On Jobs and Pasta Sauce

Inspired by the rainy weather, I've been indoors all day.

I woke up relatively early and then read romance novels, the nonfiction book x+y: A Mathematician's Manifesto for Rethinking Gender, and the Canadian contemporary fiction novel Denison Avenue, until the early afternoon. Then first I practiced Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody on the piano (part of the piece, not the whole thing).

Then I felt strong enough to check my email. I needed to send replies about 1. a recommendation letter from my previous employer, and 2. a potential job! Both were done.

The German test was written as planned last week, after 5 gruelling hours in a courtyard edifice amongst the office complexes of Mitte with ~7 other students and two invigilators. So the gears are set in motion to reapply to university early in June, then if all goes well to start studying in October as an official student instead of a guest auditor.

Last Thursday I had an interview for an office job: My impression: the interviewer had no problem with my work experience or skills, or my demeanour.

But we discussed the drawbacks as well: if I study as well as work, I would not be able to answer phones during the entirety of the company's office hours. Also the office is far away from home and from university. Besides she still needed to interview other candidates.

The interviewer said she'd talk the point about full time vs. part time over with her colleagues. And I felt she liked me and would send the rejection letter with mild personal regret instead of joy. So the interview was a confidence-booster.

Then I applied to work as a salesperson in one of three small pottery shops. It would be 15 hours per week, either in Friedrichshain or Prenzlauer Berg or Schöneberg. There's still an email conversation ongoing!

***

As for the organization I mentioned last time, which replied to my application with a 'mail could not be delivered' auto-reply, I'll try to find the letter they sent me after the days of silence and add it to this blog post.

[Edited to add: and I've found it!

vielen Dank für Ihr Interesse am [redacted] und die Zusendung Ihrer Bewerbungsunterlagen.

Vor allem vielen Dank für den persönlichen Besuch in unsrem Hause letzter Woche!

Wir bitten Sie zunächst um Ihr Verständnis dafür, dass das Gewinnungsverfahren länger als vorgesehen gedauert hat.

(i.e. The email expresses thanks for sending an application, and 'for the personal visit in our abode.' Apologies for hiring process taking so long.

[Not quoted]: The company hired a different applicant who met the requirements even better, and the decision had been difficult amongst so many applications.

The email continued saying that I can monitor their website for future jobs:) 

Sofern Sie weiterhin an einer Tätigkeit beim [redacted] interessiert sind, bitten wir Sie sich jederzeit unter [redacted] über unsere aktuellen Ausschreibungen zu informieren.

] 

I was amused but also furious when I first read the email, because the thanks for visiting them seemed highly sarcastic. But one can give the benefit of the doubt.

***

5 other job applications are pending, all of them (if I recall correctly) for longer hours at larger companies or NGOs.

But I have the feeling I should look again at jobs in the small shops in the neighbourhood.

... I also made penne pasta for the family today. I served it with a pot of 'improvised' tomato sauce made of basil-flavoured passata (shop-bought), a yellow onion, oregano and black pepper and cayenne pepper and tarragon and salt, butter and olive oil, capers and caper brine, tinned plum tomatoes, a few red linseeds because we have expired ones in the pantry that I'd like to make vanish, and stale brown bread.