It’s an autobiography of sorts, but I had thoughts of turning it into a short story. About someone else. But secretly as me.
Things are going pretty well but I can’t go into too much detail until after next week.
However:
My dad won 4 trophies in Birmingham. He’s an excellent driver.
Went to Helen and it was beautiful. Got a geeky western picture taken. If you want to see it bad enough, I posted it on the space.
And something totally random… Would it be horrible if Stephen Colbert really did get elected President in the 2008 election? I don’t think so…
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And without further ado…
“The customer is always right,” I have to think to myself every time I get argued with over what specific ingredients are found in our products. “You guys are the organic store, right?” “No ma’am, we’re eco-based, not completely organic, otherwise the shelf life would be extremely short,” I corrected her. My life in retail…ah joyous.
I started working for the Eco-friendly store in the clusterfuck of Town Center Mall well before I finished my Bachelor’s degree in English at Kennesaw State. I had big plans for myself, including getting my realtor’s license “just for backup.” I wanted to push forward with my Master’s degree and teach English at the University level and eventually get my doctorate as well. If that wasn’t enough, I wanted to go into publishing too; become one of the fashion gurus in New York City working on Nylon or BUST, two of my all-time favorite magazines. Of course, I’m questioned as to my magazine choices, usually answered cheekily with “Well, Cosmo’s just the same crap every month anyway, and these two magazines really have something to say rather than “how to make your man scream in these 12 easy steps.”
At the end of my spring semester, I was whisked away to Italy for a study abroad trip where I took my very last class. It was the perfect timing, because I needed a different locale, and quite frankly, Kennesaw was beginning to bore me. As imagined, Italy was amazing, completely unexplainable to those who’ve never been, but I tried my damnedest to do all my photographs justice. I was lucky enough to be living in Tuscany, right between Rome and Florence, and I managed to travel all over the country.
Of course, when I came back from my adventure, my life in the States was literally thrown at me: I needed to find a place to live, a job to support my new living arrangements, and I only had about 3 weeks to do so. Throw in severe jet lag from the flight home and trying to squeeze in visits with eager friends and family and it was an absolute madhouse. I still had all my big plans for my career, but little did I know that finding an entry-level job that seemed even slightly interesting was tough. Really tough.
I started my search online, using search engines like Yahoo, HotJobs, and Careerbuilder, hoping that businesses would come find me. A few recognized my genius, but nothing like I had envisioned. One day I got a bite from a sports marketing company in downtown Atlanta and they invited me down for an interview. I couldn’t have been more excited when they asked me back for a second interview, but little did I know that my second “interview” entailed going door-to-door all day long trying to sell coupon booklets. This deterred me a little; broke my spirit. I fell for the scam hook, line and sinker. Feeling used, I decided to stay at my retail job and hope for a full-time position there. I got hired on at a second store that was right upstairs too, which really pushed my “living at the mall” mentality. The next week, I went over to my parents’ house for dinner and we talked finances. This meant they were officially cutting me off. No more looking over my shoulder to make sure I had enough money in my account, and certainly no more putting extra funds into it. Oh fudge. Only I didn’t say fudge.
I floundered my way through next two months of job searching. Networking, as I quickly learned, was tough as well. Especially living in Kennesaw, where there was really only the University, and everything else was inside the perimeter. I was still working my retail job, it was coming up on the Christmas season, and I was beginning to banish rude customers into my own little Dante-esque prison for being nasty to me. Then, the clouds lifted. My parents had a friend in the real estate business, and she had urged them to have me send her my contact information and resume. I did so, the very next day, which was a Monday. She was very upbeat and said she would try to schedule some time with her boss for me to come down to the office for a visit. She said she couldn’t promise anything, but she was impressed with my resume and felt like he would be as well. We made plans for the following Wednesday. The office was located in Buckhead, about 25 minutes without traffic south of Kennesaw. She gave me idiot-proof instructions, which I was thankful for, and I managed to find the office with just a few minutes left. I walked in, dressed to nines, pretending this was my last shot. I had to ace this. I met with the President and Founder in what seemed like the longest 10 minutes of my life. They too, were very impressed with my resume, my rec letters, and my demeanor. The conversation ended in a very positive way, and they said they would keep in touch and let me know if they had any positions open.
I left in good thoughts, driving back to Kennesaw to get ready for my retail job with the same drudgery that I expelled every day. Until, I received a phone call. It was my parents’ friend, calling to tell me that President and Founder were in fact so impressed with little ‘ol me, that they wanted to offer me a job on the spot. On The Spot. She told me the salary they’d be offering me, the benefits I’d receive, and the general idea of what I’d be doing, and all the juicy details I knew my parents would ask. I had hit the entry-level jackpot, at least as far as I was concerned.
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Of course, it’s not finished. But I kind of like being able to post things somewhere. Until next time.
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