Wait For It

Had the interviews today. And things went pretty well. In the morning, I met with the staff. And I think that overall, we had a good time together. We chatted for almost two hours. And I really liked them. They were bright, energetic, and passionate about the work that they were doing.

Such a huge difference from the other Philadelphia non-profit I interviewed with last winter. They were all about whine whine whine. Sour faces all around. I was out of there just before noon, so I headed down to Center City. A frisson of excitement coursed through me when I realized that I. Goldberg's--the world's greatest military surplus store where I've been buying boots since I was in high school--was actually open! And so I went on a $35 shopping spree, emerging with two shirts and three new pairs of pants. No joke. Then I caught lunch at a sushi place with reasonable prices, and--whaddya know--found a Starbucks. The hours rolled by, and I headed back to the hood for the second interview with the full board of directors.

Again, things went well. The folks I had met last Thursday wre warm and welcoming, a guy on the board greeted me with a smile and a handshake, as we'd met at a conference years ago and he knew me by reputation. (Cool, right?) The interview with the board was pretty good, although I have to admit, at this point I was a little low energy. I don't know that it showed though.

And now, they meet and talk and decide. And once they decide, I'll get a phone call. Either way.

With things like this, it's never a sure thing. If you've ever been on jury duty you know that when a group of people get together in a room and make a unanimous decision about something, there's no predicting which way it's going to come out. (Especially if one of the people in the room is a persuasive contrarian given to seeing a different side of any question like me.)

But I think I have a lot of reason to hope. I'm looking forward to getting the phone call.

But for now, I'm just waiting.

Oh! And the guy from the hot tub called me to tell me that he kept his fingers crossed all day for me and my interviews! Wasn't that sweet? Isn't that thoughtful? (I know I know I know. I lap up the tiniest affectionate gestures like a kitten and a bowl of milk. Mostly because with him, I never know if it's the last meal I'll get.")

Waiting.

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