The first YarnMartians

When you answer an ad for an office worker and you're told by the man on the telephone, "Come to the basement door at the back of my house and knock really hard," you've got every reason in the world to be concerned. But Lynn is a very trusting soul. Okay...she's not that trusting. She told friends where she was going for her job interview and asked them to call the police if they hadn't heard from her in an hour. She carried her cell phone with her...and I'll bet she had it set to dial "911" the instant she pressed the green button.

Anyway, Lynn decided to go to the front door -- probably so the neighbors would see her and be able to describe her for the police report -- and Alex led her down to Yarnmarket worldwide headquarters in the basement. As he walked her down the stairs, she noticed they were painted with little black cat-paw prints. "Hmmmm..." she thought. "The guy's a loon." Little did she know I’m the loon and Alex is only an innocent bystander! (Why do I puff up with pride as I type that?)

The cats are not allowed in the basement because Alex is allergic to them, so I have signs posted low on the wall, "No cats allowed," and "If you can read this sign, you're a cat. Get out!" The footprints first go down the stairs, and then right back up again -- so if the cats are smart enough to follow them, they'll soon be back on the first floor.

Yeah, I know. Cats can't read. And they don't follow footprints. But mine can tell time! (That's another story.)

Alex liked Lynn right off the bat. And she was grateful he didn't kill her. So he offered her the job and she accepted...after being assured that she'd be working in a real office in a real building and that Yarnmarket was leaving our basement.

The next person on board was Lori...who also interviewed in our basement. I don't think either Lynn or Lori had actual job descriptions other than, "Whatever's needed" so it's much to their credit that they took a chance on Yarnmarket. We're so happy that they did! I think what attracted them wasn't the opportunity to work with a guy they were elated to discover wasn't an ax murderer, but the chance to set their own hours. There are a lot of Moms in this area, and many of the larger corporations won't provide flexibility to allow these very smart, hard-working potential employees to contribute to their success. They want you in the office 8 to 6, or 8 to 7, or in my previous employer's case, 8 to midnight. (Someday I'll write about my previous employer's dress code. We were not allowed to expose our shoulders because they're considered sensual. No open-toe shoes, either. Same reason. Oh, how I wish I were making this up! I'll write about it another time.)

Anyway...Yarnmarket was on the way with Alex, Lori and Lynn -- who later fused to become called "Lori-Lynn" because Alex could never remember the name of whichever one he was speaking to. That was four years ago, and we're happy to say that Lori and Lynn are still here running the place. And they still laugh about their very strange job interviews in the basement of our house.