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Yesterday was a bit crazy. Had a interview/negotiating seminar with the outplacement agency in the morning, and then the interview for the job I really kinda wanted in the afternoon.

It was not necessarily the smoothest of interviews.

They were running late, so they put me in the building lounge (a nice little spot, actually) got me some lovely still water, and kept me waiting. For 45 minutes. (Waiting seems to be a theme with this organization. *g*)

By the end of this time, what with the adrenaline working overtime I'm thinking I really should find a washroom before the actual interview. So I go looking, and just as I find it, yep, you guessed it, HR Dude One (he of the wacky phone interview) comes looking for me. I give him an interesting first impression, what with my hand on the bathroom door and all, go about me business, then wait for him to escort me to the interview room.

The room is tiny, with barely enough room for me and the three people doing the interview. There is no room for me to stand or walk. I like standing or walking while I'm teaching. Nonetheless, I give my teaching demo, sitting down, referring to printed out PowerPoint slides, and stumbling once. I was not at my shining best.

Then we get into the meat of the interview, which seemed to go really well. I'm a good fit for the job, and have a lot of experience I think they can use. Then it's over, and I'm slightly less than smooth about pressing them for their timelines on what's happening next. I also fail to get anyone's email to send thank you letters. (The leader of the interview seminar stressed the importance of thank you letters.) So last night I spend all evening after the little girl goes to bed drafting up the thank you letters whilst watching the men's figure skating. (Poor Patrick Chan.)

Oh, and did I mention I had a migraine all day? Still do, as a matter of fact.

Anyway, what with the agonizing over the letters, and fighting the feeling of having a spike in my right eye, and wishing I'd done a bunch of things differently in the interview, I figured I'd blown my chances at the job.

This morning, I email copies of the thank you letters to my job coach for a critique, walk over to a doctor's appointment--just a check up type thing--and then get back figuring I'll print up the revised thank you letters and hand deliver them. But then I get a phone call from HR Dude Two, asking if I'll take a phone call from HR Dude One in twenty minutes. Okaaaayyyy.

I'm thinking this means I've blown it. I wait for the twenty minutes, and HR Dude One calls back in exactly twenty minutes.

And he asks for my references.

And he says that if everything checks out, it looks like they'll be moving forward with me.

I spend the next two hours confirming that all my references are cool with me giving out their names, and telling them what to expect, then send their names to HR Dude One.

I'm being cautiously optimistic.

What's nice is that this is a job I'd really like, it's not just one I'll take for the paycheque. It's doing what I did before, in a smaller organization that values learning and doesn't entirely depend on profit motive. And from the people I met, it's got a slightly funky vibe, which is all good.

Now I just have to bide my time and wait to hear back from them. And negotiate my terms, of course.

Not to mention, get over this bloody migraine.

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*would twirl you, but not with a migraine, so pets you gently*

Huzzah for impressing the heck outta the HR Dweebs, even while ill!

Appreciates gentle pets. Darn migraine.

Since these are hopefully future colleagues, I wouldn't call them dweebs. They just have a more relaxed take on organization and scheduling than I'm used to. Hence the "Dude" designation. Hey, I can deal with dudes. *g*

But yay! for impressing them and the other two managers.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! Nice work keeping your cool even with a migrane, it sounds very promising.

Also wanted to let you know I read you 'secrets' last night after a reccie by S2K and loved it. You have such a way with words. You come up with the most incredible story lines and write them so I feel like a fly on the wall. cheers xx

Thanks! I can usually function with a migraine to some degree, but this one finally knocked me flat last night.

Thanks for the kind words about the story. It's always nice to hear someone liked a story.

Well, darned about the migraine, but way to go with the job interview!

The ghost of the migraine is hanging on, but at least I'm feeling good about the job prospects.

Sounds very hopeful - all fingers and toes crossed!

The leader of the interview seminar stressed the importance of thank you letters.

