I had another interview today, my second for the Penn job. The interview was at 9:30, so I left at 7:45 so I could go to the bank and get some cash for parking. Plus, I had no idea how long it would take to get down there, and I wanted to leave plenty of time so that I didn't feel rushed.
I was still 20 minutes late! Basically, I was having issues at the bank, and had to drive all the way to Fort Washington (about 8 miles away) so that wonderful Eric could give me some cash, then I had to take the turnpike, pay a toll, and get on the interstate. The turnpike-to-interstate area was a freaking disaster. I called my recruiter at the contract company to have them call Penn and let them know I was running late. The recruiter didn't sound happy that I was running late, which didn't do anything to help calm me down, as I hate being late. I finally arrived at the parking garage, drove up six floors to the closest parking spot, and climbed the stairs back down (the elevator was across the garage, and I didn't want to take the time to walk all the way over there).
I arrived at what I thought was my destination, but was directed to a different building. Oh, and did I mention it was raining? And I didn't have an umbrella because I didn't have time to stop and buy one? All I had was a crappy pullover. So, off I went in the rain again to my new destination. I arrived, told the front desk whom I was looking for, and looked at my phone's time. 9:50AM. Crap. The interviewer came up, and I apologized for being so late. He didn't seem concerned, and was a pretty laid-back guy.
The interview went very well. He said I'm a strong candidate, but that they have to interview a couple more people. I should know in a couple weeks.
In other news... I sold my car! Since I'm laid off and have no income, it made sense to get rid of mine. We're planning on selling Eric's Mazda3, and keeping the Pathfinder that has no payments. When we sell the Mazda, if we run into situations where it seems like we need more than one car (I really think we would, but we'll see), then we'll probably just get a $3k Toyota or Honda or something.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Had an interview...
Smack dab in the middle of downtown Philly. Interviews make me a bit apprehensive as it is, but having to drive in downtown Philly alone was worse, I think. It was pretty uneventful, though I did have to muscle my way around traffic a little, lol. The closest parking to the building my interview was in had a sign that at first I thought said $4.75 per hour, which would have been a decent price, but when I got closer, I realized it said $4.75 per HALF hour. Crap. Good thing I had gone to the ATM for cash, but that also meant I couldn't stay for more than two hours, otherwise I wouldn't have enough.
So, I parked (three floors underground, kinda creepy), got out of the car, and looked around, trying to figure out what direction 15th & JFK was, but not wanting to look like I didn't know where I was going, heh. I saw what looked like might be the building I needed (didn't write down the name, silly me), and started walking towards it. There was a fountain right in the middle of the big intersections that I walked around, avoiding the shady characters, acting like I knew what I was doing.
Anyway, I found the building, went up to the 8th floor, and had my interview. It went really well, and they're going to submit my resume to the client (it's a recruiting agency). Get this--the client is University of Pennsylvania, one of the best schools in the country. I'd love to be able to attend college there, but at $34k/year, tuition is more than three times that of Temple's. Yikes. Regardless, I could probably make some pretty good contacts.
I left the interview feeling pretty good about it, but Penn is quite a ways away--30 miles. I told them the pay would have to be high enough to justify me going all the way downtown several times a week, not to mention the cost of taking the train. I should have just taken the train to the interview--there were steps into the tunnel for the train literally right in front of the building I interviewed in. Parking ended up costing me $15. GAH.
So, I parked (three floors underground, kinda creepy), got out of the car, and looked around, trying to figure out what direction 15th & JFK was, but not wanting to look like I didn't know where I was going, heh. I saw what looked like might be the building I needed (didn't write down the name, silly me), and started walking towards it. There was a fountain right in the middle of the big intersections that I walked around, avoiding the shady characters, acting like I knew what I was doing.
Anyway, I found the building, went up to the 8th floor, and had my interview. It went really well, and they're going to submit my resume to the client (it's a recruiting agency). Get this--the client is University of Pennsylvania, one of the best schools in the country. I'd love to be able to attend college there, but at $34k/year, tuition is more than three times that of Temple's. Yikes. Regardless, I could probably make some pretty good contacts.
I left the interview feeling pretty good about it, but Penn is quite a ways away--30 miles. I told them the pay would have to be high enough to justify me going all the way downtown several times a week, not to mention the cost of taking the train. I should have just taken the train to the interview--there were steps into the tunnel for the train literally right in front of the building I interviewed in. Parking ended up costing me $15. GAH.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Officially unemployed.
Today was my last day. I sent an e-mail to one of my clients (technically, the only client I had left) that it was my last day, and she said that it was "terrible news" and to please give her my personal contact info. So I did. ;)
Turns out I was wrong about the precalculus/calculus thing. I sent an e-mail to Temple asking if they would accept the "accelerated" version of calculus, and you know what they said? "We don't release information on transfer credits until you've been accepted." What a bunch of crap. So I went into MontCo (where I'm taking the classes) and asked if they have information on transfer courses, and they do--so why can't Temple just tell me? Unfortunately, Temple won't accept the accelerated version, so I have to take the whole series of precalculus/calculus. Sigh. Oh well. Maybe that means I'll be more prepared for Calculus I.
I have a bunch of humanities/social science credits taken at Metro in Omaha that may or may not transfer to Temple (since, of course, they won't tell me what will or will not transfer), so I've decided not to take anymore until I actually enroll at Temple and know what I need to take. I did sign up to take Microeconomics at Metro though, lol. It's weird to be "going back" to that school as an out-of-state student--though I'm taking it online. I hate online classes, but I know for certain that I need this class.
So now, I'm taking organic chemistry, precalculus, biology, and microeconomics. Weeee...
