Friday, March 31, 2006

A reflection of Reikyu

A reflection of Reikyu

Well I'm not going to messing around the bushes; I got fired from my job two nights ago.

You know it's not that many chances in a man life that he can get to look himself upon his own reflection and question what he had gain for whatever he believe in. That night was one of those nights. Here I'm at a cross road, funny it seems that I was anticipating the inevitable but yet I never thought fate would come to meet me this urgently. Life definitely has a sense of irony, when you're most prepared it's when life would be so kind. Yet the turbulence started when your complacency self has taken over.

Hahaha I'm babbling am I'm not? I guess it is not my fashion to do it so, but tonight it is a definite special night to me. Well tonight I'm no longer a bartender any longer, it's not that I don't have the ability but it was a promise to myself that after my journey of the current job I would never formulate another Martini ever again. It is not the fact that I despise the status of ones responsibility but for the past three years of my life I traded so much for what I thought was descent.

Last night I was let go from Reikyu, the most ironic of the part that after all the disasters I fixed, all the rewards that we reap, and the three years that probably shorten me life span all I got was lousy phone call from my friend Mark crying the fact that he had no control over the situation and he only done what he was told from his father. To most of my friends who heard the story they were furious way more then I could imagine. However they were perplexes that I show absolutely no emotion about the whole ordeal. I must confess that the first minute I got the news deliver that I was being let go by my so call "friend" of three years I was more or less stun for about a minute. Usually time does not bother me so much, yet that particular minute seems to linger in an eternal suspension. But I told myself in my mind "All good things must come to an end" and yes my final year being a mixologist; I've lost the passion and the nocturnal taste of the night. I celebrated with my closest of friends Steve and Will, which I admit that the only thing I really appreciated from Reikyu is the fact that I was fortunate enough to make two best friends of my life. It is not a usual occasion that one would earn soul friendships, especially from my past I had two of my dearest of friends betray me before. I guess this going to be a long blog. I'm not trying to discourage my audience but this is going to be a story of Reikyu of 3 years that I was with. I'm not writing to satisfying my appetite for anger nor trying to bias any fact into my favor. However this story must be told before time would distort the clarity of a place that affects so many lives that I have seen and met. To me as a person I must write it down because I will not dishonor the people that used to work there or the people who are still make their livelihood from that establishment.

Let see it's all start in November of 2003, it was one of the worst year of my life I lost my car to an accident for well over 4 months and two of my best friends were not willing to help me with any financial situation because of their responsibility to their spouses, funny it seems that both of them got their wife and girlfriend because they were all a parasite to my condo when I had the support from my family back home. Life was pretty much very unkind I was broke my girlfriend who dances at the Lodge decided it was a good idea to ride another guy stick shift because he loves knobbing her in his Lotus. I was about to give up on life because all the stress gave me a permanent migraine that to this very day it still manage to haunt me from time to time. So I had a nervous breakdown the dotcom careers that I had since 1999 came down just like a deck of cards that shower upon me like a jet fuel that burn all those lost souls on September 11, 2001. I gave away all my possession, all my computer equipment because it was like a dagger that pierces the soul of my passion. All my work clothes because I learned to hate the sadistic of the business, all my old identity was nothing more of the past and I went forth on a new journey. I came across from few of my classmates from the university and said that Reikyu a brand new Japanese restaurant was just opened and they are looking for a bartender. At first it didn't really peak my curiosity much due to the fact that many people warned about me about the owner. Mark used to be in a gang KB or so call "Korean Boy" and at the time most of my friends from the former years were Vietnamese and Japanese, they were a band of mostly petty Korean thugs that hangout at the rave scenes around Dallas during the 90's selling ecstasy and K and occasionally shot another gang members car just for a pure childish kicks. Most of the time KB guys would pick a fight with LDP or "Little Dog Pound" (yeah its sound gay.) which is a Vietnamese gang which I used to hangout with some of the member because they attended at my University. Yes you'll be surprise that even you're in a gang you got to have a college education I guess it's must definitely an Asian things. Anyhow I got to know Mark by reputation and just a couple of shoulder brushes at nightclubs from time to time but never a direct confrontation. However the first day I walk into the life of a bartender, who would have thought the lady luck would take me so far away from Kansas and Mad hatter would be my fairy.

Reikyu year one.

