That Time I Walked Out of a Job "Interview"

Since I am in desperate need of a new job, I'm not in a position to turn down interviews.  Jenna first started calling me about an interview while I was in NYC.  She told me that her company worked in the health and wellness field and had many opportunities available.  It was clear that she didn't have my resume since she knew nothing of my work history or education and didn't disclose the name of her company, rendering a Google search impossible.  It was also clear that she was calling me from her personal cell phone when my calls, which she never answered, only returned, went straight to an at capacity voice mailbox.  We played phone tag over several weeks and darn if she wasn't as persistent as she was vague.

I agreed to meet with her one evening, since the "Wellness Center" office was fairly close and I had the time in my schedule.  When I entered the office, I was greeted by fairly loud, upbeat music and a small crowd of what I could only assume to be fellow job seekers.  Great, I thought, a group interview.  A small woman came up to me to ask who I had an appointment with.  As it turns out, this was Jenna.  She asked again about my work history and I gave her a resume. We had a pleasant get-to-know-you conversation in the midst of all the other would-be candidates.  When I asked more specific questions about the company, she told me that there was going to be a group presentation to explain the details which would be followed by a one on one interview.  There was also some training being held later that night. Whoa?! Training?! I knew I wasn't in the position to accept an offer that night, especially since it wasn't my only interview of the week and could already smell something fishy about the situation.

The presentation began with a powerpoint slide show.  Several slides in, I glanced the phrase "direct marketing" and started to look for an escape route.  Of course, I had to be sitting front and center.  The presenter went on to talk about the products their company sells, mainly a diet pill.  Strike two.  I have several friends who work in direct marketing as Arbonne consultants and even tried my luck with Mary Kay right out of high school.  My Arbonne friends love their work and products and, if I were to venture into direct marketing, it would probably be with Arbonne.  Secondly, I don't believe in diet pills.  They tempt me every once in a while, but as someone who struggled with eating disorders for years, I consider them dangerous and psychologically addicting no matter how effective they are or aren't.

I had to get out.  I may have audibly let out a sigh of relief when, about twenty minutes in, the presenter dimmed the lights for a brief video.  I grabbed my bag and scooted for the door. I looked for Jenna, as I intended to politely excuse myself.  She was nowhere to be found, but the presenter noticed me and asked if I wanted to go home. Like I had a boo-boo, or something.  I informed him that I wasn't interested in direct marketing.  He thanked me and we went our separate ways.

The next evening, Jenna called again.  She called to find out why I left and to see if I wanted to come back for a second "interview".  I told her the same thing I told the gentleman the night before, that I was not interested in direct marketing.  I also added that I was not in favor of diet pills, but was rather an advocate of natural wellness.  She claimed their product was all natural.  I hadn't stayed long enough to get an actual ingredients list, so I can't say for sure, but I doubt that their pills fit anywhere into the healthy, organic, vegan, or natural categories.  I also asked her how she'd gotten my number in the first place.  She couldn't give me a name, but told me it was probably a friend who'd referred me, since they work mainly through referrals.

Moral of the story: anytime you are called by an interviewer on their personal cell phone, any and all days of the week, wanting to set up an interview through a vague company at 7 pm on a Tuesday is probably not worth your time if you are seeking professional employment.

NYC in Photos

Since my camera broke several days into my trip, I was either camera-less or borrowing my boyfriends.  This meant that many of my posts didn't have and snapshots to go with them right away.  I thought, rather than go back and amend all prior NYC posts, why not just post 'em all, album style? Enjoy!

In Central Park: First thing we did together : )

@ The Fireworks: Tired and sweaty from a
long day of travel and walking

By the Jackie O. Resevior on our way to The Gugg

The Guggenheim

Me, in somewhat recycled but favorite outfit

@MoMA's Free Friday Nights

Broadway Boogie Woogie: A favorite

My squirrel friend in Battery Park

@ The Cloisters

Cloisters Garden

Another garden!

Just a little Tiffany (@the Met)

One of my SoHo finds. The light fabric was
great in the heat

Me & Hatshepsut know how to pose!

I love his sense of humor!

Art & Sugar

My last full day in New York City was certainly full of excitement!  The main event on our agenda was to take advantage of the two-for-one Metropolitan Museum of Art/The Cloisters admission and see them both.  We'd intended to see the Met first and then rush up to The Cloisters before they closed, but we accidentally got on an express train that changed our minds for us.

The Cloisters

When we got out of the subway, we walked through the beautiful Fort Tryon Park which boasts incredible views of the river and beautiful and well maintained flower gardens.  It would be a great picnic spot, just saying.  By the time we arrived at the medieval looking building, I was glad for the air conditioning.  We spent a few hours looking over the artwork and admiring the architecture, some of which was actual pieces of old monasteries and the like that had been shipped over from Europe.  I'm so glad to have a boyfriend that likes going to museums and engaging in thoughtful conversations about the work in them.  I was a very happy girl that day.

A chapel in The Cloisters

One of many lovely gardens

We knew we weren't going to have enough time to see all of the Met, so when we got there, we took a moment to grab some lunch (the Met cafeteria puts potato chips on their mac & cheese, just sayin') and pinpoint the galleries we wanted to see the most.  For The Writer, it was the Arms and Armor and I wanted to make sure we got to the Egyptian wing and temple.  We also managed to make it through some of the painting and photography before the guards decided it was time for us to go.  I'd wanted to see the McQueen exhibit, but we'd heard the wait was an hour and a half and we didn't have that much time there.  Unfortunately the exhibit will be closing a mere three days before I return to Manhattan.

