WDYM What Do You Mean?
WDYM What Do You Mean?
WDYM it's 2025? Here's what happen in 2024
What if life's unpredictability could teach us invaluable lessons about gratitude, resilience, and passion? Hi! its me Michael Gillespie, we embark on a journey through the whirlwind of 2024. I recount the emotional rollercoaster of witnessing my wife's car accident, an event that left me reeling yet profoundly thankful. In the midst of navigating a challenging culinary career, I found myself at a crossroads, learning the hard way about the necessity of walking away from unfavorable situations for the sake of my own well-being.
In the chaos of a new job that turned sour, I faced a kitchen plagued with malfunctioning equipment, a pest problem, and a relentless cycle of city inspections—all while navigating personal loss. The camaraderie and brotherhood I'd built with fellow chefs dissipated after an unexpected job loss, leaving a void filled with lessons on the importance of passion and resilience in the culinary world. Through these trials, it's clear that the bonds we form with others can profoundly shape our lives, even as we grapple with the complexities of career and personal growth.
As we look to the future, 2025 holds the promise of renewal and transformation for the WDYM podcast. This year is dedicated to reinvigorating the show with fresh perspectives and meaningful conversations, ranging from current events to personal development. I promise engaging content that not only informs but inspires, inviting you to join me on this exciting journey of exploration and discovery. Together, let's embrace the challenges and triumphs that lie ahead, with gratitude for your unwavering support.
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you're listening to the wdym, the what do you mean? Podcast, hamilton's number one podcast. Now sit back and relax. Here's hamilton's own, michael gillespie. Welcome to wdym and welcome to 2025. Everybody, how y'all doing? I hope everybody is doing well. I hope everybody's doing good and welcome back to the podcast. Welcome back to the WDYM.
Speaker 1:It's been a long time since I have done an episode, let alone be consistent on here, but I figured now, since it's 2025, now would be a good time to re-spark the podcast. Because I'll tell you what. Looking at the numbers, yeah, this thing has been dead for a while and that's all my fault, but also I'm going to just keep it a buck, keep it 100. 2024 was rough and that's what this episode is all about. We're doing a recap of a personal experience of 2024. Going through all the highs and lows of 2024 that I can recollect, that I can remember, and then we're going to go from there on to 2025. 2024 started out really, really good. Actually, me and my wife did casino night. We did two separate, separate dates going to casino and we both won money, to a point where she still has the money she won from the casino in her purse and she always wants to show that, like I didn't win money too, I won money, I just didn't win as much as you did. So that was the start Of 2024. From there, from there, it went straight to here Toilet Flush that. Get it out of here. That's why I wanted to Jumpstart 2025, especially with the podcast. Get that off the ground, because, again, I kind of did this to myself. But when you had a year, like I did, it kind of shell shocks you, you know, it kind of like throws you in the blender. You don't know what to do.
Speaker 1:Again, january was great. January was really well, went on dates, to casinos, enjoying, you know, winning some money and everything. And then February comes around and this is what I do love about the modern day and everything. Technology is great. You know, we always take it for granted and everything, but the thing that I am emphasizing is the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch notified me that my wife got in an accident. Now, you know, in an era of sci-fi and everything, and you know, back in the 90s we had, you know, we saw examples of the Power Rangers chiming in, you know, getting chimed by Zordon and everything.
Speaker 1:Well, 2024, I got chimed, notified that my wife's been in an accident. Imagine that. Imagine getting a notification saying that your wife had gotten into an accident. To have her call afterwards saying she's been in an accident is the most terrifying thing in the world to me. Right Again, my partner in life had an accident and thankfully she was able to walk away from that still injured to this day 2025, still injured because of all that other stuff that I won't mention paperwork crap and all that stuff, fighting crap and stuff.
Speaker 1:When people are legitimately injured, to get that notification that, hey, your wife's hurt and you know you go rush to see her and you know, see what happened and everything it makes you reflect on life a little bit like, hey, we're able to walk away from this, so you know that happens, but you walk away from it, that you're okay, that she's okay, the car not okay, but at the end of the day it's okay, all right. That's the theme of 2024. Right there, it. It happened. It happened and it was a. It was a stinky one, it was a stinky little turd, but you're able to walk away from it, right, so that happened. And then you know if you paid attention to the podcast yeah, I got fired from my job Also, that happened too, again, discussed earlier in the podcast earlier this year. That happened. It happened because I didn't know that I couldn't talk about certain things when it comes to former employees. Right Again, if you go, you can find it on the archives of episodes where that happened at. You know things happen, didn't know.