The restaurant was so different from what it is now erected today, it started with very hip reviews from Guide Live and Dallas Morning News the place has so much potential with a very diverse group of young people. I was one of the oldest guys there at that time and yes we had shit load of chicks working all types Whites, Asians, Latinas. For a time it was good but with a new restaurant came the nightmare of the two years "you make it or break it hurdles." Drugs became constant rampant problems with the staffs both inside the kitchen and out, funny it seems that all the stress I got at that time I should have use it myself. Anyway most of the staffs end up leaving the joint because the restaurant itself couldn't pay their employee the paycheck for pretty much about 5 months. That time it was tough because the place was busy with credentials to be live up to, however success it's a powerful drugs when you're a trying to chase fame without examining the check book that can make one doing things right into doing it right now. To me I guess I was crazy because I got my ass from a hot fire into a frying wok, I should had left the job since the first month of working. Yet I stayed because I guess when a man lost everything in his life he is free to do anything and bartending was a more entertaining job then the false promise of riches on the internet. I decided to stay and work on a broken bars where most of the time we didn't have a bottle of crown to sell to any customers for weeks and half of the bar items we bought it out of the liqueur store because we were black listed on the weekly basis. For a time it was fun I started to hangout at Spike which has permanently become my constant drunken habit now. And nightlife was so fascinating to me, for the first time I broke out of the Asian circle and experience the nocturnal jungle on my own term. However things didn't turn for any better my saving from the fortune of dotcom was dwindling and the sight of making any descent living was out of sight. And of course things turn out to be a test for the truth when one day my boss disappeared without any warning. Well everything was falling apart, we couldn't make the rent and the paycheck to the crew was nothing but bunch of bounce checks the only thing that kept me going was the fact that I pity Mark's Dad because the fact that he pretty much lost their entire fortune from the old restaurant to Reikyu. Well at this point in time Mark was so addicted to drugs that he could no longer function. I would get a phone call from him occasional but he would dare come back to the restaurant which was disintegrating like a rotten timber. Of course thing didn't get any better, he took off and Reikyu itself lost direction, to make the matter worse beyond belief our restaurant got investigated by the law enforcement due to an excessive amount of fraudulent being written for fictional funds for ten of thousands of dollar. To me I was not surprise so much by the incident because Mark my dearest or friend has mind gone beyond the yellow brick road which only addiction and money could kept him going. His dad took over the business and I was the only person that could keep things together because I would lie constantly to everyone that everything would be alright and just hold on till my friend would return. We got ourselves a couple of Japanese manager to come resurrect a dying business but the funny thing was only thing they wanted was to have Mr. Lee sell the restaurant. Well I wouldn't blame them one bit because any business know that our restaurant has a prime location that would make Japanese man stop thinking about perverted sex. As Mr. Lee was going to sell the restaurant, the miracle happen they got some more cash to infuse the restaurant which to many people it' still a mystery to this very day. But let me tell you how we got our finances one is through Korean Community Church funds and other part is drugs and I shall leave the fact as that.

It took literally about 3 months for Mark to made it out of rehab, however despise he had self destruct everything that he dream of the future he still manages to come out with a new tricks from his hat. See nobody knows since the restaurant was open he always knew how to cut sushi since he was 15 years old from various Japanese chefs. As the storm passed by and the new day shall start finally our first year have a glimpse of survival.

Reikyu year two

I guess the word that sum up for this year it would be "growing pain", well for the most part now we have the chance to grow learning from mistakes of the first year. Mark finally cleans up once and for all from his addiction throughout the years. And now both me and him have the full responsibility to the restaurant without his dad which make things work way more efficient. We didn't have to deal with bunch of old dry Japanese and Koreans guy which their minds are noting but drunken relics of the past. Me and Mark started to change a lot of things, we took a lot of risks making sure that we would make the figures each night paying of the debt by serving alcohol to SMU minors during the summers till 2 am every night, which our establishment only have the license to open the bar until midnight. I remember that I had to work my ass off late every night not knowing when it was going to end, money was mediocre but the time was a hell of rewarding. I remembered that it was such a rush that we could turn a dying restaurant into a lucrative bar which we could make ends meet, that I would have to say is the philosophy of Reikyu "the mean justify our survival". So you can name it hustling drinks and drugs at the same time there are more of our place beneath the surface that anyone at the restaurant could ever imagine. However as the business was picking up by the help of our Mexican crew of the kitchen which I have to say that we got some bad ass guys in the kitchen, Chaucer's steak house came to compete with our place at mid year of our sophomore life. However fate it seems has the sense of irony that despise a massive amount of money our next door competitor trying to pour into luring the SMU crowd and dumping sushi to make sure that our place will be out of business. However it only took a bullet from one of their idiotic minors to shut them down for good after five month they were in the Mockingbird station. Personally the second year of Reikyu has to be the best year I ever had in my various careers even though it was not the money but I manage to make a few descent friends which I still treasure to this very day. As for the business itself things turned for the better because of our senseless disrespect of any thing tradition. Our creativity turned a sickening joint into a place that remember of our place by the delicacy, yet many patrons still called us ""A sushi joint by Spike" for a long time.

