Business Set Up: Interviews & Founding Famers

Last time I came to visit D. and I tried to get in to eat at Founding Famers but it was a weekend at it was like a 3 hour wait or something obnoxious like that, so we went to find another place to eat but it was closed so finally we headed back to her apartment and had pizza or the like.  So we both knew that this trip we wanted me to experience the amazingness of Founding Famers, (see reviews and menu.)  So D. booked a reservation on Open Table, I did not want to miss this place although it may only be open for a New York minute.  Dearest readers, have you ever book marked or checked into a place so you can find it later only to discover that, it has already closed, you know a hot month or two after you were there last?  I have and it is so very sad.

We took the metro into DC, for those of you who don't know I LOVE riding the metro, most people don't feel the love from the DC metro system but I do!  It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy  and the

Metro train, orange line @ Foggy Bottom

fact that D's apartment is only a few city blocks away (great way to tone my calfs) only adds to my excitement, I (who lives in MN) even have the plastic DC commuter card, I carry it pretty much everywhere in my wallet.  I never know when I may need to whisk away to the city that has fashion, amazing food and is dripping in power (or people who think they are powerful and/or important but aren't.)  Like Big J. says, "if you are important you don't need to sit there and tell me that you're important," great life lesson readers.




Another life lesson readers is to not run around with your badge on while in DC-like this stranger does. It makes you look like an intern and it's not very safe security wise.  How likely is it that one would keep their job after loosing (or someone stealing) their badge that allows them access to their work while in DC in a city that almost every job comes with a badge? I have known staffers & magazine staff whom have gotten fired for this very reason, and with good cause.  I realize people think that their badge is a status symbol, and perhaps it is, but walking around with it out just isn't the greatest idea.

We arrive for our reservation, and the place looks like a ghost town, except for you know the well known actor in the corner upstairs, the member of the house that are having a powow, a few senate members, and one man I didn't actually need to run into.  Evidentially this is THE place to be at 9am. I order a ginger ale, now let me tell ya, this ginger ale is home made and it's $5 a glass its ahhhmazing.

So amazing that I thought about ordering a second, with no ice in a to go cup and spending way more money on my drink than on my food.  D. gets a dt. coke those of you that know her know this is her beverage of choice and she can often be found with it in her hand, the same could be said of me and Mt. Dew.  Our waiter is great, he takes our order for food and as we wait we scope out the place.  At this point I'm in a food heaven with the experience with my soda (D. likes it too), I'm

really not sure my food can top it... but then, it arrives. As you can see I ordered a waffle with strawberries and cream.  The waffle was crispy on the outside and soft on he inside, it was PERFECT.  D. and I wrapped up our eating adventure and I headed back to her apartment while she went to scope things out in the city.

So in this business adventure I need to do all of the normal business stuff: file the state docs, EIN, legal agreements, logo, website, etc.  However because this is for one of my dearest friends I of course am WAYYY more invested in her success, so two days ago we went to hold two interviews.

The first interview was with a zoo keeper, it was seriously on his resume.  I think they should have left him locked up with the baboons, this man had no class.  The interview didn't even start off well, I had emailed this man an address of a Starbucks to meet us at, he showed up at the wrong one, TWICE and it only got worse from there.  I mean absolutely very very bad.  Dear readers, I walked out of that interview impressed by how bad I felt about myself, this guy was amazing at backhanded compliments and inserting his foot into his mouth, all while this interviewee was hitting on my dear friend and staring at upper lady parts.  Hey buddy, our eyes are up here!  It took us a while on the ride home to discover what about him we didn't like, and when we pinpointed it the array of dislike spewed up like a fountain.  I think we both left that interview feeling like we needed a shower.

We arrived back to the apartment with enough time for me to rest and for D. to get ready.  For this second interview I decided to change just a bit.  We held the interview/ meeting with a prospective photographer, whose talents are unbelievable.  (I had already told him that he may need to RASISE HIS PRICES.)  I had also sent this man an address and when I called him to tell him we had arrived he said he was almost there, I got a bit nervous.  Could this one be as bad as the first?  If so I was going to want a drink and chocolate.  I ordered my drink (a mimosa) and we waited until he arrived, which was only a few minutes.  Let's be clear, this man followed directions, walked in with confidence and to the right place- he was already doing better than 90% of people I've interacted with at this point.  This photographer was hilarious, like my abs hurt yesterday kind of funny, we got so off topic my grandmother would have blushed.  This man beyond having a similar knack for child rearing as I do, shaking his head to the mom who was trying to reason with a 4 year old and saying, "it takes very little time to pretend like you actually care," and "your kid will get friends at school, what he needs is a parent," to D. and I he has also written a book that one day I hope he will allow me to purchase. "mmmmnnn honey that book is all to full for a good Christian girl like yourself," which made D. and I look at each other and laugh, and it made me seriously want to go and find to read on my 14 hour plane journey.  In the end, this man offered to walk us across the street back to D.'s apartment and wrote a very nice email to say that he had a nice time, well we did too and I hope to someday be able to meet him for a meal again, this time, I'll record it for my own personal enjoyment.

One of two, not a bad success rate, too bad I thought I had weeded out all of the real crazies. I will be setting up more meetings for tomorrow, Dear Lord, please give me some humor and remind me to wear really modest clothing.

Over and out.