Last Friday I had another interview with a company in Virginia that I used to work for as a summer intern. It's been several years since I was back there, but it was really nice to see so many of my former coworkers. I got a lot of, "Melanie! Are you back??" "No, just interviewing..."
Any nervousness I had about the whole thing disappeared after my conversation with the second person I interviewed with. I had asked what to expect in this process after my interview today, like when I should expect to hear back from them, and what would happen if I liked both groups I was interviewing with and they both liked me. His response: "Let me just tell you now - unless you punch someone in the face this morning, you're going to get an offer from us."
I convinced the company's travel office to let me stay until Sunday morning instead of flying back on Friday afternoon, so I got to spend the rest of the weekend with Josh. On Friday, we went out to dinner with Phil and Glenn at the Boulevard Woodgrill, then stuck around the area to grab a beer and then go to a party that Josh's friend was throwing. The theme of the party was white trash, and everyone got really into it, so we drank Milwaukee's Best and ate Slim Jims and peanuts. Everyone had dressed the part too. Everyone, that is, except us. It's remarkable how out of place you can feel in normal clothes when everyone else is wearing ripped up wifebeaters, ratty sweatpants or shorts, construction boots, and enormous hoop earrings. One girl even came with a fake pregnant belly.
Saturday was a lot less interesting. I worked on my thesis, Josh worked on his homework, we ran some errands, and we watched the final episode of Band of Brothers. I haven't started the book yet, but I think I have to retract my statement about the book always being better than the movie. First of all, this series is 10 hours long, so you don't have to worry about story lines getting chopped off or cut out because they don't fit into 2.5 hours. Second, there are some scenes (mostly gruesome ones) that just couldn't be conveyed as powerfully through words. There's a significant amount of narration throughout the series, but there are many scenes, particularly the ones where Easy Company is in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, where narration is completely unnecessary, and in many cases would have taken away from the impact of the scene.
After a long delay at the airport the next morning, I returned to Boston to get back to my boring life: grocery shopping, unpacking, post-interview thank-you emails, and of course, watching the OC episode that I missed from Thursday. :)
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Yesterday was a fun-filled day out in Natick, MA. My all-day interview started out well, but it sort of went downhill in the afternoon. The company is small - around 1,600 employees - and it seems to take care of its employees very well. Example: to celebrate the company's 15 year anniversary, the co-founders flew everyone (around 500 employees at the time) to the Bahamas. !! For the 20 year anniversary, the destination was Disneyland. Craziness. They also have some other cute perks that usually only small, private companies offer: free breakfast on Wednesdays, free cookies on Friday afternoons, free coffee/tea/soda (I didn't think this was a "perk" until I started working in the world of government and their contractors and had to pay 40¢ per cup of coffee), and a on-site gym open 24 hours.
At the beginning of the day, with all the introductions, overviews, and HR interviews, it seemed like this would be a really neat place to work. I would get a lot of experience using the company's products as tech support personnel, and the other half of my time would be spent working on projects that would improve the software, create demos for customers, or create tools for a particular company's application.
I had my technical interview in the afternoon though, and that made my enthusiasm for this job wane a little. The interview lasted about two hours, and we covered the same types of material as in my phone interview: basic algebra/calculus, programming concepts, C programming, this company's software, and control theory. I already didn't feel like I did well over the phone, and this time everything was covered much more in-depth. After that part of the interview, I was mentally exhausted. All I wanted to do was lie down and close my eyes.
That wasn't the only thing that squashed my enthusiasm. At the end of the day, a couple of former members of the group that we all were interviewing for talked to us about the projects they've been working on since they left the group. Granted, their interests weren't along quite the same lines as mine, but I still wasn't overly excited about the types of things they were doing.
I went into this interview thinking it would be a really good experience for me because I haven't had any technical interviews before, even though I wasn't considering the company really seriously because of the location. But then when I learned more, it seemed like it would be a pretty neat place to work, so I was really trying to make it known that I was interested in their Washington, D.C. field office. But then as I learned even more, I'm feeling more like this job wouldn't be a great fit for me. Too much controls, too little aerospace.
