Off the top, let me just say that I dislike phone interviews. In person you can read body language, gage facial expressions to your responses, see when you've made a misstep and cover. On the phone you have no clues, unless you hear something the interviewers voice.
Today I had a phone interview. I got the interview via a headhunter. They cold called me. Alright but the position sounded good, in my field, money was excellent and it's downtown, so far all aces. The agent (for the HH) sends me the job description and says he can't emphasize enough how important it is to these people that I be prepared, "so visit their website and do some research," he says. Which I did based on the job description he sent me.
The interview came this morning and it started fine but then I asked a few key questions, to demonstrate that I had researched and knew something of the position only to find out that that position is another project all together what I would be doing was this other thing.
DAMN!!!!
I mean really. So I did the best I could do to cover, mentioned that the HH must have sent me the wrong thing (the HH and the interviewer are old friends). The interview lasted about 35 minutes but was only supposed to be 10 or 15. Long is good I think. It means they were interested, I believe.
He did say he would recommend me to the team lead and if the lead was interested I'd be invited for an in person interview. Tomorrow I'm calling the HH to complain and to see if he had any follow up.
GRRRRR!!!!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
New toys
So as we're thinking of selling the ole homestead we're doing minor changes that we've put off. One of those was to replace the shower head in the guest bathroom, as it leaked.
To that end, the SU and I headed to the Home Depot on Saturday.
Wait let me start at the beginning.
Spring is here and as the weather has warmed the SU has gotten the green thumb itch, which is all fine, except that we live in a condo and don't a green space to play in. As we have a Home Depot right across the road, we often wander into their garden centre (hey it's close and we don't have a car - don't judge).
About a week and a half ago, we were walking into Home Depot and noticed a sign for a job fair. Now I know that the Home Depot head office (the Canadian Head office anyway) has a Training Department for the various stores, so I thought, if I applied and got something part time, it wouldn't impede my regular job search and might lead to a full time position in their training department. So I noted the date but not the time and planned to attend.
On the day of the job fair, I couldn't remember the time but convinced myself that it was starting at 1, so I showered, primped and shaved and headed there at one. Big mistake.
It had started at 11. By the time I got there the line was so long that they had halted taking any further applications as they had too many people.
I was mad at myself so since shopping, like eating, is one of my de-stressers I decided to wander around the store. It was then I happened upon the shower heads.
As I said we're talking about selling, if I don't find a job, and if we do there are small fixes we need to do before we put it on the market. So I took note of the model and price and the next time the SU and I went to the garden centre I showed him the one I wanted. We also looked new faucets for the kitchen and a new range hood.
We bought the shower head. A nice rain shower head with a long hose which is really convenient as we can take out plants into the bathroom and pull this right down to water them.
The first shower I took under the "natarul" rain fall I hated. I felt there wasn't enough water pressure. The second shower I just relaxed and really enjoyed it. Now I'm loving my new toy. (sorry no shower pics - nobody wants to see that).
I'm glad we bought, we didn't go top of the line but we didn't cheap out either, it's a nice head and fits well in out bathroom. The condo has pretty small bathrooms, the guest one is slightly larger then the master bath but they're functional.
In other news, I have had a head hunter cold call me about a job. No gaurantees and I won't go into details yet, until I at least get an interview but it was nice, it made me feel good after so much silence on the job front and it's a very good opportunity. So fingers crossed it works out.
I'm remaining upbeat and the changes I discussed with the head hunter for my resume and cover letter are, I think pretty good. So I have a renewed sense of purpose and a kick ass cover letter that I can tailor easily.
Need some luck and a break or two.
Ciao.
To that end, the SU and I headed to the Home Depot on Saturday.
Wait let me start at the beginning.
Spring is here and as the weather has warmed the SU has gotten the green thumb itch, which is all fine, except that we live in a condo and don't a green space to play in. As we have a Home Depot right across the road, we often wander into their garden centre (hey it's close and we don't have a car - don't judge).
About a week and a half ago, we were walking into Home Depot and noticed a sign for a job fair. Now I know that the Home Depot head office (the Canadian Head office anyway) has a Training Department for the various stores, so I thought, if I applied and got something part time, it wouldn't impede my regular job search and might lead to a full time position in their training department. So I noted the date but not the time and planned to attend.
