Last Wednesday I had two interviews. At the first, I performed well, I thought, but then received the kiss of death, anyway: “We have many highly qualified applicants for this position.” The last time I heard those words in an interview, I didn’t get the job–and this time was no different.
At the second, a callback from an earlier interview, however, I received better feedback: “I liked you the first time, and this time I like you even better.” To make a long story much shorter, today I met with that principal’s system’s personnel director and signed a contract.
On my hour-long drive back to my current job, I paused at a rest stop to eat my lunch, calm my nerves, and avoid the classroom for a few minutes longer. An older couple joined me on the park bench–the less wet one, under a tree–and I listened to their conversation.
“That’s a Toyota,” he said, indicating the car parked next to their Camry. He sounded like he had a British accent. Their license plate was from New Jersey.
“What kind?” she asked. She had the same accent.
“I don’t know.” He ambled to look it over.
“That’s a Toyota, too,” she said when he came back, and pointed at another car.
“It’s a Highlander,” he said, accenting “land.”
“Is that your car?” she asked me.
I shook my head and pointed to my truck.
“Oh, another Toyota,” she said.
We finished eating and left at about the same time, but I pulled out first. A few miles later, they passed me–and when I looked over at them driving by, the woman was straining around in her seat to wave back at me.
Tonight, then, I’ve had the pleasure of calling friends and family to tell them of my new job and bemoaning to all that I will be taking a pay cut.
“But only $1,” I add. They snort.
After I explained the full picture to my sister, though, I received a call back, from her husband. “You have fuzzy math,” he said. It appears that once health insurance benefits are added into the mix, I come out nearly $900 ahead.
My sister-in-law H had an additional thought–that if we end up living close to my school, commuting savings will further prove tremendous.
Not bad, I say. Not bad at all.
One Comment
Second Sister
Ataboy, brother(sorry not to be patronizing, but you are my younger brother-in-law, you know and do we ever really grow up?…)!!!! congratulations. I love those small interesting interactions with folks.
I remembered one from Yosemite the other week- a few older gentleman were standing on a bridge and I walked in between them right before one took a picture of the other two. "Its all beautiful, boys." he said, as he put an end to their dispute about what part of the 1/2 mile high thundering waterfall to include in the photo.