Calm on the outside...

I heard a rumor that today was the day that a decision was being made about the job for which I applied.  I'm trying my hardest to remain calm, to project an attitude of so-be-it-ness.  I've done the best I can do, and if that isn't good enough, then there must have been a better candidate.

But I want this job.  Badly.  I think I'd make a great fit.

So my Joe Cool exterior is merely a facade, a projection of confidence and nonchalance.  Inside, I'm freaking out.  My stomach is a mess.  I'm twitchy.  I keep checking the internal job-posting site for updates to my status.  I just want to know.

I have a difficult time being patient, but patience is all I have.

So I'll wait.  Maybe there will be news sometime tomorrow.  It will be challenging to remain focused at work.

Is my face turning red?  Or am I still pretending to the world that I'm the pinnacle of calm?

Interview Update

My day today was hectic, so much so that I forgot I drove into work today.  I took the bus all the way to my park and ride, walked up to where I normally parked, then ran back to the bus I just got off so I could take it all the way back downtown.  I added an extra hour to my commute.

I had meetings at 7:00, 8:30, 10:00, 12:00, 1:00 and 2:00 with interviews at 8:00, 9:00 and 11:00.  I barely got around to answering emails today.  It's no wonder I forgot where I left my car.  (One of these days, I'll write about the time in college when I lost my car.)

Despite my absentmindedness at the end of the day, I think I was spot on for my interviews.  Of the three I had today, I nailed the last two, and I think I did pretty well in my first.

The decision will come down soon.  Rumor has it the interviewers are meeting tomorrow.  They've promised to let me know by the end of the week.  I'll keep everyone posted, but I like my chances when I am the last candidate to interview; good or bad, they are comparing me against everyone else with the thought in their heads that it's decision time.

Hopefully I will remember where I put my car tomorrow.

Interviewing

When I was hired at Target last December, I knew that I was being hired for a project-funded role.  This meant that my job had a fixed duration; once the project was done, I would need to find something else to do at Target.  I am very much a full-time Target employee with an annual salary like most at headquarters... I was just hired into a role that had a defined end date.  Target is committed to me as a team member, and this role is just the first in what I hope will be a long career at Target.

I was hired in Dec.  It was a 12-18 month role.  WAS.

Projects change; scope gets shifted, and time lines get truncated.  If all goes as currently planned, my project will be complete sometime in September or October.

This means that I've been looking for my next opportunity for a few months or so, but in earnest over the last 4 weeks.  My manager has been great, encouraging me to meet with a host of people, but it is the the people I know from outside of work that have led to the most promising leads.

Tomorrow morning, one of those leads is paying off.  I have three interviews: 8:00, 9:00 and 11:00.  These are face-to-face discussions, and I think I'm well qualified for the role.  I just have to convince three people of this fact.

I'm not nervous.  I rarely am for an interview.  I just don't see the purpose of getting all worked up and edgy.  I am full of energy, though.  I'm hoping to get a good night's sleep.

I should know within a week or so whether I will get this job or have to continue looking... I'll keep you posted.

Falling Behind

This concept of writing every day is tough.  Grayson was sick last week; this sapped all of his energy, but it also sapped his parents' energy!

Friday, I went to bed at 9:30.  Saturday, it was 9:15.  Last night (tonight by the date stamp on this post), even though Grayson was in bed by 8:30 (and Stacy put him down), I was too tired to think, let alone write.  I willfully put it off.

I'm caught up now, save for the one post I still have lingering from a few weeks ago, but I'm feeling pretty guilty about it.  The whole intent of my experiment was to carve out time every day to write something, regardless of quality.  Lately, I've been failing to do that.  For those of you who checked my blog without the prompting of a link on Facebook, you were greeted with placeholder posts.  This was my way of cheating the timestamps; even when I edit a post, the original timestamp appears in the header of the post.  Certainly the "last edited" date will reflect when I made my last change, but at first glance, it will appear as though I wrote every day.

This is my third post this morning.  (After a 7:00am conference call, work has been a bit slow...)

One thing that I'm learning about grandiose proclamations that span a good deal of time: sometimes life gets in the way!

