7 May 1993
possibly overheard at The Chinese Person’s, after the show:
“Engineering? Really?”
Yeah, and Physics. College was a blast!
“And you’re working at a hotel.”
Ah-huh.
“Why?”
Safeway demands money for groceries.
“Well, yeah! Of course, but… I mean, with your degrees…”
I tried that. They wouldn’t have me.
“Who did you try?”
NASA, Northrup, Boeing, Grumman…
“Anyone else?”
Oh yeah, lots, but I don’t carry the list with me. Aircraft and rocketry firms all over North America, and lots of local manufactories, too. A few tried me out, but I guess the word got around.
“What word?”
I have no clue, otherwise I’d have tried the counter-spell. But after the temp jobs dried up, every other application came back saying I don’t meet their present needs, but they’ll keep me in mind.
“You ever follow up?”
What do you mean?
“Apply again. See if they change their mind.”
Of course not. They saw my resume. It hasn’t changed significantly. They said they didn’t need me. They said they’ll contact me when that changes. If they meant it, that means they don’t need me, or they’ll contact me later. Why should I pester them after that? That would be rude. And if they didn’t mean it, then that means they’re lying scumbags, and therefore unworthy of me.
*** awkward pause ***
“Maybe they just don’t like assholes.”
That’s probably it. Who wants an intelligent asshole on the job when you can get a team player who knows his Beavers from his Ducks?
update 210507: The Chinaman’s was a small family restaurant featuring predictable cuisine located a little down the coast from the little theatre along Deacon County’s Miracle Miles whose actual name I forget. It was a popular gathering spot for the post rehearsal set and when we were upbraided for the “racist” tone of “The Chinaman’s” many of us conceded to paleolithic (1993) political correctness. I tried to make it a point to refer to it thereafter by its actual commercial name, but decades past, I still can’t dredge that up, and I apparently didn’t write it down.
It has occurred to me, a little late perhaps, that parties unnamed might infer additional offense, even though nowhere do I make reference to middle management martinets, nor coaching broadly. And yet…