Mr. Poopon's Blog

hip hop devide

poopon — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:54:57 +0000

There seems to be a serious devide between black and white undreground hip hop in in the southern region of Louisiana.WHAT the FUCK? I notice as i visit numerous myspace and facebooks pages.i notice the lack of unity.The lack of community.But ther eisd no lack of groups dedicated to promoting themselves and those they feel look just like and dress just like them.fuck that! Man. we didn’t do all this work for this shit. your sound is great but not better than mine… I agree.i am a musician.no unity.it sucks and hurts my heart.you know who you are.maybe we should all throw in the towell and do colabs with lil boosie?

It’s been a long road.

poopon — Tue, 05 May 2009 05:12:47 +0000

This is not really a blog.It’s just a reminder to myself of all the food service places I’ve ever worked.They are not listed in a chronologoical order.This is mostly because I can’t remember it all in order.Imagine that.This should be fun.Here we go.Anything food related that resulted in payment.I also listed positions worked.

Godfather’s Pizza (Baton Rouge,LA.) – dishwasher,pizza maker,shift manager??sort of..,video poker player. It was my first job at 16.

The Factory Cajun Bistro (Baton Rouge,LA.) line cook

Mansur’s Fine Dining(Baton Rouge,LA.) diswasher to line cook to busser/barback

Mike Anderson’s Seafood (Baton Rouge,LA.) Saute cook

Piggly Wiggley Grocery Store ( Da’ HOOD..my hood),North Baton Rouge) cashier I lasted one day and didn’t even pick up my check.I came in the next day and bought a beer.IT SUCKED!

Macoroni Grill(Baton Rouge,LA.) Saute Cook I loved that job..It was hard for a corporate gig.

Grady’s American Food (Baton Rouge) I am not sure what my job was.I just walked around for a couple of months and told them what to fix.That’s what they wanted. WEIRD!

Country Club of Louisiana(BatonRouge) head line cook

Gyros Lebanese Rest. (Baton Rouge) line cook (few months until a skateboarding trip came along!)

French Market Bistro (Baton Rouge) line cook, opened the place from scratch! awesome experience…sort of.

Desire’s Catering (Baton Rouge) Server,Bartender, Delivery Driver..

Drusilla Seafood Catering (Baton Rouge) part time banquet set up and server

Pappa JOhn’s Pizza (Baton Rouge) Delivery Driver yeah…good times!

Mausur’s On the Blvd. (Baton Rouge) busser,oyster shucker and oyster cook, bartender/barback/server../catering server..dishwaher..whatever needed.lol!

Inga’s Subs and Salads( baton rouge) sandwhich artist and cashier..everything

Faye’s Subs and Salads (Inga’s brother’s place) order taker and Korean translator it seems.”and tell them i don’t want no mayo!!” okay.

Superior Grill (Uptown,New Orleans) server

Crescent City Brrewhouse (French Quarter, New Orleans) server

Joey’s Java(Baton Rouge) Barista, deli cook,cashier

New England Clam SHack(Clearwater, Florida) server,bartender

Landry’s Seafood (Houston/The Woodlands,TX.)

Summer Camps (New England,U.S) Assistant Chef,Counselor ..two summers/falls so far

Blue Smoke/Jazz Standard(Manhattan,NY.) Server,server assist,barista,expo.*I highly suggest this place!*

Gravitas (Houston,TX.) server *I highly suggest this place too!*

Parrains Seafood (Baton Rouge) expo,line cook

Acme Oyster House (BRLA) server

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse(Baton Rouge) busser

Nimfa’s Mexican Rest. (BRLA) server

Camelot CLub(BRLA) line cook, busser

Baum’s Pasteries( BRLA) pastry cook,cake decorator.

Semolina’s Pasta(BRLA) server

Joyce’s Seafood (Houston,TX.) awesome job!! great food !! miss them!

Bocage Country Club(BRLA) server or busser? I got hurt in an accident and had to quit right when I started.

Baton Rouge Country Club line cook. After walking in and seeing a certain head chef I walked right back out.Thanks, but no thanks.

Bonano’s Catering (BRLA) on-call server/bartender. GREAT CHEFS AND STAFF!

