tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31360786724829000792024-03-14T02:32:57.808-04:00Life After Grad SchoolMy attempts to re-establish my life after (finally) completing grad school.Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-24885203265451006182012-06-24T16:57:00.001-04:002012-06-24T16:57:40.740-04:00Attitudes towards Child BirthI've been experiencing a bit of culture shock over the differing attitudes towards child birth here in the deep south. Back in NE, there is a trend towards natural child birth - no interventions or medications unless medically necessary. This trend has been going on since my mother was pregnant with me! Here in the deep south, attitudes are definitely a good 30-40 years behind! C-section rates are close to 70%, episiotomy (which in NE will only be performed IF medically necessary) is common and why wouldn't you want to be induced? I actually had one woman that I barely know tell me to schedule a C-section rather than go through labor. She couldn't fathom why I wouldn't want major surgery. Hmmm....pain for a few hours/days or pain for a few WEEKS? Thankfully, my doctor supports all of my choices. She fully understands that I will leave the hospital if staff isn't listening to me. Now I just have to find a good birthing class online or on DVD. See, we don't have any of those within a 3 hour driving distance. Well, we have 1 "Christian birthing class" taught by some local minister. From what I've heard, pain management in that class is "offering your suffering up to the Lord" and praying. Yeah, because I could totally make it through THAT class without making the instructor cry.
Anyone have any recommendations for a good online class or DVD on natural childbirth?Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-16945710545614888762012-05-06T15:31:00.001-04:002012-05-06T15:31:12.499-04:00PackagingDH has some very important meetings this week, so we went to purchase him some new dress shirts. For some reason, every time he wears a dress shirt, he ends up in lab and the dress shirt either ends up with a hole or a stain. So after what seemed like 6 hours of shopping, he had 4 dress shirts. When we got home, I went to put the dress shirts in the wash, only to discover that the packaging on men's dress shirts is a total pain in the ass. There were 3 plastic tag things to cut off, 2-3 stickers, a plastic collar thingy on one side and a cardboard collar thingy on the other side, a cardboard piece the shirt was folded around, a piece of tissue paper and 12 pins. Seriously, what gives? This can't be an environmentally friendly way of packaging the shirts. Why are shirts packaged this way anyways? Doesn't it make it hard to try the shirt on?Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-28987977067345507002012-04-22T16:25:00.001-04:002012-04-22T16:25:58.710-04:00Maternity shortsYes, it is official, I'm pregnant. Having a short torso and really long legs, I'm already having issues finding maternity clothes. For the most part, maternity tops just don't come in petite. This isn't a really big deal as I am compensating by wearing tank tops underneath so that when the maternity top inevitably slides off my shoulder, at least I'm not baring my entire shoulder and chest! Obviously, some styles just work better than others. I've also managed to find jeans, which is good because I live in jeans when I'm in the lab. The piece of clothing I'm having issues with is maternity shorts. In lovely Mississippi, the only maternity shorts I can find are Daisy Dukes. Really? Who thought THAT was a good idea? Then again, most of the pregnant women I've met around here are a good 10-15 years younger than me (Mississippi has a HUGE teenage pregnancy problem, probably due to the fact that they outlawed sex ed in schools). So maybe Daisy Duke maternity shorts make sense to the teenage crowd? In any case, I've been able to order a single pair of mid-length shorts online (only had one pair in my size). So it looks like I'll be wearing those and an old pair of DH's workout shorts from the Navy this summer....Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-33579284171882738672012-01-22T19:38:00.004-05:002012-01-22T20:16:04.042-05:00HHS Edict ControversyI have been inundated with friends and relatives posting on Facebook about how it is illegal for the US government to force Catholic institutions to "provide abortions and contraceptives" as it is a violation of the First Amendment. My reaction is that 90% of these people need to go back to school and relearn reading comprehension and civics. I have 3 main issues with these Facebook posts.<br /><br />First issue: The HHS Edict States that Health Insurance Plans HAVE to offer coverage for contraceptives and abortions under preventive care. This means that the big Catholic Universities, Hospitals and Schools (ie businesses) must offer coverage for contraceptives and abortions. This does not mean that anyone is decreeing that people who object to these services HAVE to utilize them. The only must be included in the health insurance plan by law. Direct employees of the Catholic Church (think priests, nuns, rectory employees, groundskeepers, etc) are exempt from this requirement because the funding for their paychecks comes directly from a religious organization. Why are the Catholic Universities, Hospitals and Schools required to offer them? Well, because most of them accept at least some form of money from our government: research grants, Medicare payments, education subsidies, etc. If they don't want to offer contraceptives and abortion coverage then they do NOT have to. All they have to do is stop accepting government money for ANYTHING. Yet they are Businesses, so they don't want to do that.<br /><br />Second Issue: I'm not sure WHERE people are getting this, but they seem to think that the Government is going to require Catholic Hospitals to offer contraceptives and abortions. In any case, my argument is the same as above- as long as they take Medicare, they have to have a contract with the Government. If the Government wants to stipulate that in order to get Medicare payments, they must offer certain services, well guess what, they can! This is called contract negotiation and it is part of the foundation of free commerce. Once again, the Catholic Church is under no obligation to enter this contract. However, without the Medicare contract, the Catholic Church has only two options. One is that they will have to turn patients away - thereby losing their status as Emergency and Trauma Centers as in order to earn these designations, you have to accept all patients regardless of insurance or ability to pay. The other options is that the church will have to shell out a LOT of extra money to finance the care of patients with Medicare. Either way, this hurts their profit margins.<br /><br />Third Issue: The US Government is "attacking Catholicism." This isn't something "singling Catholics out." Catholics are just the only religion making themselves look like uneducated asses over it. <br /><br />OK, end of my rant. Feel free to disagree - I do enjoy debating!Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-70188023057052906492011-12-10T11:51:00.003-05:002011-12-10T12:04:55.009-05:00Absence from BloggingAs most people know, I've had a lot of changes in my life in the past year. I moved 1500 miles to take a new job in Mississippi. I love my job. As any scientist knows, when you take a new position, there is a lot of setting up new projects and grant/proposal writing. In my first 4 months, I spent so much time staring at a computer that I just can't come home and do it, hence the limited blogging. My husband and I also purchased our first home in July (which is a long story). As any homeowner knows, it takes some time (and lots and lots of trips to Home Depot) to get a new home the way you want it. While we're not done by any means (does it ever really end?), we've now limited ourselves to one project a month. So there is life after grad school. Not surprisingly, it's just as busy as life IN grad school. However, the paycheck is a lot better. :) I'll try to post more regularly from this point on.Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-42102668639629467822011-08-16T22:45:00.003-04:002011-08-16T23:24:26.372-04:00"Every time I think about it, all I feel is angry!""Every time I think about it, all I feel is angry!" These words were spoken by a friend who is in the same shitty grad student situation I was in just a little over 2 years ago. Like me, she wrote her doctoral dissertation and has been put off by an advisor who doesn't give a damn. Unlike me, she doesn't get weekly emails with lame-ass excuses from her advisor, she actually had absolutely no contact with her advisor for 2 years. Her advisor even took a sabbatical to work with the Obama administration without even notifying her! Her university, unlike mine, DID step in -after 3 years when she refused to pay any more tuition without any progress on her degree! Although all her university has accomplished is re-establishing email contact between her and her advisor. She was supposed to have a defense date by now...she still hasn't received permission to distribute her thesis. Boy, do I know how that feels. I don't blame her at all for being angry. 2 years later and I can honestly say that whenever I think about how I was treated, I still get angry. Not just the "it really pissed me off" abstract angry but "I see red and I'm bound and determined to do whatever I can to 1. make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else and 2. make sure that no one I know even THINKS that attending that university is a good idea!
<br />
<br />Revenge is a bitch and I'm really good at being a bitch. Yes, it would probably be healthier to forgive and forget. However, NOTHING would change. That is just NOT acceptable to me. If just thinking about the situation makes me angry 2 years later, then it is not some minor annoyance. I lost 3 years to Professor Sunshine's decision to not give a damn about my dissertation. That is 3 years of having to depend on others to support me. That is 3 years of canceling plans with friends because I just didn't have the money to go out. That is 3 years of depression and self-doubt for which there was no actual reason. I can't let it go. However, the ONLY things I can do is steer people away from that university and do whatever I can to get graduate education reformed in the US. Clearly, with the same thing happening to different students in different programs at different universities is an indication that something isn't right with our system and something needs to change. I think the best change would be for your advisor to NOT have a seat on your committee and NOT have a say in when you graduate, similar to the British system. Yes, the British system can be a bit harsh at times, but if you aren't going to get a degree, they flat out tell you. I haven't heard of anyone being strung along like I was in that system.
<br /> Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-81568037320484240142011-04-30T18:53:00.007-04:002011-04-30T20:17:11.092-04:00AT&T Internet Service SagaThe second full day I was in MS, I discovered that I live on the wrong side of the street to get the MLB package AND NHL center ice (some services I could get one, but not both). So I decided to keep the TV packed up (it is an old 13 inch TV, so no big loss) and went to obtain internet service. First, there is no Fios and no broadband (well, no broadband without a multiple-year contract- something I don't want as I plan to move within 6 months) available here. So that means my choices are dial-up (haven't had to use dial-up since 1996!) or DSL. Of the DSL service providers, AT&T had the best service rating and actually the best prices. So I set out to acquire AT&T internet services.<br /><br />Day 1- Struggled to locate AT&T store. Based on their address, they are at the local mall (if you can call a building with 5 military recruitment centers, a Radio Shack, a magic store and a movie theater a mall). However, they are not actually even located within the mall parking lot. They have a separate driveway next to the mall. You can't even get to said driveway from the mall parking lot! Finally find the store only to be told that without proof of residence, I can't set up internet service. Arrgh!<br /><br />Day 3 - On the advice of an AT&T service rep at the store, I order internet service online (no proof of residence check!). No email confirming my order, which seems a bit odd.<br /><br />Day 4- Call AT&T because still no email confirming my order. Am told that I need to call again the next day because it can take up to 24 hours for an order to be processed and the confirmation email to be sent.<br /><br />Day 5 - Call AT&T again. Get Angela, the bitchy customer service rep. Angela tells me that my order was canceled because the telephone number I provided, my cell phone number, did not match the service area in which I wanted internet service. What an absolute crock. You can't tell me that in this day and age, this isn't something that AT&T doesn't deal with ALL THE TIME. I figure out pretty quickly that Angela just wants me to purchase more services. She gets very annoyed when I say slowly that I only want internet service. She then tries to sell me a landline. I ask her what good a landline would do when everyone would call my cell phone anyways. "Then you'd have a local number to establish internet service with" is her reply. She didn't like my reply of "that is the dumbest reason I have ever heard. Are you going to take my order for internet service or am I going to hang up, call back and give my order to a customer service rep that is going to listen to what I want?" Angela was very annoyed, but started processing my order- right up until the point where she told me how much it would cost- 3x what it would if I ordered service over the internet. I then told her that I wasn't interested in internet service at that price and asked her to match the internet offer. When Angela then informed me that she couldn't match the offer, I thanked her for her effort, told her I wasn't interested and hung up. I then spoke with my boss about using my office phone number as the reference number, got his OK, and placed yet another internet order.<br /><br />Day 6 - Still no confirmation email. <br /><br />Day 7 - Still no confirmation email, so I call AT&T and am informed that no such order exists. At this point, I have a signed copy of my lease, so I decide to go back to the AT&T store. I reach the AT&T store at 4:55pm and am turned away because they close at 5pm. What is with all these stores being open only from 9-5 on weekdays?