New England

Nice trip Sunday and yesterday. Flights were crowded but smooth, so I got lots of reading done. I'm caught up now. :)

The hotel was nice, but it was deja vu for real. When we'd lived there before, I worked in the same building as the hotel, and used the same parking ramp, etc. Kind of creepy...

I pretty much navigated the whole area from the airport to downtown to our old house, etc., without a map, just from memory. A couple of wrong turns, but hey - who's counting?

The rental car people wanted to put me in a Ford Taurus... yawn... So I held out for something cooler. But all they had was a PT Cruiser, so I guess the cooler thing didn't work out. ;)

The interviews had a ragged start (I was sent to the wrong building, and walked quite a ways in strong heat & humidity, so was drippy. ) :( But after that it got better.

Met with 4 senior people, each of whom had a spot they needed filled. Three of them were new positions, where you'd make it up as you went along - which I like a lot. The fourth was the least interesting and I can probably dismiss it right away. Two of the remaining three positions are pretty clearly going to be located in New England, but the other one could possibly be located in St. Paul! Hm. That would be preferable by far, and the guy I'd work for in that job seems the nicest of the bunch, the easiest to get along with. Plus, the job itself seems fun. I'm kind of excited about it! :) St. Paul would be closer to loved ones, too... and easier to visit close friends... mmm.

Anyway, it went favorably and I am expecting to hear back from them positively in a week or two. Now I have thank you notes to send! I haven't done that in a long time. :) So my recruiter is going to send me a form letter that I can customize - and she says it can now be done via email and be perfectly acceptable. Ah, the joys of the internet...

In the meantime, the company that I phone-screened with last week about a job in Atlanta, wants me to go to Chicago on the 30th to meet with their hiring manager, who will be in town - I guess I passed that first screening interview. Plus the company in Schaumburg is looking at the 29th - 31st to bring me in for an interview day with them. The recruiter is trying to get this all to happen on the same day - maybe a breakfast meeting on the Atlanta job, and then the rest of the day with the Schaumburg people.

Then, there's Des Moines on Friday, and plus, the company an hour west of here has now expressed interest in me for two jobs, and is suggesting that I come in for a discussion with them. Maybe early September for that...

This is actually starting to become fun! :) I feel like a star high school athlete being recruited by several out-of-state colleges at once, while being simultaneously ignored by his home state university...

My boss called today to check up on me. I'm now being excused from various and sundry staff meetings and teleconferences. Darn! :) Still no firm date for when my last day will be. Mid-October, late October, who knows? I've been telling other companies I can start by 11/1, but I may have to begin delaying that a few weeks. Maybe 12/1 - I think I may need the time anyway.

Oh, Jonny emailed from college - making new freinds, staying up late and dying his hair red. :) OK, boy - classes start today... pay attention!