I had a very good interview with the PR firm in the city on Wednesday. They were mighty impressed with my new and improved resume, and said they were just waiting to hear about a large piece of business from a major insurance company that they might win. If they get it, the head guy said I would be an ideal candidate, because of my background in the insurance and legal industries. He also let slip a piece of inside information that I need to research, as it might help me to gain an advantage in getting a job at a different firm. So all in all, it was not a waste of time.
The nice thing about this firm is the space. The two conference rooms are bright and thoroughly modern-looking, and they both have plenty of windows. As managing director, I would get an office with a window, something I've been craving for the last three years. At Agent K, all the windows were taken up by private offices of the senior executives, except for the three corner offices which were vacated and therefore used as meeting rooms. But you couldn't really look out the window unless you actually walked into the room. All the more commonly-used meeting rooms and the lobby were windowless, and you couldn't see out a single window from the cube farm or even if you took a casual stroll around the office, unless you poked your head into someone's private space.
While I was waiting for the interview to begin, I had a nice view straight down Third Avenue, past my old office and the famous Lipstick Building that I used to walk by every day. I could also almost see the East River and Roosevelt Island beyond. It is by no means as impressive as the lobby of the downtown firm I once interviewed at but I'll take any view after two-and-a-half years in a windowless office. That is certainly one thing I missed about my old job in Houston, where I had an eighth-floor view right above the West Loop, the busiest stretch of freeway in Texas, and downtown in the distance.
The PolyNYC meeting later that evening was sparsely attended, with only about 18-20 people showing up. However, we are seeing an influx of new members, and many of them are GLBT folks. There was a posse of about six or seven lesbians who have come to the last two meetings and contributed a lot of viewpoints that we haven't heard much before. Apparently, if there's one community that processes relationships more than polys, it's lesbians. The topic was how to foster group intimacy, and I got to share some of my thoughts about the importance of touch ("The importance of touch" - April 2, 2008) and found that struck a chord with some of the gay men there, who lamented that most men in our society are conditioned to believe that all touching has sexual meaning.
I've also been tearing through the Harry Potter series with an Anita Blake-like fervor, finishing Books 4-6 in the past two weeks, and starting on the final chapter now. They are surprisingly addictive once you get beyond what's been shown in the movies, but of course the big downside is that there aren't going to be any more of them. If I could only get hooked on Star Wars novels, then I'd be set for life - there's no way I could exhaust that pipeline.
