Wednesday, October 28, 2009

"You take a nap-a, you don't move to Napa!"

And a line from Sex & the City to start this post off ...
Taylor & I went to Napa yesterday. It was a lovely day spent lunching at Bounty Hunter Winery (BBQ!! Great BBQ too, made me miss the South), then we drove through the beautiful valley. It was a nearly perfect day, execept for the way back - we took the Bay Bridge - our first mistake. As I had just told Taylor about how the 1989 earthquake made the bridge collapse, we sat parked in traffic for 1 hour. Then we heard on the radio a cable had snapped and they shut the bridge down. (great) We had a huge detour, but made it back safely. I may never take this bridge again.

Taylor is getting tired of taking these photos of me...

Mondavi Winery.

My favorite of the day - V. Sattrui Winery.

Biggest pumpkin eva! Beringer Winery.

Mumm Winery.

If you are going to San Francisco, be sure to wear flowers in your hair...

So, here are pictures from a day spent in San Fran - seeing Taylor's new pad and happy hour at Columbus Cafe with some "Yelpers!" I got to meet some people I will be working with and I must say - I can't wait to start working!

Taylor & I at Alamo Park - where the Painted Ladies are.

Holding my shirt down so no sights of my hot mid-drift. :) Postcard Row aka Painted Ladies.

North Beach, San Fran. Columbus Cafe with Taylor, Katie and some other randoms.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Alcatraz

My good friend, Tonya & her husband, Chad, were in San Fran for their first anniversary trip. They had already been to Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and were in San Fran a few days before going to Napa. I had a great time visiting with them. We had lunch on Jefferson (near Firsherman's Wharf) and then we treked to Pier 33 to board the ferry to Alcatraz.

My friend, Taylor, who was my rooommate during training for Readak just moved to San Fran the day before! She moved out a little like I did, no job and just randomly decided to sub-let a place in Lower Haight area for a few weeks. So, she came along with us.

It was a great tour and very interesting. I learned so many things! Al Capone was a prisoner there. There was even an old prisoner in the museum autographing his book. He was transported out of Alcatraz before it closed and severed the rest of his time elsewhere. He went to Alcatraz for bank robbery.



What's a visit to Alcatraz w/o a jumping picture?


Help!!

Tonya & I inside Alcatraz.


Taylor & I with San Fran behind.


Former Alcatraz prisoner. Read his little bio if you can....


The Rock.

Friday, October 9, 2009

HUGE NEWS!

I had two interviews yesterday with two great companies that I would be lucky to work for... Yelp and The North Face. Both positions I interviewed for were for sales positions. It was a long day of commuting into the city for my first interview, but it was neat seeing the offices of Yelp. It reminded me of what I've seen of Google - very laid back, lively, fun, and lots of people sitting on those yoga balls. I loved everyone I spoke with and left feeling nervous ... meaning, I knew if I didn't get it I'd be super upset. I then had an interview with The North Face. It would be a good job, too, a mgmt position, (even 50% off all merch and travelling opportunities to do hiking/backpacking/camping trips).

So, as for the "HUGE NEWS" ... I just got a phone call offering me the job at YELP! I can't wait. I start Nov 16. This means I will have to find a place to live in the city or near it soon! San Fran is a neat city and I can't wait to be living in it.

So, wow, what a journey, from leaving AL in August and finding a FT job after searching (all together) for 3-4 weeks and landing a job! I feel so lucky and blessed especially in these hard times. All those hours on Craigslist paid off :) I probably applied to over 20 companies in the past two weeks.

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes :) I can't wait... I'm excited about what my future holds.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Update!

I'm sure you all get tired of seeing pictures from my fun adventures and are curious as to "Is she even looking for a job out there?" Well, my friend, I am. I have a part time job at a golf course in San Jose, where I am constantly making contacts in the tech industry (Hello - I am in the heart of Silicon Valley!). In fact, today, at the golf course, I had two tables (both full of business men) ask me where I was from due to my "slight" Southern accent. Both parties asked me my story of how I ended up here and both asked for my contact info on helping me find a job.

I have hit the job search full force in the past 2-3 weeks. I feel my hard work is paying off. I have applied with all the companies you can think of that are based here: Google (btw - they have 780,000 applications a year!), Yahoo, Ebay, PayPal, Oracle, Facebook, Specialized (bikes! based here in little Morgan Hill), GU (all BTC ppl would love if I got this, so would I, dream job, I'd get to go to Kona for Ironman!), REI, The North Face, and Yelp to name a few. Yelp is a site everyone & their mom uses here in CA. It's an online review site (Wes Poole - look at it). It's very neat.

So, I do have two 2nd interviews this Thursday with two companies I have mentioned above. One is with Yelp and the other is North Face. Yelp is growing so rapidly that they are opening a new office in Scottsdale, AZ, so I have told them I would be willing to move there if need be. We'll see what happens. I'd be a lot closer to the Grand Canyon, but yet, a lot hotter since it's 80-85 year round.

I feel very lucky right now. I do feel positive and hope to have my own living situation squared away soon. In fact, I will be leaving the RV park soon and moving in with a girl I've met. Kali, from DC. She did the exact same thing I did - left her job in DC and drove here to find work. She already has a job - she's a nurse, so jobs are a-plenty there. I look forward to living with her!

So, keep your fingers crossed for me - working full time again would be an adjustment (laugh), but I'm ready to get back into it.

Biking the GGB

Ali & I decided to go to San Fran on Monday to bike the beautiful, and not so gold, Golden Gate Bridge. (QUESTION: You may wonder why it's called the Golden Gate Bridge, but yet it's red? ANSWER: The "Golden Gate" is the area where the Bay dumps into the Pacific, right there in San Fran. The reason it's red? So when it gets ultra foggy, which it usually is always foggy in San Fran, you can still see the bridge.)

We had a beautiful, non-foggy day in San Fran on Monday. Temperature was a cool high 60s. We rented bikes then took our journey to the bridge then over into Sausalito, CA. It may have been my favorite day yet in San Fran. It's something everyone should do, if not ride over the bridge, walk it. There were a lot of walkers, too.

Interesting fact about the GGB: The GGB is the most popular site to commit suicide in the US. There were phones with signs (I should have taken a picture, I know) that said "Emergency phones and crisis counseling."

Ok, not to end on a depressing note, so here are some of my fav pictures from the day.

Bay Bridge from Ferry Building.

As we start...

Just a beautiful sight.

"Hey, y'all!"

What's San Fran w/o a jumping picture?

I never get tired of looking at this beautiful thing. Unbelievably gorgeous.

Puffer & myself.

One of my favorites...

Yours truly.

Making our way.

Ali in front - crossing bridge.

In Sausalito with San Fran to my back.

Out in San Jose

I have grown found of this town. The heart of Silicon Valley as they call it. I've met some great, fun people and the weather is just puuuurfect for me. What else could make this place great? Drinking "apple juice" from a big boot? Yep, that. Or going to a fine estblishment where the bartender is known for his "bedroom eyes," (see here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/teskes-germania-restaurant-and-beer-garden-san-jose) {Shamless plug for a company I hope to soon be working for - fingers crossed} Anywho, fun times were had.



Oktoberfest in San Fran!

It's that time of year ...time for pumpkins, leaves changing colors, the weather to cool off and Oktoberfest! My pal, Ali, is still in town and living with some pretty cool people: Aaron and Jenna. They invited me to join them in San Fran for this Oktoberfest celebration. Any event where men dance around in lederhosen and eat spatzle, count me in. Here are a few pictures from the night.

Me & the band...


"Hey, boys... can we have our picture with you? You sure are cute."