The Fair

So I swallowed my pride, made peace with my principles and opinions, truly measured my weight in the world, my responsibilities, and my true desires, and went to the shipyard job fair. And it was almost insultingly unintimidating. There were I believe 17 shops set up, along with a espresso stand and a burger nook. I managed to talk to every single shop at length and get my resume out to every single one and it took me 4 and a half hours. That's with a break sometime in the middle to eat an excellent burger (more on that later) and the amount I spoke with a friend of mine that I recognized. My best shot is probably at the rigger's shop, I knew the guy who was doing the presentations, and I chatted him up real well.

I went into this thinking it was going to be this unscalable wall that I had to be infinitely prepared for lest I fall into the mudpit of customer service below. I was told to dress as if I was going to a high paying job interview, and to make sure that I had a million or so copies of my resume. I was told I would have to chat up each shop as if their work was that of the lord himself, and I would have to lie out of every concievable hole in my body that all I have ever wanted to do in my life was fire a sandblaster at the side of a boat. Most of the people I talked to were very nice themselves, and understood that the draw of the work is the pay, the benefits, and the job security, rather than the work itself. It was a relatively nice experience.

The one guy who stood out as a total dick was actually the guy in charge of giving information on the helper/apprentice program. He really didn't want to talk to me or give me any information about what I should be looking out for, what I should be doing to maximize my hiring potential, etc. He did, however, really want to talk to the lovely lady standing next in line, and frequently glanced behind me to make sure that she was still there. He was a dick, but I have most of that under control anyway.

I had a absolutely wonderful burger. I almost wish I went both days just to eat. It was a griddle burger, left to soak in an onion marinade, which also held sauted onions. The burger came with cheese and those onions I mentioned. It was so juicy it didn't need any other condiments. Honestly, the highlight of the day was that burger. Oh god I wish I could eat it every day until I die which would be soon because the burger is probably very poor for my health.

One thing I did find out was I really like how I clean up. I got a good haircut, I trimmed my beard the way I like it, and I look pretty good in buisnesswear. I imagine my ass didn't look great, because the asses of overweight dudes don't look good in slacks, but it was made up for by the fact that my tie made me look like a used car salesman. I will have to find more opportunities to dress up like a tool.