Saturday, June 18, 2005
A busy week
This past week has been busy, both personally and on the job front.
Monday, I took my old pickup into the mechanics for a preliminary safety check. I want to keep it on the road for six more months because it's handy having three vehicles when you have three people driving. They inspect it (everything checks out OK), do an emission test and replace a U-joint. The bill is close to $300. My daughter will be springing for the insurance on this baby.
Wednesday afternoon, I take my son to the oral surgeon. Our dentist had recommended that he have his wisdom teeth removed. All four will come out to the tune of over $1500, but the company will be paying for this. Thank God for good benefit plans.
Wednesday evening, I chair a Ministry and Personnel meeting at church. I want the meeting to be shorter than the previous one which was two hours and way too long. I try to ramrod the agenda, but people like to talk. We finish earlier but only by 15 minutes.
Thursday afternoon, I head downtown for what will probably be the final farewell party for CLA. There is a good turnout, and I work the room. I have a hard time answering the "what are you doing" question but enjoy seeing everyone. Quite a few people who left after I did have jobs. In fact, some have already quit one and even moved on to another. After I tell a group that I suck at interviewing, one of the guys does an impression of my very direct style during an interview that is bang-on and funny but disconcerting. I have to leave early because ...
Thursday evening, I attend an Official Board meeting at church arriving an hour late. We need to review our mission statement as one of the recommendations to get out of oversight. A fellow recommended by Presbytery comes in to do a presentation on visioning. It will cost a lot of money, but the Official Board goes for it. The meeting ends at 10 p.m.
Friday afternoon, I drive down to Waterloo for a second interview with Manulife. I can't answer half the Windows questions but handle the AIX questions with ease. It's with the same people I met with last time except the one fellow has transferred to Halifax (!?). Again, the interview is very civilized and goes exactly as scheduled. The manager joins us towards the end and says he hasn't seen my resume (quoi?). To me that seems like a speaker at a funeral saying he never met the person. The lead interviewer tells me that they have three or four others to do and he should have some feedback by the end of next week. I'm a version of WebSphere behind and I don't know Portal Server at all (along with being Windows challenged) so I'm not really expecting anything to come of this. Still, this has been a positive interviewing experience and confidence builder after the two disasters in April.
D.
Monday, I took my old pickup into the mechanics for a preliminary safety check. I want to keep it on the road for six more months because it's handy having three vehicles when you have three people driving. They inspect it (everything checks out OK), do an emission test and replace a U-joint. The bill is close to $300. My daughter will be springing for the insurance on this baby.
Wednesday afternoon, I take my son to the oral surgeon. Our dentist had recommended that he have his wisdom teeth removed. All four will come out to the tune of over $1500, but the company will be paying for this. Thank God for good benefit plans.
Wednesday evening, I chair a Ministry and Personnel meeting at church. I want the meeting to be shorter than the previous one which was two hours and way too long. I try to ramrod the agenda, but people like to talk. We finish earlier but only by 15 minutes.
Thursday afternoon, I head downtown for what will probably be the final farewell party for CLA. There is a good turnout, and I work the room. I have a hard time answering the "what are you doing" question but enjoy seeing everyone. Quite a few people who left after I did have jobs. In fact, some have already quit one and even moved on to another. After I tell a group that I suck at interviewing, one of the guys does an impression of my very direct style during an interview that is bang-on and funny but disconcerting. I have to leave early because ...
Thursday evening, I attend an Official Board meeting at church arriving an hour late. We need to review our mission statement as one of the recommendations to get out of oversight. A fellow recommended by Presbytery comes in to do a presentation on visioning. It will cost a lot of money, but the Official Board goes for it. The meeting ends at 10 p.m.
Friday afternoon, I drive down to Waterloo for a second interview with Manulife. I can't answer half the Windows questions but handle the AIX questions with ease. It's with the same people I met with last time except the one fellow has transferred to Halifax (!?). Again, the interview is very civilized and goes exactly as scheduled. The manager joins us towards the end and says he hasn't seen my resume (quoi?). To me that seems like a speaker at a funeral saying he never met the person. The lead interviewer tells me that they have three or four others to do and he should have some feedback by the end of next week. I'm a version of WebSphere behind and I don't know Portal Server at all (along with being Windows challenged) so I'm not really expecting anything to come of this. Still, this has been a positive interviewing experience and confidence builder after the two disasters in April.
D.
