Day: February 24, 2005

I went shopping for sensible shoes and a dress shirt. I hate shopping, hate it with a passion. Therefore, like most men, I go into a store and my thought process goes as such. These are shoes. They are black. They fit. They look acceptable. Sold. This is a shirt. It is blue. It matches my suit. It matches my tie. Sold. Oooh, I don't have to iron it. Bonus.

So now I just need a haircut and to dry-clean my suit.

So here's my complete travel info, for those who want to know:

Wed 2 Mar 2005

Ottawa (YOW) to Toronto (YYZ)
Depart 6:00 am
Arrive 7:10 am
Air Canada Flight: 479

Toronto (YYZ) to London (LHR) – Terminal 3
Arrive 9:15 pm
Duration: 7hr 15min
Air Canada Flight: 868

Sun 6 Mar 2005

London (LHR) to Ottawa (YOW)
Depart 4:45 pm
Arrive 7:20 pm
Duration: 7hr 35min
Air Canada Flight: 889

I also received confirmation from the EMBL that I will be met by a driver at Heathrow that will take me to my hotel in Cambridge, and I'll be picked up from the hotel (9:30) to go to the interview itself in Hinxton.

I've been thinking “what if” scenarios since I found out I had the interview. This is not good. I don't want to get overly excited. Yes, it's a great opportunity for me, personally and professionally, if I get it.

*IF* I get it.

I can't assume that it's mine for the taking, even if they are flying me across the Atlantic… Thing is, it's hard not to think about all the good things this might bring. Being on the same continent as Katy, for starters, but also more money and a damn good experience on my CV. I just don't want to set myself up for a big disappointment if I don't get it… gah.

I gave myself a treat today and fired up VS.NET to work on updating my LJ client. I hadn't touched it in a while and there were some tweaks I wanted to do. Mostly, I switched the login from the XML-RPC to the flat interface, and it sped up the whole process like you wouldn't believe. I knew there was an overhead hit to the XML, but this is impressive.