Klowns in my Koffee

As far as I can tell, my interview went adequately. There were no overt gaffes. The ISO job that had been dangled seductively in front of me was off the table, having been accepted the previous day by the applicant that the agency sent. My contact told me that the lucky/unlucky chap is being given a two week period in which to demonstrate that he can make tangible inroads into the company culture. This brings to mind the old joke about the hair stylist who replied when requested to make a major and decidedly optimistic overhaul on a client, "It's a comb -- not a magic wand!"


Even the ephemeral and teflon CEO of Porkus, someone for whom I have a level of respect and grudging affection somewhat mystifying even to me under the circumstances, stood up in front of all the employees and announced his personal commitment to establishing a quality system, signed a pledge, and asked each employee in turn to do the same. Admittedly, I created the pledge and shoved it in front of him but that's how these things are often done.


So, if Mr. Two Week is ground in the mill of rejection and overt management hostility, I get a chance to interview. Not sure how I feel about that.


Either way, I was accepted by the placement firm as – well, it's not a "client" since hiring companies are the client. "Fodder"? "Grist"? A manila folder with my name on it in a file cabinet? Since there are people who don't make the cut, I feel pretty good about it. The recruiter liked my resume so I won't have to rewrite it, except for perhaps some rebalancing for a specific opportunity. And the receptionist loved my suit. Win-win.


I'll be spending the foreseeable future studying for Saturday's Certified Quality Engineer exam. I have about 200 pages of statistics left to learn. When I took the auditor exam, I read most of it all night before the exam so this is ... better.

Here's something that seems questionable: This coupon advertises "An OFF Repellent for Every Occasion." That seems a bit presumptive on their part.

It doesn't say "activity" -- something that would seem more logical since they make a waterproof one for swimming and a hand-to-hand combat version for 'deep woods.' But "occasion"? Occasions are circumstances where sending a card is appropriate.

Is there an OFF for a funeral? A christening? Grandma makes parole? Deck the halls with boughs of DEET?

Or, even more troubling, "just thinking of you"?