SWIMMING TO LOS ANGELES--Sous Chef on a Runaway Train--

      At 0600 Pacific Daylight Time, the sun was just barely breaking the horizon line across the ridgeline to the East. The North Shore of Lake Tahoe is fairly quiet on Sunday morning after the long summer holiday week of July 4th. Many of the tourists in the crowd have not yet gotten up and moving and not a single skier is out on the water, even though it is glass. The cheesy tents along the narrow beach at the resort have all been taken down creating an opportunity to rake it and straighten up the chairs. While raking the beach, the events of yesterday were still fresh in memory; from the property owner at the apartment doing his Hitler imitation over the beach gate lock that been jammed by whomever the night before. It could have been any one of the hundreds of inconsiderate beach nazis that took over the North Shore for the week, marching around like SS troops at Stalag 17, pushing, shoving and demanding. That whole business with the fence and gate along the beach was an ill-planned and disastrous project from the beginning, chasing away all the gorgeous ladies in the process, reserving the neighborhood for the jet ski venue which may not even be legal. 

     As the morning progressed at the resort, the Latino maintenance man Juan inquired about some problems with the hot tub. On inspection in the spa room, the heater was found to be completely disassembled and non-functional. The igniter did not engage, the service light was on and there was a distinct leak from the tank indicating it might have a breach in the heat exchanger. Placing a call to MH, the details were forwarded; and in a few short minutes, a hostile text message was received from the manager. She allowed guests to sit in a cold tub, risking any number of problems with chemicals and electrical-fire hazards. The situation deteriorated even further and leaving the property was the only course of action. There may be an opportunity to stay away completely forever. Either way, there are enough other current opportunities locally and in other areas to make it worthwhile to look into them, which is what's being done. 

     One of those was an email the other day from Amtrak regarding a job opening as cook/chef in the Los Angeles zone, which would probably include trains not just running north-south, but west-east. For once, that was followed up on, even before the fireworks at the resort this morning. Yet another job invite was received last week from a long-forgotten inquiry and as a result, an interview was scheduled for early next week. If everyone else wants to march around like Hitler and Mussolini, let them; do not let it cause a loss of focus for opportunities. Too easy would be to overreact, hop in the car, run away like a runaway freight train and accomplish nothing in the process.

     Currently, there is still the cybersecurity class scheduled to begin a week from tomorrow, on the web from UNR. That will be followed by a full schedule in the fall, which is not totally set in stone but subject to change with respect to work. Yet another option is to drop college completely, pay off the student loan and return in five years, after sous cheffing around the country until its paid. What's most significant immediately is that nothing needs to be done. Add to that, the rude text messaging from the resort manager resulted in that being blocked indefinitely; she can pick up the phone and call. As for Hitler at the apartment property, he needs to go find a bunker if he can't take the incoming outside. 

     The hot tub has been a nightmare ever since it was built and installed 20 years ago; the biggest headache on the property, an unbelievable money pit every time the heater blows out, which is like clockwork around July 04 every year. It went out again last week, right on schedule. Juan swapped out the spa heater for the one on the pool, but the pool had been undergoing major repairs since last October so there was no way to know if that one was in working condition; the core may have been rusted out on that one as well. The more serious issue was that MH didn't know about it and bringing it to his attention to find a solution, resulted in nasty text messages from the manager and accusations of being a "backstabber" just because he was made aware of the problem, in other words, the Mussolini complex.