You Got It, Pontiac!
Well, in preparation for this weekend — Colin and I are hosting Thanksgiving for my two sisters and their families — we decided finally to go grocery shopping. I was dressed in those worn-out sport pants that have snaps all the way up the legs and a too-large Honda Civic tee-shirt, about as grungy looking as I could get.
But in the moment that Colin took Lucy out before we left, I decided on a whim to print out my resume, customize a cover letter, and take them with me. A quick call had me speaking to a manager who didn’t give her name. She asked me which department I wanted and told me whose attention I needed to address. And when I got the spelling right, the woman I spoke to, who was high-energy on the phone, said, “You got it, Pontiac!” I waited till I hung up the phone before busting out laughing. She’d instantly lifted my spirits with her bubblyness.
I brushed my hair into a polished ponytail, put on some mascara, dusted the apples of my cheeks to give me a rosy look, dabbed on some lip gloss, and threw on a nice v-neck sweater. But I couldn’t resist my lucky hole-in-crotch jeans. No one would know! Smiling, I shimmied into them, put on a pair of nice leather shoes, and threw on my car coat. Lovely. I looked classic. All you could see of my jeans was from the knee down, a bit of flare in the leg (aside from the hole, they’re nice!), and I figured, I was dropping off my resume at a place where mostly teens work and everyone is super casual. I’d be fine.
And Then…
No and then! You were expecting me to next say something like, I’d forgotten my coat in the car and everyone was staring at the obvious hole at the crotch, weren’t you? Nope, this time I didn’t frak anything up.
I was an image of fun, ideal for handing in my resume. The woman I’d spoken to before leaving and how I’d dressed had given me confidence and lifted my mood. The funny thing is, when I got off the phone with her, I had a picture of who I thought I’d just spoken to. There’s always this chipper manager there, and I had a feeling she was the one, giving her own name on the phone. Seconds after I had dropped off the resume with another staff member (another case of “just give it to me, I can give it to her”), she breezed by, and instantly I knew she was the one I’d been speaking to, and to whom my cover letter was addressed. I just had a good feeling. And on our way out the store, I saw her picture hanging on the wall. Underneath was her name, and I felt weird. I thought. I have the job if I want it, I know it.
I’m not all about throwing my five-year university education out the window and applying for Shoppers Drug Mart, the YMCA, and Dewe’s Independent Grocer. But I live in a small town, and am currently in a place where I can’t afford to be so proud. So whatever, right. I need a full-time, regularly paying job right now, and if I can work close to home as well, and in a place where Colin and I actually have a great experience every time and even have a favourite cashier, what the hell. It’s money we need. If I can kick some Giger-style ass, I can certainly work in a grocery store. Just please not in the meat department.
Now all I’m waiting for is an interview, and for Ms. Scott to say, “You got it, Pontiac!”
Filed under: miscellaneous | 19 Comments
Tags: confidence, grocery store, job, mood, you got it pontiac
That is too funny, what she said, right out of a car commercial.
Good luck with this Steph.
The first job I had right out of engineering school was not an engineering job. I worked in an electric motor repair shop (for a friend’s father).
Cranes, torches, milling machines, lathes… you name it. I learned how to strip down, clean, repair and rewind electric motors. The pay was crap.
But it was a great learning experience, and I kept it on my resume for a long time. The best thing I took away from it – I have an uncanny ability to develop a rapport with tradesmen where I work now. Lots of the engineers can’t seem to click with the pipefitters and welders and so on.
I think it is an arrogance they learn at school, and often they forget how important each person is in the grand scheme.
Everyone contributes – so be proud.
I’ll steal a quote from Fight Club (and censor it as this isn’t my blog!):
“…the people you are after are the people you depend on. We cook your meals, we haul your trash, we connect your calls, we drive your ambulances. We guard you while you sleep. Do not… f*ck with us.”
Good luck with that, Steph! Maybe you can do that to give yourself a cushion until Edit Quest takes off (and it will).
@Brett: PERFECT quote!! Wow. It speaks volumes, doesn’t it. That whole movie does, really. But I am the same as you. I reserve a very special spot for people who serve us, and I so often think about all the people filling in jobs everywhere, places you might never even think of to apply to or go to. There’s something for everyone, I guess. I remember once I genuinely asked a telemarketer how she was after she asked me, and she was so touched she went on about how no one had ever asked her that, and how happy I made her, and that I’d just made her day. I can’t stand getting telemarketing calls, but I have to wonder who really wants to do that kind of thing. For so many, they don’t have much choice.
Out of all the people I ever got along with best wherever I worked, it was the janitors, pressmen, labourers in general. I find it much harder to warm up to and be easy with those higher up, especially ones who treat those apparently lower on the totem pole like crap. I have very little tolerance for that. My parents aren’t formally educated and so I’m sensitive to that.
