A little over a decade ago, when I’d just graduated college with an accounting degree, I started to question what I was doing with my life. I got an internship at some financial consulting firm where I spent every day fighting with printer ink cartridges, refiling staplers, and wearing slacks. And for what?! I didn’t want to work some corporate desk job crunching numbers for the proverbial man, I wanted to work among the titans of ska.
So I decided to do what all the “X Habits of Highly Successful People” articles tell you to do: dress for the job you want. Well, it’s been 12 years and I’m still not in Reel Big Fish!
Now, I’m not dense. I knew Reel Big Fish wasn’t ever going to post a job listing for “Ska backup vocalist and beatboxer.” So I started wearing the loudest Hawaiian shirts I could get my hands on. I took pride when putting on my boldly-colored track jackets, plaid button-ups, calf-length shorts, and the occasional jewel-toned suit jacket and tie. I have now been dressing this way every day for over a decade, regardless of the weather or the occasion. I’ve even grown my facial hair into perfectly shaped sideburns covering my jaw, yet still no word from Aaron Barrett and the boys!
I may not be a member of Reel Big Fish yet, but you can’t force the Law of Attraction. Just this week, I emailed Mr. Barrett asking him to please keep me in mind if they have any openings. I’m hoping it didn’t go into his spam folder again. One day, that job will be mine. Until then, I’ll continue to wear my fedora with hopeful optimism.