New Adventures, pt. 2: The Interview

10 p.m., Jan. 6, 2012

I went to a job interview today. My first one in 5.5 years. It was for a staff attorney in the division of enforcement at the SEC's regional office in Fort Worth and I want it SO BAD.

I woke up at 5 a.m., left my driveway at 6 a.m., got to Fort Worth at 9 a.m. I wore my grey herringbone suit, a cranberry shell, and black pumps. I carried a black padfolio thingy with copies of my resume and articles I've written. I never opened it but JP felt VERY STRONGLY that I should have one on my person.

It was a 7-on-1 interview. For one hour I swiveled my chair back and forth in an attempt to make eye contact with everyone asking me questions. And they asked a LOT of questions. Detailed questions. It was night-and-day from my OCI interviews which all revolved around how much I liked Chicago and whether or not I knew what type of law I'd like to practice (before immediately assuring me it was okay if I didn't know and then asking about my hobbies). I'm applying for an "experienced attorney" job now, and then spent 60 minutes making me prove my experience. It was as it should be, but man, it was intense. I had answers for everything. Maybe not the right answers, but answers. I made them laugh. They nodded their heads a lot. I think it went well.

I was back in Austin by 4 p.m. I'd been up for 11 hours and had spent 6.5 of them driving up and down I-35. And 1 hour possibly changing the next several years of our lives and the vertical trajectory of my career (it could now be up, very up). I still can't believe we might move within the next two months. I still worry about JP and the kids. JP particularly. But I keep thinking about what he said to me the day I found out about the opportunity- "You have to apply. This is your dream job. I haven't found mine yet." And he's certain he can work remotely for his current company. I hope he's right, because this really is my dream job, and if I get it, we're going for it.

I want it so bad.