INTERVIEWING, MANUSCRIPT REVISING, etc.

I’M HAPPY TO report that I’m feeling much better than I was the past couple of weeks. I believe it was a culmination of the Katrina disaster, being unemployed, hormones, and some other personal issues coming to a head. In any event, it’s over & I’m glad.

I HAD MY first interview in a year yesterday. It was for a “housing specialist” position at a Latino organization, which sounds a little more important than the actual position. The interview was with the director, a gringo (in charge of Latino organization, hmmm), and the education manager (a Latina). The interview felt staged; they had their prepared questions in front of them, while I winged my answers cold turkey. I had a weird vibe before, during and after the interview, especially with the usual nonsense, open-ended questions:

· Tell us about yourself (I hate that question!)
· Describe a stressful situation & how you handled it (UGGH! there’re so many; how to choose)
· Tell us why you would be a good candidate (DUH…’cause I’m unemployed)

IN THE END, even though I told them the job sounded interesting, I was pretty sure I didn’t want it so I didn’t send a thank-you e-mail. There’s too much traveling involved (Aurora, Elgin – I don’t think so! Especially after driving 330 miles round-trip to Peoria for my last out-of-town book signing -- more later); the salary is not enough, though I let them know my expectations; it’s downtown, where I don’t want to work; and I don’t know if I want to conduct workshops. Hence, the cons outweigh the pros.

AND SOMETHING JUST doesn’t seem right with assisting Latinos to move into the suburbs farther away from resources and cultural amenities as the city continues its gentrification movement. I used to think my sister was crazy when she talked about a conspiracy theory to make the city a paradise for the privileged, but sometimes I wonder . . . And I know as a beggar I shouldn't be choosy, but I have to listen to my gut instinct, right?

WELL, I MAILED the manuscript for my second book (ITPIHOY -- sounds like an Indian word, don't it?) to the publisher on August 19. When the publisher called 2½ weeks later, I didn’t want to answer the phone because I was sure it was bad news. So I let the call go to voice mail & didn’t call her back until the next day. Although her first words about the story were, “depressing, isn’t it?” she didn’t have many changes, which was good. (I countered the “depressing” comment by proclaiming it was more "serious" than CM.) When she asked when I could return two copies of the manuscript (plus the files on disk) with the changes, I told her the following week (this week). Of course, Murphy's Law decided to make an appearance & everything started happening this week. The temp agency I signed up with called me with an assignment. Then I got an e-mail and a call from two potential jobs I applied to (the first interview was the weird-vibe one from yesterday; the second I have on Monday).

WEDNESDAY (9/14) I get this e-mail from my publisher telling me that time is running out & if she doesn’t get the revised manuscript “really, really soon,” she would have to move it to another season. Right now, it’s scheduled for Fall/Winter 2006. So I started rushing, making the changes, editing, proofreading until I finally printed it out on both printers. And as Murphy’s Law would have it, the laser printer hooked up to my laptop starts acting stupid (not only is the ink running out but the paper tray won’t shut all the way -- UGGHH!), so I have to save the file to the jump drive and print it from the deskjet on my PC, which was acting stupid the last time. I only have time to print half of the manuscript before I leave for my interview. When I return in the afternoon, I finish printing out the rest. To make a long story short, I sent it out Express mail & made the deadline. (YEA! & AMEN!)