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The San Jo Lo Down is San Jose’s first podcast on working class culture, politics, and life–at work, at home, and at play. SJLD is a show about and for the incredible, diverse, talented, inspiring working people of our communities. Though we’ll have content on local music, politics, art, night life, events, and more, the podcast will feature the lives and perspectives of people like you, without whom San Jose would grind to a halt.
321. Welcome everyone to the San Jo Lowdown. If you're hearing my voice, that's probably a little bit different. This is Nick. You know me usually as the man behind the boards or the person who's asking people politely to speak closer to the mics.
Nick:Today, we're doing a fun get to know you episode, and we're really excited to share with you guys a little bit about us, why we're doing this, who we are. And, hopefully, you guys will kinda share back with us. You know, we wanna get to know our community. We wanna get to know people who listen to the podcast. Most importantly, this is for you guys.
Nick:So let's jump right into our get to know you episode, and hopefully, you can get to know us.
intro:Sorry. I didn't get that Spanish.
Elora:Awesome. Thank you, Nick. That was a beautiful intro.
Nick:Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Appreciate it.
Nick:Appreciate it. Maybe we wanna say who's here right now, maybe give a little introduction.
Elora:Sure. What's up, everyone? My name is Elora Rodriguez. Glad to be here.
Armaline:Hi. My name is Bill Armerlein.
Joaquin:Hello. My name is Joaquin.
Nick:Fantastic, guys. Thank you all for being here. I admittedly am a little nervous. I'm not usually on the mic like I am right now, but feel good to be here with you guys. So let's just get right into it.
Nick:Is there anyone who had a question that they wanted to jump into right off the bat, or do you want me to ask you guys a little bit of some questions?
Joaquin:I think it'd be fun if I let me take the the reins here and start with this. Okay.
Nick:You got something prepared for us?
Armaline:Yeah.
Joaquin:I got a crazy little one. It's, it's based off the 02/2008 Tyra Banks interview with Beyonce titled, say my name, Beyonce my name, say my name, where she asked Beyonce, you know, to answer rapid fire questions that slightly rhymed with her name. So alright, I'll start with you, Nick.
Nick:Okay. I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm a big Tyre Banks fan, bigger Beyonce fan. Let's do this.
Joaquin:Well, let's go. Okay. Nicholas so what's your name again?
Nick:My full given name is Nicholas Zamora, but I'm not telling you my middle name. That's private.
Joaquin:Alright. Nicholas Zamora or Nicholas Explora. Where in San Jose would you recommend someone to go exploring?
Nick:The Guadalupe River after dark.
Joaquin:Nicholas I love that. Gamora. Do you like Marvel movies? If so, which one? Also, Gamora is the name.
Joaquin:Marvel fans will know.
Nick:Okay. Okay. Marvel fans, which I I'm a waning Marvel fan. I think they've done too much, but it's hard to go wrong with one of the original Iron Mans or maybe one of the Spider Man movies. Those are cool.
Joaquin:Nice. No. Absolutely. Nicholas Snora.
Nick:Do you snore? I'm sleeping, so I'm gonna say no.
Joaquin:We'll find out. Okay. Okay. Crazy.
Elora:Catch that episode.
Joaquin:I put cameras in all of your hissomes. Flickless Zamora. Okay. What's the best movie you watched recently?
Nick:The best movie that I watched recently. Oh, shit.
Joaquin:Pass. You didn't see Wicked?
Nick:No. I didn't see Wicked. I'm not a big, musical theater fan. I do have a soft spot for Little Shop of Horrors.
Joaquin:Oh, yeah. Yeah. Classic now. Nicholas Fudora. Have you ever worn a fedora?
Joaquin:If not,
Nick:for our, for people listening, I wear hats, but of hats, I do not wear fedoras. That's not one you're gonna catch me in out in San Pedro Square. And what's your favorite hat? My favorite hat might be probably the it used to be, and I'm gonna get some division, maybe some hate, but it's okay. It's gonna be the 2020 champs hat for the Los Angeles Dodgers when they won.
Nick:And my new favorite hat is the twenty twenty four World Series Dodgers hat. Thank you.
Armaline:No. I
Joaquin:don't watch the last one. Stuff. Yeah. Sick of this Zamora. What's a pet peeve of yours?
Nick:A pet peeve of mine is impatience. More people need to be patient with the people around them.
Joaquin:I'm tired of this question.
Nick:Well played.
Nick:Well played. Well played.
Joaquin:Alright. Well, that's all I have for you, Nick.
