|
Friday, 10 December 2010 (hunted to extinction) 5:17am you're on a mission, aren't you? 10:32am Another rejection, this time via email for a story. Elsewhere, then. I'm supposed to find out if I get the job today. I'll get it, or I won't. Fortunately, we are not in control. 12:20pm Just now from Frieda: Thanks for coming up for the interview.Well, there you go. I'll keep a spark of hope alive that when they are ready to make a hiring decision, they will in fact keep me in consideration. Until then, I'll go on about my business, including but not limited to looking for another job. 4:58pm Phoebe's SERVICE ENGINE SOON light just came up, because that's exactly the kind of day it's been. It's the second weekend of Christmas in Hell. Ilene's going to be in the audience, and after that we're going dancing at Love Triangle at The Blue Macaw (the venue formerly known as the 12 Galaxies, and many other things as well). It's going to be a fun night, it is. sometime after midnight I never can tell if I'm dancing to remember or dancing to forget. Maybe both. | ||
 | ||
Thursday, 9 December 2010 (the final arc of the rollercoaster) 2:33pm This morning at the gym, as I was doing my own freestyle stuff on the treadmill and yellow-and-gray machine, a couple of the regulars who work out together every Tuesday and Thursday at six invited me to join them. I happily accepted, since even though I've been getting a lot of reading done on the machines (I'm almost done with Christopher Hitchens's Hitch-22, which is a much faster read than I expected), they worked me a lot a lot harder than I tend to work myself. And I need that. Plus, you know, it's nice to belong and stuff. My official rejection letter from the San Francisco Arts Commission arrived today. I already knew I didn't get the grant since my name wasn't on the list of panel award recommendations, but all the same, in this digital age it's nice to get a rejection on physical paper. I'm pretty sure it's only the second I've ever recieved. (Though not the second rejection, by any means.) | ||
| ||
Wednesday, 8 December 2010 (transferred wholesale) 10:25am Bootcamp this morning was brutal, because it needs to be. I'd still do it more than twice a week if I could. It was raining when I left the house at a quarter to six this morning, and it was still raining when I left the gym an hour later. It's still raining now, and is supposed to all day long. Which would be just a minor annoyance, except that I'll be meeting Frieda out by the cafe again today so she can take me to the office in Tiburon, and I was planning on taking the 71 out there. And, you know, water falling from the sky. So I asked Frieda if she could pick me up out here instead, and she accepted, thankfully. It'll be best not to be soaked during my interview, I reckon, and it gives me a couple more hours to prepare. 2:17pm More than that, even—the interview just got pushed back an hour, because they're super-busy today. Which is fine, and indeed, since I'm such a silver-linerer, I'm taking that to be a good sign. They're busy, there's work to be done, they need me there! Right? Right. 3:20pm Heading north with Frieda. Here we go. 6:01pm Okay, I'm calling it: I aced the interview. There were a few moments where my brain gave out on me (like when I was asked for the stats of my computer, which is actually a perfectly logical question for a work-at-home job but one which I had not anticipated at all), but they seemed to like me and were impressed by my skillets and I got both thoughtful nods and chuckles in all the right places, so, I'm feeling good about it. The one weird part is that I was supposed to take a personality test, a standard part of the hiring process both for them and a whole lot of other companies, but it didn't happen, even though we discussed it. I'm still not sure why, and I'm going to bring it up in my thank-you email tomorrow, just in case. Now to pick up Marta, and not stress about the other stuff. | ||
| ||
Tuesday, 7 December 2010 (between the sparks) 7:15am Back to the gym this morning, and as usual for Tuesdays, it was an act of pure willpower. But willpower is what gets things done, isn't it? 11:51am Just had coffee with Frieda at Mojo Bicycle Cafe. It went well, and I get the impression that if it was up to her, she'd just go ahead and hire me right now. But it's not up to her. Still, though, I've got a good feeling about it, and I don't think I'd have made it this far into the process if I didn't have a chance. Now, more waiting, as well as another trip to Target to get the gray shirt which I'd decided against yesterday. The white one's okay, but the gray suits me better. 2:45pm Sometimes, when things happen, they happen all at once: I'm going in for the actual job interview tomorrow at three. Frieda offered to give me a lift to the office in Tiburon, and I accepted. I figure that it means it won't be held against me personally if we're late, and she can give me more coaching along the way. Plus, there's the increased this is the person frieda suggests, and we trust frieda factor if we arrive together. I hope. Ultimately it's up to me to kick ass, and (also ultimately) it's out of my hands. I'll get the job or I won't, and life will continue on either way. | ||
