Today's Interview

Well, today was the big day...I had my interview at ADM. It was quite interesting, and somewhat fattening. We taste-tested everything from chocolate chip cookies to peanut butter, smelled cotton balls, and drank questionable liquids. I don't consider myself a picky eater, but I'm really not crazy about chocolate milk or Cheese Nips. That's right...we tasted and compared different brands of both items. Ugh.

The best part was a sample test. I guessed correctly that the last cup of dark m&m's matched the first cup. The word "dark" printed under the 'm' was a clear giveaway.

The HR people will call Friday afternoon if they are interested in me. If not, I will get an e-mail Monday afternoon with the usual Dear John letter. Sixty-seven people applied for 12 positions (plus two more for another department). Keep your fingers crossed that I'll be chosen, okay? I would really like this job.

Hoping you're all enjoying your jobs to the fullest extent of the law!!
shel

Garden Gab

Today I picked fifteen of the most beautiful tomatoes I've ever seen. Unfortunately, like with so many humans, their beauty was only skin deep. I've eaten four tomatoes, and every one has been bland and tastes like a January grocery store version. I know that tomatoes like hot summer days and warm summer nights, so basically we're all screwed in central Illinois. On the bright side, my electric bill has been low!

I also picked four sweet banana peppers and two 'Chocolate Soldiers', which are black peppers (like green bell peppers, but black...they taste marvelous.) A few weeks ago I lost my favorite sunglasses, and today I found them among the tomatoes. I guess the fates were smiling on me today.

My asters are budding nicely, and some of the early mums are really showing off their colors. Everything else is just sort of limping along. I did get weed & feed put on the front lawn today, but ran out before I could get to the sides. Next week I am going to seed the back, where the dogs run wild.

Little Gabe just went to sleep, so I am going to brush my teeth and climb in bed with a good book. It's hard telling how long he'll be down.

Tomorrow I have my ADM interview. I'm very excited about the prospect of working as a taster.

Life is good.

shel

Job Interview for ADM?

I have been sending out resumes and completing applications for the past two months or so with not so much as a phone call for an interview. With the economy the way it is, I knew that the job market would be rather limited and prospective employers could be extremely picky about getting the best applicants. My last "real" job was with the U of I extension office in Macon County where I was the Master Gardener Coordinator. I was with the extension for four happy years. Since then, I have held a few part-time jobs including two that were part of my schooling; an internship with Grimsley's Flowers and a work practicum with Richland Community College (both were in the floral design field and both were very enjoyable). the other job was a temporary one; I was a specimen collector for POST during the outage at the power plant.

When the ADM job for a Sensory Panelist came up, I was thrilled. I knew that it would be perfect for me. Basically, it's up to 12 hours per week from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday with no holidays or weekends ever. If hired, my duty would be to taste new products that ADM will be introducing. I'm not picky at all (I love the food most people hate...brussels sprouts, liver & onions, and so forth) and am relatively literate (necessary to describe the tastes, smells, etc.) The big kicker for this job is that the applicants had to be non-smokers. That's me!

I will not find out if I will be hired until after my interview which will be sometime in September. In the meantime, please keep your fingers crossed for me. With a job like this I can continue to care for my parents and grandchildren, and bring in the MUCH needed extra money so that we can pay off a few of the bills that are killing us.

Yea! I'm donig the happy dance with my fingers crossed!
shel
p.s. I'm running the hoses today as we haven't had rain for quite a while. My poor plants were begging for a deep, deep drink. If you water at home, please be sure to water deeply. Don't stand in the middle of the yard with a watering can and think that your oak will be happy.