Immobile in Mobile

I’m sitting at a cute little coffee shop in downtown Mobile, sipping on a large iced vanilla latte and people-watching. It’s so interesting to be in the middle of downtown and look out the window to see a large cargo ship cruising by, flanked by a tall skyscraper. The bay is beautiful, the downtown area rather small, but clean.

A lot of women have walked into the shop wearing business suits, their hair manicured, their accents southern. I want to stop every single one of them and say, “Excuse me, Miss, but how did you come to get a job where you can strut around in those fancy clothes and heels? I’d like to be involved in that.”

Oh, those southern accents may indicate hospitality and friendliness, but a lot of people keep to themselves. It’s hard to be an outsider in a small town. Family trees around here are firmly rooted (and yes, most of them branch out) – but come on, somebody has got to be looking to hire!

To be fair, I did get a job offer. The job was to run the dining services at a local upscale golf shop in the beautiful area of Springhill (it’s actually associated with Springhill College- Jesuit college for the über rich). Come to find out, this job was not actually to “run the dining services…”, but to run drinks out to the golfers. Okay, I can’t complain about workin’ it in front of a bunch of Corporate chumps (hell, I’ll do that for free), but I was a little offended. I do have brains! And an impressive resumé thankyouverymuch.. I understand, there is a need for sales, the client wants cute girls catering to patrons, and the tips will be terrific.
However, I feel like a little belittled.

Which is why I’m downtown. Job-searching.

Doesn’t it make you mad when someone is making a ton of money doing something that you know you could do better? How do they market themselves? I’m looking at the walls of photographs in this coffee shop – these customers seem to be highly impressed by the flowery landscape or desert canyons portrayed. One of the customers even touched one to see if it was an oil painting or photograph on canvas. I feel like turning my computer to them and saying, Hello, I can do the same thing. Look, I have pics to prove it!

Or maybe I should walk around with a big flashy smile and a shirt that says FOR HIRE. Although, I’m afraid of the clientele that may attract. I’d have to invest in a teeth whitener anyway and, frankly, I’m on a budget.

Lesson learned numero uno: follow your dreams, not your boyfriend.