In case you were wondering

Dinner with the Bro and The Woman was great. We had to wait a while for her to make her way over to us after she got off work, but that gave me time for an ice cream appetizer. As I licked away at my junior cone (I TOTALLY forgot I'd given up sweets until I typed that sentence...oops), Bro was disgusted. "I can't believe you're spoiling your appetite like that. It's just not right."

Which gave me a great opportunity to look at my rapscallion brother and say, "Oh, Bro, you're so straightlaced. So conservative! What are we going to do with you?"

Then, as The Woman more and more delayed (no cabs downtown last night--she had to wait for a train and then take a cab from there), Bro got more and more irritable. I laughed at him and smugly said, "Should've had an ice cream appetizer."

Then, after I dropped them off, after getting on the freeway, I got stuck when there was an accident that shut down all four lanes of the highway. I sat there for over 45 minutes. Which gave me time to make some notes for my thank you email.

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I forget if I mentioned that I worked with DWP when I first started at Current Company. When I showed up at New Company, she gave me a huge hug, which surprised me. I sat in her office with her and the Creative Director (CD). She grinned at me, "So, you're lookin' around, huh?" I laughed, "No, Dancer Girl called me. I wasn't looking, but the more I see of New Company, the more interested I become." I started to get out my portfolio and she waved it away, "I know you're work and it's fantastic. I have no concerns about that."

DWP's biggest fear was that I was too tainted by Current Company (CC). She definitely doesn't want to bring CC's atmosphere into New Company. Over the course of our hour-long conversation, I must have said some of the right things. Near the end of the chat she looked at CD, "My fears are laid to rest. I'd be happy to have her. It's up to you to decide who you want to work with." Looking back at me she added, "We have one other candidate. She's someone who's never worked in this industry, but she's a wonderful designer." She looked to CD, "You've got a tough decision to make."

CD walked me out and said that she'd make her decision by the end of next week. We had that awkward moment where it felt cold and strange to shake hands. Being the impulsive sort, I went ahead and gave her a hug. "Oh, a hug," she responded as she hugged me. It was a little strange, but oh well.

They'd had some concern about my web capability, so when I woke up at 5 AM this morning thinking about the interview and other things, I went ahead and got up. I figured out how to create an email template and sent my thank you in that format. Created header and footer art, linked it all up and sent it along.

I'm a little nervous that I've opted for too much informality in the tone of my thank you and in the hug. They kept talking about being a company that doesn't play games, that wants the people who work there to experience unconditional love, that wants to be healthy and interactive. I figured the way to respond to all that was in a very human, friendly way. We'll see if it worked.

Which will be picked? Experience (and possible exhaustion/cynicism) or Freshness (and a BIG learning curve). Tune in next week when we bring you:

Days of My Lives.