{"id":275,"date":"2013-04-16T12:06:53","date_gmt":"2013-04-16T18:06:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.instaprincess.net\/blog\/?p=275"},"modified":"2013-04-16T13:54:33","modified_gmt":"2013-04-16T19:54:33","slug":"275","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.instaprincess.net\/blog\/?p=275","title":{"rendered":"Free Failin’."},"content":{"rendered":"

Wow. OK. Been awhile, no? Well, I have a good reason: between March 14 and April 5 of this year, I trussed myself up, combed my hair, spit-shined my eyebrows and tried like heck to be impressive as I interviewed with not one, not two, but FOUR different companies (with multiple interviews at a couple of places) for a position involving writing and\/or editing (which are pretty much my only two skills besides eating and flipping my tongue over). Although I have no idea why that particular feast occurred, I am delighted to report that I was lucky enough not only to land one of those gigs, but to land my favorite one (all other things being equal\u00e2\u20ac\u201dsince all other things are rarely equal, however, I might have actually taken the job that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s less than two miles from my house had it been offered to me, because sometimes the ability to hock a loogie from your home to your place of employment trumps the work that’s the most interesting to you . . . but I digress). So that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been going on with me for the past month or so.<\/p>\n

Actually, if you want to get technical, the whole situation really only ended this past Friday, which officially goes down in the (Face)books as the official start to The Weekend of Epic Failure\u00e2\u20ac\u201dabout which I was woefully unspecific on my Facebook page. And there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing I hate worse than a vague Facebook post. (Well, OK, I probably hate black licorice and the smell of Estee Lauder Youth Dew body powder worse, but you catch my drift.) Yet I posted one, which is another way I failed over last weekend. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m here to make up for it now, with an itemized explanation of the weekend\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s copious moments of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153GAHHHHHHH!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Read on:<\/p>\n

The Friday Fumble<\/strong><\/p>\n

OK. So remember how I said I was interviewing with four companies? Well, the fourth company was a little late to the game; shortly after I scheduled my first interview with Company #4 (but before I actually went), I got a job offer from Company #1. Still, I kept my interview with Company #4, because:<\/p>\n

A. \u00c2\u00a0I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been a wallflower for so long, I got sucked into the heady rush of having so many suitors at once, and so became a walking After School Special: The Girl Who Couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Say No.<\/p>\n

B. \u00c2\u00a0Although I was incredibly excited about the job I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been offered, I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop wondering what Company #4 would offer in the way of pay and benefits. What if this company paid double what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d already been offered? What if they gave me use of the company jet, six months of vacation and my own real, live special unicorn named Raquelle? (Yes, for a Copywriter position\u00e2\u20ac\u201dit could happen.) While I seriously doubted they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be able to offer me enough to back out of my promise to join Company #1 (even if they offered slightly \u00c2\u00a0more than Company #1), how would I know for sure unless I turned over that one last stone? And besides,<\/p>\n

C. \u00c2\u00a0Even if a 9-to-5 at Company #4 didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work out for me, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be a good networking opportunity, and maybe result in some freelance work\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwho knows? Also,<\/p>\n

D.\u00c2\u00a0 I had already suffered greatly just to get the PTO (Paid Time Off) from my current job to take the interview1<\/sup>, so by golly, I was taking it.<\/p>\n

After my initial interview with Company #4, I felt even more convinced that Company #1 was the place for me– but technically, I still didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know anything about what Company #4 had to offer in the way of salary. So when Company #4 called for a SECOND interview, with the hiring manager\u00e2\u20ac\u201dby which time I had accepted the job at Company #1, given notice at my current job, and told everyone (including my Facebook universe) that I was going to Company #1\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI said YES.<\/p>\n

(I know. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sickness.<\/p>\n

And now it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reached Lifetime Movie proportions: YESsing Herself to Death.)<\/p>\n

