embarrassing

i know i already posted it on facebook, but i thought i'd elaborate...

this story starts yesterday, as i was sitting in my very dry econ lecture, pondering my future.  the teacher was talking about how people forgo wages right after high school and pay to go to college, all to receive an expected higher wage in the future (labor economics 101).  this got me thinking whether this idea will actually come true for me.  my mind started thinking about how i haven't gotten any interviews yet, and how i will probably have to do some sort of menial labor for the next 30 years because the universe hates me and i hate my major.  needless to say it was a depressing sort of day.

fast forward to later that afternoon.  i returned home, not completely out of my existential funk, and was pleasantly surprised to find an email about a career fair sitting in my inbox.  i opened it up, expecting to find that it only applied to engineers, or anthropology majors, or anything that would disqualify me from attending, but lo and behold, all majors were welcome, and tons of employers would be there.  i then got an email from my econ professor about how the census bureau was actively hiring students with econ backgrounds.  till this point, i had hoped to find a government job.  not exactly great pay, but good benefits and good job security.  furthermore, i checked the list of employers who would be at the fair, and the census bureau (as well as many other fine agencies and firms) was on the list.  it had to be a sign. at this point i was ecstatic, pumping myself up, printing out resumes, practicing personal statements, researching firms, you name it.  i was motivated.

fast forward to this morning. after a good nights rest (dreaming about my now secure future), i got out my new suit, put on a freshly starched shirt, and fussed over my tie (thanks flo). 

my mind was racing at this point. actual train of thought:

 "should i take a notebook? do i need my backpack? whats the point of wearing this nice suit if i just mess up the professional image by wearing a backpack?  ok i wont wear it.  but what if i get free stuff from the fair, where will i put it?  i definitely need my resumes though, dont forget those.  where are my keys?  did i brush my teeth?" etc. 

finally, after checking myself twice in the bathroom mirror, i got out the door (god forbid i walked in there with a tag still on my suit).  i usually dont drive to grounds, but today was special so i parked in the parking garage and walked in, ready to face my destiny.  as i was walking up the stairs to the ballroom however, i noticed something kind of odd.  i didn't seem to hear any sort of commotion or crowd noise that one usually expects when walking into a crowded career fair.  i shrugged it off, thinking the doors were probably closed or no one had shown up yet.  yet when i reached the floor on which the fair was to be held, i noticed it was way too quiet.  sure enough, i opened the door to the ballroom and peeked inside.  NOBODY.  i kept thinking to myself, "calm down, they probably just moved the location." completely unwilling to face the obvious, i looked frantically for some sort of sign saying "dont worry, we moved to _____," or, "we're starting an hour later today" or, "congratulations, daniel! this is all a test, you win a million dollars for taking initiative."  no such luck. 

finally i asked the receptionist (who was eying me this entire time) why there wasn't a career fair going on.  she checked the schedule and said "i dont think we have anything scheduled for today."  i tried to convince her that i knew for a fact that a very important, potentially life changing career fair was supposed to be going on and maybe she had the wrong copy of the schedule.  she finally agreed to let me use her computer.  so, i logged back into gmail, only to find, to my horror, that the date on top of the email, in bold letters no less, said "October 27-28." 

....................................

i quickly thanked the lady for her troubles (she had the worst "im trying so hard not to laugh right now" look on her face) and walked as quickly as i could back to my car, drove back to my apt, changed out of my itchy clothing, and ran back to campus just in time to make it to my 11 o clock class. 

anyway.  that was my day.  i consider it a practice run for the real thing.  come next week, i'll be a pro at this.