So close, yet...

Here's what's happening. Thursday lunch I get a call from the guy about a job I applied for two months ago. Translator and interpreter at a Japanese-owned factory in Melbourne. "They just called me and they want someone, and I thought of you" he said. "Got a webcam?" I said I would get one. When can you be ready for an interview? Tomorrow morning? I felt like he was thinking more that afternoon, but I was at work, and it was almost 3 in the afternoon in Melbourne anyway. Okay, tomorrow morning, he said. Let me call them. So he called them, and called me back. Tomorrow at 1 okay? 1 your time. Ok, I said. I applied for the next day off, bought a webcam and set it up that night, and went over what I was told to expect. Short translation test, chat with someone in Japanese. My stomach was churning all night and all morning, and in the morning I went to immigration to get a return visa just in case - three weeks ago I went there to renew my visa (it had expired two weeks previously, and I thought I would be going to jail, but no dramas in the end). Did that, came home. Put a shirt on, tried to go over what I should say if they ask me the usual interview questions. So I get through to a HR lady with Skype, and she sends me two documents to translate, one E to J, and one J to E. The J to E was really easy, stuff I do in my sleep here at my work, like "Problem: a strange noise coming from the left gasket. Countermeasure: Clean and lubricate gasket." Thing was, is was about twenty sentences, a lot of stuff just to type, so it took 15 of the allotted 20 minutes I had to do both. The E-J was easy too, but of course it's harder because I'm not a native J speaker, and I never have to do this at work, but I managed. Sent them back a little late. Then the lady comes back with a Japanese woman, and she asks me a few questions in Japanese, like what do you do in your job, can you interpret, can you start next week? What? They want me to work a week, then come back, then if everyone is happy to give notice to my company and start there after the Christmas break. Until June. Any chance of the position becoming more permanent? I asked. No, not really, they said. Hmmmm. "Something you might want to think about when making your decision," said the HR lady. I took that as, "I wouldn't accept this job if I were you".
The interview basically fell on it's arse about this point. Double whammy of next week start and five month contract. I didn't say no, but I was definitely thinking it. Ah well, nevermind, maybe next time, all that stuff. Then I said goodbye, kind of relieved that I did well, but kind of flat, too, of course. Then the guy calls and asked me how it went. I told him about the temporaryness of it. Mate, he said, this job will get you to Australia. And frankly, if they like what you do, they're not going to let you go and work somewhere else. Happens all the time. And if not, you've got five months to find another job, and you'll have me helping you. You don't have to stay at this place if there's a better opportunity. Much easier to find a job when you're living in the same country it's in. Plus, this place is the biggest factory in Australia. Looks good on the resume. He was very persuasive.
I spend the weekend going back and forth. The first thought I had every morning when I wake up was "No". The last when I went to sleep, "Yes". I don't know what to do.
So after talking to lots of people, this is what I decided to do (as of now, Monday morning). I might not have done as well as I thought in the interview. Maybe I'll be knocked back. But I don't think so. I expect I will get a call today. Yep, they want you, can you start next week? Contract until June. I will say "Yes." See you next week. I will go and work there for a week. What I hope to find when I get there is that I am the best Japanese reader, translator, and speaker, with more experience dealing with Japanese people than anyone else there. The Japanese lady said they need someone for next week because they are expecting visitors from Japan, and they need a translator. It sounds like they have no-one there who can do it. Of course, this lady could do it, but she's a woman, and in Japanese culture, women are people who are there to make tea and giggle. I can do it, though I don't know how well. So I want to go there, show that I have something to offer, that I can fill a need. After that, if they still want someone after their little emergency has been solved, I might say that I want a one-year contract with a three-month probation period, with an eye to permanency. I did, after all, fly in at a week's notice and help them out (I would get paid, of course, but still). If they agree to that, I did it. I got a job in Australia. But if I go there and I feel like I am in over my head, like I'm interpreting at high level meetings and shit like that that I cannot do, and/or there's no movement on the five-month thing, I think I'll say, sorry, maybe next time, please call me when there's something a little more permanent and I'll be down in a flash.
At the moment, I have all the time in the world to find a job. If I accept this five-month deal, I have five months to find a job or I'm unemployed. Why put myself in that position? Unemployed in Australia? Been there, done that. Not much fun either.
After a lot of thinking, this is the best path to take, I think. It has been really helpful to talk to people about it, because I have a tendency to hastily rule stuff out and then not reconsider it. At first I thought, nup, next week, can't do it. Maybe after the Christmas break? But I had a coffee with Nori and he said "How about go next week, and if you like it, go again after Christmas if you want. You will know exactly what's going on, and you can make the decision then. If you don't like it, don't go, or hopefully they will really want you, and you can ask for something a little more solid.
Fuck! Perfect! I hadn't considered it. Before I met Nori, I was ready to reel off all these... demands, really. Like "I'm not going before Christmas. I want a one-year contract" etc when all they would be hearing is "no". Now I can say "yes", and then decide "No" later if I want to with a lot more understanding of what's in store for me, and I'm sure with some goodwill saved up, too, which wouldn't hurt.
...
Monday evening, no call, no mails. Still the same answer, but Jesus I'm sick of waiting for mails or calls from this guy. Tomorrow, hopefully.
Tuesday morning, still no contact. Checked on the internet, not many flights left to Melbourne on the weekend.
Tuesday evening. Just turned 5 in Melbourne. Nothing.
I'm guessing someone has popped out of nowhere and pipped me. When I say nowhere, I mean Melbourne. OR, they are just really slack at responding to stuff, which has been the case in the past.
BTW Tiger won again, didn't he. Not much of a tournament, a charity event with 17 players in it. Not a real tournament. The man is scum, but jeez he can hit some pure golf shots. He played awesome at the Presidents cup, especially the last round, just killed Baddelly who played well too. Hard to beat a 65 though.