On the day of the job fair, I couldn't remember the time but convinced myself that it was starting at 1, so I showered, primped and shaved and headed there at one. Big mistake.
It had started at 11. By the time I got there the line was so long that they had halted taking any further applications as they had too many people.
I was mad at myself so since shopping, like eating, is one of my de-stressers I decided to wander around the store. It was then I happened upon the shower heads.
As I said we're talking about selling, if I don't find a job, and if we do there are small fixes we need to do before we put it on the market. So I took note of the model and price and the next time the SU and I went to the garden centre I showed him the one I wanted. We also looked new faucets for the kitchen and a new range hood.
We bought the shower head. A nice rain shower head with a long hose which is really convenient as we can take out plants into the bathroom and pull this right down to water them.
The first shower I took under the "natarul" rain fall I hated. I felt there wasn't enough water pressure. The second shower I just relaxed and really enjoyed it. Now I'm loving my new toy. (sorry no shower pics - nobody wants to see that).
I'm glad we bought, we didn't go top of the line but we didn't cheap out either, it's a nice head and fits well in out bathroom. The condo has pretty small bathrooms, the guest one is slightly larger then the master bath but they're functional.
In other news, I have had a head hunter cold call me about a job. No gaurantees and I won't go into details yet, until I at least get an interview but it was nice, it made me feel good after so much silence on the job front and it's a very good opportunity. So fingers crossed it works out.
I'm remaining upbeat and the changes I discussed with the head hunter for my resume and cover letter are, I think pretty good. So I have a renewed sense of purpose and a kick ass cover letter that I can tailor easily.
Need some luck and a break or two.
Ciao.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Eating my stress away
The last few months have been very stressful what with losing my job and then the diagnoses of possibly, maybe, might be something malignant but we don't know yet.
Everybody has different ways of dealing with stress. I tend to over eat and the binge of choice for me is JAM, almost any flavour will do thank you very much.
Hi my name is Don and I am a JAM addict.
I do not mean to make light of those with drug and alcohol addictions but for me JAM is my drug of choice. I kid you not. And by JAM I mean sugared fruit, boiled and sealed in jars. Spreadable on toast or just eaten right out of the jar with a spoon, with or without peanut butter.
I finally admitted to this addiction about 6 years ago, and stopped buying Jam because of it. I would go through a jar in like a day, maybe 2, certainly not longer then that and I don't mean a small jar. It was, honestly, just better not to have it around.
This was tough when I lived with my brothers, as they both loved PB&J sandwiches as well so they wanted to have Jam in the house all the time, however, things have been easier since moving in with the SU. He's not really into Jams so it hasn't been difficult not keeping it in the house.
When I first got the diagnoses, we had Marmalade in the fridge (for overnight guests). Marmalade is kinda of safe as I don't really like the orange flavour of it, however, even that wasn't a deterrent. I started eating that. And worse, hiding the fact that I was eating it by burying the jar back in the fridge so the SU wouldn't notice it and then replacing it when it got low.
Then I lost my job. Well to hell with marmalade. I bought raspberry (my personal fav) and 4 fruit jam, and strawberry jam. I've gone through loafs of bread and many jars of jam in the 2 months since then. As the diagnoses continued to move along and narrow to a possible cancer related illness the stress level just went up as did the jam consumption.
After the last results, when the malignancy was mentioned, I binged again eating PB&J for days. Some days that's all I ate. Anybody watch the Big Brother shows on CBS? When they used to put the losing food challenge members on PBJ for a week? hell I'd have thrown the comp, that is not a punishment for me.
Again, after the malignancy was indicated I kinda lost all motivation, I ate and stopped working out, stopped job searching and ate.
Now the good news is the final diagnoses is in and that it's not a malignant parotid neoplasm but only a polyp that will likely go away on it's own. The specialist was very nice and reassuring, just indicated that I continue to watch the area and if I get noticeable swelling to come see him again but he doubts that I will.
The damage is done though. I have half a jar of raspberry jam left. I've gained 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks.
Today I must rededicate myself to avoiding my addiction. People with serious drug and alcohol addictions are probably reading this and scoffing, thinking I'm making fun of them but I can honestly say this is as much a crutch for me as their addiciton is for them.
