Wierdness

[eurydicebound]

On Monday, I'm expecting a "phone screening" from Wizards of the Coast, ostensibly regarding the editor position for which I applied last month. I believe this is the stage wherein they decide if it's worth paying for plane fare to fly me out to Renton for an actual interview. I am torn between being utterly nonplussed, madly researching schools and apartments, and just ignoring it entirely.

Y'know, if I thought I'd actually get the position, I'm not sure I would have applied for it. I like what I do. I like staying home and freelancing. But... such a thing, with benefits and in a place I've wanted to live for years now, not reliant on the husband at all for regular income... Sigh. I am aimlessly adrift once more, with a shore in sight that is filled with possibility, and yet leaves me utterly fearful and longing for the things I may be leaving behind. Oh, and just to top it all off, I don't even know yet if I'm still tied to the dock or not, or if I'm actually going anywhere at all, to continue the metaphor a bit.
Just once, I'd like these sorts of things to be a bit more clear cut, you know? I think I'll send that up in my next Departmental Reality Memo.

But in the meantime.... if there are any Seattle-area people who would care to comment on schools, neighborhoods, suburbs, etc., your input would be highly appreciated (if potentially moot). :)

Comments

[bruceb.livejournal.com]

The good news is that there are a bunch of pleasant neighborhoods readily accessible to folks working at WotC. I personally would propagandize for Kirkland, a little cheaper and somewhat more neighborhood-y than Bellevue or Redmond. On the other hand, there are some great areas on the eastern side of Redmond, too - friends of mine live in a little side lane with genuine forest for their backyard.

As nearly as I know, the schools are good throughout the east side. (That's the area on the east side of Lake Washington; Seattle proper is between the lake and Puget Sound.)

You would not, I think, want to live on the west side of the lake, because the bridges get really jammed up but good during rush hour. Mercer Island's a possibility, if the prices are good; it's a nice place.

[iamnikchick.livejournal.com]

Um, Bruce? WotC is in Renton, Renton is in the South End. Kirkland would be unnecessarily out of the way, and she'd have to pass through the Microsoft mess of commuters to get there. ;)

South Seattle, Tukwila, Renton itself (which they're doing a good job of refurbishing with a transit center and a large farmer's market, if that's your bag), Kent or Auburn would be places to look if you're a WotC staffer, I think.

[bruceb.livejournal.com]

Why does my brane keep telling me WotC is in Redmond? Anyway, you're right.

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Because WotC and Microsoft are the 800 lb. gorillas in their respective fields? :)

I've been doing research online this weekend, and what I'm finding is that Renton looks fairly nice and has affordable apartments, but the school ratings are not as good as I'd like. South Seattle has more variability in schools, including some I'm more interested in, but I can't seem to find apartments in the area easily, since I don't know what is where yet. I also don't really know how far apart everything is from everything else, travelwise. I know it's only a few miles on the map, but I've no idea how that translates out into traffic and such.

[eyebeams.livejournal.com]

Buck up! I fully plan on riding your coattails to success!

As someone who's benefitted enourmously from your editorial work, I earnestly hope you take this in the direction you want.

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Pshaw. I mean, thanks, but I doubt the "enormously" bit. Don't sell yourself short. :)

[thatcash.livejournal.com]

w00t! Go Anaka!

[themoocow.livejournal.com]

Congrats! And I say chase the job for all it's worth. In this day and age, telecomuting is becoming more and more common. You do your work from home /now/, why couldn't you do alot of it from home as a full time editor? Obviously, I'm not an expert on what editors do, but I find it hard to believe you couldn't work from home a few days a week.

Heck, I know engineers who work from home. This one guys work 3 days out of a five day week at home. When he finishes a design he just logs into the office network remotely and sends it to the printer. Then he calls someone up and has them grab it off the printer and drop it in the Boss's box.

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Well, primarily because I don't know how they feel about such things. Ideally, I'd be salaried or something and be able to go into the office while the kids are in school, then pick them up and go do work from home. Dunno how they'd feel about that, though. Most bosses don't seem too enthused about such things. :)

I also don't know how they'll feel about that whole ADHD "must get up and wander every hour and a half" sort of thing. Not that I plan to bring it up first thing, mind you, but it is something to consider. FASA's the only place I've ever worked that didn't mind.

[themoocow.livejournal.com]

As I said, it's becoming more and more common. As is "Flex time", according to an article I read in the Chicago Sun Times. If you can't expect a game company to be on the liberal cutting edge of work policies, who can you count on?

As for the ADHD thing, they don't really have a choice. I believe it is protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (after some amendments in the late 90's).

In the end, the best option is to chase it. When they offer you the job, that's when you negotiate things like telecommuting and such. Worst that happens is they offer a job, then you turn them down.

[maliszew.livejournal.com]

Good luck. I did one of those phone screenings at WotC and it wasn't a great experience for me. I suspect it's because I kept being honest and answering questions the way I felt they should be answered instead of what my interviewers were hoping I would say, but I can't be sure, since they never explained in their follow-up call why they went with someone else. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't get the job, but I was bitterly disappointed at the time.

That said, I suspect you'll have a much better shot at this than I. You've more than got the chops for the work and WotC obviously thinks well of you. Good luck!

[anaka.livejournal.com]

So what sort of things did they ask?

[maliszew.livejournal.com]

Mostly they asked me about decisions WotC had made or might make in the future in developing their existing or hypothetical properties. I remember being asked about how I'd handle spellcasters in a putative Lord of the Rings RPG, for example. They also grilled me about a design test I took for them, which was basically a very short D&D encounter. They asked me to defend almost every design decision I made, right down to word choices. I recall being asked whether using the term "ecstasy" in relation to a psychotropic fungus was appropriate or not. Weird stuff.

