Chapter 11 in the saga of "Anything That Can Go Wrong to This Author, Will in Fact Go Wrong" begins like this...
Imagine with me, our petite little author, cozied up in sweatpants (fresh ones today), sipping a cup of coffee and checking email on her shiny new laptop. Let's call our author "Lucy." Lucy has been waiting since early December to hear if she'll be offered a position with a former employer, where she spent the majority of her career. Eight and a half years, to be exact. While a decision is continuously delayed, she has hope in her heart today that she will receive some positive news. She has emailed the recruiter, for the second time in two months, to check on progress.
As Lucy logs into her email account, there it is. An email from the recruiter. With baited breath she clicks and...voila! Oh, wait a moment. What is it Lucy? We see her face screwed up in annoyance and frustration. It seems that first round interview will hopefully be completed in March!!! Lucy breathes in a sharp, disappointed breath filled with anxiety. Anxiety fills her heart and her mind. She can't wait any longer for this job! She has been waiting, hoping this ideal position would come her way so she wouldn't have to move and she would be able to work with all the people she used to.
Anger and anxiety fill her mind now and she continues on, determinedly. She will find someone who wants to hire her. She's been holding an ace up her sleeve and now is the time to use it. As she pulls it out, ready to send her resume off and make that possibly life-changing call, it happens.
Fiona, desperate for attention, jumps up on the desk and knocks Lucy's full cup of coffee all over her laptop! Lucy frantically jumps up and attemps to mop up the copious amounts of coffee from the keyboard. She turns it upside down to let it drain out and in her mind, she is obliviously confident that these days they must make laptops to be coffee-proof. Right? She attempts to turn it on but, alas, poor Lucy is unaware that in fact, laptops are not coffee-proof. She finds this out the hard way and calls her brother-in-law. Because of the sugar in the coffee, it's likely that the computer is fried. Lucy needs to let it dry for a few days and then see if it will turn on. But it's likely fried...those words echo endlessly in her brain.
God has a wicked sense of humour, she thinks to herself. If the point of being a disaster magnet is to keep those little cherubic cheeks laughing, Lucy has achieved her life's purpose. Sadness, anger and disappointment fill her heart and soul once again. Frustration...it's too much effort to feel this emotion. Hopelessness prevails once again. Bitterness is all she can feel.
The cable has been turned off. Another $400 bill has been sent to her for her hospital visit. And she sees only one place this road ends...a fried, useless computer and a waste of money.
Posts
First, let me say that I love your blog. How did I miss that you were doing this until now?
ReplyDeleteSecond, I am sorry to tell you that, based on my professional experience, the fact that the company is dragging out the first round of interviews, means that they are looking for more candidates. This means that they like you, but you weren't the PERFECT fit and they want to see if there is anyone better. No, no one is better than you, Holly.
Third, I am very sorry about your laptop. That completely sucks. I suggest seeing if your harddrive is okay and taking it to a computer shop where they build their own computers. They might be able to make you a new laptop with a new motherboard, saving your hard drive and recovering whatever else is still usable on your old laptop. This may be a cheaper way of replacing your laptop.
Finally, Boston is a nice town. My friend Meghan worked in Finance there, so if you want I can put you in touch and see if she has any old contacts she can put you in touch with. If you want to reconsider moving to Boston, I highly recommend moving to either Denver or DC. Denver because the weather is awesome and I am there. DC because it's a bustling international city and it's transient enough to probably withstand some of the economic decline that happened last year.
hugs,
Kate