My doomed Interview at the San Francisco Chronicle: “There was no way in hell I was getting hired."

My dream of working there was dashed, but I still buy copies of the Chron!

Below is what I wrote in my journal after interviewing for a job at the San Francisco Chronicle, a newspaper I grew up reading and admiring, on a day that turned out to be one of the most stressful possible for the people working there:

Friday, March 17, 2000

I went for my big Chronicle interview today. I decided that the most important thing was to be positive, to radiate enthusiasm, calm happiness - to find an inner peace and spill it over to that. I just went in with a “what-the-hell-I’ve-got-nothing-to-lose” attitude, and decided to just be as nice as possible.

On the ferry ride over I heard that the Examiner was sold and the office seemed in a tizzy. SL was a bit late meeting with me, then when I went in and talked to LG she asked me if I had been listening to the radio about the sale. She told me that this position might not still be open, they still might not be able to hire for it. It still didn’t hit me.

I filled out paperwork, met with the three editors of the Fridays section: an older woman in charge, a younger woman who had worked at the Times-Herald, and young, hip guy. They were distracted, rushed, only talked to me for a half and hour. I thought I did very well; didn’t think enough about the sections, got grilled about story ideas and such, but all in all I felt good.

Then I watched the news, heard that who bought the Examiner was going to hire all new employees, and that the staff of the Examiner and Chronicle were merging. F--K. There was no way in hell I was going to be hired. How idiotic it must have seemed. They were interviewing me while probably thinking, “What the hell is going to happen to my job?” Damn.

I was instantly sad, my bubble burst. F--k. What the hell am I going to do? What have I done? [I had quit my first newspaper job a few weeks earlier before landing another one!]

But hey, our toilet is fixed. Don [our landlord] had come, looked at the toilet, gone to the hardware store to get a part. Chris said Don’s dad had come over, told him what the problem was but Don said no, he knew what it was. Turns out the old man was right.

Don came back, first with the wrong size of the wrong part, then back again with the right size of the wrong part, out it in, “It’s not stopping.”

He said his dad was a plumber for 51 years. Hmmmm...

Finally, his dad comes over, can barely walk anymore, hovers over the toilet, straddles it, fiddles around, and the toilet works. Stops running. “Third time’s the charm, they say.”

He won back a little pride that day, I’d say.

Postscript: The following week I got a job at a magazine in Berkeley, which was a good fit, but that summer I ended up moving to Seattle to reboot my life. 

Looking back, I can’t believe how crazy it was to leave everything I knew in California, including my future husband, and start a new life in Seattle, where I knew absolutely no one, did not have a job and had barely gotten an apartment the week prior. 

But that crazy leap has proven to be by far the best decision I have ever made for myself, and I likely never would have taken it had I gotten the job at the Chron.

So yes, that doomed interview? That was cool.

Read my February entries here.

The Walking Stick: How my fellow hikers made my favorite trail even better

The trail I like to hike most these days is a split personality. First, she’s sweet as pie, all downhill under the soaring pines with tantalizing peeks of fog-draped mountains in the background.

But once you reach your prize at the bottom, a river so wide and strong that it sounds like the ocean, the trail flips a switch, making you now pay for all her sweetness with a non-stop climb back up.

Yet these contrasts just make me love that trail more; her volatility making each visit so exciting that I come back for the views again and again, knowing I will also have to brave the climb up again and again. Even when the weather turned cold, and the path down to the river turned slick with ice and rain, it was just another challenge that made the reward even sweeter.

Then one morning at the top of the hill, I found something that made me love that trail even more: A fellow hiker had gathered about a dozen walking sticks and put them at the top of the hill for anyone to use.*

That was cool.

Because not only did using one of those sticks help me navigate the trail when it was extra treacherous, I found I liked walking with a stick so much that I now use one every time I hike that trail, choosing a very tall, sturdy one that makes me feel like Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings as my new hiking companion. It aids me physically, helping me keep my balance and stay upright, but also psychologically, especially on those days when I start to feel unsafe.

