A few updates!

I got an email from a manager who used to work for my former boss, asking if I was still looking for a part time employment.

Back in late September, when I felt that I was not in a very good financial situation, and since I had only two classes for credit, I send my resume to my contacts asking them to please kindly forward it to any hiring managers they know. I had high hopes, and I was also told that I should have high hopes! But nothing happened for about 6 months, until earlier this month.

The person emailing me sounded very nice. He had first apologized for not getting back to me when our mutual boss had sent him my resume, and he also had gone into details of the available positions at his company and the one he was considering me for. I emailed him back, gave him a few times when I would be available for a phone conversation. I decided to leave the details of my changed priorities for the phone conversation.

Yes, my priorities have changed since last September! Then I wanted and could handle a part-time job. I had two courses; I was spending about 30 hours a week going to those two classes and study for them. So I could spare 20 hours of week working. I was also scared of depleting my savings and could foresee being forced to sell my home. So a part time job was not only doable but desperately needed.

Now, I am taking three classes, and one is an independent study class, which I am spending a lot of time reading articles, attending talks, and writing my understanding of those articles/talks. And the rented upstairs of my home pays a good portion of the mortgage. So I rather concentrate on school, finish up fast and with success. But I am looking and hoping to find a summer fulltime employment, something that could turn into an offer once I am done with school.

Anyhow, the hiring manager picked one of the times I had suggested and called me. We talked for about an hour, and I really liked him. The job that he is considering me for is neither that exciting nor doable for me time wise! He wants someone right away, and wants their time for 20+ hours a week. So I explained to him my situation, but even with knowing that I was not that interested in the position, still he asked me if I would go for an in person interview, and so I did.

I LIKED everyone who interviewed me, and I LIKED the company's technology and goals. It is a startup with many bright, hardworking people. I felt that I could grow with the job. I have not felt this excited about a possibility of a job in a long time.

Somehow I feel that after talking to me, maybe they have changed their minds regarding the position that they had first considered me for. Hopefully I am right. Hopefully they are considering me for one of their more senior fulltime positions, for the summer. I can't help it, but I am very optimistic! And I am so thrilled about the possibility of working in an exciting environment again, lol.

On the date front, my date last weekend did not go too well! I so wanted to like the guy, but I feel bad for even saying this that I felt he was acting! I truly felt that he was not himself, that he was working so hard to show me how likeable he is!

From the beginning of the year I have been telling myself, I should be less judgmental. I should give myself, my family and friends who kindly try to set me up, and the guy, a chance. That I should have an open mind! That I should not let me first impression dictate where my relationship is going to go, since I am not that good judge of character to begin with! But still I am behaving like I have in the past several years. I judge the guy and then I can't go any further!

My last weekend's date works with my mom. She said she had been evaluating him, lol, to see if she could introduce him to me. For a week she kept telling me how kind, considerate, nice guy he is, and I was excited. He was kind, considerate, and a nice guy, but truly I felt it was just an act! How much more awful could I think! I didn't like myself thinking like that, but I can't help it either!

So I decided to getaway and not think about last weekend much! I went to my sister's since I didn't have classes today. Thursday afternoon, after my last class, I took the train and I was there right around the time my sister got off work. It was fun to hang out with her and I also got the opportunity to go to her former school and watch the video of the talk series I am interested in. Yes, I also did go to her gym, lol.

At the beginning of the semester, my independent study professor told me that I should attend at least one talk a week and try to write/talk about it when we meet. He suggested series of talks in our department, but not all talks in this series seemed interesting to me.

Just out of curiosity I started checking other schools, including where my sister had gone to school (in the same city she lives now). To my surprise I found weekly talks, which after reading their abstracts, all of them seemed very related to the area of my research interest! There was one talk in particular that I so wanted to attend! The talk was on the problem which I had studied a bit about it last semester, and after much thinking I decided to go for it.

Thankfully, that talk was on the same day that I meet with my independent study professor and I don't have any other classes. So after I told him of my interested in attending the talk, he encouraged me to go, we rearranged our meeting for that week and so I was ready to go.

But before making the trip I decided to make sure that I actually shall be allowed to attend the talk! I know that most talks at schools are open to public, but the talk series that I am attending at my school, is in a building that the IDs are checked at the entrance. I am not sure if I had showed a picture ID other than my school ID would I have been allowed to enter the building or not! So I wrote the organizer of the talk at my sister's former school and asked if I could attend their talk.

It turned out that the Professor who is organizing this year's talks had graduated from my current department a few years back, and so he told me to stop by his office when I arrived there. He was very nice and even sent me information on where I could park my car and a campus map!

So after my last class of the day I took the train and got to my sister's just before midnight. My sister went to work late the next day and so we spend the morning together, went to the gym and then had brunch. In the afternoon I went to the talk and left afterward.

I am so glad that I did go. It was a great talk and not only I learned a bit, but I got to see the problem that I am kindof/sortof familiar with, solved form a very different perspective.

During the talk I noticed that the talk was being recorded and I thought maybe it would be available over the net and so I could watch it from home. However, I found out later that unfortunately during the semester the talks are available to school community only!

My sister does not have a remote access privilege to her school network anymore, but she does have an ID to enter the library where she can get access to the campus network. So this weekend both Saturday morning and Sunday morning she came to the library with me, and using her privileges, I was able to watch the talks that I had missed. I even watched a few of them couple of times. I am learning so much from these talks.

So school is going very well. All three of my classes are great and I am on top of my work. My daily walk of 3-5 miles is done right on the schedule, lol, I have not missed even one day. My eating habit of vegan is working for me. According to the scale at my sister's gym I have lost over 4 pounds since December that I was there. I am not uncomfortable in my little basement area anymore! I have gotten used to its limitation, lol. So life is great at the moment. Well almost great! The only thing that is not going well for me is dating!

I have met someone that I really like, but I don't think the feeling is mutual! Actually I don't know much about him and doesn't seem that he wants to know much about me! But I can't help it! I have been thinking about him a lot! Unfortunately we are not running in the same circle so making appearance in his vicinity is not that practical, lol.