Yesterday's sermon dealt with faith, and the church has been actively engaged in thought around forgiveness. So I'm forgiving myself for not living up to my pledge to carve out time, recognizing that I'm doing the best I can to live up to the spirit of my promise to carve out time to write, and I'm taking it on faith that I will continue to work toward this goal for the next 9 months.

That's right... I'm only 3 months into this endeavor.  Pray for me... 

Cousins

Today, Grayson went to the park with his two cousins, Logan and Brynn.  Grayson went on a swing for the first time, and he went down his first slide (in Daddy's lap, of course).  After the park and some naps, the cousins came over to our place to splash around in our kiddie pool.  The water was frigid, fresh out of the hose, but the kids seemed to have lots of fun.  Nana and I made dinner for everyone, and we watched an Elmo movie on DVD.  It was a great day!

I can already tell that all three kids are going to have tons of fun as they grow older.  Even though we don't live in the same state, the cousins come up often enough that they will see each other a handful of times every year.  Logan, the oldest at three and a half years, is already interacting with Grayson, and G is fascinated with an older version of himself.  When they play together, they have the same laugh.  As they grow older, I know that they will be trouble!  I can only begin to imagine what they will be like as teenagers up at the lake chasing dogs and frogs, fishing, swimming, and generally terrorizing the neighborhood.  Brynn will fit in nicely, sandwiched between the two in age; she is already trying to do everything her older brother does.  No fear.

This doesn't even account for Grayson's older cousin in Illinois (Belle) or any future cousins he may have.

I'm jealous.  I only have two cousins.  The one that is closest in age to me has never really spent time around my side of the family; divorce was the primary culprit there.  My other cousin is much younger than me, and she lives in Ohio.  Even though I saw her once or twice a year, we are something like 13 years apart in age, so she wasn't exactly a partner in crime for me.

I've heard that cousins are your closest friends growing up.  I can already see that with Grayson and the gang.  I'm looking forward to the next 18+ years of watching them grow and play, and challenge each other and their parents.

Today was just another glimpse.

Pre-Season

The NFL just entered the first full week of pre-season football, and the sports media world is happy once again.

Football is the most popular sport in America by far; a regular season game between two random teams gets better TV ratings than the finals of any other sport in the country.  Only soccer seems more loved worldwide.  Because of this passion for football, throngs of Americans tune into sports radio to hear about the tiniest snippets of  information about their favorite teams.  Turn the channel to ESPN or the NFL Network, and I promise you will see a story about any prominent player and how his relationship status is affecting his play within 15 minutes.

Pre-season is the primer.  The games are "meaningless," in the fact that wins and losses do not factor into any standings.  Starters never play a full game.  Some superstars might not play a single snap of football during the pre-season; the main fear from teams is the risk of injury during meaningless games.  The main point of pre-season football seems to be the evaluation of a handful of players that are on the borderline of making the team... but even the majority of these decisions are made primarily based on practice.

The real point of pre-season football, from a team and league perspective, is to make 4 extra games worth of  money.

You see, despite the fact these games mean nothing, and despite the fact that most starters don't play a full game (tonight for the Vikings, the starting offense played two snaps), the NFL charges full, regular season prices for the tickets.

Yep.  Less than half the product.  All the cash outlay.

For any fan that purchases single-game tickets, this isn't a big deal, but the NFL is smart.  The NFL realizes that pre-season tickets are harder to sell, so they tie these tickets to other, more popular tickets.  If you want to buy season tickets, you are forced to buy pre-season tickets with them.  Post-season tickets, though, are extra; they are not included in your season ticket package, and the often cost double (or more).  Also, some teams will tie pre-season tickets to popular single-game tickets during the regular season.  Do you want to see the Packers at Vikings during the regular season?  There are "single" game tickets available for purchase... but you have to buy at least one pre-season ticket as well.

There are three more weeks of games before they begin to count... unless you are counting the dollars flying out of your bank account.  Like the players getting into game shape, though, the fans have an opportunity to try out new cheers or bathroom line strategies.

I just wish I could do it at half price.

Sick Kid

Stacy and I were supposed to have dinner with the old gang tonight. A few years back a group of 9 started a dinner club. The basic premise was a new restaurant every month recommended by a member of the group. Tonight, we were getting the gang back together. 

Grayson made other plans. He was ruining a fever. 

Plans change. We felt as though we couldn't leaveJimk