OK, yes!

I've been spending time meditating and doing a lot of soul-searching (hence, the absenteeism). I asked myself if it was worth it to stay here, was I meant to stay here, what am I really good at besides teaching, am I meant to be a teacher and am I denying my fate? All of these things have been swirling in my over-occupied head space. They still are, but then some weird things started happening to me. I have always been curious about the food industry. I've kind of aspired to be a bartender my entire life, but I don't have the skill set. So, I started looking for jobs in food service that I could do. I applied to Einstein's Bagels at the downtown location-- got an interview. I applied to Ken's Artisan Bakery (a well-known and loved bakery in Northwest Portland)-- got an interview. I applied to Prasad (a vegetarian, organic, raw food restaurant that shares its space with a yoga studio and is owned by two female chefs)-- got an interview. My second interview for Einstein's and the other two interviews are all happening on Wednesday. So, what changed? I was honest. On the applications and cover letters, I told them what I knew about their companies and what fascinates me about what they do. I showed my passion for their vision and/or their products(Except Einstein's. That one was hard, but I was honest about needing a job and enjoying breakfast.) And it seems to have paid off. By applying for food service jobs, I kind of chucked all of my need to feel validated in my experience as a teacher and merchandiser out the window. I had nothing to prove because I'd never been in the food industry. Instead, I allowed my personality, my natural curiosity, and my excitement about food and people to show. How elementary! As I mentally prepare for Wednesday, I am continually reminding myself that it was my personality that brought my resume to the top of the pile and it will be my personality that will get the job. So, here goes. Wish me luck! Ken's Artisan Bakery

Cuisine at Prasad

Funny side note: When walking into Ken's to hand-deliver my resume and application, I ran into Mierco (one of the Italian guys of Gallo Trattoria fame) heading to Ken's from the other direction. We chatted and I told him I was applying there. He said to his friend next to him "Weird. Wasn't I just telling you how cool it would be to know someone who works at one of these awesome bakeries? And here she is. Good luck, Carly! Do you need a reference?" I said something to the effect of "Sure, Mierco. I've known you a grand total of 20 minutes, so a reference would be great!" but I did take seeing him there to be an auspicious event. Seems I was right to think that.