of the room.  There were shelves behind the door that held lots of bits of things and they overflowed on to the floor.  The makeshift desk was really a piece of plywood with legs and it was raised up rather high, like a bench rather then a desk.  It had a cheep little shelf above it that held all kinds of cups that had office items stuffed into them.  And of course it had tea bags, and teacups and stirrers.  This area was apparently the office/staff break room.  In the corner was a large bin (trash) for recycling of newspapers and cardboard and another bag for trash. It had a very unsafe looking electric heater (remember – a must have in all Irish homes- and business’s too apparently!)  And prominently on the desk/bench was the hardest working peace of equipment in Ireland – the electric kettle!  This kettle was so old and used that it had duck tape holding it together-I was sure it was a safty hazard and it really didn’t look all that clean to me!  I would be afraid to even use that thing!
 
Margaret sat down on a tall stool and I just stood.  She didn’t ask me one thing about my work history.  She didn’t ask me if I had a CV (I hadn’t at the time).  She said that it was only a part-time job for filling in for lunch’s and breaks and it would include weekends.  I said that was fine, I was a photographer and it would give me plenty of time to go out and shoot the area for the card company.  One of the only real questions that she asked was where was I living?  It seems that she is only interested in hiring someone from Westport town.  Reason being that I might only be working a few hours here and there and she didn’t want problems with travel.  I said I was living at the hostel and looking for accommodations in town, because I didn’t have a car.  She said “Great!”
 
I had sample of my Art-cards with me and I showed them to Margaret and she showed great interest.  She said that she had contacts with some companies that might be interested in selling my cards if the price was right and she might sell them in her store.  She said that she commissioned a woman to do some shots for her, she told her exactly what she was looking for and the woman didn’t do anything she wanted, but maybe I’d be able to get it.  I said that I would show her what I had on the computer to see what she was looking for.
 
Our interview was the oddest, she never asked me what I did, how I worked or anything that pertained to the actual job, plus she never asked me if I had a work visa- I took the old army view “Don’t ask – don’t tell”.  The interview ended with her telling me that she another interview set up for the next day with another American and she will get back to me.
 
I didn’t have a lot of hope about this job.  Why would a part-time job be interested in a work visa situation?  Or would she hire me under the table or on the books without a work visa?  I didn’t know- but I applied, that’s all I could do.
 
Over the next few days I waited for a call, then on the third day I decided to stop in and see what was up.  I asked for Margaret and the tall drink of water said that she was out ill.  Then things changed in my life again and I kind of forgot about the job. Figured she did what most employers of small companies do- forget to call and notify applicants that they didn’t get the job.
 
But here I got a call about 3 weeks after I applied.  Margaret said that she was out of work all this time with a chest infection. She said that she would like to give a week or so try out and we’d see how it goes.  I was to start on Wednesday!
 
It’s amazing, when things look the worst, the sun breaks through…as least a crack and sometimes that’s all we can hope for, and it’s usually all we need to get back on the road forward.
 
So I was still in temporary accommodations, but it is with a wonderful loving family, I just got a job- even though I don’t know what my hours would be, I have no idea of the pay, I don’t know what I’ll be doing, and I was no longer in Westport town- the only one thing she insisted on,  …But it was something – it was a crack, and I guess that was all I really needed.
 
 
Kym