Nick:Fantastic. Wow. That was great. I hope our listeners know a little bit more about me. That was cool.
Joaquin:Thoughts, guys? Are you excited for your segment?
Armaline:I'm psyched.
Joaquin:Yeah. Yes. Yes. I'm trying my best with these slang rhymes. I'm You're
Elora:doing great.
Nick:Thanks. Fantastic.
Joaquin:Alright, Bill. Let's go. Skill ArmaLane. Do you have a secret skill?
Armaline:No. I
Joaquin:have a skill.
Speaker 5:Next next question.
Armaline:Distal ArmaLane.
Armaline:Skills are very public.
Joaquin:What's the most public skill?
Armaline:Probably teaching.
Speaker 5:You're a teacher.
Armaline:Definitely a skill.
Joaquin:Teacher. Distill distill armament. Do you have any favorite local breweries you enjoy going to?
Armaline:We do have some spots. Like, there's definitely some joints I like. So I like the food and the drinks and also the vibes. They they play, golden era shit, which is what I'm you know, my old ass is into. As in over in district in San Pedro Square, I like.
Armaline:But then also, I'll pretty much go anywhere that, sells Cali Cream Ale Nitro.
Joaquin:Yeah.
Armaline:Yeah. Used to be over at Guild House, but they stopped selling it now. So I gotta find other places to have it on tap.
Nick:Really?
Armaline:So I usually go where, like, certain drinks are, basically. Yeah.
Joaquin:Feel Armalade. When you're not teaching, what kind of projects do you fill your time with?
Armaline:Oh, projects? Well, besides this one? So I might be it. Well, this one and, well, as you know, my my book's out right now, so I'm I'm out, you know, doing talks on that and doing interviews on that.
Joaquin:But, yeah, other than that, I
Armaline:I I'm just, trying not to get too beat up by my boxing coach. That's about it.
Joaquin:Phil Armelyn. You have a bunch of tattoos. Do you like the feeling of it?
Armaline:Yeah. I mean, it's not like something I'd crave all the time, but I I agree with, sort of old school tattoo folks that the pain is part of the process. Mhmm. And if because, you know, there is actually, like, new stuff now where you can use to, you know, numb it
Joaquin:and and all
Armaline:out of gel or whatever. And I don't know if Fermin's for the traditionalist, that's, like, not not cool. Like, it it part of it is the pain. Like, part of it is the, the experience of it. And you do get a legit, like, adrenaline.
Armaline:Like, there's this physiological aspect of all that you need to hide from it and all that. But but, yeah, I I I agree that's kind of part of the process. That's good.
Joaquin:Yeah. It finally goes numb after a while, except for when it gets to, like, the shading. I don't have any tattoos, but the few I do, I was like, oh, this is painful as fuck.
Elora:Yeah. The shading.
Joaquin:Yeah.
Elora:Interesting. It's so interesting how people have, you know, their differences as far as, like, oh, outlining hurts more, shading hurts more.
Joaquin:Because you have some too. So, like, with the lines, is it more for you?
Elora:Yeah. Definitely.
Armaline:See, for me, it's bone. Like, for me, it always hurts more on bone. Mhmm. But I don't know. Whatever.
Armaline:It all hurts somehow.
Speaker 5:Yeah. Yeah.
Nick:Exactly.
Joaquin:Kill Bill Armeline. You said you do boxing. Have you ever done any martial arts?
Armaline:Yeah. I mean, I was, like, half of my life my life for a while. Yeah. So so, what since I was, like, a a a teenager and into my young adulthood, I got really heavy in, like, Chinese martial arts. And then I ended up studying under, like, a a well known teacher who, you know, changed my whole life, like, as a father figure, but also, like, kinda took me under his wing.
Armaline:And and I got to compete and and come and perform all over the world and, or all over China and and Hong Kong and Japan and, you know, all of that places. I was hella poor. Right? So so these are not things I'd have been able to do on my own, just just on the the money aspect of the opportunity. Yeah.
Armaline:So I really owe you know, shout out to Master Hu in in LA right now doing his thing. You know, he really change you know, changed my life. And then one of the reasons that I came out here, was because I wanted to to to train with you know, there's a lot of talent out here in San Jose. It's a real hotbed of all martial arts actually in in many ways. Sure.
Armaline:And so I really wanna kinda be a part of that world and not really so much of it any anymore after, you know, some life changing surgeries and injuries and things like that. But Yeah. You know, I still try and keep one foot in the sports and, you know, shout out to all my old teammates and coaches and all that kind of stuff. But, yeah, it'll always be kinda part of my life. I'll I'll always kinda have that that in me.
