A trip to Salem, a trip to Lincoln City…it’s nice to get out.
September 5, 2003
I think things are back to normal on the Comcast mail servers, so now if you’ve been getting duplicate or old notices when my website has been updated, it shouldn’t happen anymore. My apologies if you missed an entry or two or got the same notification sent out three or four times. That even happened to ME. I get copies of the notifications that are sent as the original author of the entry, and even today I was still getting old copies that were bouncing around inside the mail servers. Whatever work they did on the mail servers sure created some weird problems. I’m not seeing any backlash from miscommunication of any kind from my eBay auctions yet, so all is well so far.
Today was my big interview, obviously. I set out this morning around 8 AM for Salem, unsure exactly how to get to where I needed to go, but I had freshly printed Yahoo! Maps next to me and a good hour and a half to make a 45 minute drive. I was sitting pretty. I pulled into Salem about 8:45 and found the capital building all right, thankfully. If you remember, the last time I was at the capital was two years ago when I shadowed a reporter for The Oregonian newspaper for my US Politics and the Media course I was taking at Beloit. I had the WORST time finding parking, and even then I had to keep running out to feed the meter. This time I brought plenty of change and left enough time to find a spot. I parked about four or five blocks away from the capital, but I was early enough that I could enjoy a nice leisurely stroll through the parks that surround the capital building. It was hot, though, even at 9 AM.
I still had to wait about half an hour, but it gave me an opportunity to peruse the page with information on it that I was given to read while I waited, everything I needed to know about what I was getting myself into. I know I wasn’t too specific about the job description in the past, but I hyonestly didn’t fully know. It tusn out that the position is with the Office of Budget and Management, and the position I applied for is like a liason between the state agencies and the BAM (Budget and Management) office. For the first year, my dutuies would be to get to know the various representatives of state agencies and learn all about their needs for the next budget session, and then for the second year it would be working with the agencies and trying to meet their demands for the Governor’s budget proposal. Sounds like an interesting job, actually.
It was a panel of four people who interviewed me: three analysts from the BAM office and someone from the Board of Medical Examiners. That I was a bit confused about so I asked, and he was just there to help since they get money from the BAM office. Maybe they couldn’t find anyone else or something. In any case, I think the interview went well. I had a pretty good rapport with them and I didn’t lose my train of thought too many times. I feel that I answered their questions satisfactorily, at least in my mind. We all talked for about 30 minutes, and then I was on my way. They told me that there are 26 people they’re interviewing for only two positions, so I have decent chances. I think they’re finished interviewing people this week, and then next week they’re doing second interviews for a few people that they’d like to speak with again, but this time those lucky few speak with people higher up on the food chain. Then reference checks, and finally the ultimate decision sometime in the next ten days or so. I’ll know fairly soon whether I made the cut, then.
For the rest of the day, I spent my time mostly just bumming around doing little. I decided to make pizza for dinner while I was here, but it didn’t turn out quite as well as I’d hoped. I picked up a six pack of Bridgeport ESB Ale that my Dad likes but that I’ve never had and all the makings for a pizza, and then I planned on watching “The Usual Suspects” with him. The pizza had the right idea, but every time I do it, I forget how much work it is. The sauce and crust were by far the best I’d ever done, and I’m using those recipes from now on. In an attempt to minimize the caloric damage I was doing tonight, I bought reduced-fat pepperoni and non-fat cheese that I’ve seen but never tried. The pepperoni was OK, made with turkey and chicken and less beef and pork, but it just didn’t have that same tang that pepperoni is supposed to have. The cheese, on the other hand, will not get used for pizza again. It didn’t taste quite right, and it didn’t melt quite right. I guess the fat really does make a difference in the texture and taste of cheese. Drat. I had enough other toppings on it that the taste was covered, but I knew it was there. Maybe next time I’ll do what I keep meaning to do and not use ANY cheese like the way pizzas were originally made in Italy. With the crust and sauce recipes I used this time, I think that they’ll taste fantastic even without cheese. That’s pretty much the fattiest part of pizza, anyhow. Last time I had a lot of pizza was in May when I worked that one day at Papa Murphy’s, and I made a great pizza with chicken. I think I’ll try that again next time, maybe chicken, onion, green pepper, and of course, lots of garlic. I used a whole head of garlic tonight on pizza alone. Good thing neither Dad nor I are spending the night close to anyone, or there would be some serious trouble. I put enough onion and garlic on that pizza to choke a horse. Good stuff.
Tomorrow’s the big trek down to Lincoln City, though we’re just going to a McMenamin’s. Nothing new there. Maybe they’ll have some MM beers I’ve never had before and I can try something new. If not, Baghdad Ale or Hammerhead Ale will do just fine.
Well I’ve had a long day. I’m watching “Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring” on TV right now, but since I got up at 6:30 AM this morning, I may head into my room and watch TV in there instead, hoping to fall asleep perhaps. I don’t have to get up too early tomorrow, but we’re supposed to be out of here around 9:30, which is early enough. Sleeeeeep. Night all.
Posted in 
content rss