| ||
Monday, 6 December 2010 (the conclusions) 11:12am No gym this morning, bad me, but it was necessary for getting out the house by eight. I went straight to Target, where I tried on a few different button-down shirts (my role model being Anna Torv in Fringe), finally going with a blindingly white but unquestionably-not-ostentatious one. And they go nicely with the slacks from Ross. Missing a proper blazer, but I have enough sweaters that can fake it sufficiently. I'm now at The Dark Room, for however long I need to be. My landlord called and said that while the actual installation process is almost done, they're now looking into the logistics of putting a vent into my apartment so's that I can actually get heat from the furnace, too. I've been doing fine without it, all things considered—my space heater and layered clothes do the trick—but I'm certainly not going to say no. And, unsurprisingly, Marta's especially happy about the idea, having considerably less insulating flesh on her bones than I do. 5:45pm Frieda, the hiring person, just wrote to ask if I'm available to have coffee with her tomorrow afternoon. It's not the actual job interview, more of a just a face-to-face meeting before the next big step. The answer, of course, is yes. Yes, I am. 6:11pm Yay! I get to go home now. Though the vent question is still up in the air, the furnace is now all installed and I don't have to stay away anymore. I don't mind spending the day at The Dark Room (it's my second home, for all intents and purposes, and the fact that nobody rented it out today meant I had plenty of peace and quiet), but it'll be nice to return to The Black Light District. Pajamas, salad, Boardwalk Empire and The Walking Dead! The little comforts. | ||
| ||
10:31am At The Dark Room now, much earlier than anticpated. I'd originally planned to have a nice quiet day at home, the first Sunday in a few months that I haven't had rehearsal of some sort, before heading here in the evening for Bad Movie Night. Then, at about half past eight this morning (just as I was moving from the treadmill to the yellow-and-gray machine at the gym), my landlord called to inform me that the furnace six feet away from my front door is going to be replaced today. Starting at half past nine, to be exact, and taking all day, possibly stretching into tomorrow as well. I'd had a hunch this was going to be happening eventually, as over the past few weeks I've heard conversations outside my door to that effect, but I'd expected that I would get more than a hour's notice early on a Sunday morning. Threw me off-kilter, to put it mildly. I headed straight home to shower and get dressed, all while playing voicemail tag with my landlord, who confirmed my suspicions that yes, it was going to be VERY LOUD. Frak, frak, frak. I was out the door again by the time they were showing up. My landlord was more than a little apologetic about the short notice—I was supposed to be informed of it a few days ago, but, well, I'm me, and thus it was nobody's priority—and I managed to keep my cool as I stormed to my car. It doesn't help that this comes on the heels of things getting extraordinarily weird between Marta and I, complete with a long processing session yesterday afternoon in Phoebe while parked near 18th and Mission. (Not the most public place I've ever done such a thing, admittedly.) We're okay, I think, we didn't break up and I don't believe we're going to anytime too soon, but there were necessary redefinitions and changes of expectations, which is actually perfectly normal at this stage in a relationship when the dynamic has changed and the intense honeymoon period is in the past and previously minor personality differences suddenly become major, but, you know, just because it's to be expected doesn't make it suck any less. The comedown is almost always unpleasant, but it's worth it for the high. (Says the person who's never done speed or cocaine or heroin, and never will.) In the plus column, Low is returning to the Great American Music Hall, this time for a Christmas show. I'm very excited about that. 12:50pm I've been asked to read at Perverts Put Out! in January. It's nice to have a few events where I'm a semi-regular. I should have my copy of Jan Van Rijn's The Book of Hours which is good, because otherwise I'm running out of appropriate material for that show. And, hey, I made it onto the cover of the book! It's just my initials, along with those of the twelve other textual contributors, but it's pretty neat all the same. 3:01pm My landlord called to say that they're done with the furnace stuff for today, and will start again tomorrow morning at eight. It's nice to have a bit more