The Call

From as early as March, my mother and I had decided that I was going to the U.S. at some point in the summer holiday. Late last week, we sought to set the wheels in motion. On Monday morning my mother went to buy the ticket. Our original plan was to have me on a plane today. However the travel agency informed my mother than unless the booking was made at least a week in advance, the flight would be $7,000 more costly. We discussed it, and decided to go for next week Tuesday. But there turned out to be no available flights. We changed again, this time to next week Wednesday. Finally, a good day.

My mother made a tentative booking for July 20 to Ft. Lauderdale. For just over three weeks I'd be staying with my aunt and her family. I'd started my rounds, informing my friends that I would probably be going away for a while. I didn't want to return home to a barrage of attacks from friends who weren't informed of my departure until after the fact. But for a few day I had this little feeling that something would go wrong with my trip, and I felt that informing my friends before a final booking was potentially foolhardy. Maybe it was because the plans had already been disturbed twice. I just felt like something would go wrong with my ticket, preventing me from going to Florida. I was half right.

On May 30, I had an interview with Grace Kennedy. I thought the interview went well enough, as I began we wait for a response from them. It took 3 weeks to get a second call from NCB when I was interviewed there, so I figured that in 2-3 weeks I'd hear from Grace again. I remained a bum at home, because I wanted to make no major plans while the jury was still out on my interviews. Weeks passed, still no word. About two weeks ago my mother ran into the man who interviewed me. She'd met him once before apparently. He said thought the interview went well, the psychometric exam wasn't as hot. Despite that, he said, he was told that I would be called back for a second interview. But so much time had passed, in didn't seem like it was gonna happen again. "He'll find a job," he said.

It's yesterday, and I'm heading from the kitchen with food for Gail as she sits in my living room waiting. My cellphone rings. She picks it up, sees it's a private number, and looks at me suspiciously. We laugh it off as I answer the phone. It's an adult female, and instantly I know it's about employment (apparently only women can set up interviews). Grace wants me to come in for a second interview. I'm supposed to be happy, but I'm downright pissed. Grace is the reason I hadn't gone away before, the reason I'd been sitting at home doing nothing for this whole time. And the day I'm to confirm my booking to fly out, they call. There goes my trip... and who knows if I'll be getting a chance to go on vacation for a long time. These people like to waste time, juggling balls as people's lives are put on hold for them.

I'm so upset. Now to add salt to the wound, the lady who called me said she'd need to call me back in the afternoon to give me the details of the interview. It's more than a day later, and I'm still waiting. They damn well better employ me after all this!