Armaline:That that said, everyone also that knows me knows I am, like, the last person on earth to get in a fight or be violent or any shit like that. So, I mean, I I don't know that that's a really good kinda, you know, way to, think about me personality wise. But it's just something I I grew up
Joaquin:Oh, yeah.
Armaline:Came in coming in my own doing. You know?
Joaquin:See, that's a new skill I didn't know you had. So
Armaline:it's like yeah. Well, and some of my previous training was a lot also a lot more performance, which is definitely something I didn't think I
Speaker 5:would ever
Armaline:do, like, perform on stage in front of, like, tons and tons of people, which is probably the only time in my life I'll ever do that because I'm, you know, kinda introverted. I don't
Nick:Yeah.
Armaline:Not really not really that kinda person anymore. You know?
Joaquin:Now I know I love that you mentioned you love to perform because Bill Conga line.
Armaline:That was
Joaquin:the most of the reach. I'm sorry. You
Speaker 5:know what?
Armaline:You know what?
Nick:We'll give it to you. Yeah.
Armaline:We'll give
Nick:it to you.
Speaker 5:Do you
Joaquin:dance at all?
Armaline:No. Not really. I mean, I I mean, I I do like, like, I used to go to a lot of shows. Like, I'm definitely like a hip hop and, like, dancehall reggae ahead and all that. Because I I spend a lot of time on the East Coast.
Armaline:Yeah. And so I'm more of a you know? Now my kids have got me more in the West Coast sound too, so nobody come hollering at me. But, you know, I'll always be kinda like East Coast, you know, sort of Jamaican and sort of boom bop, like
Joaquin:Okay. So back in the day, what's what's the move?
Armaline:Oh, what do you mean? Like
Joaquin:Like a little little two step move.
Armaline:Oh, no. I got no move. Negative. Like, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna disclose any of that. Alright.
Armaline:Alright.
Joaquin:I won't subject anybody to that. Well, we'll find out more later. Keep listening everyone.
Nick:Yeah. Yeah. We'll we'll we'll figure it out eventually.
Joaquin:Amazing. Alora, are you ready? Alright.
Elora:Let's do it. Oh.
Joaquin:Alright. Aura Rodriguez. Yes. Are you a spiritual person?
Elora:Yes. I'm coming I'm coming to my own. Something I've definitely been focusing on the last year, and it feels pretty good. I love that. Yeah.
Joaquin:Restore Rodriguez. Do you have a favorite place in San Jose to go and restore and peace and quiet?
Elora:Yes. I definitely enjoy going to Roosevelt Skatepark, kinda just chilling, taking in the vibes, kinda the Guadalupe Park, like you said. Chilling there. Not so much after dark anymore now that I'm not drinking under a bridge with a bunch of punks.
Nick:I'm playing.
Elora:No. It's all good. It's definitely in the spot. I also like reading at Guadalupe too by Monopoly Park and Discovery Meadows.
Nick:Oh, gorgeous. That's what
Elora:I'm saying. But kinda just wherever. I'm I'm just always roaming roaming around.
Joaquin:Oh, Laura, she says, do you have any catch phrases? Dude. Dude is
Elora:my dude is my word.
Nick:You know, I could say that. You do say that
Speaker 5:a lot. Yeah.
Nick:Just just a little non sequitur dude
Elora:kinda stuff. Yeah. I was just like yeah.
Joaquin:I got a lot of that's what's up too.
Armaline:I love
Speaker 5:hearing that.
Joaquin:I love catching the little catch phrases that people say. Hopefully, the, the listeners can pick up on a few of ours too. Oh, yeah. Okay. And then Gomorrah Roddy Riz.
Joaquin:I was telling Alora off Mike Nicholas Zamora.
Nick:Off of this one.
Elora:Alora Roddy Riz. Your guys'
Joaquin:last and first name are very similar. So some of these might cross paths. Get it.
Speaker 5:Yeah. Alright.
Joaquin:For the listeners, they just fist bump.
Nick:Do
Joaquin:you have a favorite Marvel movie?
Elora:Honestly, no. I'm not. I'll watch superhero movies, but they're not my go to. I'm a huge horror buff. Action is kinda, like, on the, you know, the lower Well, what's your favorite horror movie?
Elora:Everything. My favorite horror movie is Halloween for sure, the original. Classic.
Joaquin:Yeah. But Absolutely.
Nick:Yeah.
Elora:You know, I I'm more of a slasher. Slasher lover.