I love to put obviously new people on the job at ease, or chat with the cleaners or whatever as they work. In fact, I can still remember all their names and what they were like. They are always the far more interesting people. Often the kindest, and most mysterious, too! In fact, they’re stereotypically portrayed as such in films, I find.
@ Beth: Thank you! And that’s exactly the plan. I won’t be abandoning EQ, but I do need something now that I can consistently count on. I did apply at the three places I mentioned, as well as for a managing editor job I’m totally qualified for, but I haven’t heard back from anyone. I’m thinking next I’ll hit up the liquor store nearby…
You and those jeans! Stop it! (don’t stop)
Good luck Steph! Hey, if this can take a bit of the pressure off while you pursue EQ, then so be it.
It’s almost better if you take a job like this because you won’t ‘bring it home with you’ and you can concentrate on your dreams on your own time.
You sound very upbeat. Yay!
Steph,
I thought so too. I always take the time to greet and get to know everyone, no matter what their station in life (and I even hate that term, “station in life”…)
The building custodian for one of the buildings where I work was one of my best friends before he retired – if you needed to know something, you’d just ask him – hey, he talked to every single person in the building every day.
And he was a very clever man. He chose that line of work because he liked it, and he was pretty good with his money.
When Nortel crashed a few years ago, he was telling me that he had lost $150k on that – and that it didn’t matter to him as he was widely diversified.
All I could think of was “wow”, here’s this guy who people think is “just a janitor”, he lost $150k on the stock market and he’s not even feeling it.
Somehow I felt like a real dummy for studying engineering…
@ BrettHead: What the hell can I say to that?!
@ Karen JL: I LOVE what you said! I love this: “It’s almost better if you take a job like this because you won’t ‘bring it home with you’ and you can concentrate on your dreams on your own time.” I never even thought of that!! Hooray! You are so right!! THANK YOU!
@ Brett: WOW! Excellent. I told you those guys were mysterious! Always the ones with the secret stash of dough, and brains! and yeah, all the info…especially if you’re thinking of doing something…illegal. They know all the ins and outs.
Have you seen Flawless with Demi Moore and Michael Caine? LOL!
Good luck with the interview! Have a nice Thanksgiving weekend too.
Also, never sew up those lucky jeans.
Steph,
No, I haven’t seen that movie, but I just looked at the synopsis at IMDB and now I want to see it!!!
Oh my god, stop the presses! Call the mayor! Wake the neighbors, phone the kids (strike that, reverse it). Steph is speechless! Nothing to say? P’shaw. I am stunned, flabbergasted and frankly, a little gassy (had thai food yesterday).
@ SW: You too! I hope you have a wonderful time with your family! and thanks for the advise. Luckily, I can’t be arsed to sew anything.
@ Brett: it’s pretty good. Both Colin and I were surprised. We liked it more than we thought, in spite of reviews that Demi Moore left something to be desired. Sure, they could have got someone else, but I thought the story very good!
BrettHead:
LOL!! Just kidding, BrettHead. That was just your reward for your sarcasm.
Thanks, btw, for that tidbit on how you were feeling. Thankfully you’re there and I’m here!
Nice. I knew you’d come through with something good.
Good luck, Steph!
I feel the same, and would do the same as you — do what you need to do, to get over the hump.
Edit Quest is going to take off, I’m sure of it, and in the meantime, I have you in my prayers that all goes well.
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you and Colin were able to let go for the holiday and have fun. I forgot you guys have Thanksgiving in October!
Em : )
You’ll so get this, Pontiac. There’s no shame in paying your bills, or doing what’s right for you in the moment. Good job! I saw Flawless. Loved the period, loved the mood, loved the movie.
Have a great weekend.
Happy Thanksgiving Steph! There is no shame in working to pay your bills. I think all jobs are honourable and do not make distinctions or judgments. It is actually better to take a job that does not require you to have a 5 year plan, you want to still be able to grow your business and not get sucked into a job that requires you to work 50 hours per week. Besides, it all adds to the writer’s experience. Who knows what “stories” you will uncover in your on the job research.:-) I wish you well!
Hey Em, Sean, and Karen! I’m all sugared and tired out (we had a birthday here for my little niece as well as Thanksgiving — and two days of incredible chaos!) so I’m kind of useless right now! I’ll just say thank you, very much, for your wonderful supportive messages and perspective, hope and enthusiasm. And for the well wishes for Thanksgiving! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I have a ton to be grateful for, and I really do feel it. Thank you so much for being such an amazing group of friends!
Steph,
I’m a little late on this post, hope you had a good thanksgiving and I hope the job comes through! I also agree that a *mindless* job(although I don’t really think there is a such thing) is good for a writer so you can just focus on your real job.
Good luck!
Hey Wendi,
Late’s better than never, and don’t worry about it. I completely understand. Blogging, though we have made such an amazing group of friends, is not priority, and it’s okay and even good if we don’t get to it for a while!
Thanks for the well wishes! Our thanksgiving was especially wonderful this year.