Life lesson #56

Never use liquid detergent in a dishwasher.

Because no matter how small the amount, it WILL cause a flood in your kitchen.

Don't worry, I've already done it once before. I just felt the need to remind myself of it again today. I figured if I used a smaller amount of liquid soap, the dishwasher wouldn't overflow like it did last time. I even rolled up a small hand towel to stuff under the door of the dishwasher and turned it on the short cycle, just to be safe while testing it out.

But, a few minutes later, I returned to the kitchen and found it looking much like a bubble bath.

oops...

On the bright side, I can check "mop kitchen floor" off my to-do list.

The last question.

It's the question that few people think to prepare for in a job interview. Or maybe I'm the only one that forgets about it...

Perhaps it's because you've already spent so much time preparing your answers to the typical job interview questions: "Why do you want to work here?", "What's your greatest weakness?", "What kind of experience do you have?", etc...and you don't think about that ever-so-important last question.

Perhaps it's because you're already so confident that you'll get the job, you don't think that last question will mean much when all is said and done.

Perhaps it's because you expect to walk in there and astonish them so much with your brand new professional attire and charming demeanor that they'll just hand you the job before you even have to answer the first question.

And then, sitting in that chair in your well-cooked state, having endured 15-20 minutes of grilling...the interviewer shuffles his papers and says,

"Do you have any questions for me?"

Crap.

You frantically start racking your brain for one last shred of creativity and intelligence that will mask the fact that you didn't do your homework. You don't know enough about the company to ask an intelligent question with regards to the position your interviewing for or the infrastructure of the company as a whole. So you timidly offer some weak, nuts-and-bolts question about the hiring process or the shifts you'd be working.

The interviewer peers over the rims of his glasses with a look that could burn holes in your skin. It's the look that says, "You've just made my job so much easier. Thank you for making a complete fool of yourself." He calmly answers your question and then waits to see if you'll think of something better to say. But you can't.

Way to go, tiger.

He stands up and shows you to the door, tells you he'll make a decision by the beginning of next week, and sends you and your mangled ego out into the cold, rainy day.

It's that last question that makes all the difference.

A long time comin'

So, there's this documentary that I've been working on with my dear friend Kim...
and it's ALMOST DONE!!!

(Remember that time I went to Ghana? Well, this is what we went there for.)

The film is about a project to bring light to children who don't have electricity by installing electricity-generating merry-go-rounds at their schools. The electricity from the merry-go-round charges LED lanterns that the children can take home and use for nighttime studying.

It's titled "A Turn for Ghana: Bringing Light to the Children of Africa." We're premiering it on the 25th at BYU. The invites have been sent out. The final touch-ups are being made to the film before we burn it to a DVD. I've got my outfit all picked out and ready to go. And I have to say this is by far the most challenging/rewarding project I have ever worked on.

Kim and I have put in well over 300 hours in planning, writing, interviewing, traveling, and editing. I've laughed, I've cried, and sometimes I've just gotten downright frustrated with it all. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I've learned how to use a new type of editing software (mostly through trial and error), I've become a much better scriptwriter, I've become a better interviewer, I've learned new editing techniques to make the story flow, I've learned how to edit and use music to add emotion to a story, I've become better organized while keeping track of production tasks...I could go on.

This has been my full-time job for the past three months, and I'm not getting paid to do it. I've hardly noticed, though, because it's been so much fun. It's been a long time coming, but I've loved the experience.

I think I might cry when it's finished...