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New job starting next week

I’m starting a new job next week, so I ran a test of how long it would take to get there after dropping Elizabeth off at school.  It was 7:42 when they started letting the kids inside, allowing me to leave.  I could do like a lot of parents and just drop her off and take off, but I like to make sure she’s safely inside before I go.  Other parents keep their kid in the car as they wait for the doors to open, but Elizabeth likes to get out and hang out with her friends rather than wait in the car with boring old me.  It’s okay.  I would do the same.

Anyway, I took I-24 to Briley Parkway to the area near the airport known as Century City.  Twelve and a half miles later, I was pulling into their parking lot at 8:07.  Twenty-five minutes to go 12-1/2 miles.  Exactly 30 miles per hour.  Not bad in “rush hour” traffic, I guess.  So, it’ll take roughly half an hour to get to work every morning.  Next I need to learn how long it takes to get from work to her school at the end of the day.  I’ve got until 6pm before they start charging, I don’t know, a dollar a minute over-time.  If I take a half-hour lunch, I can leave by 5, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

And now it’s time – two weeks past time, actually – to finally plant the second bed in my multi-faceted “square foot” vegetable garden.  Starting next week, I won’t have time for these chores.

The job market

When I applied and scheduled an interview for a job at the “financial arm” of the Methodist Church, I knew I was not a right fit for them. After all, I’m not only not Methodist, I’m not even a Christian. When the HR manager called a couple days later to cancel the interview, I had a strong suspicion her excuse was concocted. I’m sure the conversation behind the scenes went something like this:

“When I asked him how he would feel about working in an environment where a prayer is said before and after every meeting, and people have been known to bring a Bible with them, his answer was, ‘I’m not a religious person, but I have no problem with other people practicing their religion … as long as they’re not hurting me.’”

Her boss probably said something sarcastic, like, “How very big of him! But seriously, he’s not a good fit here. Let’s make up an excuse not to interview him.”

“We have to be careful. There are laws against religious discrimination.”

“Right, right. Tell him the position has been filled. That always works.”

“I know, I’ll just tell him the truth without actually saying it. I’ll say, ‘We’ve already got Christian applicants scheduled for interviews who are a better fit for us.’  I just won’t say ‘Christian’ out loud.”  At which point, I’m sure they shared a laugh.

And that’s what she told me when she called. Her premise was that there was a “scheduling conflict.” Only four interview slots were available. As if you can’t simply move things around and squeeze in a twenty minute interview?  Hell, I’ve had plenty of much shorter interviews.

No problem. I wasn’t thrilled about working for a bunch of religious fanatics, anyway. :)

 

Another interview

I went to another job interview yesterday.  It was downtown Nashville in the once trendy Cummins Station building.  I’ve had a few consulting clients there over the years.  The company interviewing me shall remain nameless.  Coincidentally, a few hours before the interview I received a “checking in” sort of call from a job recruiter who shall also remain nameless.  She asked how things were going.  “Are you still in the job market?”  The usual.  I said, “Yes I am still looking.  In fact I have an interview later today.”
“Oh?  Where?”
“[nameless] company,” I said.
“Ooh,” she hissed.
“What?”
“Well, I don’t want to be negative”  — God forbid a job recruiter should ever be negative — “but, a couple of people from there have recently come to me, looking for something new.”  She then added a few juicy details:  the CEO had recently lopped great chunks off everyone’s salary without warning and had suspended everyone’s health benefits, again, without warning.  Scumbag.  He’ll probably win someone’s CEO of the Year award.
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