Knowing how things tend to work, if I don't blog this now, it will either not get written about at all, or only see a tiny summary squeezed in much later. So, as my brain winds down closer to sleep, I'll jot down the important stuff.

My interview yesterday was, for the most part, a formality. The only sticking point came when L asked if I would need any days off during the coming season, and I said I would like to go back home to visit the family for a few days during Christmas. I hadn't decided on any exact dates yet, but she wanted to know with certainty which shifts I would be able to work (understandably so).

I said that I definitely would want Monday the 26th off, but the Thursday before and after it were negotiable. Ultimately, I agreed that I could work Thrusday the 22rd and be back by the following Thursday, the 29th, especially after she pointed out that this is the busiest time of year, so they need all the help they can get. Even then, before hiring me, she wanted to see if she could contact another person to see if they would be able to cover that Monday shift, and said she'd get back to me after talking to them.

So I had some time to mull that over while I went about my volunteer shift. I had to ask myself, If that one day ends up being a deal-breaker, would I be willing to stay here for the duration of the holiday season instead of visiting home, so I could get this job?

The answer inside my head came back instinctively and immediately: No. My priorities are clear. Working at Open Harvest is important to me, but not that important.

Here's the thing: I have never, in my entire life, spent a Christmas away from home and family, and I don't want to change that now. Granted, last year was a slightly odd Christmas, as the four of us collectively decided not to exchange any gifts. Why go to the trouble to navigate the stores and wrack our brains trying to figure out what everyone else might like, when ultimately, more often than not, we each end up with more unnecessary trinkets, emptier wallets, and exhausted brains? But even though we didn't do presents, my parents, brother and I still spent the time together. (After geographical separation, that in itself can be a gift, though in the past it may have felt like a burden.)

Priorities. The co-op is awesome, but family comes first. If L were to decide that having someone there during that shift were of paramount importance, I would say she best hire someone else, no hard feelings, and maybe in a few months, I would apply again if another opening came along.

She wasn't having any luck reaching the person she wanted to ask about filling that shift. She said she'd let me know, and returned to the office again.

My mind was so distracted, I didn't even know what I was doing. I think I must have spent a half an hour wandering around the store randomly facing stuff, not following any methodical pattern, but darting to different shelves, straightening, pulling, and centering products as my mind turned in circles.

While I was in the midst of that, another guy -- the front end manager -- came downstairs, and as he walked by, said, "I hear you're going to be doing some stocking! We should train you as a cashier too, just in case you ever want to fill in for somebody else up front."

To which I could only say, "Um, yeah. Definitely."

(This was another thing I had discussed with L during the interview: subbing for cashiers sometimes. I had said I would be fine with doing that, but warned her that the chances of somebody's random shift not conflicting with my other job were slim. We went over my gas station schedule, and she winced a couple times, but at the end, said "we can work with that.")

When L wandered down a couple minutes later, and proceeded to go about her work without saying anything, I was no longer in the mood to wait around and wonder. So I went over and said, "Based on what J said a minute ago, I assume you made your decision."

She smiled a big sheepish smile, and admitted that she had. She hadn't been planning to tell me about it until a little later, but since the beans had already been spilled, there was no point in denying it. "You're hired."

Sweet.

After that, I guess it didn't take very long for word to spread, because then the floor manager was coming up to congratulate me, and began to brief me in stuff that would be useful to know for my new position.

For the first time in my life, the power of initiation ritual became more directly evident to me than it's ever been before. That's exactly what this was. I suppose in a sense, every job hiring is a form of initiation ritual, but this one felt distinctly different, because these were all people I already knew (even if only for a few months), had worked with, and whose ranks, I now realize, I deeply wanted to join in a more complete way. Not because it was something I was expected to do, or because I was desperate for money, but out of an almost tribal need for belonging.

----

[My brain has now run out of batteries. If I attempt to push it any further, I fear for the consequences. I'm obviously leaving it hanging, but a beginning is better than nothing at all.]