Dan Daiquiri

Nothing can explain the rage, frustration and sheer disappointment I have felt over the past couple of weeks. So where do I begin? The fact I moved back to Dundee for a management job in a venue where I believed there was potential for personal growth and possibly to be able to promote my own agenda in regard to drinks? Or infact that I moved back home to Dundee to help my financial predicament which has never been good but declined a lot over the past year? The main reason for balancing finances of course to travel the world and never look back, to not be tied to one location- to meet hundreds of people from round the globe and not really have any fixed plan, just to see where the winds take me. None of which have gone to plan and completely disappeared, throwing me into a situation which has knocked me down in both elements.

Here we are exactly a month and a half down the road and both have simply dissolved into absolutely nothing- the business I worked for dissolved into administration and here I sit absolutely skint beyond belief, precisely £209 over my planned overdraft of £1600 and credit card payment dates coming up soon for both my cards- one card with a £900 limit and the other £250 (both maxed out). Lets not forget the monthly payments I make for my £5000 loan I took out to bail me out of my last overdrafts and loans, so here I sit overdue a wage from my last employer who refused to pay myself and the rest of the hard working staff.  Overdue the total of 211 hours over 20 days paid at £9 an hour- unfortunately due to cut off dates I am only actually owed half of that now and half of that at what would have been the end of this month. I am fully aware that this level of debt was accrued by my own stupidity, most of which was to fund my own destructive habits- both drugs and alcohol which escalated greatly over the past 12 months although it had fizzled out and calmed down over the past few. I feel in this situation blaming external factors is definitely justified however I do partially have myself to blame in regard to the financial vacuum I created- the external factors have merely shook and destroyed the last fragments of sensibility my head had grasped over recent times.

Now this predicament has crumbled my financial situation beyond description and it’s taken it’s toll on my mental state, I feel exhausted from this entire situation alongside the demoralising feeling of putting your full effort into something and not being paid for it- A modern day slave labour affair. Whilst all at the same time being kept behind a wall of lies where there was mass fraudulent activity all to fund some “wannabe” icon, when in reality they were a thief, a liar and an absolute narcissist. I cannot bear to even mention this pathetic person’s name for they have infact made a severe dent on myself and a few others lives all for greed.

So I guess what have I learned from this entire situation is that if something is too good to be true, it more than likely is, don’t fall victim to someone elses false promises. Personally, as somebody who usually has their wits about them and usually in terms of a professional manner can make informed decisions I feel the need to rethink my own values. However, I do feel amazing knowing that myself and fellow ex-colleagues and friends stuck together through this nightmarish scenario and fought for what was truly right, revolted against a corrupt leader- almost like a revolutionary saga. What comes next is a further fight against said former employer- nobody deserves to be treated in this manner, and I guess all I can say is “always look after your staff”. Administration should be the last of your worries.

On the plus side I have managed to secure myself another job in a better venue already, one more suited to my style- A revert back to my hobby and passion, back behind the bar. More exciting things to come, many creations, many tasting sessions and future opportunity awaits.