Trick- or -Treat

...The infamous saying we are all accustomed to during Halloween. Usually you think of happy children at their neighbor's door, waiting to be be awarded with some sort of treat. I can't help but apply it to the present stage in my life.

I will start with the latter.

The Treat:

For Khiara; she has fulfilled our blog's #1 mission - land a job. Not only in NYC but at Glamour Magazine.

For myself; I had an interview. Not only in NYC, but at MTV Networks ! AND just had a phone interview this morning with an HR from Hill Holliday.

The Trick:

For my Co- Blogger; To survive- literally. After college loans, NY taxes and train fees, her allocated budget alone to find a place to live, never mind eating , is scary.

For myself; The horrific feeling of actually being unemployed for the first time. With the golf course coming to a close, my source of income will also. I have been proud of the money I have saved all season, but in reality, without additional income it will be spent fast. Watching Khiara struggle financially frightens me. As elated as I would be to get a job in the city, I could be in the same situation if an offer comes too late and my "cushion fund" is gone. Not to mention the feeling after one interview after another - the phrases such as, " keep on checking in to see if a position opens" feels like a trick. Is anyone really hiring!?!

All I know is- ghost and goblins are not the things frightening me around this time of year. The only dressing up I have been doing...is putting on heels and business suits AND I continue to knock on doors.

Soda, Water, Beer Anyone? How About a PR Rep?

It's October, and here I am driving around a golf cart- once again. It's hard to believe it's been over four months since my first post that was about the same exact activity. This time the weather is colder, and frankly, so is my attitude.
It's hard not to have a pity party when you're 21 -years-old driving a golf cart with a fanny pack and a four year college degree. But I'll stop there.  I know I have a lot to be thankful for.
I have a job that has allowed me to save a lot of money... with the fact that I'm not spending much because living with my roommates helps ( mom and dad).  I have my health and support from loved ones. And above all, I have a few leads in the next few weeks. Too premature to talk about- but for the sake of my ego I will mention them anyway. GTECH, MTV, and Hill Holiday. That's all I can say for now, until the next news worthy post, all I can do is keep truckin'... well, in this case, carting.

All I Want for Christmas Is My 2 Front Teeth - And A Job.

Following Khiara's last post - I admit I was withholding the same sentiment. It is getting tough. Some weeks are easier than others, some feel down right hopeless.

It doesn't help either when you had three days off in a total of three weeks. You go to a dentist appointment and they tell you that the line-drive that hit you during softball practice six years ago in high school - an accident that left me with seven root canals, three crowns, and some funny yet embarrassing home videos- is now coming back to haunt me with a bill that my insurance won't cover and over a year of future surgeries. Several Surgeries, that with my time of healing in between them will leave me with a temporary fake tooth that needs to be removed at night. All I could think of is Obie Trices song- Hopefully she's got some teeth as the Dentist explains all this to me. Not to mention a scale that reads I am five pounds over my usual- a direct correlation of now living at home and having food already supplied for me rather than my college days when a bowl of soup and grilled cheese would last me a good day and a half.

Depressing? Yes. Dramatic? Maybe. Nevertheless- down.

Being sick and tired of this funk I was letting myself get in, I decided it was time to take control. I have been to the gym everyday taking classes at the YMCA, brushing my teeth three times a day, and eating basically only fruit veggies and salmon. This health kick has been uplifting, not only physically, but inside too. My newly acquired energy has altered my attitude and I feel people taking noticed. Especially on Monday while working a double at the golf course...

A day that is usually dead, hence only one bartender is needed that day, but of course -it was extremely busy. Doing my best to make sure I was servicing everyone at the bar, golfers coming in to grab a pick up order, and groups of people sitting for lunch outside on the patio- all with same enthusiasm and quality service. I had waited on this elderly man with his grandson who began making small talk with me - half of me wanted to throw his hot dog on the table and run considering I had X amount of other people to attend to and didn't have time to chit-chat... but Instead, smiled sweetly with my bright white teeth, (that will soon be removed) and engaged in casual conversation. He overheard me speaking to some customers about my goal to be in Boston doing PR, and that he was in fact a Public Relations Practitioner affiliated with Lois Paul & Partners based right outside of Boston.

Lesson: Never throw a hot dog and run aka treat everyone as if they are a potential network facet.

