Wednesday, June 04, 2014

Changing My Pants in Public (Underwear, Under There!)

Last summer, I biked to a job interview. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I didn't want to take the bus because 1) I hate Translink's inefficiency 2) I didn't want to spend money 3) It was sunny and 4) I was specifically told not to dress up for the interview.  The job in question was for a local company that organizes sports recreational leagues for adults and it was supposed to be very informal.

Anyways, I biked to the general neighborhood about an hour before hand so that I could get an ice coffee, prepare some of my answers to potential questions, work on some questions that I wanted to ask them about, as well as cool down and stop sweating.  I sweat just from walking up a flight of stairs so a 45 minute bike ride in the summer sun does wonders for my sweat glands and appearance.

When I was ready to head over to the office as my interview time approached, I soon found out that the washrooms of the fast food place were not only disgusting, but also too tiny for me to change in.  This would have been an appropriate time to panic as I was wearing a sweaty tshirt and shorts, but instead I decided to wander around outside to see if there were any other places nearby I could change.

There were not.

However, the parking lot adjacent to the fast food restaurant had some parked vehicles scattered here and there and with a wooden fence on one side, I just gave up and sat down on the curb in between two very tall trucks, and changed into a clean pair of dress pants and put on a collared shirt, tucking it in and everything.  Across the street about two blocks away was a tall office building and if anyone was by the windows, they would have had a clear view of my absurdity, but hey, I got changed, looked decently business casual and made it to the interview on time.

The interview went really well, the two interviewers both said that I was overly dressed, and I got called back for a second interview, where I shared a pint with one of the owners of the company.  I didn't get the job, but at least I have a reasonably amusing story about it.

Worst case scenario, someone wandering by would have seen me in my underwear in the middle of a Vancouver parking lot in a nice summer day, but with the way Vancouver is now, I'm sure it wouldn't have been the weirdest thing they've seen.

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Gas has been in the high 140s and low 150s since April (147.9 - 151.9¢/litre). Gasoline companies, you suck.

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