SO WHAT IS NEW

Well, Hanukkah is over. And tomorrow I have a job interview, and it's for a job I actually would like to have, so that's a good thing. At least I think it's a good thing. I keep running into problems with people not quite "getting" that I need a work permit, and then freaking out when I tell them for the umpteenth time, as if they didn't hear me the first umpteen-minus-one.

So last night I was on the train going home, and I was standing next to the door when we stopped at a station. The doors opened, and a man next to me looked around uncertainly, then turned to me and said in a verrry heavy French accent, "Excuse me, but eez zees Waterloo?"

I found this hilarious.

For some reason, nobody else does.

This may be an example of Reasons I Shouldn't Quit My Day Job.

Oh, wait, I already did that.

I know you're getting tired of hearing about the little Britishisms I find hilarious. I mean, I get tired of that. When you hear American comedians talk about having visited London, and they go on and on about the hilarity of calling a cigarette a fag or being offered spotted dick, there just gets to be a point when the dead horse starts to resemble gelatin.

However.

The newscasters here mention what news story will be coming up in the broadcast after the commercial break by saying, "After the break...." However, they don't say, "After the break, we'll be discussing such-and-such,"

Fire alarm. Be back.

-----later------

All right, so fire alarm over. Nothing's aflame. I think someone thought it would be funny to clear the place because, you know, it's freezing outside.

So where was I?

Oh. Newscasts.

Basically, they say, "After the break, a naked man jumps into traffic and steals a baby from a passing car," or whatever the news item happens to be. Like that's part of the program that they're providing for you. I swear, it doesn't sound like they're reporting news, it sounds like, "After the break, Judy will bake a chocolate cake." Every time, I think, "That's terrible! Somebody stop him!" I mean, geez, if you know he's going to do it....

I guess you have to be there.

When I told my sister this, she said: That makes me think about that Polish joke where the man is watching the news with some other guy and they show this woman who is going to jump from a building, and they make a bet as to whether she'll do it or not. The Pole bets she won't and the other guy bets she will, and they watch avidly until the woman jumps from the building. The non-Pole says, "You know, I really can't take your money. I saw this on an earlier broadcast." And the Pole says, "Yeah, me too. But I thought maybe this time they'd be able to talk her out of it."

Mind you, we are Polish, so don't get all bent out of shape over that.

I just figured out why the company I'm interviewing with is looking for a woman. It's the season of office Christmas parties, which is also the season when coworkers get drunk and fondle one another in supply closets. A mostly male office? You do the math.

All right, I have nothing else to say here, so I really should get back to looking for work.

I might end up doing a month-long contract job, by the way. It looks pretty hopeful, so if I don't get this job I'm interviewing with tomorrow, that's next.