mikeperkins_76

so im back from my trip. and ive dediced to keep posting this journal. i think its a good thing, nice to have a little expressive outlet. now, here's what i dont like. im am currently jobless, which is bad because i dont have any money or anything, but other than that, im not working so,how bad could it be? the thing that i hate about it the most, is that i need to find another job. here's the thing about me, i hate looking for jobs, i hate applying, i hate making resumes and i hate interviewing. pretty much my least favorite things in the world, all revolve around job hunting and interviewing. seriously, im cool as hell(you can admit it), why cant i just have people i know tell somebody that. "hey have you met this guy mike perkins, he needs a job" "oh yeah, thats a cool dude". bam i gotta job. if only lifey was that simple. so here i go getting ready to sell myself. which is gonna be twice as hard now,because im trying to crossover to office type jobs, with benefits and perks etc. so now i have to explain, why since i got a degree five years ago, i havent done anything with it. i have an appointment friday with a professional resume person. should be interesting.word.

'nuff said

thats right people, if youre keeping tabs colorado is east of nevada. Which means that, yes, im headed home. What can i say, my eyes were bigger than my wallet. i didnt make cali. or seattle and im not gonna make chicago. Now you may recall that those were pretty near the top 3 things i wanted to see. So lesson learned, next time start west instead of south. But i had a really good time overall, i saw some old friends, made a couple new ones, and i saw two armadillos humping in texas. either that or one was tryin to jump over the other one and got stuck. And tomorrow i'll see kansas. ive always wondered what flat and boring looks like, now i'll know. I know i said id be gone longer, but what can i say...wait i already said it, im running out of money fast. I have an issue with setting unrealistic goals, and then getting dissapointed if it doesnt work out. but not this time, i had a damn good time and im actually looking forward to coming home. i havent seen real grass in a week or two, and i can almost smell onondaga lake already.see you soon.word

so, its actually a lot harder to get a job here than it seems. i could get a retail job pretty easily i think,but the housing here is so out of control i wouldnt be able to find a place to live. i applied for a job at the mgm grand this morning. i had to go and verify all the info. on my application. then the lady tells me they'll call in two weeks,minimum, and now that ive applied i cant apply anywhere else that mgm owns. Which leaves out the mirage,the belagio,the luxor,excalibur,mandalay bay and several others on the strip. awesome. with one application, i limited by job search by about two thirds. its looking more and more like im headed home. but dont worry people, ive been gone almost a month and i saw a lot of great things. i didnt quite make it to california, yet, but there's always hope. if i dont make it this time, ill go another time. i saw graceland and vegas and the hoover dam and a bunch of weirdos in arkansas. all in all not too bad. plus if i come home ill get to see the exciting midwest!whoo yeah.

made it to vegas yesterday. i didnt realize that to get from az to nv 0n rte.93, you have to cross the hoover dam. pretty strange to have your highway go through a dam. i was getting frustrated because the speed limit through there is 15 mph.,there were a ton of pedestrians, and there was no avoiding it. so when i did get to vegas,i called my dad to let them know i was here. i made it to the strip, which is pretty crazy the first time you see it. even in daylight, there had to be thousands of people walkin around. its also the capital of bad taste,which is of course very entertaining. some of the weirdest,ugliest,worst dressed,people who look like they eat several buffets everyday. and also there's a giant gold sculptures of sigfried and roy's heads in front of the mirage. it really is the best and the worst of our country rolled into one. so i parked my car in a garage and walked up the strip to meet my folks. i didnt realize at the time that the strip was so long. i probably walked close to 2 miles before i saw the sign for the casino where they were. and when i did get there my dad told me there was free parking right across the street!!dammnt. we went in,and while i was gambling, my mom approached this woman who works there and started asking her about jobs. i went and talked to her, and have a meeting with the head of h.r. monday at 9 am. so i might have a job, now all i need is a place to stay. im thinkin this just might work out. i hope it does, as someone who likes to people watch, this is the place to be. its like the state fair times a cajillion,which is a real number i think.word.

