interview update

i had my first interview with HR today.  she said that she only wanted to get a “general sense of things” and it would only last for about 15 minutes.  the one on friday would be more in depth and last a whopping 45 minutes.  my interview lasted half an hour – but i have a tendency to babble.  i think it went really really well.  she seemed impressed and happy with my responses.  but i don’t want to jinx it so that’s all i’ll say.

australia and all its wonders

really,  this post should be titled “people and things that fascinate/confound me” because it could happen anywhere i suppose, not just australia but that title doesn’t sound as punchy.   so here goes…

• the man who works somewhere in my building who will wait for the revolving door to do one full revolution before going through.  it could be devoid of people and he will still wait.  we arrive at work at roughly the same time every morning so i have the pleasure of witnessing his OCD.  if i’m a bit early,  i stay outside for a bit longer until he arrives to see if he does it again (i guess you can say that i like to watch).  and he does.
• the person at the cross walk who will pres the button repeatedly and quite vigourously for the green walking man to appear.  it’s worth mentioning that this person was probably standing behind me and saw me press the button already.  perhaps i didn’t slam it hard enough.  i’ve never noticed a direct correlation between how many times you press the button and when the light turns green.  my guess is that there is none but a lot of people must think it works.  I tell people that watching their report print makes the printer actually go faster.  same principle i think.
• vegemite.  i think it’s the same as marmite.  it’s all just brown goop to me.  and it tastes like brown goop.
• mullets.  they are everywhere here.  i didn’t notice them when i was back in america, maybe i’m out of the loop and they’re really popular again. 
• Twitter.  everyone at work keeps talking about how great it is.  why?  the media made a big deal about it because crusty old GOP senators were using it.  that for me was a signal that it was not cool.  it’s like the first time i heard my mother say “talk to the hand.”  i don’t think i said it ever again after that (except to my mother). btw,  they also use facebook.  not cool.
• australian commercials.  not all of them but one in particular that really irked me.  i’d throw my hands up every time it came up on the telly and wonder how it ever got past the “ideas table” at the ad agency.  it was a tampon commercial with a beaver (um, the animal) in it.  there’d be scenes of some super happy chick at the beach with this animated beaver,  both laying in the sun,  while two unrealistically toned men walk by and check out the girl and her beaver.  seriously, wtf?  cut to the last scene where the chick and her beaver  friend are at dinner and she gives the beaver a box of tampons as a gift.  hello?  focus group?  don’t believe me?  it’s on youtube.  see it for yourself.
• The woman who sells the Big Issue down the street from my office.  we happened to be on the same tram as her quite a while ago and accused the Brit of being a Free mason.  wha…?  then went on to talk about how they’re bad and i should watch myself.  apparently the Brit did some hand geture while he was telling me a story that i think is a signal used amongst free masons.  again, i say,  WTF? !  the brit and i ignored her (and this was well over a year ago) and she still bloody remembers me.  she always says something to me  when i walk past her.  i think she’s trying to pick a fight with me.  i ignore her.  she always has weird messages written on the side of the box she keeps the Big Issue in.  a few weeks ago it was “Ahmadinejad is sexy.”  For a while during the american election, it was “Vote for Obama” which i thought was amusing since you can’t vote for the american president if you’re not american.  this morning it was something about free masons (i couldn’t really see the message and i didn’t want to slow for fear she may try to talk to me about my free mason husband).  the woman is weird.  and what did a free mason ever do to her?