The Marble Incident

I recently pulled up to "Nannyland" in the morning to find that Hannah and Dad were home alone.

"Two hour delay?" I asked chuckling.
"Well, you know about the whole marble thing, right?" He looked exhausted.

Marble. Marble. I'm racking my brain Ah. He must really mean granite. Did someone hit their head? What is he talking about?

So it turns out that the previous Saturday, (THANK GOODNESS NOT ON MY WATCH!) Drew decided to eat a marble. But not really a marble. Just a stainless steel ball a little larger than a marble. Then, he proudly proclaimed to all the citizens of Nannyland: "There's a marble in my tummy!"

No one had filled me in. It was Wednesday.

The doctor's told them that the marble would just pass on through Drewbie's pipes but on Tuesday night poor little Drew started getting quite sick. They went to the local hospital which promptly placed 4-year-old Drew into an ambulance and sent them down to the Children's Hospital in the city.

I wish I could somehow scan the x-ray and put it up on the internet. But please try to imagine the tiny, cute x-ray of a 4-year-old child...with a big dot right in the middle of it.

As it turns out, the "marble" got stuck in Drew's gastroesophageal junction (a.k.a. the thing that connects the esophagus to the stomach) and wedged itself there. They were planning on scoping it out, but as soon as they dislodged it disappeared into the stomach before they could retrieve it, and said it would work its way through for real this time.

"And this morning it was in my poops!" Drew proudly told me on Friday morning.

This job is fabulous birth control.

Drew: Mom, can we get a pet?
Mom: No. we have a Hannah.

Interview of Doom

The new year has come with a new urgency to get a "Grown Up" job and move somewhere that isn't my Mom's house.

Luckily over the Holiday break, a non-profit in New York called me to set up a phone interview - finally, after 50 job applications, someone likes me! The position is a Grants Coordinator position.  Of course, I was extremely nervous going into this because I finally have a lead- BUT I've never had  a professional interview like this before.

So, I did my homework, reading the organization's annual report, thinking up potential questions and answers, jotting down questions as they came to mind.

Some family and friends began to tell me I was over-thinking this. A 30 minute phone interview, they said, would be 80% the employer talking, describing the position, and asking me fluff questions and maybe 20% time for me to ask questions and set up an in-person interview.

Oh, how I wish they were right.


Of course all morning this is all I could think about. I was supposed to call Miss Naismith at 1:30 PM so I was surprised to see her number pop up on my incoming calls at 12:30 - "Can we push the interview back to 2 o'clock?" 


So the day dragged on and on until 2. Then I called.

Things started out innocently enough - she said they thought my resume was a good match for some of the skills they were looking for with this position and she'd love to describe the position to me in more detail.

Phew, I thought, this is just what everyone said to expect. I finished the thought and

AH! TOO SOON! RAPID FIRE!

The next 25 minutes of my life were a blur. Questions. In quick succession. Grilling me in much detail.

I had answers and when I didn't I BSed to the best of my ability.

In college some friends and I started an amazing non-profit (www.tristateforthekids.org) so she obviously wanted to ask me about it..which is fine; I love talking about Tri-STATE!

Again, it started out innocently enough..and then "So what percentage of your overall fundraising total came from the letter writing campaign?" BS. "Percentage from events?" BS. "Percentage from canning solicitation?" BS. "So you have never actually written a grant?"

After that she described the position to me - it isn't even actually grant writing, but more administrative and entering data into databases.


I actually enjoy databases; most people find entering data mundane but I love it - I think its my attention to detail and love for organization. WHAT?!?! DID I JUST SAY THAT?!?

Then she asked me for my salary history and requirements. Really?! In a 30 minute phone interview, you want to talk salary?

SO that was painful, to say the least.

I am not planning on hearing back from them, but hey, next time I have an interview I am going to be ready. With BS statistics that actually add up to 100.