Speaker 1:But another side of that is that I lost my brotherhood of chefs that I was working with, that we worked together day to day. It was like it was like going to war with the same people. We're all struggling through it. Like I'm at one building, one chef's across the street from me and two chefs are at other building. We're like you, ok, yeah, ok, ok, yeah, ok, you got any employees today. Like I don't got none. Like, oh, shoot, neither do I and we would. We would go through it every day, but we would form a good bond from that, one because we're all chefs and two because we're all nerds. And that was that's of all the things that I take from that experience. I I generally miss that because you, you don't. You don't have that in in the industry that we got when you're in the culinary field. You got people that are here and then they're gone. They got people here and they're not really in the culinary field. They're here just temporarily and then they're gone.
Speaker 1:We were in it, we were in the thick of it, right, and we're, and because of this situation that I guess I, I, I did, I lost that and you know I, I talked to him rarely every now and then and you know I, I, I missed the brotherhood. That we had no doubt about that, and that's what. That's. One of the parts that suck about 2024 was having that bond of brothers. Things that we missed because we're still, we're nerds, we, the thing about it. We could talk about anything and we all could chime in differently. Now, um, the only thing that I can't really speak on was the dnd, the dungeons and Dragons that I think they were in. I know two of them for sure. I don't know about Paul, I don't know if he was a big D&D guy, but that's where I draw the line of nerdism back then. But now I'm starting to get into D&D, just basically the lore, the books, the monsters and all that stuff. But I will touch on D&D in a later episode. One other thing about the brotherhood of chefs that we had One of my favorite moments that we had all together is that the one time, the one time we all got together to eat.
Speaker 1:We ate at a restaurant. This is one of the things that I just enjoyed. We're just enjoying food and we're critiquing it at the same time. As culinarians, as chefs and everything. We're out trying the appetizers and we're just critiquing it, and that's the thing that I love about food and being a culinarian and everything and being a chef, being a being a culinarian and everything and being a chef that we're sitting there just nitpicking at the food and service and all that stuff and enjoying ourselves. Man, that's that one time that we did, the only time we all could just leave our buildings without each building going on fire and everything. We got to sit down and enjoy a meal together. It was not like something like oh man, you know an event that was significant, but it was important, if you get what I'm saying. Like it was just important for us to sit down and have that bond together and and enjoy food.
Speaker 1:You know, sitting there collecting unemployment unfortunately not my thing Uh, I sit there for a while collecting myself because, honestly, it's devastating to get fired. It's just something that never registered with me as a person who works, you know that enjoys doing the job. It's funny, um, being like escorted out of a building. That never dawned on me to be an escort out of a building, like what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna punch an old lady, old person in their face on my way out. It's just, it's funny that that's still a thing, that people don't hold their heads up high and just walk out. You know, because the situation it happened. I am deeply apologetic for what happened with the actions I did, but nevertheless there's more to that situation.
Speaker 1:So, as I move on, as everybody has to do, I find a another place to work and I have mentioned it, but again, I got to tell you that story and how that came about. So one of the things that I learned, that I'm learning now and still learning as as a growing man still is that you got to take what God is telling you and I'm not saying like biblical or, you know, listen to the signs that God says. And you know, in this chapter, no, no, no, no, no, just simple signs that God tells us. So I'm, you know, submitting applications everywhere and one place calls me back and the thing is, is that the sign number one is that I never actually go to the location. It's always Zoom conference, zoom meeting, zoom interview with this said company. So I'm like that's weird that I'm not actually visiting the location, that I'm not there doing an interview with people that are on the ground. You know that that makes sense to me, right to do that. It didn't happen.
Speaker 1:So, either way, it's like you know they're in need of a chef, I'm a chef, why not? So I apply there. And they're like well, before you, officially, are offered the job, we need to see if you can cook. I'm like, ok, that's no problem for me. I always have a game plan. If you know, yeah, beef, do this Fish, do this Chicken, do that, you know simple things. If this Fish, do this Chicken, do that, you know simple things. If you're in the kitchen, you know how to cook, right.