I got back on the WII Fit this morning and I'm going to continue to work out every day, I need to get the Jam out of the house and not buy more. The SU knows about my addiction (which is why I hid the marmalade I mentioned earlier) but I've been hiding other jams from him too. He doesn't know about the jar that is currently half empty. He would mention it, especially the rate that it's decreasing but he hasn't, so he hasn't spotted it.
So my first step is to come clean to him tonight when he gets home from work. And then dump the jam that's left, just get it out of the house. Second to get active again, via the WII Fit and just by taking advantage of this warm March sunny weather and getting out and walking, hiking something. The area of Toronto we live in, is close to the Scarborough Bluffs park system, there are trails both at the top of the bluff and along the base right at the water line. I could walk down to the bluffs park in 10 minutes. We've been there twice in 3 years.
Today there is a job fair at Home Depot. I think I'll walk over there and see what they have available. It is not my career of choice but if they have something part time and I'm able to get it, it will be something to get me active, to get out of the house and to help motivate me to do other things.
A clean bill of health, a warm sunny day (well warm sunny weekend really) to look forward to. It's time to get out of my funk and break my cycle of stress and mild depression.
Everybody has different ways of dealing with stress. I tend to over eat and the binge of choice for me is JAM, almost any flavour will do thank you very much.
Hi my name is Don and I am a JAM addict.
I do not mean to make light of those with drug and alcohol addictions but for me JAM is my drug of choice. I kid you not. And by JAM I mean sugared fruit, boiled and sealed in jars. Spreadable on toast or just eaten right out of the jar with a spoon, with or without peanut butter.
I finally admitted to this addiction about 6 years ago, and stopped buying Jam because of it. I would go through a jar in like a day, maybe 2, certainly not longer then that and I don't mean a small jar. It was, honestly, just better not to have it around.
This was tough when I lived with my brothers, as they both loved PB&J sandwiches as well so they wanted to have Jam in the house all the time, however, things have been easier since moving in with the SU. He's not really into Jams so it hasn't been difficult not keeping it in the house.
When I first got the diagnoses, we had Marmalade in the fridge (for overnight guests). Marmalade is kinda of safe as I don't really like the orange flavour of it, however, even that wasn't a deterrent. I started eating that. And worse, hiding the fact that I was eating it by burying the jar back in the fridge so the SU wouldn't notice it and then replacing it when it got low.
Then I lost my job. Well to hell with marmalade. I bought raspberry (my personal fav) and 4 fruit jam, and strawberry jam. I've gone through loafs of bread and many jars of jam in the 2 months since then. As the diagnoses continued to move along and narrow to a possible cancer related illness the stress level just went up as did the jam consumption.
After the last results, when the malignancy was mentioned, I binged again eating PB&J for days. Some days that's all I ate. Anybody watch the Big Brother shows on CBS? When they used to put the losing food challenge members on PBJ for a week? hell I'd have thrown the comp, that is not a punishment for me.
Again, after the malignancy was indicated I kinda lost all motivation, I ate and stopped working out, stopped job searching and ate.
Now the good news is the final diagnoses is in and that it's not a malignant parotid neoplasm but only a polyp that will likely go away on it's own. The specialist was very nice and reassuring, just indicated that I continue to watch the area and if I get noticeable swelling to come see him again but he doubts that I will.
The damage is done though. I have half a jar of raspberry jam left. I've gained 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks.
Today I must rededicate myself to avoiding my addiction. People with serious drug and alcohol addictions are probably reading this and scoffing, thinking I'm making fun of them but I can honestly say this is as much a crutch for me as their addiciton is for them.
I got back on the WII Fit this morning and I'm going to continue to work out every day, I need to get the Jam out of the house and not buy more. The SU knows about my addiction (which is why I hid the marmalade I mentioned earlier) but I've been hiding other jams from him too. He doesn't know about the jar that is currently half empty. He would mention it, especially the rate that it's decreasing but he hasn't, so he hasn't spotted it.
So my first step is to come clean to him tonight when he gets home from work. And then dump the jam that's left, just get it out of the house. Second to get active again, via the WII Fit and just by taking advantage of this warm March sunny weather and getting out and walking, hiking something. The area of Toronto we live in, is close to the Scarborough Bluffs park system, there are trails both at the top of the bluff and along the base right at the water line. I could walk down to the bluffs park in 10 minutes. We've been there twice in 3 years.
