My lucky day!

Okay, I didn't get hired on the spot. But I had testing in Austin yesterday. Already I was worried because I didn't know how long it would take to find the place as it is Austin and you can never get a good map of the city. Plus, there's traffic. So I stopped at Starbucks on the way out of town to get my caffeine fix. Didn't want to be falling asleep at the wheel. Then, I leave. Traffic leaving San Antonio wasn't too bad. But I left late and I'm worried I won't be able to find the place or I'll hit traffic and be late. Don't want to make a bad impression by showing up late, you know?

But traffic in Austin wasn't too bad. I had to go to north Austin, so I went through a good deal of it, too. Then, on top of that, the map was actually right. It took me right there! I was dumbfounded at that, as I think that's the only time that's ever happened to me. But I made it on time, about 5 minutes early. Plenty of time to fill out the job application. I actually had more than enough time, as they were waiting for this other guy to fill his out and take him for testing first, as his test was different than mine and these other two women. He took FOREVER to fill it out. I don't know why, but he was just being so deliberate and thinking a long time to fill out every question. I mean, I already knew the answers; it didn't take me long at all. But he would stop to rearrange something like 5 pages he had laid out every time he answered one. And he wrote really slow. The other women and I were pretty antsy by then as he even took a long time to put his papers in order to turn them in to the receptionist. He must have rearranged them like 5 times, and he kept straightening them over and over again. I wanted to go over there and take them from him and turn them in myself. Maybe he had OCD or something. It seemed like it. But the testing wasn't hard at all. I hope I did well. I think I was pretty slow for some reason as this other girl did hers really fast, although she didn't fill in the little bubbles on her answer sheet. She just put a slash through them. Personally, I didn't think it took that long to fill in the bubbles, but hey. What do I know?

But I managed to leave Austin by about 3:30 or almost 4:00. But there was traffic heading back to San Antonio as there always is. By then, the traffic is just as bad heading up north, too, though. I had to stop and get something to eat, as much as I hated to do that. There wasn't anything healthy, so I just got Whataburger. I was feeling really weak by that point, like my blood sugar just dropped dramatically really fast. Then, on the drive back, I got this text message saying $10.00 had been posted to my phone account. (?!!!)All I know is that I did not put the $10.00 on there myself. When does it ever happen that people just give you money for no reason, you know? Then, when I got home, I found me a lucky penny right on the ground. Even after the Whataburger, I still had enough Flex Points to have dinner and even a couple of pieces of chocolate, with a few points left over. I was just in a really good mood.

Today R and little E are coming into town to visit. Hope we can find enough things to do that don't cost money. But we should have a good time. If nothing else, we'll have coffee. : )

Another interview in the map-impaired city

For those of you who haven't read my earlier post about an interview in Austin, I'll tell you one thing. There are no decent maps of Austin. I have no idea how this happens, but every single map I've ever gotten of Austin was wrong and I always get lost. So, why did I apply for a job in this crazy city? I don't know. Can't find anything closer to home maybe. But it's hard to find my way around over there because of the problem with the maps. The good thing was that they had directions posted on their website. The problem was that they were worded confusingly, so I wasn't sure if I'd find it. I printed a map, fully aware that it might not help.

Luckily, this time I made the correct guesses where the directions lacked clarity, as opposed to last time in Austin when I didn't and got lost. So just lucky, I suppose. The interview was fine, nothing major. Really short after a long drive to get up there, though. But it was a relief to get it over with. I was majorly anxious the day before. I don't know if it was an anxiety attack or what, but it made me extremely nauseous and I felt really ill all day. That evening, however, I somehow managed to relax, trying to convince myself that the reason for my anxiety is that I haven't gotten my Trileptal yet. It's late arriving and I'm out. I've been out for several days and I have no idea what's taking the shipment so long. That's something I have to try to find out today if I can. So that's one thing a job will be good for. Insurance. No more ordering drugs from Canada. Dear old Canada, what would I do without you right now? Go crazy I suppose as that's what's happening without my meds. Ahhh! Hurry! Hopefully today, but we'll see.

Today I feel fine, although I still have little twinges of anxiety here and there. I manage to relax after, but I try to keep my mind on something else and it hasn't escalated to the point of a full-on attack like Sunday. I just didn't expect that to be a symptom I'd get from lack of a mood stabilizer. It seems more like something that would happen if I was out of Zoloft or something instead. It's not like I'm a doctor or anything, though. Anyway, maybe I'd better get off the computer and figure out where my meds are and maybe get out of the house. I need to get something to read at the library and go to the post office to mail my "thank you" card to the guy who interviewed me yesterday. Then, I can come home and look through job listings again.

