About five years ago, the shady computer tech reseller company was preparing to complete its move down to Orange County and I had LONG been over their scary business practices, their horrendous treatment of their employees and their annoyance over the fact that I was unwilling to move to the O.C. I was destined to lose my job at the place within a few months anyways, so I took the initiative and began looking around. I ended up submitting applications to UCSB and to the...surprise, surprise, apparel company that dicked me around for months years prior. I interviewed at UCSB, but did not get the job, and I also interviewed at the apparel company, which ended up hiring me.
The first person to interview me at the shoe place ended up being my manager, and to say that the interview went well is an incredible understatement. We talked for about forty minutes and we just clicked. Usually, in interviews I am sweating bullets, my fingers turn into icy talons and my voice kicks up a register, which was the case to start, but the interviewer made me feel so comfortable, almost as if we were just hanging out and having a chat; I forgot that I was being interviewed. Now, I know that anyone reading this will be waiting for the moment that I go, "and guess what? she was a serial killer!" but that is wholeheartedly not the case. To this day, I am still very good friends with my old boss and I am saddened that I only see her every other month or so. In fact, there are a bunch of folks from that job who I still see when I can, and I simply adore them all. Looking back, it is a shame what happened to all of us over the course of the next two and a half years, but I am getting ahead of myself.
After my manager-to-be left, I was told that the department manager was out of the country and would not be available to interview me, but the guy who was director of who-whats-its would be interviewing me next, and that interview fine and I was sent on my way. Two days later, I was given a call for a follow up interview with the owner of the company and I came in. But, like many years prior, I sat and waited for about thirty minutes in a room by myself. He eventually showed up and asked me a handful of questions, but then basically admitted that he did not know why it was necessary for him to talk to me, but asked if I had any questions. I of course did and asked him if he foresaw any chance of the company moving out of Santa Barbara, to which he replied in his trademark incredibly loud voice, "No. We are a Santa Barbara company and if I ever said I was going to take the company out of Santa Barbara, my wife would divorce my ass, take everything in the divorce and she would keep the company here anyways." I laughed, and he laughed and he went on his way. The interview had lasted about five minutes. I sat there waiting for the HR woman to come in to wrap things up, and I heard the owner in the hallway laughing at me to the HR woman, "I asked him if he had any questions, and his biggest concern is if the company will be here for a while. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha." I, of course, felt a bit foolish, but my concerns turned out to be very much warranted beginning within about six months time.
Later that day, I received a call that I had the job and that an offer would be coming over shortly. I was received a small raise in addition to working for the company I had wished to be working at years prior. I accepted the offer and submitted my official two week resignation to the CEO of the tech reseller. Part of me felt bad about this, because he happened to be getting married that weekend and was expecting me to be around for another month or two until such time that he could can me on his own terms. Oh well.
The next day, I received a call from the apparel company saying that they bumped my start date to three weeks as a result of the phone call the owner had received from the tech reseller's CEO pleading with them to give him three weeks before they stole me away. The HR woman on the phone was laughing and said that the apparel owner was so pleased to be stealing someone from another company that he actually agreed to let me start a week later. Wow. Here I thought I was just a little peon employe--which why shouldn't I, that was how the tech reseller CEO had made me feel for the past few prior months--and here I was a vital cog in the machine? Awww Shucks. I was a little pissed about this, but at the same time I have to admit that it felt kind of good.
To be continued....
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