Today there is a job fair at Home Depot. I think I'll walk over there and see what they have available. It is not my career of choice but if they have something part time and I'm able to get it, it will be something to get me active, to get out of the house and to help motivate me to do other things.
A clean bill of health, a warm sunny day (well warm sunny weekend really) to look forward to. It's time to get out of my funk and break my cycle of stress and mild depression.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Malignant is such an ugly word
In early December I noticed what I thought was swelling on the left side of my throat. I was convinced I felt it. I had the SU feel for it but he felt nothing but not convinced I headed off to the doctor to have him check it out. You see my father died from cancer that started in his throat and we were warned to be on the watch for similar cancers, so I don't want to take a chance.
However, the doctor doesn't feel anything either. Just to be sure though, and given my family history, he sent me for an Ultrasound.
A few days after the Ultrasound, much quicker then I'd anticipated, I get a call to come in and see the doctor as soon as I can.
It seems that the left side is completely clean, no problem at all but the Ultrasound indicates that there is an "undefined" mass on the right side attached to the Parotid gland (one of the Salivary glands). More testing is needed to determine what that mass might be.
In January I went for a CT-Scan to get a better view of the mass. It took a while to get the results back, and I think they were misplaced for a while but I finally got the results in late February. The usual time period for results is 3-4 weeks, mine took 6.
While the CT-Scan still cannot definitively say what the mass is, it is indicative of a Parotid Neoplasm, which may be malignant. More testing is needed and certainly a biopsy is indicated to determine malignancy. I know they're being careful and looking out for me but if they can't tell what it is, I think it's irresponsible to be throwing words like malignant around. It certainly scared the SU, well both of us really.
The next step, the biopsy, is scheduled for Thursday of this week, I think. I'm seeing the ENT guy at least on Thursday.
We're stressing, of course. We're trying not too but we are.
The possible diagnoses raises lots of questions. Should I continue to look for a job? If it turns out to something, even if it's a benign mass, I'm still facing surgery to remove it, add to that recovery time, kemo treatments if they're needed. It does not seem the best time to be starting a new job.
And yet I cannot continue to own my home and pay my bills unless I have a job that pays a decent salary. And if I was lucky enough to land such a job in the next couple of weeks? Would I be able to keep it having to take time off for surgery and cancer treatments? I think not.
Where to we go from here? We're not sure. Nothing is sure until we see the doctor this week.
However, the doctor doesn't feel anything either. Just to be sure though, and given my family history, he sent me for an Ultrasound.
A few days after the Ultrasound, much quicker then I'd anticipated, I get a call to come in and see the doctor as soon as I can.
It seems that the left side is completely clean, no problem at all but the Ultrasound indicates that there is an "undefined" mass on the right side attached to the Parotid gland (one of the Salivary glands). More testing is needed to determine what that mass might be.
In January I went for a CT-Scan to get a better view of the mass. It took a while to get the results back, and I think they were misplaced for a while but I finally got the results in late February. The usual time period for results is 3-4 weeks, mine took 6.
While the CT-Scan still cannot definitively say what the mass is, it is indicative of a Parotid Neoplasm, which may be malignant. More testing is needed and certainly a biopsy is indicated to determine malignancy. I know they're being careful and looking out for me but if they can't tell what it is, I think it's irresponsible to be throwing words like malignant around. It certainly scared the SU, well both of us really.
The next step, the biopsy, is scheduled for Thursday of this week, I think. I'm seeing the ENT guy at least on Thursday.
We're stressing, of course. We're trying not too but we are.
The possible diagnoses raises lots of questions. Should I continue to look for a job? If it turns out to something, even if it's a benign mass, I'm still facing surgery to remove it, add to that recovery time, kemo treatments if they're needed. It does not seem the best time to be starting a new job.
And yet I cannot continue to own my home and pay my bills unless I have a job that pays a decent salary. And if I was lucky enough to land such a job in the next couple of weeks? Would I be able to keep it having to take time off for surgery and cancer treatments? I think not.
Where to we go from here? We're not sure. Nothing is sure until we see the doctor this week.
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