(Editor’s note: this post was intended to be posted prior to Pauline’s prior post–apologies from the editor!)

Tomorrow I will be in the friendly skies winging my way to to San Francisco.  The purpose of the trip: business and pleasure.  Sunday will be for walking, sampling culinary delights, and studying.  Monday will be my interview.  My final round superday for a San Francisco firm I would love to work for.  I don’t want to reveal too much but the firm is an international one with a fantastic reputation and great growth potential.  San Francisco is a fantastic city, and my parents, who I am extremely close with have told me they wouldn’t mind re-locating to that neck of the woods.  This could be a win win for me.

The more interviews I do the more I realize the fit has to be right and the location is important.  The older I get, and I am getting old, the more I realize what is truly important.  Its not money, though money is important, it provides independence, mobility, opportunities.  My parents are important to me.  Time together is a precious commodity and I am willing to pay a premium for it.  But getting a GREAT job AND my parents near by…that is a match made in heaven.  So there is a good deal of pressure riding on this interview.

Stepping back slightly, I try not to get nervous as I pack and re pack my bags.  So what does one bring for just over 24 hours in San Francisco?

1.  Interview attire, blouse, jacket, skirt (all wrapped in plastic to avoid wrinkles), good shoes and two pairs of pantyhose (simple jewelry);

2.  Umbrella, padfolio, contact info, company info to brush up on;

3.  Computer and smartphone;

4.  Cosmetics for the ‘interview face’ and similar toiletries;

5.  a ‘play’/’fun’ outfit and comfy shoes for when I am on my own

Not a lot of objects, just exactly what I need.  My advice to anyone right before the superday: the day before, do something fun!  Well, trekking through the hills of San Fran sounds like it could be the perfect remedy for me.  It looks like rain, but that doesn’t bother me.  I have done my due diligence, I feel prepared.  I want to savor these moments of being involved and wanted by firms.  Now isn’t the time for self-doubt.

Lest I use a quote: “Being loved deeply by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage” Lao Tzu 600 BCE

Stay tuned for updates,

Pauline