“That’s a good stick for the critters!” said one woman as we stopped and chatted. 

“Yes,” I said, thinking but not saying that I was far more worried about people, picturing the stick as a good way to clock someone over the head if they needed it. No one has needed the stick so far, but on at least two occasions my fellow hikers there have made me very uneasy.

Because what used to make me feel safe on hiking trails, the dog, can’t join me on hikes like these anymore, having become too old to climb that hill with me. So now I depend on the stick to give me courage and make me feel less alone.

That is very cool.

See the trail and walking stick here:

*3/34/2025: More proof of the kindness of hikers was provided on this trail just last week, when one of the regulars dropped his phone at the bottom and when he came back to look for it, someone had picked it up and put it at the top for him to find: On a rock near the parking lot where he was sure to see it, and did!

My Grandmother's Journals: March, 2000: "Called Justine. Talked too much."

My Grandmother's 2000 Journal.

Spend a few days with my grandmother, who wrote down each morning what time she woke up, recorded everything she ate, noted any phone calls or mail she received, and reviewed any movie she went to see before settling down with the television and a crossword puzzle in bed.

That was cool.  

 

Because I love reading all these details of her days. Not just because she was my grandmother, but because I love immersing myself in all the mundanity and predicability of this frugal and persnickety woman’s schedule, especially while I am living in very unpredictable times. And maybe you will enjoy a bit of calm, too?

The entries below are from March of 2000, when she was an 84-year-old woman living alone in a trailer park— but don’t feel sorry for her, because she wasn’t sad, and neither was her home. 

No, my grandmother was the most fiercely independent person I have known, living in one of the most beautiful places I have known: Santa Cruz, California.

 

The photo at left was taken by my grandmother of just one of the beautiful beach coves near the very popular surfing area called Pleasure Point, which was an easy walk from her home. And nearly every day she strolled the paths along East Cliff Drive to watch the Pacific Ocean, especially enjoying watching any surfers braving the water. So when she died at age 98 in 2013, I scattered her ashes in the sand at the bottom of those stairs shown. 

(I wrote more about her long and full life in this post)

Another reason not to feel sorry for my grandmother is that she flew to Europe in March of 2000 (Yes, she was still traveling overseas by herself well into her 80s!) to stay again in Paris, a city she loved so much she visited it nearly every year. We even went to Paris together when she was 80 and I was 25, and you can read both of our journal entries during that trip here.

February entries.

Wednesday, March 1, 2000
Paid rent, also car insurance & Mastercard.

To Kmart, ate.

To town, library closed for getting asbestos out of ceiling.

To show, “Wonder Days.” Good. Robert Downey Jr. is great. 

To Albertsons, more food.

Home: News, Lehrer, JAG, more 10th Kingdom, taped.

Read papers.

Sleep 1:30 to 7:15

Thursday, March 2, 2000

Cold, heat til 8:15.

Dog thrown into traffic in San Jose. (Road rage).

Rain in a.m., not too cold.

4/5 cars in Freda’s spot, workers. Yesterday Ellie said owner would pay $30k for her place.

To Trader Joe's. Home, sinus pain! Should have stayed home yesterday. Tired.

Ran tape of 10th Kingdom. Stupid. Why watch it?

TV: News, usual.

Bed 11:30. Up 1:30-5-7. Good sleep.

Friday, March 3, 2000

Warm today. Oatmeal.

To McDonald's, then Gottschalk’s. Got slip (black) for Justine and hose for me.

Home 11, called Justine. Talked too much.  [Me or her?!]

Ate, watched Murder She Wrote, wrote Prudy.

To library, got on Internet. Message from Carla, deed problems. Asked for list of books.

Home. News, Lehrer, JAG, L/O.

Sleep, good.

Hail in Pasadena, quarter size.

Saturday, March 4, 2000

Up 7:15. Cold. Usual breakfast.