Nick:That's right.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Joaquin:Allure Rodriguez. Mhmm. What qualities in a workplace do you find alluring? Yes.
Nick:How topical.
Elora:Yes. Right? Oh, man.
Joaquin:Gotta connect it.
Elora:I really enjoy just working with down to earth people who really do care about the work they're doing, about the individuals they work with, and wanna do their best for the community, make any type of, you know, positive impact.
Joaquin:Yeah. Fuck. Yeah. Well, that's all my questions for you guys. Thank you for participating in the
Elora:program. Thank you.
Nick:Joaquin, that was too cool, man. I really appreciate that. And also, shout outs to Beyonce and Tyra Banks, if you're listening.
Joaquin:There you go. Wherever they are.
Nick:Wherever you guys are. Alright. Our rapid fire questions, that ends our rapid fire questions. And hopefully, our listeners enjoyed a little bit of our antics. If you'll allow us, we'll move into maybe a little bit more of, like, a considerate and, maybe a slower paced portion of the episode where we kinda get into a little bit more of some serious questions.
Nick:So if I could jump it over or, excuse me, hand it over to Joaquin, if you don't mind answering my first serious question. Hit me. Alright. Why are you here? Why is this podcast important to you, Joaquin?
Joaquin:You know, so when I initially heard about this opportunity, and I I'm a recent graduate from San Jose State. I was in I got a degree in journalism, and I saw, you know, an advertisement for a podcast. You know? Saw the mic. I was like, oh, I love podcast.
Joaquin:Let's get into it. I'm a be so real. Like, I didn't know a ton about, you know, I guess, the topic at hand. Like, of course, I grew up in a, like, a working class household. My grandma was a bank teller.
Joaquin:My grandpa worked for the city. Sure. He was a you know, started off as, like, a painter
Nick:Mhmm.
Joaquin:And then did, you know, street signage.
Nick:Mhmm.
Joaquin:So I had that in my back pocket, and also I grew up here my whole life. So I was like, I feel like I know enough about the topic Yeah. To, you know, be able to help out in some way. And Mhmm. So I met you guys and fast forward, I think, like, seven months now.
Joaquin:I'm, like, learning so much about, you know, working class politics and, just after getting all of the the couple of episodes we have out and, getting more familiar with the topic, it's it's it's feel like I can't look online without seeing something that relates to the work we're doing here and, seeing how important of a subject that this is and, like, how many people this topic truly impacts. And so that has been, like, super important to me. And, honestly, just to get the experience of, like, working with you guys and producing something that's gonna be listened to by people and something that has a a topic that has some meat to it has been really fun.
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Joaquin:So I guess, overall, just, like, happy to be here and happy to learn more.
Speaker 5:Hell, yeah. Hell, yeah. I feel like a lot of us feel like that. You know what I mean? Yeah.
Nick:Really, really, excited to, like, just learn more and to to help share for sure. Allura, maybe if you wanted to jump in. Yeah.
Elora:Definitely.
Nick:Why what what what brought you to this this table currently in the digital underground at Local Color in Downtown San Jose this fine evening. Why are you here, and why is this podcast important to you?
Elora:Sure. So what brought me here today, my car. Shouts out for
Armaline:you. Shouts out to Lee's for the sandwiches.
Elora:Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Sandwiches.
Joaquin:That's classic. Sponsor us. Yeah. Sponsor us, please.
Elora:What originally brought me here was that I reconnected with Bill, as soon as I moved back from Virginia, where I was residing for about a year and a half, but born and raised San Jose, Third generation, born and raised. I love San Jose. It's it's a huge part of who I am, and it feels good to, you know, give back to my community. That's kind of how I've always felt, a lot of San Jose pride. And as you know, especially if you grew up here, generationally speaking, there is so much pride, just living here and being a part of the community.
Nick:Fuck. Yeah.
Joaquin:I know.
Elora:And, especially in the work that I do. I've had, quite a number of jobs. Anywhere from, like, case management to outreach, working within the mental health field, behavioral health, working with unhoused population, a little bit of everything, but I've met so many amazing people, just throughout that work, in a number of different locations. And there's so many amazing stories and so many amazing people here, and it is very difficult to hear
Nick:probably humbling
Elora:yeah oh yeah definitely humbling and also very frustrating to hear just how many barriers and
Speaker 5:I don't know.
Nick:How many things people have to go through?
Elora:Yeah. Exactly. This is again, just thinking back to we're here living in Silicon Valley where there's so much money and so many resources.
