As I had the day off today, I have been working on getting the house back to a nice state. When I do housework, I tend to just think to myself. I don't put music on in the background, I don't put something on Netflix in the background, I just get to work and think.
I was thinking about Candace and my's honeymoon. It was the happiest time in my life, 100%. I was in a foreign country with a flexible schedule just doing whatever seemed intriguing at the time. Candace and I enjoyed wandering around the cities, stumbling upon shrines, coffee shops and book stores galore. Street vendors, food carts, and colorful backdrops punctuated our days. Knowing we only had a few days in a place at a time was freeing. There was no pressure, no stress to see everything. If we didn't see it, it didn't matter.
That same sense of adventure brought us to Maui. The newness of a place intrigues us: things to see, places to go, new foods to eat. But this time we came on the coattails of work. Moving somewhere because of work greatly changes the dynamic of how I view that place. When I moved from Plano to Austin for example, I tried unsuccessfully to transfer with Barnes & Noble. Therefore, I had to play it by ear and lucked out by getting a job at a Potbelly's that was opening on The Drag adjacent to the University of Texas. It did not pay well but I could walk to work and I got free food every day so it was a good stopgap until I got in with B&N again. The same lack of pressure applied here as did on my honeymoon. This was just a temporary job so I could focus on enjoying myself even though I was exceptionally poor at the time. I eventually got back in with B&N for about six months and then quit to go to Whole Foods.
At Whole Foods many people had made a career out of starting out where I did on the Front End and moving up more easily since all the global offices are right above that store. I can think of at least a dozen people who I worked with who know have a Whole Foods Global job, and that gave me hope. But it just never happened for me. I tried unsuccessfully to move up in my team and eventually had to move to a new store just to get a slight promotion, not even the one I really wanted. I know I could have done more to foster my professional development and I just didn't. The tools were there and although I used some of them, I could have done so much more. Now I realize that was a huge mistake because I am stuck now at the lowest rung of the Whole Foods ladder. I willingly blew up my meager Whole Foods career just so I could come to Maui, but after these few months here I realize there will be no rebuilding here. There is only one Whole Foods on the island and it has been made clear that there is no light at the end of the tunnel for me. It has not been explicitly stated, but the general feel of my team at this store is that everything is terrible and nothing is going to change quickly. That does not apply to the other employees in the store, but the legacy of this team is not good and it isn't changing for the better anytime soon.
At this point I have a few options. For a long time I have complained about how I do not like my job. This may surprise some people because I seem so happy at work most of the time, but it is all an act. I really do not like my job and I really do not like Whole Foods corporate culture. Candace has suggested many many times to look for a new job. I have halfheartedly gone on Craigslist just to glaze over at the job listings and I never really put any thought into it, but now I feel motivated to put some more effort in. When I was a boy, my mother worked in the hospitality business. She was the head honcho of a little hotel across from the giant outlet mall in San Marcos and she rocked it. I mean, she put that place on the map. Seriously though, I have huge respect for her because she did her job and she did it WELL. Living with her that year in San Marcos was another happy time for me. We didn't have much but we enjoyed what we had. She seemed to be happier to my young eyes even though she had so much to do. And I learned about her job just from being around all the time. I have always loved the hospitality business and I can appreciate someone who does their job right in that field. Maybe it is time for me to look for a job at a hotel or resort since there are so many on the island? It is definitely worth looking into.
I am a huge fan of coffee and I love to taste the different flavors coffees can have; maybe I should parlay that into a career in coffee? My options here would probably be Starbucks or a place with a massive commute from where we live. And I don't think we are prepared to move across island just for a barista job. But it is still an option.
But the question remains: Am I being beaten down because of my job or am I being beaten down by the place where I live? There are not many cool places to go on Maui for a young couple. And the biggest dearth of places to go is restaurants. The only restaurant I have found worth a damn is Cow Pig Bun and they only have about eight things on their menu. Eating out has always been my favorite pastime. Austin was perfect for this because new things popped up all the time. Some were bad, some were delicious, but they were always an adventure. And that brings me back to adventure. There are still some things I have not seen on Maui. Maybe some of those things can slake my thirst for adventure. But right now I would love nothing better than to go work at some fancy coffee shop on the West Coast just for a change of pace and scenery. I won't say that is how I feel all the time, but at this particular moment in time I yearn for that.
