Wow!
Well .. it's been quite the month.
When we last saw our intrepid hero, he was lost in a dilemma, was short of income, and long on free time. The opportunity to sleep late most days, while the rest of the 'civilized' world rushed off to office jobs was certainly welcome, but not particularly well paying.
Well, life certainly has some interesting tricks up its sleeve.
Just over a month ago, a fellow I used to work with called ... out of the blue, and asked if I was looking for employment. I said I was, and very quickly we arranged an interview at the small software company that he's been with for a couple years, now. The good news .. I went for the interview, though it was fairly brief, it seemed to go okay and the people I met seemed nice. The not-so-good news ... just a few days before the interview, I had come down with a horrendous flu, was feverish, wobbly and had almost no voice. Not exactly the impression one wishes to make when attending the first technical job interview I've had in over three years.
Nevertheless, it went alright, and while I didn't really expect much to come from the interview, it was a good experience. In the interim, the offer I'd been semi-expecting to go to Japan came through, and I accepted, knowing that this was a good opportunity, and was certain employment for at least a year. I had figured I'd go digging for part-time jobs .. maybe slinging coffee, or stocking shelves, to build up some cash before heading to Japan in July.
The best laid plans ...
Just after the contract for Japan was signed, I heard back from the interview, and they wanted me to come aboard! Not only did they want me, but wanted me in the next few days! Holy smokes! As it happened, March Break was just about to begin, and (for those following along at home) it was a big time at the Diefenbunker museum and was committed there during that week.
So, late March came, and I headed back to the first techie-type job I'd had since September, 2001. So far, so good .. it's an interesting experience, so far ... not tremendously stressful, but time-consuming and tiring at times.
What is a challenge, though is keeping everything on track. The contract runs until June 30. I'm involved in a play that opens at the end of April. I leave for Japan on July 14. As you could imagine, there are many things that need to happen before all of these dates come to be. Don't get me wrong .. I feel very blessed to have these opportunities .. it wasn't that long ago when it seemed the world had forgotten about me. Friends had drifted away .. which was quite gut-wrenching, as I'd asked many of them to keep in touch while I slogged through the transition from Algonquin to, well, whatever came after .. there still weren't many opportunities, and my income dropped to nearly zilch.
My cup runneth over
If all these things weren't enough, it seems even *more* people are interested in
me. I received two interesting letters in the mail this week. One was from Queen's University
indicating I'd been accepted in the B Ed program for this fall .. given that it's a challenging
program to be admitted to, I really didn't expect I'd be offered a spot. Not only was
I offered an opportunity, but it was exactly for the program I'd applied for (upper Elementary
school). And then, I received a letter indicating I'd been put on the short list
for the JET program, a program with the Japanese Government that places
Assistant teachers in Japanese public schools for a year. It's a competitive program
and I was amazed that I'd been considered, let along short-listed. I'm somewhat older
than most people who apply, and again, didn't think the interview went great .. but
evidently it went better than I'd thought .. ;)
So, after all that .. is there any downside? Well, I could sure use a bit more sleep, and
my dishes and laundry don't get done as often as I'd like .. but given the alternative,
I'll take this, any day .. ;)
When we last saw our intrepid hero, he was lost in a dilemma, was short of income, and long on free time. The opportunity to sleep late most days, while the rest of the 'civilized' world rushed off to office jobs was certainly welcome, but not particularly well paying.
Well, life certainly has some interesting tricks up its sleeve.
Just over a month ago, a fellow I used to work with called ... out of the blue, and asked if I was looking for employment. I said I was, and very quickly we arranged an interview at the small software company that he's been with for a couple years, now. The good news .. I went for the interview, though it was fairly brief, it seemed to go okay and the people I met seemed nice. The not-so-good news ... just a few days before the interview, I had come down with a horrendous flu, was feverish, wobbly and had almost no voice. Not exactly the impression one wishes to make when attending the first technical job interview I've had in over three years.
Nevertheless, it went alright, and while I didn't really expect much to come from the interview, it was a good experience. In the interim, the offer I'd been semi-expecting to go to Japan came through, and I accepted, knowing that this was a good opportunity, and was certain employment for at least a year. I had figured I'd go digging for part-time jobs .. maybe slinging coffee, or stocking shelves, to build up some cash before heading to Japan in July.
The best laid plans ...
Just after the contract for Japan was signed, I heard back from the interview, and they wanted me to come aboard! Not only did they want me, but wanted me in the next few days! Holy smokes! As it happened, March Break was just about to begin, and (for those following along at home) it was a big time at the Diefenbunker museum and was committed there during that week.
So, late March came, and I headed back to the first techie-type job I'd had since September, 2001. So far, so good .. it's an interesting experience, so far ... not tremendously stressful, but time-consuming and tiring at times.
What is a challenge, though is keeping everything on track. The contract runs until June 30. I'm involved in a play that opens at the end of April. I leave for Japan on July 14. As you could imagine, there are many things that need to happen before all of these dates come to be. Don't get me wrong .. I feel very blessed to have these opportunities .. it wasn't that long ago when it seemed the world had forgotten about me. Friends had drifted away .. which was quite gut-wrenching, as I'd asked many of them to keep in touch while I slogged through the transition from Algonquin to, well, whatever came after .. there still weren't many opportunities, and my income dropped to nearly zilch.
My cup runneth over
If all these things weren't enough, it seems even *more* people are interested in
me. I received two interesting letters in the mail this week. One was from Queen's University
indicating I'd been accepted in the B Ed program for this fall .. given that it's a challenging
program to be admitted to, I really didn't expect I'd be offered a spot. Not only was
I offered an opportunity, but it was exactly for the program I'd applied for (upper Elementary
school). And then, I received a letter indicating I'd been put on the short list
for the JET program, a program with the Japanese Government that places
Assistant teachers in Japanese public schools for a year. It's a competitive program
and I was amazed that I'd been considered, let along short-listed. I'm somewhat older
than most people who apply, and again, didn't think the interview went great .. but
evidently it went better than I'd thought .. ;)
So, after all that .. is there any downside? Well, I could sure use a bit more sleep, and
my dishes and laundry don't get done as often as I'd like .. but given the alternative,
I'll take this, any day .. ;)
posted by xiz at 4:16 AM
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