Things I’m Still Mad About
An incomplete list
· That job interview where I drove to a whole different city several hours away and we had a great meeting and then they never even bothered to let me know that I hadn’t gotten the job
· That writing retreat where everyone, literally every single other attendee, won a door prize in the final-day drawing except me
· NutraSweet
I’m not all that much of a grudge-holder — I’m actually pretty optimistic and forgiving, not to mention forgetful — but some things have stuck in my craw over the years.
We all have these things, I think. The ones that float through your mind when you lie awake at two in the morning. The ones that ambush you out of nowhere, sparked by an innocent reminder. When you suddenly find yourself seeing red and muttering, Damn it, how could they, what the actual f***, why didn’t I…
What ties them all together, I wonder? An injustice, certainly; but more personal than just that. The world is full of injustice (oh boy is it ever).
But I only return to mull over the injustices that happened to me.
Like that job I didn’t get. They told me that only two people had made it as far as the interview stage, me and one other. This was pre-internet, but how hard could it have been to make…
