When Dreams are Calling (16 page)

“It’s
always the other one’s loss, isn’t it?”

“Always!
And by the way, you should stop
calling him Stallion. It
makes him sound more important than he is.”

“And how
would you call him?”

“Hmmm... I
don’t know… Scallion? You like
scallions, don’t you? I bet
you like them even more than you like Stallions. ”

“I love
stallions, scallions, sliced lengthwise
to bruise the flesh,
then chopped and fried slowly,” I responded giving her an impish look.

Dora’s
Journal Notes
 

• When something is
  a good deal, ask
  yourself for whom.
  
• Get the right size
  and everything else
  will fit in.
  
• If you don’t like
  your dream, wake up
  and go to bed again.
  
• Nightmares qualify
  as dreams too.
  
• Doubt is what
  keeps the hope alive.
  

26
When an Interview Going Well Lands you the Wrong Job

I
love going for an interview,

Being
asked questions that I knew

From
the other one last week,

They,
trying to find out if I’m a freak,

Hoping
in silence I’m a geek,

While
I dream of becoming a rich sheik.

Back from Bali, I felt a bit like hanging in
midair, waiting for the right push to throw me where I
belonged.

One morning, looking in the mirror, I wasn’t
sure if what I saw was
my reflection or some ghost resembling me.

“Why do I feel so down?” I asked
myself, starting another
conversation with the wiser me.  

You don’t drink, you don’t smoke, and lately
you don’t get laid!
the
answer came promptly.

“And since when are these answers to anyone’s
prayers?”

Since old times?

“I know what I have to do: work. Work hard
enough and nothing will
matter anymore.”

And that’s including yourself.

“You have an answer for everything, don’t you?
You know what we call
a person who always has something to add even when there is nothing
left to be
added?”

Sure, I know: smart.

“Smart indeed. But only in their own eyes.”

Like any other eyes would matter...

“So, smarty, how should I prepare for the
interviews?”

Have you played hide and seek when you were a
child?

“Sure, I did. Back in the old times, kids were
playing
outside with one another.”

An interview follows the same rules. When he
starts talking, you
start thinking of where to hide and by the time he stops you already
have a
plan. Then, you take turns. And the one who finds where the other one
truly
stands, wins. However, most of the time the game is over even before
anyone
finds anyone.

“What do you mean?”

An interview is a lying game and the winner is
he who calls the other’s
bluff. The candidate adjusts the truth in relation to skills and
expectations
and, when it comes to rewards and work environment, is followed closely
by the
employer. It might look like there is a conversation going on, but in
reality
all it happens is a series of well-rehearsed monologues. Let’s take for
example
the classic questions and some plausible answers:

“What is your weakness?”

True answer: “I am an alcoholic.”

Answer given: “I am a workaholic.”

“What do you believe to be the biggest
challenge you might face in
your job?”

True answer: “My boss, followed closely by
staying awake.”

Answer given: “Once I am committed to a job, I
enjoy each challenge
on the way and there is nothing which I cannot overcome.”

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

True answer: “On a beach in Hawaii sipping a
cocktail and learning
to play golf.”

Answer given: “Contributing to the prosperity
of the company.”

“How would you describe yourself?”

True answer: “Messy, tardy, unpredictable,
difficult to handle,
bossy.”

Answer given: “Organized, punctual, easygoing,
a good team player.”

“Why did you leave your last job?”

True answer: “I got bored or I got sacked
for…one or the other.”

Answer given: “I felt there was nothing left
for me to improve and I
was ready for a new challenge.”

“What do you like to do in your free time?”

True answer: “Sex. However, I hardly find any
energy left for it at
the end of another long day of work, which pisses me off.”

Answer given: “I am a passionate about my job
so whenever I have
some free time, I like to read more articles on related topics.”

“Don’t you think you are overqualified for this
position?”

True answer: “Sure, I am. Don’t we all think we
are?”

Answer given: “No, I think I can learn a lot
from working with you.”

“What is your leadership style?”

True answer: “Get it all done and done well.
Don’t bother me!”

Answer given: “I enjoy mentoring people,
motivating, and understanding
them.”

“What is your salary expectation?”

True answer: “A million per year, preferably
after tax, will do just
fine.”

Answer given: “I have heard the position is
paid with one hundred
thousand per year. But, if it’s too much, I am open to negotiations.”

“Would you be able to work overtime?”

True answer: “You definitely did not read the
last attention span
reports. You are lucky if I will be productive for half of the day.”

Answer given: “Sure, whenever the company needs
me, I will be there.”

“Why would you like to work with us?”

True answer: “I have a mortgage to pay;
otherwise I would be out of
here in no time.”

Answer given: “I have always wanted to work in
this industry.
Working for such a reputable firm will be my dream come true.”

“There will be lots of things to learn in this
job. Will you be OK
with reading more material in your spare time?”

True answer: “No dear, slavery was abolished a
long time ago.”

Answer given: “Sure, I was just about to ask
you about that. I would
love to learn more each day and every single weekend.”

Whoever said the truth is better than a
thousand lies must have been
an idiot with suicidal tendencies or one who already knew the truth and
was
hoping for a lie.

“Sometimes, the truth can be more damaging than
a lie.”

You’d better go to bed. It’s late and you’re
tired. Tomorrow is
another day.

And so, exhausted after such a long
conversation with myself, I went
to bed.