Nick:As one of our interview,
Elora:you
Nick:said the Skrilcon Valley.
Elora:Yes. Exactly. So why, you know, why are so many people on the streets? Why are there so many individuals who feel so alone and feel so abandoned by different systems. So it's it's really great that we have this opportunity to meet so many amazing people, to highlight their their efforts and also their achievements.
Elora:And, yeah, just sort of shine this light on San Jose and all the amazing all the amazing things and people and places that San Jose represents.
Nick:Hell, yeah. Yep. Hell, yeah. That's awesome.
Speaker 5:Thank you, Laura.
Elora:Yeah. I wrote them. Thank you.
Nick:Got me got me hyped with that
Elora:answer, honestly.
Nick:That's cool. Got some San Jose pride. Hell, yeah.
Elora:So much. Yes.
Nick:Mister Armelyn, would you care to share with us a little bit on what brought you to this table tonight? Why are we doing this podcast? Why is it important to you? What do people know?
Armaline:Well, you know, for me, I, first of all, wanted to do something different. You know, I've been writing books and other kinds of things. I kinda wanted to do something new, and so, podcasts sounded like it'd be fun. I met you, Nick, and, shouts out also to Manel, in San Jose State, journalism and mass communications. Yep.
Armaline:And we kinda, like, started gaming out the idea. And, you know, for me, I, I'm not from California originally. I'm from, Youngstown, Ohio. It's actually where the labor museum is in the in the country. It's old, like, labor and mob town, basically.
Armaline:And, you know, I've lived other places before. I lived on the East Coast for a while, and then I came out to California. And, the kind of wealth that's out here in a way that the disparity of wealth in the country is put right in your face in a really, impossible to miss way. Mhmm. It was very interesting to me in the extent to which the wealthy and those who are in the service of the wealthy are pretty much the only folks here that have any voice at all on anything that's of importance.
Armaline:Yeah. And as we found out for, you know, for a lot of folks found out at least, during the pandemic, the people who actually are required to make this place run are all the working class people who basically don't get our shit, when it comes time to spread money around, when it comes time to making major decisions, or anything like that. So, it seems to me that places like this are, you know, microcosms of the world and of the country in terms of inequality and in terms of who calls the shots and who's actually needed for everybody's collective survival. And so I think, you know, the show for me is about trying to, you know, shine a light on that and and, you know, give people a voice as best we can that really should be the ones calling the shots. Yeah.
Armaline:Because they're the ones that are actually making the place run every day.
Nick:Mhmm.
Armaline:And and that's not you know, and that's, you know, certainly not not just people like me. You know what I mean? I mean, I teach classes in university, things like that. You know? I mean, I'm real happy I get to do what I get to do, but, you know, a lot of the folks are are really, foundational to to our our daily survival and daily life.
Armaline:And I think, they deserve that respect and they deserve an opportunity to to speak on that.
Nick:Oh, yeah. Thank you. Nice. Feels like a lot of people almost everyone at this table, I haven't shared yet, but I am sure that I have a similar answer. Or and if I if I can just go ahead and share
Armaline:Yeah.
Elora:Go for it. Of course.
Joaquin:Period. Please.
Nick:Is that I feel similar to a lot of other people at this table. That I'm here kinda trying to hold a candle and shine a light for the people that literally keep the lights on. You know? People who keep the rooms clean. People who, you know, serve you your food.
Nick:People who get you from to and from, you know, the people that really make the city run and make it what it is. I'm not a San Jose, local. I wasn't born or raised here. I'm a California local. I was raised in LA, hence the, Dodger fan.
Nick:But regardless, I have found a really warm, incredible, challenging, and more than I could expect home here in San Jose. And, it's something that I feel incredibly proud to be a part of. It feels it's something that I feel incredibly proud to be able to share back to the people who already know what San Jose is, you know, who already know how amazing San Jose can be and who really knows what it's about. You know what I mean? Because if you go outside, it's not the tech buildings.
Nick:It's not the Teslas. It's it's the people who wake up every morning and, give a shit. Give a shit about the people around them. Mhmm. And so I think that's kind of why I'm here.
Nick:This is why this podcast is important to me. And so first off, I wanna thank or maybe second off, I wanna thank all of you guys.
Elora:Oh, very beautiful. Thank you.
Armaline:Yeah.
Elora:Thank you all as well.
Armaline:And
Joaquin:And thank you all of us.
Nick:I wanna thank all of our listeners, all our future listeners. Yeah.
Elora:Thank you. Thank you.