notice this time. 10:52pm The nature of show business: we had a full house last week at Bad Movie Night for The Running Man, and less than a dozen people came tonight for last year's A Christmas Carol. Granted, The Running Man is a much more entertaining movie, but still. You never can tell. I sure can't, anyway. Oh, frak. I just realized that I left my iPhone headphones at The Dark Room. That changes the whole "going to the gym tomorrow morning" thing, as does the rain and the fact that I want to be far away before the furnace people show up at eight. They're perfectly nice—I met them briefly when I left this morning—but, still, I just don't wanna be around for any of it.. And, jeez, my right leg is still aching from Friday morning. The bootcamp instructor will be pleased. | ||
| ||
Saturday, 4 December 2010 (hunted) 8:11am The first review of Unthology No. 1 is out. My story isn't mentioned, because that's how it usually goes. Opening night of Christmas in Hell. Was a success. There was a minor mishap (what Spalding Gray referred to as the "Unifying Accident" which happens in all plays), but we recovered from it quickly enough, and the nearly-full house had a good time. | ||
| ||
Friday, 3 December 2010 (pearl's dream) 12:13pm Just had a nearly half-hour conversation with the hiring person, which, as with most things, I'm taking to be a good sign, becuase she thinks I'm worth that much of her time at this stage, which she wouldn't if she didn't think I was capable of doing the job. Indeed, that seems to be accepted as a given. Now the issue is how well I'll mesh into the rather conservative nature of the company. On the plus side, I wouldn't have to actually be in the office in Marin more than a few hours once a week, which reduces the pressure considerably. She did stress that I'd need to dress as non-freakily as possible for the interview, which of course I would do anyway, because duh. I get the impression that the squid isn't going to be a dealbreaker—again, she already knew about it—and she herself is not totally corporate in appearance, being a San Francisco Burner with a lip piercing. Hell, the fact that I have no tattoos or piercings (visible or otherwise) may work in my favor, or at least offset the squid and/or my obvious queerness. Makes me trebly glad that I've been working so hard to get into shape (the bootcamp instructor said that our legs would probably be sore for the next few days from the gazillion forward lunges we did this morning, and she's not wrong), because, quite frankly, it's easier to find/wear clothes that make me look presentable when I've thinned out. (Plus I just think I look better, because I'm shallow like that.) In fact, I got some nice new interview-y pants at Ross yesterday, and now all I need is a decentish top. In any event, she said she'll be calling me on Monday to arrange the actual in-person interview later in the week. Whatever happens after that, happens. And I am absolutely not stressing about the personality test I'll have to take. Nope, not at all. Meanwhile, Christmas in Hell opens tonight. I'm not stressing about that, either. Honestly. | ||
| ||
Thursday, 2 December 2010 (the children flee) 10:02am Unthology No. 1 is officially out now, and the launch party in Norwich is in a couple of hours. I wish I could be there, even though it's snowing. 5:13pm The hiring person wrote and emailed again—she'd like to talk about a bit more about the position, specifically whether or not I can set aside my personal politics and write from a conservative point of view. We'll be speaking on the phone tomorrow, but the short answer is: yes. Yes, I can. | ||
| ||
Wednesday, 1 December 2010 (the children hide) 2:12pm Last night was the Christmas in Hell dress rehearsal. It went well, though there was a weird tension between me and Marta, who's had mixed feelings about my participation from the beginning, and it was by no means resolved by the time we got back to my place, and resulted in a very strange sleeping arrangement (not aided by the fact that I refused to displace Perdita, who was taking up even more space on the bed than usual). Overall, I don't think I got more than four hours of sleep. I was mildly tempted to skip this morning's Bootcamp as a result, but, no, not right now, not when I not only didn't put on weight over Thanksgiving, but I've officially dipped into the 190s. (Not that I care about the numbers, of course.) And I'll be going back this afternoon for another hour of cardio, because my body is up for it. My willpower's up for it, anyway, and that matters more. 5:11pm Callback! The person doing the hiring just wrote. She liked my sample, and wants me to come in for a face-to-face interview next week. There are a few other candidates for the position, so the interview isn't just a formality (like when I interviewed for my now-former employed last year), but I've got a good feeling about it. Because I'm awesome, and I think they know it. | ||
| ||