More Interviews

I did another interview today, which was comical because I've half lost my voice from this nasty cough I got over the weekend. I'm a big "hmmm"-er in meetings and interviews... I like people to know I'm listening to them without interrupting them. But because of the voice thing, it sort of came out as a squeak. It's a good thing I know how to laugh at myself!

One of these days I'm going to just take the time to write out the answers to all of the questions that I ask my applicants, just to prove the questions can be answered well. Almost none of them give me the answers that really tell me about themselves. It kind of surprises me, because it seems like you'd want to think about what to say in advance. Granted, most of the folks I'm interviewing are really young and don't have much experience interviewing, but still. Tell me who you are for heaven's sake!

One question I ask is, "who do you admire?" Apparently it's not obvious that I"m asking, "and why?" or really "and why does this make you a good candidate for my job opening?" But I do like hearing about who people admire. I'd like to pose that question to any remaining ferferfly readers... Who do you admire? (sans the "and why does this make you a candidate for my job...")

Old Friend, Old Times

I read a blog of an old friend's tonight. I took her to the airport 4 years ago knowing that this was the end of what our friendship had been. We'll always be friends, of course, but there's nothing like coming in to work every day and telling the little nothings about our days. She was a work friend who turned into a life friend. She and her husband introduced me to my husband and stood up for us at our wedding. She was only in The Golden State for 3 years, and now has 3 kids, two of whom I've never met. She's now moving to a tiny town in the middle of Nebraska, which I picture to be very much like the little town in "Napoleon Dynamite." I think I might have to send her some sparkly scrunchi's to make side ponytails so she'll fit in there. All teasing aside, it's fun to remember the kind of people who made such a difference in your life.

Last June Gloom

I'm discovering there are a few folks out there who, like myself, love June Gloom. The weather people always shake their heads at it, but I love it. This is how it goes in So. Cal every year: Sometime in April or May we get a couple of really warm days (last year we had 103 and 107--ironically the two days we were moving), just to scare us into realizing that summer is coming. Then May Grey/June Gloom settles in, and it's like a reprieve of cool, quiet weather. I especially like it because it follows the bustle of the end of the year here at school, and the campus is quiet, too. I think today will be our last June Gloom for the year, as it's been getting warmer and warmer lately. So goodbye clouds, hello scorching sun.

Sliding door

Sliding door
Originally uploaded by earlegirl.

And the new sliding door, complete with casing.

New bench

New bench
Originally uploaded by earlegirl.

Here's the bench that Steve and Greg built... hats off to Greg's boyscout training!

The Money Pit

It may be a money pit, but it's fun to see the improvement. Today our new sliding door was installed, along with the inside casing. It will be so nice to open the door without having to worry that the heavy screen door will fall off and crush me. That, and because we can actually open the screen door more than about 6 inches, I won't have to shimmy out sideways holding my breath. The casing inside looks AWESOME, and makes me eager to get the rest of the windows in and the casing up. It might actually look like a real room! I will post some pictures soon. (Hopefully.)

Warm Southern Current

I had the day off today, so I made the treck down to San Diego to see Sair and the nieces. Emma didn't know I was coming, so I got to surprise her at pre-school. By the way, pre-school is about the cutest thing I've ever seen. Kids just kind of run around aimlessly, but to them it's the coolest thing in the world. After lunch we four girls went to the beach, which was just a kick. Abby clung to my neck, too shy of the waves to get down in them at first, but laughing, laughing, laughing as the water rushed up to cover my feet. I tried to lower her feet into the water, and her little heels went up higher and higher. Finally she forgot she was afraid, and before long she was completely soaked and gigling uncontrollably. Emma picked up shells for her fairy fireplace. The water is much warmer in San Diego than up here, and it was just glorious to have our feet in the sand and the water witha perfect San Diego summer day.

Interviewing

I have been conducting a lot of interviews lately, and I gotta say, they are exhausting. I'm glad I'm on THIS side of the interview process. I really feel for the people I interview. I realize that I am now that big, scary Lady that asks all the tough questions and makes your palms sweat. I do my best to make people feel comfortable... I tell them that if they think of something later they wished they'd said or a question they forgot to ask, to email me even after the interview, but no one's taken me up on it yet. I just learned the BEST interview question... "How do you organize your closet at home?"

I do think that it is kind of crazy that I sometimes spend more time thinking about an outfit I'm going to buy than I get to spend getting to know someone I might hire... and see every day. Kind of reminds me of the 15 whole minutes I had in my current house before I committed to the largest amount of money I will EVER spend in my life.

The Big Box

BK_lx2wd_34FRONT
Originally uploaded by earlegirl.

I get to drive this tonight... I haven't decided if I'm excited or embarassed. It's just on that fine line between edgy and ugly. Too bad the computer support guys didn't buy a Mini Cooper... but I suppose that would have defeated the purpose of cargo space for computers...