so my day started out by goin to get my car from the mechanic. the guy next to my hotel checked my car out, and said the fuel pump was bad. his estimate for parts and labor was $800!! ridiculous. i found a guy in the yellow pages who did it for less than half of that. also they towed my car for free, and sent someone to pick me up at the hotel when it was done. all those things are nice, however if it didnt happen at all, that wouldve been nicer.my financial situation has changed drastically in the past day or so. tomorrow morning im gonna head to vegas to see my folks. im not sure if i can afford to stay there til i can find a job. so i may be home sooner than expected. but today wasnt a bad day,considering. my car made it fine from albuquerque(no help spelling this time) to flagstaff,az. i got a message from my friend nick, who lives in la, saying that his band was doing a little mini tour and they were gonna be in flagstaff the same time i was. so i got to see my friend,and his band. they were fun to watch,very high energy. and it beat sitting in a hotel room in flagstaff. by the way it was about 30 degrees tonight. damn cold. i missed the start of cold weather in ny, but i may be home for the rest of it.

oh boy. where to start? i left colorado springs this morning, intending to make it to flagstaff arizona. i got into new mexico, and my car started acting funny. i pulled off the road, added some coolant and let it run for a few minutes. everything's ok..so i think. about 40 miles later, the car does the same thing. this time i pull into a gas station check all my fluids and im low on oil. so i add a quart, let my car sit and take off again. this time i make about 20 miles, just past a sign telling me im over 300 miles from flagstaff. so i called for a tow truck and wait for an hour and a half. they didnt show, so i turned my car around and headed back to albuquerque. i found the same hotel that i had a reservation at in az. and head that way. and lo and behold, its right next to a mechanic. so theyre closed, obviously. but i managed to get my reservation switched to this hotel and i'll get to have the guy look at my car tomorrow. This brings up some interesting questions:what's wrong with my car?, how much will it cost?, is it worth it to fix it? so this is where im at. i may be home a lot sooner that expected, or i may still head to vegas, find a job and go from there. or there is the chance that my car will be ok, but im not really too optimistic. i love my car, but ive been pushing it pretty hard. ive put just about 3,000 miles on it in the past two weeks. hopefully it can get me to vegas, and then i can let it rest for awhile. i'll definitley keep you guys posted on whats goin on.word.

p.s. i left out that i called my parents several times during all this. 30 yrs old and i needed my mommy. but i get the feeling everyone else i know would do the same. so there.

p.p.s before you get too impressed i had to look at the hotel stationary to spell albuquerque all 3 times i spelled it.

im sitting in a coffee shop in colorado springs, wondering how i made it this far. its very surreal to me still, to wake up and realize im almost all the way on the other side of the country from home. when i first got here, i thought it was gonna be bad. the first thing i did was lock my keys in my car! i waited for a locksmith which cost $40(less than i thought, but its still $40). while i was waiting i walked through downtown. it's a little surreal to get to the end of a block and look up and there's a fucking mountain lookin back at ya. ive seen the adnirondaks,catskills,blue ridge and smoky mountains, but nothing prepares you for the rockies. where i am isnt even the big mountains yet, and its enormous. but the main reason im here is to see my friend bill mitchell. he moved out here 8 years ago and that was the last time i saw him. right away it was like i saw him yesterday. we fell back into our old patterns. basically we talked nonstop about music and movies and banter like an old comedy team. seriously the conversations we have, take the weirdest turns, but are some of the best and funniest ive ever had. which is sayin somethin, cause i know some funny people. Bill has been dating a woman named susan for 7 years. she is really cool and welcomed me into their home with open arms. they get along really well, and it seems like he's actually really happy. its weird to say that about bill,but its true. he really needed to get away from bville, and all of our bad habits and find someplace new, and he did. for instance we went to a movie last night at a tri county-esque theater(we saw click with adam sandler, it was actually very entertaining, even though its well worn territory,definitley worth a rental) and then we went out for drinks. we each had three beers. back in the day we wouldve had three beers in the first twenty minutes or so. ahh growing up. tomorrow i leave for arizona. the grand canyon. i cant wait. its something ive wanted to do since i saw the brady's do it when i was a kid. after that vegas! im gonna be there for awhile working. my money supply is slowly goin down, and i need to build it back up. susan is asking people she knows, and im actively searching for a job. my parents, and my uncle phil& kathy are going to be there next week. its gonna be good to see everyone. although everyone ive stopped to see so far is like family, theyre not. and i know my parents miss me, and i do miss them( i know they read this..j/k). so if anyone wants to holla at your boy, i'll be in vegas for i would say at least a month maybe two, maybe longer..dont really know. ill update soon.. im sure ill have somethin to say about the grand canyon.word.

