Rochester, NY
4:40 PM
Another day in the life of an interviewer. I was set to interview the President of the Rochester District of Key Bank. This a powerful position locally. It’s one of 24 presidents in the company. My Uncle set it up so I wanted to be sure it went well. I reflect on the people that set my interviews up. I left earlier than scheduled (surprise) and made my way downtown to the Bausch and Lomb Building. I hadn’t been there before. Downtown and I are not too familiar, but I had directions from his assistant. So, I was all set, shirt tucked in even, and my business hat on.
I made my way downtown, made a few calls, and got off the highway. My directions said left on Clinton. I went left and ran into the bus station. As in most cities, the bus station is not exactly in the best part of town. I needed to be downtown, not in roughtown. It must have been a sight, me in my North Carolina plates and my teal shirt on through the window, turning around in an apartment complex with a bunch of people outside. I got looks, but turned my way around. I called my dad to play OnStar. He did what he could but I was now on the expressway again. Expletives as time is getting close. I decided to hang up with dad and call Mr. Hess’ assistant, Donna to walk me in. I called the number on the card. “Hello, Leonard Hess.” “Crap, where is Donna?” is all I could think. “Hi, Len, this is Andrew Harrison, I’m a bit out of touch with where I am. Can you or Donna help me get there?” What a first impression to make. “The kid can’t even find his way here. How is he going to find his way across the country?” Here I am with my interview who is a high level business guy with a ton on his plate, taking 7 minutes out of his day to play OnStar. Part of it was cool, because of his view, he could see me down below driving. He walked me in and I made my up, a bit embarrassed. OnStar would be a cool thing to have.
The interview went well. A bank has a perspective on a lot of the goings on locally and nationally. We talked about him, the economy, and banking as a whole. There is a lot more to it than I had imagined. For someone such as myself who shied away from the corporate world, I saw that you can be in that world and still have a personality and a lot of fun, all the while being successful.
I am back home working on my itinerary. It got a bit more interesting last night as a friend of mine will be camping in Maine in mid August. I may try to check that out. Last night also found me beyond my bedtime again. I was in bed at about 3:30 AM. But, I’ve met a lady that I like spending time with and she seems to enjoy my company. It’s weird how these things work. I spoke of timing earlier in the week. I must have been referencing this. I am picky and can poke holes in people. In this case, I enjoy what is taking place and going with the flow. The only issue is that the flow is taking me to Columbus, OH and Philly and New York and all of the places she is not. I haven’t had to think about these kind of things for a long time. It’s strange and fun to have feelings again. Timing makes it hard though.
Back to work.