I am a horrible blogger

Thanks, Aunt Susan, for the reminder! Here's a real one for you, complete with pictures!

The Rutters had a whirlwind Christmas. We picked Robert, Lynsey, Jessie and Isobel (ibby) up early evening on the 24th, had Christmas, dropped Ibby off on the 26th, picked Shelly up early morning on the 27th, and as she walked in the door, Allison and Lilah walked out - back to the States. Lastly, Robert, Lynsey and Jessie left in the afternoon. Phew! And with all that running to and from various airports, it was a great couple of days. The Rutter side has never been under the same roof like that since us triplets were 6. I'd seen Isobel & Jessie when I went to Scotland in 2002, but Sally and Allison last saw Isobel in 1988, and last saw Jessie when she came to Australia when we were 13.

We laughed, we cried, we reminisced. On Christmas Eve, Robert got pissed drunk and talked my ear off til 4:30am, which I didn't mind at all, but a certain little boy was up soon after to open Christmas presents.
(L-R: Anne, Robert, Jessie, Dad w/ LB, Lynsey, Isobel, Allison, and kneeling Sally)

Also, a certain little boy got a present from the after-Christmas sales...Go, go Power Rangers!

And tell me this isn't the cutest villager you ever did see, complete with tea towel on head...

Ok, that's all for now. Shelly and I are about to go into London. We're going on the London Eye...and even if it's a dreary day, hopefully we'll see Buckingham Palace. I'll post about today's trip and yesterday's trip to Stonehenge later.

Lachie's Words of Wisdom

So I think that I'll start posting the cute, funny and profound statements that come out of my 4 year old brother's mouth. This morning we were drawing and this conversation followed:

Sister Lindsay: Do you write with your left hand or right hand?
Lachlan: Sometimes this one, and then this one.
Sister Lindsay: Oh, so you're ambidextrous?
Lachlan: No, I'm kind of a hero. An ambidextrous hero.

How cute is that?

Merry Christmas!

Get it?

Explanation: 2.71828 is the symbol e, a fraction to the -1 power flips the numerator and denominator, and force/acceleration equals mass.

Lazy day.

I had a lazy day today, woke up early again b/c of jetlag, and then sat around and played with Lachie. Then took a nap, and now it's dinnertime. Good times.

Yesterday's trip to London was fun. We took a tour of the Tower of London, really neat. Then we went to The Globe theater, which is a replica (at least an attempted replica) of Shakespeare's theater. Really really neat stuff. We walked around a lot, but those are the only tourist attractions we saw. The others have already done some, but I'm going to wait until after Christmas when Shelly gets here.

It is pretty cold, but not too bad. I'm surviving. Ok, time for dinner!

I made it!

Yay! Well, we're all here, it's a packed house. Very BIG house, 4 bedrooms/4 baths and it even has a dining room. Nice. England is so...well...English. Haha, I haven't seen anything yet, but today we're going to London because it's Jim's last day here. It's just past 7am (jet lag). My brother is too cute. When he wants you to listen to him he says, "Excuse mes..." So you hear that every 3 seconds. I'm sleeping in his bedroom right now, and the FIRST thing he says to me when I get here is: "Are you going to break my bed?" Way to call it like you see it Lachie. The first thing he said to Allison was, "Are you my brother?" That's funny! She said, "No, I just have short hair." What a crack up. The rest of the Rutters (aunts Isobel and Jessie, cousins Robert and Lynsey) get here the day before Christmas and leave right after, not too long of stay, but at least they're coming!

The feeling of having NO responsibilities is great, no weight on my shoulders. Oooh, I think I hear little feet on the stairs...time to play!

Why does this assume all engineers are male?

Understanding Engineers - Take One
Two engineering students crossing the campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?" The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want." The first engineer nodded approvingly, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fit."

Understanding Engineers - Take Two
To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is half empty. To the
engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Understanding Engineers - Take Three
A pastor, a doctor and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, "What's with these guys? We must have been waiting for 15 minutes!" The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such ineptitude!" The
pastor said, "Hey, here comes the greens keeper. Let's have a word with him." "Hi George! Say, what's with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?" The greens keeper replied, "Oh, yes, that's a group of blind firefighters. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime." The group was silent for a moment. The pastor said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight." The doctor said, "Good idea. And I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist buddy and see if there's anything he can do for them." The engineer said, "Why can't these guys play at night?"

