Hello all.
I'm writing this from merry old England. In a nutshell, things went well.
I woke up at an ungodly hour on wednesday – 2AM – to be at the airport on time – 4AM – for my flight to Toronto – 6AM. That went off without a hitch, though landing in TO was fun. I didn't really know planes could skid on a runway at landing. Oh, and there was also the time an actuator froze solid before takeoff. That's not a sound designed to inspire confidence. Defrosting the plane took care of that booboo and off we were.
Transit in TO was ok, though the flight was delayed by 90 minutes because we were 14TH!!! in queue for deicing. The flight was long and boring and uneventful. I didn't really want to work at my interview prep cause I was really tired, so I kinda slept/read my way across the Atlantic. Got into Heathrow an hour late and I had a quick prayer my cab service driver would still be waiting. Customs and baggage claim were a breeze, and there he was, holding his little sign with my name on it.
He turned out to be the most quiet man I've ever seen. Ever try to engage someone in conversation who really just doesn't want to talk? I gave up after 5 minutes and then spent the next hour-and-a-half driving in silence on the way to Cambridge. After a few false turns, we made it to the ghettoest hotel I've ever seen at around midnight. I mean, it had 4 walls, a bed and was clean, but that's about it. Ever see a hotel that doesn't make wake-up calls (cause they don't want to be sued if you miss it – the UK is becoming alarmingly like the US in this respect) but also doesn't have an alarm clock in the room?!? I had to ask Katy to phone me up this morning to make sure I got up on time.
I really didn't need to bother, cause I slept like crap. Jitters and jetlag combined. I got up and tried to have a shower. Had a real “lost in translation” moment this morning when I tried to figure out the *£&(“& shower controls, but I finally got it to cooperate. Got dressed and went to have a 4£ coffee. Yes, you read that right. And I got 6£ change in 50p coins for my trouble too :)
A car service picked me up at the Hotel and we were off. There was another candidate for the same job as I'm applying for in the car with me. They'd warned me in advance, but still, that's just not done. Anyway, there are 2 positions opened and she was cute, so what the hey, I might be working with her :)
They sprung a panel interview on me, followed by a tech interview, a HR interview and just as I was getting truly braindead, the HR woman informed me that I'd also been shortlisted for another position, so, while I was already here, would I mind having yet another interview for another job. I was there for a total of 4 hours.
I think it went ok. There wasn't anything I could have done to prepare any better, and I think I handled myself well, considering that I'd only had 5 hours sleep after a day of traveling. I'll see what happens now, I should have news by the end of next week. Even if I don't get this one, I'm happy with how things went. I gave it my best and I have the knowledge that I was prepared for it. That, and the fact that I was shortlisted for 2 jobs means that this trip has been worth it.
I'm slowly feeling the stress bleed off. I think it helps that I'm well and truly exhausted right now. Going to have a short night tonight.
