening and never make it to either party – that’s happened a few times recently.

However, next Thursday I’ll be at the Madison where THE DEMPSEYS will be playing!

– Here’s a link to a Wikihow article on how to win at rock, paper, scissors.

– Song of the day – “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” by the Smashing Pumpkins. “Despite all my rage, I’m still just a rat in a cage.” Or in my case, a rat in a cubicle. Back to work.

– Sitting here at Otherlands in Midtown, flipping through the latest issue of the Memphis Flyer. I see that an idea that has been talked about Downtown for a couple of years now – a hookah bar – has come to life out by the University of Memphis. The University Lounge at 663 S. Highland is now open 7 days a week, and invites guests to come by and smoke flavored tobacco in one of its hookahs. They have about 20 different varieties of non-nicotine, non-tar sisha tobacco. Check their MySpace page for more details – says they also have gourmet coffees, desserts, appetizers, couches, dimmed lights, Sirius satellite radio, and an LCD TV. And also – they said the magic words that will likely convince me to stop by in the near future – no, not “tube tops” – they have FREE WIRELESS INTERNET!!! I’ll try to get out there and write about this place sometime in the month of June.

– Still seeing a lot of cops out on the major streets with radar. It made me think back to the late ’70s, the heyday of CB radio, used by a lot of people to warn each other of speed traps. Remember this?

“Breaker breaker one-nine, breaker breaker one-nine, be on the lookout by mile marker 2-4-7, we got a Smokey the Bear hiding under the bridge.”

“That’s a big 10-4, good buddy.”

Gave me an idea for a new invention – kind of an update on the CB warning system using modern technology. These days a lot of people have GPSs in their cars. What if someone built a GPS system so that, when you drive past a cop with a radar gun, you could push a button and mark the location – “here.” The coordinates could then be uploaded to a satellite, which updates a map for drivers showing all reported speed traps, with different colored icons indicating whether the report was 0-10 minutes ago, 10-20 minutes ago, or 20-30 minutes ago. I wonder if anything like that has ever been done? Any reason why it wouldn’t work?

Of course, you can just buy radar detectors, but I like my GPS idea because there’s a communal feel to it. People helping each other. I guess it could have other uses besides tracking radar cops too. Downtowners could use it to report the locations of bums in the area, to let others know what streets to avoid if they don’t want to be panhandled.

– Plans for this evening: Going to stop by City House Salon and get my hair cut right after I get out of the rat race for the day. After that, since I’ll be in the area I think I’ll finally have dinner at Pearl’s Oyster House. (There’s a write-up on Pearl’s in the Memphis Flyer today – see page 46). Then I may stop by and see a friend who has a condo in the area. If I make it to the Saucer at all tonight it’ll be later in the evening.

– Speaking of the Flyer – if you’re a Rio Loco fan, check the restaurant section of the Flyer. Rio Loco has been running a “buy 1 entree, get 1 free” coupon recently and it’s in this week’s issue too. It says “$7.50 value” so I think they’re referring to the “Combinaciones” part of the menu, where you can choose from about 30 different combinations for either $7.19 or $7.49.

– Fellow Downtown blogger Amy thinks she’s figured out who I was referring to yesterday in my “restaurants that don’t get it” post – and she disagrees. And I have no problem with that whatsoever. It’s good to have another Downtown blogger who writes well saying positive things about the neighborhood. She also mentions some other restaurants who in her opinion “get it.” Her blog has the comments feature turned on, so if you agree or disagree about the restaurants she listed, you can leave her some feedback. And, of course, you can e-mail me as well.

– Again, back to the rat race for another four and a half exciting hours of cubicle sitting.

Congrats to the Rapscallions, who won second place in trivia tonight, tying with The Other Downtown Team That Always Changes Their Name, then defeating them on the tie-breaker question (“tallest snowman ever”). That brings our total gift certificate stash to $230. We need to have a party SOON – certificates about to expire – I’ll e-mail everyone about it.

We had a tube top sighting tonight. Pic:

Sorry guys, she’s taken.

The Nuh-Uh Sister told me that she bought a new tube top, however. Maybe she’ll wear it next week.

