Self Sufficiency, Minor Rant.

[Green Squall]

^ Thanks LEF. Yes, the degree I received got me the job that I have today and my salary has almost tripled since before attending school. I am a chef and I went to the CIA for an Associates and then a Bachelors degree. Some of the best chefs in the world never attended culinary school but I am not one of them- haha...My time at school was worth the price of admission alone. The experiences, information and exposure was mind-blowing. After graduation I landed an apprenticeship at a restaurant out in the Napa Valley called The French Laundry which was an experience I will never forget and for which I will always be grateful. I don't think that I would have had that opportunity to do that had I not gone to culinary school. I really didn't care about such things prior to attending school but fortunately my attitude and outlook on things was rocked when I did- and it got me chomping at the bit to pursue things outside of my comfort zone.
Thanks again for the nice comments, all. I appreciate them, sincerely. PM if you are in the market for a fast, black, German sports car. Haha...If I do decide to keep it I can sell it for a great truck once I get north.

I think Bourdain went to CIA. Love that knucklehead

 

[waveguide]

those places are cold as fuck and covered in snow half the time. consider somewhere with a climate in case you grow old and die there all cold and wrinkly? in AZ, people get spots. not wrinkles like in maine because your whole skin is trying to crawl more inside you. and for reals.. plants........ weed doesn't grow in ice, or basements that flood and mold and freeze.

consider

 

[Green Squall]

those places are cold as fuck and covered in snow half the time. consider somewhere with a climate in case you grow old and die there all cold and wrinkly? in AZ, people get spots. not wrinkles like in maine because your whole skin is trying to crawl more inside you. and for reals.. plants........ weed doesn't grow in ice, or basements that flood and mold and freeze.

consider

Parts of New England got over 100 inches of snow this winter. The rest of the year it's pretty nice.

 

[Mr.Miner]

^ thanks for the responses, fellas. I appreciate it...and yep, Bourdain went to the CIA. I met him when he was up there for a graduation. Great guy.

 

[HempKat]

^ Thanks, yes that would be sweet for sure- I wish that I could, but I own a home with my girlfriend in a state that is ridiculously tough on mj and she holds a professional medical license that would be at risk as well.

That's cool. I know people like that too that don't want to risk losing licenses and clearances they have that allows them to work where they do in the government or in the corporate world. They're not against weed and if it ever becomes as legal as it should be they would definitely partake.

 

[BrainSellz]

^ Thanks LEF. Yes, the degree I received got me the job that I have today and my salary has almost tripled since before attending school. I am a chef and I went to the CIA for an Associates and then a Bachelors degree. Some of the best chefs in the world never attended culinary school but I am not one of them- haha...My time at school was worth the price of admission alone. The experiences, information and exposure was mind-blowing. After graduation I landed an apprenticeship at a restaurant out in the Napa Valley called The French Laundry which was an experience I will never forget and for which I will always be grateful. I don't think that I would have had that opportunity to do that had I not gone to culinary school. I really didn't care about such things prior to attending school but fortunately my attitude and outlook on things was rocked when I did- and it got me chomping at the bit to pursue things outside of my comfort zone.

Thanks again for the nice comments, all. I appreciate them, sincerely. PM if you are in the market for a fast, black, German sports car. Haha...If I do decide to keep it I can sell it for a great truck once I get north.

That is quite the accomplishment. It's a 2 month waiting list to eat there. At 295.00 a person not including drinks i didn't make the reservation.

About the sports car, let me guess, Porsche? Yountville is loaded with them... some of the nicest I have seen.

Hope the day has been a good one.

 

[Mr.Miner]

^ Thanks very much. True story- when I was doing an externship in Cape May NJ, I had some free time and guessed at Thomas Keller's email address and sent emails out. I got it right on the second shot and he returned my email...I made plans to fly out to The French Laundry and got a reservation to eat on July 4 (not in that order and not from the chef) and after the best meal of my life- hands down (18 courses- solo dining) I met up with him and talked for awhile...When my Bachelors class went out to California, a year or so later, for a 'Food and Wine seminar' for 30 days I got in touch with the restaurant and offered to wash pots. When Corey Lee, the chef de cuisine at the time, asked me why I wanted to just wash pots I told him '...because I know how'. So, he let me come stage for a night. During the slow time when I wasn't sectioning grapefruit or picking herbs or whatnot I washed the garbage cans in and out, swept the floors, and whatever else I could find to clean. I washed garbage cans in many places before and was happy to do so at such a great place. At the end of the night I asked him if I could come back the next weekend and he said 'yes'. I did that for 3 weeks in a row and then was offered an apprenticeship upon graduation. I drove from PA to Yountville by myself and had the best fucking time doing so. Didn't even so much as get a flat in my 1986 Volvo 740. Got my oil changed in Oklahoma. What an experience...
Yep- it's a Porsche. Cayman S. It's fun as hell but that shit doesn't really fly up in Vermont . Haha...

Thanks for the kind words. And thank you, I hope your day was good as well.