Understanding Engineers - Take Four
What is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers?
Mechanical Engineers build weapons and Civil Engineers build targets.

Understanding Engineers - Take Five
The graduate with a Science degree asks, "Why does it work?" The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, "How does it work?" The graduate with an Accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?" The graduate with an Arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

Understanding Engineers - Take Six
Three engineering students were gathered together discussing the possible designers of the human body. One said, "It was a mechanical engineer." Just look at all the joints." Another said, "No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous system has many thousands of
electrical connections." The last one said, "Actually it was a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?"

Understanding Engineers - Take Seven
"Normal people believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Computer Engineers believe that "if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet"

Understanding Engineers - Take Eight
An architect, an artist and an engineer were discussing whether it was better to spend time with the wife or a mistress. The architect said he enjoyed time with his wife, building a solid foundation for an enduring relationship. The artist said he enjoyed time with his
mistress, because the passion and mystery he found there. The engineer said, "I like both." "Both?" "Yeah. If you have a wife and a mistress, they will each assume you are spending time with the other woman, and you can go to the lab and get some work done."

Understanding Engineers - Take Nine
An engineer was crossing a road one-day when a frog called out to him and said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess." He bent over, picked up the frog and put it in his pocket. The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will stay with you for one week." The engineer took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it and returned it to the pocket. The frog then cried out, "If you kiss me and turn me back
into a princess, I'll stay with you and do ANYTHING you want." Again the engineer took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket. Finally, the frog asked, "What is the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess, and that I'll stay with you for a week and
do anything you want. Why won't you kiss me?" The engineer said, "Look, I'm an engineer. I don't have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog, now that's cool."

Thanks, Jess!

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Hudson!

Well, the wedding went off without a hitch...or, without a major hitch. The minister DID almost skip over the vows and ring exchange. Otherwise, perfecto! Bethany was a beautiful bride, her dress was lovely...and Brian looked very handsome in his suit. I'm so happy for them! I totally didn't realize, though, that I have NO idea when I'll see them next. Bummer. However, I messed up, Bethany forgive me, but when I introduced myself to Bethany's mom, we got to talking...Microsoft and the east coast came up...and now I think she thinks it's possible for them to move to the east coast. Sorry!

It was a good wedding, everyone had fun. Jeff was bummed there was no alcohol, though. Typical Jeff.

Now I have to finish getting my stuff together for tomorrow's departure. I'm not even CLOSE to finished. AHH!

3 days left...

So all my dillydallying and non-packing made me hungry. I drove to Subway, because I am addicted to 6-inch ham & provolone, toasted, on Italian Herb & Cheese bread, with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, avocado, honey-mustard & mayonaise, and I don't know if they have Subway in England. On the way back I saw Joshua Jackson of Dawson's Creek fame on the row, which is empty because all the Greeks have gone home for break. That's one thing I'll miss about LA, random celebrity sitings. Not that Pacy is a celebrity, but it is random. I never even watched Dawson's Creek, but I recognize the influence it had on members of my generation.

Anyway, I really have to start packing.

"Come Together" by the Beatles

So today was both terrific and terrible. I finished my last final, and I think I did pretty well! I'm quite proud of myself for actually studying for it and getting it done. Walking out of there was one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life. I'm proud of myself for sticking it through, no matter how many times I wanted to quit (and almost did), no matter how lonely I've gotten since EVERYONE else has graduated, no matter how much it cost. It's been a long journey, and God has made me a better person through it.

The terrible part is, though, that as I was going to work today, I found that my car window had been smashed and my stereo stolen. My stepdad had just bought Sally and I that stereo in May! I'm so bummed. And now I have to figure out what to do about it. Just ANOTHER thing I have to do before I leave. I was going to go to Phoenix for a couple of days to visit Jessica, and get out of the bride & groom's hair before their big day, but oh well. It's funny how after SO long here at USC, in the ghetto, my last day at this institution of higher learning is when my long-awaited fear of vandalism came true. Funny joke, God, funny.

One final to go!

So, I've spent that last couple of days studying for my last final, EE450. I really need to kick butt on this one, and I think that may happen. However, I'm not the best test taker, I tend to get to the exam, open the test and draw a complete blank. Wish me luck!