So two days after I gave\u00c2\u00a0notice at my current company,\u00c2\u00a0I sent\u00c2\u00a0an e-mail to my boss and department, letting them know that I was going to take \u00c2\u00bd a day of PTO this past Friday.<\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when I found out that once you give notice at my company, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not allowed to use any more PTO. They pay you in your final paycheck for whatever PTO you have left\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut they \u00e2\u20ac\u0153want you there\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in the interim. So then I went through days of emotional sturm und drang; should I just call off the interview, since I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want the job anyway (unless there was\u00c2\u00a0a unicorn on the table)? Ask Company #4 if I could meet with the hiring manager after hours? Sneak out and hope nobody noticed?<\/p>\n

Finally, I had an epiphany: Why on earth would I even consider letting a job I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m leaving<\/i> dictate my ability to pursue future opportunities? So I decided I was gonna go on witma bad ass, take the interview at the scheduled time, be upfront about it, and let the chips tumble if need be.<\/p>\n

For the record, when the HR person at Company #4 originally called me to request the second interview, I tried to pump her for salary information at that point, saying I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to waste anyone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time on a second interview if salary was going to be a deal-breaker on either side. She fished up my application while I was on the phone, and confirmed my salary requirement, but she was unable to tell me anything\u00e2\u20ac\u201dsaid I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have to talk to the hiring manager. I agreed to come in for the interview, and she promised to send me an interview confirmation e-mail later that day. An hour or so later, I received an e-mail from her, and all was well.<\/p>\n

So come last Friday, I made myself presentable, headed to work for the first half of the day, and then left my office around noon for Interview #2 with Company #4.<\/p>\n

Turns out I left a little too soon, because I ended up with a little over half an hour to spare once I arrived in Company #4\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s parking lot. Therefore, I did what anyone would do in such a situation: pulled out my phone to putz around on it until such time as I felt I could make a respectable entrance (being 30 minutes early would seem a little too \u00e2\u20ac\u0153leg-humping Jack Russell,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d whereas I wanted to come across more like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153eager-but-independent Border Collie\u00e2\u20ac\u009d). In the putzing process, I pulled up the confirmation e-mail from the HR person.<\/p>\n

The confirmation e-mail I never bothered to open previous to that moment.<\/p>\n

The confirmation e-mail that was not, in fact, a confirmation e-mail at all, but was instead a message from the HR person, saying that Company #4 would be unable to meet my salary requirement, and to let her know if I still wanted to meet with the hiring manager (the implication being that the appointment would be considered cancelled unless I told her otherwise).<\/p>\n

FML.<\/p>\n

I immediately called Pretty Bad Dad <\/a>and led with this: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I am a complete idiot.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He was kind enough to hold his tongue. And kinder still to invite me to lunch with him, his boss and his department. On the way to meet him, I called the HR person and offered abundant apologies to her voicemail for not having responded to her e-mail about the salary. Then I went and had some Chinese food with some nice fellas, went home and took a nap, and hit the reset button for the weekend (which the boy and I were spending at my mom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s house) . . . or so I thought.<\/p>\n

The Saturday Super-Suckage<\/strong><\/p>\n

About once a month, my son and I make a weekend trip to visit his Grandma, who lives about an hour and a half away. Since I generally plan these visits in advance, based on the kid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s crazy birthday-party schedule, and my mom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more predictable church and bridge-playing schedule, I usually know way ahead of time when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be there next.<\/p>\n

A couple of weeks before this past weekend\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s visit, I somehow discovered that there was going to be a 5K race happening in my mom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s city on the Saturday I planned to be there, and decided on a whim to sign up. I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ready by any stretch for any sort of PR\u00e2\u20ac\u201dheck, I hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even run on pavement since early October of last year (first there was a car accident, which jacked up my knee for awhile (actually, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still a little jacked up, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s beside the point), and then there was winter, which has kept me confined to the treadmill at the Y)\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut I figured what the heck? It would let me get my feet wet, so to speak, and since it was the inaugural occurrence of this particular event, there was a chance there wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be many participants, and therefore a (slightly more remote) chance I might actually win something.<\/p>\n

