Keeping At It

Courtelyou Rd, where Vox Pop, the grocery store, library branch, and the laundromat are.
E 17th St, about a block down from our house. These houses are huge!

Tuesday evening I met up with a very old friend: Courtney from way back in my music camp days. She hasn't changed a bit. We went for dinner and beers at a little bistro called Picket Fence on Courtelyou Rd, the same street where my coffee shop is. The food was Delicious and not too expensive and they deliver so once I am making delicious food money I will probably get food from there a lot. I had a hamburger and sweet potato fries and tried a Brooklyn Lager, Gee's favorite beer in America! All were terrific.

Yesterday I woke up and got ready for work, and called the temp agency. No dice. I went back over to Vox Pop and started trying to think outside the box. I researched portrait studios and applied on the online generic form for Sears Portrait Studios. Not sure where there are any Sears here so that might be a dead end. Other portrait studios seemed to be singular artists, not the kind of place that will let me take Christmas card pics for families. I also checked Craigslist for ads about babysitting and nannying. There were many more Nannies than Nanny wanted ads. Then I looked at local independent bookstores. I emailed a couple and then saw a website for Strand Books. It looked amazing, downtown on Broadway and right off of the Q train that runs by my house. The employment section of the website said they had regular job openings and to come in and apply. I walked back to my apartment, put on my job-gettin clothes and went to check it out. I thought I was so clever and that when I got there they'd be so happy to have an applicant. "Oh there you are!" they'd say with open arms as they rushed to submit my direct deposit form and w2. Sadly, when I got there and smiled winningly at the clerk and told him I was there to apply he directed me to the 3rd floor where they have an application station. Apparently a lot of people apply to work there. The application went really well until the end where they had a literary match test. Matching ten authors with books they had written. Unfortunately the books listed weren't the authors most famous works and I bombed it. I DO read!! Ugh. I put my pretty little application on a big fat stack of other applications and headed home. I'd really like to work at that bookstore, friends. I looks like a cool work environment where I could do a good job at something I care about. They said if you application is accepted you'll hear in about a week so keep fingers crossed. Then I came home to charge my cell phone, called the temp company again and ventured out to do laundry at the laundromat.

I need one of those urban wheely carts you see sometimes. Lots of people here have them to get their things back and forth from the laundromat or grocery store. I had to carry my basket the two blocks to Courtelyou. I went to Mr. Soapy where there are no chairs and lots of broken-down machines. It was not a lot of fun.

This morning I got up for work again and again got a 'I'll call you if' from my temp counselor. So here I am back at Vox Pop. I just gave my card to two young mothers who were chatting about babysitters though. I was nervous and felt like a creep interrupting their conversation but it can't hurt to get my name out there. I have references and experience and I'd much rather find babysitting work by word of mouth than Craigslist. After being so brave and forward I treated myself to a bagel with cream cheese.