Weaknesses

If I were on a job interview and the interviewer asked me what my major weakness was, I wouldn't know which of the following to choose:

1. Chocolate
I know chocolate is a weakness for many women. I had coffee with a neighbour this morning. Somehow, the subject of chocolate came up and she confessed she can't go a day without chocolate. I've gone for two weeks without now. The chocolaty melt-in-your-mouth feel is on my mind a lot.

2. Chocolate Digestives
I don't eat these cookies often, but when I do, I eat the whole package. I think the chocolate has a lot to do with my eating them, but the combination of the chocolate and digestive cookie creates a grittier kind of melt-in-your-mouth feel, equally as good as chocolate by itself. It's like a different texture of chocolate.

3. Spam
I don't understand people who don't like Spam. I am a big fan. I am such a big fan I own the T-shirt. It is one of my prized possessions.



In Japan, Spam is considered a delicacy. They fry up the Spam in slices and pair it with cheese. The Man and The Boy won't go near the stuff. It means every time I open a can, I have to eat the whole thing. But Spam is also one of those foods I can't eat just a little of, because of how the meat melts in your mouth. So I eat the whole can in one sitting. Which can make you awfully nauseous when you finish. Despite knowing that, I can't stop.

4. Not doing our taxes.
I wonder if I'll go to jail for not filing my taxes. I wonder if The Man will go to jail because I didn't file his taxes. We have not filed for 2005, and 2006 is coming up. I figure there's no hurry. I did a quick calculation last year and we don't owe. In fact, The Man is due a small refund. That is, if my quick calculation is right.

The Man is all nervous. A co-worker of his is being chased by Revenue Canada for not filing. But he owes. For seven years.

So now I have set myself the task of completing the taxes this week. At least the 2005 ones. But I am dawdling.

5. I dawdle
I am a procrastinator. I don't do anything unless there is an urgent deadline. Don't get me wrong. I do a great job when I finally do the task. But it takes forever to get me going, if I get going at all.

I hear that in an interview, you're supposed to name just one weakness, then turn it around to illustrate how you've learned to use the weakness to your advantage, or how you've devised a strategy to cope with your weakness. I think I can do that...yes, chocolate is my weakness, but I've learned to make wonderful chocolate desserts. Oh I can't stop eating Spam, but look at what a great collector of Spam memorabilia I am. True, I haven't filed my taxes, but I am contributing to the Canadian treasury by not collecting the interest that is due me. It's my gift to Canadians. Dawdling? I work well under pressure and am at my most creative when there is a crisis.

I wonder if that'll wash.