Job Interview

[Martin Hash]

When I was 10-years old, I wanted to move to Seattle because of the tv show, “Here Come The Brides,” where teenage heartthrob Bobby Sherman sang the evocative line from the titular song, “All the trees are green as green, in Seattle.” From what I could tell, in Seattle all the men were manly and all the women were beautiful, and I was going to move there. Even now, given a chance, I'll bust out singing that song, to the chagrin of everyone around me.

Here Comes The Brides.jpg

When I graduated from college with an engineering degree, the big companies used to come on campus and interview the top of the class. I'd gotten a job offer from Texas Instruments, one of the best tech companies at the time, and a favorite of mine, but Hewlett Packard was the crown jewel of engineering companies, and when they offered to fly me to any division I wanted for an interview, there was no question I'd go. There was a list of available openings, and I searched hopefully for one in Seattle, but alas, there are no HP divisions in Seattle, but there was an opening in “Vancouver.” I seemed to remember that Vancouver was somewhere near Seattle, and I'd live in Canada if I had to just to be near Seattle, so I didn't even check any of the other boxes: it was Vancouver or bust.

In those days, the interviewing company made travel arrangements, so I waited anxiously for my tickets to arrive in the mail. I bought an interview suit, got a haircut, shaved. My wife, Gwynne, kissed me good luck at the airport, and passport in hand, off to Vancouver I went. I could look out the window and marvel at the West coast scenery. The flight went remarkably quickly, we arrived in just over an hour, which surprised me how short. The interview was tomorrow, and Hewlett Packard had arranged a hotel. I was excited about my job interview, and I guess I must have been talking at the cab driver. After jabbering about how much I liked the area, and my hope of getting hired, I said “I didn't know there was a big river between Canada and the U.S.?”
The cab driver didn't reply for a moment, then be asked, “When's your interview?”
“Tomorrow morning,” I answered, breathlessly.
The cab driver surprised me by abruptly slowing down, and pulling over to the side of the road. The car idling, he turned to face me.
“Hey, I'm just a cab driver but you sound like a smart guy, and I want to help you out,” he began mysteriously.
“First,” he continued. “You're not in Canada, this is the United States. You're in Vancouver, Washington, about 6 hours from the Canadian border. Your airplane landed in Portland, Oregon. This is the Columbia River, you know, the one that the salmon swim upstream to spawn? Capese?”
I didn't know whether to be appalled, disappointed, or embarrassed, and didn't respond.
The cab driver pulled back out into traffic.
“Sorry about that,” he apologized. “I just didn't want a nice kid like you making an ass out of himself during his big interview.”
“Thanks,” I squeaked.
I didn't say anything else until we got to the Thunderbird Hotel where I paid him. He winked at me.
“Hang in there, buddy.” he encouraged me. “It's a great place to live, despite all the turmoil right now.”
And he drove away on that note.
I didn't know what he meant about “turmoil,” but then again, I didn't know what State I was in, or what country for that matter?

Vancouver-Washington_vs_Vancouver-BC.jpg

As per my habit when I was that age, I turned on the tv in my room to listen to the news while hanging my interview clothes in the closet. I was looking around for an iron, but kept catching unfamiliar words from the newscaster: “volcano,” “eruption,” “steam plume.” I finally turned and watched the report to find out what was going on. Apparently a volcano had erupted in the United States. Volcano? I thought. I didn't know there were any volcanoes in the U.S. outside of Hawaii? One of the reasons Gwynne & I wanted to move out of California was because of earthquakes, and now I find out we have to worry about volcanoes too? I watched the news in earnest to find out where this volcano was, and from what I could tell, it was right here in Vancouver, Washington... I wondered if I was involved in some kind of elaborate joke? It turns out my trip coincided with the very first eruption of Mt. St. Helens, March 27, 1980.

I got the job but I put off starting until Gwynne & I got back from a month-long tour of Europe. While on the bullet train going into Paris, standing because there was no place to sit, a man was reading a newspaper. It was in French but I could almost make out the headline story. The man noticed my attention to his newspaper, smiled. He sat the newspaper face up on the table in front of him, and tried to be friendly.
“Where are you from?” he said in French accented English.
I smiled back, caught off guard trying to read someone else's newspaper from the backside.
“Uhhh,” I stammered, embarrassed. “Right there,” and I pointed to the aerial photograph of Mt. St. Helens, because it was the headline story on the exact day of the big eruption on May 18th.
“And there's my house.”

Time St Helens Eruption.jpg

[DrYouth]

Great story Marty!

Well told!

[DBTrek]

This job interview story contained no interview.

[DrYouth]

The volcano pretty much stole the show.

[DrYouth]

Look what's in my feed.
http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/mt-st-he ... arthquakes

Mt. St. Helens, the source of the deadliest volcanic eruption in US history – and only 500 km south of Vancouver – is back.
According to a search of the US Geological Survey records, there have been at least 89 earthquakes under or near the volcano this year.

[Martin Hash]

Look what's in my feed.
http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/mt-st-he ... arthquakes

Mt. St. Helens, the source of the deadliest volcanic eruption in US history – and only 500 km south of Vancouver – is back.
According to a search of the US Geological Survey records, there have been at least 89 earthquakes under or near the volcano this year.

