Day 3: The Job Hunt Begins

I rolled over and looked at the clock. The red lights glared back at me, 7:00, same as yesterday and the day before. It seems 7:00am has become my new wakeup time. 7:00am sounds early, but it's really just like 10:00am in Vegas. Besides, who wants to sleep thru a beautiful Hawaiian Morning?

Front St in Lahaina

I started off my day with a good morning text to the Hubby while I ate - Wallaby Strawberry yogurt, Vanilla Almond Granola, a banana and some POG. I missed POG while I was in Vegas. I'm so happy to be able to get it at the grocery here.

Before I could accomplish much, I would need my caffeine. Watching my tea steep, thoughts brewed in my head as my plans for today came together. The tea kettle whistle blew, bringing me back to the task at hand. I reached for the honey to add to my tea - I found local Macadamia Nut honey for just a few cents more than regular honey (of course, I had to snap a photo and zap that off to the Hubby also). Local Macadamia Nut honey - I couldn't resist trying it out when I saw it on the shelf.

Bug! I encountered my first creepy crawly while clearing a spot to take the picture of the honey. It wasn't the encounter I had expected - after being warned about all of the native species, I was more on the lookout for centipedes the size of my head than I was for the creature I saw behind my umbrella. Still, I jumped a good three feet back when a roach scurried from behind the umbrella and into the wall. Small, but very different looking than the ones commonly seen around Vegas, this guy was round. I wish I had been quick enough to smash him. Bugs might be the only reason I would ever consider getting a cat! Our two big dogs ignore the bugs, sniff at them with idle curiosity before walking away. Apparently, a bug proves to be prey too small for their interest.

Regardless, I knew before moving here about the bugs. The Hubby warned me of many that I would encounter based on his experiences living here 20-some years ago. The lady from whom I am sub-letting an apartment asked that I not open the sliding glass door, ever, because it lets the centipedes into the house. Bugs, bugs, bugs. I accepted that I would have bugs, knew this before jumping in to this adventure, and decided a few bugs are a minor thing to put up with when the beach is within walking distance!

I finished my tea with no further bug incidents, and headed out for the day. My number one priority: get a job. First, I needed copies of my resume. Not wanting them to get messed up on a trans-ocean flight, I waited until getting here to print them. So, off to Office Max. Walking across the parking lot, I spied a conveyor-belt sushi joint I wanted to try. Too early for lunch, I made mental note to return some other day.

I printed a number of resumes, slid them into a folder for protection, and steered the rental car toward Front St. Remembering I needed to finalize the setup for my post office box, I stopped there first. Unfortunately, things failed to go as expected and I still have no post office box. It will be a few days. USPS wants something tying me to the address where I live. Ironic because I wanted the P.O. Box so as not to be tied to said address and not need to make changes when I move in a couple months. Oh well, back to the job search.

I stopped at the first place I saw after exiting the post office, Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company. I filled out and submitted an application, and was asked to return at 3:00pm for an interview. Encouraging!

I made my way down the street. Koa's where I completed an application while sitting at the bar - manager too busy to talk to as it was the beginning of the lunch hour. Elephant Walk, a nice little boutique hawking Aloha wear - manager not in but the lady working the story was a sweetheart who, as it turns out, is from Indianapolis so we talked story a bit before I moved on. Lahaina Fish Company, where I ate my first day in town - they have positions but the hiring manager is out until Monday. Kimo's - not hiring, but said they will evaluate my resume on Monday.

If there is one thing I learned in Vegas, it's that everybody is hiring, all the time...for the right person. Just because someone says they aren't hiring doesn't mean they won't give you a job. If they believe you are a good fit for their business, you will get hired.

Walking out of Kimo's, I realized I felt hungry. I glanced at my watch. My 2 hours of parking I needed to get validated for ended soon. I decided to grab lunch before moving the car. In the Old Lahaina shopping center, I found a mexican-ish place called Cilantro where I ordered these:

MOTHER CLUCKER FLAUTAS™

$8.25

Two fried flour tortillas filled with chicken and spices, served with crema fresca and spicy-sweet roasted jalapeño sauce. Winner at the 2005 “Taste of Lahaina.”

I added the Green Tomatillo sauce to them. Even the garnish of a salad was delicious! The offer two versions: a meal version served with rice and beans, and an appetizer version served without. I had the smaller of the two.

Bing! My phone alerted me to an incoming email message. This one came from the Manager at Sunglass Hut who asked if I'd be available for an interview on Monday. I dashed off my acceptance and finished up lunch.

After lunch, I stopped in Hilo Hatties to get a couple postcards and get my parking validated before heading back to the apartment to cool off and freshen up before going back to Bubba Gump's.

At Bubba Gump's, they interviewed me right away. Near the end of the interview, the manager informed of their 3-interview hiring process, and said she felt good about my prospects, good enough that she found the manager responsible for the second interview and asked him to talk to me while I was there. I successfully made it through my first two interviews on the island! I still need to complete a third interview but that is with the restaurant GM who happened to be out. They scheduled me to return Saturday at 3:15 to talk to him. Exciting!

I originally intended to end my night hanging out with some friends on the other side of the island for First Friday. Plans fell apart. I felt bad not getting to see my friends - their children are already referring to me as part of their Ohana, which is very sweet - but after a long day, a bowl of ramen and a movie didn't sound bad either. Plus, Second Friday - Maui has four Fridays! - is in Lahaina so I will definitely get to enjoy that next week.

After getting back to the apartment, I stir fried some veggies and mixed it with some top ramen noodles for dinner while I used my new bluetooth to chat with the Hubby until the batteries on our phones died. I quickly forgot my irritation at the battery issue, however, when the Fedex man rang the bell. My pillow! I ordered a pillow last week before leaving Vegas, hoping to time its arrival in Hawaii with mine. I missed by a couple days, but tonight I sleep with my own pillow!

Fluffing up my new pillow, I pulled out my tablet to watch a movie. I settled on Where the Wild Things Are. Cute movie! My tablet, however, is not so cute. The speakers are horrible. The sound is terrible. I wonder if I can plug it into the tv somehow to access Netflix with it...

I suppose that is a question to be answered another time.