I'm Hired!

After my initial interview with the recruiting agent and being left with a 2500 square foot blueprint to design, after experiencing that fear of not knowing how an interior designer gives presentations on anything, after waking up in the middle of the night one too many times, I knew I had to do something. I had one week to get something together. As part of my Lie, Cheat, and Steal plan, my first stop was Amazon.com. I've learned that anything you might need to know has been written and published in a book. As a starving artist in Chicago, I got a book from the Harold Washington Library on how to bake bread (by Amy's Bread in NYC which is wonderful but out-of-print) and it literally nourished my body and soul. I knew that there had to be a book on how interior designers communicate designs to clients. Part of my dilemma was that I had experience as a home & fashion stylist but, working on films or for print is ghetto. I've no better way to describe that process. I learned how to pick colors and textures for sets. I understood how to make a room & its merchandise pop for the camera but learning interior design seems a bit more proper. I had one week to read every book that I could afford or at least get my hands on.



The Monday Interview
Last Monday in the OC, the skies were filled with layer upon layer of grey clouds and sheets of rain. The sporadic rain lifted the oil from the streets and made the conditions of the road unpredictable. Mind you that I tossed my morning shower aside (not a great idea for meeting of any sort when you need to "look good and respectable") in order to finish up the materials for my presentation. Let me also add that I had no idea what I was going to say once I got to the table and I had to present. So I finished printing out the last image of what the master bedroom would look like and I gathered all of my materials and I threw it in the car. The rain was falling and I made a small prayer that I would actually make it to my interview on time.

The windshield wipers were squeaking as the rain drops hit my car. I knew I had to drive like a maniac in order to get to the interview in time. Okay, you can skip a shower but you can't be late to an interview. As I passed a local park and I was pulled out of my dilemma by the beauty of the sky and the wet grass, I actually said a prayer that I get to the interview safe and on time. An act of faith totally not common to me, perhaps I had an initiated of the events that lie ahead of me.

The c-shaped on ramps common to Orange County are like little joyrides at high speed. In the wet weather conditions, they are dangerous turns that need to be respected. I listened to the rain hit my car. I had forgot to turn the radio on because I was concentrating on driving. And in an instant, these events happened before me.

The turn straightened out and it was time to merge onto the freeway. All I saw was a small navy-blue Datsun truck, two cars in front of me, merge onto the freeway and into a semi-truck that was going at least 65 mph. The truck fanned out and towards the car in front of me. We all slammed our brakes on as fast and as hard as we could. In an instant the momentum of the freeway and the turn ended. It was all still except the falling rain. I heard my blinker clicking. The semi-truck was stopped. There was steam rising from the hood of the Datsun. I could see a large Newfoundland dog standing in the little jump seat of the truck; He was panting and shaking but seemed untouched by the collision with the semi-truck. There was a couple inside the car in front of me. They jumped out of their car and ran up to the truck. How strange it is to see humans run on the freeway. Our bodies are not made for these places. The frailty of our skin and our bones need the protection of the car. They came to the Datsun truck. The man and the woman were speaking to the driver that I could not see. I knew what they were saying to the driver. I heard them say the things that I would have said: Everything will be fine. Help is on the way. What I didn't expect is that the couple would begin to cry as they spoke to the man. Strangers from the moment that they came to the Datsun truck to the moment that they made a call for help.

I drove my car between the fender and the debris of the accident. As I came around the Datsun truck, I had a view of the other side. The entire driver side of the truck had been smashed into the passenger side of the truck. I thought I saw the outline of an old man's body woven between the metal and the glass. I'm not certain. Perhaps, my mind was inventing the things that I could not see. I prayed twice that day. I prayed that the driver had only had only lost his legs. I never considered how morbid my prayer was but the accident seemed worst.

As I traveled down the road and after I had made my call to the emergency line, I had the accident play over and again in my mind. I was only two cars from the accident. Could that have been me if I had left sooner? Serendipitous thoughts came and went in my thinking. The analytical side to my thoughts believed that the driver of the Datsun truck had his rear-view mirror blocked by his dog and maybe this one time he didn't take the time to turn and glance at the road to the side of him. What would I say in my presentation? Is this event foreboding to my career? How does this accident relate to my life?

I was getting worked up and closer to my interview. As I was riding the 73 tollroad, a car pulled up next to me. The car next to me was pacing at my speed and so I turned and looked. It was a clown driving the car. The clown turned and looked at me, smiled, and then drove off. I was speechless. What a maddening drive to my interview. At the same moment, I think life had reassured me. I felt aware of some harmony and balance in the world. The smiling clown had reminded me to laugh.

At The Table
I conquered a fear of speaking. I knew that I couldn't fool anybody and I'd just deliver all my design plans as best I could. It turned out that I did all the best things that I could. The owner of the interior design firm told me at the end of the interview: I like you. What better way to end an interview? I had to represent my presentation to two project managers. I all I couldn't believe I would do as well as I did. I had experienced so many things on the way to this interview that my fears fell wayward. I wasn't worried if I was had chosen the wrong fabric or a bad wall color. I had done my best and that sort of satisfaction is all that one can strive to obtain. I got a call on Friday that I was hired. My life was begining to switch gears.