Day: September 16, 2004

I have only two words to say:

WOO

and

HOO

Got to McGill a few minutes early, so I sat in the secretary's office and waited for them to be ready for me. I didn't mean to, but I overheard them talking about me. Hearing I want us to hire Richard is always a good thing (that was Dr. Tremblay). He left shortly after, as I believe he had other things to attend to, and it was showtime.

In a nutshell, things went well. We talked about the projects I'd worked on before, and how my expertise could be applied to this project. They gave me a copy of the IBM proposal and asked me to go over it, giving estimates of the amounts of resources that would be needed and indicating my strengths and weaknesses in the various components.

The only real “interview” questions were how much I made, how much I wanted and when could I be available. Now I won't celebrate until I sign on the dotted line, but like the 8-ball says, signs are favourable. [Note: I wanted to confirm the exact quote, so I went to the magic 8-ball site and the first fortune I got was Without a doubt. HUZZAH!]

So, seriously, things look very favourable. I told them I my current project had to be delivered by oct 15, and I was free after that (which is true, even if I don't mention that I'm taking the first 2 weeks of october off to be with Katy). Money-wise, I never know how to handle those questions. It's actually bad form for them to ask how much I currently make, and I didn't really know how to skate around the issue, so I told them straight out what I make and a range for what I want. There is a slight difference between the two, but it's not unreasonable. Another good thing to hear is that funding isn't an issue.

So, in a nutshell, this has been a very good day :) And just now, hearing “you make me happy” just made it that much better.

“White bra means there's a (medicare) deal, black means there's no deal and nude means we're all coming back tomorrow,” said one wag.

Wed Sep 15, 7:14 PM ET

OTTAWA (CP) – They provided a flash of excitement during a federal-provincial conference otherwise dominated by dry discussions about wait times and cash transfers.

A crowd of federal-provincial officials, journalists and security guards was given an impromptu peep show as they milled outside a national health-care summit Wednesday.

The unexpected performances came from guests at the Westin hotel across the street from the convention centre where federal-provincial talks were being held.

The spectacle began in the morning when a woman appeared topless at a window in the hotel.

Another woman came to her window on the seventh floor several times wearing only a bra and black-thong underwear. Cheers went up from some in the crowd below at each of her appearances.

“White bra means there's a (medicare) deal, black means there's no deal and nude means we're all coming back tomorrow,” said one wag.

apparently, LJ just ate my last post. Weeeeird.

So I'm meeting McGill dudes tomorrow and I'm a wreck. I came back from watching a movie with sbourge, and I just noticed that my “resting” heartrate is..oh… about 100… not good. It's always been like this, ever since I can remember. Or rather, ever since I've had “big” decisions to make. I'm so tense right now that my shoulders ache.

Someone on emjayne's confessional wrote that they were going to kill themselves if they didn't get into grad school. I'm afraid that the stress is going to kill me, which ain't a whole lot better. *sigh*

Anyway, I'm going to hump in the shower to get rid of all the loose bits of hair (got my haircut this afternoon) and then I'm going to go over a few typical interview questions. I think that's one of the things that's really getting me. I have NO clue what tomorrow's meeting will hold. It could be an informal discussion about a potential project, a job interview or a job offer. I have no idea, hence I can't prepare, hence my condition.

wish me luck folks.