T Minus 74: Cautiously Optimistic

Monday mornings I take slow, not because it's a Monday and I have the Monday blues - I don't have a job. No, I take Mondays slow because everyone else is working and trying to catch up from having the weekend off. My experiences the past couple weeks tell me bothering people on Monday morning doesn't help get me a job.

Tan lines. Shoes are overrated!

Having enjoyed my toasted english muffin breakfast so much yesterday, I opted for a repeat today. I love pineapple preserves, and pineapple tea, and anything pineapple for that matter!

I texted with The Hubby while getting ready to head out. I dressed for success, Hawaii style, with a full length sundress and cami underneath. I'd worn the dress before without the cami, so I thought I try it with the cami this week. I thought maybe the amount of cleavage the sundress revealed might be too much for interview time. The cami helped conceal some of that.

I stopped first at the Post Office. Now that I had a physical letter mailed to me at the address of the apartment, proof that I lived in harbor town, perhaps USPS would finally let me have my PO Box. Sure enough, the letter proved to be the key, and I walked away from the counter with the keys to my PO Box. I searched out the box and opened it up to make sure it was empty. As I headed out for the job search, I fired off some text messages to people who were waiting on the address to be able to send me things.

How often should one check a PO Box to see if they have mail? This is my first PO Box. I suppose I'll check every time I'm in the area, which if the last 12 days are any indication will be just about every day. I believe I'll wait until I am expecting something before checking it for the first time, though.

Directly across the parking lot from the post office sat the Maui Theater. I walked over there and filled out an application for a reservations position, leaving it with a copy of my resume.

I headed towards the far end of town, knowing I needed to be in that area for a 1:00 interview. I weaved in and out of a few shops as I made my way down Front St. During my walk, I suddenly realized that many of the shops carry the same, or very similar, products but not at the same price. Craziness! I still needed to find a cross-body bag and I still kept being disappointed in every shop.

A sign advertising a Pad Thai special tempted me for lunch, but I moved on. Pad Thai is one of my favorites but I didn't want to risk noodle stuff splattering on my clothes before an interview. I grudgingly settled for chicken nuggets at Burger King, the only big chain fast food within walking distance. Having saved my dress from potential splatter disaster, I found I had an hour or so to kill before my interview. More time to look for that bag!

While browsing shops, I took a call. The Lahaina Cruise Company, which runs dinner cruises, snorkeling trips, and whale watching cruises on the Desert Princess, wanted to schedule an interview based on the application I had submitted on craigslist over the weekend. That could be a fun job! Interview scheduled for tomorrow

I arrived at the gallery a few minutes early. Two people working both greeted me so warmly when I walked in. I asked for the manager by name. One of the two introduced herself and arranged a couple chairs in the corner of the gallery so we could talk. We sat and talked, and talked, and talked some more. It seemed like forever but it also seemed like the conversation was going well. A couple times the gallery grew a little busy and she would excuse herself to help out before coming back to pick up where we left off. I appreciated her doing that.

At the end of our chat, she told me I would hear something one way or the other by the end of the week at the latest. I felt a little disappointed. I am so tired of looking for jobs and having to wait until the end of the week means that I need to spend the rest of this week looking for jobs still. At least I already have one interview for tomorrow lined up.

My new purse - cute and tropical

After the interview, I dropped off the Life Is Good and Hard Rock Cafe applications I had completed over the weekend. I walked into a small shop, expecting it to be like every other shop I'd been in so far, until...there it was, hanging on the wall as if it were waiting for me, the perfect cross-body purse. Better yet, it was on sale for less than $10! S O L D !!!

With that, I headed home for my normal Ramen and Spam dinner. Walking into the apartment, I slipped off my espadrilles and happened to notice my new, deeper, tan lines. I remembered a text the other day that I got from a Vegas friend who inquired how many bottles of sunscreen I had gone through so far. I replied, "Zilch!" I never burned when I was on the island last year, and I haven't burned this year either. Living in the desert and spending so much time in the pool conditioned my skin for the island sun.

While I was eating dinner, the phone rang. The lady with whom I interviewed at the gallery needed 2 references - 1 personal and 1 professional. She asked what time zone they were in, stating that it was too late to call anyone that far east tonight but she would call them in the morning. After checking my references, she would call the gallery owner to get the ball rolling. She gave me the impression she wanted to offer me the job! Yes, I know it's a bit premature to be celebrating - I don't actually have an offer for a job yet - but the positive vibes I felt make me want to do back flips!

Now, I just need some positive vibes from the home search. Nobody called from the apartment complex today. Maybe tomorrow.

A shot of the work The Hubby did on the Jeep

I snuggled into my pile of foam on the floor and loaded up Netflix on the laptop. I read a cute email from The Hubby showing the progress he made with the Jeep the last couple days. He pulled the carpet out and covered the entire interior of the Jeep with a DIY truck bed liner. It looks fairly impressive in the photos. I can't wait to see it in person. It will definitely help keep the pups' travelling cushion from sliding around on their road trip this summer.

I think I might have trouble getting to sleep tonight. I'm anxious for tomorrow, hoping to get a call telling me I can start at the gallery this weekend. Back to Netflix to help dull my brain and put me to sleep. Aloha!