OC Soul Blog

Getting Back Together With Your Ex

I have a buddy who runs a breakfast restaurant. It’s a successful restaurant but his only “real goal” is to win the competition for having the nation’s best breakfast sandwich.

Even though my buddy’s restaurant is in a mid-sized market, the restaurant was always full and customers we’re generally happy.

One day, my buddy hired a manager for the restaurant and the new manager brought along two new chefs. And these chefs could really cook. So much so, that lines started forming around the block.

Because of this success, my buddy’s restaurant was entered into the breakfast sandwich championship, and with the two new chefs, winning was finally within his grasp. But unfortunately, the new restaurant manager didn’t turn in the paperwork needed to get to the tournament because he was too busy interviewing at another breakfast restaurant, in a bigger market.

The manager left and soon after, the two chefs left as well. The manager was quickly fired for incompetence at his next job and found himself back in a small market restaurant. That restaurant was only half-full and eventually he was also fired from that restaurant for incompetence, sleeping with the owner’s wife, AND sexually harassing the waitstaff.

Once again, the manager needed work, but no restaurant in their right mind would hire him as a manager. So he worked as a line chef, a busboy, and an assistant manager, all for crappy quick-serve restaurants.

Then, 7 years later, he gets a chance to run his own restaurant again. This time in a crappy small town that has no other restaurants for competition. And he gets the restaurant only to half full and then one morning, one glorious morning, the restaurant is full.

Seeing that very loooooooooong and very miserable track record, and then that one tiny success, the original owner, my buddy, calls the manager and offers him his old job back.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how screwed is my buddy? Asking for an entire state.

What the Waffle House Really Is

I don’t like the Waffle House. I love the Waffle House.

On the map below, I used to live in the red area. Now I live in one of those areas with a big  “zero” on it, which is great for every other part of my life, except for my Waffle House addiction.

I admit, I took my proximity to Waffle Houses for granted. I was spoiled.  

One Waffle House has closed, but for many years, on Jimmy Carter Blvd in Atlanta, you could walk out of one Waffle House, cross the street,  and walk directly into another Waffle House. Business saturation to the extreme.

I miss it. Every-single-day, and especially on Saturday or Sunday mornings, when hungover.

But with that being said, it’s totally southern hibachi.

4th of July, A.I. Style

I asked a couple of generative AI programs to make me something as American as it gets. And, A.I. did not disappoint. Below are my three faves.


My favorite part of the moon landing image is the talon that just exists to hold up the flag.

Labor Day AF!

“Let’s have a toast for the scumbags
Every one of them that I know
Let’s have a toast for the jerk offs
That’ll never take work off.”- Kanye West

Labor Day is finally upon us.

Labor Day Reflections

This holiday comes during a time when all of our social media feeds are clogged with story after story about how “no one wants to work anymore”. These stories are typically bombarded with reason after reason why no one wants to work at that specific location or company anymore.

  • You don’t pay enough.
  • You and/or your management team treat people like trash.
  • Your benefit package is either nonexistent or uncompetitive.
  • Your product and/or your company aren’t very good.

This comes at a period when there’s also a new work-sensation sweeping the nation for those who are employed… quiet quitting.

Just like the diversity of the labor force, quiet quitting means something different to each person practicing it. For some it simply means doing exactly what’s on your job description and nothing more. For others it’s building a wall strong enough between their job and their life that their job can not penetrate the other side. We all know that job creep exists and left unchecked will grow. But for all of those quiet quitters, the one common element they share is a reevaluation of work’s role in one’s life.

For those who learn from history, we consistently see moments when entire populations question their life and career choices. And these moments happen directly after some large, life-changing event. In America, just since 2000, we’ve had these periods after 9/11, the Great Financial Crisis, and now Covid.

These reflection periods are completely normal. When the world changes, it seems to me, that thinking about how you will change to meet the new paradigm is a healthy reaction to any massive cultural shift.

During the pandemic, some folks switched completely to working from home. If that was a good experience for them, why wouldn’t they question going back to their office? If forced to go back to the office, why wouldn’t they seek a job that will allow them to work from home?

During the pandemic, many folks continued with their person-to-person job and even though none of these front-line workers set State or Federal masking and vaccination regulations, they were treated with a never-seen-before level of disdain from customers. In the middle of a deadly pandemic, they were spit on, physically attacked, and screamed at, all while being recorded just in case there were any “gotcha” moments that could get you immediately fired. Even Ricky Schroder got in on the action. Why wouldn’t these people be looking for different jobs?  

The unemployment is currently so low in the country that The Fed is actively trying to increase the unemployment rate. For the first time in a looooong time, we have wage inflation and it’s not just coming from the C-suite like usual. Folks at lower pay scales are getting pay raises, which will shift demand from certain employers to other employers. Yes, supply and demand even applies here.

After the past couple of years, we all deserve and should fully enjoy this Labor Day. We can treat it as a time for reflection about our current and future career paths or we can simply take a nap and enjoy the long weekend with family and friends.

Either way, don’t let Puritan-work-ethic guilt affect your relaxation this weekend. Because, on Tuesday, it’ll be time to get back to laboring.

College Football Is Back!!

The next 4 months of college football are gonna be great. There’s sooooo much to look forward to.

We have that time period when the Notre Dame fans think they have a chance at the Natl Championship after they “dominate” the service academies.

We have those few weeks when we all think Penn State might actually have a competent QB for the first time since Reagan was in office.

There’s the hopeful optimism of all the non-power conference teams who foolishly think they have a chance at the playoffs. Aren’t they precious?

There’s the delusion of the Big 10 fans thinking their conference can compete with the SEC. Bless their hearts!

After running the “gauntlet” of Rice, Fresno State and the Orange County High School All Stars, we will all be bombarded with “ Are the USC Trojans finally back?” No. No they are not. They just play in a high school conference.

Watching the Oregon uniforms get uglier and uglier each week.

The return of some long-time rivalries (Pitt shall eat poo-poo!)

And best of all, we still have a few more weeks before it’s evident that Alabama is just gonna win it all again this year.

So fire up your grill, break out your tail-gatin vitals, and enjoy Saturdays in the fall.

p.s. Until tonight, Georgia is STILL the National Champions (I get to say that for one more day, so I might as well do it!)

The Mute Button Is Your Friend

Old habits die hard. One of the remainders from my trading days is that CNBC is still constant background in my home office. Obviously, I keep the volume set to mute, but occasionally will tune in to hear an interview.

Kraft/Heinz reported this morning and is currently getting taken to the woodshed. (down 8%) I don’t like the set-up currently, but another down-big day, with volume, and I’ll start getting interested. So, I turned up the volume because the onscreen discussion was about KFH and other food companies.

Great Timing!

As soon as the TV was unmuted, I heard this gem come from one of the journalists, “So it seems, people are currently prioritizing eating.”

Of course it’s difficult to interview people on live TV. But I’m hoping on-air talent at CNBC get paid much more than the average American. So with great power comes great responsibility.

I’m not a professional financial journalist or a historian, but I feel very comfortable in saying that all of our ancestors prioritized eating. That’s why they lived. Everyone now and in the foreseeable future will also prioritize eating.

Try harder CNBC on-air talent. Try harder.