That's interesting - I don't think we do that so much here, and as an interviewer I doubt it would sway me one way or another regarding a candidate. We tend to rely more on work history, references and interview presentation than some of the more ritual-like observances *g*

Here's hoping.

I'm not entirely sure about the thank you letter thing myself, but on the other hand if it comes down to you and one other person, and the other person sent a thank you letter...

*whispers a very cautious "Whoohoo!"*

I shall let you all know when the whoohoo can be more than cautious.

*hugs you gently* Wow, that sounds brilliant! Do let us know what happens--but it sounds pretty hopeful (she says evasively, hoping hot to jinx anything...)!

~Kris

I don't want to jinx it either, but it is looking good. I shall post when I know more details.

I sorry that you've got a migraine and I can see where that would have been really stressful buy YEAH to it looking like a very real opportunity and it being something you'd really like. ♥

Of course, the upside of the migraine is that concentrating on not throwing up from pain takes your mind off the stress of the interview. *g*

I am chuffed that it looks like the job search might be nearing it's end. But I do wish the remnants of this stupid migraine would go the hell away. (I want to do some writing. Starting with your WWW piece!)

... All things considered, I think I'd still take the stress. *g*

That's all right petal, just concentrate on feeling better. ♥ I can wait on the ficcage I'm just pleased to know it's on its way. *g*

Besides which, I'm sympathetic. I must have now written and deleted about 10,000 or so words for my Help-Haiti story and it only has to be 1500+ words. *sigh*

Stress does no doubt beat a three day migraine. I'm just trying to be positive. *g*

Once this bloody headache leaves once and for all, I'm definitely getting back on the writing wagon.

In spite of the trouble they're giving you, I'm dying to see what you do with Illya and Napoleon. (They usually only give me grief when I'm trying to write a sex scene. *g*)

I wouldn't hold your breath. *flails* I have a laundry list of things to try to hit so I'm just trying to work around those... I'm still not sure how graphic this little outing is going to be as that part's up to me. Still, when in doubt, a sex scene or two never hurts anything. *g*

Mmmmm, wet Illya.

I'm sorry did you say something? I was distracted by your icon. *g*

I'd love to see you write a sex scene or two. I love Illya/Napoleon sex. I just can't seem to write much of it myself. (Unlike Bodie & Doyle. I can't seem to keep those two from having sex. "Bodie! Doyle! This is meant to be an expository scene. Why are you snogging in the corner? And Doyle, why is your hand down Bodie's pants?!" ::sigh::)

That icon distracts everybody, even people who don't recognize him. *g*

I do know what you mean about it's easier with some characters than others... For instance, I can get Doyle or Sam to take their clothes off at the drop of a hat, no problem. Bodie or Gene? Much more coaxing is necessary, often involving much bribery, begging and whining in Gene's case in particular. Both Bodie and Gene always seem to be asking for hot sweaty don't-have-time-to-really-get-naked up against the wall sex instead. <--- It's a rough life.

In order to answer three mates prompts at once I could get Bodie and Sam together no problem, but although I tried and I tried until I almost strained something I couldn't get Gene and Doyle to do more than drink together and have an intimate chat... couldn't make it happen.

I feel a bit out of step with the MFU fandom as I see Napoleon as *far* more likely than Illya to be totally all right with swinging both ways and see Illya as more likely to take charge and to be less sentimental than Napoleon. I think that's why NA bought my work in the HH auction so now I don't want to let her down.

Bodie definitely does like to hide his, um, assets. Though he sometimes surprises me and gets all naked and debauched without much coaxing. I can only imagine Gene would be ten times harder. As it were. *g* (I have to say, I tend to approve of hot sweaty don't-have-time-to-really-get-naked up against the wall sex.)