I'm supposed to find out from them on Monday or Tuesday whether they want to make me an offer. I'm not very optimistic about my chances, and I'm not terribly excited about working there anymore, but I don't think either of those will make the rejection phone call any easier.
At the beginning of the day, with all the introductions, overviews, and HR interviews, it seemed like this would be a really neat place to work. I would get a lot of experience using the company's products as tech support personnel, and the other half of my time would be spent working on projects that would improve the software, create demos for customers, or create tools for a particular company's application.
I had my technical interview in the afternoon though, and that made my enthusiasm for this job wane a little. The interview lasted about two hours, and we covered the same types of material as in my phone interview: basic algebra/calculus, programming concepts, C programming, this company's software, and control theory. I already didn't feel like I did well over the phone, and this time everything was covered much more in-depth. After that part of the interview, I was mentally exhausted. All I wanted to do was lie down and close my eyes.
That wasn't the only thing that squashed my enthusiasm. At the end of the day, a couple of former members of the group that we all were interviewing for talked to us about the projects they've been working on since they left the group. Granted, their interests weren't along quite the same lines as mine, but I still wasn't overly excited about the types of things they were doing.
I went into this interview thinking it would be a really good experience for me because I haven't had any technical interviews before, even though I wasn't considering the company really seriously because of the location. But then when I learned more, it seemed like it would be a pretty neat place to work, so I was really trying to make it known that I was interested in their Washington, D.C. field office. But then as I learned even more, I'm feeling more like this job wouldn't be a great fit for me. Too much controls, too little aerospace.
I'm supposed to find out from them on Monday or Tuesday whether they want to make me an offer. I'm not very optimistic about my chances, and I'm not terribly excited about working there anymore, but I don't think either of those will make the rejection phone call any easier.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Resolutions
I started these before 2007 even showed up, but due to the family drama that's occurred over the past month, these seemed somewhat irrelevant compared to all that. More to come on "that" when I'm able to get my thoughts together.
It seems I'm supposed to summarize 2006 before I make resolutions. So:
2006 was the year of the eyeballs. Many ophthalmologist appointments, many ointments, allergy tests, eyedrops, tears, and frustration. I was hoping that 2006 would be the only year of the eyeballs, but so far that's not been the case. My new goal is to make it less than 12 months, but it seems a little silly to even set goals like that, seeing as there's a limited amount that I can do to influence things.
Anyway, I imagine you're all sick of hearing about this, so I'll move on. Josh and I took some great trips in 2006: Boston, Houston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Jacksonville, and Orlando, and I got to meet his wonderful family. I spent a week in England with Lauren. My mom and I took a trip to Cape Cod. I said goodbye to Phil, Glenn, June and our apartment in Back Bay and moved into a new apartment with LeeAnn. My brave little hamster who survived the road trip from Houston to Boston died. I spent the entire tax year earning income in only one state! This is the first time since 2000 that I'll only have to fill out one state tax return. I kept up my 2005 resolution to floss every day. I survived my first year of grad school.
So, looking forward, in 2007 I would like to:
1) Keep in touch with friends/family better. I say this every year, but in light of everything that's happening with my family, it seems more important now.
2) Graduate/get a job. This doesn't really feel like a true resolution because it's a goal that will hopefully be gone within the next six months; nevertheless, it's obviously a goal for now, so I'm including it here.
3) Do difficult/ugly things right away. Don't procrastinate! I have this awful habit of not reading uncomfortable emails, not listening to uncomfortable voicemails, and not responding or having a meeting when there's something I don't want to face. The problem is that the more time passes, the uglier/more uncomfortable it gets. I do better with measurable goals, so I'm giving myself a 24-hour turnaround time for these things, barring any extenuating circumstances.
4) Remember that except for life and death situations, nothing is as bad as it first seems. Sorry, I know it's cliché, but it really is something that I need to keep in mind. My mom has a good way of thinking about difficult stuff: ask yourself, "What's the worst that can happen? Is the outcome really that bad?" I feel as though the past two years have increased my overall bent-out-of-shape-ness about things, so I'm resolving to change my outlook and try to de-stress.
