Shutting the door, she turned facing me sitting on the floor. “How much longer?”

“How much longer what?”

“Until we start moving forward with our…

“You don’t have any experience. You know what you need to do? Come work here so you can get your nose bloodied a few times.”

I don’t remember how I responded. I think I said “okay.” The subject changed and a few minutes later his time was up. The interview ended, and they walked me out of the office. As I walked down the hall, I was still sweating, exhausted,…

“You know what your problem is? You read too many of those self improvement books.”

I didn’t feel anything that moment. I accepted her words and moved on.

I don’t process things people say in real time. Later when we were apart, I thought about the words she said. Then I felt it; her words cut through…

“We went to SourceCon last year.” Interrupting him mid sentence, I asked, “How was that?”

I always wanted to know if it was worth the cost. “Would I gain anything by attending the conference?”

His face hardened a bit, I could see from the tightness in his face muscles that he had not been impressed.…