Speaker 1:So I get there, lo and behold, the whole reason, the whole reason I was fired is the is at this place, at this job. I'm at and I'm, you know, applying to work there. And the situation is there. That is God telling me don't do this. But me being me, I'm like you know what, I can overcome this. And you know, do it, I can do this, right, right. But in my mind I'm looking at, I'm like what, bro? What are you talking about? Man, I'm out. Man, that should have been my sign to say I'm out, right, I see this person, the person that's caused me all this, this, this um, this drama, so to speak, and and she's there. That's God telling me do not work here. Do not work here, michael. But what do I do? I work there. You know what I just say. You know what I can do? This, right? And as I talk about this, this, I'm mentally setting myself back because I'm like why did I do this? That doesn't make sense. So, either way, I start working there and unfortunately, things happen where the problem alleviates itself, so that one problem is solved by itself before I even start.
Speaker 1:Thank the Lord, as I'm working at this new place new place the facility on the outside looks amazing. It's like this is perfect. Right On the inside, it's not. It's not Not at all. Everything, everything is broken, everything is broken. How? How do you have a facility where everything looks good on the outside but all busted up in the middle? I'm trying to get repairs, to get these things fixed, because at the same time, I'm having the city inspector come in and I don't fail inspection, that that never sits right with me. I, I'm in charge of this. Therefore it needs to be tip-top in shape. No, no, it wasn't. It wasn't in the air. The city inspector is coming in and, on top of having appliances broken, refrigerators broken, dish machine broken, the garbage dispenser broken, I got the creepy crawlies.
Speaker 1:I call them little R's, little R's, and I'm going to give you a minute to think about what those R's were. Little r's, not big r's. Little r's they fill up traps, glue traps. I'm giving you clues. How does this place have little r's? Right, so as as I come in in the mornings, turn on my office light, I'm greeted by him, right? This is my reaction. The little R's have invaded my office and I'm trying to get rid of them. I'm trying to get rid of these little R's.
Speaker 1:It's to a point where it's like why am I here? I'm debating. Why am I still here? Why am I fighting little R's in a kitchen? It's sooner or later those little R's are going to end up on a plate. And then what I have to explain to people what was that? Was that an r on my plate? And then I have to look at it, I'm like no, no, no, it's a garnish.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I was working way overboard, missing people left and right. As soon as I got there, I had an employee go out for surgery, so I decided to, along with my sous chef to floor, to be on the floor. Am I supposed to let the mission fail? No, we're not doing that. We're not failing anything and we're missing people and my sous chef is working his butt off and I got one person out for surgery. What are we supposed to do, on top of the R fight that I'm having, and then the 10, 12 hour days that you know, I'm not supposed to be working, but I'm working.
Speaker 1:At one point I'm just in my office and I'm questioning why am I here? I have the inspector in here with his little notepad and everything, picking me apart for things that haven't haven't been fixed, been ignored and broken. Why am I here? This was, this was the, the, the moment where I just said I've, I've had enough. So I'm sitting in my office late, six, seven o'clock, everybody's gone, I'm putting something in overnight to cook overnight, and the little R is crawling down the wall and I said you know what To hell with this place. I'm quitting. I am quitting Despite they're trying to train me, send me to another location To learn how they're doing things over there.
Speaker 1:They don't have as many people, they're not full of teenagers and everything. Because teenagers and technology just don't work together when it comes to working. I learned that and now they send me to the location and I'm looking at myself like dude. I, I cannot, I cannot to a point where I I decided I've already decided this ain't gonna work. I'm sitting in my office back from training looking like this no sir, no ma'am, no ham, no bacon, I'm done. So I quit, I quit, I quit. Trying.
Speaker 1:One of the aide nurses says she would always say be nice to me and say good morning chef. She would always say that to me. I said don't call me that Mm-mm, no more Mm-mm. And she looked bewildered, like what? Why? I said mm-mm, I said mm-mm, I just said mm-mm. I'm done, I'm not, I'm not.
Speaker 1:So I left the company. Ed's office said look, it's over, I'm done, quit, what everyone called it. Quit firing, I quit. I just can't, cannot do this Right, I couldn't do it. And you know the people that I worked with there. A mixed bag of people, got some know-it-alls I think they know everything and then I got some people that are inexperienced. That combination, it it was weird, but it worked kind of.
Speaker 1:But, uh, you know, moving forward, wish that place nothing but the best, wish the people there nothing but the best. But yeah, uh-uh. This is where where we're at no, not doing it. So I left there and I'm sitting at home. I'm like what the am I gonna do? Right at that juncture I said you know what? I'm gonna push all my chips in and get the food truck started. I'm gonna get get my food truck started.
Speaker 1:And that process is starting to take, starting to take, it's starting to take effect. They're starting to form up, so to speak. It's uh, the, the it's, it's basically coming to fruition. I'm hoping, by mid 2025, that the food truck will be up. So, therefore, I could start my own business and do my own thing. But we'll see, um, it's, it's. It's a longer process than I ever thought, but that's the, that's the hopes of it, right, that the food truck starts and then gets myself into my own business.
