next on "J&P"

i remember i used to go to Good Karma back in the day... loved the place. diverse crowd, good music, good-looking women. always a good time.

the economy sucked and i needed money in my pockets. after begging my friend for a favor he finally landed me a spot in the good karma security roster. i noticed immediately that i was definitely the smallest one there. well, there's also one tiny asian guy but the man's been doing kung-fu for 15 years so he doesn't count. i consider myself a tall and physically fit man but these other guys? even if they were shorter than me they were still WIDER than me and they had the "stare" mastered.

i'd show up for work on time, clock out when i needed to, and i would go home. i mostly talked to the other bouncers good guys with a tough job. i like learning from their stories, their victories, and their mistakes. and i got to know the bartenders eventually. and the promoters. and the DJs and the bottle service girls, etc... but for the most part i would come in, say hello, do as i was told, stay at my post, protect myself and the customers, and then clock out and go home.

and one night after work when all the bartenders drink i was asked to have a quick drink. i stayed and talked shit and we cracked jokes and shared stories. good times! i was surprised they were so deep and so damn intelligent and colorfully weird. and then one drink became two and two became four and just like that, i was one of them.

two weeks later i was promoted after the security manager and the manager got into a huge argument. just out of the blue. i told him i'd take the job if he thought i was qualified and not because i was the first man he happened to look at after it happened. and sure enough, things got heavy as i tried to clean up the mistakes of my predecessor. there were fights and misunderstandings with customers and promoters but management was always behind me 100%.

a few weeks ago we got into a huge fight with some soldiers. i won't tell you the details because i know you hate that i have to do that but i will tell you that we won. the bouncers involved, myself and 2 others, bonded after that. what better way to bring guys closer in friendship than staring danger in the eye and making it blink? the next day i was offered a management position.

so now i have 2 positions. all of this after only 3 months working there. and to think that i just wanted some money in my pockets. i'm still a bit baffled as to why this is all happening to me but i'm just glad that they have enough faith in me to entrust me with the responsibility.

and being a niteclub manager in chicago is no different than being a niteclub manager anywhere else in the world... it's all relative. so i talked to my friend out there in bangkok. the TV actress/model i told you about. she said she'd look for me if anyone was hiring out there. me? a club manager in bangkok?

what a strange year this has been...