When the boy and I arrived at my mom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s house on Friday evening, though, I just felt incredibly exhausted (despite the afternoon nap). So over dinner, I started to whine about not wanting to do the race the next day.<\/p>\n

My mother, who has never been a big proponent of exercise (and in fact has been known to actively discourage it2<\/sup>), reminded me that I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t HAVE to do it. In fact, she said, it might be better if I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, especially if I hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t run on pavement for several months, because I could hurt myself, etc., etc.<\/p>\n

I went to bed, still feeling puny about the whole thing, but thinking that in the morning, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have renewed ambition…<\/p>\n

That didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t happen. When I woke up, I checked the outside temperature online, and was immediately chagrined to see how flippin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 cold it was. Once again, I whined. I knew I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be fine once I started running, but the long wait for the start, in just my little track jacket and tights, would be annoying.<\/p>\n

My mother agreed. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d better just sit this one out,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.<\/p>\n

Didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to throw a brick at ME.<\/p>\n

So we made a lovely breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast, because what the heck\u00e2\u20ac\u201donce you fall off the wagon, may as well roll yourself right on into the deepest part of the ditch), and planned a morning of errands instead.<\/p>\n

As my mom was showering for our errand outing, my cell phone rang. It was Pretty Bad Dad.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Where are YOU?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he asked in a chipper voice tinged with concern.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153At my mom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s house,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I answered.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you do your race?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d asked he.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153How do you know I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I wondered aloud.<\/p>\n

Ahem. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how: Because he was waiting for me at the finish line.<\/p>\n

With flowers.<\/p>\n

FML.<\/p>\n

When he saw the people with strollers (who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been put at the back of the pack at the starting line) cross the finish line, he knew something was up. Despite the fact that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lost a bit of speed because of the car accident\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t by any means fast to begin with\u00e2\u20ac\u201d he thought surely I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be THAT slow.\u00c2\u00a0 Had I fallen? he wondered. Was I hurt?<\/p>\n

Nope. I was in my mom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bed, licking bacon grease off my fingers.<\/p>\n

I felt so awful I burst into tears. Mostly I felt horrible because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d woken up early, on his \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bachelor weekend\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and driven an hour and a half to cheer me on\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d completely ditched the race, (unwittingly) standing him up in the process. However, I was also sad for myself (they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t call me InstaPrincess for nothin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122), because HOW AWESOME of a surprise would it have been to cross the finish line right in the middle of the Guess Who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Share the Land\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d worked out my playlist a week in advance, and saved \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Share the Land\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for the end, because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m telling you\u00e2\u20ac\u201dit is more inspirational than you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d think) and see him standing there with his face and everything?<\/p>\n

He ended up coming by my mom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s house (that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how I found out there were flowers, too) for a little while, and then drove all the way back home\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand although he thought the whole thing was funny, I was still heartbroken by my own petard (I know that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make any sense, but roll with me, here– I’m emotionally delicate).<\/p>\n

It sucks having nobody to blame but yourself.<\/p>\n

Oh, and P.S. Only about 100 people participated, so Dude. I totally might have won something.<\/p>\n

The Sunday Say WHAAAAAAT?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So I returned home Sunday, tail still firmly tucked, and set about getting ready for houseguests we have arriving tonight for a five-day stay. Over the weekend (since I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do shit else), I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d planned out a few dinners to make while they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re here\u00e2\u20ac\u201dincluding a pot roast\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand so headed for the grocery store soon after I arrived home to buy the goods for the first couple of dinners.<\/p>\n

When I got to the checkout, I put the meat (I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d bought the pot roast and a buncha chicken parts) on the conveyor last. When the cashier had rung up all BUT the meat, I noticed the total and thought, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Wow\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m getting off really cheap!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because at that point I was only out about 30 bucks.<\/p>\n