Washed some clothes, chores. Might rain.

Found earring in telephone stand.

Out for paper, then to Aptos for “Whole Nine Yards.” Stupid. Not worth the money.

Ate KFC before.

Home before rain, nothing much on TV.

Bed 8:30, slept til 11:30. Finished crossword, read.

Back to sleep 2:47 til 7:30.

Rain in night.

Sunday, March 5, 2000

Breakfast usual. Shower/hair.

Home all day. Cold, rain in a.m.

Worked on typewriter, finished letter to Mina, sent newspaper re Bichon Frise and 10th Kingdom.

Bed. 11 news, good sleep til 5.

Myra called Friday, coming up today.

Monday, March 6, 2000

Up 8, usual breakfast.

To OSH, need more info.

To Bank, got signature certified. Checked on ATM not in.

To Longs. Xerox, Quaker Oats, soup.

Worked on weeds in the yard.

Murder She Wrote, papers, Lehrer, L/O, 10th Kingdom.

Mail: Advance notice of census form (about a week).

Tuesday, March 7, 2000

Up 7:30, no breakfast.

To laundromat, ate at Burger King.

Sent Justine a column regarding changes in Santa Cruz.

Mail: New Mastercard, ads.

Some rain.

TV: News, JAG (2).

Wrote 2 checks: Visa and cable.

Rain started about 6-7. Bed 9.

Wednesday, March 8, 2000

Up 7:40, heat til 8.

Breakfast usual, chores.

To fruit/veg stand, coffee/donut.

Rain starts again, home 12:30 p.m.

Rain off/on. Watched Murder She Wrote.

Some washing, ate here.

Mail: Short note from Mina, much info on Election. 

Usual TV: JAG, L/O, West Wing (good).

Not good sleep. 2-5?

Dr. Dean Edell in Covelo in 2014.

Thursday, March 9, 2000

Up 7, cold. 8 to Santa Cruz.

Paid Visa bill, looked at department store.

To Scotts Valley, ate at Wendy’s. Crowded with students.

Listened to radio, Ronn 1 hour with Dean Edell.

To Drug Emporium for TV Guide, lozenges.

Home 2 p.m., Read papers, watched Lehrer news.

Bought “Tea w/Mussolini.” Watched, audio bad.

Bed, news. Sleep 10:30, slept good.

Friday, March 10, 2000

Slept 12:30 to 7:30. Slept better.

Breakfast usual, crossword.

Foned bank, no ATM. Stopped for balance. OK.

To town, checked Amtrak.

Library for email. Justine liked slip.

Stopped by Carole, talked 1 hour. She was 3 weeks at “retreat.”

Home, ate eggs, potatoes.

TV: News, JAG, L/O. Papers.

Bed, no sleep. 2 a.m. took “pain pill.” No REM sleep.

Saturday, March 11, 2000

Up 7:20. Warm today, but chilly in a.m.

Breakfast usual.

To Albertsons, then home for lunch.

To show, “Ninth Gate.” 2 hours + but put together good. Ending not satisfying.

Got some ice cream.

Mail: Card from Liz Claiborne and rent increase advice.

Sunday, March 12, 2000

Justine called 11:30, coming down with Chris.

Cleaned up a bit, but they in Aptos.

Finally 6:30 to eat. Walked to 41st for show, ice cream after.

Monday, March 13, 2000

Shower/hair. Myra called 10:30. To Corralitos, came up a week ago.

To Greyhound, checked times. [Preparations for her Paris trip!]

Home, at here.

Mail: Bank, Prudy, Census. Filled it out, not mailed.

TV: M.S. Wrote, news, JAG, Lehrer.

Bed early, 9:15. Slept 12-4.

Tuesday, March 14, 2000

Up 4:30. Tea, toast. Tried sleep, couldn’t. 

Ate oatmeal, ready by 9:30.

Myra over to Larry’s, meet another day.

Got paper, coffee at McDonald’s, walked.