Holiday Inn Select Conference Plaza (BRLA) manager,server,dishwaher,room service,cook,bartender,counselor,friend,etc..like I said, Manager.

That’s it! This actually was hard because each place has a story behind my time spent there or why I left.It can really throw you back when you think of teh circumstances and decisions made.They all have had an impact on who I am now.Wow, I didn’t expect to get this much out of this one.I almost didn’t post it because I started feeling stupid as I listed more and more places.Once I got to the end of the list I realizedvI’m really at the begining.NICE! Also, I didn’t mention too many negative things about any of the places.No matter what, I took something away from each experience.This is a crazy industry but no testy than any other art career.I guess long roads give more time to write better storylines.

Restaurant hiring rules

poopon — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:35:23 +0000

If you have ever worked in service industry then you have wanted to rip through your boss before they even become your boss.That’s right! I’m talking about the dreadful hiring process.The world of world’s only second to conducting a psychological analysis of cops last hour special.It’s mostly bullshit.Let’s run through a few shall we.

Today I had the pleasure of going to a little Italian place on the Mississippi river for the third time this year to apply for a job.I knew what to expect but was hoping their professionalism had changed.

1) If you put an add out that says hiring immediately then be prepared to interview people damn it!

I should not have to go into the kitchen to find Mr. Caught the shit end of the deal late cook boy to fetch a manager to talk to me.It also very sad that Baton Rouge still hasn’t moved past those little generic blue and white applications that ask what did you study in high school.What do you think I freaking studied in high school? I studied trying to get in and out trouble just like you!!! We both work in service industry, REMEMBER? Okay,I should not sit at the bar for 30 minutes waiting for you to magically appear from underneath one of the empty tables of forty out of all forty tables in the restaurant.There is nobody here.WTF?!? I seriously considered making myself a cocktail and departing for a lovely sunset on the river. moving along…I should not be mistaken for a manager by wine reps walking in the door while i wait for you.I could’ve capitalized on that one too! After i watched the evening staff come in I figured maybe i should go search for the “interviewing managers.” I found them downstairs only to be told..”ohh, wow, thanks, and i resume too!! wow, well we just put the add up last night so we’ll call you…. wow!” If you are lucky enough in this business to actually get someone with a tie on and a resume then you better look at it cause there won’t be too many more coming.I still should’ve made that cocktail on my unescorted exit…NEXT TIME.

Yesterday I had the wondrous opportunity of getting a job and i am grateful.NOw let’s explain what went wrong though.

1) If you do hire, do it correctly for what you were hiring for!

If you’re craigslist add says hiring servers then i would expect you were hiring servers not bussers.If you are hiring bussers then don’t try to convince me i am a back-waiter to save face.Let’s see, so my responsibilities as a back-waiter would be to clear tables, fill water etc., sump trash, make up for this 18 years old’s hungover mistakes because someone learned mad dog 20/20 isn’t as fruity as it looks? hmmm..YOU’RE RIGHT!! I’m much different than a busser because a busser wouldn’t even know what a back-waiter is really supposed to be. Next, why are you talking to me about a bar that i’ve never worked at and you don’t go to? does random bar talk get me the job? wow, well hell! let’s go to where everybody knows your name.ONce you look at my resume, maybe you should read it in the process before offering me the job you falsely advertised.THis is because i just may be more useful in another aspect of your staffing needs.but now i see why you need staff.

SOrry to rant and rave but it just makes me made to see poor hiring procedures.It is hands down on of reasons why front of the house usually has such high turnover.see, that crappy guy got hired like that and stayed around long enough to get in position to hire more crappy guys the same way he got on.IT kills me! If you are a person of substance and talent then you you’ll be taking the job just for a check because you can see what kind of bafoons you’ll be dealing with until you find a better gig.It’s sad really.I have seen the light with DAnny Mayer’s Union Square Hospitality Group(blue smoke/jazz standard in nyc) so i know it can be done right.I guess that what makes me upset. cheers! i am grateful to have a job though.at least i know what kind i got.

