An encounter
It was ambiguous to know who passed on my CV to Stephen. He sounded easy-going,
though a bit cynical, weather-beaten on the phone. It was morning that I told my
friend about the interview. There was possibility that I might get experience in interpretation, without actually going for interpretation exam in time.
My friend was far from chufted about that. Actually he was near to the opposite.
When I looked hard on map to find Knight Hotel, where Stephen accommodates, my
friend seemed indifferent and slow to my response. It was until later, after saying a few gibbers, that he told me his apprehension and reserve on this. I accepted it: Of course He should trust me that I wouldn’t let my odd jobs butt in our pre-arranged plan. I know priority.
I called Stephen I would be available at 9:30 A.M. on Saturday, and apologized not to be able to make it any time before that. He seemed understanding and forgiving against the odds. So, after hanging up the phone, I tried to finish pilesof things set to be done on Saturday in order to make the interview at due time.
It was time-consuming to find the road he pointed to and then his hotel. He didn
’t speak Mandarin that resulted in misunderstanding on the address; that his exaggeration of the convenience aggravated the misunderstanding. Take off line 2,
walk northward, go to the crossroad of Dong Fang Road and Shang Chen Road, a mustard building with blue window would be seen by the road. Easy.
There were several ambiguities in it. First he couldn’t tell the road correctly
. He messed up the tone of the road’s name that I couldn’t find it on the map.
Secondly, his description of only five minutes walk from subway stop was an exaggeration; it took me twenty five minutes to get there eventually. Thirdly, his
hotel was by the road, but definitely not distinctly visible. It was behind a high-rise, which blot out his building totally if you see it on Shang Chen Road.
Basically I was knackered when I got there to knock on his door. Then door open,
there was he: ruddy face, bloated figure, and striding gait with a pretentious
look. I apologized for my being late despite of his part being given misleading
information. Introducing me to the sofa, he started to ask me random questions,
some of which really made me uncomfortable. He mentioned her girlfriend was a therapist, he got an Australian passport for her, and working for him would boost
up my CV in future, since no one but he was the authority in the field. I was not impressed.
You had better find one that could help you get out of China. That’s what he implied. But he forgot not every Chinese girl who dated with foreign expats eyedon their pocket and foreign citizenship. And not every one who would be willingto boost up his/her CV in order to work for multinational enterprises. I got
pissed off by his rude questions and presumptions. I was penitent that I had blamed my friend to state the pointlessness of the whole thing.
Walking out of his door, EVENTUALLY, I stepped into the elevator with relief. He
was the freakiest guy I had ever come across, to be honest. In the end he kept
saying that he would have interviewed other candidates, if he hadn’t got impressed by my language proficiency and personal manners. But he forgot interview was
a mutual process. Why would I want to work for somebody who was self-centered,
and didn’t have respect for other people’s privacy? It was politeness that I sat there and listened to his boosting and tolerated his conceited manners. Basically, he forgot not every one would get impressed by his CEO title, sumptuous accommodation, and mostly his conceit and air of self-importance.