To Nob Hill for groceries, home. Sunny, warm.

Mail: Adverts.

TV: MSW, Lehrer, JAG (2). 

Working on collecting maps, money to need.

Bed 10, no sleep til 3. Took melatonin.

Wednesday, March 15, 2000

Usual breakfast.

Myra called, free today. Met her at 11 a.m.

To lunch at Fresh Choice, good meal.

Walked East Cliff. To veg market, got artichoke + Italian squash.

Home 5:30, dinner.

Usual TV: JAG (2), West Wing, L/O.

Sleep 11 p.m., not special.

Thursday, March 16, 2000

Sleep: 12-4-8

Breakfast usual, chores.

To Longs for tissues, soup. Kmart for gasoline.

To County Building for tax info.

To library, got email from Justine. She has repeat interview with Chronicle, one with magazine in Berkeley.

[More on my "doomed" interview at the Chron.]

Home 1:30. Tennis, M.S. Wrote, Lehrer, JAG, etc.

TV: Biography of Wallis & Duke. Royal “biographer” interviewed, said she demeaned him, even in public. He called her mommy, seemed to enjoy being scolded. Her last years kept away from friends by lawyer; stroke, could not talk.

Friday, March 17, 2000

Awake 6:30, heat til 7. Breakfast usual.

To laundromat, then Kinko’s.

To bank for balance, Carl’s Jr. for breakfast.

Home 11, news. Worked on book lists for Carla, making separate one for authors.

Mail: T-Bill statements.

Wrote Mina, watched tennis.

To post office, mailed video, got stamps.

TV: JAG, L/O. 

Bed.

Saturday, March 18, 2000

Up 7, breakfast usual. Tired.

Drug Emporium, BP: 151-76. Got papaya & diuretics.

To Santa Cruz, took 10:55 bus, to Caltrain noon. Late to Milbrae. To bank, got Francs.

Back home on Caltrain: 3:24, SJ 4:30 Amtrak 4:40, Santa Cruz 5:30.

To KFC, got pies.

Home 6 p.m.

TV: “Frost” 6-8.

Bed, slept 8:30-12-5-7

Sunday, March 19, 2000

Up 7, breakfast usual. Chores, ironed some.

Drug Emporium. BP 154-83!

Ocean Street for coffee/donut. Early for show, walked some.

To show, “Not One Less.” Chinese, very good. Story of very poor village.

Got groceries at TJ’s, home. Lunch/dinner.

Sports programs full of basketball. No report on tennis.

Read papers, news.

TV: Ebert, 60 Mins on Pope XII. Catholic Church moving to make him a saint.

Bed 8, crossword. No sleep til 12-2-3-4-7

Monday, March 20, 2000

Cold. Breakfast usual.

To McDonald’s for coffee, Kmart BP. Better, 145. Almost bought skirt, no!

Home 12:30. Shower/hair. Cut short.

Packed vitamins, home most day after trip to library.

Got Friday Merc News, did crossword.

TV: Most basketball, Murder, Lehrer. Read papers.

Mail: Mastercard, new ads. Card for census!

Bed early, 9:30.

12-3-5-8

Tuesday, March 21, 2000

Up 8. Warm, sunny. 

Wrote Myra, Sally/Joan, check for Liz Claiborne.

Sister Grace in my carport. Walked to Kings Village.

Got Xerox copy for Myra.

To library, 3 messages. Charmaine has new email.

TV: JAG(2), new show Beat Cops. Bed 9:30.

Wednesday, March 22, 2000

Cleaning 11 a.m.

Up 6, heat til 7. Usual breakfast. Some chores.

To Longs for kitchen matches. Charged 89 cents instead of 79.

To Gottschalk’s. Walked to Ross and back, plus stairs.

To dentist. Talked to woman, husband truck driver. She “Brenda.” Girl who cleans teeth is pregnant. Goes to Kauai in September. $66 (73)

Home, ate here.

