Job - and FANTAWILD

I had a really interesting job interview today.

But before I write about that, I have to mention the name of the entertainment complex that's about to open above the coffee shop I frequent. It's called-- get this-- the Fantawild Hi-tech Family Funplex. Isn't that a hilarious name? If that doesn't make you laugh, try reading the below sentence as if you were Gob from Arrested Development:

"Guys, were talking about the Fantawild Hi-tech Family Funplex.... C'MON!"

Ha!

But, oh yeah, I went to a job interview today. It was at an advertising agency called Brain Sky that's looking for help bridging marketing campaigns to Western audiences. For whatever reason, I was expecting a really laid-back chat at a small boutique firm, and found myself across a conference table talking with three suits about how to advertise cell phones and translate obscure Chinese idioms into marketable ad slogans, looking out a giant window over the entire city from their enormous corporate headquarters on the 21 floor of a skyscraper.

Considering how taken aback I was and how utterly ignorant I am of the advertising industry, I think I handled myself pretty well. I answered all their questions, didn't make a fool of my Chinese, and even impressed them with some quick analysis of Chinese-Western cultural differences in regard to the relative power of Earth and Heaven (ie, Chinese ads always talk about "best under the sky" whereas in English we like to say "best on earth").

What blundered was the money question. These guys are all wearing expensive suits and chilling out in a skyscraper: when they ask me how much I want, I say "no less than 5000 kuai a month for full-time work," which, while certainly enough to be comfortable here, is still definitely low-balling myself. They were taken aback; I think they were expecting an extra digit. The big boss even wanted to clarify: "You mean 5000 RMB, right? Not US dollars?" I meekly nodded.

Oh well. They'll get back to me in a week and we'll see what happens.

In the meantime, I'm still chuckling over the Fantawild Hi-tech Family Funplex.