The Job Offer

Hearst Castle's famed pool

 Ninth Week of Semester
(March 2 - 11)

So...Spring Break was supposed to be relaxing. Yeah, I should have known it would be hectic! Luckily, it's hectically filled with tons of visits with family, friends and, oh yeah, lots of food!

On Saturday morning I stop by say my old house to say "hi" to my Dad and pick up the monster truck I will be driving for the next week (only a slight exaggeration).

After that, Nick and I grab lunch at Sea Casa for some long overdue Mexican food before stopping by his parent's house for a quick visit.

Chipotle Battered Tiger Shrimp at The Cave

 That night, we meet up with some of our friends for dinner at Ventura Wine Co.'s restaurant and wine tasting bar, The Cave. We partake in the fun wine sampling machines and indulge in the restaurant's equally amazing food. I get the chipotle battered tiger shrimp and a delicious Caesar salad.

Keeping it classy at Golf N' Stuff

Our amazing dinner is followed up with, what else, mini golf! The four of us have a blast in the uber-kitchy Golf N' Stuff. What a great night!

Sunday is a relaxing day. After lounging around for most of the day and fitting in a few bits of homework, Nick and I head over to dinner with my family at my Stepmom's house, along with Tivo'd episodes of Saturday Night Live.

On Monday I wake up early to go shopping for groceries and get my cooking on! You see, I have fallen victim to that disease known as Pinterest and have wanted to cook tons of things on the site for months. Alas, as we know, my micro studio does not have an oven and so I want to take advantage of my boyfriend's large kitchen.

A picture of the ACTUAL Mexican shells I made. Please, hold your applause.

First up: Mexican stuffed shells! They turn out pretty well considering I usually can barely microwave my dinner. When Nick gets home for lunch I serve them up and get his seal of approval. Look who's miss Suzy homemaker over here! When he returns to work I head off to meet an old friend from an art history class I took years ago.

My friend and I chat, grab coffee and stop by another of our friend's home to visit her new baby.

Katrina: Master Chef

When I get home that night I decide I simply must bake a cake from a Pinterest recipe (see, I told you; It's a disease). I spend more than two hours coloring cake layers in different shades of pink. This was also a great success. Note my makeshift piping from a plastic bag.

Tuesday I'm up early again (what's with the no sleeping in?!) and make the drive to Pasadena to see one of my best friends from High School (can you believe it's been 8 years since I graduated High School?). She's living in So-cal now and in her second year of Law school so we completely commiserate with one another on the stresses of school, looking for a job and those hefty student loans. We spend the whole day chatting, getting pastries and coffee at Euro Pane Bakery and watching episodes of Gossip Girl (don't judge) before joining her boyfriend for a late lunch at Daikokuya, a famed noodle house in Monterrey Park.

I don't leave my friend's apartment until 7:30 pm that night and head straight to Orange County to meet my Mom. After arriving at my Mom's house in Costa Mesa, I'm exhausted so I don't last long  before falling asleep at 9:30pm.

More pictures of food...

 The next morning (Wednesday) I get up early for brunch at one of my favorite Orange County restaurants: Plums. I order up a new item from the menu, a chocolate waffle topped with bananas, salted caramel, toasted hazelnuts and an abundance of whipped cream. You know, just a light meal to start the day.

After that my Mom and I watch Hugo at home, shop at TJ Maxx, take a nap and go to my favorite restaurant of all time: Wahoo's Fish Tacos. The place of wonders (my soul food) is home to my #1 Shrimp Taco Combo and total gastronomic happiness.

I leave Orange County at 5:30pm for dinner with my University of Washington friend who I studied with in Rome. We meet up at Manhattan Beach Post in Manhattan Beach for drinks and their amazing cuisine (see, I told you that I would eat my way across Southern California).

Thursday morning I get up early to prepare for my phone interview with the employer interested in placing me in a co-op/temporary position at their firm. The interview goes well (I think/hope) and the position sound very interesting! Plus, a classmate of mine is currently on co-op in this same position and I know everyone working there loves it. I'll keep you posted on what comes of this potential opportunity.

After I get off the phone I meet my Stepmom for lunch at Sharky's for more Mexican food (gotta make up for lost time!) and catching up on the past several months. I can't believe I haven't been home since September.

After lunch we grab a coffee at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and she leaves me to my hours of homework. Ugh! I suppose it was unavoidable...I plug away at it for the next 5 hours before meeting my Dad for dinner.

We meet up at The Oaks shopping center (the 'hub' of tiny Westlake Village) for some Japanese food at Buddha's Belly (one of my Dad's faves). We catch up for more than two hours and I fill him in on my job search, school, etc.

On Friday I'm up early to work on some more homework while Nick is as work. I try to get as much done as possible before he gets home around 11:00am for our mini-vacation to Cambria and Hearst Castle.

When he gets home we grabs our bags and spend the next four hours driving up the coast, taking in the beautiful scenery, grabbing lunch at Dukes in Ventura and ice cream at Doc Burnstein's Ice Cream Lab in Arroyo Grande.

However, all that California coastline takes a backseat to the news I receive at 4:00 pm that afternoon.....DRUM ROLL PLEASE....I, Katrina Graves, receive a job offer for an Assistant Marketing Manager position at the company I have been interviewing with for the past month! In verifiable shock it's all I can do to gather the necessary information and thank the HR representative who translated the great news to me.

After I get off the phone I just look at Nick with my mouth agape. I honestly cannot believe it. How did I, the girl who applied to what felt like hundreds of co-op positions, get a job this early in the game? I spend the next several hours shivering in excitement, crying and smiling like a crazed person. I can't believe how lucky I am! The position is amazing and I am so excited to be working for a  consumer goods company (and one in the Boston area at that!). I literally got everything I could have asked for in this job and more.

That night, after Nick and I check into Pelican Inn & Suites, we have a celebratory walk on the beach for sunset and dinner at The Black Cat Bistro.

Only slightly larger than my studio

On Saturday, Nick and I are up early for breakfast and our 10:00 am tour of Hearst Castle. We take the 20-minute ride up the hillside to the palatial estate. It was a truly impressive home and the weather couldn't have been better. So happy I finally got to visit this historic site.

Gorgeous indoor pools at Hearst Castle

After our tour, Nick and I make the four-hour drive home just in time for dinner at Mastro's with his parents where I indulge in my favorite restaurant dessert of all time: butter cake.

Sunday is a LONG day of travel, cancelled flights and horrible customer service at United Airlines (like, seriously horrible). I finally manage to make it home around midnight that night. What a hectic end to an eventful spring break.

*The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Northeastern University, its staff or affiliates.