There are days when you face small obstacles. They're more annoyances than anything, but yesterday was mine. It should have been a write-off!

I started the morning with getting a grease stain on my top (perfect for an interview!). I feel like I hit every red light during all my travels. I lost my balance twice and almost fell on my face onto the pavement when I was walking down some stairs after work (before my interview). The ticket dispenser was out of order in the parkade (while I was parked to walk to my interview).

And then I faced one of my toughest interviews EVER! And I thought that group interview I had with the other company was grueling. BWWAHAHAHA

This time I was tag teamed by what seemed to be experienced writers. One asked me the usual questions...describe a conflict, what do you like least and best about tech writing, how do you handle criticism, what are your strengths and weaknesses as a tech writer. But the other -- holy crap! She asked me about my experience with localization and internationalization, what I thought were 3 trends in technical communication, stuff about the Microsoft Solutions Framework, how I would use Plain English while thinking about international audiences. I felt like any practical experience I had wasn't going to be enough for the job. Anything I know about this kind of stuff has come from my own research and deductions.

I'd still really like the job, and I would learn a lot by working with the team, but the point of the interview was to see if I'd be a good fit. I won't take it personally if they don't offer me the job, but I'll still be bummed. They were all very thorough. They even pulled at my test and asked me to explain some of my answers.

Oh, and the crazy (in a good way, of course) writer knew my ex. Sometimes I can't stop myself from saying things, so when she mentioned she worked for Microsoft and was on a certain team (that moved down there), I was like "oh! I knew people who worked at _____!" And she, of course, asked me who I knew. I gave her 2 names. I haven't even talked to that ex (my last real boyfriend) in like 5 years.

I'm so embarrassed to even admit this, but I said the stupidest thing EVER at the end of the interview. I felt way too comfortable, I guess, but I jokingly asked if they liked me. BWAHAHA Lame.

I thought the two of them knew some information about me, and that's how I spoke to them. I should have probably spoke as if they knew nothing about me. The only time I felt offended was when they asked me why I downgraded myself when I switched companies. My last title was "Senior Technical Writer" and now I'm a "Technical Writer". Bah, titles.

Edit: I also dropped a bottle of oil in my kitchen too when the cap came off. It got a little messy.