Confessions of the unemployed

I sit idle, currently employed as a waiter at a struggling restaurant/nightclub.  The service industry is not my main profession; I have a BS in Biology and have spent the past ten years as a scientist of one sort or another.  Those years were happy by comparison, however as is often the case, that realization did not arrive until it was too late to appreciate it. I was offered the opportunity to further my education in my last job, and turned it down, assuming I had all the time in the world to take advantage of it.  I now am receiving an education of a different sort. I am learning how to live on a fraction of my previous salary, how to adjust to an industry where one is viewed slightly above the level of a prostitute, and how to sit back and watch a business mismanaged into the ground by a group of well meaning but stubborn people.  

I see this period of my life as temporary, and of nothing else, it is teaching me to appreciate what you have when you have it, as well as to do everything in my power to retain and advance in the occupation in which I have chosen to make my career.  I'm fairly certain my situation is not unique...I personally have more than a few friends and relatives who are currently experiencing similar situations (or have gone through them recently).   Some of the blame lies with the economy,of course.  But more times than most will admit, steps could have been taken to prevent finding oneself in such a predicament.  Be it taking advantage of education opportunities, making oneself more visible (and indispensable) at work, or simply being more thrifty when the money is coming in.  Simple and obvious, yes, but all too often a case of too little, too late with most.  

In any case, I will be trying to document my path from success in my chosen field, to service industry employee, and on to whatever the future holds.  Hopefully this will serve as a lesson to some, entertainment to others, and a mirror for myself to aid in being more mindful of past mistakes and future choices.

For now, I have an empty restaurant to watch over!