the past several days....

So I had another job interview in Chicago last week. The experience was so far the best of all the interviews I have had so far. Well, I guess. For one, the company put me up in a nice hotel on Michigan Avenue. This is a vast improvement over the Super 8 on the South Side like last time. While it was annoying that my interview was rescheduled three times the day on which it took place, that turned out really not to be a problem and allowed me to show what a flexible individual I am. It did make me nervous at first since I was due to have dinner with Ann, a professor of mine from undergrad, back in Des Moines, but thanks to some phone calls to her hotel and message-leaving, it all worked out.

To tell you the truth, I have only had one job interview that I recall that I felt really good about at the time. It was for my main job back in Denver and was the beginning of a great working relationship. Otherwise, most interviews have felt just kind of "eh." Your know, "eh."
This interview felt kind of "eh." I mean, I really did not feel like there were any questions I did not have good answers to, but I just could not read at all what the reaction was, positive or negative.

So while the last interview was like a drunken hook-up, this was like a blind date that went alright and that you're waiting for a phone call back from, knowing that you making the call would be jumping the gun, but you’re so desperate to know about.

In other news, I quit smoking (again). This time, I am taking the advice of Amil and trying the Commit lozenges. So far, they are pretty effective, except that you're not supposed to eat or drink 15 minutes before taking them, which is just kind of annoying. Too much planning, you know. I still miss smoking, smoke breaks, everything like that. But then again, it is only day 3 of breaking a 4 year-old habbit. It is like losing a good friend. How pathetic does that sound? But if you have ever done this, you know that is exactly how it feels.

I also got to have dinner with my favorite prof from undergrad last week. Of course, we talked about the usual: politics, Africa, old gossip, etc. But it is interesting how our relationship has become more personal. After talking about dictators and development programs, we can spend hours talking about her grandchildren or her cat that seems to have 13 lives. Kind of fun.