On the news floor...

While I was staying with Rafiba, I received a phone call from The Daily Star, the premier English-language newspaper in Bangladesh. Incidentally, the assistant editor with whom I spoke was a friend of Adina’s. So through this network, he came to know that I had an English background, editing experience, and that I was looking for a job. He contacted me for an interview on Wednesday the 27th, and I went. It went well, but to sell me better to his Editor, Mahfuz Anam, he asked me to come by the next day with a more marketable resume and to be ready to take an editing test. Wednesday night, my uncle and aunt came back from Singapore, and the night was spent unpacking luggage, recounting stories, and resting.

With a more marketable resume and my portfolio in tow, I headed back to the Daily Star that Thursday. After pronouncing the resume as “Now this is what I was talking about!” he gave me an article, a particularly long and badly written article to edit. It took me much longer than I expected and my interviewer had to leave. He told me he’d be in touch and get back to me on Saturday. I finished editing it soon after he left, and headed back to my aunt’s house. On the 29th, a Friday, I returned back to Dhanmondi, and back to my job searches.

The computer at Rafiba’s house had stopped working so I was left without a computer and the internet. I came to realize that week just how dependent I’ve become on both. The world stops for me if I can’t use either. Because Adina had said I could use her laptop while I was at her house, I failed to bring my laptop with me. Oh well. It was a lesson well-learned and a realization hit home.

The next week, on Monday, September 1, my interviewer, Mr. Sobhan, who heads the Point-Counterpoint page (the equivalent of the Op - Ed page in the states), called me back asking if I’d seen that day’s issue and to turn to the Point-Counterpoint page. My mom and Ehsan uncle (my mom’s youngest brother) subscribe to the Daily Star so I was able to pick it up and turn to it. What a surprise! The article I’d edited for the test, with a few further changes and clarifications, was printed on that page! They were that impressed with my work and made me an offer! For your perusal, it’s located at http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=52677

Mr. Sobhan further stated that he’d like me to come in and meet with his Editor that week and added that he’d get back to me quickly. Thinking I might most likely meet Mr. Anam on Thursday that week, it being the last weekday, and needing transportation and an escort to get there, I went back to my aunt’s house that Wednesday evening. Lina was already there. Meanwhile Rafiba had gone with her grandmother (paternal) to Calcutta.

Due to his being extremely busy that week, he was unable to get back to me until that weekend. By then, I’d come back to Dhanmondi. While I’d waited for his call, I spent time with Lina and Nusaiba, with my aunt and uncle, and Zaheen when he dropped by. I’d asked my sister to copy as many of my audio cds as possible to my flash drive and gave her a second drive when she ran out of space. The first drive also contained my personal and professional files. When I’d tried to play the songs she’d copied, I was unable to play them, they being m4a files.

So, while I was at Bonani the first time, I gave Zaheen the drive with just the music files, and asked him to see what he could do. After coming back to Dhanmondi, and after talking to my sister while in Dhanmondi, I figured out that I could easily play my songs with iTunes. After that, when Zaheen and I met again at my aunt’s, I told him what I found out and he informed me that he was also able to play them with Nokia music player. He told me he’d bring it by and return it before I left. It hasn’t happened yet. :-P