Ok, the interview with the really big software company that shall not be named is over. And yes, the company is Microsoft. I'm not feeling very confident that I will get offered the position. I mean, I think I did okay, but the hiring manager did say that they are looking at 2 or 3 other "strong candidates" besides myself, and that they have a whole lot of other people on the candidate list. Anyway...
I flew up to Seattle Monday evening. While at the San Jose airport waiting for my flight I realized that I forgot to pack my interview pants!!! Thought about calling Bill to ask him to swing by my place and maybe bring them to the airport, but realized there wasn't enough time. Besides, he was at the restaurant at the Fairmont with Devon the dog, eating a Kobe beef burger and chugging a very nice pinot. LOL. Texted him about my plight anyway, and he (as expected) got a good laugh out of it.
Was seated next to a nice gay guy who was flying back home to Seattle after interviewing for a job down in San Jose (hahaha... the inverse of my situation). Gave him tips on which neighborhoods to consider moving to if he gets the job in SJ.
The plane arrived at Sea-Tac around 10 PM. Made my way to the rental car counter, where the nice lady-who-looked-500-years-old informed me that she won't even offer me any supplemental insurance because "Microsoft pays for everything". Nice. Rental was a Chevy Cavalier. How disappointing. Drove 15 miles to my hotel, looking forward to ordering some room service (since they were paying for meals, too!) but found out when I got there that the restaurant was already closed. Front desk clerk recommended a nearby Italian restaurant that delivered to the hotel. Had spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread, and a New York cheesecake. *burp*
Woke up early in the morning and asked the desk clerk for shopping info. She gave me a map to the nearest mall. Drove there, ran inside Nordstrom, and had a really ancient sales guy help me pick out pants. Shortest pants they had in stock had a 30" inseam. I need 28.5" ones. Bought the pants anyway, dashed back to the hotel, folded the pants and ironed the living daylights out of 'em to make the crease as permanent as possible.
Dressed up and drove to the interview site. I'll spare you the boring details. Suffice it to say that for the next 7 hours I spoke to person after person after person. Bathroom breaks only. At least they gave me free water and soda.
After the interview, drove straight to the airport. Traffic was bumper-to-bumper for 10 out of the 15 miles. A light rain was falling. In June!!! I was in Seattle, all right! Returned the rental car, cleared security, had some Mexican food at the airport food court, and flew back home.
Like I said, I think I did okay. I'm just not sure that okay is good enough. I'm still hopeful, but I'm not holding my breath.
Oh, well. At least I got a free trip out of it.