Monday, February 04, 2008

the case of the desperately interesting job hunt

i keep wondering for how long i will have nothing to say; the fun and creative parts of my brain feel dormant or even comatose, while the boring parts deal with boring matters that are, of course, unavoidable and pressing.

right now i am sitting at a computer in the bedroom of the girl whom i love; she is away at work, and i am resting the pads of my fingers in the divids of the keys in the keyboard. it is the same tired, slightly warm lure of complacency i feel in my body -- like i've been gently pressed into a featherbed and kindly asked not to move very much. but maybe that's just the midday, post-late-lunch nap talking.

as of sunday i have been new york state certified in a responsible alcohol service program which means if i happen to get a job bartending in buffalo, drinking capital of the world, i will know when to cut you off, and how, but will in all likelihood leave you to fend for yourself against the combined forces of erie county sherriffs and their charges of DWI. hey, i was there once too.

as a matter of fact, it was two years and about 18 hours ago that i had my run in with the law, from which i am happy to say i have nearly made a full financial recovery. i still owe the DMV two hundred and fitty dolla.

speaking of financial recovery, i have decided that i need to turn over a new leaf, that being one of fiscal responsibility. i plan on doing this as soon as, or perhaps just a little bit after i have a job. i thought that maybe, after having taken this bartender training course and broadening my skillset, that i'd be a more marketable candidate in the service industry. unfortunately, this is the time of year when nobody quits their jobs and nobody goes out to eat, so however qualified i may be for any given position, there's no telling when it will be available. i am scanning the classifieds for jobs, and the obituaries for dead servers and bartenders, hoping Death has been kind to my employment debacle.

i did have a near miss though, this morning. on friday i was called by the co-owner of Shango, and asked to come in on saturday for an interview. it only took my three separate trips into the place to get them to call me. the lady, whose name is either unpronouncable, or made up of secret letters that only the initiated are able to hear, sat me down with two other people with some other names, and conducted one of the most pleasant interviews i had ever had in my life. it was nothing special, it was just fun; a laidback, conversational, tangent riddled interview. if i'd ever kept track of those things, i'm sure it would land inside the top five best interviews i've given. i won't get into a major set-up for a story that you already know will end anti-climactically and in disappointment, but we chatted it up, and connected over bravo's "top chef," and laughed at corporate restaurants and miserable albany folk, and covered a good chunk of my resume all inside of fifteen minutes. another fifteen and bottle of wine later i'm sure we'd have solved whatever global problem is en vogue to solve during hyperboles these days. they said they'd get back to me today, which they did; to thank me for my resume, which they would keep on hand in case whomever they hired "didn't work out," and also to tell me that i left a "very strong impression." the prompt "thank-you-bye-bye-click" from me stifled the "how do i pay bills with 'very strong impressions?'" that was sure to be followed by the gently worded, sincere hope that their new server ties them up in the night, empties their buisness account, and flies off to vegas to spend it all on slot machines and repeat viewings of the Celine Dion show.

i should've had that job all tied up.

tomorrow i'm going to the Saturn Club on Delaware to make someone talk to me about a banquet server and/or bartending position they may have there; the best part is i've got to literally race somebody else who pretty much outqualifies me for the job...
sigh.

somebody please hire me.

i'd love to turn over that new leaf soon...

why the sudden obsession with new leaves? because life could be better. because a certain level of domesticity -- the comfortable level -- can only come if you work toward it as a goal. i have been too used to visiting it on the weekends when i'd come to have dinner at my parent's house. carving out a little nook in the world takes some sponsorship; inside a nook, there might be opportunity to wake up a little and find things in life that are both more important, and more interesting than the boring problems that plague and stupefy a boring brain...

i'd like to take my girl and go live in a nook.