About to jump out of a plane
On day two of intense smiling and power walking all over the Loop/River North/Wicker Park, I got a job. I was afraid to swim in the sea of job interviewing because the inevitable self promotion that comes along with it usually makes me so uncomfortable I feel ill. So I threw myself in.
Job interview face was starting to feel normal, and even better than my normal face. Telling people how talented and full of energy and brains I am all day was like getting compliments from different strangers all day long. After a few hours of that, I got used to it sort of. It felt awesome.
Also, going on job interviews has been a really cool way to see more of the city and the people who inhabit it. I met: a handsome older man whose snaggle tooth made him more attractive somehow (perhaps it was the accent?); an incredibly gorgeous but suspicious hostess in a tight black dress who may or may not have been worried that I was interviewing for her position; two very kind and almost morbidly obese men staffing a sandwich shop with air so overly moist I felt like I was inside their mouths; a friendly artist drinking Charles Shaw named Rainbow Kitty that does murals and paintings with some of the most intense colors I’ve ever seen; and a gentleman who due to his cadence and movements reminded me of mobsters in the movies.
However, I still am looking for a job in a library. And my elevator speech needs work. And I need to figure out exactly what I want to do with my business. And my life. Besides make lists, travel, write, promote libraries, and be a mixed media artist.
But I am not going to worry about money anymore. I have a place to go, probably five days a week, where I will clock in, make money, rejoice, and clock out.
I have not arrived. Not even close. But I have experienced a paradigm shift.
I know that feeling. You get in the application/interview zone… though it still sucks to be waiting to hear back, especially if you really like the job.
I love that picture of you.
[...] on the internet and get out there and meet people. And all that action, all those applications, all that smiling got me a data entry job. Which I used to grow my responsibility. I started helping and educating [...]