So imagine my surprise mere seconds later when the cashier, having rung up the meat, gave me a total of EIGHTY-SOME BUCKS.<\/p>\n

OK\u00e2\u20ac\u201dnot horrible, considering it was going to feed six people two days\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 worth of dinner, but still\u00e2\u20ac\u201dWTH?!!?!? How did the last two items end up more than doubling the bill?<\/p>\n

Turns out that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d spent THIRTY-FIVE BUCKS on the pot roast alone. When I picked it up, I paid attention only to the weight on the sticker. I was looking for a three-pounder, so once I spotted a tasty-looking 3.25-lb. chunk of beef, I grabbed it and ran, completely ignoring the $10-per-pound price.<\/p>\n

Sheesh.<\/p>\n

Part of me feels like such an expensive roast deserves better treatment than my ages-old, tried-and-true, so-much-easier-than-pie pot roast recipe (beef broth + cream of mushroom soup + onion soup mix + slow cooker). Like maybe a fancy red wine marinade with gourmet mushrooms or something. But another part of me doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really want to try anything new, because I will poke my own eyeballs out if I screw up a $35 piece of meat. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not confident that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m entirely past this period of failures. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hope I get past it soon, though\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m starting a new job next week!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FOOTNOTES<\/p>\n

1. OK, so the Wednesday afternoon before my first interview with Company #4\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand the day before job offer came from Company #1\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI .sent an e-mail to my boss and others in my department around lunchtime, saying I would be taking a couple of hours of PTO that coming Friday morning. Usually, I make up an excuse, because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m such a SHARER that I knew everyone would instantly be suspicious if I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say WHY I was taking the PTO. However, on that particular day, I just got tired of making things up and trying to keep stories straight (contrary to what my husband believes, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a bad liar), so I just simply said I was taking PTO, and would be in around 10:00. . .
\n\u00c2\u00a0. . . which is when my boss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s red flag went up. First, I got the casual drive-by: he stopped at my desk, and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Wow, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re really burning through the PTO lately.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Although my heart rate instantly doubled, I pretended I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t catch any subtext there and replied, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I know\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI think I still have enough, though . . . \u00e2\u20ac\u0153<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh, you do,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153but I always get a little concerned when people burn through a lot of PTO in a short time.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Again, I ignored the implications. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh, well,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I sighed, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve already decided we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not taking a vacation this year.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Then I started rambling about how our car blew a head gasket (true), which was an unexpected expense (true), and that sucks (true), but what are ya gonna do (true)\u00e2\u20ac\u201deven though none of that would actually prevent us from taking a vacation. Deflect, deflect, deflect.<\/p>\n

Then, 5 minutes before quittin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 time that afternoon, I got an e-mail from my boss, asking me to stop by his office on my way out, to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153touch base\u00e2\u20ac\u009d about my PTO status. Shit, shit, shit.<\/p>\n

Long story short, I went in, and he began by looking up\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand remarking on the enormity of\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe number of PTO hours I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve taken so far this year. And then there I stood for half an hour (which meant then I had to call Pretty Bad Dad to pick up our kid from preschool) while my boss asked if I was OK? Was I SUUUUUUURE? Was everything hunky-dory? (Yes; he actually said \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hunky-dory.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) Was I happy? I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem like my usual happy-go-lucky self lately. Was I SURE everything was OK? He just wanted to make sure everything was OK with me, because I am SUCH a valued employee\u00e2\u20ac\u201dhe tells the company owners all the time what a great asset I am to the team! Why, one of them called just the other day to ask who wrote that article about our Convention keynote speaker, because she loved it so much, and he told her it was me, and that I am such an incredible writer!<\/p>\n

Not sure I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever been so uncomfortable in my life. And when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m really nervous, my right eye waters, so I was basically half-crying through the whole thing.<\/p>\n

