Life coming at me

What a week.

I spent the beginning of the week stressing out over my interview. I frantically threw together materials for a portfolio, researched salary ranges and practiced interview questions I was able to find on the Internet. I think I probably drove a few people a little crazy with my stressed-out-ness, so apologies to those of you who experienced spastic Misty this past week.

On Wednesday, I left work early to drive down to south Alabama, where I went straight to Kettle's place to enjoy a quiet evening that mostly involved Subway sandwiches (mmm, pizza sub) and doing a little reading. I didn't stay too late since I was spending the night with my parents (who don't like me being on the roads super late) and because Kettle had to get up early for work the next morning. Plus, my mom and I had already planned to go Thursday for her to buy me a new shirt for my interview.

That leads to another stress brought on by the interview: I had to decide how to deal with finding something appropriate to wear. Because I've lost a pretty significant amount of weight in the past year or so, I have very few dress clothes that fit me any more. I talked to my mom about this last weekend, and she agreed to buy me something, but I felt so bad asking her to do that. And I also debated whether I would actually need to buy a business suit or if I could get by with wearing a nice shirt with a skirt I already owned. I didn't want to ask Mom to spend that much money on a business suit, and I debated whether I wanted to make an exception to my Year commitment to "invest" in a nice suit. This was really a struggle for me, because part of me thought that I really should wear a suit, another part of me really didn't want to break my fast for it, and yet another part of me really wanted to buy some new clothes. It's only been a little over a month!

So, anyway, I decided that I would just find a shirt to wear with the skirt I already had, which was, I think, the right decision. I had to deal with the fact that it was awkward asking my mom to pay for this shirt when I have tried so hard to be independent and not ask them for money. Thankfully, I had already told her about the Year, and she was really great and understanding about the whole thing.

The actual shopping was also a bit stressful, because I haven't been clothes shopping since early May. It was tough seeing all these cute summer clothes, wanting them and knowing that I couldn't have them. I almost wanted to just grab the first dress shirt I found that fit properly and run out of the mall. I had a hard time finding something, but I finally found a couple of shirts I really liked. The one I ended up with is from Target. I meant to take a picture of me all dressed up for my interview, but I didn't get a chance to.

So the shopping trip was successful, if slightly trying. My aunt Linda came with us, too, and I was a little disappointed because I had been looking forward to just spending the day with my mom. They started in on politics and religion and the War, and I pretty much buried my head in the Nick Hornby book I was reading (About a Boy, which I mostly liked) and tried to ignore them because I disagree with them on a lot of those topics, and I didn't feel like getting lectured or tsked at. I have a great dislike for unfounded opinions, particularly when the person with the opinion is exceptionally outspoken and not knowledgeable.

I went back to Kettle's on Thursday night, and he cooked what might have been the most amazing pork chops I've ever had. They were phenomenal! They were thick and juicy, and he made an apricot-mustard glaze to go with them. The stir-fried veggies were fantastic, too. After dinner, we watched Ultimate Fighter, which I had never seen before. It was a pretty interesting show.

So ... Friday finally arrived, and I bounded out of bed bright and early to get ready for my interview. Kettle managed to take my mind off of it for most of the middle part of the week, but Friday morning I was once again verging on freaking out. I managed to get ready on time and make it to Picerne 10 minutes early.

The actual interview lasted about 45 minutes. I interviewed with two people: Amanda, who is the Communications Director; and Heath, who is the Program Director. I think the interview went pretty well. I was glad I had prepared a portfolio, because they seemed fairly impressed by it and by the fact that I had taken the time to put it together. Even though being overly stressed in the beginning of the week was not fun, the preparations I made paid off, because I was able to answer most of their questions really well, I knew a pretty fair amount about the company, and I asked intelligent questions when offered the opportunity. I think (hope, anyway) that I came across as well prepared, well spoken and a good fit for the job. The bad part about it is that I won't know whether I got it or not for about a month, and I may have to go for another interview before it's over with. I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed, because I would really like to get this job! But I know it'll all work out, one way or the other.

Friday afternoon and evening were interesting, to say the least. Kettle found out that a friend of his had died in a motorcycle accident earlier in the week (Thursday night, I think) and that the visitation was Friday night and the funeral Saturday. We had planned to meet right after he got off work, go by his parents' house and then go to Tuscaloosa on Friday, so obviously our plans changed. He went to the visitation, and I kept myself occupied until he was ready to meet up.

I have to sidetrack for a second here to talk about the Year a little bit more, because I actually went to Old Navy while I was waiting for him. I definitely tried on some clothes and seriously considered buying them, but I managed to talk myself out of it. Lesson learned: Don't go try on clothes at Old Navy when you know that you can't buy anything.

Anyway, after putzing around in Dothan for a while, I went to Dakota Coffee in Enterprise to wait for Kettle. He met me there, and we had coffee before heading over to his parents' place. This would be the first time I met his parents, and he was definitely a little nervous. I might have been nervous, too. Just a little.

I think his parents liked me, though. I definitely liked them, which was what I really think Kettle was worried about. I thought they were pretty funny, and they were nice. Eli and Pearl, their bulldogs, were awesome! We spent a bit of time there before finally heading to dinner.

We ate at Myori (or Mayori? I can't remember the exact name), a Japanese place in Enterprise. I was pleasantly surprised that they had yakisoba on the menu - I've never seen it on the menu at an American Japanese place. I ordered the beef yakisoba, and it was delicious!

The rest of the weekend was mostly good, too, but I'll spare the details because this is already a super-long blog entry! I'll just say there were some high points and some low points, and if you want to hear all about it, just ask me!

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend! Thanks for the prayers for the job interview, those of you that prayed.