I do not think they liked a lot of what they heard from me.

[elissa-carey.livejournal.com]

Good luck - I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you. :)

[metallian.livejournal.com]

Rock on!

I know how it feels to get all excited about a potential far-off job, yet nervous about leaving what you've got, but it is always cool when someone takes an interest in you like that. :)

[anidada.livejournal.com]

I'll keep my fingers crossed that it all works out well, whatever happens. *hug*

[trollbabe.livejournal.com]

Good luck, lady.

I remember when we were preparing to move to Madison, I spent a lot of time wondering just what the hell I thought we were doing. I kept thinking, "This can't work out, this is so going to bite me in the ass" etc. etc.

But, for a shock, it all worked out really really well. I'm hoping the same will happen for you - you just have to keep on truckin'. :)

[anaka.livejournal.com]

I've got friends from San Francisco/San Jose north to Victoria, including a few in Seattle itself. At the very least, I shouldn't be lacking for a gaming group if I end up out there. :)

I've always heard it's nice, but I've never been. It would be nice to scam a free trip out for a day or so, even if that's all it ended up being.

[joarree.livejournal.com]

congratulations! good luck to you, sweetheart.

[jeff-preston.livejournal.com]

Seriously, the Pacific Northwest is awesome. Beautiful country with tons of stuff to do, and the climate is mild. You have actual seasons but none of them are extreme. The rain everyone talks about is an exaggeration. The people are different from other places in the states: very laid back and cool (excepting the imports). I know it's a huge generalization but from growing up in Texas, living on the east coast, the midwest and the deep south...the PNW is by far the best IMO.

As far as the job, it's good experience to give it your all in the interview process. Even if you get it you don't have to take it. Besides, you'd be able to telecommute quite a bit.

[tfbretz.livejournal.com]

Good luck! Remember, you're not just an experienced writer and editor, your an ENnie Nominated Writer and Editor. Kick ass and take names!

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Thanks to everyone for the good wishes. They are greatly appreciated, really.

Things seem oddly copacetic so far. I told my parents, the ones I expected to freak out the most about the possibility. My mom frowned a bit wistfully and wished there were a Seattle, Texas, and my dad commented that he'd always wanted to travel out that way.

Of course, I can't concentrate to work on squat, which is not good. I keep trying to, and then end up back surfing websites for info on the area. When research is your coping tool, it tends to make work difficult. :) Better than video games, though, I guess.

[innocent-man.livejournal.com]

Yeah, get back to work! :)

Seriously. Hope it goes well for you, and that, if you do get the job, WotC is as reasonable as my employers about working from home.

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Trust me, I'm still working. :) I've been doing far better today, honest. :)

You Rock those Wizards!!!

[stoictruebrujah.livejournal.com]

Well you should follow your dreams ; ). I wish you so much luck it's not even funny.

Seattle is GORGEOUS!!!! While I don't know much about the school system (it seems schools are pretty crappy everywhere), I know that it's a beautiful area with a lot of affordable culture, museums, parks, recreation, student youth organizations in theater, dance and alternative religions (such as wicca), summer camps as well as your normal religions (Jewish and Christian), a decent transportation system, and beautiful Puget Sound water waifing about! I loved Seattle as a kid. Not to mention you've got your raving liberal Pacific Northwesterners who care about issues like education, enviornment and health care. There's also a regular summer weekend Renn Fayre somewhere not far for Seattle that's a joy to go to - in the summer you can volunteer to help out and whatnot. There are so many great coffee and tea houses (unlike Manhattan) and the air is breathable. My friend's suburb had that nice safety of a suburban neighborhood, but it didn't feel like your typical plastic suburb to me (though I know those exist as well). It felt quaint with a little bit of an older edge (sort of like Jersey suburbs but without all the factory smell, garbage and crime). Vashon Island (and others like it) is a quiet safe island (last I checked it was affordable but I'm not sure about that anymore - I know my mom considered moving there), and the city in and of itself is pretty safe. The air is clean, and while it's rainy it has that 'mystic' feel. There's plenty of exercise to be had as well - what with all those hills.

The summers are never too hot and the winters don't get nearly as cold as they do on the east side of the Rockies. Everything is green, silver blue and beautiful, and I really hope I can live in Seattle when I'm done with New York City and my degrees in higher education. (The bad news for Academics is there aren't too many University jobs in the Pacific Northwest, but the good news is most of them are in Seattle). I'm sure your kids will have a lot to get involved with at any age, and I'm sure they'll love the University District coffee houses when they're in highschool.

The only down side to Seattle is you have to be 21 to go to the clubs (for parents, this might be a good thing!). To be honest, unlike Portland, Oregon, there's much more for a 15-20 year old to do in Seattle.

Good Luck!

[jasonlblair.livejournal.com]

Rock, I said rock the rock on. Rock rock, rock the rock on.

That's not going to sound nearly as cool to everyone else as it does to me right now.

Phone interviews, baby: They are what they are. Just remember: No can you see nod on the phone (which is how I get through most face-to-face interviews). Try not to yell at any children or animals while on the phone either. ;)

[trollbabe.livejournal.com]

Another bit of phone interview advice: as hokey as it sounds, I have found it to be true - your voice sounds different if you're smiling. So, you know, don't let the fact that they can't see you dissuade you from it.

[thebitterguy]

I have nothing to add to previous callers except further wishings of good luck. You'll slay em, I'm sure.

[mearls.livejournal.com]

That's really cool. Go forth and kick ass!

Seattle is a nice place. I've been looking at real estate prices out there, and I was surprised how reasonable they are.