Reikyu year three

Ha-ha despise many hurdle the restaurant finally made it into the black as of the fall of last years, this year is truly a blessing to everyone however as for my passion got worn out by the fact that I had reach my potential as a mixologist. Despite the fact that even to this very day we still can do quite an improvement on the staff but I guess the Korean effect shall be the plague of Reikyu to the very end and there is not that Mark could do because he already fucked up pretty bad on his first year. Finally we got everything down to the point that we can make a fun bet on the sale numbers of the night without having to worry about getting a paycheck. However as any business would go success is a very intoxicating drugs and for many leader power can blind and betray them at the end far worse then a drunken sick from a gold digger. Like I say I have made one journey which I knew for a while that it has to come to an end not because that I hate my job but I came to term that my growth as a human being has reach its limit at Reikyu. I have to say that it's mix blessing that here I am at cross road back to my old career once more. It seems that anything in life no matter how bad it might be could hurt me emotionally anymore. Once your heart has lost everything you mind shall be open to any possibility. And I guess this is the philosophy that I shall live and never bartend ever again because I know that I will learn something new in life while shed away the things that you have grown to accustom to.



I guess the moral of the story is sometime life is just to damm short to care about who you were, what matter most is knowing who you are right now.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Try this in Dallas

Try this in Dallas (response to Try this in Mexico bulletin)
To respond to the posted bullentin in I shall write" Try this in Dallas "

1.Blast your stereo systems on your SUV or Sport car down Greenville at night eventhough you have insurance, and don't have an accident, you still going to jail for PI or DWI.

2. Go to massage palors and you might get to know your local judges.

3. Try waiting in line when you got HMO at Parkland hosipital when you are bleeding to death.

4. Demand a bilingual Judge good luck !

5. Have you ever been down at the DMV for a new driver lincense and they misspell your name.

6. It's so damm hard to find an educated bilinguals. You know the rest of the world use metric system for a reason.

7. Ask for an Asian cultural center and they will direct you to a sushi joint.

8. Ask a cop to read you your rights while they're beating you down a few times

9. Demand the police officer to pronounce your name correctly from your driver lincense because your last name have been with your family for 13 generations.

10. Try to ask your TABC agent for direction to the closest bar for a drink

Enjoy our rights ! American citizens ! start collecting lawyers like your pickup phone numbers.....
You have the rights to remain silence and start paying your lawyers

Try This in Mexico


1. Try driving around as a Gringo in Mexico with no

liability insurance, and have an accident.



2. Enter MEXICO illegally - never mind immigration quotas,

visas, international law, or any of that nonsense.



3. Once there, demand that the local government provide

free medical care for you and your entire family.



4. Demand bilingual nurses and doctors.



5. Demand free bilingual local government forms,

bulletins, etc.



6. Speak only English at home and in public and insist

that your children do likewise.



7. Demand classes on American culture in the Mexican

school system.



8. Demand a local Mexican drivers license. This will

afford other legal rights and will go far to legitimize your

unauthorized, illegal, presence in Mexico.



9. Insist that local Mexican law enforcement teach English

to all its officers.



Good luck!



It will not happen in Mexico or any other country

in the world except right here in the United States...

Land of those who want to take care of everyone

but American Citizens!

Monday, March 20, 2006

V for Very Weak


There I said it last tonight it was such a splendid experience for my small sushi lobster ass. IMAX theatre has been around since before I can grab a drink at bar yet I never had the pleasure to enjoy for some unknown reason, last night I finally disoriented myself with its splendid glory. Anyway my friend got me to see V for Vendetta at the IMAX nearby, it was worth the time despite it has been raining nothing but a whole farm of cats and dogs for the past two days. The sights of the gigantic 5 story screen and the monstrous sound system gave me quite a bit of nausea for a good old five minutes until I later got accustom to the "IMAX" experience.