a cook’s biggest knife

poopon — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:07:25 +0000

SOmetimes we seem to find ourselves at crossroads with only one real path.In one hand you hold a rusty yet freshly sharpened machete.The path you want is overgrown with brush and weeds.YOu can make out the once pristine dirt path so you go in blade first.YOu try and try to slice these whimsy looking flowers and weeds with your freshly sharpened and very long machete but to no avail.it…just…will…not..cut…this path clear.Why? so, with strong reluctance and frustration you try the other path.this one is much more clear but a bit more steep.you’re thinking that you’ve waisted all this valuable time carrying around this old big knife for nothing at all as you start to trudge up the way.as you progress further the trail gets steeper.the machete begins to function as a perfect walking stick .it’s heavily riveted handle and hand forged iron blade help stabilize your climb better than anything else you could think of.At this point you realize it was all in the plan.even though you didn’t get to choose the exact path you wanted, you always had the perfect tool to make it to the top.you just didn’t use it as you thought you were supposed to.these are the lessons we should embrace in life.a bit deep huh?well, blame it on american idol! today was a day where i had to make a choice to accept a job at a crummy french resteraunt doing a job i could do with my eyes closed from a french quarter port-a-potty in a wet suit.after some thought( a lot) i came to the understanding that this job would give me the chance to earn all the money i would like to have before leaving for my chef job in Maine.the chef job in Maine is going to give me the resources to get to Portland for school and stay put for a bit.this staying put will let me get some personal life goals in order..yeah..okay..i knew i was great at bussing tables for a reason.who would’ve thought this machete could do all this? I also had my first interview with the Oregon Culinary Institute.It was great.I was in complete smiles while the Western Culinary Institute tried to call on the other line.nope! you’ll have to wait to rob me sir.I have real chefs on the line right now.I even took a jog downtown(and back) trying to support my friend’s restaurant from losing their bar licensee.i missed everyone by a few minutes but i was able to catch him a t his place and show some love so..ahhhh..nice.from now on i’ll keep my knife close.hey, i’m a cook.

SPreadingly yours, Mr. Poopon

Fresh start

poopon — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:09:39 +0000

Well this is my first ever real blog of very many to come.Welcome to Mr.Poopon’s journey to something fresh and new.yeah!! okay, enough starchy background..it’ll come out eventually bit by bit. Today I am unemployed with a minimal amount of funds in my bank account.at least i have one check on the way from what was a very bogus postion as a pastery apprenticeship.I was more like ‘go into the freezer boy’.'Yesterday was one of the best days of my life in many years.I received my Gohonzon for the practice of SGI Nicherin Buddhism.It was awesome..friends ,family and fellow practitioners plus cupcakes and coffee at the ceremony.mmm…cupcakes and coffee. I have also made the concrete decision to move to Portland, Oregon for culinary school after i complete my summer cooking contract in Portland,Maine. so, I’m going from Baton Rouge to Portland to Portland with big dreams and aspirations in a six month period.I will be an influential person in this big world called culinary.I think i spent over 14 hours today alone researching chef’s bio’s and Portland restaurants.dOn’t think i’m one of those kids running blind into this industry! this industry has been my life for 16 years now.I just know that i am only placing so many limits on my immediate future without the proper education.this game has changed from being a home grown chef meaning more on a resume than a culinary school’s name.it really sucks sometimes but….I have another entrance interview with WEstern culinary Institute but i think i may pass for entrance into Oregon culinary instiute.they seem to care more about cooking and farmers which is where the stuff we cook should come from.oh, and it’s 20 grand cheaper.also, they don’t have a class action suit again st them like the afore moentioned. HOw will i pay for it all? don’t know! where will i live? with a very dear person who has managed to rekindle our 16 year friendship ,over food and drinks no doubt.I have also had to make the choice of starting from very bottom in order to make it to the very top…dish-washing baby.well, I’ve only got a few weeks left in town and would hate to put myself in a position harder to replace than dishes and prep work at a catering company (if i get it).this will basically be the documentation of reliving the bottom to the top for in hopes you and i get something out of it in the process.I have screwed a lot of spots just as well as i have been screwed so now it’s time to prevail homies through all the crap that comes with waking up.here we go, so enjoi to all who read.also, i ‘m learning this blog stuff so it will improve as the story develops everyday.

also, i know there are typos..but this is a blog and did you read that i have been on this laptop for 14 hours..so figure it out

spreadingly yours, Mr. Poopon