At any rate, it became clear to me that he wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t buying my assurances that everything was OK, and I felt like I had to give something up. So I ended up throwing my entire department in front of the bus, by telling him that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all getting a little frustrated because our projects are all stalled in the approval process (true)\u00e2\u20ac\u201dmainly because since November, our COO has been in the office maybe a total of 10-12 days (true), and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no delegation of authority to keep processes moving (true). And because so many of our projects are on hold, basically, none of us has anything to do (true).<\/p>\n

He agreed that it was a problem, and seemed satisfied with that little confession . . . but needless to say, the job offer I got the next day could not have come soon enough, because when he FINALLY let me out of his clutches that day, I went home thinking, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dang, if I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get a job out of all of this, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to have to lay low for awhile, because he is totally on to me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

It was actually a relief, five days later, to confess everything as I gave my two weeks\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 notice.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I knew it!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, when he learned I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been taking PTO for job interviews. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was going to just come right out and ask you, but I thought that might be crossing a line.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Hmmmm… given my confessional nature, I wonder if I would have answered honestly if he had.<\/p>\n

2. Though she is staunchly and quite vocally opposed to my pursuit of hot yoga (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t possibly be good for you,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says she) and tries to stop me from going every chance she gets, my mother has lately been a little more focused on putting the kibosh on my running. Not ALL of it\u00e2\u20ac\u201dfor example, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s OK with my doing short, slow runs on a treadmill\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut if it involves (a) the outdoors, (b) the dark, (c) more than three miles or so, and\/or (d) the potential for injury, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gonna have somethin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to say about it.<\/p>\n

And the recent unbelievable news about the Boston Marathon has not helped.<\/p>\n

I was at my desk yesterday, training one of my soon-to-be-former coworkers to take over one of my current duties after my departure. My desk phone rang, and I saw it was my mother, but rather than interrupt my tutorial, I let it ring, figuring I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d call back later.<\/p>\n

20 minutes later, she called again.<\/p>\n

Since we were just wrapping up the lesson, I let it ring again.<\/p>\n

As soon as the coworker\/trainee left my desk,\u00c2\u00a0the coworker in the next cubicle turned to me and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to interrupt you guys, but come look at this\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthere was a bombing at the Boston Marathon!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

As I read and absorbed the news over her shoulder, it hit me: This was why my mother called.<\/p>\n

When I stepped back over to my desk, my phone rang yet again\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand yet again, it was my mom.<\/p>\n

I picked up, and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Before you say anything, I know why you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re calling.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153WELL?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she scolded, clearly shaken, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Has this TAUGHT you to leave that mess ALONE?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

As if it mattered AT ALL, I pointed out that I have never had any desire to run a marathon.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153WHAT,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she demanded, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153do you call what you were supposed to be doing last Saturday?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153A 5K,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I replied. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A 5K is three miles. A marathon is twenty-six. My stuff is small potatoes compared to a marathon\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand even SMALLER potatoes compared to the Boston Marathon!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Still,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she insisted, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153you KNOW there are crazy people everywhere, and there are going to be copycats. You NEED to leave all of it ALONE, or at least stay on the treadmill!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

More conversation ensued, where she all but called me stupid for taking the wholly unnecessary risk of running in the first place.<\/p>\n

So.<\/p>\n

Looks like I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be signing up for any more races in HER city, for fear of imprisonment in her basement. But at least I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to worry about completely jacking up another sweet surprise from my husband . . .<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wow. OK. Been awhile, no? Well, I have a good reason: between March 14 and April 5 of this year, I trussed myself up, combed my hair, spit-shined my eyebrows and tried like heck to be impressive as I interviewed with not one, not two, but FOUR different companies (with multiple interviews at a couple … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Free Failin’.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.instaprincess.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.instaprincess.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.instaprincess.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instaprincess.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instaprincess.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=275"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.instaprincess.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293,"href":"https:\/\/www.instaprincess.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275\/revisions\/293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.instaprincess.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instaprincess.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instaprincess.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}