I'm taking Sally and Jim to the airport tomorrow, they're excited about their trip! Apparently, my little brother is waiting for his big sisters to put up the Christmas tree. My poor dad and stepmom: they'll be going to the airport every 3 days to pick up relatives, and it's an hour away. Though that's a small price to pay for a Christmas filled with family!

So my main hurdles before I leave are my final and packing up my stuff. I gotta figure out where I'm going to put it all. I'm selling/giving away what I can, but I still have a couple of boxes. It isn't enough to warrant hiring a storage place, but that may be my only option. We'll see. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

It's Official.

So, Microsoft it is! I'm so excited. I know some details, but not all. They want to base me in PA, VA, or Washington DC. Cold!!! But, they're paying really really well. This really sounds like a great fit for me! If you want to see what I'll be doing, visit www.msdnevents.com.

On the other hand, I've got to make it through finals. I've got 2 tomorrow and 1 next week. The one next week for EE450 - Computer Networks is going to kick my butt. Really.

Ok, sleep! Gotta rest my brain.

"Sunshine" by Evan Farmer

Holy cow, Microsoft is awesome.

I'm in Dallas, TX. Today was my last interview, phew! And it was the best ever. I had a lot of fun. I was nervous, of course: Microsoft is intimidating! But the people were extremely friendly, passionate about their jobs and INCREDIBLY smart. A lot of times I felt like they were reading my mind; they answered my questions before I could ask them. Especially my interview with the "big boss," our views really aligned. He told me in his 15 years at Microsoft, ours was the most bizarre interview he's ever had (in a good way). Bizarre because he felt like I was making him tell me things he wouldn't normally. Basically, he was trying to be difficult and intimidating, and just couldn't with me. I don't think I'm adequately explaining it, but it went well, and I feel good.

Yay.

"Sailing" by Christopher Cross

Sorry for the lack of updates. It's the last week of school, WHOOHOOO! It's also the worst week. I have too much to do and little time to do it. So, this is just a little note to let you know I haven't forgotten you, and a little link to brighten your day.

It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time! - Family Guy style

Good Idea from Jessica

Thanks, Jess!

1. Seven things I plan to do before I die (not necessarily in order):
<1> learn how to deal like a Vegas dealer
<2> learn carpentry
<3> learn how to work on my car
<4> get married
<5> live abroad
<6> become fluent in another language
<7> invent something

2. Seven things I can do:
<1> dislocate my jaw
<2> bake and cook
<3> sing kinda well
<4> tap dance
<5> read a lot
<6> multitask
<7> make friends easily

3. Seven things I can't do:
<1> roll my Rs
<2> shop for extended periods of time
<3> listen to music and not sing along
<4> live without my computer
<5> understand fashion
<6> talk on my cell phone while parallel parking (I agree, Jess!)
<7> cross the monkey bars (never learned and haven't tried)

4. Seven things that attract me to the opposite sex
<1> collarbones
<2> honesty/integrity
<3> nice hands
<4> genuine concern for others
<5> good sounding laugh
<6> warm personality
<7> a brain

5. Seven things I say most:
<1> "Dude."
<2> "Holy Cow!"
<3> "My bad."
<4> "Riiigghhhttt."
<5> "No way."
<6> "Bummer."
<7> "That's AWESOME!"

6. Seven celebrity crushes:
<1> Prince William
<2> Ethan Embry
<3> Jude Law
<4> Hugh Dancy
<5> Ioan Gruffudd
<6> Rob Lowe (I know, I know...)
<7> Jake Gyllenhaal

7. Seven songs I know the words to:
<1> Shoop by Salt N' Pepa
<2> Gangster's Paradise by Coolio
<3> Wonderwall by Oasis
<4> theme song of Fresh Prince of Bel Air
<5> The Luckiest by Ben Folds Five
<6> Don't Take the Girl by Tim McGraw
<7> Black by Pearl Jam

"Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses

Well, Northrop Grumman was a bust. The project they're hiring for sounds cool, but they totally don't have it together about the hiring process. They said it'd probably take a couple of months to interview enough candidates. No thanks. Saves me from filling out all that security clearance paperwork anyways.

On the other hand, I received my first rejection. Cisco turned me down. Bummer. Well, not really, I had already decided I didn't really want it, anyways. But rejection still sucks.