I'm thinking about dying my hair blue and wearing platforms to match the car.

Day 3

Computer Camp, Day 3. House remains clean (but why can't I seem to pull the vacuum out?), sleeping well (but not taking up the whole bed), and keeping busy (but a little bored). I'll be glad when the Steve comes home though, because I've resorted to watching the celebrity ball-room dancing thing. Okay, so I like the cool dancing...

Pray for Jen

Some friends of ours have had a couple of really, really tough years, and tomorrow they will be right in the thick of it. Two years ago Dave and Jen had a little boy with trisomy 13, which is an extra 13th chromosome, labeled by doctors as "incompatible with life." Michael defied odds, and lived a miraculous month beyond his due date. Two years later they had a beautiful, healthy baby girl named Joy, who is now 8 weeks old. However, in the midst of nursing, Jen discovered a lump, which is in fact cancerous. She is going in for a total mastectomy tomorrow, and is expected to have 10-30 lymph nodes removed as well. If you know them at all, or are interested, their blog is at http://prayforjen.blogspot.com/.

Blast it all!

Work is such a tricky thing. I think all jobs are tricky because you work with imperfect people, and not just flawed people, but vastly different personalities. One person's "vision" or "assertiveness" is another person's "steamroller." Or someone's "caution" or "thoroughness" is someone else's "roadblock" or "foot dragging." It's like speaking different languages, but not realizing it. I think my Italian is flawless, but someone else can't understand what's wrong with my French. (no pun intended)

It's enough to make you tired and want to just eat ice cream for dinner. And hope you don't have another staff meeting for at least another eon.

Mama always said...

Okay, she asked for it.

You'd be surprised how many times a week I use the exact words, "As my mom always used to tell me... "

Here are a few of my favorites...

"Drop it! Ehh! Droooop! It!"

"I heard that!"

"Oooooh, Huuuuuney!" (Reserved for sickness or when other kids say mean things... now reserved for when adults say mean things.)

"Do something nice for yourself." (Reserved for crappy days.)

And honorable mention for its one time appearance.... "I'm! So! Pissed!" (Picture this being said by a muppet, and you've got it.)

All jokes aside, my mom is one of my best friends in the world, and I remember the things you said because they were wise... most of them.

The life

Abby hat
Originally uploaded by earlegirl.

I don't know about you, but there's just something right with the world when you can wander around in a leigh, an old pink flowered hat, and mismatched green bag and you're THAT relaxed.

Clean and quiet

My husband is gone this week to, as I like to call it, "Computer Camp." I feel sheepish, but really the world just isn't the same when he's gone. I don't sleep as well, work seems weird, and sometimes I kind of wander around the house wondering what to do. I always try to enjoy the things that are different when he's gone... try to keep the house really clean, watch chick flicks, that sort of thing. But I will definitely be glad when he comes home.

I took him to the Long Beach airport, which I wish I had a picture of. I never thought it was possible, but it's smaller than even the Fresno airport. I think you can fit 6 cars in front of the terminal. It cracked me up that they bothered to have the airline signs up in order... as if you couldn't walk the 2 additional steps to your airline if you parked 1 car back!

5K-O'd!

My mother always told me that I could "brag" at home. Home was a safe place to celebrate your accomplishments, and it taught us not to "brag abroad." Well, while a small accomplishment, I have to enjoy bragging a tiny bit. Steve and I cut 2 minutes off last year's time for the Corona del Mar Scenic 5K. I love this race... lots of families, beautiful landscapes to watch as you run. However, the hills are a KILLER. Even now, when we've really been in better shape, I still felt like I was going to be sick at the top of THE hill.

Steve amazes me, too. He's not someone about whom you'd say "encouragement" is his major defining quality (he's not NOT an encourager, just not his #1), but during these races, he is my cheerleader. Even when I say mean things to him ("Quit pushing me!" "Why don't you just GO ahead already!?"), he's always my cheerleader... "I'm not leaving my wingman!" It had its advantages for him, though. Since he ran in the women's race with me, he finished 4th in his age category in that race. Not bad! (Let's not talk about the men's race, where the winner finished in something like 15 minutes.)

I finished 55th in my age category, 332nd overall. Steve finished 333rd.

Just Like That

I am presently wasting company time. Stealing is probably the right term for it. I've been going hard for a good 2 months, keeping up by the skin of my teeth, and just like that, the phone stops ringing, the emails stop coming in, no more drop-in's. Makes me wonder if something... happened. Did I lose my job and not hear about it yet, like on "Office Space"? Maybe today is a new national holiday, like "National Psychotherapy Day" or "Deukmejian Day." Any way you slice it I'm glad. It's nice to slow down, a little, prioritize, actually return to a real "to do" list instead of my frantic stickies.

As Emma so nicely put it, I finally have some "pizza quiet."