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[temporaryname]

>>Have you ever been invited back to the house?

Each of us are now at different universities - but – while there I was a regular visitor.


His wife, however, did seem to prefer my using their public bathroom. 

I don't know--if you cleaned up after yourself really well, we might invite you over often.

[snowbound]

I was interviewing for a job as a new faculty member at a major research university & was staying at the departmental chairman’s house for that 3 day visit. You know how searches, in general, are long nerve-wracking affairs --this one was no different.

On the last evening of my interview, the stress and local spicy cooking got the better of me.  At 2 in the morning, nature took its course and I managed to baste the entire bathroom right next to the bedroom in which my potential supervisor and wife were sleeping... There were some orifices in my body I never attached the term “projectile” to until that moment.

To say the least, I was horrified and certain my chances for the job had gone down the drain, unlike everything else. I knew I had to quickly and quietly find a plunger & cleaning supplies in the dark. I also had to find a way to "clear the air" without awaking the residents. I quickly opened a window and spent a good bit of time sneaking around his house in my pajamas looking for cleaning supplies and towels - certain I would be caught. I still don’t know how I would have explained my situation to him. Fortunately I stumbled into their cache of toilet tissue, found a plunger and spent the remainder of the night cleaning up after myself. When the sun finally came up, their bathroom was spotless. Evidentially I was not a quiet as I hoped  - he asked me about it in the morning and I fessed up.

In case you are wondering – I got the job.

That had me laughing until the tears were running down my face!  If I know how to access the HOF, I would definitely HOF this.

[polly_mer]

When researching the area for a promising interview, I discovered the nearby town of Rancho Cucamonga, California. The March Hare, Dormouse, and I entertained ourselves by booming out "Rancho CUC...amonga!!" at every opportunity. We're easily amused. I was even more tickled to discover that the town has a minor league baseball team, the Quakes. Their stadium is the Epicenter. And their mascot is, of course, Tremor! Much hilarity at the tea party.

So, I get to the interview and am having a fine, enjoyable day. I have a casual roundtable meeting with the department where I would have a faculty appointment. (This is primarily an administrative search, so the faculty meeting is mostly a formality -- it's a tiny department and they're tickled to be getting a free faculty line.) The conversation turns to the area, and one professor is suggesting good areas to live in. He mentions Rancho Cucamonga. I can't resist poking fun.

"Ah, yes, I've heard about their baseball team, the Quakes."

"Oh, yes, their games are so much fun."

"I'd love to see them play the Springfield Isotopes."

His eyes widen with delight. "Oh... you're a fan..." he breathes. "We could look up their schedule."

Quickly, I backpedal and change the subject.

I'm chuckling to myself.  When Albuquerque acquired a new minor league baseball team, the name arrived at by community poll resulted in the Albuquerque Isotopes.  I still have to wonder about the people who didn't seem to get the joke even after The Simpsons were mentioned with pointed reference to the episode were the fear was that the Springfield Isotopes would relocate to Albuquerque.

[madhatter]

I'm chuckling to myself.  When Albuquerque acquired a new minor league baseball team, the name arrived at by community poll resulted in the Albuquerque Isotopes.  I still have to wonder about the people who didn't seem to get the joke even after The Simpsons were mentioned with pointed reference to the episode were the fear was that the Springfield Isotopes would relocate to Albuquerque.

Hilarious! I love that.

[oseph]

I think I've posted this story elsewhere, but I might as well repeat it.


I went to dinner with about 11 members of the department.  Apparently they didn't get out much, because they all seemed tickled pink to be eating at the town's Thai restaurant.  About halfway through the forty-minute communal gushing over the fact that the town had a Thai restaurant and it served beer and wine, I asked people how long they'd lived there.  One woman said she'd lived there for seventeen years.  I remarked, "Wow, that's a long time!" thinking I was going to segue into a discussion of how much she liked living there.  Instead she got a horrified look on her face and yelled, "I'm not THAT old!"  Her colleagues then spent the rest of the dinner trying to console her about her age and appearance.

[oldfullprof]

I was interviewed for a chair position in NYC, and figured it was mainly administrative.  When they asked me my research agenda, I hemmed and hawed, saying that I was poised to do a number of things-- I had published a lot, so I figured my record spoke for itself.  But my answer was too diffuse.  Didn't get the job.

[punchnpie]

digger, that is one of the funniest things I've read in a while, though I'm sure it wasn't funny at the time. I can just imagine!  Yup, funny, funny.  Glad you got the job.

[glenwood]

Ok, this is minor, but still. During my phone interview, I started pacing nervously around my office . . . tripped on a cord and crashed into a floor lamp. It made quite a noise on my end, but they didn't say anything.

I hope someday to stumble and crash into things on their campus!

[temporaryname]

Another minor phone interview one:

I pace around fairly frantically when I'm being phone-interviewed, and I gesture rather broadly. Once, as I'd gotten as far as the phone cord (I'm too nervous about wireless connections to trust interviews to a cell phone) would let me go in one direction and I start to turn to head the other way, the phone slipped from my hand and went flying away from me. Imagine a sitcom slow-motion sequence with me running after the phone, followed by semi-breathlessly picking it up and hearing momentary silence, followed by an "Are you okay?"

Didn't get invited to campus, but given some stuff I found out later I'm not entirely saddened by that.