Fear the Crab

The interview went well. They asked questions, I answered them clearly and precisely. I think I made a good impression.

The test was dubious, at best. The multiple choice questions were all based on what is public knowledge of the department’s operation. For example, the tax year for real property is July 1st to June 30th. Real appraisals are conducted as of October 1st. You can file an appeal by January 15th. Stuff like that. I totally bombed that part.

There was a bit of math in the test, but only two questions. The first dealt with statistics. I had to find the median, mode, and mean of nine numbers. Unfortunately, I didn’t know what a mode was, so I got that part wrong. The second question was simply finding the area of the different parts of a house.

So the test has me worried about my chances of getting this job. I don’t know how much weight the test holds, so there’s a possibility that no matter what kind of impression I made, my score on the test would be the ultimate factor to decide whether or not I’m hired. If there’s one silver lining to this cloud, it’s that I told the interview panel that I am easily trainable and a quick learner, and I cited my experience at duty free when I first started (I hardly knew Japanese, and I didn’t know anything about duty free regulations). It is my hope that they will take that into consideration should they look at my test score.

In other news, Maile’s mom finally gave Keoni a choice. He can go to a rehab center and clean up, or he can live on the street. The mom will basically drive down to the psychologist’s office with Keoni and ask what options the idiot has. He’s been acting really weird, and it’s very likely he’s back on drugs. We suspect he even stole a Macy’s gift card we bought for a friend. So this development has put Maile more at ease, because now it seems like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Basically he’s going to be out of the house (which is all she really wants), and he should be getting the help he needs. The rest of the family is sick and tired of helping him out; even the grandmother is beginning to get irritated.

A part of me wonders if Keoni will actually go through with rehab. Ideally he would, and clean himself up and live a peaceful life. Unfortunately, the pessimist (or realist) in me highly doubts he’d go through with it, because he has a problem with rules and with authority. Namely, he can’t handle it. However, regardless of whether or not he goes through with rehab, Keoni will not be at Maile’s house giving her stress, and when it all boils down, that’s the bottom line.