Turns out I was wrong about the precalculus/calculus thing. I sent an e-mail to Temple asking if they would accept the "accelerated" version of calculus, and you know what they said? "We don't release information on transfer credits until you've been accepted." What a bunch of crap. So I went into MontCo (where I'm taking the classes) and asked if they have information on transfer courses, and they do--so why can't Temple just tell me? Unfortunately, Temple won't accept the accelerated version, so I have to take the whole series of precalculus/calculus. Sigh. Oh well. Maybe that means I'll be more prepared for Calculus I.
I have a bunch of humanities/social science credits taken at Metro in Omaha that may or may not transfer to Temple (since, of course, they won't tell me what will or will not transfer), so I've decided not to take anymore until I actually enroll at Temple and know what I need to take. I did sign up to take Microeconomics at Metro though, lol. It's weird to be "going back" to that school as an out-of-state student--though I'm taking it online. I hate online classes, but I know for certain that I need this class.
So now, I'm taking organic chemistry, precalculus, biology, and microeconomics. Weeee...
Sunday, July 12, 2009
I know, I know... late post again. :)
For some reason, even though lots of things are happening in my life right now, and I used to be able to come up with all kinds of stuff to write about, it's just not coming to me now!
Eric and I went to Dover Saddlery, a chain of tack shops whose closest shop is about 50 miles away in Delaware. It wasn't really anything special, but I've always wanted to go there. I did, however, sit on some reeeeally comfortable saddles called Vega by Amerigo (I'm only writing that out so that I can remember what it was years from now, lol)... that were around $3,000. When I make the big bucks (haha...), I'm getting me one of those! On the way back, upon entering Pennsylvania, south of Philadelphia, we see this sign:
Lol... I found that a bit funny.
So, my last day at work is this Wednesday. The crazy thing is, I'll need to apply for unemployment in Texas, not Pennsylvania. I've considered just applying for simple jobs, like data entry or something, but then I thought, why should I? I have all these skills that will pay me twice what a data entry-type job would, so I might as well hold out as long as I can until an opportunity comes along. I mean, I might as well use my computer degree to my benefit for as long as I can... in order to pay for my new degree(s). ;)
Speaking of school, even though classes don't start until September, I've already begun studying some chemistry and math. I'm taking Organic Chemistry, Biology, and Calculus (along with another history or english class--haven't decided which), but it's been about four years since I've had any math or science, so I'm reviewing the information before the classes start. Good thing, too, as it became apparent from the start that I had forgotten a LOT of information. I ended up buying the text book we used for General Chemistry I & II (I remember it being relatively easy to learn from and study with), and I've been finding it really helpful.
Also, speaking of school, this is one of the many reasons I really dislike advisors, and don't take much faith in their "advice": I have to take two semesters of calculus, but in order to get into calculus, I need to take two semesters precalculus (or so I was told). So, I signed up for Precalculus I, knowing that I would have to take Precalc II in the spring, and only then would I be able to take Calc I. Wrong. I found out on my own that I can take an accelerated version of Precalc I & II and Calc I, which would then enable me to enroll in Calc II. Why wasn't I made aware of this before? GAH.
Once the college released information on the books we need, I about died when I looked at the cost. My chem, bio and calc books all cost nearly $200 each new--eek. I didn't think I'd be able to find any of them cheaper than $100 used, but I was able to find two for $50 and another for $100. Yay. :) I still have two chemistry books (yes, apparently Org Chem requires THREE books!) to buy that will probably cost $150, another for bio, and another for my history/english class. My credit card hurts.
Eric and I went to Dover Saddlery, a chain of tack shops whose closest shop is about 50 miles away in Delaware. It wasn't really anything special, but I've always wanted to go there. I did, however, sit on some reeeeally comfortable saddles called Vega by Amerigo (I'm only writing that out so that I can remember what it was years from now, lol)... that were around $3,000. When I make the big bucks (haha...), I'm getting me one of those! On the way back, upon entering Pennsylvania, south of Philadelphia, we see this sign:
Lol... I found that a bit funny.
So, my last day at work is this Wednesday. The crazy thing is, I'll need to apply for unemployment in Texas, not Pennsylvania. I've considered just applying for simple jobs, like data entry or something, but then I thought, why should I? I have all these skills that will pay me twice what a data entry-type job would, so I might as well hold out as long as I can until an opportunity comes along. I mean, I might as well use my computer degree to my benefit for as long as I can... in order to pay for my new degree(s). ;)
Speaking of school, even though classes don't start until September, I've already begun studying some chemistry and math. I'm taking Organic Chemistry, Biology, and Calculus (along with another history or english class--haven't decided which), but it's been about four years since I've had any math or science, so I'm reviewing the information before the classes start. Good thing, too, as it became apparent from the start that I had forgotten a LOT of information. I ended up buying the text book we used for General Chemistry I & II (I remember it being relatively easy to learn from and study with), and I've been finding it really helpful.
Also, speaking of school, this is one of the many reasons I really dislike advisors, and don't take much faith in their "advice": I have to take two semesters of calculus, but in order to get into calculus, I need to take two semesters precalculus (or so I was told). So, I signed up for Precalculus I, knowing that I would have to take Precalc II in the spring, and only then would I be able to take Calc I. Wrong. I found out on my own that I can take an accelerated version of Precalc I & II and Calc I, which would then enable me to enroll in Calc II. Why wasn't I made aware of this before? GAH.
Once the college released information on the books we need, I about died when I looked at the cost. My chem, bio and calc books all cost nearly $200 each new--eek. I didn't think I'd be able to find any of them cheaper than $100 used, but I was able to find two for $50 and another for $100. Yay. :) I still have two chemistry books (yes, apparently Org Chem requires THREE books!) to buy that will probably cost $150, another for bio, and another for my history/english class. My credit card hurts.
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