<br /><br />Day 10 - Go to AT&T store on my lunch break. They can't activate internet service because there is already service at my location. I'm going to have to get the previous tennant's service turned off before I can establish service. They call my landlady who does precisely nothing. Then Tamara, a supervisor at the AT&T store, pulls up the account information- and discovers that my INITIAL order, that Angela told me was canceled, has actually been processed! Tamara is then incredibly awesome as she worked to verify that my second order was never processed because there was already an active account. Tamara then gives me the UPS tracking number for my router. I call UPS, and discover that because AT&T didn't put my apartment number on the router box , they couldn't deliver it! I ask to have the package held and race to the UPS shipping center to pick it up. Follow the directions and set up internet access. FINALLY<br /><br />Day 11 - My laptop has been on its last legs for 6 months- it finally dies. Massive hard drive failure, it would cost $800 to repair- decide to put that money towards a new computer. <br /><br />Day 16- Receive my new Mac laptop (ordered online by my husband because I, of course, have no way of accessing the internet now). My Mac won't connect to the internet via ethernet. The wireless works no problem, but no ethernet. Damn. Is it my new computer, or this router?<br /><br />Day 17 - Bring my new computer to work, it connects to the internet just fine via ethernet. Bring my work laptop home (PC) and it connects via ethernet, but not via wireless, Call AT&T tech support. Am treated like an idiot by Jed, who sounds like "Peggy" from the Discover commercial.... Work PC connects via wireless, but can't do anything on internet because I don't have permission for my computer to use wireless networks. Finally get the mac to connect to the internet via ethernet. Hang up the phone with Jed and 20 minutes later, the Mac can't connect via ethernet again.<br /><br />Day 18 - Have the work IT people enable my work laptop to use wireless networks. Initially, they are very pissy about this, but when I point out that I'm not going to travel for work with a computer that can't use wireless networks, they do the job and enable the settings at my request. Bring work laptop home- still won't connect to internet via wireless (although it connects to the wireless network at the local coffee shop). Mac still won't connect to internet via ethernet. Call AT&T and get someone that knows Macs (finally!). I am given new settings to type in and everything appears to work by the time I hang up. Never addressed the problem with the PC.<br /><br />Day 17 - Receive bill for internet service (with my apartment number on it!), that states my service start date is one week before I even received the router. Call AT&T billing. Daniella is initially resistant to my complaint, but warms up and gives me a credit for that week that I didn't have the router after I offer to scan and email the slip from UPS saying when I picked up the package (I did think ahead to ask for one!). I am a bit disgruntled to find out that my internet promotion rate won't kick in for 1-3 billing cycles, something I was never informed of! <br /><br />Day 18- Mac can't connect to internet via ethernet again. This means that I can't watch the Red Sox-Yankee game online. Call AT&T tech support again. I get Andrea. Andrea stays on the line with me for 45 minutes trying to trouble shoot my problems. She is a bit annoyed that I don't have the PC home with me so she can check that issue, but she gets over it quickly. After 45 minutes, Andrea concludes that I need a new router. She orders one for me and nicely double checks that the address contains my apartment number so that I will get the new router in a timely manner.<br /><br />Day 20- Receive the new router. Can't get the Mac to connect at all. Call AT&T tech support and get John, who initially treats me like an idiot. After 15 minutes, John realizes that the issue is that my passwords don't match- the new router isn't configured to use MY passwords yet, but my account is already set up, so I can't use the passwords that came with the router. John resets the passwords and I breeze through the set-up just in time to watch my first playoff hockey game that night!<br /><br />Day 30 - Get my second bill from AT&T charging me for the new router, even though I had already mailed the old one back to them. Call AT&T billing and spend 30 minutes going up levels of management until they finally waive the fee for the second router because I can give them the tracking number of the one I mailed back to them. <br /><br />Day 31- Lose internet connection intermittently throughout a playoff hockey game. After game is over, I call AT&T tech support. They have no explanation, so they transfer me to the billing office, where I get absolutely no where. Have now written a letter to AT&T with my complaints as well as contacted the better business bureau. I'm sorry, but if I'm paying for a service and not receiving that service, then I should get a refund for the service I didn't receive!<br /><br /><br /><br />and so the saga continues.....Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-65622660318330387452011-04-12T21:15:00.003-04:002011-04-12T21:50:31.129-04:00Proof of residenceI've lived outside New England before. In fact, I lived outside of NE for 10 years. Never have I encountered a utility situation quite like that here in MS. However, my Dad informs me that the system here is common in several parts of the US. Here in MS, you can not just pick up the phone, call the utility company and have your utilities turned on. Oh no. Here, they want you to show up in person with a government-issued photo ID, a check for a deposit AND proof of residence. This last requirement is what caused me all sorts of headaches. I knew about the requirement for proof of residence prior to moving down. My landlord had told me that she expected me to have the utilities transferred to my name on or before the day I moved in. How I was supposed to do this before, I'm not sure. In any case, we had 2 phone conversations and an email about the need for her to provide me with a signed copy of the lease so that I could take care of this. I suggested that she either scan and email the lease BEFORE I moved (when I had access to a printer) or leave a signed copy of the lease in the apartment (I knew prior to the move that she was having someone else meet me with the key). No copy of the lease was left in the apartment. Therefore, I called her and told her that because she didn't hold up her end of the bargain (getting me a copy of the signed lease), the utilities would have to stay in her name until she provided me with a copy of the lease AND I could get sufficient time off of work to go to the utility companies and take care of it. She then responded by emailing me a copy of the lease. This did me precisely no good because my printer was on a moving truck and wasn't scheduled to be delivered till the following week. So I called her again asking what she though I could do with an emailed copy of a lease and no way to print it. She then arranged for "friends" at the utility company to overlook the proof of residence requirement. So I got my utilities turned on. However, without a copy of the lease, I couldn't get internet service, couldn't transfer my plates to MS plates or obtain a MS drivers license. Oh, and I couldn't even rent a PO Box without proof of residence either. Needless to say, my first day in MS had me in tears of anger and frustration more than once.Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-90076044713431169742011-04-08T21:16:00.003-04:002011-04-08T21:59:46.556-04:00LandlordAh, yes, my landlord. First off, I pretty much decided to rent this apartment because it was the only apartment the relocation expert found that would take Darwin. Then I got down here and discovered that the relocation expert is my landlord's sister. I would have no problem with the relocation expert throwing business to her sister if my landlord wasn't such a fruitcake. Seriously. First, how could she not know that my apartment wasn't ready? Either she's a space cadet or a really poor businesswoman. Second, when I moved into the apartment, the heat did not work because the fan did not work. I called my landlord each and every day asking when it would be fixed. After 2 weeks of this, I sent her an email saying I wasn't paying rent until she had the heat fixed. I then received a pissy email about how she couldn't let anyone into my apartment to fix the heat because of my dog (before signing the lease, I stressed that I was not going to be responsible for my dog biting someone if they entered the apartment without me being there). So I informed her (by voicemail and email) that I had meetings Monday afternoon, but could rearrange my work schedule the rest of the week to accommodate a repairman IF I had 2 days notice. She then left me a voice mail saying she'd schedule the repair for Monday morning. I then stressed (voicemail and email again), that I had to leave my apartment by 12:45 to attend my meetings and that I would like to know what time the repairman was coming. I repeated the voicemail/email combo again on Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning. I actually woke her up Monday morning because I called at 7:30AM. She still had no idea what time the repairman was coming as he hadn't even confirmed that he was coming with her. I informed her that I was going to work and that she should call me when she knew what time the repairman was arriving. I stressed once again that I had meetings that I HAD to attend that afternoon. Therefore, I was a little irate when she called me at 12:30 and said the repairman would be there in 10 minutes. Ummm....he could be there, but I couldn't meet him. She actually demanded that I cancel my meetings! However, when I informed her that if I canceled my meetings, I'd better cancel my lease because there was no reason for me to stay in MS without a job, she miraculously rescheduled the repairman to after my meetings. At this point, I was getting the definite impression that the only way to get through to this woman is by threatening to withhold rent or cancel the lease. While my heating was being repaired, the repairman noticed that I did not have any sort of filter on the air intake. He told my landlord, who decided that she'd drop one off. Luckily she called me first to make sure that Darwin was confined. Confined? He isn't a puppy and his house manners have been impeccable since he was 10 weeks old. She was shocked that I let my dog "roam free" in my absence. Seriously? what does she think he does in the apartment? In any case, she was then pissy because I told her to leave the filter in the door. What part of the "you will not enter the apartment unless I am present" does she not understand?<br /><br />Oh, and the kicker to all this? Crazy landlord lady wanted me to talk DH into using HER as our real estate agent when we bought a home. Yeah, like that would ever happen. All I have to say is that I'm warning all new hires here away from renting from this crazy lady. And the relocation expert? Yeah, I've been refusing her calls because I don't think I could say anything nice.Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-82959575604488594212011-04-07T19:50:00.006-04:002011-04-07T21:37:15.702-04:00Move to MSI hadn't mentioned it on my blog, but since last September, I've been working on obtaining a job as a government scientist. This job is truly my dream job- no teaching, about 2 months of grant writing per year and the rest of the time in the lab. Oh- and I only have to work on a particular project for 3-5 years. No studying a random protein on a random virus for the rest of my career. Only downside is that the job is in MS. <br /><br />2 days after my grandfather's funeral, I set out for MS with my Great Dane, Darwin. 90% of the items in the Jeep were for Darwin- I had a single suitcase and a backpack with my electronics. We made it to the half-way point in VA without any issues. The following day, we took longer rest stops - mostly because Darwin insisted on spending an hour rolling in the grass in the beautiful warm TN sunshine. Can't say I blame him, 70F felt very nice considering it was 20F when we set out the previous day! After we left the TN rest stop, I got a call from my landlord. My apartment was not going to be available to me upon my arrival in MS (despite the fact the landlord had already cashed my rent check AND had an additional week to get the apartment ready as I moved a week later than initially planned due to my grandfather's death). However, the landlord offered to put me up in a corporate apartment until my apartment was ready. OK. Not happy about this as I wanted to get Darwin settled in my new apartment before I started work, but what can I do? I show up at the corporate apartment at 10PM- only to discover that the previous tenant smoked menthols. I have always had a severe asthmatic reaction to menthols- there is no way I can stay in this apartment even for a single night! Of course, I can't get ahold of the landlord, so I left a pissy message and frantically called my husband. DH located a pet friendly motel for me, so I called and verified that they had a room. I was expecting some sort of sleazy place, but the motel was actually nicer than the more expensive hotel we'd stayed at the previous night. Darwin especially enjoyed the king-sized bed.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2uQgRsJN25E/TZ5iHfafcLI/AAAAAAAAAAU/lH9nGZwPFuA/s1600/03042011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2uQgRsJN25E/TZ5iHfafcLI/AAAAAAAAAAU/lH9nGZwPFuA/s320/03042011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593015668071952562" /></a><br /><br />The next day, I got a call from the landlord saying that she is very sensitive to cigarette smoke and never had a problem with the corporate apartment. I responded that sensitivities come in different strengths- and mine was likely greater than hers as I'd been reacting for 30+ years. The landlord then informed me that she'd inspected the apartment and it was ready for me to move in. She couldn't meet me with the key as she had a meeting, but she had a friend bring the key over. I went to the apartment and was appalled at how filthy it was. There was a layer of plaster dust all the way up the hall (I don't think that even a token attempt was made to clean it), the kitchen counters (white) were covered in stains and I don't even want to think about how nasty the bathroom and oven were. Needless to say $400 in cleaning supplies (including 2 boxes of disposable gloves), and the apartment is at least clean....Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-5227240729741116722011-03-26T19:15:00.002-04:002011-03-26T19:22:32.525-04:00Quick Update<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aL_JYHa7og0/TY51Gx9pptI/AAAAAAAAAAM/mVc83VQHGsg/s1600/Dad%2527s%2B85th%2BBD%2B002%2Bcropped.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 271px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aL_JYHa7og0/TY51Gx9pptI/AAAAAAAAAAM/mVc83VQHGsg/s320/Dad%2527s%2B85th%2BBD%2B002%2Bcropped.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588532946964948690" /></a><br />Since my last post, my beloved Grandpa has passed away, I've moved "down South" and I've started working as a government scientist. I have much to write about and I promise I'll post more soon. RIP Grandpa.Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-78892474011659979642011-02-13T14:22:00.003-05:002011-02-13T14:49:39.270-05:00Been bothering me for a while....So I'm a season ticket holder for an NHL team and have been for 2 years. In that two years, I've seen multiple airlines sponsor the starting lineup announcements. Didn't bother me in the slightest when Southwest or Jet Blue sponsored them last season. However, Air Tran has been sponsoring them this season and it really, really irks me. Why? Air Tran is NOT friendly to people traveling with hockey gear. In fact, they were downright hostile. The last time DH and I flew to a hockey tournament (he is a goalie) we unfortunately flew Air Tran. DH has been traveling with goalie equipment since he was in grade school, so he has a lot of experience toting his equipment around. He uses 2 hockey bags (essentially very large duffel bags) so that his equipment does not exceed the weight limits. Yes, the dimensions of the bags technically exceed the accepted dimensions- for a hard case. However, Air Tran (just like Southwest, Delta, and USAir), states that if the bag is soft-side, the measurements are taken via compressing the bag. As each bag is less than half-full, not a problem. Flying Air Tran to the tournament was no problem. We had to pay extra for his sticks, but that is generally the case (they exceed dimensions) unless we fly first class or Air Canada (hockey equipment flies free on Air Canada!). On the way home, however, the Air Tran officials would not follow their stated policy of measuring the bags at their compressed measurement. When we complained to the manager we were told, well, if you persist in complaining, I will charge you 2x the fee because you didn't get charged flying here. Manager then refused to give me a statement of his measurements of the bag. He even refused to give me a copy of the exact baggage policy they use (since they weren't following the one published on the web). Apparently, they can randomly decide that something is too big and they don't even have to furnish you with their measurements. Two written complaints to Air Tran were ignored until I got the better business bureau involved. Even then, all they would give me was an Air Tran credit for $30 (fee was $100). Like we were ever going to fly that airline again! I donated the credit and all of our airline miles to Fisher House Foundation (provides flights for family members of soldiers wounded in action). Even then, I felt guilty that I was condemning some poor worried family member to having to deal with Air Tran!Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-51164023137372398772011-01-16T20:44:00.002-05:002011-01-16T21:23:23.863-05:00Worst HR Rep EverLast October, I got contacted by the worst HR rep ever. First, he called and left a message- without referencing a job or a job number. When I called him back, I found out he was calling about a job application that I had filled out back in January- 10 months prior! He was quite annoyed that I didn't even recall his company nevermind what the position entailed. Most of the time when I get called by an HR rep months after applying to a position, they tell me that they've emailed the job description to me to refresh my memory and to return their call after I've looked it over. To appease him, I requested that he email me the job description and that I would call him back when I had looked over the details. I then call the guy back and he basically tells me that he is contacting me because they still haven't filled the position. He then implies that I am his last choice but HIS boss said that he wanted to interview me. Can we say unprofessional? He then tried to set up a phone interview with me the following evening at 7:30PM. He was surprised when I stated that the time was not convenient for me as I had a prior commitment (I had plans to attend a sporting event). He then told me that "you know, someone in your position can't pick and choose." I wasn't picking and choosing- he proposed a time that didn't work for me. For all he knew, I had scheduled another interview at that time or was working the late shift somewhere. So I simply reiterated that I had a prior commitment and asked for the next available interview opening. He told me that he'd have to get back to me. He then called me back at 7:45AM on a Saturday morning to schedule an interview. I was actually out walking the dog and returned the call when I returned. He then stated that if I wanted a job at his company, I would have to get used to getting up earlier (ummm....I can't tell you the number of times in grad school I started an experiment at 4AM in order to time it so that shared equipment would be available). I didn't reply to that statement...just let a long drawn out silence develop. He then responded "Well..." I replied that I was returning his call, why did he call me? He then responded that he called me to schedule an interview, but had changed his mind as he didn't think I'd be a good fit for his company. At this point, I was wondering what sort of reputable company can't fill a position in 10 months and works these sort of crazy hours. So I just replied I'm sorry he felt that way and wished him a enjoyable weekend. I then dismissed the entire incident from my mind until today. Yes, today, a Sunday, when I received a "LinkedIn" request from him. Yeah, because it's a good idea to network with someone who has implied that you are lazy and not worth employing. Oh, and I checked, the position I applied for- it is still open.Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-7141749758390617932011-01-16T20:03:00.003-05:002011-01-16T20:24:00.140-05:00Not sure what to thinkSo I messed up. I forgot to mail HH's birthday card until the day of her birthday. I truly meant to call her and wish her happy birthday (she may be psychotic and mean, but she is my grandmother). However, right as we finished dinner, we had an emergency call from the neighbors. My neighbor has been battling cancer for 22 years. She's gone into remission a few times, but it always comes back. In October, she had brain surgery to remove a tumor. Several months of therapy later, she is still experiencing seizure-like symptoms. After a long day at the hospital, she fell trying to get up the stairs to her house (therapists WANT her doing stairs, hence no wheel chair ramp). Her wheel chair is impossibly heavy, so the neighbors called for help carrying it and her up the stairs as neighbor's husband and daughter couldn't quite manage it. DH and Dad were both out, so that left me. I can lift about 40lbs when walking up stairs. Obvious solution is to carry neighbor up separately from her chair, but she is so exhausted that she can't assist and we were afraid of dropping her without the support of the wheelchair. So I proposed that the neighbor's daughter and I take the bottom of the chair while the husband took the top. Working together this way, we got my neighbor and her chair up the stairs and into her house. In all this excitement, I forgot all about HH's birthday until after 9PM. I called HH at 10 the next morning, got her machine and apologized profusely and wished her a happy birthday. Tried 2x more to get ahold of her, but kept getting the machine. Dad gets home from his weekly visit today, and tells me that she was snippy with him because I forgot to call on her birthday because the neighbors are clearly more important to me. There is a grain of truth to that statement, which is probably why it hurts, but at the same time, I owned up to what I did wrong and apologized. What more can I do? Tell the neighbor, "Would you mind waiting out in the cold for 10 minutes while I call my grandmother and wish her happy birthday?"Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-10009466291426587522010-12-19T20:29:00.003-05:002011-01-16T21:34:07.564-05:00Fa-la-la-la-la La-la-la-laAbout 2 years ago, my paternal grandmother (aka Horrible Henrietta or HH) was absolutely miserable to my mother and I when we went to bring her home from a self-induced hospital stay (she OD'ed on Imodium- this was not the first OR last time she has done something like this). HH was nasty to us at the hospital, at the pharmacy where we picked up her prescriptions, and at her home when we dropped her off. My mother and I left her house and went to finish our Christmas card shopping. We spent 45 minutes trying to pick out a card for HH, discarding card after card as too nice or too phony. Actually, it was quite therapeutic. We arrived home to a voice mail diatribe of accusations. Accusations which HH later claimed that my mother and I made up, essentially accusing us of lying, adding yet another accusation to the pile. At which point my father replayed the voice mail for her. Not once has she ever apologized for her behavior or for the pain she caused. Subsequently, I have only gone to visit my grandmother when there are 3rd party witnesses, like when she is in the hospital or a nursing facility. The sole exception to this is when I visit her at Christmas- even then I make sure to go when my father or brothers are present. I have written to HH explaining my reasoning and my absolute refusal to have anything to do with her unless she seeks psychiatric treatment. Clearly, when someone ODs on Imodium multiple times as well as deliberately hurting the people helping her, that person is sick. In fact, after this particular Imodium incident, the hospital set up an outpatient psych consult, which HH canceled. While I recognize HH has a right to refuse such treatment, I feel that I have a right not to have to deal with her psychotic abuse. Periodically since my letter, she has reached out to me, but never expressing any regret for the pain she caused me. She still categorically refuses to see a psychiatrist. One of the times she has reached out to me was this week in a Christmas card where she expressed the sentiment "When are you just going to get over this?" Not, "I'm sorry for my behavior." Not "I'm sorry I hurt you." Not, "please forgive me." No. She put it all on me...like this whole situation is some failing of mine. I'm sorry, but if you hurt me once, shame on you. If you hurt me twice, shame on me- for allowing you into a position where you could hurt me again! When is enough enough?Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-11776240684443981242010-12-12T18:20:00.003-05:002010-12-12T18:55:38.385-05:00What ever happened to nice old ladies?About a week or so ago I had a very interesting conversation with a friend about the lack of nice old ladies. Think about it- when was the last time you encountered a nice polite old lady? I regularly encounter mean old ladies, rude old ladies, funny old ladies, insane old ladies but rarely encounter a genuinely nice, polite old lady. For example, I was shopping at the Christmas Tree Shop 2 weeks ago and was browsing in the card section. All of the sudden my cart smashed into my shins. I looked up startled and a cranky old lady who had just rammed her cart into mine looked at me and said "Well, it was in MY way." Another old lady passing in the opposite direction looked at the situation and loudly commented "What a bitch!" I hope that comment was directed at the old lady who bruised my shins, but in all likelihood, it was probably directed at my inability to move my cart out of the other old lady's way!<br /><br />The sad thing is, this type of behavior is all too common over the past few years. About 3 years ago, after being "abused" by the mean old ladies at the grocery store, I made a rule for myself- I only help people that ask me to NICELY. Why reward bad behavior? I wouldn't put up with behavior like that from a child, why should I put up with it from an adult?Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-55882665187081854552010-08-20T09:46:00.004-04:002010-08-20T10:02:24.353-04:00Possessed GPSFor the past 2 weeks I've been thinking that DH's GPS is on a mission to get me into cemeteries. Seriously, each time I've borrowed it, if there is even a remote possibility of cutting through a cemetery, the GPS will detour me towards it. Not that I object to short-cuts, but where I'm currently living, cemetery gates are generally closed and locked at dusk. This means that if you drive into one at dusk or after dark, you may not be able to get out without phoning the caretaker. Not my idea of a good evening- as I had to explain to my MIL when we were traveling to watch DH play hockey at an unfamiliar (to me) rink. So when I had to take one of our vehicles into the dealer for maintenance the other day, I shouldn't have been surprised that it took over 1.5 hours to get there. Why? The GPS sent me by a funeral with double-parked cars in a construction zone. Yes, I know that even with the traffic feature, the GPS can't predict large funerals, however, it fit so nicely with the GPS's new-found affection for cemeteries. Then, returning from the dealership, the GPS routed me by 3 funeral homes- two of them with TRIPLE parked cars- essentially turning a 4 lane road into a 1 lane road with a police traffic detail. All because I wanted to avoid the parking lot that is the freeway during rush hour!<br /><br />Yesterday, I mentioned this phenomenon to DH, who informed me that he's heard it's a common problem with GPS units in our area over the past month- they are preferentially routing people through cemeteries and past funeral homes. What I want to know is if this is someone's idea of testing out a Halloween prank....Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-38295719806177053702010-07-20T12:18:00.002-04:002010-07-20T12:41:51.927-04:00Mountain BikingAfter re-habbing my knee 3 times in the past 15 years, I'm beyond sick of stationary bikes. They make me feel like a gerbil. When I was griping about how out of shape I was from writing my thesis over a year ago, my husband bought me a mountain bike for Christmas. He promised that he would teach me to mountain bike. In the 2 years I've had the bike, I've gone trail riding exactly 3 times. The first time, I ended up falling sideways off a little bridge and landing in a bush (have I mentioned that my sense of balance sucks?). Not a bad place to fall, but I ended up with a branch up my nose and a very nice cut. Made for some cute pictures at a family party the following week! I did much better the second time a week later. However, since that time, I haven't gone trail riding. It's been over a year. Last summer, the weather was abysmally rainy for the first part of the summer and then I was prepping for my defense through the second part of the summer. So I was not surprised at how badly I sucked trail riding this past weekend. I wiped out twice. The first time in sand that I didn't have enough speed to make it over and the second time when my bike bounced unexpectedly and I got tossed over the handle bars. Meanwhile, my husband was battling deer flies while waiting for me to catch up with him. Two days later, I have some really nice purple splotches all over my legs and the palms of my hands (can we say death grip on the handles) and my husband's arm is swollen from all the bites. I think its bizarre that I can't wait to try again....Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-57944782143243637952010-07-16T17:03:00.006-04:002010-07-16T17:59:19.769-04:00D.C. Career Fair AdventureI just returned from a quick day trip to DC to attend a career fair. I got to the DC metro stop where I was supposed to meet my cousin about an hour early. To my surprise, I was greeted by a gentleman I shall refer to as "Spear Chucker". I refer to him as Spear Chucker because he was carrying a "spear"- or rather a long tree branch that he was using to stab at people (didn't actually make contact) like a spear while raving. Spear Chucker was wearing jeans that were slit up the sides nearly to his hip and up the inseam nearly to his crotch. The effect was that of him wearing daisy dukes with extra material hanging to his ankles. When he started staring at me, and muttering snob because I didn't answer him (hell, I couldn't even understand what he was saying) I decided it was time to go for a walk. I was right down the street from the White House, so I thought I'd go see if it was still blocked off like it was the last time I visited DC. It wasn't, so I joined the tourist groups and walked on by. When I turned to return to where I was suppose to meet my cousin, one of the security dogs went nuts on a van pulling onto the White House grounds. Said dog was trained to find explosives, so security and the local police quickly herded all the tourists (and me) back in the opposite direction I was traveling. At that point, I had less than 10 minutes to get back to meet my cousin. I had to walk 2 really long blocks in the opposite direction in order to head back to the meeting point. Somewhere along the way, I noticed Spear Chucker following me, but luckily, he got distracted by a group of Japanese tourists who wanted to take pictures with him. Finally met up with my cousin for a really nice lunch (Thanks Cuz!). <br /><br />After lunch, I headed over to the Career Fair. At this point, I was 2 hours early and thought I'd walk around some, as I love that area of DC. However, when I got there, people were already queuing to enter the Career Fair! Yikes! So I went into a coffee shop for about an hour and then joined the queue. I got to chat with some really nice people while I waited and I also got to do some serious people watching. First thing I noticed is you could tell who was going for a legal position- they all wore black suits with white shirts. The next thing I noticed is that business attire has a very wide definition. There were 2 girls that walked by in outfits that can only be described as hoochie-mama. One of the guys behind me made the comment that "Do you think those girls know that Bill Clinton is no longer in office?" It was pretty mean, but as we were all thinking along those lines, we all laughed. Then there was a girl that walked by in a tux jacket with a pink tulle ballet skirt. Not sure what sort of position she was looking for. My absolute favourite outfit for the whole day though, was the blue velvet suit. It was worn by an older Asian lady- complete with Mr. T starter kit! She seriously looked like she wanted the position of "Elvis impersonator." Did I mention it was 90 degrees and we were standing in the sun? I do think the guy behind me had it right- "I hope to God she isn't wearing it because it's the best outfit she has!" <br /><br />After the adventures of standing in line, the career fair was relatively tame. I got to speak to reps from each of the agencies likely to hire someone like me. None of them had brought scientific hiring managers, which was disappointing, but I did get email addresses for scientific hiring managers at various organizations. I also got to ask each agency which grade they would consider me. Each one assured me that grades are the same across the government- and then each one told me a different grade! Still, that is useful information I couldn't have gained anywhere else! After about 2 hours, I had spoken to every agency I wanted to, spoken to a few extra agencies that didn't have lines and attended 2 presentations about applying for federal jobs where all they did was hawk "The complete idiots guide to getting government jobs". At that point, the lines for some agencies went out the door and around the building and I decided to leave. All in all, it was a pretty fun day and I felt like I got something accomplished.Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-72779623135118711712010-07-06T15:06:00.006-04:002010-07-06T21:48:37.654-04:00Unsweetened Ice TeaIn the past week, I've been to 4 different restaurants. Not a big deal to some people, but a fair number for me! I ordered unsweetened ice tea at each one (OK, I'm boring, but I don't like lemonade and I'm trying not to drink soda). At 3 of the 4 restaurants, I got diet iced tea aka iced tea sweetened with saccharine. Since when has it become acceptable to give someone diet iced tea rather than tell them that you only have sweetened iced tea? Saccharine, commonly used to sweeten diet soda and iced tea, has never agreed with me. So if they told me that they only have diet, I would have ordered something else. However, I know people that get violently ill from consuming saccharine. What if these restaurants served them diet iced tea instead of unsweetened iced tea without telling them about the substitution? <br /><br />When will restaurants realize that sometimes you order something a certain way because that is the only way it won't make you sick?Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-55044221300461412932010-06-28T20:15:00.004-04:002010-07-06T15:33:51.370-04:00Put Your F'ing Dog on LeashSo I just got back from walking my dog. It was quite the workout. I happen to be owned by the second largest dog (great dane) in the neighborhood, however, most people don't know about the largest (mastiff) because its owners never take it for walks. The walk started out by us dodging the two little white 5lb dogs at the end of our street who miraculously "escaped" again. They escape because their owners open up the back door and boot them outside; no attempt is EVER made to confine these dogs to their yard, despite the leash laws. Then, when my dog pounces at them (at because I haul my dog back) when they get too close, the owners freak. After this happened 3 times in 1 day last summer, I informed them that if their dogs ran at us barking and growling and snapping, it constituted an attack and I was going to let my dog defend himself. I also threatened to call animal control if I saw the dogs loose again. For a while, this worked, but they are back to being a nuisance again. However, tonight we managed to get away from the 2 little white dogs without incident only to encounter a medium sized dog about a quarter mile later. Great. My dog is already keyed up and in protection mode from the last 2 loose dogs. Said medium sized dog is supposedly being walked, but no leash is in sight. I'm told by the people "walking" the dog as he barrels towards us "Oh, he's friendly, you don't have to worry." Don't think they liked my reply of "Come get your dog before I let my dog get him." They then yelled at me to control MY dog, who is now pitching a fit, barking, snarling and snapping while trying to pounce on this dog. HELLO!?! My dog is on a leash and hasn't got your dog yet, so clearly something is controlling him! I then wrestle my dog into a headlock (yes, it must look hysterical because I'm only 5'8 and my dog is at least 6'3 when standing on his hind legs). I proceed to tell them that clearly, I have control of my dog and that the only reason my dog is flipping out is because their dog is off leash. I then inform them that they have until I count to 10 to get their dog under their control before I let my dog go. The guy then came and grabbed the other dog's collar and dragged him away. I let my dog down and tell him to sit, which he does right away because the other dog is under control. I then told them (in the sweetest tones possible), that they must be new to our state because they don't know about the leash and license laws (dog's collar didn't have any tags to indicate vaccination or license). I then explain that all dogs in our state MUST be vaccinated for rabies and licensed. They must also be on leash at all times off their property and must be confined to their property by either a fence, an e-collar, or a line when out in their yard unsupervised. I then wished them good evening and we