Sample question from this week: Name 3 countries that begin with an “R.” Countries beginning with “Republic of” don’t count.

The answers:

RWANDA
RUSSIA
and
ROMANIA!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a great question! Thanks Pete!

And now, I have to go to bed, so I can be up in time to go to the Rat Race tomorrow. Will it ever end?

(5 PM: Edit: Yikes! I just realized there was a problem with this post. See below.)

In the last post, I compared Downtown restaurants that “get it” (treat their customers well, have attentive service, make people feel at home, have good portions at a reasonable price) with those that don’t.

Here’s a chance for you to leave feedback – if a restaurant has been reviewed in the Commercial Appeal, you can go in and leave a comment about it and grade the restaurant on a scale of A+ to F. If there’s a particular restaurant you either love or hate, this would be a good way to let everyone know.

Here’s a link to the CA’s restaurant review list. You can scroll down the page and see if the restaurant you want to leave feedback about has been reviewed. Just an opportunity for you to leave your own personal spin about the Memphis dining scene.

(Edit: In keeping with the month’s theme, here’s the Nuh-Uh Sister in a tube top.)

I wanted to come back and do a followup post about Pearl’s Oyster House, the new restaurant at Main and Pontotoc, a couple of blocks south of Beale in the building where the tattoo shop used to be.

Now, I haven’t had a meal there yet, so this isn’t a dining review. But I do have some things to say about the way they run the place. Good things.

This past week I’ve made several trips to the Flying Saucer for beer, and I’ve looked around and thought, “Hey, where’s the gang?” After a couple of pints it occurred to me that they might be at Pearl’s, since they own condos nearby.

So I wandered in there Friday night and there they were, at the bar. Sitting next to them was Ray, the owner, and I got to spend an hour or two talking with him. Basically what he said was, “I want to make this a place where you and your friends can not only get a good meal, but where you feel comfortable just hanging out at the bar. Let me know what I can do to make this a place where you guys want to spend time.”

And we did feel comfortable there. I stayed until almost 1 in the morning. The next night, I wandered down to Pearl’s again, and the gang was there at the downstairs bar. We hung out there until the place closed. Some of my friends told me it was their 4th time there that week. I have a feeling that, for them – the ones that own condos nearby – it may end up being the new neighborhood hangout, the way Sleep Out’s was for a long time. For me, the Saucer will probably remain my #1 place to go, but when I get bored at the Saucer I’ll definitely be wandering down Main to make guest appearances at Pearl’s.

Anyway, I just wanted to post and commend Pearl’s on having such a great attitude. There are so many restaurants Downtown who “get it,” who understand how to relate to the locals. Pearl’s gets it. The Majestic Grille gets it. LoLo’s Table gets it. Big Foot Lodge gets it. The Flying Saucer has waitresses in miniskirts. EP’s Delta Kitchen gets it. When the Blue Monkey reopens, they’ll go on the list of places that get it.

There are also restaurants downtown that don’t get it. Restaurants that act like they’re doing you a favor by letting you in. That ignore you for 20 minutes when you have an empty drink glass. That look at you sideways when you come in wearing jeans like, “WELL, you really don’t look nice enough to be here, but, WHATEVER.” I won’t mention names but I hear about one in particular nearly every time I go out, a place where my friends tell me “I’ll never go there again.” Sad that they have such a snobby attitude, that they don’t try to reach out to the local community and be a part of it… I think that’ll hurt them in the long run. Places like that make me appreciate it even more when a friendly spot like Pearl’s opens its doors.

Took the night off last night, and spent most of it lying around at home reading a book. Tonight I’ll be back at the Saucer for trivia night. I must say, I liked the crowd there this weekend – more tube tops than I could count. Hopefully the crowd tonight will look just as good, and the Rapscallions will pick up a 50 to add to our gift certificate winnings.

– Here’s a cheeseburger recommendation for you: There’s a restaurant on Third called George’s Coffee Shop that I’ve heard makes some of the best cheeseburgers in town. It’s in a building with several other businesses between Jefferson and Court, about half a block south of the black glass Darth Vader building where all the bankruptcy hearings take place. It’s only open for lunch. I haven’t had a chance to try it myself, but believe me, the person who told me about it is an EXPERT on the subject of cheeseburgers. So his recommendation is good enough for me.

