Here is what is going on.

(stuff about jobs in two lists and death threats, also comics and music, tra la!)

So I used to have a job undenting pipes in a pipe yard. That job is over. I'm not entirely sure why, but my boss no longer operates his business. I have heard that full story involves several people threatening to kill several other people, but I do not actually know the whole story.
Perhaps I will write a post-mortem on that pipe job a little later. With sound and pictures(?)! I was a little ashamed to admit to people that as a college graduate I made my living by pounding on steel pipes with a hammer, but they were often generally interested, especially when I told them that I worked with Tibetan monks.
But that is another post.
Because the more pressing issue here is that I am half-way unemployed. I actually just started a job at a sushi restaurant just up the street from me, which is awesome on a number of levels. Here they are!

-Level One: Free meals!
-Level Two: I can walk there in about ten minutes
-Level Three: It pays decently, especially since I am only a host and don't have a ton of work to do.
-Level Four: I can talk about it at parties. Not only does it sound slightly more respectable than my last handful of jobs, it is not boring like "I work in a computer lab," not does it require being answering a lot of questions to adequately explain like "I work in the Mount Rushmore cafeteria."
-Level Five: I have to wear a tie, but I GET to wear a sweet Japanese jacket with dragons on it.
-Level Six: I WORK IN SUSHI RESTAURANT!! Somewhere in my brain sushi restaurants are connected with things like "urban hippness" and "general awesomeness," so I hope that if I work there long enough, perhaps my brain will connect ME to those things, too! Probably I will get used to the job and bored by it before that happens, though?
-The Boss Level!!!: My boss is named Sam. He's owned the restaurant for over 20 years! I've heard he yells at people, but so far I haven't been yelled at.

There may even be secret levels I don't know about yet.

So yes, I have this cool job. But even though I am still wearing the tie and the shirt that I ironed (!!!) earlier today, I am halfway unemployed. There are at least two reasons for this.

+Reason One: I only work there six hours a week at this point. At that rate I will be able to pay rent about once every two months (although that would be better than what one of my roommates has been able to manage).

+Reason Two: I kind of don't want to keep hopping from strange job to strange job. I am a writer, and I won't be fully employed until I can make a living doing something that actually fulfills me. I've been following a bunch of leads for freelance writing and am confident that I can shill myself out that way and make a buck or two. It may not fulfill my purpose, but it will at least be writing.

So that is jobs. There's other stuff below the ellipsis.
...

Yesterday I went with some people from the church to help serve dinner at a "transitional living center." If I understand properly, it's basically a place that provides one-room apartments for families who are trying to get back on their feet. They help them find work, re-establish credit, etc, and the only requirement is that they have to attend classes three times a week. The class on Friday was something related to health, and we prepared and served dinner before the class, then did crafts with the kids while the parents were learning. There were about 40-50 people there, adults and kids, and it was a cool experience. Hardly a burden at all, and everyone was extremely polite and gracious. I think there are plans to make serving there a regular part of the church's ministry, and I hope that ends up being the case.
...
Also!

-I have been listening to live bootlegs of Zwan all night. I will put them online somewhere if anyone else cares to listen to the only Favorite band I've ever really had (The Smashing Pumpkins may be better, but I still like Zwan more. So there!)

-Old comics were totally nuts.

This WWII era cover is a well-designed, but quite weird piece of art. Check out the gruesome war scenes at the bottom of the picture, the fact that one of the heroes is Bullet Man who ACTUALLY DRESSES LIKE A BULLET WITH TIGHTS, and the caption at the bottom: "Introducing World Enemy No. 1, captain Nazi!" And it's only ten cents!
Is it any wonder that comic books sold in the MILLIONS back then?

-My tummy hurts just a little.