Paradise Re-found

It's been awhile since my last post.  I've been pretty busy with... um... absolutely nothing... but I've been really busy doing it. 

I had a wonderful day today and just feel simply great about life right now. 

Three weeks ago, I interviewed for a tour guide job.  They told me to be ready in two to give a test tour with the boss guy.  So I read the book they told me to get.  I've been to all the museums and everything that is on the tour.  I nearly even memorized the 18 page script that goes along with the tour.  So a week ago I met with the boss and did the tour for him.  The biggest problem was that I was showing around just one person but I had to pretend that he was actually 20 people or so.  He was also deliberately doing things like not paying attention.  It got really annoying but I made it through.  He was pleased but gave a lot of feedback on things I needed to correct.  He told me to just work on those things and give him a call when I was ready again.  Yesterday I did another test run with him and he was happy with mostly everything. 

Today I got to take a small group out with him watching to see how I worked with them.  I felt I did a really good job.  I was totally pumped about it.  I even had a really good group of tourists.  They laughed at my corny jokes and everything.  They definitely enjoyed it as did I.  The boss said that I did a great job and could start taking larger groups out on my own.  So I'm official making money now. 

Now the way the tour works is that we don't charge them anything and take them on a 3 hour walking tour around the city.  At the end, we just accept any tips that they want to give.  Today, I had 10 people and got 45 euro (which is a decent esp. for your first time).  The average is 5 euro a person.  Now most groups have 20-30 people so for only 3 hours of work you can make a good amount of money. 

After the tour, I was on a huge adrenaline rush and went for a long bike ride.  It was a beautiful day and I had way too much energy to stay inside.  I ended up riding my bike outside the Amsterdam city limits and rode throughout the countryside.  It was simply beautiful.  A nice way to end a great day. 

Lemme just start off by saying that I make a HORRIBLE first impression.  And sometimes the second impression usually isn't that great either.

So I've been looking for jobs here so that I could have some spending money and stuff.  When I first got here and when I was in Munich, I took a free walking tour with this company (they work off tips).  My tour guide here was James who had moved here to be with his Dutch girlfriend that he had met in NY.  Since then I've become friends with him and we hang out occassionally and stuff.  Well he mentioned to me that they are looking for more tour guides and he gave them my number.  With my teaching background and theater and singing, I figured it would be a perfect way to make money.  

So I got a call from the boss man today and he told me to meet him at a cafe near my apartment.  So I go and he's there with two other guys with the company.  Being that tour guides are basically entertaining tourists, they are looking for crazy wild people.  Well I was just the opposite.  It was 3-on-1 and I start doing my shy, introverted stuff.  Not good.  I had a funny story prepared and everything.  But he instead asked me to tell a joke.  Hell yeah... I LOVE telling jokes.  But for some reason I couldn't think of any.  I blanked.  Rainman would have done a better interview than I did.  Needless to say the interview just went horribly, but for some reason they told me to start training as a tour guide.  So I've got a job... well sort of.  I've still gotta learn all the stuff and have them approve me.  

Anyway... I've never been able to figure out why I'm like that.  VERY shy and timid at first and then little by little I let my ahir down.  :-)  Even with friends sometimes  I can be crazy acting and wanting to be the center of attention.  I just have to get to know the person better.  I get especially crazy with Tori and Sallye when we hang out.  Example with Tori: During Christmas time, we would hide in the trees outside of Kroger and jump out at people as they walked by.  Example with Sallye: After telling her a funny story in the middle of Target and her almost peeing herself in the shoe section, we then proceed to sing "The Sound of Music."  I had a hard time convincing Sallye this past year that I am a shy person.  Well with her personality she doesn't give you a chance to be shy.  

Anyway... I have had this problem affect me several times in my life especially when jobs are concerned.  I can't figure out how to just let go and be me.  Maybe I haven't figured out who the real me is.  Or maybe I am worried that people won't like the real me when they see him.  Low self-esteem.  Who knows.  It's just one of the many things I've got to work on.

But anyway... I've got a job!  That's my news.