Job Interview Today (Old Post from 2016)

Sometime in summer 2016 is started and never finished this post. Well, why waste it? Here is a nice look back at when I interviewed (and did not get) a new job. 11 years later, I don't even remember going to this interview. This was pre-COVID, so everything was in-person. I don't even remember the name of the company!  

Wouldn't you hire this guy to teach you about technology? 

(way back in 2016....)

I have a job interview with a company that has little to do with international activities. I would be teaching computer technology to government workers around the country. Technical Trainer is the title I believe and I interview for this new job in less than an hour from now. Many of you who read this blog are thinking about or have already applied for business schools in Japan and here in the U.S. 

An interview at a job is a lot like an interview at a business. You have to convince the interviewer that you will be an asset to the company and that they will benefit as much as you will if hired. I'm wearing a black and gray suit but the jacket is a little wrinkled. It's too late to worry about that right now. I just need to try to relax and make sure I ask the right questions. 

• "What are your benefits?" 
• "What are my avenues for advancement in the company?" 
• "What kind of hours will I need to put in on a day to day basis." 

I want to make sure that this is not a 12 hour a day job. It will only pay a little more than $5,500 more a year so I have to make sure it is the right move for me and that I will not become a salaryman!

What do you guys think? Let me know! Please enjoy the latest podcast and tell me what you think about that one as well.

(2026 Michael here again, I don't even remember what Podcast I was doing back then!)

Spring Time Idioms

 

It's Spring time and my cherry tree is about to burst with color. Spring is traditionally the time of renewal and a chance to begin again. When I lived in Japan the school I taught in (and all schools for that matter) started their year in Spring, not in the Autumn like we do in the U.S. I always thought that was a wonderful idea. 

Here are some idioms for this time of year that maybe you can sprinkle into your conversations in English. Remember, if you want to practice with me, you can set-up a one-on-one casual English conversation with me. Just follow this link for details. 

• The heavens open - When it suddenly starts to rain heavily. "As soon as we left the house, the heavens opened and we were soaked to the bone." What makes this idiom slightly different from the classic "it's raining cats and dogs" is the suddenness of the rain. 

• No spring chicken - Means that someone is quite old or well past their youth. "How old is the gym teacher?"  "I don't know, but he's no spring chicken for sure." 

• Fresh as a daisy - Someone who is as fresh as a daisy is lively and attractive, in a clean and fresh way. "I met Susan for breakfast after the long night of karaoke. Unbelievable, she looked as fresh as a daisy!"

• One swallow does not a spring make - One piece of evidence does not mean that something is definitely the case or is going to happen. "I know you're excited about getting your vaccine, but you can't go out maskless yet, and one swallow does not a spring make." 

Enjoy your spring and get outside (but bring an umbrella)! 

- Michael 

What Makes a Great Jingle?

Hello and congratulations for making it through another week! In the U.S.A. and other countries around the world, we have been mostly self-quarantining ourselves in our house this week. Social Distancing is the new phrase in our collective zeitgeist and boy-howdy, can it be a challenge. Our family lives in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and we have closed our schools and have been directed to work from home. The good news is that working from home is possible for both my wife and I so we can continue to provide for our children. It does make it difficult to work though when you have two young children in the house and you have to not only keep them entertained, but also educated. As a former Junior High School and Elementary school teacher I have some experience, but it's definitely a full-time job.

One of the things I have been doing is playing old commercial jingles for my children. If you are like me, you don't really watch a lot of live television anymore. We mostly watch on-demand programing. Netflix, YouTube and the like. So we don't generally ever see any commercials anymore. For my children, these old commercial jingles are just short songs. And I think that's what makes them so memorable. Some of the best jingles are very very old. One of the shortest but memorable is the one for Jello which has been around for almost 100 years.

So I thought I would link to a few of my favorite jingles here for your enjoyment.

Here is one of the oldest Jello radio commercials. Back in the 1930s radio programs would have one advertiser for the entire show. The Jack Benny Show was sponsored by Jello for years and years. 

Classic commercial from my youth, Kit-Kat! One of the world's most popular candy bars. Now I was one.

I have never bought this cat food but I will never forget this jingle! Classic!

And maybe the most famous one of all! The Coke commercial that was translated into many different languages. Did you have this one in your country?

Hang in there if you can't leave your house! Send me your favorite commercial jingles!

- Michael

To Lick Someone's Boots - What? Why?

Why would someone want to lick someone else's boots? Well, this idiom refers to someone who is trying to please a person, usually a superior at work, often in order to obtain something, often not seen as genuine to others.

An example would be "Roger is licking the manager's boots in the hope of obtaining a pay rise." 

It can be easy to see why this would be a negative idiom, in the sense you wouldn't use this to compliment someone. We have other idioms similar to this one. To "butter up" someone is to complement them in order to curry favor. Though not 100% positive, it's far better than the image of licking someone's footwear.

We can assume the the original message behind this week's idiom is that when spoken, we are to see what the "boot licker" is doing is not condoned appropriate or is irksome. If you find yourself in a conversation with a co-worker and this idiom is being used, know that this isn't friendly banter, this is someone angry with another and letting you know about it.

Does your language have something similar? I would love to know!

Cheers,

Michael