It looks like I'll get a chance to glimpse the dolphins after all.
"I have to go to California on Sunday," I told Friend when she returned my call just about an hour ago.
"Oh?" she asked, sounding amused. "I thought you weren't going to take the interview."
"I wasn't," I said slowly. But my contact emailed and said everything had pushed through and they wanted to see me soon. When she called and said, "Sunday?" I somehow ended up saying, "Wonderful!"
The point is that I'm very flattered that she's pushing this hard to see me. I do want to meet the people out there. I need to understand exactly what I'm turning down, I suppose, so I can agonize over this a bit more. I want to take California pictures for my blog! And tell dramatic stories about job searches and interviews! At least in theory. When it comes to actually doing this?
"I have to go to California on Sunday," I repeated to Friend, looking around at the living room that I just cleaned and glancing down the hall at piles of boxes and mounds of stuff - the sorting and packing of which had consumed most of my day. I was thinking about a garage sale this weekend! Cooking out with Friend and her roommate! I could have put pictures of that on my blog instead.
"I, um, fly out on Sunday and we interview on Monday. They wanted to have dinner and drinks the night before but that's Sunday so we're having them on Monday night instead. So I'm coming home on Tuesday."
"OK," Friend said and I started talking again.
"Maybe they'll hate me," I said, talking to fast and starting to panic. "Then they won't offer anything and I can sign the Industry offer when it finally arrives and everything will go according to plan."
"If you're going out there to make them hate you," she replied, "I'm not sleeping with your dog. That's just not worth it."
"I'm scared," I think I confided and she offered to drive out again tonight. I said that would be good, deciding to move out of my bedroom so Prettiest Cat could take up residence again. (Poor Prettiest Cat is still taking antibiotics and since Friend is here more than home, it makes sense for Prettiest Cat to be here too.) I offered to pick up dinner when she began the commute out.
Hands shaking and stomach sick, I called her back 10 minutes later. "I'm going to start drinking," I informed her. "So you can pick up dinner or stop and get me and I'll go with you. But I won't be able to drive here shortly." She asked if I couldn't wait until she arrived, fearing I'd fall asleep rapidly after slipping past tipsy, and I shook my head.
I dumped thawed strawberries into the blender with a bit of frozen lemonade. I added rum - lots of rum - and tossed in some ice before greedily spooning some into a glass and beginning to sip. Friend might come later - I hopefully will be too drunk to care much either way.
There's still time to tell me to cancel - I've not yet made travel arrangements. I don't plan to tell my parents unless I actually consider an offer. I'm Freaking Out and the rum isn't yet working well enough. So feel free to offer thoughts. And I'll whimper over the fact that I was going to write a nifty post about packing rather than whining about a fabulous job opportunity.
Crap. The dolphins better show up when I'm there and be very flipping cool.
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June
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June
8 comments:
There is absolutely no harm at all in going, interviewing, gathering information. Until you sign the industry contract you're a free agent!
It is always better to regret doing something than to regret not doing it.
I am SOOOOOOOO not going to try and talk you out of it.
Enjoy California, I hope the dolphins show up. Although I prefer the East Coast myself, I wouldn't turn down an offer to meet some new people and hear about a kick ass job while on the look out for dolphins. :)
Options are a good thing silly girl. And if the industry job is so damn interested where the hell is that contract??
I agree with psych post doc-- options are a very good thing. I'm glad you're going to do the interview and make an informed decision. If you turn them down, so be it, but at least you gave it a shot.
I have to admit I felt a little bad after reading your last post. I didn't want to comment because you sounded so sure of yourself but I think it's sad to give up dolphins a 2nd time in your life without at least entertaining them as a real possibility.
I'm glad you are going on the interview. I think cae had the right attitude.
Besides, maybe you can use an offer from drug company to leverage more money from industry. That way you can fly to the ocean and visit the dolphins whenever you want.
I think it's a good idea to go and see exactly what it is about. This way you have more material to make an informed decision. Plus, you get to spend a few days in California!
Maybe you should tell them that the location is a problem for you. I have no idea whether or not it is a good strategy, but I've noticed that lots of people in California don't realize that other people might not really want to live there.
PS: Would you tell me where in CA (maybe privately by e-mail ‒ you can get it from my blog)? You don't have to but it'd be fun knowing how close you're going to be.
Of course you should go to CA. If you decide to turn the job down at least you can say to yourself that you did your research properly.
Not that I in any way will try to influence your choice, but living close to the sea is fabulous :-D!
I'm with them. Until you sign, you can still look. I appreciate that you don't want to dissapoint your family and move further away but they'd rather have a happy Katie further away than a 'I turned down a better job for me' Katie nearer. I hope...
Go, enjoy, I hope there are dolphins and many other wonderful things. You're not allowed to be guilty for looking either!
What everyone else said. Go, have a good time, let these people tell you how fucking awesome you are! Even if you don't end up taking an offer, or even considering one seriously, this visit and, if one eventuates, an offer will be valuable leverage with the other job.
"Well, if this well-known outfit in CA wants her, we better get off our asses and give her a written contract, and we better make it fucking good!"
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