short-lived

due to reasons i will not disclose, i have left my position at imax.

i worked a full 7 hour shift and knew by around the third hour that this was not a job that i was entirely capable of, among other things that happened or i learned while on the job. before you hear of any ungodly rumours: i was not 'fired' or 'terminated.' i have voluntary quit the position in order to look out for my own health and well-being. and that's all i'm willing to say.

so the job search continues for the summer.

i called ardene and i was told that they hired already. it wasn't me. over the weekend, i also received a call from sport chek which i did not call back until today. i was told that they would call me back later today and they never did.

i sent out 6 emails today: jimmy buffett's margaritaville, hilton, embassy, rainforest cafe, mp paradise pools, and java joes. i walked into a job fair at the beef baron after receiving an email today about it and applying in the beginning of june. i filled in an application and met with somebody (i'm not even sure who it was) who asked me how old i was and what position i was applying for. i told him for hostess/busperson; and of course, he said they had a bunch of resumes to go through and if they thought i was qualified, they would call. my next stop was copacabana where i met with the lady for essentially 10 seconds. i handed her my resume, she wrote down something on it, and that was it.

then i hit the outlet mall. i put in another resume to java joes and handed my resume to mcgregor socks, tommy hilfiger, rocky mountain chocolate, and urban planet. at tommy hilfiger, i talked to the one sales associate for awhile who commented on my resume a ton and then i met with the manager who talked about calling me for an interview soon. java joes is where my brother worked since they opened and then they shut down. they have re-opened recently for the summer months. my dad went in to talk to the manager and put in a good word for me. hopefully i might have a chance there. clearly, my brother and i are the same person.

it could be a long time until i catch another break in the job market.

ready to start

i got the job with imax.

a little before 9pm on friday, i got the call and i was stoked. i don't know if it was because i nailed the interview questions, if it was the annoying phone call i made on friday afternoon to see if i got the job, or just a combination of the two, but i did land the job... finally.

my saturday afternoon plan was to call back and get all the details of the coming week and also let dave and buster's know that i would be taking a position elsewhere. while i'm in the middle of my breakfast, dave and buster's calls me and asks me what's up. i tell him that i've taken a job elsewhere and he seems upset. uh, sorry?

the plan for the week is to be this: three shifts this week starting tomorrow, wednesday, and saturday. both the wednesday and saturday shifts start at 7:30am. it's going to be tough but totally worth it as the latest i have to work is 10:30pm. suck it, 2am dave and buster's! however, this means that i'll be missing steve's party, a few birthdays, and the most of pride now that i've landed a job. no word on ardene yet; hoping to get that too and work both jobs turning me into zombie auto-pilot for at least a little while.

the last time i  had two jobs at the same time was a few summers back; i worked full-time at shoppers drug mart for just over a month and part-time at the library.  i worked 8am-3pm and 4pm-7pm four days a week and 8am-5pm on weekends. friday i only had to work at the library. no days off. i was dead by the end of each day and even more happy when the position at shoppers ended. i'd only like to have a second job so i can make more money since i missed out on working for a month and a half.

i've started to look into toronto apartments, so the hunt is on for the perfect apartment. i'm excited to finish out the summer while having another party in august (if you're reading this, you're likely already invited) and starting the next stage of my life in the big city. i can only hope these next 11 weeks are going to fly by.

the booty call rejection

i feel like i just got a booty call rejection.

i went to my imax interview yesterday and i wasn't sure how it went. there were lots of questions regarding teamwork, fast-paced environments, success, and motivations. i answered them all like i normally would yet i can't seem to point out or gain any feedback as to where i'm going wrong. i left the interview with high hopes. i wanted this job so that i won't have to work until 2am at dave and buster's. it just had better hours and maybe a better environment for me.

he said he would call today in order to do his hiring, so i called him instead. i actually talked to him around noon and asked if he had made a decision on hiring and he told me he had not got around to it yet. i don't normally do follow up calls/emails but i do when it's something i really want. and the majority of these follow up calls/emails are met with rejection through words or silence (usually, in most cases, no response).  i felt like i was being crazy annoying and i hated myself for following up so quickly. it was similar to the first date rule.. wait three days? wait a day? or better yet, a booty call rejection; i wanted it and he didn't. if i don't get the call sometime today, i suppose i'll have to be even more annoying and call again tomorrow.

ardene called me last night for an interview and i scheduled one for this afternoon. she asked very few questions about my likes and dislikes about former jobs and the retail industry; where i see myself in 5 years, and my strengths and weaknesses. of all the retail interviews i have ever had, this one felt like i was finally in. perhaps she was just being nice, but i suppose i'll find out. i'll hear back next week if i get it. it'll only be part-time, 6-20 hours depending on the week, but it's mad close to my house and maybe i can work at 2 places? here's seriously hoping.

if i don't hear from imax today, i'll have to surrender and go sign up on payroll with dave and buster's at least for a little while. but i won't be happy with that decision.

hired

i received a call from dave and buster's this afternoon and arranged for an interview.

they offered me the position on the spot of "mascot" where i get to run around in a root suit wearing laser tag equipment and be an asshole to tourists/take pictures with them to get them into dave and buster's. not sure what a root suit is? it looks like this: 

i don't know what colour the suit will be, but i'm sort of stoked. whenever i was the mascot last summer, i had so much fun being the centre of attention in the pink panther costume. granted that this suit will probably not smell as much or be as hot, but still. they said that they would train me on practically everything that there is to do at dave and buster's as well, but i'll primarily be mascot/laser tag/something else but i forget.  

the only thing i hate about it is that i'll have to work till 2am some nights. i have refused to work until 2am before but with the way the job market is to me this summer, i decided that it wouldn't be a problem... even though i know after awhile it will be. i don't enjoy that i'll have to get my parents out of bed for a ride home at 2am or cab/hitch hike/bike/friend/co-worker home but if it's only once or twice a week i might be able to handle it. i might not be awake for it but we'll see how it plays out.  

on saturday night, i received a call from imax theatre asking for an interview for wednesday. i haven't gone to payroll and signed up for dave and buster's yet and i don't plan to do that until i see what's up with the imax interview. i had an interview with this place, probably for an usher position (what i applied for this time around) twice and didn't land the job. both were during a summer and both were with different people hiring. this will be the third summer, third  position, and third person who will interview me. i don't know if this time around will be any different. i will see what the hours of operation are like and if i can get 40 hours or so; otherwise i'll be a slave to dave and buster's for the summer.  

since january, i must have sent out about 100+ resumes looking for summer or full-time jobs, depending on when i applied for the job. i tried to apply to as many as possible that had something to do with my field of study. eventually, i stopped applying to jobs in my field and tried for just a summer job that will give me money, and even that took two months.  

seven interviews over five weeks and i was finally hired somewhere with an eighth interview later in the week. although i am now officially offered a position at dave and buster's and have an interview with imax remaining, my job hunt will continue in order to see if there is anything better out there for me for this summer. although with the rate that things went over the last two months, i don't really see that happening.