Week One: The Business

On Sunday, I was ready to leave for Africa or Europe to travel and live the life. Yes, I had the day before a new job blues. Sunday was a mixture of excitement and melancholy. My old schedules had ended, like sleeping in late and jumping on the internet to look at pictures of rhinos or of French men wearing berets. I knew that I had to redirect some of my enegry to waking up before the sun and attempting to drink tea in one of those travel mugs that keeps the tea at 180 degrees for like four hours. Yes, Sunday was really about setting up my team-orientate, optimistic, all hard-work and no pay attitude for my new job.

Except this time, there were a few changes. I was looking forward to starting a new job. So here are a few highlights from my first week:

-Collating purchase orders in the one of the worst built business record systems. Information architecture? No, this is manual entry without the crack. Its like asking for a receipt for your espresso in Paris.
-Xeroxing receipts and furniture pictures while staring at a white wall. It gets kinda of boring. Many times I stare at the neighboring refrigerate, so that I can stare at a UPS magnet that allows you to choose four different "attitudes" ie: relaxed, confident, or powerful.
-Eating lunch next to a table full of "undercover" cops that spent their time eating big sandwiches while talking about the difficulty of gathering DNA from a rotting corpse with maggots. Were they telling these stories just for me? I would have thought so but there was a woman sitting with them-but she looked like one of the boys. Ambush make-over! If you know what I mean!
-Smiling and appearing to be pleasant to my new co-workers. If any person looks back to the start of any job that they ever had, no matter how bad the job is, was, or would be, a nice & friendly attitude always has to be "put" on to meet the other workers! Hey. It doesn't really kill you after all....
-Talking to the other new hire 4:30pm on Friday about all of the flaws of the company. Find out Monday at 10:00 that your talk might have really affected her because she called into to quit. Her reason for quitting...She told the owner the business was unstructured like the purchase order system..Ah, did I mention that to her while Xeroxing? Damn, I think I broke the new worker attitude rule.

In the end, I smuggled out some of these images of truly beautiful furniture pieces from the Virginian manufacturer, Stanley. Not only is the business environmentally conscious, the furniture is so lovely-did I already say that? I think I've found my first in-office crush! So help me lord, that I can ride this job just a bit longer... Until the day comes that I find that dream job I've always been looking for!

I'm Hired!

After my initial interview with the recruiting agent and being left with a 2500 square foot blueprint to design, after experiencing that fear of not knowing how an interior designer gives presentations on anything, after waking up in the middle of the night one too many times, I knew I had to do something. I had one week to get something together. As part of my Lie, Cheat, and Steal plan, my first stop was Amazon.com. I've learned that anything you might need to know has been written and published in a book. As a starving artist in Chicago, I got a book from the Harold Washington Library on how to bake bread (by Amy's Bread in NYC which is wonderful but out-of-print) and it literally nourished my body and soul. I knew that there had to be a book on how interior designers communicate designs to clients. Part of my dilemma was that I had experience as a home & fashion stylist but, working on films or for print is ghetto. I've no better way to describe that process. I learned how to pick colors and textures for sets. I understood how to make a room & its merchandise pop for the camera but learning interior design seems a bit more proper. I had one week to read every book that I could afford or at least get my hands on.



The Monday Interview
Last Monday in the OC, the skies were filled with layer upon layer of grey clouds and sheets of rain. The sporadic rain lifted the oil from the streets and made the conditions of the road unpredictable. Mind you that I tossed my morning shower aside (not a great idea for meeting of any sort when you need to "look good and respectable") in order to finish up the materials for my presentation. Let me also add that I had no idea what I was going to say once I got to the table and I had to present. So I finished printing out the last image of what the master bedroom would look like and I gathered all of my materials and I threw it in the car. The rain was falling and I made a small prayer that I would actually make it to my interview on time.

The windshield wipers were squeaking as the rain drops hit my car. I knew I had to drive like a maniac in order to get to the interview in time. Okay, you can skip a shower but you can't be late to an interview. As I passed a local park and I was pulled out of my dilemma by the beauty of the sky and the wet grass, I actually said a prayer that I get to the interview safe and on time. An act of faith totally not common to me, perhaps I had an initiated of the events that lie ahead of me.

The c-shaped on ramps common to Orange County are like little joyrides at high speed. In the wet weather conditions, they are dangerous turns that need to be respected. I listened to the rain hit my car. I had forgot to turn the radio on because I was concentrating on driving. And in an instant, these events happened before me.

