Memories

I had the long-awaited interview today.  I went to a building in Westchester County that brought back countless and wonderful memories.

Before I even tell that story, I will share the back drop.

Last night, I received an email from someone else I interviewed with last week in another company.   The attraction for me was the company,  a very creative and innovative company.  The woman that interviewed me was obviously not interested in me.  She was probably told to interview me because I had already interviewed with two of her superiors in the past and they were impressed with me.  Suffice it to say that when she interviewed me her questions lacked focus and depth.  I was still hoping for a second interview because I was more interested in the company than in the woman doing the interviewing although it seemed I would work for her.  Minor detail.

Her email was insulting.  She made up the story that I had not done as well as other candidates in answering a few questions which she then listed.  The irony - or disgrace - is that she hadn't asked me most of these questions during the interview! I guess there are unethical people everywhere!  Very creepy!

I started responding to her email last night but I was so incensed at its tone and lies that I decided not to reply and wait a couple of days to cool off.  However, I was wound up and couldn't get to sleep until around 3:00 a.m.  I had to wake up at 5:00 a.m. to do my meditations and head to Westchester county to the other interview.

I left my house at 6:30 a.m. and drove as fast as I could within reasonable speed limits and arrived about 45 minutes early - always a good thing - and waited for 8:00 a.m. in the parking lot.  Once I entered the building I waited for the senior executive for several minutes until I heard that he was at a different building nearby.  Once I got to the other building, we went to the cafeteria and had breakfast together.  It was a great meeting!

He had to leave to go to another meeting and I stayed in the cafeteria.  On my way upstairs I realized that all the art work hanging in the cafeteria and in the halls was the same artwork that hung from a building I used to work in years ago.  A building where I was very happy working with amazing people on large and complex projects.  It was also a building where my father worked for a few years.  It was a lot of fun and a great feeling to have my father there, we would go to lunch whenever we could and I would go visit him during the day to say hello.

As I walked down the halls admiring the artwork, tears started pouring out of my eyes.  I don't cry often but I could see all this artwork - several pieces - exactly as they hung in the corridors in the other building.  I could also see  my friends and colleagues laughing and walking around to the various meetings or to have coffee in the cafeteria and felt the same energy I had felt a few years ago when I was part of it.   I saw the plants inside the building, the stairs, the ceiling to floor windows and looking out of these windows, I could see the Canadian gueese that were always roaming around the moat.  I saw everything through my heart's eye in technicolor and full 3D scenes.

The building was sold a few years ago.  The good memories are deeply embedded in my heart.