walked on, my dog prancing at my side (he's always so proud of himself when he "protects" me). We then proceeded to have a good walk for the next mile or so. As we turned back up our street, my neighbor's girlfriend lost control of her dog again, for the 3rd time this week. I like this neighbor, and he is great about making sure this little devil dog is under proper control, but his girlfriend should not be permitted to own any sort of pet other than a gold fish. Seriously, this little yippy thing has major aggression issues which she admits to, no training which she never does anything about, yet she routinely takes it out to put it in its pen off leash in her arms. She is then shocked when the dog sees something or someone, claws the crap out of her, escapes and charges at whatever or whoever is approaching. So far this week, I've succeeded in driving the dog off by spraying it with water from my water bottle, by running straight for it like a mad woman and tonight by hitting it across the ass with the end of my dog's leash. She was not pleased by that, but what could she say? She knew that I was pissed the dog was loose again. We have lots of toddlers (2 across the street from this particular house!) in our neighborhood, and I shudder to think what will happen if this dog encounters them- probably at least a bite incident. I understand accidents happen and dogs get loose. Hell, my dog has gotten loose 2x under my care. Both times, I've taken steps to make sure that it didn't happen again. I have no problem with the people who are chasing after their dogs because the dog got loose, it happens, probably to everyone at least once. Is it mean that I hope that the neighbor's girlfriend loses her dog to the neighborhood fox or coyotes?Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-42257098780390791612010-06-17T19:52:00.006-04:002010-06-17T20:26:58.624-04:00New Heights of Boredom - Actually Watching Soccer!Since my family moved to the 'burbs when I was 10, I've enjoyed playing soccer but I have never been into watching soccer. It just isn't fast paced enough to hold my interest the way hockey does. So I'm a bit shocked by my current interest in the World Cup. Am I really that bored? Or is it simply because I'm cheering on 4 different teams (US, England, South Africa and Australia- the last 3 in the order that my husband has followed since a child) and I'll lose interest as these teams are knocked out of the tournament? <br /><br />I find myself spending the majority of my time watching wondering if ESPN doesn't want to expand the market for soccer in the US. I'm assuming that more people tune in for the World Cup matches than the average MLS match (this could be completely erroneous). People that aren't necessarily soccer fans but want to see what all the hype is about. So you'd think that ESPN would employ an announcer that explained some of the rules of the game. I do understand that they don't want to annoy people that are already fans by chatter explaining the game or the rules, so at the very least, you'd think they'd have the announcers refer you to a website that has the explanation of the rules. What I'm looking for is something like how the MLB explains the rules and stats of baseball on its website. The point of all this is that I spent 45 minutes searching the internet for FIFA's official red card rules. Basically, I just wanted to know if South Africa's goal keeper would be able to play their next match against France (as I now understand the red card rules, he will not play but be suspended). Do you think I could find those rules anywhere? I found a whole ton of crap about how red cards relate to human trafficking (some sort of soccer-themed promo to raise awareness of human trafficking), but nothing about the FIFA World Cup rules. It was incredibly aggravating. Eventually, I fell back on asking the question on Facebook, where an old friend nicely clarified things for me (Thanks again Jill!). Still, I can't help but feel that if FIFA wants to expand their audience, shouldn't they make it easy for people to find the rules for their tournament? Or maybe they left it up to ESPN and it's ESPN's failure?Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-84888887368255053032010-06-15T17:14:00.002-04:002010-06-15T17:17:25.880-04:00Murphy's LawSo, I just booked my plane tickets and registered for a government job fair. DH just got an awesome job offer in an area where there is little employment for me excluding the government. Hopefully, going to this job fair will give me an "in". However, knowing my luck, Murphy's Law says that I should get an awesome job offer sometime this week so that the plane tickets will be a complete waste of money.Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-42388907354471660662010-06-12T13:36:00.006-04:002010-06-12T13:54:21.130-04:00Why would I give you my resume?Before attending the job fair the other day, I did my homework. I identified all of the companies who I thought would be interested in me and all those with posted positions that would suit someone with my skills. While researching the posted positions, I discovered a position at a company I had never heard of that I thought I suited perfectly, I certainly have a great deal of experience in all the skills they were looking for. Only glitch- they were looking for someone who had done a post-doc for 5-7 years. However, the position had been posted in December, so clearly they were having a hard time filling it. I decided to stop by that company's booth and ask if the post-doc requirement was hard and fast or if they would consider someone with the right skills but no post-doc. Turned out the representative at the booth was the owner of the company. Said owner has a MAJOR chip on his shoulder against people who haven't done a post-doc. He flat out told me that "I paid my dues and I expect every scientist that I hire to have paid theirs." Fine. It's his company and he can use any criteria he wants for hiring. I thanked him for his time (hey, at least I know not to bother applying to his company!) and started to walk away. As I started leaving he asked me for a resume. I looked at him and said "What would be the point? You just told me that you wouldn't even consider hiring me." Seriously, what would be the point of giving him a resume?Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136078672482900079.post-52151952935335964502010-06-03T20:45:00.003-04:002010-06-04T13:53:29.616-04:00ScamSo I got this weird voice mail the other day. In it, I was told (by a computer) that "We're interested in your resume and would like to set up an interview with you this week. Please call us back between the hours of 8-5 to schedule your interview." First thought that went through my head is "You're so interested in my resume that you couldn't pick up the phone and call me yourself?" The next thought was "I bet this is a scam." Seriously, what legitimate company trying to hire a PhD would have a computer call the person and NOT identify what company they were calling from? I'm pretty sure that even if there is an HR department somewhere that is using computers to call and set up interviews, that HR department would at the very least identify which company they were calling from. <br /><br />HOWEVER, because I didn't know which company the message was from, I called them back the next day. I got a generic voice mailbox stating "The person you are trying to reach is out of the office. Please leave your name and number." That confirmed it for me. This call was totally a scam. I almost wanted to leave a fake name and number....Life After Grad Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17378153313459238978noreply@blogger.com0