Sympathy for The Pony

The job market for recent graduates is a tough nut to crack in these VIRUS-y days. At least in the field of chemical engineering, where The Pony is seeking his fortune. On Tuesday, he had a request to submit an online interview. That's the first fish to bite. It's a major auto manufacturing company.

Anyhoo, The Pony did the practice interview on Tuesday. He made plans for the actual interview for Wednesday. It's just a first-level interview, recorded and submitted online, to advance to the next level. He had two chances. If the first recording wasn't to his liking, he had one more chance at it.

As you might imagine, it was a big deal to The Pony. He planned to start when I was back from town, and safely out of his hair, down in my lair, between 2:00 and 3:00. He informed Hick of these plans the night before. He put on respectable clothes. He dug out his web-cam thingy, since his laptop camera is glitchy with our internet. He selected the kitchen table as his office, with a window in the background. A window that looks out on the back porch and part of the deck to Poolio.

What could possibly go wrong?

I'm sure you all arrived at the crux of the wrongness. HICK.

Hick showed up at 2:00, just after I started home from town. He told The Pony he was getting in Poolio. No wonder The Pony was on edge when I got home. A bit short with me, as he carried in a couple bags of groceries, and I prepared my magical elixir and lunch, for a descent to my lair. I had no idea Hick was in Poolio, or even home, until The Pony let it slip.

"No! You need to tell him not to come back in until you're done with your interview! Since he insisted on re-doing the deck, the only way out of Poolio is up those steps to the porch! Right behind your head as you're recording your interview!"

"I know that!"

"Well! You can't have that! Even if he DOES swim in his SpongeBob boxers now, instead of in NOTHING. I'll go out and tell him. How long will your interview take?"

"It says to allow 45 minutes."

"Okay. I'll tell him he needs to come in now, so you can get started."

By this time, Hick had been floating around on a raft in Poolio for 30 minutes. His shoulders and belly were turning red. Yet he insisted that he'd just keep floating around. That he wouldn't come in until The Pony told him the coast was clear.

It was 3:45 when I heard The Pony walking around upstairs.

"Did you tell your Dad he could come in?"

"Yes. He's on his way."

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know."

"He's been in the pool almost TWO HOURS!"

"That's what he wanted to do."

Leave it to Hick to add stress to The Pony's first job interview! He's had all summer to float around in Poolio. I don't know why he had to show up in the middle of the afternoon ON THIS SPECIFIC DAY, when he usually disappears until 5:00.

Oh, and The Pony said while recording his second interview, there was a bout of dog-barking. Jack and Juno don't like Hick in Poolio, where they can't get down the steps to the deck.

The skittish Pony had decided to close the shades, just in case. At least he wasn't lying on the couch in pajamas, hair uncombed, balancing the laptop on his belly. I'm betting that one person submitted an interview like that...