– Yesterday the gang was sitting at the Saucer discussing the Downtown panhandling problem… the panhandlers certainly haven’t disappeared by any means, but I have to say that things are better because several of the area’s most annoying and/or aggressive bums have disappeared. The “shoe shine guy” – gone (and I have it on pretty good authority that he’s in jail). Sharp Dressed Bum – haven’t seen him in at least two weeks. Willie with the goatee who bothers people outside Walgreens – haven’t seen him in at least two weeks, and I hear he’s also had a trip to 201 in the past month. The short fat blond woman who cusses people out – haven’t seen her Downtown in weeks, although there have been some sightings of her in Midtown.

Hopefully I’m partly responsible for Sharp Dressed Bum’s disappearance… the CCC has a new security coordinator, and he e-mailed me a few weeks ago asking if I knew of any safety issues downtown. I replied with a detailed description of SDB, and he said he’d pass on the info to cops whom he works closely with. And now he’s gone. Heh.

– Blogger continues to piss me off to no end. Not only have I been unable to change my template for 4 days, but now it’s not letting me post pictures. If Blogger didn’t suck you’d be looking at a pic of the Nuh-Uh Sister in a tube top, taken last month at trivia night. Guess it’ll have to wait until later though. A few more days of this and I may have to seriously reconsider WordPress.

Short post today, because I want to hit Bookstar and buy a book. Possibly back later today with another one, as I have a couple of topics on deck.

By the way – you know how on the weekdays I tend to post at lunchtime, usually between 11 and noon? This week will be the last week for that posting schedule… and there’s a very good reason why. Details to come. Starting Monday I’ll be posting more often, and at more varied times.

Since I’ve posted a little less than usual this week, I figured I’d put some photos on the blog so you can see what I’ve been up to.

Last Saturday I started the day at Blues City Pastry getting some work done on the laptop. This is a Zebra Square, one of their pastries, and it’s as tasty as it looks.

The things you see downtown… later in the day I was having a beer at the Saucer, and I looked out the window and a giant burger was walking around.

Now we move on to Sunday Fun Day. After the usual stops at the Majestic and the Saucer, we decided to hang out on EP’s patio. This is bartender Ugly Steve, whose cocktail concoctions are responsible for some of the stuff you’ll see in later pictures.

This was one of the drinks we all had. It tasted like grape Kool-Aid but I nicknamed it “Halloween” because it reminded me of the color of a spooky night sky.

This was the other drink we had, which was named F.U.C.T. That’s an acronym for something but I never found out what. The other customers at the bar seemed somewhat disturbed when I strolled up with an empty glass and yelled out, “Hey Ugly Steve, I’m ready to get FUCT again!”

“Tastes like happy!”

A group photo of the gang at EP’s.

I was quite pleased with the grape drink. Have I ever mentioned that I love Romanian girls?

After EP’s it was time for some drunk Frisbee on MLGW’s lawn. Well, I ALMOST caught that one.

Memorial Day was the inaugural Downtown Night at the Westin lobby bar. Happy hour cocktails and hors d’ouevres for Downtowners the last Monday of every month.

The lovely Di Anne Price on piano. You can catch her every Monday at the Westin.

Special thanks to Joan – Downtown Night was her idea.

No pics were taken Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, but picture me sitting on a bar stool at the Flying Saucer and you have a pretty good idea of what happened.

Last night I finally made it down to Pearl’s Oyster House and found the gang sitting at the bar. In this pic: Ray (the owner of Pearl’s), me, Mikey the Camera Nazi, and Jessica. Pearl’s is a great place. I’m going to do a separate post about it later.

The downstairs bar at Pearl’s.

The downstairs has comfy couches where you can sit and listen to the band…

… or you can lean against the upstairs rail and watch them from above.

Here’s the entire photo album – 46 photos. I can’t believe I didn’t get one tube top photo the entire week.

Man those bourbon and cokes I had last night were good. I was almost drunk enough to be a state Senator.