Nick:All you guys, we're doing this together. We're all going to the top. We are doing something here that we think is important. Mhmm. So thank you for getting to know us a little bit.
Joaquin:That's big.
Nick:Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for listening. And, yeah, drop us a line.
Nick:Get in touch. Follow us. Listen. Do whatever. Chase us down on the streets.
Nick:You'll see us out there.
Joaquin:Look for the stickers. Yeah.
Elora:Yeah. Swap some stickers for us.
Nick:Absolutely. And I think maybe just to kinda round off this episode, maybe we could lightning round, go around in a real quick circle. Okay. One, either silly fact, fun fact, or maybe something you were hoping to share with, our listeners. Anything.
Nick:It could be anything. It could be anything. I'll go first because for our listeners, our podcast hosts are making some pretty quizzical faces behind our minds. So I'll go first. I think my cool, small, quick fact and while I buy some more time for my host to
Elora:do something Thank you. Thank you.
Nick:Will be that I enjoy science fiction. I like reading. I like reading about the maybe hypothetical future where we all, you know, either, you know, live on different planets or still live here. I think it's cool. It's a fun genre.
Nick:Yeah. And I'm going to pass it over to mister Armeline. Thank you for saving me.
Armaline:Can I respond with an actual another question that we can answer that might be good for us to do before we we bounce off this episode?
Nick:Hell, yeah.
Armaline:So first of all, I wanna set something straight. I realized that my answer before, I wasn't clear. I've been living in San Jose for seventeen years.
Nick:Oh, yeah. Talk it.
Armaline:For me, so, like, I realized, like, I made listener think like, bro, you're not even from Raleigh. You're more
Joaquin:than seventeen years. Seventeen years.
Armaline:Like, I've been here for I've been here for a person long. Yeah. So
Nick:And almost voting person long. Yes.
Armaline:Yeah. Yeah. So I've I've been here a minute. Don't worry. Like, I'm just older, so I've lived in a couple
Speaker 5:places.
Armaline:Anyway, I think one thing we should answer is what are the work some of the work of class jobs that we we have or have had? Oh, you're right. You feel me? Because I wanna make sure that our audience, like, understands, like, why we're doing this. This is not, like, some bullshit where we're trying to front.
Armaline:You feel me? Like, like,
Nick:Nobody's got the trust fund at home, guys.
Joaquin:No. No.
Armaline:So Damn. So I'll start. So I I worked in restaurants for a while, growing up. So where I grew up in Ohio, I was in Columbus. My you know, I was from Youngstown in Cleveland, and I I grew up in Columbus.
Armaline:And, I worked in restaurants for a while. There was a place shouts out to Moretti's. They're still around there.
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Armaline:Dope ass restaurants. So y'all ever go to Columbus, Ohio? You got Moretti's? Do you want really good Italian food? But, anyways, it's like, you know, 14 year old, 15 year old.
Armaline:I worked there because I could eat I could eat for free. As a beauty working in a good restaurant with good food, you you can eat and and keep yourself alive.
Nick:Yeah. A lot of people are just like
Armaline:that with cash. It was it's a lot, you know, cash tips. Right? So I I could I could, you know, get paid cash and be straight. And then, you know, tons of jobs outside of that, though.
Armaline:Probably one of those memorable, was working this, like, hardcore industrial landscape gig. So not like landscaping, like, cutting lawns and stuff. No no shade toward that either. But, like, more like industrial landscaping. Right?
Armaline:So, like, think about, like, land hole strips of trees down the side of a highway or, like, doing all the landscaping for an entire housing development, like, a one shot, like, in a two day shot, three day shot.
Nick:Damn.
Armaline:Yeah. So you're, like, unloading whole rigs of trees and and plants, like, in in a day. No problem. Uh-huh. I learned a lot at that job.
Armaline:You feel me? Like, I was you know, you fam, when I graduated high school and I worked this job straight out of high school, I was maybe a hundred twenty five pounds soaking wet. Like, I was little, bro. Yeah. Tanya.
Armaline:So I'm, like, trying to dig, like, these fucking tree holes and shit and these giants around me on these squads. They're, like, this, like, tank ass motherfucker. You would throw them trees on his back and humping those much humping them bitches from the the truck Yeah. To to the, you know, to the site to to where we're we're throwing it. On his back, he's like, roll it on my back, bro.
Armaline:You know, back to, you know, so so you feel me? Like, I I but I really, like, I really enjoyed that job. You you know what I mean? Like, I learned a ton of that job, you know, not just about, like, you know, working hard and then the doc the physical labor, but also Yeah. You know, everyone I grew up with worked like road crew.
