Hey there! I thought that I would stop by quickly to wish everyone a nice productive Wednesday!
Things are pretty insane for me right now, but thankfully the nasty co-worker who I was dreading returning to the office, seems to have found someone/something else to terrorize. Although I hope that I have not just jinxed myself!
We hired two new individuals on Monday, so hopefully my dreaded interviewing and hiring process has come to an end. I can't believe how much time it took to go through the processes. It is really tough to find qualified candidates in IT. The recruiting companies were also brutal to deal with. Someone gave out my name and number to a bunch of them, so yesterday, I was receiving cold calls every half hour. I could not get anyone to tell me where they received my name from, which was frustrating.
Nature has definitely taken a nice green turn up here, after two days of rain. It was just what my lawn needed for that final coming out of winter dormancy period. I basically have everything done except for the dreaded mulch spreading. I am going to try to find a company to hire, to get that done!
Good Morning Sophia, have a good one, you deserve a break from that coworker!
I've been busy lately, with Gabi in swimming and ballet, and Zach in Soccer. So ready for a more relaxing Summer. Preschool ends soon, it's not a bad drive, but still, it's a round trip of nearly 40 minutes.
I hope to sign up for yoga when all the kids are out of their activities, yeah for mom!
Yesterday was my anniversary, we did steaks on the grill. Hadn't had that in ages.
Groceries prices have really gone up, but at least we don't eat out anymore.
What do you all think of the price of living lately???
Ed's birthday is May 3, he gets a colonoscopy! ha. Any ideas what to get him?
For our anniversary I got him a St Christopher medal for his car.
Let's see what else is new.... Can't wait for my acne to clear up that's been a nightmare.
And I'll be so glad to get my flowers planted in the yard, it's been an unusual Spring!!
We hired two new individuals on Monday, so hopefully my dreaded interviewing and hiring process has come to an end. I can't believe how much time it took to go through the processes. It is really tough to find qualified candidates in IT. The recruiting companies were also brutal to deal with. Someone gave out my name and number to a bunch of them, so yesterday, I was receiving cold calls every half hour. I could not get anyone to tell me where they received my name from, which was frustrating.
Really? Where is it you live? We have far too many overly qualified candidates out here.
Oh and Tina, I hear that you should probably get him an nice soft pillow to sit on for a day or two.
-- Edited by everbran at 09:15, 2008-04-30
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"If you were looking for something clever or witty or funny here, you've come to the wrong place."
Hey ladies and Brandon. Today has been pretty uneventful. The chef from my favorite restaurant is cooking at church tonight but I have a class that I cannot miss so I won't get to have it. I just need to go to the restaurant. But its a pricey seafood place and i would have had it for free tonight. Good thing I guess cause its not good on my diet. Although I suppose we are allowed to put our diets on hold for our birthday. I am trying to lose another 10 pounds before graduation though, and thats only 19 days away.
Tess I wish that Vinnie was not in the Navy he would be a really good IT and as a civilian would make like 3 times what we are making now. But we only have 9 years til we retire and then he will be able to get a job like that. Oh yeah, and our school is taking a trip to Boston on Friday. They won't get back until 630 so I can't go since daycare here closes at 530.
I have an assignment to finish and then 2 tests and I am officially done with school. I hope to take it easy today. May watch soaps, then again I may not.
Nippy but gorgeous day here. My Nick's birthday is May the 4th (be with you). Lots of Taurus people around, eh.
Tina, you could always get Ed a watch for his birthday. The new oversized ones are beautiful. Nick picked one up for himself in Sydney and I just love it on him.
Grocery prices have gone up quite a bit in the last few weeks. That, plus the cost of gasoline! My weekly stipend for that is now gone by Tuesday and just a couple of months ago, I was always ahead of the game by Fridays. It doesn't help that Nick eats like a horse and seems to always have a friend or two with him at meal time, not that I'm complaining about that.
Not much in store for today. Ted needs a lift to the bank soon, then to the subway.
Shelly, Mike's friend, Chris, is living in Vienna now and said he would send a postcard to me to forward to you. He's a translator for Berlitz, loves Austria. Mike leaves for France in a few days, so I should be able to get him to bring a few back from there too.
Hey lovelies. Not alot going on here. Stillw working on the details for child care for when work starts. Floyd got the promotion. He's officially a management intern. We're in the process of searching for a cheap car for floyd to use for work until everything gets stabilized then we might get something nicer.
I had to go up to Chevy Chase, MD earlier today to take down our doll exhibit. It proved to me just how quickly an entire month can go by!
On the way, I stopped for gas, and almost passed out at the price. Just crazy. It also pissed me off no end when I began to think of three of our doll club ladies who have been so loyal about putting dolls in our various shows, and coming all the way down from the Baltimore area to help put up, and take down exhibits (they were there today too), when others who are in the area don't bother to help nearly as much as they could.
So my first act, once I got up there, was to hand Doris $40.00, to reimburse her to some degree for all of those roundtrips she's made. The two other ladies carpool with her, and have shared in buying gas for her car. As far as I'm concerned, it's a reimbursable expense, for a specific club project, in the same way that paper products and food would be reimbursable for an opening reception.
Our next meeting is in May, and I intend to ask for club "approval" to reimburse myself for the cash I handed Doris today. Maybe it will help other members realize just how much effort these three ladies have put into our club commitments. In my opinion, the gas has become burdensome for them now, not to mention all of their hard work on making the dolls too!
I think that I may be getting cranky in my old age!
-- Edited by Moore ideas at 15:22, 2008-04-30
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"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Brandon, I'm here in Massachusetts! We were hiring in Lexington. We were looking for senior developers with Informatica, UNIX and Oracle backgrounds, with at least five years experience. They also had to have good communication and writing skills. Oh, and a strong background in data warehousing. We filter out most individuals who have a string of six-month contracts, with nothing over a year. Most good candidates tend to at least get extended on a contract, and over a year indicates that they have been extended, which is a good benchmark.
Our interviewing process is pretty thorough. A candidate has to make it through two phone screens, and then an on-site interview. I screen the resumes, and pick the phone screen candidates. I then do the first interview, which is a mixture of communication, listening and overall personality. I then technically screen them, with medium level questions. If they can answer my five technical questions, then they go on to my co-worker, Prasad. He's very tough, and probably the most talented Informatica developer I have ever been lucky enough to work with. They have to answer 12 out of his 15 questions correctly. If they make it through the two of us, then we bring them on-site, and the architects interview them, and we check out how they interact in a group setting with 4-5 of us. When we bring someone in, we are 80% sure that they will be hired, which saves everyone alot of time.
It is a tough process, but has really gotten us some truly quality individuals. Funny enough, I have not had one woman's resume come across my desk. There are not many women doing what I do, apparently.
I'm glad to see that everyone's week is going well! I can't believe the cost of gas! It is costing me around $65.00 to fill-up, and I can only get round trip to work four times on a tank of gas. I also have to put the premium gas into my car, but at least I get around 30 mpg in my five cylinder!
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