Driving Adventures in "Austin"

What is it with Austin that is such a challenge to mapmakers? I'll admit, some of the roads can be confusing, but they'd be less so if you had a decent map. For some reason, every map I've ever had of Austin is just terrible. This time, I only had to go through to south Austin, then turn off. But the road I thought I was turning on wasn't the road I thought I was turning onto. It was a completely different highway. Thanks, Google. So, then I'm hoping that the map isn't too far off and that my supposed RR 2222 is somewhere nearby. BUT, the area I'm driving in doesn't have that many businesses, so I can't stop and ask directions until I'm out in the middle of nowhere. I stopped at a combination gas station/Rudy's Barbecue (didn't know you could ever buy gas at a Rudy's Barbecue, but I suppose stranger things have happened). There was a very small convenience store type section, but no maps. So I asked the cashier, but the Map-finder they have had the exact page I needed stolen out of it. The guy was pretty sure where it was. He made it sound like it was nearby. I just crossed a bridge and it would be the next turn. Okay, I can handle that. Noooooo. It couldn't be that easy.

I continue on, thinking it's just another quarter mile or so. I cross over a section of the highway that was raised a little and I'm wondering, is that the bridge? Did I now pass my turn? Then, I come to an overpass. Is that it? But there's now no place to stop for more directions. So I just keep driving. I'm still way early because I anticipated this sort of problem driving up there as it always happens. The drive starts to get pretty scenic and I'm hoping I'm not going so far out that I'll have to come halfway back to Austin again to get to my street. Eventually, I see something in the distance that looks like a huge bridge. Like, a real bridge with an arch over it and everything. Is that what the guy meant? As I get closer I see a sign for 2222 and I know now that I've made it. Why didn't the guy tell me I wasn't really close to it? New question: How far did I go before reaching 2222 and do I now have to go back toward Austin to find the turnoff, or keep going west and away from Austin? I decided to try west first. Luckily, I chose correctly and I found my turn, then the turn from there to the office park I needed.

So, I saw a sign that said there were 8 buildings marked with Roman numerals, but nothing indicating which building I need to go to. Nothing said which businesses were in which building, or if the whole complex was indeed AT&T. So, I parked by building 1 and went inside. Sure enough, that's not right. AT&T isn't listed in the directory. I asked a man outside if he knew where AT&T was, but he just told me to look at the signs. Yeah, right. Like that's helpful. I went back to the car and drove on to the next building I saw, which was building 4. Went inside, and no, AT&T isn't there either. I drove on and came to building 6. No AT&T. I asked a group of people at each building if they knew where it was, but no one knew. I finally saw that there was a building behind the one I'd last gone into, so I went back to the car and drove over to that one (they weren't really close enough to each other to walk to--maybe if it were fall or winter I might have done it, but not in those shoes). Luckily, that one was the one I was looking for. I managed to make it almost an hour in advance somehow. Good thing I allowed so much extra time.

So, then as the time for the testing neared, more and more people showed up. Most of them were in jeans and sneakers, which I can't imagine doing for something relating to job-hunting. I just figured, I'd prepare for an interview, in case they interviewed us afterwards. So, I wore a suit. Only 2 other people even remotely dressed up. It just shocks me what people will do when they should be trying to make a good impression. Instead, they all just looked like they could care less what happened. Anyway, I'd been studying for several days, reading up on the design software, so I wouldn't be too rusty. But, the test was a written test and not on the computer at all. ??? The e-mail they sent me said it would be on the software, but it wasn't like that. It was all checking and proofing ads to make sure spelling, word usage, and everything were printed correctly. Piece of cake. There was only one of them that I wasn't sure of, so one out of all the ones I answered correctly should be okay. We'll see. The person running the testing said they might have results in a couple of days.

So, then I leave afterwards and the building is just dead. There's no one out there. Everything is dark. It's only 4 pm, though. Weird. So, I find my car and leave the park, only to forget which direction I needed to go. My choice turned out to be wrong, so I had to turn around. Then, I missed the turn getting back on the highway and went off again. Luckily it was a nice drive. I came to a spot where there was a sheer cliff on one side of the road with 3 eagles flying around on it, and a drop off the other side of the road that may have led down to a lake, but I couldn't really look because the road was pretty wind-y and I had to keep my eyes on the road. Eventually I was able to turn around and made it back to the highway. Back to 35, only to miss my exit because the signs weren't very clear until I was past it. So, again I had to turn around on 35 so I could head back down to San Antonio. Traffic was bad as usual as by then it was rush hour, but not as bad as it could have been. It didn't get really horrible until I reached San Antonio, and the worst was right at the last stretch of 1604 where there are traffic lights. Why they don't build overpasses, I haven't a clue. They just spent money on widening the turn lanes, like that will alleviate the traffic problems, but that was pretty stupid.

Anyway, I'm hoping this will turn out to be a job I'll actually get, but it remains to be seen. I'm going to keep looking, though, in case that one doesn't pan out. I'm pretty tired today, but some of it is allergies. I actually slept well, so I don't think that's it. Hopefully a Sea World trip is in the works for tonight, so that will be a welcome break from job-hunting and studying.

Well, if I get a job in Austin, I'll probably have to invest in a Mapfinder or I'll never find my way around up there. Still I hate it when I plan things out like that and then I don't get the job, and it turns out I did all that planning for nothing. Maybe it's a jinx or something. I'll just wait and see and worry about it when the time comes this time. : )