I entirely approve of your take on MFU fandom. But then I've never been entirely in step with it myself. I totally see Illya as the take charge sort, and less sentimental. Though I have to admit, it took me a while to talk myself into the slash, since at first I saw Napoleon as completely straight. I didn't see the show until I was in university--we never got reruns up in Canada till then, and I was but a wee bairn when it first aired--and I immediately read Illya a gay. (I've got the journal entry about the first episode I ever saw to prove it. And this was years before I knew about slash. *g*) After a while, I realized that Napoleon wasn't just checking out the women, he was checking out everyone. Including Illya. So yes, Napoleon being totally okay with swinging both ways is something that completely makes sense to me.

It's odd too as LC certainly demonstrated in the Cuckoo Waltz that he had no issues at all with stripping off on screen.

I always seem to work out later what I apparently approve of after a good mate points something out like I must have a handcuff kink... confined space kink... cellar kink... priest kink... wall sex kink... and when I make the "Huh?" face at them they point out how many times it crops up in my stories. Ah well, we live and learn. *g* Sometimes though I'm just being contrary. I'm only drawn to slash pairings that I see as complete equals, including equally as likely to top at any time, so if I find myself in a fandom where one topping is more prevalent I'll often buck the trend, like writing Gene bottoming quite often.

I watched it in re-runs with my Dad when I was a nipper in London but I don't really remember it very clearly, it was more about the "dad time" although I thought the blond was cute and wowed the kids in the playground with my ability to pronounce his name correctly. I saw it again when I was about 12, I think and immediately thought they were doing it like crazed weasels but that Napoleon would have had to work hard to get Illya interested. I tend to look aghast at the "My Little Illya" stories.

It's like LC decided Bodie was going to be modest showing his manflesh. Damn him, anyway. (At least MS had no such compunction.)

I'm definitely with you on being drawn to pairings that are equals. I tend to trade off who tops and bottoms, though if I see a pairing that the fanfic perpetually paints one way, like the fragile, always bottoming Illya, I tend to like giving them the top role more often. Then there's the bloke who tops from the bottom, always a favourite with me.

Cool that UNCLE was your "dad time." Apparently for me, that was Danger Man. As a teenager, I was watching The Prisoner when my dad popped into the living room. He said, "Oh, that's Danger Man." Me: "You know Danger Man?!" Dad: "Yeah, we used to watch it together when you were little." Me: 0_0. Ya gotta understand, even assuming Canada got the show late, I was probably only 4 or 5 at the time.

The things my parents let me watch, god bless 'em. According to my mom, I was also a Monty Python addict at age 5. And Mom and I would watch The Sweeney together when I was 7 or 8.

I do think it was a deliberate decision, sort of a mufti based decision, as in RL photos of him he's often more "exposed."

Ah on the same page then as Napoleon's continual and complete domination of Illya in so much of the fan fiction really makes me confused. Oh topping from the bottom is fine too, it's not just about the physical position -- hey, some people just prefer one over the other -- it's when it's used as another way to turn them in to some sort of 1950s sort of couple where one is completely dominant over the other in the relationship and that's then illustrated in the sex scenes too... Generally the "victims" in my favourite slash pairings are Doyle, Sam and Illya... things between Holmes & Watson seem to fall out more evenly in the fandom. I will NEVER understand that impulse to write these men as people who frankly would have been incapable of holding down the jobs they have. I can't help feeling that it's some sort of bizarre variation on the Mary-Sue or an attempt to write a Mills & Boon story with favourite male characters.

Not quite cool... Alfie worked long hours and as I was the apple of his eye -- my brother is several years older -- I used to get to stay up a little later so he could see me. Of course my memories of that are more than a little tainted by the fact that he took off with another woman when I was six and I never saw him again. When I talk about my Dad now I mean my step-father who married my mother when I was 10 and who is the father of my little brother. He's a very good man who has done an excellent job of being a Dad to my older brother and I too.

I delight in collecting pictures of a much more exposed LC. There are certainly a number of them floating about. Why he thought Bodie had to be clothed up to his chin, I'll never know.

