8 posts tagged “job search”

I don't want to manage a restraunt.

I'm unsure why it did not hit me until this morning, but it's the truth. I have no real desire to go back to food service. The rational part of my brain knows it is just me grasping at straws to justify everything up to this point; I am chasing money, not happiness.

That should not be the case. I have had fun in Baton Rouge. I have learned a lot about myself. I have met wonderful people, had great experiences, and smiled. Oh, how I have smiled.

However, at this juncture, I must decide whether or not I am staying because it is not Alabama, or because it is the best thing for me. Staying in Louisiana means putting off school for another 8 months. I understand I am not old, but I am getting older. I'd prefer have one or two years between myself and 30 when I graduate. If I return to UNA, I can barrel through the remainder of my higher education on the crest of a wave of loans, which I would be unable to do in Louisiana.

A difficult decision, and a quandry I'd prefer not to be in. I must think about my own future and growth. It may be that I will have to return to that place I'd so long tried to escape for a season or two more before the world and all it has to offer will be fully open to me.

Too much weighing on my mind.

Got offered a job with Raising Cane's yesterday. Shift Manager position. More per hour, with potential for bonuses. I have to call my contact with them shortly to let them know my decision. On the one hand, Cane's is an amazing company and has a great history behind it. On the other hand, it's working around food again (albeit they are delicious, luscious chicken fingers).

Went to hang out with Aaron (the photographer I assisted) last night after work. He needed some help hooking up a new television and receiver, as well as some assistance with Mac-to-Mac file transfer via gigE port. Good times. We talked about cameras and colors and computers and I got to play with a G5 and a Powerbook for a few hours. *swoon*

Apple, I covet thy products. Dedicated readers, please feel free to shower me with MacBooks or iMacs (figuratively, not literally; that would hurt).

Got a phone call this morning from Frank at Raising Cane's, who wanted me to meet with one of the General Managers at the Corporate and College store. Had a pretty good interview (40 minutes long), where we talked about Cane's, the job itself, growth potential, and other business related items. Sounds good. I should hear from them one way or the other on Monday.

In other news, I called the Starbucks recruiter back while I was driving to the Cane's interview, and I now have a phone interview set up with them on Monday afternoon. Hopefully, something will come from one (if not both) of these opportunities.

I have to take Dayna back to the airport tomorrow afternoon. I've enjoyed having her down for a visit, and it's been fun times hanging out with her and Wendell T. I've shown her titties and drag queens, and tonight we're adding an improv show to that list of things we've seen and/or done in Baton Rouge. No, this trip will not end with a whimper, but with a bang.

Yesterday, I had a phone interview with someone from Raising Cane's for a management position, and today I got a phone all from a recruiter for Starbucks Coffee about a management job in Baton Rouge. Supposed to hear back from the Cane's guy tomorrow or Monday and I'm going to do a phone interview with Starbucks tomorrow.

Dayna and I saw Lorca in a Green Dress last night at Swine Palace. Quite a wonderful show. Afterward, we rushed over to Tsunami to meet amicablebitch and to put delicious sushi in our tummies. When we had had our fill, we headed back towards campus, where we stopped by Chimes and I had some drinks and conversation with Wendell T. before heading home.

When we returned home, I had a vodka and sprite half-and-half, which on top of two Blue Moons and an Irish Car Bomb put me down. I don't remember falling asleep last night, just waking up at 6 this morning face down on my bed with the dogs curled up next to me.

The job search has stagnated. There's not much listed on craigslist, Monster, Hotjobs, or The Advocate's site that either a) I'm qualified for or b) will pay as much or more than RadioShack. Disappointing. I sent out another batch of emails to the people and places I had applied to previously just to keep in touch with them. Maybe something will turn up. If not, we'll just have to see what options I have available to me.

My general frustrations with these situations is building to a critical mass.

At present, nothing is working out. Plans are falling apart, and so am I.

I hate the fact that these companies who sound so promising when first interviewing me can't even muster the effort to call me back after finding out I have no degree. It's a joke. I've worked with people who had CS degrees who constantly had to ask me how to do things... yet none of that matters. It's just an obsession with documentation causing me aggrevation.

I'm at a loss as to what I should do. Lick my wounds and return from whence I came, noting this as a experiment in life? Or do I press forward, digging myself into an ever-deeper ditch from which I may or may not be rescued? Neither is an easy choice... but as has been noted, "Easy doesn't enter into grown-up life."

Providence.

The idea that I might have to return to Alabama struck me this morning as I was showering. It continued to linger in my thoughts as I drove to work and as the day progressed. Failure is what I have always feared above all things. That fear is what kept me in Alabama as long as I stayed. And now, looking at dwindling savings and a job that will only serve to keep me floating nose-high in the waters of debt, I had to face the unwelcome truth that things here in Baton Rouge may not work out as I had hoped.

I love the people I have met in this city (except for Super Nini, but that is a story for another time). However, friendships and well wishes will not pay the bills. It's not a question of whether or not I would want to leave, but if I would have to. Retreating to my homeland a defeated warrior; a huntsman returning to the tribe with no food for the winter larder.

I sent a text message to a person who I trust second only to myself. I asked them, "Defeat isn't permanent, right?" Their reply, "Not even in death," gave me some solace and refuge against the onslaught of unplesant thoughts I faced.

This afternoon, while I was at work, I received a call from a young woman from a recruiting agency. I had applied to them for a general office assistant position a little less than a week ago. However, the young woman I spoke to was quite excited about my resume and the experience I had, and thought it would be better if I was placed into an I.T. or support position. It also happens that they have several such positions available around Baton Rouge. Hence, I have an interview with the young lady and the woman with the agency who handles their I.T. placement tomorrow during lunch. She sounded very plesant and hopeful on the phone this afternoon; I can only hope that it carries over into tomorrow's meeting.

"She's looking at you. Man there's got to be somebody for me." - Counting Crows, Mr. Jones

I have an interview today at 3:30pm with the Williamson Eye and Cosmetic Centers for a part-time I.T. position. It'd be 20+ hours a week, but almost double the pay of RadioShack. Plus, I'm almost sure it'd be a better work environment. Regardless, I'll find out more this afternoon. It looks promising, but after the Vitalis Photography thing I'm not holding my breath for anything.

I watched the first two parts of When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Parts, a documentary about Hurricane Katrina directed by Spike Lee, yesterday at work. I'll be watching the third and fourth segments today. Thus far it's been interesting and informative.

I beat Resident Evil 4 last night, after a few days of playing. I forgot how much fun I used to have playing console games. Over the past few years I've drifted more and more towards PC-based gaming. I also forgot how much I like horror/suspense survival games. I'm almost tempted to go get another console after the money starts rolling in on a regular basis, although perhaps the time and money could be better invested elsewhere. I've still time to decide, so it's not like it's a pressing issue.