The following week, dressed for success and
keeping the lessons in
mind, I went for a few interviews.

It might have been my smile, my knowledge, my
attitude or why not,
my lies.  Whatever it was, it landed me the well-sought-after
job. I was
working now in one of the biggest law firms in Melbourne, as a junior
lawyer.
My parents were proud of me, while my grandma thought once again it was
all the
result of her prayers:

“God is watching over all of us. He listened to
my prayers and now
you have a job. You just have to get married and you’ll be just fine.”

“You’re the biggest dreamer in our family,
Grandma. I wish happiness
was so simple,” I said to her gently.

For her, what kind of job and what kind of
husband I will have were
details, never important enough to bother God with them. And if she
didn’t
bother God with them, God didn’t bother Himself either.

After a few months of coming face to face with
what practicing law
really meant, I found out a simple truth about myself: I had no qualms
about
lying to the ones who wanted to be lied to, but when it came to myself,
I was a
poor liar.

I had to face the truth: if becoming a lawyer
was ever my dream, it
was not anymore. I did not enjoy practicing law and the fact that I
worked for
years and years to get there did not change this simple truth.

But coming to terms with the truth was not as
easy as finding it out.
Lesson learned: ask only if you really want to know the answer. And
this
includes the questions you ask yourself.

I called Robert. Whenever I was in trouble, his
humor was priceless.
Although it was past midnight, he picked up:

“Robert, I have a problem!”

“Just one? Wow! You’re lucky.”

“It’s a big one: I don’t want to be a lawyer!”

“That’s a relief, sweetie, not a problem. You
were not cut out for
it anyway. You just had to find out by yourself. I remember having a
bit of a
discussion a few months back.”

His words were soothing. He was not angry with
me, did not blame me
or call me crazy. If only my parents could have been like that...then,
probably
I would have woken them up instead of Robert. He continued:

“But did you figure it out what you wanna be?”

“I want to be a writer, a gardener, or even a
chef and travel the
world!”

“And, what’s stoppin’ you?” he asked me calmly.

“What’s stopping me? Everything. It’s just a
dream. It was always a
dream, a farfetched one this time. Dreams are called dreams, for a
reason: they
never become reality.”

“True, by themselves none become reality. Tell
me, when you look at
a caterpillar, what do you see?”

“A caterpillar.”

“Every Tom, Dick, and Harry sees that. But not
me. I see what a
caterpillar turns into. I see a butterfly. A dream is like a
caterpillar, the
only difference is it needs
you
to turn it into a
butterfly.”

“I wish it would be true, but I doubt it’s that
simple.”

“Hell yeah. Tell me, livin’ in Canada wasn’t a
dream? What about
ending up in the sunny land of Oz? Or all those countries you traveled
to? Or
your most precious dream: becoming a lawyer again. I can still remember
that
day: it was two weeks after you landed in Canada. You had no job, no
money, no
relatives, at least none that could count as family, your English was
poor, and
you were crying on the floor all day long. But one day, you told me: ‘I
will be
a lawyer again. I promise.’ That was your dream back then. No one would
have
given you a chance. But, against all odds, you made it. You found a
way. You
turned your dream into reality. So what makes the one you have now any
different
from the others?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know, because there’s nothing to
know. Daring or less
daring, they are all dreams and they can all come true if you have
confidence.
You must believe in your power, their power, the universe’s power. And
it will
happen.”

Robert was right. Stepping down now and playing
by the rules felt
like a sacrilege, like a sin, like an unforgivable and unforgettable
mistake.

 “There are no farfetched dreams,
sweetie, just illusions about what
makes us truly happy. You thought being a lawyer would make you happy.
That was
your dream, but it was also an illusion because now that you’re a
lawyer, you aren’t
happy. Nevertheless, the dream itself came true.”

“You’re right…”

“Am I not always?”

“My wise terrestrial angel. You always make me
laugh.”

“Good. I’ll send you the bill. People that make
others laugh are in
high demand nowadays.”

“I hope you don’t charge in six minutes
increments.”

“I charge in hugs.”

“Then, send me the bill!”

After talking to Robert, I knew, before
condemning myself to a life
of compromise, I had to listen to my inner call once more, reach for
the sky,
and follow my dreams. It might not have been a wise thought, but this
did not
change the truth behind it; it might not have been a safe bet, but
neither was
my journey so far.

I decided to leave behind the comfort and
security of a career in
law and plunge again into the unknown, hoping this time my dream would
be the
right one for me.

Dora’s
Journal Notes

• The one who
  masters his fears, masters
  his destiny.
  
• We are all scared,
  but while some
  become heroes, others become victims.
  
• If you want
  realistic answers, ask
  realistic questions.
  
• A person’s past
  will be more relevant
  than their promises for the future.
  
• In life, we all
  have to have at least
  one person to be fully honest with and if we don’t start with
  ourselves, then
  no one else will have the honor.
  
• Knowing that what
  makes us happy is
  difficult to accomplish, should not be a reason to accept what makes us
  miserable.
  
• If the dream which
  you once had does
  not feel right anymore, don’t be afraid to start chasing a new one.
  
• We should not fear
  our dreams will not
  come true; instead, we should fear they might not be the right ones for
  us.
  
• Sometimes, the
  fastest way to get rid
  of an obsession is to go along with it.