I'm not addicted, I swear
I just noticed that since I started my blog – the 1st of december 2003 – there have only been 43 days that I haven't posted at least one post. Considering that there are days where I posted up to 8, that's not so bad :)
Weekend update
Not much to say right now. My belly is full of good food, I'm all clean and nice smelling, life is good. Going to go shopping in a bit – I need to pick up a book for my flight home and it's always a good idea to treat yourself after an interview, regardless of if it went well or not. This is a piece of advice that harks back to my high school guidance counselor and I've always tried to follow it :)
Katy made a kick-ass veggie couscous last night to accompany some bacon-wrapped chicken boobies. Hmmmmm, NUMMY! Her mum is making a pork curry tonight – DROOL!
I'm flying back tomorrow afternoon, landing in Ottawa at 7:30. I've decided to spend the night in Ottawa and take the bus to work on monday morning. I think it's going to be easier that way, instead of me arriving at the bus terminal at midnight. A two-hour bus trip after a 7-odd hour flight just doesn't sound appealing to me right now. The upcoming week is going to be interesting. A nice mix of work, jetlag and anticipation of getting some feedback.
Lost in translation moment
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.
Organized me is scary
To all of you who have given me happy thoughts in the past few days, thanks :)
Not as annoying as it should be
I've have the songs from Mary Poppins in my head all morning. I was singing “feed the birds” while I was making muffins. Surprisingly, this doesn't bother me.
HEAVY SNOWFALL WARNING ENDED
In a word, yay. They're now only forecasting flurring for wednesday.
Getting closer to I-day
In less than 24 hours, I will be in Ottawa. In less than 36 hours, I will hopefully be on my way to Toronto, and then London.
I'm starting to get really nervous about the whole thing.
I've been doing interview prep ever since I confirmed I was going and I'm starting to lose it a bit. I'm getting all sorts of self-doubt. Am I good enough for this job? Will I make a food of myself at the interview? Add to that the stress of not even being sure I'll be able to travel because of the upcoming storm in southern Ontario and you get a less than happy Richard.
I will be relieved when it's done – for better or worse.
I want this to go well.
Bah.
Just like the icon says.
Aaaah, nostasgia
I was browsing for DVDs at Metro Video a few days ago when I ran across this gem. Instant childhood flashback. I just had to buy it. It was the best 10$ I ever spent :D
Yes, Revenge of the Ninja. I think I was 10 or something like that when I saw it and boom! Instant desire to be a ninja. Sho Kosugi was my hero. Looking back at this movie 20 years later, I cound't stop giggling. This movie is SO BAD! Awful dialogue, cheesy romance (I mean, come on, semi-naked kung fu!), 80s big hair and a series of cliche characters you just had to laugh at.
Add to that fire-spewing ninjas and overacted fight scenes, where even Granny has superpowers and you have a cult classic in the making.
They even have a mask-wearing blood-spurting bad guy. I mean, it doesn't get any better than this. They even have gratuitous booblage (but no, I won't post pictures here :P)