New Jersey Adventure

We are settled here in Union, NJ. Laurie and I both work weekend nights. She works three nights and I work three or four. That leaves us Monday thru Wednesday free for exploration. There is really a lot to see here for someone who hasn't lived in this area. Every area of the country (and I suppose the world) has unique styles in everything. The people here drive erratically. In more of a hurry than California even. They stop in the middle of the street waiting to make a turn or to talk to someone, and the others just drive around them. We had decided that I would find work while we were here, so one day I located some local restaurants and went out to apply. My intention was to work three days a week - maybe 25 hours. I saw that Boston Market was advertising a number of openings. When I called, I was told I had to apply online. The application process requires you to send a resume, and then it processes it and provides you with a list of openings determined by your experiences. You get to click "apply" on the ones for which you wish to be considered. The entire list I got was for management jobs. id I tell you I was hoping for part time? I printed out a few copies of my resume and walked down the road to drop them off at a couple of places I thought I could work. Not going to have a car to use, it had to be walking distance. The local Applebee's is 2 miles away. Not beyond my walking ability. I walked in and was immediately interviewed by the General Manager who wanted to hire me. He had me return the next day to talk to his Kitchen Manager. At the end of the second interview I was as good as hired. The funny thing was the position I really wanted would have been to be an expediter. I applied for prep cook, and any basic back of house position except line cook or expediter. They asked if I would consider being an expediter. Easily the most fun position I have ever held in a restaurant. You stand between the servers and the kitchen and direct the orders out to the floor. It's been fun. We go out and find quaint little neighborhoods and walk around taking pictures and seeing what there is to see. We have yet to walk through one and felt we'd seen it all. Milburn, NJ. This area looks like a bohemian village such as Sausalito. Lots of little cafes with tables and chairs out front. benches to sit along the streets. I major drama company, too. South Orange, NJ. What a great little town. There is a town square there near the train station. At the station, you can get a train to NYC. Massive cheap parking lot, that charges .50/hour for a total of four hours a day. It is free after 6:00 O'clock. Went there one night and ate at a nice little Mexican restaurant called Toro Loco. Great brick sidewalks and older buildings. A amphitheater in a small park for local acts to play. We came across a piano in a small circular paved area with signs encouraging people to come by and play when they felt like it. Our second visit to South Orange was to catch the train to NYC. Our Third was a day trip, where we had drinks at a cute little restaurant and bar called Above as it's upstairs and above the town square. They have outside seating and we sat there looking across the town with the trains (elevated) running noisily past us. We then went to the movie theater and saw "The Family". Afterwards, we revisited Toro Loco for a great dinner. A funny thing here, is that liquor licenses are few and expensive. Many eateries do not have one, so they allow you to bring your own drinks to the restaurant. Peculiar. Sandy Hook and Long Branch, NJ. These towns are down the coast and a ways away. The town of Sandy Hook is still recovering from Hurricane Sandy and suffers from a name connection with the infamous shooting in Connecticut. An organization is placing children playgrounds around in honor of the people killed in Connecticut. What a great little beach they have there. I have never been to the Atlantic Ocean except during our Florida vacation a couple of years ago. The town of Long Branch was also just a small simple town dedicated to art, music, and expression. Very nice. The Adventure continues....