The turn straightened out and it was time to merge onto the freeway. All I saw was a small navy-blue Datsun truck, two cars in front of me, merge onto the freeway and into a semi-truck that was going at least 65 mph. The truck fanned out and towards the car in front of me. We all slammed our brakes on as fast and as hard as we could. In an instant the momentum of the freeway and the turn ended. It was all still except the falling rain. I heard my blinker clicking. The semi-truck was stopped. There was steam rising from the hood of the Datsun. I could see a large Newfoundland dog standing in the little jump seat of the truck; He was panting and shaking but seemed untouched by the collision with the semi-truck. There was a couple inside the car in front of me. They jumped out of their car and ran up to the truck. How strange it is to see humans run on the freeway. Our bodies are not made for these places. The frailty of our skin and our bones need the protection of the car. They came to the Datsun truck. The man and the woman were speaking to the driver that I could not see. I knew what they were saying to the driver. I heard them say the things that I would have said: Everything will be fine. Help is on the way. What I didn't expect is that the couple would begin to cry as they spoke to the man. Strangers from the moment that they came to the Datsun truck to the moment that they made a call for help.

I drove my car between the fender and the debris of the accident. As I came around the Datsun truck, I had a view of the other side. The entire driver side of the truck had been smashed into the passenger side of the truck. I thought I saw the outline of an old man's body woven between the metal and the glass. I'm not certain. Perhaps, my mind was inventing the things that I could not see. I prayed twice that day. I prayed that the driver had only had only lost his legs. I never considered how morbid my prayer was but the accident seemed worst.

As I traveled down the road and after I had made my call to the emergency line, I had the accident play over and again in my mind. I was only two cars from the accident. Could that have been me if I had left sooner? Serendipitous thoughts came and went in my thinking. The analytical side to my thoughts believed that the driver of the Datsun truck had his rear-view mirror blocked by his dog and maybe this one time he didn't take the time to turn and glance at the road to the side of him. What would I say in my presentation? Is this event foreboding to my career? How does this accident relate to my life?

I was getting worked up and closer to my interview. As I was riding the 73 tollroad, a car pulled up next to me. The car next to me was pacing at my speed and so I turned and looked. It was a clown driving the car. The clown turned and looked at me, smiled, and then drove off. I was speechless. What a maddening drive to my interview. At the same moment, I think life had reassured me. I felt aware of some harmony and balance in the world. The smiling clown had reminded me to laugh.

At The Table
I conquered a fear of speaking. I knew that I couldn't fool anybody and I'd just deliver all my design plans as best I could. It turned out that I did all the best things that I could. The owner of the interior design firm told me at the end of the interview: I like you. What better way to end an interview? I had to represent my presentation to two project managers. I all I couldn't believe I would do as well as I did. I had experienced so many things on the way to this interview that my fears fell wayward. I wasn't worried if I was had chosen the wrong fabric or a bad wall color. I had done my best and that sort of satisfaction is all that one can strive to obtain. I got a call on Friday that I was hired. My life was begining to switch gears.

Lover in the Jungle

Every girl needs a break from all the duties that she must perform each day. As a new fan of the National Geographic Channel, I flopped in the couch and clicked the remote. For the following hour I was dialed into the story of a female rhino named Natalie. Sweeping panoramic shots of India were accompanied with the wise and elderly voice of a narrator. The man spoke of the complex rhino etiquette and the difficulty that Natalie had performing it. In the end, Natalie was abandoned by the pack to wander the fields and rivers of India for close to three years alone. I wouldn't described her three year journey as completely isolated. She had three white birds that followed her to every river, tree, and patch of tall grass that she came upon. The birds were like deities that protected her and nurtured her. Then, it was her time: She went to a magnificent Indian version of the magnolia tree, with brilliant pink blossoms that floated down in the soft winds, and Natalie left a scent for the males to follow. In three days, Natalie was met by a male rhino and well, the rest, as they say, is history.

That documentary has been stuck in my head. I've been driving around Orange County and thinking about the different aspect of Natalie's life in terms of survival, isolation, and attraction. Hey, I can relate to leaving the pack, leaving my family moving to a city, feeling isolated in a city, but, I haven't quite made it to spraying a tree in order to meet a guy. Or have I?

A few days ago, I couldn't help but notice the Orange County version of the jungle. The canopy of trees, shrubs, and flowers that surrounded the Sak's Fifth entrance had that aura of river in a desert. Inside Sak's, I was feeding off the posters of woman in leopard prints, men with rough stubble beards, and large trees with couples embraced and bottle of perfume in the foreground. Hmmm....A new bottle of perfume and a sexy new dress can feel like a hot stranger might just part the tall grasses to find me lounging under a tree. Not a single designer, marketing agency, or corporation can remove that primitive need for survival and reproduction. In fact, it's the successful companies that play into all of the primitive desires and fears that we have. Unfortunately, it works like a charm everytime I hit the old watering hole. I buy the bottle of perfume and the dress in the hope that maybe this time it might work. Well if rhino etiquette is complex, we can all image what string of words that narrator might use to describe humanities complex system of etiquette. For now, I wish Natalie well and I'm a bit envious that she had to only wait three years in order to meet Mr. Right. As for now, a girl must keep dreaming....And shopping to continue the good ol' fashion attraction ritual.

