Wracked with ambivalence....

Well, it's been a while since I've checked in, largely because I spent most of last week out at the cottage, where the fastest dialup speed is somewhere near that of paint drying. Let's see, what's been happening?

First: The interview. I cannot say for certain how the interview went, though there are a lot of reasons why the job would be cool and a lot of reasons why it would sap the life force out of me in a matter of weeks. The cool: Varied, challenging work; chance to learn about magazine production; nice offices; and only two business trips a year. The worrisome: One-and-a-half hours' commute (each way--yes, three hours/day in the car); cubicle/workstation, not real office; 40-hour work week; time sheets; and very little autonomy (they call it "collaborative," some may call it "control freaks with red ink"). The unknown: Salary and benefits (they are among Fortune's 100 best places to work and have a lot of cool benefits on their Web site; that said, I learned in the interview that one of these cool benefits--telecommuting--is not available for this position. One wonders what else is/isn't available, you know what I mean?).

Sign from God or sign of mental instability? While waiting for the managing editor who was going to interview me (yes, I got there way early), I sat in a reception area that was next to a huge fish tank. In the tank, at the bottom, was a bright yellow tropical fish on its side, breathing its last. It stared at me the whole time I waited, and I had a hard time not staring back, thinking it was saying, "Don't do it! This could be you!!"

Second: The dentist. I entered the dentist thinking I was going to find out why my root canal has gone bad after only four years. Instead, I left the dentist with an appointment for another root canal and a nagging feeling I have been sold a bill of goods by a guy with no neck. Here's the thing: My original dentist sent me to this place, I thought, to learn why my root canal failed; instead, they took x-rays and came back to tell me I needed my root canal redone--no word on why. When I asked, they gave me the standard "These things happen" line, even though the literature in their waiting room said that root canals are supposed to last the life of the tooth. That, and the fact that the hygenist chided me for not being happy to be there (even saying that if my attitude didn't improve, she was going to send me outside and make me come back in until I got it right--as if I would come back in if she sent me outside, for pity's sake) and the dentist looked like a steroid-abusing Arnold wanna-be, set what was left of my teeth on edge.

The rub? I have been getting increasingly miffed about this, for the lame excuses and evasions peddled in that endonontics office were very similar to those I've heard in the past from contractors doing (shoddy) work on our house. In fact, it was so similar, I found an analogy leaping to mind (Linda's the analogy czar around here, usually). Here it is: If I put 30-year shingles on my roof and they failed after four years, I would call the contractor. If he sent another contractor who looked at the roof and said, "Yes, you need a new roof--that will be $[Insert an obscene sum here]," that would be about the scenario I encountered Friday.

I would be the lamest consumer in the world if I just said, "Okay, put on a new roof," right? What of the manufacturer's liability for selling 30-year shingles that last just four? What of the original contractor's role in their performance?? Well, that's the way I feel about this root canal business and I've got a call into my dentist to tell him I was not impressed by the place he sent me, or how my failed root canal is being handled.

Being Midwestern, Catholic, and the youngest in my family, I find being assertive as comfortable as a hair shirt, but happily, I find the prospect of rolling over for Dr. No-Neck and his pesky hygenist even more discomforting, so here goes....

That's enough for now, don't you think? Am looking at a very busy workweek, but it ends with comedy--so there's hope!