vendor
profile
Test-drive
your dream job,
without derailing
your career
changed careers. Kurth’s favorite stories include an
attorney who is now a chocolatier and an international banker who went on to train dogs. Kurth
beams when sharing the story of an insurance
claims investigator who, unable to finish college,
found inspiration from a TV production
VocationVacation. After the first day she cried, saying she felt that she’d wasted 20 years.
“Since her VocationVacation, she has kept her
day job but moved from upstate New York to
Philadelphia in order to pursue her dream,” says
Kurth. “As of this past September, she started part-time back in school at the Art Institute of
Philadelphia in TV and film production.”
Along with spurring people into making major
life changes, a VocationVacation can serve as a reality check. Kurth says vocationers often learn that
their dream job involves more regulations or
requires more money and longer hours than they’d
previously thought. There are even those who walk
away feeling their dream has been shattered.
One Seattle mentor, Danielle Cone, owner of
Fuel Coffee, a coffeehouse, says she made sure to tell
a vocationer that she works seven days a week and
that there isn’t a night when she goes home without
taking some work with her.
At the same time, Cone adds, “I really wanted
him to have the best experience possible. I love what
I do and take any chance I get to talk about it.” C
Name: VocationVacations
President: Brian Kurth
Employees:
6
Address:
1631 NE Broadway, No. 422,
Portland, OR 97232-1425
Phone: 1-866-888-6329
Web site:
www.vocationvacations.com
Products at Costco:
Gift certificates are available
at costco.com by searching
for “VocationVacations.”
Comments about Costco:
“The VocationVacations team
was in a workshop in
February [2006] and part of
the discussion was about
companies with whom we
wanted to partner because
they reflect a bit of who we
are as individuals. Costco was
at the top of the list because
we’re all members! VocationVacations is thrilled to be a
Costco vendor.”
PHOTOS: PHO TODISC
Writer eats own words
I’VE BEEN WRITING for The Connection dishes helps a food critic write a better
for nearly seven years, and despite the review, and that it’s wise to not finish
fact that my job is the envy of most of my anything if you don’t want to gain
friends, I’m not immune to the thought several pounds.
that the grass is greener on the other side. We then parted ways until dinner,
I jumped at the opportunity to go on when we ate at a new restaurant in
a VocationVacation. Being a ranch hand Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood.
sounded like too much work, and aller- Again, I enjoyed the meal. We shared
gies stopped me from running a doggie appetizers, sampled each other’s main
day care. Food critic looked promising. courses—I had the fish; Robinson had the
Getting paid to eat? How could it not be chicken. (Another food-critic secret: If a
everyone’s dream job? restaurant makes the chicken taste fan-
In late September I spent a day tastic and has the chef’s passion, then it’s
with my mentor, Costco member doing its job.) We also shared a fruit tart
Kathryn Robinson, food critic for Seattle and pumpkin crème brûlée, which was
Metropolitan magazine. She promised served in a tiny pumpkin shell.
me a fun day, but said that the nature At the end of a day punctuated by two
of the job meant she couldn’t promise fabulous meals, and through no fault of my
me good meals. mentor, I felt that I hadn’t done much more
We started the day at her office by than channel my cave-man ancestors when
talking about issues of anonymity: She talking about food: “Mmmmm … me like
makes reservations under her maiden this. This food good.”
name and has learned to take discreet The next day, when life and career
notes. We also discussed the writing coach Will Wiebe called to talk about
process, including the best ways to incor- my experience, I had to admit that I
porate all five senses when describing should leave Robinson to sleuthing subtle
food and restaurants. flavors and detailing a restaurant’s ambi-
After a little office work we headed ence. I’m just happy to know that the
out to lunch at Serious Pie, a new pizza grass isn’t always greener on the other
place run by Seattle celebrity chef Tom side—although it might taste a