Now for a story. A couple of months ago my dog bit the neighbor. He's old, and he gets protective of our property and my parents. Our neighbors walk up and down our hill past our house every day, and usually he just barks. It's been that way for years. Something changed, though, and he decided to bite. Not good. Anyways, they were going to put him down, because he can't be chained up, and there's no place to fence him in. Luckily for Rex, Mom is a chatterbox and struck up a conversation with some random guy who said he'd take Rex in. So, Rex moved to a yard in Santa Rita. Apparantly, he was NOT happy, because he decided to walk home. Now, I went to high school in Santa Rita, it's about a 15-20 minute drive from our house. Not only that, we live on top of a hill. Rex either followed the road back, or hiked through the jungle. What a good dog! I'm so proud. But he can't stay. My aunt Sam said she'll take him, but she has to move out of her apartment to a place where she can keep a dog. Mom's given her a week to find something, or she'll put him down. I know that sounds rather heartless of Mom, but she has to do something. She can't keep him. The neighbors would have a cow. We'll see what happens. Here's a map, showing where he went: Red is where he started, in Santa Rita, and the blue is where our house is.

Ok, until next time.

"Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves

I'm walking on sunshine...WHOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!

Ernst & Young made me an offer yesterday, yay! It's for Chicago, but they're letting me start in June. I don't think I'm allowed to publish the dollar figure, but it ain't bad, especially for Chicago. And, I know a grad student here who was only offered $2K more and being placed near LA. Great, so now I know I have a job!

Second piece of awesome news, Google wants me to fly up! That's awesome, I told the recruiter that it'd have to be ASAP since I am considering the other offers. But YAY.

Downer note: I'm sick. Probably due to late nights at Cruiser, lack of sleep and stress. Should make for an interesting Northrop Grumman interview this afternoon!

Ok, gotta go get ready, :)

I'm selling out.

[07:29] blah: how's the job search?
[07:30] L to the indsay: it's going, went to San Jose on Monday for Cisco.
[07:30] L to the indsay: going to Texas for Microsoft on December 4th - 6th
[07:31] L to the indsay: but, looking positive
[07:31] blah: right on
[07:31] blah: you want to work for satan?
[07:31] L to the indsay: satan pays incredibly well
[07:32] blah: yeah
[07:32] blah: I'd sell my soul too
[07:32] L to the indsay: this conversation is totally going in my blog.
[07:32] blah: solid

Thanks, Josh, for the support.

"When I Get You Alone" by Thicke

Good song, the guy who sings it is Robin Thicke, son of Growing Pains TV dad Alan Thicke. Bow to the Queen of Random Trivia.

Cisco was, uh, okay. The day wasn't as enjoyable as the Ernst & Young day, but it wasn't bad. Most people didn't get technical interviews, but all 3 of mine were. We'll see what they thought. At the dinner (which was at Dave & Busters, an adult arcade-type place, where I went on Friday with the crazy kids from ABC.com - who were MUCH more fun), my on-campus interviewer told me: "I think you'd be great here, and I highly recommended you." Sweet. I'll find out in a week or so.

The most exciting part of the trip was getting there. Short flight up, and when I got to the airport I had to go pick up my rental car. Don't I feel important, I get a rental car! And it wasn't at the cheapo PayLess/Enterprise/Budget rental car, it was Avis. Ooh Aah. When I approached the rental agent, a really nice guy named Jose, he said I had an 'intermediate' car. Wow, intermediate! I have no idea what that means, but...AWESOME.

Jose: "Would you like to try the new Chevy HHR?"
Me: "Wow, okay, that'd be great!" Thinking, "Look at me! New car!"
Jose: "It's like a PT Cruiser, I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
Me: Thinking, "Why is he smirking?"

I soon found out. When I found my car in the parking lot, it reminded me of the bastard child of a station wagon and SUV. "Eh," I thought, "New car!" I put my luggage inside and started out for the hotel. Because of poor visibility, it felt like I was driving one of those 40s gangster getaway cars:

Once I arrived at the hotel, I parked in the garage, got out of the car and walked around to the trunk to get my suitcase out, and finally looked at the car. It was orange. I hadn't noticed it in the dark of the rental lot. Not just any orange, a deep deep orange, the color of burning.

I felt so used, so THAT'S why the guy was so nice, cause he saw a sucker! Jerk. The next morning when all of the candidates had to meet up, everybody else had nice, sensible rental cars...black, grey, blue sedans. Not me, thanks to Jose.

"Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes

It's sad that I know who sings that song off the top of my head.