Well I'm not here to babble about how great the theatre actually after watching V for Vendetta at its entirely got me pondering on several fronts, of course the political conundrum of an anarchist versus an order of the contemporary society. The philosophical aspect of the movie, Wachowsky brothers had never failed when they want to send out a satirical message to the masses. However it was the artistic aspect of the movie itself that was a greatly disappointing. Here you were promise an uncompromising view of the future, yet throughout the movie I felt that I've been trap into this box call The Matrix all over again. Despite a refreshing view of having an insane masked protagonist V who throughout the movie never reveal his identity. However I had been robbed from this refreshing perception due to the fact that Hugo Weaving delivered his utmost platinum caliber by being Agent Smith without the power suit and the hip sunglasses. If you get Agent Smith and traded his Armani suit into a wig and masked of the crazed terrorist Guy Fowke, you would end up having the same character. V spent most of the movie explaining his methods to the madness justifying the doing to balance the inequalities of the citizens with his own variable of consequences. Was not this mathematical of human behaviors had been thoroughly been explore in the Matrix trilogy? To me it was almost like watching Agent Smith attempting to explain political science in the dessert of the future dystopia. Also the underlying leather clad fetish was briefly made an appearance as the homage to one of the Wachowskis accompanying with a techo trance musical at the ending credit just like the Matrix.

In the Matrix however, it served a purpose of an illusion of the world one trying to escape through a various simulacrums, yet for V I really didn't see the point of its purpose. The climatic scene of the movie had to deal with the rights of two female lovers were stripped away by the religious totalitarian state. Love would conquer all is a very well defined concept that everyone should embrace, but I was repulsed by the fact that the brothers exploited homosexuality by giving the viewers an unnecessary gluttonous act of being "out" in the open. Yes uncompromising view needs a drastic measure despite any anticipation from the mob, having the whole crowd shocked by a makeout scene that is a cheap way of being controversial.

To me the content of the movie was very well exemplary comparable to what is out at the cinema right now this week. It is a very well thought out story when it comes with an ever struggle of human existence and the intoxicating power of government. It forces everyone to think and question their lives as a citizen of a system, merely exist to serve a system, be it for territorial rights or faiths. Ultimately it is the power of ideas that would make a world for better or worse, I guess that's why we got the concept of marriage.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Drugs and Po Folks

Drugs and Po folk

Tonight topic is not suited for the pretentious heart, yet for God may care that we are all under his graces, however its populous minority who always been neglected that they have a life to live too. For the longest time I took upon this journeys of writing mere the fact as a therapeutic way to keep my own sanity. Yet the more that I try to care for my own humanity I experience every single drop of tears that people of around have to endure.

Everybody has always been raise to hate drugs regardless of its therapeutic origin. If the government said it's been financing terrorism its must be a vice. Well I guess Osama and Hughes Heffner must be terrorist because they both are the big fan of Viagra. Here I am trapped with a dilemma treated my country pride with my shoulder straight forward yet my respectable elder men lose their self respect on the fuck pill. Tonight it's been an epiphany, every lower working class in our D town comprises of illegal immigrants. Yes they are not belonging to be in this land of opportunity because the federal governments agree that they are nothing but a mere burden on progress of liberty and American vigilant. They are a plague on the way of free trade and total obstacle to an establishment of global bureaucracy

. Well shit last time I check on the news every single menial daily operation jobs, 4 out of 10 are the migrant workers, who were seeking the same opportunity like our forefather were promised a hundred year ago. And if history would serve my intelligence correctly. The intoxicated politicians took a battle worn army from Gettysburg and slaughter the white immigrants in New York in 1868 to satisfy the appetite of the federalist because those white folks were not valid as an American human being.

Wait they were white but I totally forgot that they didn't have the green power. So hence let's fast forward to our time, the residue or our history is nothing than just dust that we can brush away when BET talking about Black History month. Well nothing will ever going to change, more Mexican will come across here with their deluding vision of capitalism and flooding the border with more and more of people and drugs. Well Fuck when you have an acknowledgement of birth rights by the federalists you are guaranteed by the system of welfare that promised that you are a respectable parasite to the American free enterprise.

All of us, regardless of racial prejudice, its take a four meal square before you can starting to hate everybody else. This is the country that was founded by farmers who were able to put food and clothing on the table before they hate their neighbors. It is only the consequence that less than equal friends just willing to do what it take to be able to feed themselves with their meals. Shit you can't get a well respectable job because you don't have a proper credential. But every man always dream of being to provide with a nice wheels of Escalade. So if you are not part of the proper educational system like university what can you do? You will do what ever it takes and drugs only come in play because it is the only commodity that does not discriminate your color, race, and conceptual ideology. It will provide a man with a little mean to be able to leverage his ghastly existence to something that solid to a steak on a plate. It is not the drugs that will destroy you as a person but the misery that you want to use it to escape the reality of life that will be your own doing. A drug dealer will destroy himself over the night because of a sultry strippers so to the Wall Street power broker, the demise lies upon the intoxication of blissful lust of being bliss.