February 22, 2005

Finally

Daddy, I've discovered what we can use all those old Cyrix processors for...

Cyrix Hotplate

Posted by Ardith at 11:43 PM | TrackBack

February 20, 2005

Distractions

You know what, I'd get these Bible journals written a lot faster if I'd quit getting distracted by my computer.

*goes to find something to snack on*

The last couple of weeks have been really weird. I think it all started when I went up to Iowa for interviews. It has finally hit me that I'm almost done with what's become a major part of my life. I'm almost graduated, almost ready to start being productive and paying off my school bills. I need to start thinking about things like apartments, insurance costs, 401k's, and everything else that goes along with finally being an independent young whippersnapper. It's exciting and incredibly scary all at the same time.

And on top of it all, I'm leaving most of my best friends behind. I'm moving back up to Iowa; it's 14 hours from my life here, and definitely too far to just randomly visit people. That's what hurts most, I think. Leaving people. College has gotten to be a pretty safe place for me, and I'm going on to something else completely new. I'll make new friends, but it's not going to be easy for awhile.

Oh, well. Time enough for that when it comes.

I found The Majestic in the $5 DVD rack at Walmart the other day, and finally had a chance to sit down and watch it a few days ago. I liked it a lot; of course, it helped that I was in a pretty nostalgic mood at the time. But it was definitely worth what I paid for it.

*congratulates self on growing DVD collection*

I would just like to point out that I have an unfinished library book sitting two feet away from me, and I'm not reading it. Nope. I am being a good little student and writing journals. But before I go, I must share this link that Wilson just sent me:

How to destroy the Earth

Posted by Ardith at 10:15 PM | TrackBack

February 07, 2005

Next: An Apartment

Woah. So I checked my voicemail this evening and somebody from Rockwell called late this afternoon to tell me that a couple of managers are interested in me, and they want to make me an offer.

*bounces off walls for a couple of hours*

XD

At any rate, I need to call him back tomorrow and get all the details. But it's jolly exciting already.

Posted by Ardith at 11:31 PM | TrackBack

My Busy Weekend

My mother is threatening to make up stories about my interviews this past weekend. This forces me to head her off at the pass and actually post about them myself.

I feel so manipulated.

The Weekend In Which Ardith Talked A Lot

Thursday:
The plane left Longview at about 5. 4.5 hours later, I arrived in Cedar Rapids, IA, picked up my rental car, and checked into my hotel room. This involved several nice things.

1) I got to drive a 2005 LeSabre.
2) By hotel room, I really mean hotel suite. Complete with dishwasher and full-size fridge.

I then wandered over to Walmart to find microwaveable food and a nice-looking portfolio to carry around with me the next day. I returned to the hotel to iron my clothes and spend a good hour doing nothing but watching the Sci-Fi channel in bed.

Friday:
The worst part of this day was getting up at 6AM. In order to make myself feel better, or at least more awake, I made some coffee and managed to choke down a whole cup. It worked, though. I was actually awake all day long. Then I headed off to breakfast at the Mariott and a meeting with what they termed the "Rockwell Collins Ambassador." She gave us information about employee benefits and various Cedar Rapids attractions. And then it was on to the main facility and three interviews in a row.

Having talked a lot, and got very thirsty, it was time for lunch. Which today meant lunch at a pretty nice Italian resturant. I was very happy about this part of the day.

Then back to Rockwell, and time for a short tour of a few of the labs. This was loads of fun. I got to see some of the cockpit hardware/software they put in 767's. It's really, really amazing what they run on those 386's.

After this, it was down to the government side of the company for another two hours of interviews there. After those were done, I was more than ready to get back to the hotel and crash for a couple of hours.

My family came down to Cedar Rapids that evening and we all went to Pizza Hut. This is when my dad asked me nearly as many questions as all the interviewers put together. Then we all went back to the hotel so the kids could see it and be appropriately jealous.

When they left, I was very thirsty and drank a lot of water.

Saturday:
One more interview on this morning. Then it was back to the airport, and another 3.5 hours in the air/waiting at the terminal until I got back.

And that was my weekend. All in all, it was a lot of fun, and not quite as stressful as I had anticipated. The End.

Posted by Ardith at 12:08 AM | TrackBack

February 01, 2005

Future Possibilities

Can't sleep. It's been a really weird week, and then to top it all off I haven't been able to settle down since sometime this afternoon.

A lot has been happening. About a month's worth in just a week.

First, I got nasty sick. Not sick with a cold, or a sinus infection, or bronchitis like everyone else around me. Nope. I had a reoccurance of Ardith's Nasty Fatigue Whatchamacallit. Still undiagnosed, due to its completely random nature and lack of substantive symptoms, but most unpleasant, and somewhat scary at times.

But enough of that. See, last Tuesday I got a call from a guy at Rockwell Collins, and had a 15-minute telephone interview. Shortly followed up the next day by arrangements being made to fly me up to Cedar Rapids this weekend for more interviews. This position I'm being considered for is a result of the interview I had last semester during the career fair.

But that's not all.

This afternoon, I had another phone interview for another position at Rockwell Collins. This one was a result of a reference from a friend of mine, and involved asking me if I would be OK with getting a security clearance.

*grins evilly*

And so, I'm very likely going to have interviews for that position as well this weekend. I fly up Thursday evening, have interviews on Friday and maybe Saturday morning, and fly back Saturday afternoon.

Despite the lack of exclamation points, I'm incredibly excited. This is all falling in line with my Best Possible Scenario wishes for the near future, and I think I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. And amazingly enough, it's not a train bearing down on me. It's actual sunshine.

Then, just for fun, I spent a little time looking at apartment prices in Cedar Rapids, and I came to an amazing conclusion.

Once I have a job, I'm actually going to have money. Not just enough to tide me over, not just enough for what I need, but enough for a lot of the things I want and some to save for later.

And that's just really weird.

But I'm going to stop counting chickens for a few weeks now, and try and settle down and get some sleep. I have a presentation to give and a committee meeting to attend tomorrow.

Posted by Ardith at 01:34 AM | TrackBack