How it was.

On a scale of one to ten. One being I peed my pants during a crying fit and yelled fuck during the interview. Ten being, I nailed every question, my answers were met with applause, they offered me the job on the spot and gave me flowers at the end. I think I was a five.

I totally bombed the two technical questions. "What is the NAME for those statistical tests performed on the data?" "UM, ER, I told myself I wasn't going to cry. There is a mean, than a standard deviation and a bell curve thingy and a 90% accuracy. . . oh dear god." Then there was the mumbling about ecosystems, land use, vegetation types, goo. I think I mildly recovered from that one by saying "Sorry I am mumbling on and on, I am having a hard time putting my thoughts to words." Then I gave them some very specific type examples.

I nailed all of the touchy feely questions - I think. I told stories from Enforcement, stories from Anaconda, stories from the Montana Conservation Corps. I looked them in the eye, I knocked them out. Then after the interview was "over" I sat and chatted with two of the interviewers and ended up clarifying a lot of questions they had, but didn't ask.

Here is why I don't think I will get the job. They interviewed two middle aged women, and I know at least one of them is currently a vegetation specialist. Not a soil scientist like me interviewing for a vegetation specialist job - sigh.

I am going to give myself a 1 in 4 shot. At best a 1 in 3 shot.

Here is the weird thing. Now that the interview is over and I have accepted my upcoming rejection, I feel so much better. Like I have a new lease on life. I am actually looking forward to working here. I have a clear vision of what I have to do to survive another year here. Afterall, I can only let the bastards get me so far down, it is half my fault. Half their fault for being ass faces, but the other half is me for letting it get to me. They have sad weird lives, I don't. Why would I let them get me down? Not going to. That is the answer.

Thank you all for your words of support and special thanks to the M's for drinking beer with me last night. Afterall, we did need to celebrate. The job interview was over. We like to celebrate everything. Next week J's probation period at work is over. I can't think of a better way to mark that date than to sit around, bitch about football and drink Natty Light until we feel GUD!

Cheers to beers people. Cheers to beers.