5) Go to bed earlier. My usual weeknight has me going to bed late, getting up late, getting to work late, getting home late, and repeating the cycle all over again. So, bedtime for 2007 is 11 pm.
It seems I'm supposed to summarize 2006 before I make resolutions. So:
2006 was the year of the eyeballs. Many ophthalmologist appointments, many ointments, allergy tests, eyedrops, tears, and frustration. I was hoping that 2006 would be the only year of the eyeballs, but so far that's not been the case. My new goal is to make it less than 12 months, but it seems a little silly to even set goals like that, seeing as there's a limited amount that I can do to influence things.
Anyway, I imagine you're all sick of hearing about this, so I'll move on. Josh and I took some great trips in 2006: Boston, Houston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Jacksonville, and Orlando, and I got to meet his wonderful family. I spent a week in England with Lauren. My mom and I took a trip to Cape Cod. I said goodbye to Phil, Glenn, June and our apartment in Back Bay and moved into a new apartment with LeeAnn. My brave little hamster who survived the road trip from Houston to Boston died. I spent the entire tax year earning income in only one state! This is the first time since 2000 that I'll only have to fill out one state tax return. I kept up my 2005 resolution to floss every day. I survived my first year of grad school.
So, looking forward, in 2007 I would like to:
1) Keep in touch with friends/family better. I say this every year, but in light of everything that's happening with my family, it seems more important now.
2) Graduate/get a job. This doesn't really feel like a true resolution because it's a goal that will hopefully be gone within the next six months; nevertheless, it's obviously a goal for now, so I'm including it here.
3) Do difficult/ugly things right away. Don't procrastinate! I have this awful habit of not reading uncomfortable emails, not listening to uncomfortable voicemails, and not responding or having a meeting when there's something I don't want to face. The problem is that the more time passes, the uglier/more uncomfortable it gets. I do better with measurable goals, so I'm giving myself a 24-hour turnaround time for these things, barring any extenuating circumstances.
4) Remember that except for life and death situations, nothing is as bad as it first seems. Sorry, I know it's cliché, but it really is something that I need to keep in mind. My mom has a good way of thinking about difficult stuff: ask yourself, "What's the worst that can happen? Is the outcome really that bad?" I feel as though the past two years have increased my overall bent-out-of-shape-ness about things, so I'm resolving to change my outlook and try to de-stress.
5) Go to bed earlier. My usual weeknight has me going to bed late, getting up late, getting to work late, getting home late, and repeating the cycle all over again. So, bedtime for 2007 is 11 pm.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Adiós, Laura
Tonight I tried to do some blog housekeeping. It didn't really work, except that I updated my reading list and deleted Laura's travel blog from the sidebar. "Deleted" seems like such a cruel word, so I thought I'd at least say something about it here rather that just wiping it.
Laura returned home from Spain about a month ago. From what I know, she had a fantastic time and achieved her ever-changing goal of fluency, although I think she was pretty happy to home. For one thing, she missed the peanut butter.
Blogging is a pretty cool thing. My older sister spent a year of college in Germany several years ago, and although it was wonderful to read her descriptions of places, people, and traditions, it was hard to imagine what it was really like until we actually got there to visit her. I never got a chance to visit Laura in Seville, but I liked getting to see a very teeny slice of her life there along with the words. So maybe it's the digital cameras that are pretty cool things.
Laura returned home from Spain about a month ago. From what I know, she had a fantastic time and achieved her ever-changing goal of fluency, although I think she was pretty happy to home. For one thing, she missed the peanut butter.
Blogging is a pretty cool thing. My older sister spent a year of college in Germany several years ago, and although it was wonderful to read her descriptions of places, people, and traditions, it was hard to imagine what it was really like until we actually got there to visit her. I never got a chance to visit Laura in Seville, but I liked getting to see a very teeny slice of her life there along with the words. So maybe it's the digital cameras that are pretty cool things.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Last month I had a phone interview with a company that makes engineering software. This company is to engineering software what Microsoft is to operating systems, although to my knowledge, this company has no direct competitor. So needless to say, I was floored to get a call from them and hear that they liked my resume.
