Sushi and the Boy

When I first moved to Santa Fe I was offered two jobs simultaneously. One was a sales job with Anne McGilvray and the other was working with the buyer of the art museums in town. I wanted the sales job, but it was commission only and would not have a paycheck for several months until the commission kicked in. So I started working at the Museum of New Mexico. My friend P. Susan use to love the letterhead of the buying office stationery. It read across the bottom: Museum of New Mexico Foundation's Museum of New Mexico Retail Buying Office. Since the Museum of New Mexico had several museums under it's wing, I used to even add the name of the museum I was in that day when I answered the phone. So I would see that it was her calling and would answer, "Thank you for calling Museum of New Mexico Foundation's Museum of New Mexico's New Mexico Folk Art Museum Retail Buying Office, this is Kaline, how can I help you?" We would laugh hysterically for a few minutes and then get back to work. This job lasted about a few weeks before I realized I was incredibly unhappy with my decision. I really wanted the sales job, selling gifts and books wholesale. This job was a job I was meant to have and after realizing I made the wrong choice, I called Anne and the job was still open. Both of us were elated to be working together and as it stands today, this was the best job I've ever had. It didn't pan out financially the way that I had hoped, but I have never had as much fun working sixty to eighty hours a week.

When I left Anne McGilvray after 5 years, I started working for Macy's. This was in 2004. I started as a sales manager and was managing the Men's and Lingerie departments. My first Valentine's Day back in retail, I was moving the Valentine boxers in the back of the Men's department to the front by the registers, hoping for a boost in sales. A very hyper girl came up to me and said, "Can I ask you a very personal question?" I said, "Go for it." She said, "Okay, are you gay?" Alarmed at the audacity of the question, I said, "Yes." She said, "My name's Holly and my friend John wants to ask you out on a date, but he is obviously too chicken to come over here and ask you. So I'm asking you for him. Can he have your phone number?" Her friend, John, was nowhere in sight.

Now, in the right state of mind, I probably would have just brushed her off, called security and had her escorted from the store. No way would I give a stranger my phone number without meeting them first. But I thought, "What the hell" and gave her my number. I really don't know why I did that.

I don't think it was long before John began texting me, which was the first time I had actually ever used the Text Message feature on my phone. That same day, he also sent me a picture of himself and I realized he was much younger than I had anticipated. He was ten years younger than me and I thought there was no way I would be even willing to go out on a date with him. But I still kept texting back. In the meantime, I was talking to my friend Valerie and telling her how I could not date someone so young. She convinced me that age shouldn't be an issue and I should give him a chance.

While we were texting, I thought, I bet he doesn't like good food. I bet someone who is 20 years old just loves pizza and fast food and would not be interested in a beautifully cooked meal or a reservation at a top restaurant. This wouldn't work for me because all I do is read about food, watch food shows, cook food, bake, talk about food, and eat food. I knew whoever I ended up with had to have a strong appreciation for good food. So I texted him, "What is your favorite food?" I cringed when I heard my phone beep with a response. I was afraid to look with fear of seeing "Pizza."

He didn't say "Pizza." He said, "Sushi." And so we live happily ever after. I don't know what would've happened if he said Pizza or Taco Bell. I am so thankful that he didn't. Almost 5 years later, we are still together and I love him more and more each day. We don't have sushi as often as we would like, but we always eat together whenever we can. This is one of the many things that has kept us together. We enjoy our meals together and we come up with terrific new ideas to try out in the kitchen. I couldn't be happier!