*Skips in cheerily and plops on couch*
Ahhhh, Mr. Blog!
You'll never guess who feels like a million dollars today!
Wow. You are good.
So after my pathetic pity-party yesterday morning I
jumped around with my Jane Fonda tape
and hopped in the shower to get ready to go.
I spent FORTY-FIVE minutes on my hair!
Can you believe that?!
Well, I did.
Hadn't spent that much time on my hair since 1987
when I went to SFO for my Continental interview.
Got hired 'cause of my good hair that day and was hoping for a repeat.
I sprayed and used my curling iron
over and over and over again until...
I was FIVE FOOT EIGHT!
I know.
I am so silly.
No wonder no one will hire me.
With enough hairspray I can too defy gravity!
I feel more confident when I'm taller.
Patty said she didn't even recognize me standing by the
side of the road waiting for her.
She had never seen me in my interview attire
and I clean up fairly well.
Good practice wearing my Spanx-type gear
and squeezing into my size twelve navy blue
double breasted interview suit.
I think the pain was worth it
because I looked very nautical.
Patty started shouting at me when I got in her van,
"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God Gretchen!
You look like you work on a cruise ship!"
I just said, "Dress for success baby."
We popped into Kookmore Starbucks and I put a coffee for her
on my business charge card.
I hated to do it but she was a living doll to drive us
down there to QWEST field.
It was a gorgeous sunny day without a cloud in the sky!
The kind of day that people see when they are on vacation here
and then move here and realize there are only ten of those a year.
We jumped on I-5 and there was a big crash so it was
basically a giant parking lot.
Patty has a million good stories so I didn't care.
I especially like her Aspen Colorado stories
because I was based in Denver sever years and flew over it lots.
So we get to the parking lot and they want ten dollars to park
but I only had five and he directed us to the garage which is only
five dollars. They built a cool new ramp to get in it.
Patty couldn't believe I slept overnight in my van there when
I sold my driving games at the RV show in February.
She said that since I am afraid to leave Kenmore, she couldn't
imagine me doing that.
Well, I set her straight Mr. Blog.
I'm not afraid to leave Kenmore,
I just don't like to.
Unless it's to go work a 120 day world cruise.
THEN I like to go.
We got to the job fair and it was really fun.
We split up and I went to all thirty booths to find
out what jobs were hiring.
There were no school districts or cruise lines there
but I met some really nice people!
Plus I got thirty high-quality pens and loads
of candy and even a cool, clear red ice scraper
from Wells Fargo banks.
I got Teddy a camo lanyard from the Army booth for his keys.
I was interested in Sky Marshall and Border Patrol
but the age limit was thirty-seven for those two.
Patty and I finished up at one-thirty and gorged
ourselves on mini-candies as we walked to the garage
down Occidental.
We admired how they have fixed up Pioneer Square so much
since we were kids.
Back in the sixties it was really run-down looking.
I got up the nerve to ask Patty is she wouldn't mind
driving up Elliot Avenue so I could drop in on the
Holland America building corporate headquarters.
I could spot it right away from Brenny's mom's description.
Plus they are a classy company and it had an
old world meets new world charm about it.
Not all glass and brassy looking.
I was in so much awe when I went in.
They had the giant Holland America logo
right on the wall past the glass doors that lead
to the reception area.
Well, I guess it was silly to think Stein Kruse would
be walking through and hire me on the spot
but I was certainly wishing so.
In the mission statement video he says,
"WE DON'T JUST DO THINGS RIGHT.
WE DO THE RIGHT THINGS."
Don't you just love that Mr. Blog?
He was born in Norway so he has a cool accent.
Must be hard work to run an entire cruise ship company.
But you know what Mr. Blog?
They really do do everything right.
Most of their ships aren't so huge that the passengers feel anonymous
and they are decorated tastefully so even people that
can't live fancy can enjoy the elegance for a week or two.
His statement refers to all the charities they donate to
and the deck walks for Race For The Cure and more.
Geez, I got so off topic.
So I get to the desk of the young receptionist
and tell her that I really want to work for
Holland America and that I had applied online and
hadn't heard anything back yet, so I
decided to hand deliver an updated resume.
She said that I couldn't talk to anyone
without a previous appointment
and of course I'd seen too many movies
where people just barge into the executive offices
and demand to be seen, but that is not reality.
She said she would be delighted to put it in the
inter-office mail!
I just about died when she said that I was so happy!
She picked up the big yellow envelope
with lines of names crossed out and slid
my clear plastic folder into it and wrote
the name on it. You know those envelopes
that are made from that heavy paper and they have a
tiny brown circle fastener with a string
they wrap around?
They use those at the school districts too.
So Patty and I drove home and got coffee at McDonald's
and went back to my house.
It was chock-full of teens but I didn't kick them out
'cause I was in such a good mood.
Patty took a few pictures of me in my interview suit
since the cruise lines require it with your application
and Teddy came home from the school bus and snapped a cute
shot of us together.
To remember all our fun times being jobless together.
Ciao!
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