Weekend Update with Kevin Nealon, Chevy Chase, whoever

I have quite a bit to type out from my time with my parents. I’ve got some notes and also some phrases floating around in my head. I’ll be getting it out over the next couple of days. There’s a little bit of a flurry as I do the things that didn’t get done while I was away. That phenomenon is apparently the same whether one lives in the suburbs or the wilderness. However, there have been some doings here on the island.

First is that I had a job interview for a real grown-up job before I left on Saturday. The Funhouse is a sort-of hang-out learning center for the kids on the island. The after school program gets about 30-40 kids of all ages a day and the teen night program on the weekend gets anywhere from 8-150 kids in a night. There are some ground rules that emphasize respect but otherwise, it’s a place where kids can relax and explore their interests, even if those interests are just watching a movie or playing video games. A lot of money was put into its design and it’s cool in a way that both adults AND kids think is cool, not just in that way that adults think is cool but kids won’t have anything to do with. So, The Funhouse is looking for a part-time Development Director, which is basically the work that I’ve been doing for my dad grant-writing plus higher-stakes stuff like PR and planning events. If I had the job, I would be able to do that and wouldn’t have to do anything else, which is good because I’m struggling to pay the rent and my bookstore job, at least, is pissing me off. Also, this is the kind of job that I could put on a resume when I go back into the real world.

So, the interview went swimmingly. I was told that they were planning on interviewing some people from off-island (usually the kiss of death for a local’s chances) and that I would hear from them in about two weeks. When I got home yesterday, there was an email asking for me to come back for a second interview with several of the Board members. The catch is that at the end of the interview, the two women that were interviewing me said that they needed a two-year commitment for the time they would put into training the person for this job. As I entered the transitional part of my life, I realized that I needed to go out and experience the different ways that people live so that the next big choice I make is more likely to end up happy. I’m not ready to make a two-year commitment yet. So I went by today to tell Jeanne that I had to pull out of the race because the most I could promise her was 6 months. Surprisingly, she did not accept my declining the position was graceful regret. She said that she liked me so much that she would go back and talk to Nannette about whether they were willing to take that risk. I was impressed by her ability not to promise anything in saying that or to any way imply that I had the job if I wanted it. That’s savvy managing.

The other thing that happened is that I started my literature class. For two and a half hours today, I was entranced by the discussion of one poem by W.B. Yeats. Except for the first 15 minutes after the break, when some of the more mundane thoughts that I usually have (to do list, relationship stuff) had been brought back through socialization, I was only thinking about academic ideas. I loved it. I intend to write more about the class, as well, but since the purpose of the blog is to update the “folks at home,” I figured I’d give you a quick update on the day-to-day.