"What's the most exotic place you've lived?"

There is a tall ship in port. I am using that term both in the sense that it is a ship whose masts are the tallest thing in town, and in the sense that it is an ocean going vessel propelled by wind. So far, nothing much is known about it, even after querying a family friend who happens to work for the newspaper. What do you become a reporter for, except to snoop into everything that happens in town? *cough* 

Anyhow, here is it. Please excuse any odd blurring, I had to stick my camera through a chain-link fence to get a mostly-clear shot. Yes, if there was any possible doubt about my inquisitiveness, I just killed it with those last paragraphs. 

Brutally. 

RIGHT. The pictures...

Does anyone recognize that flag? It seems to have a lion and a chia pet on it. Somehow I doubt that is the case, however. ("What shall we put on our flag?" "A horse?" "Nah." A Unicorn." "No..." "A chia pet?" Perfect!" Rightttttttt.) Here is a closer look.

Those pictures were taken on the course of a walk that started as a stroll. It ended up taking three hours and covering about 10 km. It happened in this fashion. I had a phone call from the bank arranging a interview the next day. Good, good, I'm calm- I need to go on a walk. So I haul on my shoes and my purse, and start sauntering down the road. I stop to take pictures of the boat, continue sauntering , and realize with a shock that bank people wear nice clothes. 

I, uh, don't have nice clothes. No, my clothes are nice, they just aren't dressy. Over the past two years or so I've disposed of my old "dressy" things as I outgrow them, or acknowledge that I outgrew them long ago. So now I have no dress pants and no shirts with buttons AND sleeves. Most of my clothing has a general air of belonging to someone faintly eccentric. Or maybe we can just dispose of the "faintly" in that last sentence. On the day in question, for example, I was wearing a mid-calf length jean skirt which buttoned down the front and was gathered on an elastic waist band. My shirt was made of some patent material derived from fossil fuels, and featured a charming "rust blotch" type print. I was, (unusually,) wearing matching socks; but the socks in question were black knee socks with an ambition to be ankle warmers. The picture was completed with a red bandanna-print courier-style bag and brown leather Helly Hanson men's runners. Not quite a professional image, perhaps? Really, I don't wonder that people recognize me walking by the side of the road. No one else in town has quite the particular attitude towards clothing as I do. 

Anyhow, I had a brief moment of panic about what I was to wear for the interview, and then I remembered my lovely shoes that Daddy bought me in St. John's, and that interview clothing is supposed to be tidy and demure, not necessarily business attire. At least, when you're walking in with a resume consisting chiefly of fast-food experience, your shirt need not have buttons. *nods* "Just act like you're supposed to be there, and no one will notice your shocking lack of proper attire." Words to live by. But once the interview clothing was safely attended to, I decided I needed to walk up to the mall and see if they even had any decent clothing. 

Thankfully, the stores in the mall are onto winter collections now. Colours I like, and cuts I can wear without going tomato-hued whenever a guy walks into the area. That is to say that among many nasty ones there are some which I can wear. I was actually on the verge of buying some until I remembered that buying in anticipation of a job I don't have is a bad idea. You should know this by now...

And yes, most of my preparation for the interview was devoted to clothing worries. This turns out to have been a good thing, as there is no way I would have properly prepared for the questions. The only interview I've had to date have been for fast food, and for college. All fairly straightforward. *drones*"WhyDidYouLeaveYourLastJob? DoYouHaveAnyCriminalConvictions? WhenCanYouStart?"

This one was an hour long, and had questions like- 

"What do your peers think of you?" 

"Tell me about yourself." 

"What are your career goals?" 

"Where do you think you'll be in a year?" 

"What's the most exotic place you've lived?" 

"What are your strengths?" 

"What most scares you about working here?" 

"How would you deal with someone who accuses you of shorting him his money?" 

"Have you ever been placed in a situation where your ethics have been compromised?" 

Not what I would have expected, even if I had tried to prepare. :D Anyhow, she said I was wellspoken, so I think I might have survived. There will be a call middle of next week if I got the job or no. Here's hoping!