Wow. So first off, before I get too far into this lengthy rant of an entry that we call a post, let me apologize for the severe lapse in time since my last post.  Eva has been patiently waiting (and gently prodding me) to submit my next entry because "that's how this whole thing works".  Gotta admire the dedication to following the rules :)

I'm not necessarily at a place where I feel compelled to write any brilliant masterpieces and have honestly been dragging my feet submitting my next post mostly because I have been at a loss of what to write.  I can always pick another quirky restaurant subject to ramble on about and insert my two bit opinion on - because god knows I have plenty of those - but I decided at the last minute to ramble on about stuff that is a bit more personal and less focused on a specific topic.  Thus I give you the update in my life.  Please consider yourselves forewarned that this will not be all that exciting. At all.

So I went to Europe.  And it was amazing.  And now I'm back.
And you know what the first thought was when I returned from all of those cities abroad?  Boston is fucking awesome.  And that's not to say the other cities weren't great in their own right's; Florence was beautiful, Venice was touristy and beautiful, Dublin was friendly, clean and fun, Paris was...well, it was Paris (meh really).  But Boston?!?!  Boston is epic.  I'm still not sure what it is about Boston that speaks so loudly to me, but all I know is I love it.  Big enough to do fun stuff with food and capture a killer audience but small enough where you can stand out if you want.  Albeit the smaller size also creates an incredibly incestuous environment in this industry that is damn near sickening but that rant will be for another post.

Now that I have returned I am battling with the million dollar question, "What's next?".  To be honest?  I have no idea.  I have many "ideas" per se but no real push one way or the other.  I'm struggling between a complete idealistic lifestyle consisting of taking my sweet time to find the perfect fit and being able to re-spark my new found inspiration and drive; and a realistic lifestyle consisting of paying the bills and making ends meet.  To take a job too soon, strictly for the money would be to immediately spit in the face of every reason why I just went to Europe and dissolved everything I  had previously built in my life.  However, to disregard a perfectly acceptable opportunity because it does not fit my current ideals as a chef spits in the face of logic and doesn't actually pay the rent.

Let's discuss the options. Idealistic first (because it's the only option founded from passion and let's face it...I'm a passionate guy).
Ideally I would love to make enough money to pay bills for the next 6-8 months, maybe doing small jobs here and there while finishing my business plan for my first restaurant.  Take that business plan and secure funding and then begin the search for a location.  Once I find a location, flip it as quickly as possible to get the doors open, create revenue and proceed along my merry path running my own place for the next few years.  Sounds good, right?  Well turns out reality also needs to have a say in this.  Good ol' reality.  Always knows how to ruin a party.

Realistically it looks as though my "wisest" option is to secure a stable well payed position for the next few years and keep my expenses low enough to save a solid amount of money.  During this time focus more energy into the business plan and market research and then actually be able to have some personal capital to bring to the table when talking to investors.  Hang-ups on this option? Eric needs to actually save money.  Not a strong suit.  Could probably benefit greatly from correcting this weakness.

So there you have it folks.  Not long or windy but kind of straight to the point.  Wish me luck - although I don't know why I say that because luck never has anything to do with it - and I will report back as soon as life has unfolded my next chapter.  Until then eat well and drink up.

E