Monday Morning Update

Last Thursday's second interview seemed to go well -- although they always seem to me like they go well. They didn't ask any questions that related to the specific job tasks; they were more interested in "behavioral questions" and questions about values. At the end of the interview, one of the questions I asked the interviewer was "What do you find most satisfying about working with this team?" She said it was the fun they had together and the trust and mutual support. From this, I conclude that the interview wasn't to determine if I had the skill qualificiations, but if I would be the best fit for the team. I expect to find out today or tomorrow.

The trip south was beautiful on Saturday, and the visit went very well. My old friend and I pretty much picked up where we'd left off. It was strange to see how little he'd changed (except for the receding hairline), and he sounded the same: same tones, same vocal mannerisms. I enjoyed seeing "Arsenic and Old Lace" and then we sat up talking until 2 in the morning. I drove back Sunday afternoon, picked up Wolfling from her dad's house, made a quick grocery store stop, and we snuggled on the couch while watching a couple of more episodes of Bone from Fox's online archive.

I'm a bit tired this morning, but going back to sleep for more than an hour after my alarm went off helped. (I set it very early because I usually do writing and spiritual practice in the morning -- none today, unfortunately.)

Dave is back in the office today (as is Miss V). I forgot to mention that we have a new admin on the floor -- who I'll call Miss B. So far she's very nice, very collected, very efficient. Hopefully I'll get a job offer today or tomorrow, and hopefully her presence will make my transition easier, since she's been learning fast and will be able to help support my team instead of having to bring a contractor while they do a search. If they don't hire me. . . well, the other position may be taken off hold eventually, and having Miss B around might help diminish the impact of Miss V on my work-life satisfaction.

That's all for now. I'll try to get caught up on the F-list this evening.

Oh, Dear. . . .

When my dad took his leave this afternoon, he said, "I'd like to spend an afternoon sometime soon listening to your story of your faith journey. It would be with a non-judgemental mindset. I just don't know anything about what you've been doing in this area, and I'd like to understand."

I should be delighted by his request. My dad is expressing a sincere interest in what I believe.

But I have no idea how I can tell him the truth. My father was a fundamentalist Christian for a long time, and when he lost his faith, he lost it utterly. He continued to believe that Christian ethics -- which to him meant love of neighbor and the 10 commandments -- were the best rules for living he knew of, but as far as I know he lost any sense of the mystical or transcendent.

If I had remained some flavor of Christian, or converted to any major world tradition he could probably find some way of connecting, simply due to his respect for tradition and history. But his intellectual sophistication has never had room for what in my family was routinely dismissed as the "weird."

And my current spiritual path is weird.

I just started to type "My father's opinion means so much to me."
And then I remembered that I did a ritual three weeks ago in which one of the things I released was my need to uphold and fulfill the expectations of my family and undergraduate college.

Looks like I'm going to be asked to stand and deliver on that in a way I hadn't expected.

My father's opinion still means a lot to me.
But I have to be able to separate myself from the "daddy's girl" urgency of needing to have his approval that I've felt all my life.

The irony is that I pride myself on my ability to find the right language to "translate" the concepts of one spiritual worldview or perspective into that of another so it can be understood and rendered less alien, scary, or weird. But I don't know if I can do it in this case.

It's going to take some thought.