Oh, I love sleep. I just had a WHOLE night's full! It was amazing, you'll have to try it sometime.

Yay for Saturday! I'm going to go hang out at Pam's and do laundry. Tonight is Monica's birthday dinner, so we're going to eat dinner and play pool. Then tomorrow, I'm flying to San Jose for my Cisco interviews on Monday. Whoohooo.

On Thursday evening in my cinema class taught by Leonard Maltin we watched the new kids movie Zathura. Wasn't expecting much, looked like Jumanji 2. However, it was much funnier than I expected, see it if you have a kid (or know one). Jon Favreau (actor in Made, Swingers, Dinner for Five) directed it, he also directed Elf. He came and spoke, and he's a BIG guy. He's also really intelligent and funny. Anyway, it was a good class, thought I'd share.

I'll let you know how Cisco goes, cross your fingers!

Something came, all right, it was a...

TRAIN. That bowled me over. Ouch.

It feels like I had one very long day. It began on Monday and is still going. Once I finish this, it's goodnight (until I get up for my class at 7pm)! Monday was a normal day of class and such. Then on Monday evening Sally and I went to Pam's because Aloha was visiting from the Philippines. Aloha is Pam's/Mom's/Carol's first cousin, and she's a famous movie star/singer in the Philippines. I haven't seen her since I was 13 or so, and Pam hasn't seen her in 35 years! It was a good time. Anyway, once I got home at 11 or so, I packed for New York. Monica's dad took us to the airport at 4:30am. Our flight left at 7am, arrived in New York at 3:30pm. Monica had never been to NY, but unfortunately there wasn't any time to see anything. We drove by Flushing Meadows, and had a few minutes to walk a block around Times Square, but that's it. Then we had a "meet and greet" dinner, went to sleep, and had the interview day from 8am - 4pm, spent 2 hours in a taxi to get to JFK, sat in a plane for 9 hours (including the 2 1/2 hours we spent not moving before we took off). Came home, slept a little bit, woke up for an interview on campus this morning, and now here I am. Phew.

If I decide to do consulting, this will be my life...flights, delays, suit-wearing, etc. Can I handle that?

The interview day went really well, everyone was really nice and informative, and I'm pretty sure they loved me. I'll hear back within 7 - 10 days. I also found out that they're considering me for Chicago. Live in Chicago? I've always wanted to GO, but it'll be SO cold to live there. Gosh, I don't know. I haven't had the time or brain power to contemplate my choices, yet. What do you all think?

The interview this morning with Avanade was HORRIBLE. It was a 45-minute technical interview. The questions weren't hard, or anything, but my mind was in NO position to think. Mitch (my interviewer) would ask me a question, I'd answer it, and then he'd tell me the answer using different words. I'm confused....does that mean that he thought I answered incorrectly, or was he confirming my answer? I really don't know. Good thing I'm exhausted, or I'd be wound up with worry. Eh, it's over. We'll see. I've stopped caring. (Not really, but I'm telling myself that).

"Something's Coming" from the West Side Story Soundtrack

Could be...who knows? There's something due anyday; I will know right away, as soon as it shows.

Good lyrics, eh? Fitting that it should be stuck in my head when I awoke this morning. This weekend should be pretty chill, no big plans. I'm supposed to work at Cruiser tonight, but may take off because it was Casey's (former roommate) birthday earlier this week, and she wants to celebrate. We'll see. Otherwise, all I've got is homework to do. And passport pictures to take. All in all, good chill weekend. Yay.

"The Joker" by Steve Miller Band

Again I've been told that I'm boring. I don't deny it. But it's your choice to keep reading. And I think you will. I may be boring, but addictive.

I watched the new movie Pride and Prejudice tonight in my cinema class. It had some great landscape shots of the English countryside, and the director who came to speak was English. It reminded me that I'M GOING TO ENGLAND!!!! So soon! And, hopefully, before I leave I'll have a job set up for when I return from my travels. And, I aspire to have some money to live on. I guess with this whole job search I'd forgotten about my upcoming holiday. It'll be a big party: Sally, Jim, Allison, Lilah, Shelly, cousin Robert, cousin Lynsey and I...all together. And I'll get to see my brother!

Warms my heart this cold evening working at Cruiser.

"Rapunzel" by Dave Matthews Band

Sorry for the lack of posts, busy busy busy.

