I got a great, great, great phone call at about 11 p.m. Wednesday night.

Caller: The Rocket, who you may remember from last fall's softball posts.

(When historians - cultural historians - look back at the development of RHH, it's possible that they'll view those posts as the beginning of the Golden Era. Something-ozoic, you know? Sure, the punctuation was ragged or nonexistent, and, sure, they were sometimes boozy, but, definitely, they were more "know-your-audience"-oriented than previous entries.)

I didn't pick up the phone. I was busy.

The message: "Hey, dude, if you were at softball tonight, we totally would have gotten in a rumble."

The premise: Apparently, my former mates were losing, and badly. (I don't know if it's my former mates, or just another team that The Rocket plays for.) And, apparently, invigorated by a bit of booze (or, perhaps, just natural assholery), the opposing pitcher decided to showboat a bit. "Hey, guys, watch this!" he said, turning to his infield. Then, he turned to face The Rocket. He wound up, and, flinging the ball through his legs (that is, with right arm behind right knee), delivered to the plate.

The Rocket, uber-competitor that he is, was pissed. The pitch, being delivered from behind the knee, was miles outside. The Rocket, being pissed, not only swung, but swung and connected fiercely. The ball whistled past the ear of the stunned pitcher, and into center field.

Then, it was on. Well, not really on, but there was some general "Hey man, what the hell!?" followed by some "No, what the hell, dude?" followed, probably, by a few steps towards each other, and maybe some self-chest-whacking.

But, had I been there, someone would have gotten run over, I'm pretty sure.

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How to ace an interview:

1) Smile
2) Be completely ridiculous

Or, at least, that was my policy.

There are always, always, ridiculous interview questions. You can't avoid them. (I speak from experience; after all, I've had, I think, two job interviews in my life. And one "large-group info session plus personality test," just days ago.)

CEO: "So, give me three bullet-points. Personality traits."
Me: Hesitates. "Uhh...number one. A hyphenated word. Laid-back."
Group: General laughter.
Me: "Uhh...uhh...hmmm...Committed. I like to finish things."
Group: [General nodding of approval.]
Me: "Uhhh...uhhh...hmmm...this question's not that tough. I probably should have been ready for it, huh? Hmmm...well. Uhh... [Smiles]... Nice. I'm very nice."
CEO [to HR person]: "Haven't heard that one before, have we?"
HR person: "No. Probably the first time."
Me: "Pretty good one, though, right?"

Other highlights:

CEO: "What would your previous boss say about you?"
Me: "[Gigantic smile] 'He was a joy to have around the office, and we miss him very, very much.' "

Marketing Person: "Tell me something that you're excited about."
Me: "[Hesitates. Thinks, well, what would they want me excited about? Probably, like, a job. Or The Ring Fingernail/Index-Finger Pad. Or, I don't know, what else.] [Now speaking] I'm really excited that three of my favorite bands have records coming out on October third."
CEO: "What bands?"
Me: "The Killers - big pop stars. And a band called The Decemberists. And The Hold Steady."
CEO [to marketing person]: "Have you heard of any of them?"
MP: "One."
Me: "They're pretty great. All of them."

They also responded very well when I started to talk about getting pulled over at 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning, and they asked why, and I started to talk about going to Detroit over the weekend, and then how I wanted to go to the show in K'Zoo, and then, "So I figured, well, I'm unemployed - there's nothing to get back for," so I wound up at the show and driving at 2:30 in the morning. It happens.

They're also computer folks, so they're totally reading this. And they're totally in the process of rescinding any offer (Offer? Offer! No, seriously, offer!) that may have been made. Totally. That'd be a bummer.

- - - - - - - - -

But, yeah, seriously, an offer. I'm pretty excited. Reason why I'm most excited? After the interview, I was talking "things" with the HR person, and then she said, "The reason the office seems pretty empty is because they're all outside on a volleyball break."

I don't think that I'll be restricted from growing ridiculous facial hair if I take the gig.

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There might be another option around, though, so no decisions yet. But, mostly, rosy things.

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NU's playing Nevada tonight. By the time you read this, it'll probably be over. I don't really know what to think. Nevada's an opponent against whom (especially at whom) a Big Ten opponent has nothing to gain. Win, and you should have won. Lose, and you've lost to a WAC school. (Something to gain: Win, and you're 16.7 percent closer to a bowl bid.)

It'll be a tough one, and I kind of expect a loss. But a win wouldn't surprise me, either. God, I'm hoping for a win.

To these eyes, the key is to hit a downfield pass - early - and to not be so damn restrictive on the quarterbacks. Let 'em play, dammit. And, oh yeah, Tyrell needs to break a few.

Make it happen.

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I'll admit. Coffee shop internet might decrease post-length. I've been here two hours (not writing, but just doing things). I hate coffee shop interneting, I'll be honest. I might also have a job soon. Wow.