That feeling lasted until about four weeks ago, which is when I actually had the phone interview. It was technical interview, which I'd never had before, but I've heard plenty of horror stories from friends and co-workers, so I'd determined that it's basically the pee-in-your-pants type of interview because typically one of the following two things occurs: either they ask you to derive some really advanced concept that you can't even pronouce, so you have to fess up and say that you have absolutely no idea what they're talking about, or worse, they ask you something completely fundamental and straight forward but you have an enormous brain fart and draw a complete blank on the answer. Either way, chances of you looking like an idiot are high.
Anyway, well before this interview, I was told what general topics we'd cover:
Question #1: "What is an even function?"
Me: %*&@!!! "Uh... um... Well, I know that cosine is an even function!"
And it just went downhill from there. I think that was the only "basic math" question that I really boned, but C programming didn't go swimmingly either. If he had asked me those questions this time two years ago, I would have been all over the answers about pointers, addresses, and #include files; however, since I've been programming exclusively NOT in C over the past two years, that section of my brain has since been overwritten. The only section that I didn't screw up was the one about this company's own software.
It was too bad, since after all the embarrassment, the guy answered some of my questions and it turns out that the job seems pretty neat. You could certainly spend the majority of your time coding if you wanted, but you could also work on demos for customers, go to trade shows, and lead training sessions for engineers in industry.
So you can imagine my surprise when I got a call back the next day saying that I passed the phone interview. All I could gather from this is that they're apparently looking for people who can a) operate a telephone, and b) not curse on said telephone when asked basic questions to which they don't know the answer. The next step is the on-site interview, which happens this Friday. And yes, there will be more technical questions. So yes, I will be studying!
That feeling lasted until about four weeks ago, which is when I actually had the phone interview. It was technical interview, which I'd never had before, but I've heard plenty of horror stories from friends and co-workers, so I'd determined that it's basically the pee-in-your-pants type of interview because typically one of the following two things occurs: either they ask you to derive some really advanced concept that you can't even pronouce, so you have to fess up and say that you have absolutely no idea what they're talking about, or worse, they ask you something completely fundamental and straight forward but you have an enormous brain fart and draw a complete blank on the answer. Either way, chances of you looking like an idiot are high.
Anyway, well before this interview, I was told what general topics we'd cover:
- Basic math (algebra and calculus)
- Computer programming concepts
- One programming language (C, C++, or Java)
- This company's own software/programming language
- Signal processing or controls
Question #1: "What is an even function?"
Me: %*&@!!! "Uh... um... Well, I know that cosine is an even function!"
And it just went downhill from there. I think that was the only "basic math" question that I really boned, but C programming didn't go swimmingly either. If he had asked me those questions this time two years ago, I would have been all over the answers about pointers, addresses, and #include files; however, since I've been programming exclusively NOT in C over the past two years, that section of my brain has since been overwritten. The only section that I didn't screw up was the one about this company's own software.
It was too bad, since after all the embarrassment, the guy answered some of my questions and it turns out that the job seems pretty neat. You could certainly spend the majority of your time coding if you wanted, but you could also work on demos for customers, go to trade shows, and lead training sessions for engineers in industry.
So you can imagine my surprise when I got a call back the next day saying that I passed the phone interview. All I could gather from this is that they're apparently looking for people who can a) operate a telephone, and b) not curse on said telephone when asked basic questions to which they don't know the answer. The next step is the on-site interview, which happens this Friday. And yes, there will be more technical questions. So yes, I will be studying!
Monday, January 08, 2007
Reading list
I got four books out of the library yesterday and I have just three weeks to read them. Any bets on how many times I'll have to get them renewed?
I picked this up while I was searching for a different book about Guantanamo, one whose title and author I couldn't remember. This one is written by an Army soldier, while the original one I was looking for is written by a prisoner. If I can find it, it'll be interesting to read after this one.