I decided not to accept the KPMG, Deloitte and Chevron interviews. I just have too much on my plate. Besides, I already have second round interviews with Cisco in San Jose, SanDisk in San Jose, Microsoft in Texas, Hitachi here in LA and Ernst & Young in New York. Those plus classes, work and my internship are already too much! There are exactly 30 days left until classes are over. Wow. Then I'll finally be graduated, whoohooo! It's taken long enough.

I bought a suit for my interviews today. Suits are SO expensive. I had no idea. I guess it's tuna fish and ramen until next paycheck.

I worked at Cruiser for Halloween, and we were allowed to wear costumes. I wore my regular polo uniform shirt. BUT, I spiced it up a little. On the right side of my face I had my awesome roommate Bethany apply fake skin to look like I had a few deep gashes. Then we applied fake blood that ran from the gashes down my neck and under my chin. The reason I did this was because when I'm driving to pick up people, I speak to them from the driver-side window to confirm I'm picking up the right person. After confirmation, they walk around to the passenger side and get in the car. So, while speaking to them on Halloween, I looked normal, but once they sat in the car and looked at me, they freaked out. It was great. My boss almost didn't let me drive because I looked so gruesome. Then he got into the spirit of it and used me to play pranks on other Cruisers. All in all, it was a good costume. I don't know yet if I won for best costume, but I gave it a good shot.

My aunt Susan sent me a lovely email extoling my writing. She said it's my calling. Nevermind Computer Science. I do actually enjoy this little bit of writing, I forgot what it was like to write semi-creatively. But anyways, that warmed my heart, thanks Susan!

Thanks for the comments, everyone. You keep commenting, and I'll keep writing.

No song, woke up swearing.

So, for some odd reason my alarm didn't go off this morning. I checked it, it was set correctly, but didn't go off. Hmm. Therefore, I missed my interview call, but he called back, I answered, spoke for a minute. Then my phone suddenly shut off. Now it won't turn on, and when you call it you hear it's not in service. I just got this replacement phone yesterday, because my other phone's buttons wouldn't work. So, not only did I lose all my phone numbers, it cost me an interview. I called Cingular, they said my account looks fine and to call the Warranty department. I called the Warranty department, where I got a message apologizing that they couldn't take my call. I'm so mad at them.

I worked at Cruiser last night til 3 am, and if you didn't know already, Thursday is college party night. So you end up picking up a lot of drunk people. Especially drunk freshmen sorority girls. I loathe drunk freshmen sorority girls. In addition, they were all dressed in SKANKY costumes for halloween. I saw at least 4 nurses, 2 maids, and countless referees. I don't understand how they can degrade themselves so much and then wonder why they get sexually harrassed or their frat boy boyfriends treat them like dirt. Stupid.

There was a lot of police activity last night. On one occasion, I was driving down a street to pick up some kids, and a cop pulled up behind me, then another pulled up in front of me, then 3 more cop cars pulled up, I was boxed. They all got out of their cars, and walked towards me. I thought I had killed someone with my car without knowing it. I rolled down my window and said, "Officer, sir, uh, are you here for me?" He just looked at me and said, "No." Except it sounded like, "You're a moron." Thanks, Officer. Anyway, they milled around for a moment, then got in their cars and left. I continued to drive.

Ok, time for birthday cake for my boss!

no song, too tired.

Today started out not so great. I woke up way too early (5 hours of sleep this time!) to study for the midterm I had at 9:30, and a project that was not finished due at 11. However, the midterm was easy-peasy, so I was done by 10. Then, I went to the lab and hurriedly finished the project. Whoohoo! Go me. After that was done, I ate lunch, came home, and checked email (as usual).

In my email were 3 things of note:

1) I got interviews with Deloitte Consulting, Chevron and KPMG.

2) A notificication of a second phone interview with SanDisk (tomorrow morning).

3) An email from Microsoft asking me to interview for a Presenter position! YAY! YIPPEE! I'm pretty sure that means they'll fly me up there. Out of all my interviews and job considerations, Microsoft is the one I'm most excited about. Because they take care of their employees, they've got a great culture.

So, even though I have class til 11 and have to work til 3am, it's a great day.

I hope you're not all sick of hearing about my job search, but it's a big thing in my life right now, and c'mon, it's better than hearing about how routers work.

