Queer by Choice

Didn't I already go through this back in July 2004? Why do I have to go through it all over again?

Today I had a job interview! For the same job I already have, except as a regular employee with benefits and a raise, instead of as a contract employee with no benefits and my current salary.

If all job interviews were like the one I had today, I think I would want to go on job interviews every day of my life. First, I didn't have to worry about what to wear, because it was a telephone interview. Second, the interview consisted mostly of three people spending half an hour flattering me, and me listening and saying, "Thank you! That's exactly what I've been trying to do . . ." a lot. They did ask me three or four questions, but since I had spent almost all day yesterday anxiously preparing myself for any questions they might ask, I had no difficulty giving good answers to all the questions. I think my job prospects are excellent.

I would not like to repeat the stressful all-day preparations beforehand every weekend, though. Or even the jitteriness of the few hours before the interview. I feel like doing something celebratory this evening, to reward myself for surviving all the stressful preparations. But it's raining outside and I need to pay my rent and buy groceries, and nothing in particular is coming to mind at the moment that I could do to celebrate. Celebrating is so much easier for people who enjoy alcohol or expensive restaurants. Since I hate both (not only the expense of expensive restaurants but pretty much everything else about them too), neither one is a useful way of celebrating. I did buy myself a 70-cent Twix bar from the vending machine at work immediately after the interview, which was a somewhat unusual event intended as a celebratory act, but that doesn't seem sufficient. And I gave Stardust canned kitten food just now, but that doesn't seem sufficient either (especially since she took one tiny nibble and then lost interest . . .). I could buy some sort of vaguely unusual food at the grocery store, but I already made apple/cinnamon/almond bread in my bread machine this weekend, which feels like all the vaguely unusual food that my unappreciative-of-culinary-variety self has any desire for right now. Probably a non-food reward is called for here, but nothing else I particularly want to buy is coming to mind either, and it's hard to do non-purchasing-related celebratory things when it's raining outside. So, um . . . suggestions, anyone?

I have a co-worker who has been doing the same job as me for about three times as long as I've been doing it, who is applying for a regular, non-contract position right now too. There are two openings, one on my project and one on her project, and both of us have been informed that important people want us to be hired for those two positions, each on our own project. So if all goes well, we will both be hired by our own projects. But if I get hired and she doesn't, I fear she may hate me forever. She's no one I actually know, really, but I hope we both get hired.

Today at work I was assigned to edit the biographical information for someone whose first name is "Harolyn." Isn't that the most utterly perfect genderbending name imaginable? Now I want to write a story with a character named Harolyn, just to make use of the name.