The Bloody Doors Off

“And other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”

I dunno how to describe today, other than that.

So. I went in today for a second interview with that part-time job. At least, I thought it was an interview. I can’t be sure. It might’ve been offered to me. They definitely got me on the computer for 3 hours to work on a few pages, alongside Walter. He’s the current layout guy at Share. Before I went in, one of the owners told me they’re not looking to push him out, but he’s got carpel tunnel and wanting to take more time off, and they’re planning for the future.

I did 2 page layouts and a couple of ads. Around 7pm, the EIC called and said I was welcome to leave or continue on. I hadn’t planned on being there this long, hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and needed to grab food. There’s nowhere in the area to eat, so I made the choice to head out. They asked if I was back tomorrow.

No clue. Because while they said at the outset today that I was their choice (over the other candidate), they didn’t outright offer me the job, discuss a wage, or get me to sign any paperwork. So I’m assuming that this was part two of the interview, get the layout editor to look at my stuff, and they’ll make the call?

And oh, it’s all in Pagemaker. I can sort of get around it. But even Walter admitted no one really uses Pagemaker any longer and they should upgrade to InDesign (which they also have). And I’m not sure why they’re importing PDFs into Photoshop, saving as an EPS, then loading it into CorelDraw and exporting that to a TIFF. See, I’d import the ads into Illustrator, export as an EPS and link it in the InDesign file. (They say they use TIFF because the file size is smaller overall in Pagemaker, but if you do it with InDesign, it doesn’t technically bloat the main file.)

What I’m saying is, there are efficiencies that could be incorporated. But I’m (maybe) the new guy, and that’s down the road a ways.

And also? I suffered a HUGE, CRIPPLING panic attack in the middle of it all. I have no idea how I kept it together. There was literally a moment I imagined trying to explain to my psychiatrist/ODSP/OW how impossible it was for me to consider work. But I got past it. So… go me?

They like me. But they haven’t offered me the job yet. I think.