Moving on, Chris and Lahra left this morning. It was great having them here. We totally approve of Lahra, she's funny and fun. She's really organized and clean, too, which is a bonus when you're entering our family. My aunt Pam said that Lahra was more relaxed with her - which is understandable because I'd be quiet and weirded out by her, too, if I was marrying her son and meeting her for the first or second or third time. Our family is weird and crazy - therefore intimidating to normal people! Sally, Lahra, Chris and I had a great conversation the other night about the virtues of being raised by Ragans. Though we were raised by chain smokers, pot users, single & broke moms, without many rules, we all grew up fine. Because we were raised to be honest, decent, educated, experience-seeking, world-minded people. And there's nothing more important to the Ragans than family - we're all around the world, but we're still close, and any of us would do anything for another. I can't imagine growing up in any other way.

That's what I have to say.

Googliffic

Google called! Gotta fill out a worksheet, then phone interview. Cool!

"Cruisin'" Huey Lewis & Gwyneth Paltrow version

Wow, why haven't I had any good music stuck in my head recently (besides CS&N - see earlier post)? These won't make my loyal (incredibly small) fanbase think, "Lindsay's got really good taste in music." In fact, now you're all thinking, "Not only is she boring, she knows crap songs." Admit it, that's what you're thinking. I take no offense.

Well, Chris and Lahra are here, I spent some time with them this weekend. On Friday night we (including Sally) went to Universal Citywalk - Howl at the Moon and Saddle Ranch. Slutty girls galore, no joke. However, in the hundreds of people there: not one attractive guy (no offense, cousin Chris, but relations don't count). I kid you not - unless you're into that greasy hair, open shirt with gold chain, sleazy type. Which I'm not. Ugh, just recalling it grosses me out.

On Saturday we drove around Hollywood (Mann's Chinese Theater, "Ooooh...", Hollywood sign, "Ahhhh..."). Never got out of the car, though. We're lazy tourists.

Monday was my last day of interviews, well not LAST, but I get a break. But I thought I'd give you an update:

Microsoft - had phone interview, expecting to hear back this week.
Ernst & Young - second round interview in New York in early November.
Disney Consumer Products - turned it down, because it started in January, and the position wasn't all I thought it would be...though maybe I'll readdress the idea sometime next year.
Avanade - had initial phone interview, have second on-campus interview scheduled for 11/10 (provided I'm not in NY for Ernst & Young).
Hitachi Consulting - Interviewed yesterday, really went well, should hear by end of week if I made it to Round #2 held here in LA. Update: Made it to Round #2 on December 2nd.
Cisco Systems - Made it to round #2, so they'll fly me to either San Jose, North Carolina, Massachusetts or Texas sometime in November.
SanDisk - A company not previously mentioned, kinda happened quickly. Interviewed yesterday, went really well - see story below.

So that's my progress.

Interesting SanDisk story: My interviewer (an older Indian gentleman named Arun) called me LindsAy instead of LindsEy, so I told him the story behind my name's pronunciation (See my old Xanga for story). He in turn, told me a tale of his own. In India as a child, he slept in this roll up kind of mattress bed which had lots of pockets and such for storage. When he was done, you would just roll it up like a sleeping bag. Anyway, his really old grandmother would call it the Holdo, so he grew up calling it a Holdo. Last month he was speaking to some Indian friends and mentioned the Holdo, but the didn't know what he was talking about - so he described it. Turns out it's called a Hold All, and due to his old grandmother's accent, he'd been mispronouncing it for most of his life. Funny story, at least I thought. Got the interview off to a good start, at least.

Well, thanks for reading this - I expect you to comment!

"Trouble" by Shampoo

Yes, random song from the early 90s, not popular in the US, but I heard it in the the Philippines.

Note about comments: where are they? I need feedback, people! Xinh (from ABC) told me I was boring, but that's what you signed up for when you became my friend. Family, sorry, you're stuck. He said I should make stuff up. Right. I'll work on it.

Campus Cruisering

If you didn't know, I started working at Campus Cruiser again, 2 years after I left. I'm now cruiser 82, but if I'd stayed I'd be Cruiser 3. Anyway, I'm answering phones, so I thought I'd post. Tomorrow's a busy day: class from 9-12:30, then the career fair until 3, the interview with Cisco at 3:15. Then class from 4 to 6, dinner, midterm from 7 to 11, then campus cruisering from 11 to 3am. Whooohoo. Busy day. Cousin Chris and his wife Lahra are coming in tomorrow, but I won't get to see them until Friday after ABC. Bummer. Oh well, I'm excited to see Chris after so long, and to meet Lahra. Chris just got out of the Army, he's a Captain, so now he's on the job hunt.