Armaline:We all work county. We all work city. You know, that that kind those kind of jobs. Right? But yeah.
Armaline:So that's part of me. I won't talk too long. So
Elora:Yeah. Hell yeah.
Armaline:Pass it over to controls.
Nick:Let's pass it on. Cool.
Joaquin:Yeah. I can go.
Nick:What kinda work you gonna after?
Elora:Yeah. So my very first job here in San Jose was at McDonald's off of McKee And Capital.
Armaline:Let's go.
Elora:Yeah. That was pretty interesting.
Joaquin:That's a cool
Elora:Definitely learned a lot. Yeah. From there, I worked at the subway here on campus at SJSU.
Joaquin:Sandwich artist. Yeah.
Elora:I was a sandwich artist for about two and a half years.
Joaquin:Very cool.
Nick:Spend time on that campus. Yeah.
Armaline:It's a small
Nick:fast sandwich shop. It's legendary.
Elora:Dude, that was pretty that was, like, brutal, man. We would have, like, lines. Oh, my god. No worries. Gnarly.
Elora:Yeah. But we gotta switch we gotta, like, make trays with Jamba Juice, so it all worked out.
Armaline:Alright.
Elora:And then after that, I worked at the subway across from Eastridge
Nick:Cool.
Elora:For a little bit. And then while I was in Virginia, I worked at a TJ Maxx for a little bit, and I also worked at this local, brick oven pizza spot.
Armaline:So
Joaquin:Oh. Yeah.
Elora:I kinda did a little bit more of the yeah. Exactly. The little a little bit more of the food service, side of things, which
Nick:Real.
Elora:Yeah. Very interesting. And the retail side of things was pretty interesting as well.
Joaquin:I've only my first job was retail. Yeah. Okay. I was a seasonal employee at the van store. They didn't keep me very long.
Joaquin:Oh.
Elora:Oh, yeah. I did do a seasonal at Toys R Us over here.
Joaquin:Oh, really? The day. Yeah. Seasonal gig. They I was at the Great Mall.
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Elora:They
Joaquin:didn't keep me on, but I did network and meet a connection because I was a little filthy mall kid and I
Speaker 5:was like
Elora:As we all were at one point.
Joaquin:Well, you gotta kick it at the wall. Yeah. And I wasn't just at the Great Ball.
Nick:Yeah.
Joaquin:I went to Oak Ridge too. Oh. Yeah. Fancy. That was a fancy ball.
Elora:Yeah. And now you have Valley Fair. And it's like, oh, never quite got there, but, you know.
Joaquin:Never made it there. I'm a be so I remember that first time stepping into a Valley Fair. I was like, wow.
Armaline:Gucci. That's good.
Elora:Dude, I got lost looking for my car for, like, two and a half hours there. It's like, what is this maze, dude? Why can I knock it out? I love East Street. Idris
Armaline:is the
Elora:way to go, man.
Joaquin:I'm still I'm 26, and I still don't really know. I park in the same parking structure, and I've never parked anywhere else at that mall.
Elora:For sure.
Nick:Why'd you work next, Joaquin?
Joaquin:No. But then after that, I met some guy named Chad who, worked at the van store at Oak Ridge, and he was like, hey. You're, like, really talkative. Do you wanna work at the Polaroid photo bar pop up that I'm, like, managing?
Elora:That sounds fun.
Joaquin:Fun. It was cool. I was, like, basically, like, what's the word? The person at a kiosk me, like, come come here.
Elora:Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Nick:Stuff. Okay. Okay. You're trying
Elora:to upsell a little bit.
Joaquin:Yeah. Yeah. We got shut down in five months. It was a quick cash grab for Polaroid, I guess. Oh.
Joaquin:But then I started working at the movie theaters. That's a cool gig.
Elora:Was that Oak Ridge as well?
Joaquin:No. That was at East Ridge.
Elora:Okay. Tight. Name c Azure. Yeah. Before they did, like, the remodel and everything.
Nick:Yeah. Wow.
Joaquin:Yeah. Wow. I was there for the remodel.
Armaline:I was
Joaquin:like, oh my god. We have a
Elora:Dolby theater. Yeah.
Armaline:Right? It's
Speaker 5:more expensive
Nick:than you. Yeah. If you wanna
Joaquin:sign in for Stubs, I was pitching those like candy. Oh. People love that. You want Stubs. Yeah.
Joaquin:And I too worked at a fine Italian restaurant.
Nick:There you go.
Joaquin:Worked at Olive Garden.