Speaker 1:So we're roughly around july august time frame, um, maybe little later. No, I am actually later. We're roughly around September time frame and we have another Bainton versus Big Blue game. The last time they played it didn't go our way. Bainton won and whatever, but that year that Hamilton had was a great year playoffs, actually a first round playoff victory in the modern era. So things were on the way on the up and up, and that goes for this year's baiting blue game and again, I have talked about this before. It was at fairfield, wasn't in ham Hamilton because Baton's technically the home team. So I started pushing the 2020, I'm sorry, 2023 game coin that I made last year and I started, you know, hey, I got this coin and started selling the coin to people that were interested in it and, you know, made a good, made a know, made a good little chump change for them. It was cool to celebrate the 2024 version of the game at Fairfield.
Speaker 1:Hamilton versus Baton Should have been in. Hamilton Discussed this already. What happened? In case you don't know, it's a Big Blue Fight song. I'm playing it all. I'm sorry, not sorry. Hamilton won Beat him Soundedly.
Speaker 1:Now you can tell. You can tell Baton was young. I don't care, it doesn't matter, it's a Hamilton rivalry that should be played. Now you can tell. You can tell. You can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you can tell you. And it was just nothing but pride on the field. And the Hamilton football team this year had a great year. We had a great year Playoffs again and we had to play Princeton, who ended the season last year, and they did it again this year. But either way, there's nothing but positivity surrounding the Big Blue football squad and it was such a great year.
Speaker 1:This year. I got to witness a couple games Nothing but up and up, and now, now Baton has their own football stadium being built and they have to let us visit soon. I don't think they got us on a schedule for next year. Actually, I think they have Edgewood scheduled for next year. But yeah, we got to make a visit to the Terry Malone field and use their field Like they've been using our field for the past 40 to 50 years, so that's good. And years. So that's good and the latest and greatest from the Everton Football Club.
Speaker 1:Now, I did have a show lined up for this, as I did one episode of it, the Red Toffees show, but that has been cut to a segment which is starting right now. So how are Manchester United and Everton doing? They're both in the bottom half of the table. Right United and Everton doing. They're both in the bottom half of the table right Now, before any reaction needs to be made or needs to be warranted. Everton's been at the bottom for years now, a couple years now, and Manchester United is now closer to the bottom than it is to the top. And let me add Tottenham Hotspur, who's already lost as of this, recording 10 games already. So what I'm trying to say is that if we had a full team, there's no telling where we'd be, but we're at the bottom. So that's why we're having a segment as a part of the show.
Speaker 1:The show was supposed to be with me and my boy, sean. We went to Carnegie School together. He's a Manchester United fan, so he would give his Manchester United take and I would give my Everton take. I'm doing semi-both duties right now but, trust me, as the season goes on. I will talk less and less about Manchester United, more about Everton. But both teams have switched coaches mid-season. Both teams are struggling. Goes on. I will talk less and less about Manchester United, more about Everton. But both teams have switched coaches mid-season. Both teams are struggling. Both teams are at the bottom, but my team, everton, is closer to the bottom.
Speaker 1:We had a coach, sean Dyche, who just refused to do anything with the lineup. It was always the same same striker, dominic Calvin Lewin, and to a point where it felt like his hands were tied. But he was so stern in making his choices and everything that he refused to make substitutions, make choices or make changes or anything like that, and today it costed him his job. He is no longer the coach, the manager of everton football club, and everton had a game today and we won two to nothing. Now you may be like well, what's the significant of that? Because you won a soccer game. We haven't won a game in a long time. We have not scored more than one goal in a very long time. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, our striker, the person who's supposed to score, just refuses to score. I don't know if it's on purpose or not, but we'll see.
Speaker 1:What's the take from this is that I am hopeful that the season turns around pretty soon, pretty fast, because relegation is not a possibility for both clubs, but definitely not for Everton because we're about to move to a new stadium and we can't be in a lower division. But definitely not for Everton because we're about to move to a new stadium and we can't be in a lower division. One of the things I love about soccer football is the relegation promotion. If you suck, you go down a division and that'll be catastrophic for Everton, especially moving into a new stadium, because basically we'll lose all our players and everything. So, with the manager out, hopefully we get somebody in that is prideful, plays offense, because our defense is. We're solid on defense, I think. I mean you just need to learn how to score goals again, and this brings me back to the years of Romelu Lukaku, ross Barkley, so it's one of the good years when we had people that knew how to score could score. So I'm hopeful that this triggers a change for my football club, because we sure as heck need it.
