Contract adventures

So, as I expected it would, the contract job slowed to a complete stop and should be revived soon, just timing, and not worrisome. In the meantime, I have some blissful time off, and have been working on the house (concrete is really fun and versatile by the way) and may even clean out closets and the car. Eventually. Maybe.

But as one applies for unemployment (and gets it, by the way, eventually, through persistence and stamina), one must seek out new fortunes and prove, in writing, that those fortunes are being sought. So Kevin sends me a gig off Craig's List yesterday, and I dutifully submit my resume and hope for the best, which is that no one calls. Because seriously, I love Interactive Alchemy, and I love vacations.

Alas, someone called, and right when The Office was starting, no less. This is the only show I stay home for (see previous anti-Tivo blogs). When the caller ID was unidentifiable I should have known better, but sometimes answering the phone is just a reflex.

This very nice gentleman, who is apparently a big mucky muck in corporate America, (I won't mention his name b/c he seems like the type who would constantly google himself) called me personally for a phone interview. The interview, per se, went well, and it looks like I will be doing some technical writing in support of procurement software in the near future (stop my beating heart) but then the phone interview was apparently over, and Mr. Muck spent approximately 45 minutes telling me about his intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. And by the way, I did not ask any questions about his intimate relationships with anyone, including JC.

He also let me know that he has a much younger wife, she looks 30, and he is almost 60. I know how much his house cost, and that it has doubled in value since purchase. I know what he has done professionally for the past, oh, 15 or so years. I heard that I don't need organized religion, just a personal relationship with Jesus.

What I don't know is if someone is talking to me on the phone at 8 at night about all this, ad nauseum, how does one become a mucky muck? And would this person talk to his clients, those multimillion dollar entities for which he seeks talent and drones alike, does he talk to his clients about his intimate relationship with said deity? Do I get special treatment b/c I am, somewhat, a captive audience? Because I am a woman? I could not ask these questions, although Zoe could not believe I did not just hang up on him. Or counter with, "Let me tell you about my personal relationship with Shiva, The Destroyer."

To be honest, I was curious as to what he might come out with if I just let him keep talking. And it gave me a newfound appreciation for all my horrible former bosses, who while they may have been neanderthalean in their management skills and insight into human behavior, did not proselytize me as part of my wage, and definitely not as part of my interview process. This really seems to be inappropriate to the point of being illegal, no? Yet he did not ask me to put my hands on the radio or require in any way that I would have to have this same relationship with Christ if I wanted to write about proprietary procurement software.

Thank God for that. And also, for iTunes, so I can still see the Office.