Saturday, December 3, 2011

A Year of Gratitude - Day One Hundred Seventy-one

Day 171 - Anticipation
I had two reasons to be a little nervous today.  
First, I had a presentation to make to a job seekers networking group about questions and responses in an interview, and it was the first time I would attend this group’s meeting.  I wanted to do a good job, naturally, so like every musical or theatrical performance I’ve done in the past, the butterflies were present.  
The second reason was that I needed to get on the road to Seattle for three interviews tomorrow.  I would have only enough time to stop at home to eat a quick lunch, grab my bags, and be off to try to hit Seattle before rush hour.
The presentation went well; it ran overtime because of all the questions (poor planning on my part, actually), but no one seemed to mind, and I got a lot of very positive feedback.
The adrenaline was flowing about two blocks before I made it home for lunch, though, when I realized I left my briefcase in the meeting room - with my laptop inside.  (I took it “just in case” I needed my computer.  That’s a mistake I won’t make again.)  I couldn’t get the group moderator on the phone (turns out he was ignoring my many calls because he was on the other line - I can’t blame him, I suppose), but I was able to reach someone at the Baja Fresh whose meeting room the group uses, and he found and set aside the briefcase.  Wow... that was a stupid move on my part, but the crisis was averted.
I inhaled a quick lunch, changed into some jeans, and got on the road.  The drive up was an easy one, Until I reached Seattle's I-405 toward Bellevue, which is just as bad as the 405 in Los Angeles.  It took me far too long to get to Bellevue, and I was hungry and cranky when I got to the hotel.  It didn’t help that the room could not warm up (probably because a first floor room has very high ceilings, and the heaters cannot heat the whole space when it’s freezing outside - especially the two or three rooms next to the exterior doors where people come and go from the parking lot.  But the huge Cobb salad took care of my appetite, and crawling into bed helped me relax.
But I had three interviews to think about, and fortunately I slept well.  The anticipation kept my mind focused.  Here’s to opportunity!

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