New Job, New Dog, New Apartment: Times they are a changin'

Sonny on the left and Scooter, the stray, on the right

You may have to click on this picture to make it larger, but this person had their 4 sons chillin the back of their pick-up. You are in Alabama now, baby!

Olivia and I found a great new country breakfast joint

First Day at True

                                                 

Hey Everyone!
Yesterday was Day 2 of training at the new restaurant, and WHAT A DIFFERENCE! They are more fine dining geared then the last place, with a large wine list, and an intricate menu. We don't wear aprons, and dress in all black. Chef True was a James Baird Semi-Finalist, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, and is always winning cooking competitions around the South.
Everyone at True has been super welcoming, and understood why I left Noja, and even said they were happy I stuck to my guns. I have a few semesters left of school before I graduate, so this is a job I can see getting me all the way to graduation. The servers make good money, and the managers are normal (what a concept!!).
Through out the first night, Chef True would literally cook me full on entrees, like garnished properly and everything, and say "Here I cooked this for you to try!". You can tell he has a passion for food, and everything was super tastey. At the end of last night, Bobbi came up to me and handed me $25 for helping her out with her tables, and even gave me two bottles of wine to take home and have. Both of which were beyond nice. Everything turns out for the best, and I love my new job.

As for the new dog, well, Olivia and I were walking the dogs one night, and Sonny took off. He started playing with this dog, and we quickly realized he had no owner. He was so scared he wouldn't let us catch him. Then finally we started putting dog food on the porch for him, and eventually Olivia trapped him in the house. He was in bad shape. He is was malnourished, covered in fleas, and dirty. We gave him some TLC. We gave him a flea-dip, bathed him, and took him to the vet to get neutered and shots. We were trying to just be foster parents, and just charge people for the cost of the neutering. However, he seems to always find his way back here. I posted an ad on Craiglist, and I got only 1 response. We gave him to one woman who saw my ad, and 3 hours later she called us and told us we had to come get him because he didn't get along with her dogs. He is getting along nicely, and I think he could end up being Sonny's brother.

Olivia, Dave, and I live in a 2 bedroom apartment as of right now. We went to a Resident Event, and ended up talking to our Property Manger. She told us she would let us move into a 3 bedroom, which is only 100 more a month, and no transfer fees in October. We said YES! We need the extra room. So October we are moving into a bigger place.

School is going good. I am entering mid-term time. So just overwhelmed with studying, but I haven't been skipping, and keeping good attendance in my classes. I even attended a Study-Better Seminar that taught different and effective ways to study, take notes, and time manage.

Some random fun, Olivia and I have been on the hunt for a great breakfast spot. We wanted just a hole in the wall place with great cheap breakfast. We found it!! It is called Bama Breakfast, super down-home country, and it has THE BEST biscuits and gravy we ever had. On our way to breakfast we saw a pickup truck that literally had their four little sons sitting on the bed of the truck cruising down a busy highway.  I took pics of the new breakfast location, and the 4 kids in the back of the truck.

I have been making friends here, and going out for drinks. People here are so nice, and I love it here!

Things are looking up!!