Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Notes on the Red State Visit

  • Overcoats and airplanes don't mix. The charade of 'carry-on baggage' needs some serious rethinking.

  • I'm glad we have to take off our shoes before getting on planes. That way, if some terrorist tries the exact same thing in the exact same way as some idiot tried it before, we stand a decent chance of catching him. Of course, if he adjusts tactics at all, we're kidding ourselves.

  • One enterprising sort set up a vending machine near the security screener, selling disposable slippers so you wouldn't have to walk around barefoot. Build a better mousetrap...

  • Apparently, Red State passed a law mandating a Wendy's restaurant about every 200 feet. I enjoy the occasional visit, but the Wendy's-to-population ratio there is simply astounding.

  • Why do all the major rental car companies only rent American cars? Mine offered to 'upgrade' me to a Chrysler Sebring. Must have been out of Gremlins, I guess. I have one word for the rental car companies: Honda. That is all.

  • You can learn a lot about an area through its phone book. This one had plenty of Baptist and Pentecostal churches, one Catholic church, and nothing that even hinted of a Unitarian one. I didn't even see a mention of a synagogue.

As for the interview itself...

  • “Dance,” you're a genius. The presentation went wonderfully, and actually led to real conversation.

  • It was one of those half-day affairs where you're shepherded from interrogator to interrogator. Seeing the different questions, or the different ways of asking the same question, is revealing. Remembering every name is damn near impossible.

  • Being treated with respect was kind of nice. I had forgotten what that felt like.

  • As I left, I felt pretty sure they'd go with another candidate – I can't really say why without giving away the whole thing – but I also felt like I had pitched my game. If they don't hire the guy they saw, it's because they want something else. Whatever the outcome is, it is, but I can honestly say I brought it. There's something satisfying about that.

And thanks for all the good wishes! A secret, pseudonymous cheering section is a cheering section nonetheless.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled blog.