Josh and I started watching the Band of Brothers HBO miniseries over New Year's, and since I'm a staunch believer in the idea that the book is always better than the movie, I decided to check this out of the library too. And as reading leads to more reading, evidently Major Dick Winters has also written an account of his time in E Company, so that's on my list after I finish this one.
I don't get CNN and therefore don't know much about Anderson Cooper, except that he always shows up in photographs looking like he does on the cover of this book - "Hey guys, how about this face? Am I looking pensive enough? Concerned enough about the all the terrible tragedies happening in the world? Looks good, right? I've been practicing in front of the mirror." So far, this is the only one of the four that I've started, and the content is really interesting, but I'm already annoyed with the guy's use of adjectives and his inability to write in complete sentences. As if fragments better describe. His feelings of despair about the world. Especially during the tragedies of 2005.
I saw this on the New Books shelf and couldn't resist at least reading the book jacket. The gist is that the author gets dumped at the altar and demoted at work, so instead of sulking at home, he goes on his originally scheduled honeymoon (while cancelling the honeymoon suite for two rooms and "swapping the champagne for beer") with his brother instead. They like the trip so much that it motivates them to sell nearly everything they own and travel around the world.
I picked this up while I was searching for a different book about Guantanamo, one whose title and author I couldn't remember. This one is written by an Army soldier, while the original one I was looking for is written by a prisoner. If I can find it, it'll be interesting to read after this one.Josh and I started watching the Band of Brothers HBO miniseries over New Year's, and since I'm a staunch believer in the idea that the book is always better than the movie, I decided to check this out of the library too. And as reading leads to more reading, evidently Major Dick Winters has also written an account of his time in E Company, so that's on my list after I finish this one.I don't get CNN and therefore don't know much about Anderson Cooper, except that he always shows up in photographs looking like he does on the cover of this book - "Hey guys, how about this face? Am I looking pensive enough? Concerned enough about the all the terrible tragedies happening in the world? Looks good, right? I've been practicing in front of the mirror." So far, this is the only one of the four that I've started, and the content is really interesting, but I'm already annoyed with the guy's use of adjectives and his inability to write in complete sentences. As if fragments better describe. His feelings of despair about the world. Especially during the tragedies of 2005.I saw this on the New Books shelf and couldn't resist at least reading the book jacket. The gist is that the author gets dumped at the altar and demoted at work, so instead of sulking at home, he goes on his originally scheduled honeymoon (while cancelling the honeymoon suite for two rooms and "swapping the champagne for beer") with his brother instead. They like the trip so much that it motivates them to sell nearly everything they own and travel around the world.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Master's in Ice Cream
I like aerospace. Most of the time, I feel like I've chosen a pretty cool profession. But then, things like this come along and make me realize just how much more awesome my life could be if I had gone into a different field.
From an email I received today:
From an email I received today:
Hello,Ice cream? Traveling in Europe? Who would say no??
Prof. ----, of Mechanical Engineering, has an RA available starting in February for a master's level student. The funding will go for a year and for the first part of the RA the student will located in Western Europe. Please see description below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Novel Ice Cream Production
The research assistantship on the Masters level will entail the production and characterization of ice cream product using a technique originally developed here at [our university]. The method uses the direct expansion of a cream and CO2 through an expansion nozzle. The process generates a unique product unlike that generated using standard ice cream manufacturing processes.
The research will be a combination of further developing the process as well as understanding and characterizing the properties, lifetimes and microstructure of the ice cream.
The student will be expected to travel to and stay in Western Europe to work in the sponsor's laboratory from early February 07 to late August 07 as part of the project. On return, the RA will continue here at [our university] in concert with a PhD to further research on the project here at [our university].
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Suck
A C+ is truly a ridiculous grade. It's like being given a big pile of dog poop with a little gold star on top. Really, it's almost worse than just getting the C. At least then there's no hope that you could have come out with a B-.
And by the time you get to the C/D range, why even bother with the +/- modifiers? Why waste your time separating the hopelessly stupid from the mere idiots?
And by the time you get to the C/D range, why even bother with the +/- modifiers? Why waste your time separating the hopelessly stupid from the mere idiots?
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