Opportunity Knocks

I have had a lot happen to me this past week. I don't think that I can fit it all into one blog entry, partly because I don't have the time to type it all, and partly because I don't know how the story is going to end just yet. But I can start with what's happend so far, anyway. It all started last weekend when opportunity knocked.

Last weekend I was cleaning the office and thinking to myself that I really, really hate cleaning the office on the weekends. I want my weekends to myself. The only reason I even agreed to clean the office was because I desperately needed more hours. Even though I have a good job and I work in a really nice office, I would like to work at my job and not have to do additional things (like janitorial work) to make ends meet. Sure, I can do it, and I am doing it, but I'd rather just do one job at a time. So I am cleaning and thinking along these lines when the vacuum cleaner starts acting funny. Then it starts acting really funny and making a strange noise. As I turn the &!@% thing off, I notice a thin wisp of smoke trailing out from the engine vents.

Great....

Why me?.....

At first I thought that it was my fault. I had been suspecting that the bag was getting full, but I had been avoiding changing it for two reasons: A) I didn't have a new bag to put into it, and B) I didn't know how to install a new bag even if I had one, and C) I didn't really care that much, mainly because of that certain weekend laziness that tends to kick in on weekends. Yes, I know that that's technically three reasons, but I don't really feel like going back and fixing what I already wrote, and who cares, it's my blog and no one reads it anyway. So I'm kicking myself thinking that I ruined the office vacuum cleaner and it's gonna come out of my paycheck. Combined with the I-hate-cleaning-the-office feelings I had been experiencing earlier, I wasn't feeling exactly warm and fuzzy about my work that day. So I went and bought a newspaper. I went straight to the employment listings, and what did I find? A want ad for an Optometry office in Morro Bay looking for an optician. "experience preferred, will train right person" Ding ding ding ding ding!!! We have a winner!! Well, it didn't quite happen like that, but it certainly caught my attention. I munched on it for a day, then decided I would send in my resume. I updated my list of accomplishments and printed it out with a nice cover letter, got up first thing on Monday morning and dressed myself real nice to make a good first impression, and dropped it off with the office manager. I wasn't very sure they would respond at all, so I was very surprised that by lunchtime that same day I had a message on my phone from the office manager asking me for an interview. Wow. I went in for the interview on Thursday morning and I think it went really well. The gal who interviewed me was nice, and the office looked very nice and well run. I was briefly introduced to the other staff members, who seemed friendly, too. That day I left and went back to work at 1, and when I checked my phone at 5, I had a message asking me to come back in for a second interview with the doctor herself. Wow again! I called back at about 5:10, and they asked me if I could come in at 5:30. I already had plans that I couldn't ignore, so I had to say no. The receptionist put me on hold, then the doctor came to the phone to talk to me herself. She asked again if I could come at 5:30, and I said no, I'm sorry I can't. So she says, "well if you can't come in tonight, do you think you can make it tomorrow?" I said yes, and arranged with her that we would meet at 5:30 the next day, Friday. She said she was looking forward to meeting me, we exchanged some pleasantries, and we hung up.

O_O

Now maybe its just me, but things seemed to be moving a little bit fast at that point. I was still trying to figure out how on earth I had suddenly found myself back in the world of resumes and interviews, when I'm getting called in for the formal "second interview". Translation: "we're seriously considering hiring you". And this isn't just some side job like I've always held in the past. I wouldn't be working part time doing busywork for someone else, or a receptionist answering phones all day and filing paperwork, I'd be an optician. That's like, a real career! We're talking full time, salary, benefits, retirement package, paid time off, the works. C-A-R-E-E-R. I know I'm making a big deal out of that, but I'm still getting used to the possibility that maybe I'm finally going to be getting a career. I've always wanted one, but I've never been able to, being a college student and all. And now, all of a sudden, before my very eyes, the possibility is presenting itself. I am so excited!

But I'm losing my train of thought. At that point, I was starting to get really nervous. I was only just recovered from the nervousness of the interview I'd had that same morning, and already I had to start preparing myself to meet with the doctor who would be hiring me. She had sounded very professional on the phone, very "let's get to the point". Shrewd, I think would be a good word to describe my initial impression of her. So I started preparing myself mentally for my second interview. I felt like a deer in headlights when I thought about how the next day was going to go. I was going to be working from 9-5, then I had to get back to my apartment and change clothes, then drive through that typical end-of-the-day traffic to get to Morro Bay by 5:30. That's cutting it pretty close. I knew timing would be everything, and I was worried. I just wanted it to be over.

That night I couldn't stop thinking about my upcoming interview, and I did some pretty stupid stuff to try and get my mind off of it that didn't help much. I thought I had been in enough interviews to know pretty much everything I should expect, but I didn't have any idea what was in store for me. But this entry is already getting pretty long, so I'm going to stop for now. When I blog again, I'll describe the details of my second interview. Or, as I've started thinking of it, The Interrogation.