its hard to believe thursday morning i was in atlanta, and now im in amarillo texas. in the last three days, ive seen the original grand ole opry,graceland,sun records,and the monument of buddy holly in lubbock,tx. im really looking forward to driving to colorado springs tomorrow. after that im takin a few days and im not drivin anywhere. i guess i should backtrack a little. my attempts to find a job in new orleans were not as succsessful as id hoped. i couldnt line anyting up,and couldnt afford to sit in a hotel there waiting to find one. so i moved on further west. nashville,memphis,oklahoma city,amarillo. i forgot to mention something when i was in carolina,but it was true in ga,tn,ar,ok,and tx. people in the south/southwest,do not get out of your way when on the highway. they drive in the left lane, and stay there. ive had to pass at least 100 people on the right. idiots. so now im goin to colorado and am focusing on finding a job there or in vegas baby!! this is getting a little harder now, i cant believe how far i am from new york. not just physically, but its just a whole other world down here. im thinking cali will be, i guess i dont know what itll be. i cant wait to see it. up the coast,and across the top of the country...someday ill be back home.

left atlanta,this morning. drove to nashville today. it was nice to see it again. this was the first time i had been there since i lived there in 1998. i really liked my time there. it's a fun town. i think not having a car or computer to keep in touch with people really hurt my chances of staying there. one of the reasons i made sure to have a laptop and cell phone before i left this time. i really wouldnt be able to do this if i couldnt keep in contact with the people who are important to me. im in my hotel room in memphis right now. goin to graceland tommorrow!!! this is something i always wanted to do,but never did when i lived in nashville(3 hrs./no car). after i leave here, im not sure where im goin actually. i think new orleans, but i cant decide where to go. part of me wants to make this last as long as possible, part of me wants to see as much as i can, as quickly as i can. its hard. especially as i get attached to new places. Atlanta was really fun. i think because i know people there,but also there were some really hip cool neighborhoods,and people like to have a good time. also went to turner field and saw the mets play the braves. even though the braves wrecked em(two in a row,the mets are coasting til the playoffs),it is a great stadium and was fun. and theres also a part of me that would love to go back to nashville and make that work. i think as i see more cities, i may have to put their names in a hat to decide where i might move to. bleh, done typing now.word.

mike p.

p.s. i have pics, just havent figured out how to post em on here, once i do theyll be up, so keep your eyes open.

today is my last day in town. Greebsboro that is. its been nice being here. my best friend from high school,matt, has shown me a very good time. he and his girlfriend lisa, have been great hosts. i ate in their restaurant and drank in their club. matt is an assistant to the assistant offensive line coach for greensboro college. we watched their game last night, it was a lot like a high school game, but we had a really good time. Lisa's brother and his girlfriend also came to town this week.theyve also been showing me a good time. matt is super busy between school,coaching and working at the restaurant and club.so i've spent a lot of time with lisa and her brother and his girlfriend. theyre all very nice and matt nad her are a very good match. im off to atlanta on monday morning to meet ade hall and the goode brothers. im not gonna meet ade til after five pm, so i think im gonna make a side trip to athens,ga on the way. matt is talkin with a guy he knows and may have a line for a construction job in new orleans. if i get one i'll probably be there for a little bit. i'll let y'all( adjustment for southern communique) know when where and what the hell is goin on.word.

mike p.

toss up question:would you rather have cancer or live in pennsylvania?

hey everybody,just lettin you know that ive made it to my first stop. im sitting in a panera bread in gaithersburg md. i went to d.c. today. it was a good time.and even though i was taking pictures,i managed to not look touristy as several tourist asked me for directions. the drive down was ehh. i once again renew my objection to pennsylvania. seriously, what the hell man? how is possible for one state to be to so large,ugly and boring. they made the mistake by putting the only interesting things(philly,pittsburgh) on the borders of the state and left the rest of it to fend for itself. i guess if you like awful scenery and apple butter,than this is your state. my joy when entering maryland was off the charts. tomorrow i'll be leaving here for greensboro,n.c.my friend matt from high school is there. hopefully we will have a little fun. after that atlanta,new orleans... but i'll post before all that to let everyone know where i am and what the hell is going on.word.

this is my first blog on this page. basically just wanted to let people know what the deal is. starting tomorrow, i'll be keeping a detailed(not daily,but as close as i can get), blog of my trip cross country. Stops I'll be making include Washington DC,North Carolina,Atlanta,New Orleans, Colorado, Cali,Washington,Chicago. Plus there will some sidetrips in there as well. Im hoping that there will some great adventures on this trip. Its going to be great to see so many old friends,and to get the chance to see the entire left side of the country. i maybe in places for a day or two, or a week. It depends on how much i like where I am. So, keep reading and I'll keep posting.