Count not thy chickens

So let me recap my interview for everyone:

I had very little information on what the job was, aside from what this guy was looking for. I was presuming he was some college professor type with a bunch of grad students he wanted me to wrangle for some research project or other.

Well, first hint that I've made some bad assumptions: I arrive at the interview location (it has a generic state building name), and I have to give up my driver's license to the guard at the gated entrance to drive my car onto the property because I do not have sufficient government issue ID for the site.

Turns out this job is for a well-known (...and unmentioned in the job listing) department of the federal government; the guy who posted it is looking for a personal aid, essentially, to complete research and organizational tasks for himself and some other members of his team. It's a federal job, and operates on a flexible schedule, so I can pick my own hours. This includes the option to work full-time with benefits or part-time to accomodate a school schedule. The pay is more than I was expecting, and while it's not a whole lot, we'll just say that if Mr. B were to lose his job for some reason, it's enough that we wouldn't lose the house. It's more than I the resolution I had previously set for myself.

It's a 40 minute commute each way, but the guy tells me that after I get comfortable with the work load I will have the option of working remotely from home. He will provide me with a desktop at the office to start, and later a work laptop if needed (and then he tells me to just let him know if I need any additional software for the job and he'll get it--it's within their budget to do so). If hired, he would probably fly me out to a different state so I could meet the rest of his team at one of the other facilities. I'm being a little cryptic here because I don't want to go blabbing all the details on the internet where anyone can see them, but the work is really, really cool stuff too (it's not classified work, so don't think it's like government secret stuff or anything). I'll tell you guys at some point.

Then he starts showing me around the office and the building, the caffeteria and vending machines, and what would potentially be my office cubical, and the history of the site, and they have their own library on the grounds--in the profession, we would call it a "special library" because it contains materials very specific to the occupation it supports, i.e. specialized. It's been my long-term goal to eventually get involved in either special or academic libraries, and the guy is telling me that while this job doesn't offer much opportunity for growth (unless something changes over the next few years), it could be an excellent jumping off to get in with their library staff so I can move over there in a few years.

He likes my resume, we seem to have really hit it off, he says he's very pleased with the skill set and background I would be bringing to the job, and then he says he would like to offer me the job. He would like to, but he can't yet--he tells me I am the leading candidate for the position, but they still have one more woman to interview. He doesn't think she is going to be a better fit than I am, but he cannot officially offer the job to me until he has met with her and makes his final decision.

I will not count the chickens....I will not count the chickens...I will not count the chickens....

Hatch, damn you!

Alula