Usual TV: JAG, L/O, West Wing.

Bed 10, news. Sleep 11:30-12:30-3-7.

Thursday, March 23, 2000

Up 7. Heat. Cloudy. Usual breakfast. 

Packed clothes in suitcase. 2 shirts, dress, tops, shoes, yellow cap.

To bank for balance. OK.

Got beige hat at Gottschalk’s. Paid them.

TO KFC, got sandwich.

To Logo’s, left six books. 2 returned, received 8.19 for rest.

To show, “Erin Brockovich.”

To Kmart, cake and ice cream.

Home, no mail.

Message from Justine. Called 11:30.

TV: News, Lehrer, usual.

Bed 10:30 after news.

Friday, March 24, 2000

Up 7 a.m. Worked on packing til 11.

Rene called in a.m., talked too long!

Called Justine, she received offer from magazine, Berkeley. Said w/benefits. She to call Tuesday, but wants to start Wednesday.

To Longs for Xerox.

To Ross, hat for $7. Must return other to Gott’s.

To Scott’s Valley Burger King, got fish, ice cream.

To show, “Mission to Mars.”

Home, mail from Treasury. Wrote checks.

BP at Longs, Kmart. Ate here.

Saturday, March 25, 2000

Up 6:45, heat til 7. Usual breakfast, oatmeal.

Myra called re “Living Trust.”

To Drug Emporium for BP.

To Gott’s, gave back hat. $14.

To Kmart for lunch, washed car first. 

Walked a bit. No mail.

Home 4 p.m.. Papers, some genealogy.

TV: D.O.A. with Edmond O’Brien, also He walked by Night. Channel 9.

News, bed, read a bit.

Sunday, March 26, 2000

Up 8. Breakfast. Shower/hair. Ready by 10:30.

To show, “Holy Smoke.” Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel. Therapy gets to him.

Paid new bill at AT&T.

Albertsons: Grapes, oranges, candy.

Home 3:30, ate. Golf, rain delayed.

TV: Ebert, some Oscars.

Bed 10:30. 12-3-7

Monday, March 27, 2000

Stop mail. Check bus schedules/train.

To Drug Emporium for BP, McWhorters for Xerox.

To Post Office for stamps.

To KFC, home.

Got $200, also new Sacagawea.

Packed more, TV. Changed schedule: L/O at 1 p.m., Murder at 4 p.m.

Channel 9, With Byrd at the South Pole.

Bed 10:31.

Called Mina, talked long. 6-6:40. Joan not call.

Tuesday, March 28, 2000

Awake at 3 a.m. Where is the strap to pull suitcase? Up to check, could not find.

Use strap from carry-on, works fine.

Ready earlier, got 8:40 to Metro, ate grapes.

9:55 Amtrak. Freeway clear, arrived 10:30 instead of 10:50. Paid 2:25 senior to Millbrae. 

Travelodge 12:30. Rested a bit, ate Wendy's. 

Found strap in luggage, redid purse and carry-on. Fanny pack in suitcase.

TV: Lehrer, M.S. Wrote, Bio of Audrey Hepburn.

Shower, bio of Cary Grant. 

Sleep 10:30-12-2-5

Wednesday, March 29, 2000

* Breakfast plane. Up 5. Coffee, small roll.

6:30 bus from Travelodge to airport, arrived 6:50. Long lines.

7:30 got coffee, muffin.

Take-off late 1/2 hour, but made up. Arrived JFK 5:30, to Paris 6:35.

Seatmate girl named Gia. From Armenian father who was raised in Egypt. She works for a financial organization, handles/invests money.

All nite on plane.

Thursday, March 30, 2000

Arrived CDG 9:15 a.m. Hard time finding bus.

Paid 49 FF, no added fee!

Andra called.

Paid 255 for 1 nite, got fruit next door.

Andra 3-5, slept 5-8. (Ambulance woke me up).

Worked on money 10 p.m. Slept 2 til a.m.