No one needs to read the kind of post I just wrote, so it’s been deleted :)

Instead of that kind of rambling about the bad things in life, I guess I will say something of how my job searching went yesterday. I put down on my to-do list, “Apply to five local places.” Which isn’t much, but it was already afternoon, and I had somewhere to go that evening.

So, headed out to the first place, where I was just dropping off an application I had already filled out at home. “Could I possibly speak with the manager?”
“She went home for the afternoon.”
“Oh, alright, I’ll just leave this here with you and come back to talk with her later.” He paused and looked at the application I had just handed him.
“Sure, I’ll put it on the stack. She has a stack,” he motions with his hands, “this thick.”
“Well thank you!”

It was a grocery store a few blocks away.

Second place was Taco Bell. As I pull up outside on my bike, I see a shopping cart full of personal belongings - a blanket, some worn out looking bags. I wonder if I’ll be able to guess right away once I’m inside who the homeless people are. I can’t! I wait in line, get the application from the woman manning (isn’t that funny) the register. While I fill it out, I’m mildly distracted by some boys strumming a virtual guitar on their iPhone. Get back in line, ask for the manager.
“Well, we’re really busy right now.”
“Oh, that’s ok, I’ll come back another time and talk with her.” I order some lunch.
“Wow, you guys are really busy in here.” The woman looks up from her register, and almost seems to tilt her head to one side as she squints her eyes the slightest bit.
“That’s because we’re the best Taco Bell in Eugene.” She pauses. Then she resumes her work.
“I believe it!” She’s back to her work and I try to move out of the way of the customers gathered around to take their orders when they’re ready.

The third place was a Jack in the Box. Bike up to the entrance, lock my bike up, and head inside. Only the doors wouldn’t open. I frowned and looked at the hours. I pulled again. Now I noticed looks from the people inside. I put this “i-i-i-why-don’t-they-have-the-doors-open look on my face,” and walked back to my bike. The doors had said “pull” on them, but they were not willing to be pulled. I eventually realized I was at a side entrance. I eventually discovered the front doors. I got the application and headed outside to fill it out, during which a man came to the same doors I did, upon my advice tried the other doors, and came back out a time later and said the manager locked the doors to keep gangs who write on the toilet stalls out. I finished the application, which, by the way, was the best designed one I’ve seen so far. The manager looked at my application and pointed out a check box I had missed. “No fast food experience?…We’re waiting for the college kids to come back.”

The fourth place was a gas station. When I arrived and asked for an application, the lady behind the desk seemed friendly and joked with the manager. Filled the application out in the blazing hot sun and then came back inside, got it to the manager, and said goodbye. She seemed like a nice manager. She seemed a little too hopeful, though. “I’ll check your references and things and see if we can get you started.” Or something like that. I guess you never know, though. If she’s googling me and my blog comes up, I want her to know she seemed pretty cool ;) I just think it’s highly unlikely they were looking for someone to hire at the very moment I stumbled in there to find a job.

The fifth place was Habor Freight Tools. Nothing particularly remarkable about this place, except they had no place to lock up my bike, and the manager made my hand twinge a little because he squeezed it so tight. Or it’s possible that I squeezed his too tightly.

Posted by Bonnie under Uncategorized