The Interview

Yes, I'm in the process of attempting to get a career. At this point, we won't talk about what exactly my day job is (I'll let your imagination strike up images of temp agencies, restaurants, garage sales, eBay sales, and that sort of dead broke excitement). Suffice it to say, that depressed on a Saturday night & not feeling too great, as I typed away searches on google for the things I may never afford or get (a villa in Italy, a masarati, and a boyfriend from Wilhemina Models), I checked my "work" cell phone. Ah! There is a message from last Thursday waiting to be heard! How could I have let that slip? As it turned out, I was wanted by an interior design recruiting agency for a job interview. Well! Maybe that villa isn't as far down the road as I thought.

Monday, I completed the telephone interview with success and moved to the next phase: Tuesday interview with a different recruiting agent at the design firm. As expected, the medium sized business was beautiful and set in the rugged hills of Aliso Viejo. Heck of drive to get there and the toll roads aren't cheap at $4.25 each way, no wonder there were only brand new jaguars, range rovers, and BMWs on the road. One other note, the design firm specializes in model home design.

The interview lasted an hour and half. I guess you could say it went well. My eyeballs were super tired by the end. Unfortunaly, I keep my portfolio on the web. Due to the swift interview that was scheduled the following day, I had to stay up till 2:00 am printing my portfolio & putting it into a presentable form. I was up by 7:30 am on Tuesday to finish printing my resume and that sort of fun stuff. The man that interviewed me looked just like the bald guy from CSI and I remember him telling me that he thought I had great energy and stuff like that. Boy, did he know the half of it.

At the end of the interview, it was all on the table. He said, "Well, miss, you aren't a traditional candidate for the design assistant position. You haven't graduated from a design program and your portfolio alone won't get you the job. In order for the company to understand if you have the skill to handle the job, you have to complete a Design Test." He walked out of the room and came back in with an architectural print. He gave it to me and said design this house, create its location and the buyer demographic. In a week, you will be presenting it to the owner of this company and me. He said one last thing to me, "But despite everything, I've got a good feeling about you."

Ahoy...I left the interview with the blueprint of a 2,500sq foot house with 4 bedrooms, living room, dining room, family den, kitchen, master bath, bath no. 2, garage, and all of those lovely hallways. My boat was in danger of sinking. That night as I fell asleep, the Santa Ana Winds returned back to the coast. I woke up to the sound of high winds outside my window and then my brain was awake. I was in a panic sweat for the next two hours on the sort of fabric the living room couch will have, the floors in the master bedroom, the curtain treatment of the family den, kitchen cabinet color, the color story of the entire house, buyer demographic-I was freaking out until I told myself to calm down & go back to sleep. But, by then I had missed that valuable REM sleep. I had "lack of sleep" throb in my head the next morning. Baby steps. & you know what, I'm slowly getting this project done. If I don't get this crummy $13 an hour grunt design assistant job (the interviewer told me specifically that it was grunt work and it includes travel to northern California to install projects-I haven't confessed yet to not knowing the basics of how to dry wall or how to wire chandeliers-Do I have to know this stuff? Shoot!). At this point, I'm just trying to get my foot in the door of any interior design firm. Lie, Cheat, & Steal, I'm going to get the design for that mega mansion done. I'm also learning heck of a lot more about interior design than anything I've learned in a classroom so far! I just need time to catch up on my sleep.

Brunettes don't like Stalkers

First and foremost, I have to admit that since I've returned to the glorious beach sunshine of Orange County my brunette hair has had some changes. I will get to those changes later in order to give the scope of how this blog has come into existence.

I was being stalked on my previous blog. I know it sounds crazy! How can a girl be stalked on a blog? It raises questions at the very core of what a blog means. But, having a person log into my blog over 60 times in 2 weeks, sometimes 10 times in a single day, and time-intervals up to an hour. I started to feel a little bit intruded upon. So I staged my disappearance and vanished from my previous blog. Now I'm confidential and only you that have stumbled upon this blog know of my existence.

Ah, for all those lovely estranged brunettes in Orange County, the sun has inspired me to get highlights (so I can blend in with the all of the locals). A bit of honesty is what I'm really after. This is the Brunette Confidential and the scope of this blog will be extreme (& not just my blonde highlights).