Saturday, November 8, 2008...02:17 Nov 10 2008
Times Read: 1,523
So, yesterday was an important day for me...it was the day of the exam for a customer service representative position with EBMUD (East Bay Mud - the local water district).
I previously took the sample test I received, and got all of the answers correct. So, I was gung-ho on taking this test, to wait for the next step...
I got up really early - like at 5:30 AM - to be sure I'd be on time, considering that the bus to the local state university campus where the test would be held only ran every hour on the weekends.
I was at that bus stop at 7 AM...the bus was due at 7:42...so, I had time to kill. Read a newspaper, and stared at the sky, hoping that the next downpour would wait.
7:50 No bus...I'm starting to panic now, as I didn't even have enough money for a cab. Two more women joined me at the bus stop - they were headed to the campus for the exam too. The clock kept ticking, and we were getting really pissed off. One woman said that she'd try to call a cab and we could all share it. I told her that I'd appreciate it, but I had no money to pitch in. She said 'Don't worry, hon. If we make it, and one of us gets a job, I'll be happy'...How sweet! So, we all took out our cellphones and called various cab companies. All of them said that they were running with skeleton crews and it would be an hour wait...! We had to be at that test site at 8:30 AM sharp, and no late comers would be allowed in...So, we're really freaking out at this point. A woman overheard our dilemma, and said that she had a cabdriver friend she'd call for us...She got him, and said that he'd be there for us in about 15 minutes...it was about 7:59 by then. She told him to look for three women, and that his name was Singh, so be sure to get him before others tried to take him from us...which wasn't a problem, as one of the three of us was a real barricuda - no way was she letting our cab get stolen!
So, Singh shows up about 8:10. We piled in - letting a fourth guy ride with us too - and raced up the hill to the campus. We jump out, get some directions form a passerby, then run to the test site...up flights and flights of stairs. I had a goddamn asthma attack doing all of that runnin'...lost my two companions, and was almost in tears, thinking "All of this for nothin'...and I'm gonna' collapse and die here in the grass..."
I found the test site, and tried to open the door - it was locked. My companions were in line and motioned for me to try the next set of doors - they were unlocked, thank God. They had me get in line with them - not at the end - and I thanked them, while wheezing like hell. Took out my inhaler - the thing was empty. Crap...
Finally got into the test room...which was a huge lecture hall...filled with hundreds of test-takers! My heart sunk - like how many goddamn people were here for a handful of jobs?
Unfortunately, we three couldn't sit together, as most of the seats were full, and some people were holding seats for friends...I ended up way in the back, in a top tier. I lost my newfound friends, which was too bad, as I wanted to thank them again for getting me there, and get some addresses to send thank you notes...damn.
So, while I'm sitting there daydreaming, adding up the few dollars I had in my head to see what I could buy at the store once I got out, they made an annoucement regarding the position - many of us there assumed that there would be about a dozen jobs available...that was so NOT the case. They said that we were testing for ONE PART TIME POSITION!!! Oh, if you could hear the gasps and grumblings after that. I said to the woman sitting next to me "If I knew that it was only for one part-time position, I wouldn't have even bothered coming here" That was pretty much the consensus of everyone there. But we figured - we got this far - we may as well take the damn test...nevermind that it would be a total of 1,010 people going for this one job...!
The test finally begun...all 3 and a half hours of it, with one break, which I didn't even bother to take.
I froze for the first minute or so, then dove right in. The main part of the test - which was 2 and a half hours, with 165 questions - was actually much easier than the first two timed test. I'm sure I made a few mistakes, but I completed the whole thing before the time was up, which a lot of people didn't do. Do I think I have a shot at that one lil' part-time job? Hell no...
I found my way to the bus stop to go home...hoping that the bastards would be running, since the weren't in the morning...A bus finally showed up, and I got to keep my $1.75 fare because the payment mechanism was broken. Yipee! I sat next to an older woman who asked me if I just took that East Bay Mud exam - I told her yes. She did too, so we struck up a conversation. She said that she got laid off in March (like me) and had seven mouths to feed, including some pets. I told her it was just me, but with 6 cats. We laughed about our situations, and I made a joke about deciding on what to buy to eat, making sure that I'd get my cats food, since I'm resposible for them...when we got to the train station, she dropped her $1.75 bus fare in my tote bag...I said - "Oh no - please keep your money!" I tried to fish out her money from my tote, but she just gave me a hug and quickly took off...wow.
Thanks to the free cab ride, two unpaid bus fares, plus the fare the woman gave me, and some odd change in my wallet, I had about five bucks to spend! I went to the store before I headed home, and got a loaf of bread, a lemon, and 4 cans of cat food to supplement what little I had at home until my next unemployment check.
The day was harried as hell...but because of the unexpected kindness I encountered, my faith in people has not diminished.
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