Speaker 1:The last point I want to make the emphasis on change is that yeah, well, yeah, I did quit the other job, I did find another job and, yeah, it's back being, you know, a culinarian, being a chef. And I tell you, not everybody can be a chef. Case in point I come into this kitchen and you got to love what you do. You have to love what you do. If you don't love what you do, then you have a problem. So I come into this new kitchen and, upon arriving, two people quit. They're like, nah, we ain't having this. And I'm out out. So I understand the situation and, um, you know they don't want to work for me. That's fine, it to each his own. You know, I'm not gonna fault you for that. You don't want to work for me? That's cool, but you're missing out. You know I have fun at what I do and I love what I do.
Speaker 1:This kitchen was in bad shape, right, I've never seen fryer oil so black in my life. It's like Texas black gold, texas tea, the Beverly Hillbillies references in case you don't know, it's just things was just out of shape and like how do people who claim to be culinarians, be chefs and everything work in this environment? Now again we're we're hands down, man down situation where I'm working from the ground up. I'm trying to build something, I'm trying to build a culture of, of good kitchen expertise in the back and in the front. But I'm in a position so this is where my norm comes from working at CFS. Um, I'm used to hands on, getting my hands on, but I can't do that out of the way yet, so it's a work in progress, but the work I have done is appreciated by these people, is appreciated by these people.
Speaker 1:Let me take you back to the location I was at before my current location. I can go to one table and say, hey, how was, how was tonight's dinner? It was great, it was excellent, it was good, it was, it was great. Same dinner, different table. This was the worst thing I've ever eaten. And it's like how do you satisfy somebody, how do you satisfy a building With a hundred plus plates? You can't. Okay, let me bring that spoiler. You can't right.
Speaker 1:But this place the second place that I left had me questioning my culinary integrity, like I don't know if I can cook Because these people Are tearing me my culinary integrity, like I don't know if I can cook because these people are tearing me apart. I was like I don't understand how they don't like everything. Now, mind you, it wasn't, it was me and the sous chef. So you know, when times where I was not on the floor cooking, he was cooking when I wasn't there, he would do his own thing. And then they would bring up examples like how come one day I get a whole quesadilla, but some days I get half a quesadilla? That's a good question, like why was that happening? But nevertheless, I'm not there.
Speaker 1:This new place, they enjoy everything. Yeah, they do have some complaints, but that's expected. Again, you can't please everyone, but they're appreciative of the work I'm doing. Right, that's the main thing that I take pride in that they are appreciative. And you can tell One of the things that they love they absolutely love soup. So my thing is that I make soup, so much soup that the next day that same soup is the soup for tomorrow's lunch and because it's not a full serving soup, we run out. When we run out, they bring the pickets and the fires and the torches, like where's the soup? And like, oh my lord, are you serious? But that's a sign of appreciation that they enjoy the soup so much. My ed tells me how much they enjoy the food and it smells one of the things that cracks me up. One of the people came in. It's like, oh my god, this kitchen smells like a kitchen and she was so excited about it. Those are the things that you take that they appreciate someone who is committed to doing the job correctly.
Speaker 1:So that's my year of the ups and downs of 2024. Uh, I'm really looking forward to 2025. I got a lot of things to talk about and I'm going to touch on them. I promise you that. But the challenge for this oh man, I'm I'm forgetting one thing. Uh, another now I'll talk about it later.
Speaker 1:Uh, the challenge for me is to rebuild the WDYM. I, unfortunately, because of 2024, I let this thing get a little sloppy and basically, you know, as you could tell it, laid rest for a while, but I'm coming, I'm coming back, I'm coming back 2025 and I'm gonna do a new 52. You know, try to get these whole years worth of. I got a lot to talk about. I really do like this, this shooter in new york. That's a lot to talk about, but I had to take this episode and do it personally for me. I'm looking forward to 2025 and, as you should too, right, I'm bringing the WDYM strong. Okay, I am. This is the outro, just in case you don't remember. I thank you for being on this journey. I can't wait to rebuild this. I'm going to rebuild this. I got a lot to talk about and I hope you can stay with me for this journey for 2025.
Speaker 1:I'm your host of the WDYM podcast, michael Gillespie. You guys have a good day and look forward to me on this microphone Talking the air off. Take care everybody, take care of each other and, um, I'm out girl scout, boy scout, peace.
