More Misadventures

Wednesday I decided to woman-up, to pursue a great future and not be complacent. Yes, I am supposed to start my bank teller job Tuesday. That's to pay the bills. But it's definitely not forever. It's til something more akin comes along.

I got called in to an interview in the city. I was excited. Partially because this job was in the non-profit sector. Partially because the organization is rumored to have Mafia connections. Mainly just because I had the prospect of a city job.

I miss the city lifestyle, with its fast pace, chic work outfits (not on me of course), and public transport. And what I also assumed to have plentiful free Wi-fi. Not like cheap Rockford establishments that promise Wi-fi and then force you to pay for it.

Of course, getting to Chi is a drama in itself, since the Metra has yet to be established. So I had to take the $40 Rockford-Chicago Van Galder bus. I also had to get up at 5 so I could make the before-7 bus. Being that my interview was after 11, I was worried I would get there waaay too early, so I brought my lappie.

The ride ended up taking 2.5 hours (fricking commuters). I slept a lot of that time and was nicely refreshed when we got to Union Station. The organization I had applied to was located on the same street as US but I figured blocks and blocks away, as the numbers were drastically different.

With all the time I had, I decided to head to Caribou Coffee in the Station and set up shop. I got a coffee and hooked up my computer. Alas, the offered no Internet access. So I decided to shift to Panera down the street. I snuck in with my competitor coffee, which was no easy task as I was hefting my bum laptop. Of course I spilled all over my sleeve. At Panera, I struggled to connect to their Wi-fi for a good 45 minutes. At least. Everyone else seemed to be online, but my laptop was defiant.

I wondered if the Internet caught on to my con and wouldn't grant me access as I had smuggled in some contraband. So I never did quite figure out my distance from the facility. Cabbies had never led me astray and they knew the city a hellova lot better than I did. I just hoped I wouldn't be embarrassed finding out the headquarters were a few blocks away.

The cabbie confirmed my fear by telling me it was less than 2 blocks away. I would be nuts to take a cab there. So I steeled myself for two blocks. It could be that he had crap hearing and thought I said 600 instead of 1600. I prefer to think he was an ass. After ten minutes of walking, I realized I'd never make it on time. So I hustled another cab. And found that it certainly was more than a few blocks away. I dumbly gave the cabbie all but one of my singles, leaving me with a $20 and a $10. Not-so-smart move.

The interviewer was nice and seemed to be my kind of people. But damn, this is a shit economy. There were people there much more experienced than I. Probably double my age. And he let me know I had "obstacles to overcome" as these cats already knew how to design Web sites. So ya, basically a waste of a day when I realized this.

None of my city friends were free (why would they be? they have class and work.), so I decided to catch the 12:30 bus instead of the 4 bus. Outside the building, I spotted a bus stop. There didn't appear to be high demand for cabs there, so I stood in line for the bus. A woman who may-or-may-not have been homeless begged off my last free dollar since she had offered me the info that A. the bus was going downtown and B. the bus would be there within a few minutes. As I handed it to her, a $10 bill fell out of my crammed laptop bag. She reached for it but I was faster. She informed me that only singles could be used on the bus. Just great, I wanted to ask for my dollar back.

She did take me under her wing though. After the bus driver laughed at my stupidity, the woman yelled out to the bus, asking if anyone had change for a $10. I sure as hell wasn't going to miss the bus going to the gas station for change. A guy only had $9, but I accepted the trade-off. So I ended spending double for that ride. My bag flapped around in the aisle and I feared that I had lost my debit. That woulda been the cherry on top. I know the other passengers noted that I was a hott mess. I'm sure they all let out a sigh and a "that girl was a hott mess" as soon as I exited. I made it home at the early hour of 2. Only to be told I needed to take a random drug test. Not-so-random methinks, considering I've never not had to take one. Oh, the indignity.

Bus rides = $44.
Coffee + lunch (Potbelly sandwich dryly consumed on bus) = $10
Hott mess awkward adventure = priceless