A big chunk of why I'm usually drawn to certain characters is their competence. So writers who take competent, interesting men and turn them into hand-wringing, overly-emotional schoolgirls is a continual frustration. The Mills & Boon impulse does probably explain some of it, but then I'm not overly fond of that trope either. (I worked at a bookstore during high school, and at the store we used to crack each other up by reading the first page of the latest shipment of Harlequin romances, the Canadian version of M&B, outloud. I am genetically incapable of taking those things seriously.)

Very sorry to hear about your father. Very not cool, that is. But at least your stepfather is a good man. I didn't see my dad too much growing up, but that was because he was the chief engineer on a Coast Guard icebreaker--basically, he was Scotty--and he'd be away for months at a time. I tend to cherish the memories of us sharing things, since he wasn't around too much, and I think I often baffled him. But he was awesome at things like showing me how to use power tools and do basic car repairs. And we shared an affection for Bond movies and F1 racing.

I used to work at B&N on the weekends and part of what I did was compose the book displays. HQ would have certain set titles and then you could add a few of your own and the shop manager gave me the job as he said my knowledge of books was wider than anybody else's, meaning I didn't just read in one genre, etc.

I had to do a Romance novel display and it was up for a couple of weeks before he realized that I'd added in some m/m romances that had particularly lurid covers of a M&B-type, like these (http://www.amazon.com/M.-J.-Pearson/e/B001JS4OV8/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_4?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1266769568&sr=8-20), because they blended in so well. *eg* I can't find my favourite cover right now, that has a very big man foregrounded with a smaller man clinging adoringly to his legs (it's a Regency image). In the background, is a seriously pissed off looking woman. *g*

Ah, what's done is done and he probably did me a favour all things considered.

It's probably a good thing I worked at the bookstore during the early '80s, when there wasn't much m/m about. I would have spent my whole paycheque on 'em. As it was, I'd occasionally sneak the Joy of Gay Sex into the break room when there was no one about.

Go you! And to do so well despite migraines and unexpected waits and tiny rooms! Double go you!! Way to persevere and make your own luck!

*Cheers*

Thanks. It's been a nutty week, but it was a nice way to end it. Minus the migraine, of course. (Stupid thing is still vaguely hanging around.)

Got my fingers crossed for you that you get good news and soon. Feel better, hon. I can only imagine how much migraines such.

Thanks. I'm hoping I hear sooner rather than later.

As for the migraine, the worst of it is over, but the last bit is hanging on. Looks like another early night with a cold compress.

Good luck with the next step! Sometimes interviews don't have to go perfectly!

Thanks! Guess the interview doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be better than everyone else's. (And I have to say, I produced some very nice documentation for their demo.)

Keeping fingers crossed that it all works out for you.

And kudos for doing so well whilst ill!

*Hugs*

Thanks! Kudos and hugs much appreciated.

This sounds so positive! And it's a job you'd be happy with, not just one taken to keep you working, so yay for that as well.

It's very nice that the job is a good one. Here's hoping I hear sooner rather than later.

This is happy news indeed. Sounds liked all the little things you wished could have gone better didn't faze them at all. As you'd mentioned, it doesn't sound like they have a super serious (and organized!) corporate mentality. So as long as you can deal with some of their funkiness, they should be able to deal with yours. That's just terrific.

The funkiness wouldn't faze me normally. Having a kid has made me tolerant of flexible schedules. (45 minutes late cause the kid threw a fit? Been there, done that.) The worst part was being keyed up for both interviews and then having to wait.

But if the atmosphere is more relaxed for work, that's all good in the end.

Good luck!

Thanks!

Still crossing all me digits for you, mate.. I like the thought of a funky vibe, so I hope this works out.

And I hope your migraine is over by now.

The funky vibe is all good from my point of view. (I had to go and get non-funky clothes for interviewing, so if I can break out the funky skirts and jackets again I'll be happy.)

As for the migraine, the bastard's hanging on. Here's hoping one more good night's sleep kicks it out the door.

My fingers are crossed for you. I hope you get this job, ... and lose your migraine! :-)

Thanks! I'm hoping the same thing. (The darn migraine is mostly gone, but the last bit just seems to want to hang on.)

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