Turns out his grandson went to high school with my brother - so Rhode Island- and we exchanged contact information. The next day I followed up on his offer of sending my resume through some contacts, and a week later I got an email from the HR of LPP.

Yes it is tough right now. I mean, everyone said it was going to be - but every now and again a lucky break comes your way.

Ready... Set... Elevator Speech

It's Mid-June. (When did that happen?) And I feel as if I have gotten no where and so far at the same time. After getting in a little argument with my Boyfriend, (also a URI alum who now works for APC in Costa Mesa, California) - I was frustrated.

I Keep on talking about my Senario 1, ( read 2nd blog post) all day, everyday, even in my sleep. I am very enthusiastic and self-assured about my future life. I'll spare the trigger of the argument, but as it escalated low jabs start blowing ...

"You can't be making all these plans Gessenia, these things cost money" - "You need a job to live there"- and even worse-"What the hell have you been doing? Where have you even applied too?"

Talk about a supportive boyfriend. I was mad. Mad that he was being so insensitive, and mad because he was right. The jobs I have applied to thus far can be counted on one hand. But here I go, acting like I have it figured out, that I know it's going to happen, yet I have little to show for it.
An hour goes by and I'm over it. Know why? because I have been doing something. Even though it's June 19th (crap) I have been working a lot towards my goals in other ways. Off the bat, the golf course. Yes, for the obvious reason I am making money (and saving) for my scenario 1 life. But it's more than that, I have been making opportunities out of the available resources I have. I started a Facebook group for the restaurant end and even wrote a press release for a charity event we do every year. Not to mention I just made another Facebook group for a Charity Foundation, Kenvo Foundation (Okay Okay it's my parents) nevertheless I am taking the skills I've learned and applying them. Learning. And I am networking. So it might not be a CEO's BBQ, but I am on Twitter, on LinkedIn, and shaking hands with anyone I meet.

Take for instance, at the Kenvo Open on Friday, I introduced myself to a women who works for Bank of America, I remembered to shake her hand firmly, flash the pearly whites that I have gotten so good at doing at the golf course, looked her in the eye and repeated her name. - I got her Business Card and she has a potential job opportunity to share on direct marketing and social media.

Or today, making small talk with the employees who work at Beaver River. I shared my awesome time at the Bruins Parade (that deserves a whole post in itself - my crazy boyfriend flew 300,000 miles to be in Boston for 24 hrs, literally) but I continued to tell Dave at the Pro Shop how much I love the town and what I want to do, and how I will get there. - He tells me to to connect with him on LinkedIn and he knows a guy that works at an agency.

So- Do I have job prospects? technically no, but it's in the works. As the saying goes, Luck happens when opportunity meets preparation.

Here and Now vs. There and Later

I'm in downtown Boston, wearing my new tailored jacket, hot coffee in hand, waiting for the T. Excited, because my new new Account Executive position at my agency has lead me to three new clients, whom I have meetings with throughout the day. It's a Friday, and the Sox are scheduled to play the Yankees, and because of a friend of a friend in my office, my roommate and I have tickets to tonight's game...

REALITY SAYS

I'm on the golf cart, fanny pack strapped on, serving beers and Powerades to old men, for yet another summer. As far as scenario 1- A rough draft of the life I will be living come this Fall. In the meantime I am putting in my hours at the same golf course I have been bartending and driving beverage carts for the past four Summers. Yes, there comes a little sting when I engage in those generic "What are you doing now" conversations, as I explain that I don't have a "real"job yet, that I am still at Beaver River and still rockin the same khaki shorts I bought when I was 18, as I endure my job hunt in Boston.

But To be frank, the sting is minuscule. A very similar version of Scenario 1 WILL happen. Not to toot my own horn, but I have the "smarts" and even more, the conviction. So, I'll flash these pearly whites, do the fake laugh, pull out the same one liners that I have ever year.."I'll catch ya on the back nine,"... "Another Bud Don?"..." Who's buying this round?"..etc etc... and even more, I will deposit all those ones and SAVE, because, God knows that apartment on the skirts of Boston won't be cheap.

So for Now- It's a Friday, it's Hot, I am 21 years old in Rhode Island-the world is my oyster. And more importantly there is a DJ at the Coast Guard House tonight and my gf and I have yet to find the perfect Summer drink.