The Interview

Most people suffer a variety of insecurities in their lives. It might be the usual--"Does this make me look fat?" or something really obscure--"What if they don't like my voice?" "What if no one likes my book?" "What if no one talks to me?"

There are few situations that are as stressful as interviewing for a new job, especially if you've been out of the job market for a long time. The year before I turned forty, my company shut down and moved to another state, callously tossing me out into a closed job market along with seven hundred and seventy other unemployed workers. Ours was a small county with few jobs and our old company was one of the major employers in the region.

After assessing my chances of getting a job in a different field, I opted to go back to school. For some reason, waving a piece of parchment under an employer's nose is more impressive than just knowing how to do the job. So I took my unemployment check (one third of my old salary) and went to school everyday. The check was totally dependent on attendance at school. And if we were more than twenty minutes late, that automatically counted as an absence.

Things at my house were kind of grim. The househunk had fallen from a scaffold at work so he was on disability. My two sons were laid off the same time I was, but because they were still in high school they didn't qualify for unemployment. So my disability check was very important.

I started school in October. By January I was finished with the course, but with no job in sight I made sure that I kept attending school so that I received my check. One day the househunk and I spent the morning hours under our mobile home repairing a broken pipe. Time slipped away and before I realized it, I was late for school. There was no time to change clothes. I brushed the mud from my sweat pants, threw on a jacket and took off.

That afternoon, our instructor came in very excited and as soon as class was started, she took me to the side and told me all about a job that was available right downstairs in one of the offices at the school. She urged me to go down and ask for an application so I did. It was long, so I took it back upstairs and filled it out. Then, wanting to impress them with my business like behavior, I went back downstairs, turned it in, and asked for an appointment for an interview.

I'll never forget the expression on the secretary's face. She took my application, holding it by the corner between two fingers as though she was going to catch something from me and carried it into the Director's office. There was the buzz of conversation. Then the secretary came out and announced, "She'll see you now."

"But I'm not dressed for an interview!" I protested.

"Yeah, she knows." From her smirk, it was obvious that she'd given the Director a pretty clear description.

Now, I was positive that I wasn't going to get this job so I decided to make the best of things and use it for interview practice. I followed her into the office. The Director took my jacket which led to the mortifying discovery that my t-shirt had a hole in the shoulder seam. Obviously, I wasn't going to impress the woman except in a bad way!

We had a very nice chat. She was gracious and polite and listened intently when I talked. After the interview she mentioned that she would let me know if two days what her decision was as she had two more people to interview. I went back upstairs and thought no more about it.

The next day as I was walking upstairs to go to my class, I heard a woman calling my name. I turned around and it was the Director. "Do you want the job?"

"Of course!"

"Well, then come into my office!"

I went back down those stairs so fast I was in danger of tripping. We had another chat. I filled out more paperwork. And she arranged an interview with the Asst. District Superintendent. That was Thursday. On Monday, I started work as the Director's secretary. And that secretary that was so snotty? I was her new supervisor.

I was there thirteen years. About five years after that interview, my boss and I were having a discussion about that interview. She told me why she hired me. "I figured if you could gracefully survive an interview under those conditions, you could handle anything that happened in this office."

So why did I tell you my little story, you ask. Well, I learned something then. I learned that it's not how we handle life when we're prepared; it's how we handle the things that hurtle out of the darkness in left field when we're totally unprepared that counts in the long run. That's what demonstrates what we're made of. We can collapse into a quivering heap and whimper that we're not ready. Or we can face the challenge head on and stare it down into submission. And when we win, we can walk away with our head held high.

Anny

Want a blog or three to start your day right? Try Amarinda, Kelly, or OhGetaGrip! Or any from the list on the right! Blessings on your day.

Dragon in the System by Cindy Spencer Pape--G

It's MONDAY! And that means it's time for the Mini-Review and Interview. My guest today is Cindy Spencer Pape, my third critique partner. She was gracious about answering my nosy questions. And of course, we all know she looooves dragons, so right there we have something in common. With that, we'll just plunge right in.