Anyway, work is over, I won't have time to post tomorrow. See you on the flipside.

"Slumber" by Gabriel Mann

Gabriel Mann

or as covered by the SoCal Vocals

Junk Comments?!

I've been comment spammed!!! I didn't know it was possible! I had 3, count that...THREE junk comments. So, I made a change: you can still comment anonymously, but you have to do a word verification. Sorry to make it difficult, but man. Wow. Junk comments, I can't get over it.

"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" by Crosby, Stills and Nash

Last night I went to Monica's Rock & Roll class because they were going to talk about CS&N (and CSN&Y). It was neat, they listen to music and hear cool facts about albums/bands. Anyway, because of the class, I woke up with "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" in my head.

I got called back to Round #2 of Ernst & Young interviews! Yay! They'll be held in New York on the 8th & 9th or 9th & 10th of November. Monica and Shawn are going, too. How fun! So far, all of my interviews have gone well, I think. :) I just got off the phone with the initial interviewer from Microsoft. We'll see if I make it any farther, that one was difficult to gauge. Not bad or anything, just...hmm.

Dude, our car overheated...AGAIN. Sally took it in to the shop, and I was mad because we JUST had the radiator replaced. Apparently there was something wrong with some hose or something, and the bill was around $500. HOWEVER, the guy never called Sally to tell her the cost, they just went ahead and did the work without her approval...so it was FREE! FREE! Yay for free car work, what a godsend.

Anyway, gotta go stress out about Microsoft...

Witty Titles

Ok, so it's post #4, and I've already run out of attention-grabbing titles, so from now on, the titles are going to be whatever song is stuck in my head. For those who don't know, every morning I wake up with a song in my head. They are very random songs, covering all parts of the spectrum from nursery rhymes to classic rock songs to television jingles. So, stay tuned from now on. I didn't title this post with a song because it's 2pm, and I already forgot what song was playing in my head when I woke up. I'll make a point to remember next time.

Thanks for your comments, Dad, Anne, Jon and Monica! I feel special! Don't worry, Dad, I'll try to stress less about finding a job. If you know of any good job-finding websites in England, let me know!

Right now I'm sitting in one of USC's computer labs, about to start writing a lab report on "the overfishing of the world's waters." Oh well, better get to it.

USC vs Notre Dame

Dude, wow, that game was INSANE. I nearly had a heart attack a number of times. Especially at the end when the announcers called the game and the ND fans rushed the field prematurely. Hah, but we showed them. And Leinart was so overcome, it was great. Now THAT'S a game that'll be on ESPN Classic. Best game ever.

To add to my last post, the DCP interview went well, but I don't think I'll take it if it were offered. It just isn't enough, I mean the bare bones of it is that it is a customer service/data entry position. And it doesn't pay too well. So, I think I'll pass. I'm worth more than that (I hope). Also, I have 2 more interviews to add to the list: Hitachi Consulting and Cisco Systems. Wow, don't I feel popular. I really didn't think ANYBODY would be interested enough to actually interview me. Let's see if their interest holds up enough to actually hire me.

The Job Search

So, it's my last semester in college (finally, I know). My plan so far is to go to England on the 18th of December. I bought a one-way ticket because I'm planning to be there for about 6 months. I say planning because it's all dependent on my job (or lack thereof). Therefore, I'm currently on the job hunt, interviewing with anyone who will give me the time. So far I've interviewed with Ernst & Young. And I have a phone interviews with Disney Consumer Products and Avanade. I'm supposed to have a phone interview with Microsoft lined up, so the recruiter has told me...but it hasn't been scheduled yet. So far so good. I do basically have a job at Wells Fargo if I want one, but I don't know...it wasn't a bad internship. The people are nice, the pay is really good, but the work will probably not be challenging or anything. And it's a bank, so business is the name of the game, even though we generally get to wear jeans. Oh, I'm so confused. I just want to find a job and company that I LOVE and am passionate about. Maybe I'll find one in England, I don't know. But, until I find *the* job, the search goes on...

New Beginnings...

So, Seth and Amanda have inspired me to start a blog. I figured that since I signed up for an account to publish comments, I might as well start a blog. I thought I'd never be that person, oh well.

Not like this will ever get read anyways.