Sweaty Steve

I've always been a sweaty guy. In seventh grade after dance class I'd be sweating the entire period after it, this kid Ian called me Sweaty Steve. Thankfully it didn't stick. When I first moved to Chicago I worked at a coffee shop in the loop and I'd ride my bike there. I'd have to build an extra twenty minutes into my schedule for a cool down. If I didn't I'd be pouring sweat for the first hour of my shift. To quote my childhood inspiration Angus Bethune from the movie Angus "I don't sweat, I rain."

Profusely sweating at inopportune times has been a problem I've had to deal with periodically over the years. At auditions, rehearsals, dates, whatever, always because I ran or rode my bike before and didn't allow myself time to sit still for a bit before whatever it was I had to do. For a time being incredibly disproportionately sweaty in situations I most definitely shouldn't have been made me very embarrassed and uncomfortable. As I've gotten older I've been much better about avoiding those situations. Unfortunately at my job interview today I fell into this old trap.

My interview was at 10, I went for a run at 8:30, my typical run is about 25 minutes, I did not allow myself enough time to cool down. Walking to the office I was sweating a lot. When I sat down for the actual interview I could tell it was not going to miraculously stop. I'm sure natural nerves had something to do with it. I was sweating so much the guy that interviewed me repeatedly offered me water which I declined. After a couple minutes of conversation he forced water on me and gave me a paper towel to dry off with. A pretty mortifying situation.

For whatever reason it just didn't bother me. I was able to, for one of the first times, just own it. The interview went well, my sweating wasn't really a distraction, I think the two folks interviewing me maybe thought it was a bit odd but nothing more. In a very small low-stakes way it felt like I put pudgy sweaty insecure seventh grade me to rest. A small victory is still a triumph, a tiny success still progress.