 

[BrainSellz]

^ Thanks very much. True story- when I was doing an externship in Cape May NJ, I had some free time and guessed at Thomas Keller's email address and sent emails out. I got it right on the second shot and he returned my email...I made plans to fly out to The French Laundry and got a reservation to eat on July 4 (not in that order and not from the chef) and after the best meal of my life- hands down (18 courses- solo dining) I met up with him and talked for awhile...When my Bachelors class went out to California, a year or so later, for a 'Food and Wine seminar' for 30 days I got in touch with the restaurant and offered to wash pots. When Corey Lee, the chef de cuisine at the time, asked me why I wanted to just wash pots I told him '...because I know how'. So, he let me come stage for a night. During the slow time when I wasn't sectioning grapefruit or picking herbs or whatnot I washed the garbage cans in and out, swept the floors, and whatever else I could find to clean. I washed garbage cans in many places before and was happy to do so at such a great place. At the end of the night I asked him if I could come back the next weekend and he said 'yes'. I did that for 3 weeks in a row and then was offered an apprenticeship upon graduation. I drove from PA to Yountville by myself and had the best fucking time doing so. Didn't even so much as get a flat in my 1986 Volvo 740. Got my oil changed in Oklahoma. What an experience...
Yep- it's a Porsche. Cayman S. It's fun as hell but that shit doesn't really fly up in Vermont . Haha...

Thanks for the kind words. And thank you, I hope your day was good as well.

Thanks for the great read, that was brilliant with the email.
haha Vermont=truck

Your welcome

 

[Jhhnn]

Move to Maine and setup shop there. You can rent an old farmstead for cheap. Try and find one with an ag building. There are plenty. Get a card from a doctor. Grow your 6 plants. 60 day veg. Clones, moms and non flowering replacements don't count as your 6. Stick to 60 day strains. 6 cycles a year. 12 elbows a cycle. Find a few folks who need a caregiver to grow for them. Get their cards and grow their 6 up to 36 flowering females. 36 plants times 2 pounds per plant times 6 cycles per year =432 pounds per year. Take into consideration that Boston, with the largest college population of any US city, and that pretty much every kid who goes to those schools is a spoiled brat from well off families and does expect to pay top dollar for good weed, provides an unlimited high end market, and well Mr Minor you are pretty much in the drivers seat to chart any future you may or may not be able to imagine.

That's a best case scenario. What's the worst?

It's one thing to move to a jurisdiction where one can legally grow their own & entirely another to grow for market.

We all make our own choices, but that difference needs to be considered carefully.

 

[ronbo51]

That's a best case scenario. What's the worst?

It's one thing to move to a jurisdiction where one can legally grow their own & entirely another to grow for market.

We all make our own choices, but that difference needs to be considered carefully.

Worst case? Move to Maine. Setup poorly planned grow. Get infected cuts from losers. Fight winged root aphids for several cycles and yield nothing. Bills pile up along with snow. Wife becomes disenchanted, blaming you and your stupid dreams for ruining her life. She leaves. You drink heavily winding up as a street bum in Portland.

 

[ronbo51]

Vermont is a magical place. In the Summer it's green, in Winter it's white. You have to be into Winter sports to survive the long, cold, dark times. Snowshoeing, cross country skiing, ice fishing, downhill skiing, bonfires, schnapps, firewood, northern lights. You have to be willing to fully embrace the Winter experience. It's fun for a while. If all you are going to do is fight the cold and dream of warm places then New England is not for you. I did it for 25 years and finally the wife and I grew weary. My first New England experience was my time at the smallest college in the US in Craftsbury Common, Vermont up in the northeast kingdom. From that moment I was hooked. Very tough economy though. Get a Subaru Outback.

 

[Jhhnn]

Worst case? Move to Maine. Setup poorly planned grow. Get infected cuts from losers. Fight winged root aphids for several cycles and yield nothing. Bills pile up along with snow. Wife becomes disenchanted, blaming you and your stupid dreams for ruining her life. She leaves. You drink heavily winding up as a street bum in Portland.

Please. The worst case scenario looks a lot like what's happened to Gypsy & associates over the fracas in New England awhile back.

 

[stoned-trout]

hey I was homeless in Portland once.. it was fun..congress street bum....found a place in kennedy park after a bit...lol...maine is nice but you gots to be a maniac to live there...yeehaw..^^^^^^^^that snitch ran to florida last I heard ..prob living with family there...free gypsy..fuck u res

 

[mean mr.mustard]

Damn it.

So BOTH Portlands are bum dumpsters??

 

[shithawk420]

Hehehe,bum dumpsters.

 

[Green Squall]

My friend lives in Portland, ME. I was surprised when he told me the homeless population is so high. What the hell do they do in the winter?

 

[t99]

Buy a snowmobile, great trails in New England, checkout the VAST. Do they still have a topless donut shop in Portland? I never got up early enough to go, but I liked the business plan.
New England is fun if you like being cold!

 

[armedoldhippy]

My friend lives in Portland, ME. I was surprised when he told me the homeless population is so high. What the hell do they do in the winter?

they hitch-hike to Florida if they're smart...

 

[Sforza]

Each person and situation is different, no?

Very true. But in all cases, "the borrower is servant to the lender."

http://www.daveramsey.com/blog/the-truth-about-debt/

I cash flowed my degree and graduate degree while working full time. My daughter took on some student debt while getting her Chemical Engineering degree, but it only took her two or three years to pay her loans off.

I have lived with debt and lived debt free and there is much less stress and much more freedom when you are debt free.

I have a motorcycle that I enjoy riding and an old truck that I have restored, but I paid cash for both of them. If I had debt I wouldn't hesitate a minute to sell them to get rid of debt.

But everyone has to live the way they want to live and I respect your decisions. But it seemed like you were unhappy with having Sally Mae as a house guest after all these years.

 

[Sforza]

^I own a home with my girlfriend

Dave Ramsey says to never buy a home with a girlfriend/boyfriend because if things go south, there is no legal way to divvy up the debt and equity. At least with a divorce the court can assign the house and the debt and you have a path forward.

"never buy real estate with anyone you are not married to!"
http://www.daveramsey.com/blog/the-truth-about-real-estate/