Obviously, you can imagine I'd have a story to share given that I started the thread...
Murphy's Law (for Interviewers):
My east coast tour of interviews began at Dartmouth, where after my interview, I told the hotel to give me a wake-up call, because I knew I was going to sleep through my alarms, being exhausted. They forgot, and the last bus leaving Hanover to NYC left that morning, where I still had an interview to catch in New York. I made an emergency same-day booking to take a bus from hanover to boston, then an express amtrak train from boston to NYC. ($250!) Upon arrival, I pushed, shoved, and even clawed my way through the 5pm rush hour in the subways to catch the last train going to upstate New York.
When I arrived at NYMC, my host pointed to a couch (which was dirty with crumbs and hair...), and I was not even offered a comforter or pillow. I know it's only on a volunteer basis, but seriously! I was not offered any food, and since it's in suburban New York, I couldn't even walk to get food. So I ordered chinese food for delivery, only to find that the fried rice was more yellow than the urine I see in the ER, and the only vegetable that exists to them is the onion. (Why not call it "yellow rice with onions and beef?") Without much heat, I used my peacoat as a blanket, and my clothes as a pillow. I slept, for an hour, only to be awaken by how cold it was. I'd shiver upon waking, then fall asleep because I was tired. Sleep, shiver, and repeat. Did that FOUR times.
Providence was truly a sanctuary. But it wasn't without something going wrong beyond my control...When I arrived (3 hrs late) in Providence with the Megabus, it was monsoon-like conditions, with a centimeter or two of standing water everywhere. The bus driver had the common sense to throw my suitbag out in the street! Lo' and behold, my suit was SOAKED when I arrived at my host's residence. Fortunately, that was the only hitch I encountered, and it was "relatively" a small one.
Upon finishing my interview at Brown, I had to catch a flight arriving in North Carolina for an interview at Wake Forest. When I arrived, it was about midnight, and my flight was the last inbound flight for the night, and the airport was closing in a half hour. I planned in advance to book a rental car (and I asked about my age, etc), as the school was a 45 min drive away from GSO airport. When I got to Avis, they said that I was on the "do-not-rent list." Excuse me? And why was I cleared to rent in the first place?! I've never even rented a car, let alone have any outstanding traffic infractions! And then he says that I need to resolve this with customer service in the morning...the exact morning during my interview. At Greensboro, there is no subway, no train, no light rail, no taxi, no buses, NOTHING. And the airport was closing in a half hour.
I couldn't even argue with the man at the counter. He had three bolts coming out of his head, with eyes that are focused in two opposite directions, where I couldn't tell if he was looking at me, the computer, or something else when he was speaking to me. Despite frustration and panic, I honestly felt sorry for him-I'm sure my last week of travel misery/adventure was far less traumatic than what he had to live for his whole life.
I became desperate-I had to get a car. I rushed over to Alamo as they were closing, to see if they had a car available. YES they did! But it was $150/night and its a dodge charger. Yikes. With only 80 miles on the car, I drove happily in the dark, tranquil North Carolinian night but laughed hysterically when the car idled: My dad's 1986 chevy truck runs smoother than this new car with only 80 miles on it!
Of course, I wasn't going to catch a break at Wake Forest. I accidentally made the decision to get sushi (can a man get some decent asian food out east?!) and got food poisoning for the trip home.
This was all in a two-week span coming from Washington state, going out east. Funny? Sad? Pathetic? Stupid? haha your thoughts?
