Interviewing (Part 1)

I am in the process of interviewing for several different administrative-type jobs at several different financial services-type institutions. The other day I went on an interview at an investment firm in Midtown. The HR lady I met with (let’s call her Shoshanna, because that was her name) was pretty typical: unimpressed yet polite, professional, perfect hair and perfect make-up. About 10 minutes into the interview, it became clear to me that I did not (no-way, no-how!) want this job. It was also pretty evident that Shoshanna had no intention of offering me the job.

Nonetheless, interview protocol dictated that we march along, feigning interest in what the other person had to say. We could have just been honest and said, “Listen, this obviously isn’t going to work out. I’m outta here.” But that just isn’t done. So when Shoshanna asked me if I had any questions, I – paragon of professionalism that I am - struggled to come up with a few, because that is what is done.

“What do you think the person who currently has this position enjoys about it?” Because nothing you have mentioned so far sounds remotely enjoyable.

“Well, I think she enjoys keeping track of all the details and really taking care of the traders she supports. You know, we have some positions that are just 9-5 and there’s really nothing to do, and the employees are just going nuts from boredom and feeling like “we’re getting paid to do nothing”…whereas this position always has a lot going on, something is always coming up, and I think she enjoys really taking care of the group…”

Here I stopped listening, and wondered how I could interview for one of those 9-5 do-nothing jobs. That sounded great! Should I interrupt Shosh and tell her that seemed more up my alley? Explain that I have a very active imagination/thought-life and trust me, I wouldn’t be bored or go nuts, in fact, I would thrive in an environment like that! But I suspected that would shatter protocol, so instead I continued nodding politely and saying “Mm-hmm” in a way that I hoped conveyed my good work ethic and enthusiasm for the wretched job she was describing.

At long last we reached the end of the interview, heralded by fake smiling, limp handshakes and requisite small-talk about the weather. I escaped to the city streets and shook the investment bank dust off my feet. Off, at least, until tomorrow, when I get to do it all over again at another firm, trusting that God knows what He is doing, trusting that He has a plan. And though maybe kinda sorta hoping that said plan doesn’t involve me answering phones for 6-8 traders, still daily asking for strength to be able to (honestly) say: “Thy will be done.”

Turkey Reunification

My brother and I realized that this was the first Thanksgiving we have spent together since 1999, as travel, finances, friends' weddings, military duty, etc. have kept one or both of us away from home for the past 6 holidays.

The picture above was taken slightly earlier than 1999; I seem to have stolen Shirley Temple's dress and Dorothy Hamill's hair. Nonetheless, are we stinkin' cute or what?

The Freaking End

My friend Juan says
Saying “freaking” isn’t very
Freaking lady-like, right?

And though I know better words
To surpass and suppress “freaking” still
It slips in to pepper my speech

At first imperceptible but soon
Too much pepper is present, eclipsing
Salt and grace in my conversation.

Juan drives the point home
again, with a pseudo-expletive-filled
email so I can freaking see for myself

‘Again’ because he did it once before
(this nasty habit hard to break)
But then we lived in the same city so

He scolded with every infraction
I uttered over lunch
Or maybe it was at Starbucks

Where I get scolded often, it seems
As last week an elderly woman & her latte took
a seat next to my friend and I, then

Took us to task for saying “like”
10 times in 1 minute, according to
her un-requested & quite unappreciated tally

Followed by a lecture on young people these days
And our terrible patterns of verbal sloppiness.
One could protest seniors’ pattern of interruption

But there is no salt and grace in that either. So
I bit my freaking tongue and again resolved to
Blot the blight of “freaking” from future speech.

(My thanks to Juan, Colossians 4:6, and like, that lady at Starbucks)

On Voting (or not...as the case may be)

Confession: I didn't vote yesterday. It was not for lack of registration; registering to vote was one of the first things I did when I moved to New York, second only to getting my New York Public Library card. I could have gone down to the polls and cast a ballot, fulfilled my civic duty, exercised one of my great American rights and responsibilities. But I didn't. I didn't know who to vote for.

My natural inclination would have been to vote for all the Democrats. That's certainly how I was raised. I grew up in a household where the name "Ronald Reagan" was akin to a curse word. It wasn't until college that I discovered that some people (many people, in fact) think that Reagan was a pretty good President. This was actually completely shocking to me (though it did help explain why they chose to name an airport after him; that had been a real puzzler up until that point).

When I became a Christian in college, it didn't immediately occur to me that my political views may need to be brought under God's authority the same as other areas of my life. I voted for Gore in 2000 without much forethought and certainly without any prayer for discernment, simply because he was the Democrat on the ticket and I always voted for Democrats. (Having said that, however, I still have no regrets on my choice of candidate! :)

Over the last few years, though, I've struggled to be more non-partisan. Let's face it: neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have a lock on Christian values (a loaded term these days). In first century Judaism, there were something like "political parties" as well: the Pharisees, Saducees, Zealots, etc. Jesus didn't exactly cast his lot with any of them; he went his own way and sought the will of God, not a party line. Similarly, I doubt he'd be a card-carrying member of either the Democrat or Republican party today.

It's important for me now to approach each election with an open mind and a lot of prayer, and ask God to help me pick whichever candidate would best accomplish God's will for our country, regardless of the candidate's political party. This approach does require some time and effort and homework - none of which I accomplished before yesterday, unfortunately, which is why I chose not to vote. Not exactly the move of a responsible citizen, but given the circumstances, I didn't feel voting without preparation was responsible either.

The good news is that in Heaven there will be no elections, no political parties, no America even. Our freedom to vote will be exchanged for freedom from all suffering. And oh, won't that be wonderful!? All of this will be a dim memory, we will sit side-by-side, Democrats and Republicans and all those in between, now joined as brothers and sisters, and we will gaze upon the One who has the power to unite us all forever. Amen.