So yesterday was HOT!! DAMN HOT!! FREAKING DAMN HOT! WEAR COTTON AND IT SHOWS SWEAT UNDER THE BRALINE FREAKING DAMN HOT!

The problem with hot weather is it fries the brain. Your brain is boiling away in a hard encased skull that it forgets to think. Hence, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong in the interview. It started with my laundry.

All my laundry was in the dryer and my classy green shirt had large circular fabric pittles around the breasts looking like giant stop signs so I made a cardinal mistake in interviews - I wore a strappy top. Granted it was a very classy brown macremai type top, great for a formal occasion, but definately not for an interview. It was the only clean dry top I had.

I miscalculated the dishwasher repair guy and he showed up just as I was going to leave for the interview. I called and told them that I was delayed by him and couldn't make it and if I could reschedule. They told me to come in after he finished.

So I hop on the motorcycle, throw my jeans under the skirt, jacket overtop and ride downtown. Parking is nuts. Glad I bought my bike. I parked dripping with persperation, peeled off my jeans and jacket and decided to get dryed off and presentable. There is one problem. The washroom doors are coded to prevent Joe Public from using them.

So not only am I wearing the cardinal strappy top, but I'm glistening as well. I arrive early considering I'm late. Sandy, the current drafter, is the only one in the three person office looking, efficient and organized. She raises and eyebrow at my appearance. I'm in trouble. Bubbly personality kicks in. "Hi! I'm Elaine! Pleased to meet you Sandy. Wow, it's so nice and cool in here. Gorgeous day isn't it." She doesn't offer her hand. Don't blame her really. I did look a bit sticky. She points to a desk and tells me to sit down.

This is going to be two hours. First we are going to get you to do some labels in Word. Great! I'm an ace in those. We need you to design 4 labels evenly spaced. My jaw drops. I've NEVER had to do THAT before.

So I take a wack at it. Here I am, a "Word Expert" who has taught people to use the program and I can't make a FREAKY LABEL!!!!!! ....30 minutes later... "Here Elaine, I've made one for you." Ouch. "Can you do a mail merge?"

Finally! Something I can do. It takes me 5 minutes. She is hovering. I'm doing something wrong. I have no idea what. "Is this a test?" "No, we actually need these labels. I've just never seen it done this way before." That good or bad?

So we move on to her explaining the project scheduling procedures. Hey! I learned this stuff in school. It's easy. The set up is in excel. Next she sets up an AutoCAD drawing for me to edit. I explain to her that I just learned it at BCIT so am not very good. "Hey! I went there. I took interior design." We had taken the same nightschool course. We get into a light conversation about Katheryn the Furniture History teacher who put the class to sleep. Progress?...possibly.

I start working on the drawing and ask her a quick question. She smiles at the way I do it and then tells me there is another way and I should find it. I'm hatching in multiple circles. I have to put the numbers in front of them. I play around a bit and then exclaim "Hey! Cool! That is funky!" I've never learned that trick in school. "That sounds good." I look over. Sandy has an amuzed expression on her face. I swear she thinks I'm a right dumbass.

Sue walks in. I'm relaxed. "Hello Sue! Nice to meet you. Wow, you must be roasting in that suit." "Well, some of us can't wear tops like yours when meeting clients." Damn! She goes over what I've done in the last hour. She likes the labels. I make a few quick changes for her. She talks briefly about my uniqueness for the positions as I'm qualified for both the part time drafter and planning assistant positions and her girls are going on vacation so she needs someone to fill in. We talk about my available hours and then, that is it. Sandy will be her resource for everything else.

I bombed it! I totally bombed it! The labels...30 minutes and I can't make a freaky label! Argggg!

Okay..that's my vent for the day. Todays Schedule: Homework, workout, house cleaning, dog walk.

Elaine