Busy, Busy, Busybusybusy week

My life has been major-busy this past week (ish... it's probably been busy since the start of school, but busy is as busy does, as my momma always says.)

So... Story-time. Gather round your chairs, little-ones. I've got a great story to tell you. (This is a long story. It will take a few minutes to read. It's very detailed. If you don't have the time, but would like to hear the good news, skip down to the bottom. (under the picture) It'll say it as the caption for the picture)

A couple months ago, my wonderful friend Anyha, who works at the Apple Store (in Chandler) told me to come into the store, because Apple is hiring. I jumped right on that. C'mon, who wouldn't want to work at Apple, right?
So I made my way down there, and she introduced me to her managers, and I was all friendly and such. They told me how to submit an application online.

So I did.

This was probably back in the beginning of July.



It was a while before I heard anything. I would bug Anyha... "Anyha, they hate me, don't they? Why haven't I heard back?" "Nate, nobody hates you. You just have to wait. :)" (and yes, she would say "semicolon close parenthesis" -jk, she would just smile)


On September 2nd, I received an email from a woman with an @apple.com email address. The first line of the email was follows.


Nathan Tucker,


You have been selected as a candidate to attend our invitation-only hiring event for the Apple Stores in the Arizona Market!




"Oh My Gosh! I don't even know what this means, but I am super excited!" That's what I said when I read that. I figured a good solution would be to continue to read the email...

So I did.

It told me that I was awesome, and they wanted to hire me. haha, jk. I was invited to a group interview at the Hilton, and I had to select a time and date. (Either Sept 20 or 21st) I decided that although I would have to wait a day longer, I would go on the 21st, because it would work out with my school schedule better. I needed to send an email to request which date and time I would like.

So I did.

I received an email back on September 8th, confirming the date and time, and giving me further details. It told me to dress business casual, arrive early, and bring my resume.

So I did.

The hiring event went superb. I was sure that I would get a call-back, because I was super friendly, a good listener, sociable, and definitely "stood out" (When have I NOT stood out??) They told me to stay near our phones, because if they called us back, they could only leave a message telling us to call them back. They had to actually speak to us to confirm a time to come in for a second interview.

So I did.y

At 7:46PM, (the session ended around 5:45) I received a call from an unknown number. I then remembered that I was supposed to answer any call from any unknown number, so I quickly jumped up, ran down the stairs into my room, shut the door, and answered the door. 

IT WAS A CALLBACK!

OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY!

OH CRAP!

(I have an interview. I'm super nervous... but SUPER excited)

They even called me again, the next day, at 4:32, to confirm the time that I was to meet with the managers to interview. OH BOY! These people are really on top of things! She told me that I didn't need to bring my resume, and I didn't need to wear a tie or anything shnazzy. Just nice jeans and a nice shirt... button down or polo. And she told me to make sure to come early, or if I would be running late, or couldn't make it for any reason, to give them a call, because the manager's time is valuable.

Don't worry, I made it nice and early.

(I bet you thought I was going to write "So I did.")

(fooled you!)

The interview was broken up into two parts. an interview that you would normally have for a job... actually I'm not sure what you normally have, since I've never really had an "OFFICIAL" interview before. All my jobs have kinda just been offered to me... Let's just say the two years of interviews in ACDEC REALLY prepared me for that part of the interview. I used to think that the only thing that class gave me were random facts about the European Renaissance and the history of China. (Which includes the knowledge that global warming climate change isn't an actual problem) Not any more! Thank you Interview portion of the 10-section tournament! (1 out of 10 ain't bad... it'll still get you into the MLB)

However, there was a "how-much-do-you-know-about-the-technology-of-apple-products?" interview. (btw, putting a hyphen in between each word in lieu of hitting the space bar is more challenging than you'd think.)

I wish I would have known about this section. I had not researched Apple products in months! There were some things I knew, but then when he was asking me about other things I hadn't even heard of, I would tell him I had no idea. And then a couple times I think I told him something that was false. OOPS!

I felt half-confident, half-horrified, after leaving the interview. I was seriously stressing. They informed me that I would be receiving an email within the next 24 hours telling me news-whether it be good or bad.

Every single time that my computer made a bell noise (it does that each time I receive a new email) my heart skipped a beat. I was scared of looking at it. I thought it could be a rejection. or worse-they wanted to pay me money to stay away! (ok, maybe that's not worse, but it would still imply that they wouldn't want me, I just couldn't come up with something clever.)

It was during my physics test the next day. Well, right as my teacher started passing out the tests, my phone starts vibrating. I look down at it and see that it's Apple. "Why couldn't they have called 10 minutes earlier!?!"

I slipped it back into my pocket, first nervous, but once pondered upon, realized I had the job... right? Why would they be calling me, unless I was to be getting the job? (Unless it was a LOT of money they were going to pay me to stay away? j/j. <<< that was meant to be j/k, but it was a typo, and I thought it would make you smile Lauren.)

After finishing the test *relatively quick, I left my class, and decided to check why my phone was vibrating a lot. (*relatively quick, especially considering I had left my TI-83 (graphing calculator) at home... I had to then do all the equations in my head, and with a little assistance from a scientific calculator.)

I had missed calls, a few texts from beautiful women (and a man) and a new email. I listened to the voice mail. It was the hiring manager from Apple. (the woman who had sent me the initial emails, as well as walked us through the events and the entire process) She said she had a few questions to ask me, and to call her back. I then opened my email, to see if it was what I thought it was.

And it was!

We were told that the "good news" email would be one requesting information to perform a background check... If we got that email, it meant that Apple was offering us a position, because they are having to pay for  the background check.

And that is what the email was.

WOOHOO! I definitely squealed when I realized that is what the email was. I was already in the parking lot by this time, walking toward my car, and I'm sure that two other people heard my squeal. I don't care. :)

I tried calling her back, but she was out to lunch. on the way home, I decided to go tell my mother first, so I called to see if she was on her lunch break, or if she wanted to meet me for lunch. She works in Dana Park, so we ate sandwiches by the fountain while I told her of the good news.

While I was talking with her, My friend from Apple called me back. :) She just wanted to know what any limitations I had were... They loved me at the interview. She said I was very articulate, friendly, and smart. She wanted to make sure that I would be able to accomplish the responsibilities of the job, and what accommodations, if any, were needed to be provided by Apple.

After talking for about 10 minutes, she informed me that after I completed the form online, and Apple got my background check (I hope I'm clean enough) they'll contact me telling me when I can start and all that jazz. :)

I have been super excited for every waking moment (even while I'm asleep, I'm happy) since I've received the news.

Here is a picture of how excited I am.

Don't worry, I'll comb my hair before going to work my first day as an Apple Specialist. :)

Unless you think it'll help customers feel more comfortable? j/k.

I'd be scared myself.

Well, this post has taken me forever++ to write...

I am now tired.

I want to sleep.

I don't think I'll have time.

I'm going to Anyha's baptism tonight.

I get to speak about the Holy Spirit. :)

Wish me luck. (and wish me luck at Apple. Hopefully I don't get fired the first week)