1) If you could start over with your writing career, what if anything would you change? I’d start earlier! Much earlier.



2) What was the best piece of advice you received regarding the life of a writer? The great author Douglas Adams once wrote “drink lots of coffee and buy a desk that can withstand having your head banged upon it.” Substitute Diet Coke for the coffee and there you go.



3) If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be? Well there are several politicians living and dead that I’d like to meet just for the opportunity to smack them upside the head! Other than that, Marie Curie, perhaps? Jane Austen? Thomas Jefferson? Leonardo DaVinci? Nah, none of them would talk to me anyway.



4) If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be? Dr. Watson. You know he had to be the stabilizing force in that duo.



5) What do you want to be when you grow up? Grow up? Bite your tongue. I have no intention of doing any such thing. Now growing old is a different story. I plan to spend my old age sipping cocktails on the beach and banging out stories on my laptop. Oh yeah, that’s the life.



6) In the next century, what do you hope people will remember you for? Heck, I hope they remember me at all. Hmmm- being remembered for my writing would be cool. As a loving wife and parent? That crazy writer who sat on the beach and wrote all those sexy stories?

Dragon in the System by Cindy Spencer Pape from Cerridwen Press

There was a funny thing that happened on the way to me reading this story. I read a bunch of other dragon stories so I had a pre-conceived notion about how this one would go. Hah! Was I wrong, thank goodness! Cindy very skillfully leads the reader down the uh, steam tunnel without giving away the secret, so I sure won’t spoil all of her hard work, except to say that the fun has barely begun. At least one of the characters already has his own book and I’ve really been lobbying for more.

To be perfectly honest, my entire college experience was part-time as an adult (graduated in my forties!) Most of my time at college was a mad dash from work to class and then another mad dash for home, so I have no frame of reference when it comes to academia. But the story made me wish—just a little— that I had been able to have that experience. Certainly, Cindy uses the refreshing backdrop of a small college town combined with intelligent characters with the complete confidence of experience.

The characters were ordinary men and women caught up in something so unusual that they demonstrated their strength and courage and ingenuity by rising to the occasion. Eric is one hot geek. Yeah, he is and Lori isn’t too bad herself. Keep the fan on high and the ice water close when these two get together.

If you want a hot entertaining read, get yourself a Dragon in the System.



Anny

The Seventy Day Writing Challenge...

So I joined a writing challenge. Four to six pages every single day for the next seventy days. Hmmm. I betcha I get a lot of stuff done. There's nothing like a challenge to get your ideas flowing. The challenge begins today and runs through September 20. Oh, boy.

No excuses. The way I understand the challenge, I have to post my total word count every Wednesday. If you miss one day of writing, you have to make it up another day. But I figure if I post it each day on the blog, it will motivate me to keep on task so beginning tomorrow, I'll post my output--words and pages. We'll see how this goes.

Housekeeping stuff... Remember that Monday's are the Mini-Review and Interview. Tomorrow's guest author is Jenyfer Matthews. And I will be reviewing her Cerridwen Press novel, Here to Stay. You won't want to miss out on this chance to get to know her.

On Thursday, my second book, Dancer's Delight will be released by Cerridwen Press. I can barely believe that I'll have two books! Two! So on Tuesday and Wednesday, I'll also post a couple of short excerpts just to give you a sneak peak.

My friend and fellow writer, Amarinda Jones, reviewed Chrysanthemum on her blog yesterday. Wow, I'm really impressed with myself. I'll probably need a hat a couple sizes bigger after reading that review. (And don't worry Amarinda. No charge for this one!) If you'd like to read her review, you'll find it at http://amarindajones.blogspot.com/.

Since I'm going to be very, very busy for the next seventy days, I believe I'll just finish this with a wish for restful sleep and happy dreams.

Anny