Did you do a Google search after reading my story? Otherwise, I LOVE coincidences!

[Speaker to Animals]

Nice. I wouldn't mind driving out there to see that.

[Martin Hash]

I’d say the Christmas Party next year but the volcano is best viewed in the summer. There’s ancient lava tubes you can hike through, called “APE Caves,” and the Columbia River Gorge with its waterfalls. Not to mention Portland, Seattle, and the Coast.

[Speaker to Animals]

When I was stationed in Idaho, aside from stupidly exploring abandoned mine shafts from the 19th century, we crawled down into extinct volcano caves. We went really fucking deep into the Earth one night. Man, at one point it all hit home and I almost panicked while I was pancaked between two diagonal slabs of rock that just went on and on. There's not even much air down there. What air is down there gets thick with this dust. A fucking horrible place to die. I don't know why people get off going that deep.

[skankhunt42]

When I was 10-years old, I wanted to move to Seattle because of the tv show, “Here Come The Brides,” where teenage heartthrob Bobby Sherman sang the evocative line from the titular song, “All the trees are green as green, in Seattle.” From what I could tell, in Seattle all the men were manly and all the women were beautiful, and I was going to move there. Even now, given a chance, I'll bust out singing that song, to the chagrin of everyone around me.Here Comes The Brides.jpgWhen I graduated from college with an engineering degree, the big companies used to come on campus and interview the top of the class. I'd gotten a job offer from Texas Instruments, one of the best tech companies at the time, and a favorite of mine, but Hewlett Packard was the crown jewel of engineering companies, and when they offered to fly me to any division I wanted for an interview, there was no question I'd go. There was a list of available openings, and I searched hopefully for one in Seattle, but alas, there are no HP divisions in Seattle, but there was an opening in “Vancouver.” I seemed to remember that Vancouver was somewhere near Seattle, and I'd live in Canada if I had to just to be near Seattle, so I didn't even check any of the other boxes: it was Vancouver or bust.

In those days, the interviewing company made travel arrangements, so I waited anxiously for my tickets to arrive in the mail. I bought an interview suit, got a haircut, shaved. My wife, Gwynne, kissed me good luck at the airport, and passport in hand, off to Vancouver I went. I could look out the window and marvel at the West coast scenery. The flight went remarkably quickly, we arrived in just over an hour, which surprised me how short. The interview was tomorrow, and Hewlett Packard had arranged a hotel. I was excited about my job interview, and I guess I must have been talking at the cab driver. After jabbering about how much I liked the area, and my hope of getting hired, I said “I didn't know there was a big river between Canada and the U.S.?”
The cab driver didn't reply for a moment, then be asked, “When's your interview?”
“Tomorrow morning,” I answered, breathlessly.
The cab driver surprised me by abruptly slowing down, and pulling over to the side of the road. The car idling, he turned to face me.
“Hey, I'm just a cab driver but you sound like a smart guy, and I want to help you out,” he began mysteriously.
“First,” he continued. “You're not in Canada, this is the United States. You're in Vancouver, Washington, about 6 hours from the Canadian border. Your airplane landed in Portland, Oregon. This is the Columbia River, you know, the one that the salmon swim upstream to spawn? Capese?”
I didn't know whether to be appalled, disappointed, or embarrassed, and didn't respond.
The cab driver pulled back out into traffic.
“Sorry about that,” he apologized. “I just didn't want a nice kid like you making an ass out of himself during his big interview.”
“Thanks,” I squeaked.
I didn't say anything else until we got to the Thunderbird Hotel where I paid him. He winked at me.
“Hang in there, buddy.” he encouraged me. “It's a great place to live, despite all the turmoil right now.”
And he drove away on that note.
I didn't know what he meant about “turmoil,” but then again, I didn't know what State I was in, or what country for that matter?Vancouver-Washington_vs_Vancouver-BC.jpgAs per my habit when I was that age, I turned on the tv in my room to listen to the news while hanging my interview clothes in the closet. I was looking around for an iron, but kept catching unfamiliar words from the newscaster: “volcano,” “eruption,” “steam plume.” I finally turned and watched the report to find out what was going on. Apparently a volcano had erupted in the United States. Volcano? I thought. I didn't know there were any volcanoes in the U.S. outside of Hawaii? One of the reasons Gwynne & I wanted to move out of California was because of earthquakes, and now I find out we have to worry about volcanoes too? I watched the news in earnest to find out where this volcano was, and from what I could tell, it was right here in Vancouver, Washington... I wondered if I was involved in some kind of elaborate joke? It turns out my trip coincided with the very first eruption of Mt. St. Helens, March 27, 1980.

I got the job but I put off starting until Gwynne & I got back from a month-long tour of Europe. While on the bullet train going into Paris, standing because there was no place to sit, a man was reading a newspaper. It was in French but I could almost make out the headline story. The man noticed my attention to his newspaper, smiled. He sat the newspaper face up on the table in front of him, and tried to be friendly.
“Where are you from?” he said in French accented English.
I smiled back, caught off guard trying to read someone else's newspaper from the backside.
“Uhhh,” I stammered, embarrassed. “Right there,” and I pointed to the aerial photograph of Mt. St. Helens, because it was the headline story on the exact day of the big eruption on May 18th.
“And there's my house.”

Time St Helens Eruption.jpg