Action

At some point during action flicks, I tend to sigh and wonder just how many more explosions or shootings or battles I have to endure before the credits roll and we can all move on with our lives. So that's what I'm calling today - a test of endurance more than skill.

It was 10 meetings. Each lasted 1 hour. That makes for a long day. I rested at the hotel for 45 minutes before going for dinner. I'm now so tired that it's painful - I drank nothing but water at dinner but severely doubted my ability to walk steadily to the car by the end of the evening.

This morning found our heroine (that'd be me) rising at 4AM local time. While that's 6 at home, I didn't have to meet the admin until 7:30. So I spent the hours trying to sleep, then getting ready - carefully arranging my hair into pretty curls, painstakingly applying makeup and ironing my clothes so they were wrinkle-free. I drank a cup of bad hotel coffee and headed off to find the interview site.

I started the day admiring the campus. Say what you will about the biotech industries, but - in my experience - the buildings are gorgeous and areas lovely. So I sat in a comfortable chair after being given a visitors badge. I was then escorted to meet with the head of the group.

"Coffee would be lovely," I replied when asked. "Just cream, please." So as I discussed the organization and mission with a man whose work I've long admired, someone went to fetch me a large coffee and bottle of water. She silently entered with Starbucks and a bottle of water. I smiled my thanks and began to sip while taking notes and offering comments on my background.

I moved to an office right next door, took a different chair and chatted with another brilliant man for about 55 minutes. Loved him.

Took a quick break, walked across the beautiful building and met with one of their MDs. Loved him too. "I can achieve that level of perky on occasion," I warned the admin after I was done with that meeting and wandering toward the next. "But that's too much energy to maintain constantly. He's impressive."

My stomach growled through the next meeting. I was tired and hungry and when presented with a business person rather than a scientist, my brain pretty much stopped at "Oh. Hello." Plus, the view out the window was stunning - I kept glancing over her shoulder to sigh at how pretty the mountains were. It was at this point that I panicked a bit - I wasn't being impressive enough! Try harder! Do more! But I soon relaxed, having been assured over email that the Industry offer would arrive shortly (or eventually - either way). As soon as I ceased with the trying too hard, the meeting turned friendly and easy. Loved her too.

I had lunch with a fantastic French woman. She was honest and dynamic and I loved her to pieces. "Katie, right?" she asked at first and rolled her eyes when I confided that some people had, indeed, been calling me Kathryn. I kept correcting them, but it didn't seem to stick. "Katie, you'll do fine. I looked at your CV - you'll get jobs. Whether you work here or take the Industry offer, you'll learn more and people will still want you if you decide to move. So don't worry. Do what feels right."

"It just feels so huge," I told her, nibbling at green curry that was just the right amount of spicy. "I don't want to make the wrong call."

"You won't. You can't," she decided, cutting pieces of tofu with a fork though she'd waved her hand to dismiss the people working out in the company gym on their lunch hour.

She was fantastic - loved her to pieces. The next man was tough - tipping his notebook so I couldn't see the notes he was taking on me. But I handled him well, I think, deciding again that I wasn't as impressed as he thought I should be - that fact eventually disarmed him and I made him laugh several times. I'm charming.

I found myself wanting to ask the next woman if she'd recently had dental work done. She dabbed at her lips and moved her mouth a bit funny when she spoke, poor thing. Undeniably brilliant, she echoed what I'd heard all day - people had arrived from various corners of academia within the past five years or so and were uniformly ecstatic over their choice.

I spent the next half hour with someone from HR and found myself being oddly confrontational. I don't know how he got on my bad side so quickly - something about his sense of self-importance, I think - but I felt compelled to be difficult.

"Our offer will be much stronger than Industry," he said with a smile.

"We'll see," I said calmly.

He explained the salary structure and how competitive they were. I reminded him I was coming from the south - cost of living is ridiculously low there and conversely astronomical here.

"So let's say you bought your house there at $150 and sold it at $120," he noted while explaining the relocation program.

"Why am I losing money on my house?" I interrupted his story to ask.

"It's just hypothetical," he smiled.

"OK, then I'd hypothetically like to make money on my house," I insisted and he stared at me for a moment before changing the numbers. (Honestly - I don't know why I wanted to mess with him, but I did.)

Next came a woman who was easy and friendly. She smelled of vanilla and we talked and laughed before she dropped me off with the last of the MDs. "He can be a bit tough," she whispered.

"You're not tough at all," I told him as we completed our conversation. He was young and his style more aggressive than anyone I'd met. But he hadn't asked a single difficult question and had been unfailingly attentive and lovely.

"Tough?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and I nodded calmly before smiling. "Well, I'm at the end of the day," he decided. "I didn't want to overwhelm you when you're exhausted."

"I didn't admit exhaustion," I offered as we shook hands and I tucked his card with the others in my laptop bag. "You're not supposed to do that on interviews." He grinned and wished me luck. Loved him too.

Then there was Eve - what we'll call my contact here. And I really, truly adore her. She smiled widely when she saw me, tucked my bag in the corner of her office and we set off to tour campus. She complimented me on my day, saying the feedback had been enthusiastic and positive thus far. She showed me the gym and I couldn't help picturing myself in the jacuzzi after a stressful day. We stood in a garden, fountains burbling behind us and a pond shimmering in front, the scent of flowers in the air and the mountains a backdrop for beautiful buildings and natural stone paths.

"This is ridiculous," I offered, glancing around at the flowering trees and wooden tables set up for people to enjoy the weather. "It's just so..."

"Too good to be true?" she offered and smiled. "We never want to retire. My husband and I will stay here forever, doing the work and enjoying California. It's really amazing - the people, the job, the benefits. I love it. You'd love it."

"Perfect," I said with a nod. "It all seems perfect and I'm sure I would be happy here. But it's so far from home." While she talked about opening my world view and how my family could visit and all the vacation time that was offered in the benefits package, I listened carefully while basking in the ideal temperature - mid-70s - and watching water flow in the twin fountains that bracketed some steps.

This, my friends, is where scientists go to Heaven. If you're very good, you end up here. Yes, there's less freedom - and that would bother some people, I'm sure. But for me? It's perfection. In the wrong location.

I was driven to dinner - had a delightful piece of halibut between sharing appetizers and dessert. We talked and laughed - as much as I could overcome my exhaustion to do so - and I fell into bed very shortly after being dropped off at my hotel.

And now we're at today. And while I have a feeling at how this is all going to play out, I'm still not quite sure what happens next. Other than the ocean - that happens in just a couple of hours.