Since we'd had a late lunch, we weren't quite hungry for dinner when the museum closed.  We were, we decidedly, quite ready for some ice cream.  On our way to the subway that would take us down to Lula's, I spotted a sign in the window of Purple Elephant Cake Boutique that said they had vegan cupcakes.  While neither of us are anywhere close to being vegan, The Writer's lactose intolerance keeps us on the hunt for dairy-free treats and vegan is always a safe choice.  We stopped in and got a few cupcakes, even though we were on our way to eat ice cream.  He had a vanilla cupcake with chocolate icing and I had a sweet-n-salty vanilla cupcake.  I used to never be a cake person, I preferred fruity treats like pies, but this trip ruined me. I officially like cake.

Not letting the fact that we'd just had super sweet cupcake deter us, we continued downtown to Lula's and enjoyed our vegan ice cream cones.  Dinner, at this point, was out of the question.  We were too full on cupcakes and ice cream.  We did feel quite kiddish, having had every kids' dream dinner, so we decided to go to FAO Schwartz because what kid doesn't want to go to a toy store after a sugar-filled meal?  Unfortunately, it had closed by the time we got there. Bedtime, I guess.  Plan B was to stroll casually through the lobby and shops of The Plaza hotel, just to check it out.  I wouldn't mind staying there sometime, that's for sure.

We walked around the park area for a bit before grabbing some groceries and heading to bed.  It seemed the sugar rush we'd ingested was no match for the mileage we'd covered that day.

*Photos by The Writer. I borrowed his camera for a few shots, but most (not obviously taken with a webcam or otherwise cited) are from his camera, as mine is broken : ( *

Bargains, Bubble Tea, and Boats

Who doesn't like to sleep in on a Monday?  Since The Writer's "weekend" begins on Mondays, that's exactly what we did.  Even though we knew we had a lot to pack into his last two free days of my visit, we still got off to a pretty slow start.

Once we did get moving, we went down to check out Century 21, a store of hugely discounted designer duds.  We'd gotten off the subway right by the World Trade Center site, but like I'd noticed before, there wasn't much to see.  Once we got to Century 21 it was a madhouse.  The deals were certainly good, so I understand the rush.  The Writer found himself a new gray Tommy Hilfiger suit for over half off!  We left the store in search of the tailor shop they'd referred us to (my love has long arms, apparently) and some lunch. What an experience the tailor shop was! The older Italian gentleman running the place shared that he's been working in a tailor shop since he was seven years old.  Now that's a family business!

We got some sandwiche from Pret (baguette!) and started walking towards Battery Park for a picnic.  Along the way, I spotted a bubble tea street vendor.  I hadn't had bubble tea in such a long time. For a while, I was working at a coffee shop that made it and could have it any time I wanted.  Unfortunately, those days were over but I was about to rekindle my love of bubble tea just as I'd reawakened my love of baguette sandwiches.  The Writer was not a fan of my litchi bubble tea.

The Writer being silly

After our little picnic, we decided to investigate Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island ferry passes.  I wasn't initially interested in going out to see the landmarks, but it was something The Writer had really been wanting to do, so we went. I'm so glad we did!  We didn't spend too much time on Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty is located because we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time in the Ellis Island museum.  We got back on the ferry after snapping some photos and walking a bit on the island.

I had to give it a try

I admit I haven't been much of a museum person in the past. Maybe it's because I'm usually being dragged through them by my parents who are either moving too slow or too quickly, but I really enjoy them with The Writer.  He'd been to the Ellis Island museum before so he knew which parts were absolutely necessary to see before the last ferry left.  Seeing the giant rooms where the incoming immigrants waited and hearing their stories was so interesting.  I wish we'd had a little more time to spend out there.

On Liberty Island with the Manhattan skyline in the background

Tired from our busy day, we had some Asian Fusion cuisine at Alpha around the corner from his residences.  I had the best spicy tuna roll that I've ever eaten there.  It was absolutely delicious.  The Writer had the sesame chicken, which I sampled and found was delectable in its own right.  After dinner, we decided to get some cool treats at Rita's.  Their melon/tropical flavors are just what I want when I'm craving something cold and sweet.  I had the honeydew again, but this time mixed it with cantaloupe and passionfruit as well.  Our night ended with a long, lovely stroll down Broadway in the Upper West Side.

Hell on a Sunday

Hell's Kitchen, that is.  I went down last Sunday to check out the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market while The Writer was at work.  That place made me wish I'd left more room in my luggage!  Along with the many booths of vintage clothing, antiques, and unique jewelry finds were several different yummy looking food vendors.  I grabbed a New York slice from a shop on a nearby street then chose some delicious dessert from a Je & Jo ice cream stand.  Their organic ice cream carried quite a price tag at $4 per small cup, but it was so rich and creamy that it was easy to savor every bite of my Fresh Mint with Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookie Dough.

The Clutch & Sunnies

 Refreshed, I spent the next few hours sifting though some strange and wonderful goodies and came away with some great finds.  I found a envelope clutch with a tag that said it came from GAP.  I'm not sure how old it is, but the lady at the booth was only asking $5 for it, so I bit.  My other find was a pair of nearly vintage sunnies.  I've been needing a new brown pair and these were a new shape for me.  They're a little scratched, but I like them so much and was able to talk the seller down a bit from his original asking price, so I took them home.

Me with my new shades

I left Hell's Kitchen for the same reason I had to leave SoHo.  If I didn't, I would have kept buying which would have been very bad.  I'm broke nonetheless, but that's not the point. Ha!

I relaxed at Borders until The Writer was out of work.   We were both pretty wiped out, him from a long work week and me from the sun. Poor me, right? 

We took the subway down to Chelsea for a quick and easy dinner at Blossom du Jour.  I had an organic vegan eggplant parmesan sandwich and he had the Midtown Melt.  Both sandwiches were so good! It was hard to not want to order a second. I think we both ended up eating a significant portion of each other's meals as it was!