I parked in the street about 2 blocks from the building, which seemed quite reasonable until I had to get out and actually walk those two blocks. It wasn't uncomfortable; it was painful. No, literally. I was really wondering about the possibility of frostbite on the tops of my ears and kicking myself for being too fashionable for a hat. (Although, honestly, who wants to do an interview with hat hair?) The interview was very pleasant and included a cup of tea, but the walk back to the car later was almost as bad. I can't decide whether my sunglasses were a good thing, blocking some of the wind from my face, or a bad thing, conducting cold more efficiently to the bridge of my nose.
Elizabeth had suggested that I visit the Milwaukee Public Market for lunch, with its sushi and oysters on the half shell and kickin' Indian food. The place had been under construction when I last worked downtown, so I'd never had the chance to explore it. Unfortunately, Garmin failed me - my GPS insisted that the market was in a parking garage that turned out to be another 2 1/2 blocks from the actual location. Once again I decided to walk rather than trying to move the car closer, and once again I regretted it. This time, the tops of my ears were definitely starting to go numb and I seriously considered ducking into a few establishments on the way up the street purely for reasons of safety. Come think of it, I was probably still quite chilled from my trip back to the car from the office, exacerbating the whole situation.
I did make it, though, and I could see why the Market would be a lovely incentive (in warmer weather) to working downtown. It reminded me of the market in LA which Julie, Tasha & I visited - the one where James Dean had his breakfast on the day he died. Thief Wines bears closer investigation, and my falafel sandwich was just right. I took home some inari and a half-dozen cunningly wrapped blue point sliders with fresh horseradish for dinner, and had some chips of candied ginger as a treat. I even have some barbecued salmon and dolmehs for lunch on Friday! (Tasha asked mournfully if I'd brought home any "normal" food?)
Later, I picked up the last copy in stock of the Prayer Shawl Companion book at Borders so I could present it as a gift to the library at Moon Beach in February. I couldn't resist showing the clerk the page with my pattern and photo, and we both giggled a bit about how "cool" that was. And I topped my "hunter/gatherer" efforts off with a visit to a second-hand clothing store, where I found an absolutely fabulous vintage winter dress coat that Pat Nixon would have been proud to wear. Red wool with flecks, very warm, and cut generously enough to comfortably accommodate all the extra layers this weather calls for. It even matches my extra-warm "candy cane wool" hat, the one I made with the left-overs from Christy's hat. True, this is not a coat for featuring one's curves in a fetching manner; but it's funky and warm and I like it.
Going back to the interview - once again, I see these people as pleasant to work with and the position as viable. It's wonderful to feel hopeful and even have the potential for choices. We'll just have to see how it all pans out.
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