i guess muso is speaking from personal experience. how was it? a friend of mine tried it once for the "experience" . i was going to accompany him on the guitar on the street along with the punks who hung out near my college. but then i thought that if the object of my affections saw me beggin, then my reputation would be irreparably damaged. thapap - i was not thinking about the legal aspects of it. i was simply saying that if a company goes to such lengths (cost of interviewing, hiring, training etc.) to bing in a new guy, they would be more than willing to give people the chance, even though technically they could fire them. khai - i would say that you should keep trying. sometimes things appear difficult, but if you keep at it, you will eventually crack the most difficult problem. the key is to not worry too much about the outcome. do your best, and try to enjoy it.. good luck.