Job Adventures

So, I had my 2nd interview today on “the East Side.” I was a little frustrated to take another long drive and potentially not end up with a job, but I had a pretty good feeling and since tomorrow’s St.Patty’s Day, I figured something good needed to happen.
Got off to a great start – beautiful weather in light, afternoon traffic – then, as I fidgeted with my bangs in the rear view mirror, a huge line of haulted traffic snuck up on me and I slammed on the breaks. Stand-still. Oh great. I quickly sent an e-mail to the hiring manager letting her know that I was stuck in an endless line of cars on I-96. She responded with the reason: rollover accident taking both east&westbound down to one lane. So at the first exit I saw, I pulled off and hauled through the backroads running parallel to the highway.Somehow – despite the delay – I made it on time, jumped outa my car, fed the meter, and ran inside. After a short interview with “the boss” he announced he had “no reservations” and I sat down to discuss the details of my new job. Score.
An hour and a half later, I walked back into the sunshine – beaming with excitement&pride. Opened the car, put the key in the ignition, turned it, and: CLICK. Dead battery. In my rush to make my interview on time, I’d left my lights on. Embarrassed, I walked back into my brand new office to ask anyone for jumper cables. My new boss gave a coworker upstairs a ring and a few failed attempts at charging the beast later, I opted to call AAA. Insisting that I don’t wait alone in the unfamiliar city, the three of us hopped across the street for a drink. After a few snide comments&glares from our snotty waitress, we ended up with expired Irish Red’s – which apparently have a 10-year-life according to the manager (bullshit) – just before AAA showed up. A few minutes later, the engine roared, so I locked the doors and ran back to finish my beer with the ladies.
As we paid our tab and packed up to leave, I glanced across toward my car – running and blocked in by a police car. Um, what? Apparently, an unruly citizen had been attempting to save a parking spot for a friend and was being placed under arrest (&/or lectured then given a ticket) and the officers insisted on parking right behind my car. With beer on my breath, we wearily stood back – hoping the cops would decide to move. After 20-minutes, they still simply glanced and gave us the “one moment, please” signal. So, I let the ladies go and continued to wait – eating Pringles and chomping gum.Finally, I was able to leave – 3 hours after I’d “got the job!” – and headed back to theZoo for some rest before St. Patty’s.