Interviews

Another weekend in NYC. This time I was there because I had not one, not two, but THREE job interviews. Because I had THREE job interviews, I allowed myself, for the first time in my entire life, to put aside my usual cynicism about the world and skepticism about anything in my own life working out. I started looking for apartments in Williamsburg. I started looking into how costly it would be to move a piano from Boston to New York. I started looking into audio production classes at NYU that begin in October.

And then, not one, not two, but THREE potential jobs sucked beyond all comprehension.

Job 1 - working in a windowless lab studying HIV with the best looking man I've ever met who happens to be only a few years older than me and who doesn't seem to care all that much about science or my credentials; surrounded by miserable people who are afraid of their PI who is a freaky eccentric mad scientist (song coming soon) with shifty eyes and greasy hair who is condescending and called me "naive" and said they'd make me an offer that wouldn't be what I wanted but wouldn't be "insulting" either while he put his feet on his desk

Job 2 - working in a cancer vaccine lab with great people, AWESOME science, and most animated and inspiring PI of all time; the job, unfortunately, is not only the most boring thing ever but also has mad stress associated with it - basically making cancer vaccines for patients which involves tissue culture 100% of the time - au revoir bench science and hello to being paranoid about not being entirely sterile - as if BL2+ wasn't annoying enough!; working with a bunch of women who don't understand molecular biology - my lamenting not having any mini preps or ELISAs or westerns to do would most certainly fall upon deaf ears

Job 3 - working in prostate cancer lab studying something or other under a PI who has No. Social. Skills. - the man can't make eye contact, can't really explain what he is doing or what was really going on in his lab; I met with some random kids in the lab and they were all miserable and inarticulate and antisocial and science-hating; the kid who I'd be replacing is also a FREAK and going to dental school and started showing me where all of his stuff is as if I'd already accepted the job - he showed me cells and gels and various things I didn't care about because the PI is the biggest freak ever (like child molester freaky); and again, no windows, no people, no potential

This is extraordinarily depressing. I don't recommend having three job interviews within 24 hours, especially when they're all dead ends. I don't really know what to do. I know I want to move. I had a fabulous time running around the city, being lost in the city, being alone in the city. It is amazing to me how used to NY I got. Returning to Boston just seemed unnatural. I walked into my bedroom and it was unfamiliar. What I don't know is at what cost I will move. Is it worth it to be in NY with a job I know I'll detest in order to not be here?