Elora:There you go.
Speaker 5:Alamo Mia. Yeah.
Nick:When, you
Joaquin:know I love it. So basically, a lot of food service, did serving, then I was, like, tired of that. So then I didn't I was an usher, you know, got the full experience, then I was a bartender.
Speaker 5:Wow.
Joaquin:But but then I became a a barista, and now I'm doing that. So, like, my whole experience has mostly been food service with a sprinkle of, like, retail and entertainment. So, you know, that's all to say that, pretty humble beginnings until today.
Nick:You've been working hard.
Elora:Yes. Yeah.
Armaline:You've been
Joaquin:working hard. I mean, my first job was 16, so let's keep it going.
Elora:Yes. Get it.
Nick:I feel that. I had my first job at 16 too. Mhmm. I started as a tutor for, elementary, middle school kids.
Speaker 5:Oh, very cool.
Nick:My sophomore year, I think, my junior year. And then after that, in college, I also worked on campus, San Jose State, at the Village Market Pizza
Elora:Oh. Or the Village Market. South Side Market.
Nick:If I can, stop charging students so much. It's not cool that you're literally robbing them.
Joaquin:Yeah. Oh
Nick:my god.
Elora:That's great.
Nick:That was that pizza job, I think, I was telling a Laura before we recorded. I think that was what did it. That put me face to face with the reality of, oh, if your manager doesn't like you, then they don't fuck with you. Yeah. Sorry.
Nick:Like, you're done.
Elora:Your life is ruined here.
Nick:Open and close the day after the other. No. Sorry. You're gonna have to do that.
Elora:Yeah. For sure.
Nick:Is. Yeah. I'm really After, after the pizza job, I had a lot of good fortune, and I got a job working at the school paper. Shouts out to Spartan Daily. Poof.
Nick:Yeah. Shouts out you guys. Keep doing the work. Keep after it. Print journalism might be dying, but we're not gonna go out without kicking, you know.
Nick:Alum.
Elora:We're all alum here. Alum professor. That's that's pretty rad.
Nick:And then after that, I oh, I had a couple of catering gigs. I have a buddy who had a friend who did, catering. So I was serving the, I was, serving cheese raclette to some of the, San Jose's finest and wealthiest. Wow.
Elora:Beautiful. As
Armaline:it sounds. You have
Joaquin:to learn how to, like, serve in the proper order because
Armaline:Oh.
Nick:Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. These people were scooty and annoying. Like,
Elora:foods can't touch each other or what?
Nick:Okay. We won't get into it.
Speaker 5:That's alright. So we won't get into
Nick:it. We spent some time
Elora:That's part two.
Speaker 5:Yeah. Part two. I spent
Nick:some time with some, like, really accessories just, like, getting shit on, but it's not that easy. Yeah. After that, right now, currently, I work in after school care. I'm assistant director for an after school program.
Elora:Hell, yeah. Go now. Title. Yeah. Okay.
Elora:Yes. All of that.
Nick:Sorry. I'm a little proud. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Elora:No shame, dude.
Nick:But, yeah, that's what I do right now. I work hard. I'm happy to do that. And, yeah, that's my credentials, I guess. You know?
Elora:Awesome. Mhmm.
Armaline:I don't
Joaquin:know you're a bartender, man. I was
Armaline:a bartender for a while too.
Joaquin:I was a bartender for many years, actually. Right. It's a fun gig. I mean, I did it for, like, a year. Mostly made Italian margaritas.
Joaquin:But
Nick:Oh, what's wrong with a margarita?
Joaquin:Ma'am. I, you know, I remember I had this person one time. I was at the bar. We they were like, can I get pasta bolognese? I'm like, that's out of season.
Joaquin:We don't have that. My coworker. That just means pasta and meat sauce. I was like, oh, I'm dumb.
Armaline:I mean That looks funny. Yeah.
Nick:Alright. Well, that has been our get to know you. We really appreciate you guys listening. We really appreciate, the support. We love what we're doing here for you guys for San Jose.
Nick:This has been, Nick Zamora with the San Jo Lowdown. Laura, you wanna sign off too?
Elora:Yeah. Thank you so much for joining us. We look forward to seeing you
Armaline:soon. Yeah. Please, spread the word.
Joaquin:Please listen. I need to eat.
Elora:We out here. Living off Lee's sandwiches. Yep. Please leave sandwiches if you're if you're listening.
Nick:And that'll be it.
Elora:Thanks, guys. Thanks.
Armaline:Sorry. I use good at Spanish.