I'm sure you're going to be super busy with your new job Quad, nobody will blame you for that! I'm glad you've finally gotten some replies, it was frustrating knowing specialized knowledge like yours wasn't being utilized. Bye for now Quad!

I'm trying out audiobooks on my iPod now. Are there any you guys recommend?

I got three so far I really wanted - Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse; A Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi; and The Forty-Seven Ronin by Takashi Takamia. You can tell what my interests are XD...Siddhartha is a story I've always wanted to read that has to do with the Buddha, and of course A Book of Five Rings was written by the legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi, who is famous for never losing a fight.

In addition, a friend of mine mentioned a few podcasts he liked - The Secret World Chronicle by Mercedes Lackey and Earthcore by Scott Sigler. I'm listening to The Secret World Chronicle right now, although it started right in the middle of the series, it hasn't been bad. My friend showed me that I needed to start on "1-1", not on the first podcast on the list. I had started with "5-7" XD!!

Anyway, I would like to listen to some of the literary classics, but a lot of these were really expensive. I saw several cheap stories by H.G.Wells, also found they had A Journey to the Center of the Earth for about $2 and The Call of Cthulu for about $5. May grab those sometime.

I found a website called LibriVox recently that has free audio recordings of classic books, which I've been listening to. The stories come in podcast format so it should work on your iPod (that's what I've been listening to mine on)!

I don't know what to do anymore.

It's been almost 2 weeks since the job called and said they'd set me up with an interview in August. I've been anxiously waiting for them to call and say when the interview was so I could plan my trip up to Atlanta. And each day that goes by I grow more and more disappointed.

But on top of that, Mom's now said that if they don't call by Monday then I have to get a job at Wal-Mart.

I want this job so badly. It's absolutely perfect and I am very eager to get things rolling in a positive direction, but every day that goes by things just get worse and worse.

Mom and I were going to take a day trip to New Orleans since I haven't really gotten to go anywhere on vacation this summer. That's been scrapped now because we can't afford it.

It's my fault. Of course it's my fault. We're barely scraping by because I'm sitting here waiting for a job to say they want me, and all the while we keep having to spend money and dig ourselves a deeper and deeper hole.





Maybe my life is just one big waste. Maybe I was never meant to fulfill my dreams. Maybe I'm doomed to work at a grocery store until I die.

I don't understand. Why don't they call?

Alright good news guys, I called Republic Services today since it's been about 2 weeks since they called, and ended up talking to the same person who called me. He said that I'm still on the list for an interview and will let me know in about a week when to come up to Winder, GA.

He said they were working on getting a manager settled so that was why it was taking a little while to hear back. I told him that I started to cover my bases and sent out a few more applications, but that I was very interested in the job and area up there. He said he remembered that I had worked through college bagging groceries and how that was awesome to him. I think that showed him that I can be dedicated to a job if I worked at one for 5 years.

Trigger, I can't thank you enough for your words and encouragement. I felt like I was at the end of my rope yesterday, and now hearing not only that I'm on the list for an interview but that the man I talked to was pretty happy I called...I feel great today compared to how awful I felt yesterday.

I'm so glad to hear that Quad! And I wish you the best of luck in the interview itself. Just remember to be yourself and to let your awesome qualities shine through, and I'm sure you'll do wonderfully!

Woke up this morning, got my shower, and got dressed. Listened to Mom talk on the phone for a little bit, and as soon as she got off her phone, my cellphone started ringing.

Republic Services called and told me when my interview was! Wednesday next week at 10:30 AM.

So all day I've been calling people and letting them know, as well as getting in touch with both the person I'm staying with as well as my brother. I also called one of the apartment complexes and found out about about them, it's 15 minutes away from where I would be working at.

On top of that, I applied for a deferment on my student loans due to unemployment, and was able to get it pushed back to February of next year.

Today has been great. I'm starting to plan for what to take with me on the drive up there, and have been getting things ready for it all. I'll be leaving Monday to stay with my friend, and Tuesday we plan to go into town and check out the apartments and such. Finally, Wednesday will be my interview.

Alrighty so I'll be gone from tomorrow (Monday) to Thursday. I'll be staying with my friend close to Atlanta Monday and Tuesday, she's going to help me find a good back road to drive from her house to Winder since we don't want to drive into Atlanta. Then Wednesday is the job interview at 10:30 AM. My brother and sister-in-law are going to drive down and meet me after the interview - we're going to check out the local park called Fort Yargo State Park and then I plan to take them out to lunch to a local restaurant called FATZ. We will also go to 1-3 apartment complexes to find me a place to live. There's one I have in mind but if they don't have an apartment available I know my 2nd choice will have one by Friday.

After that I'll head up and stay with my bro and sis at their house near Chattanooga, TN.

I know I'll have internet access on Wednesday night and Thursday, so I'll let you all know how my interview went. I may have to stay an extra day if they decide to do the 2nd interview a different day.

good luck!

Hey guys, I thought I'd hook you up with an update.

The interview went really well, aside from a few moments where they asked some tough questions. But I think I answered as best as I could, and it seemed like they were genuinely interested in me for the job. They said there were about 36 applicants and they narrowed it down to 6 including myself. I think they also said they may hire up to 3 of us.

The job is considered 'specialized', since they said there's only about 14 or so people in the company who do what I would be trained to do. The area is very nice and I didn't have any problems getting to the site.

I also checked out the apartments in the area. One I actually got to walk in and see the apartment, and it was okay...a little cramped. But the other one is closer and looks nicer but I didn't get to see an apartment. I hope I'll be able to get an apartment at the closer one, but if not I may have to get one at the other one.

So anyway, they said it would be either today or Monday when I'd hear if I got the job or not, and they didn't call today. I'm hanging out at my brother and sis-in-law's house until Monday.

Good job Quad! ^^ You should be proud of yourself for going through with that!

I'm sorry to hear that Quad, it's always hard to get news like that.

To be positive though, don't feel like it's something that you did wrong. From the sounds of it, you had everything they were looking for, it just might've been that the candidates they picked suited that company just a little bit more. It seems like they really are sincere, and think that you're a great worker. Don't lose hope just yet, I don't think they would've said those things to you if they didn't mean them.

You can also call your interviewer and ask for future advice. Often, especially for young workers, employers are willing to give some tips for future interviews or other endeavours. If these people are as nice as they seem, I think you can at least give it a try to call them and learn from them.

Keep going Quad, don't be too discouraged!

Good to hear you're still moving forward~
Yeah, often someone who already has on-the-job experience of some sort gets picked first because it can be very time-consuming to train someone entirely new. It's a bit of a catch-22; can't get in without experience, can't get experience without getting in. You'll find an opening somewhere, though - just keep swimmin'~!

GUYS HOLY CRAP!!

I got an e-mail this morning from a company called Terracon, which I have applied to several times all around the country! Check this out:

Chris,

Your resume has been forward to me by a colleague and I am interested in meeting with you to discuss some opportunities.

I would like to get together for lunch in the near future if you have some time.

Please let me know if you will have some availability in the upcoming weeks and I will make arrangements.

Thank you


This job is in Woodstock, Georgia, which is very close to my friend in Acworth who I stayed with before going off for the interview in Winder. It's north of Atlanta and at a spot where my brother and I could easily meet (where he wouldn't have to go into Atlanta to get onto the other interstate like he would have in Winder).

So I let them know that I will be available next week and look forward to it. I wanted to make sure the roads were safe since we're still dealing with Isaac down here, so I think by Monday it'll be safe to travel. I've let my friend in Acworth know I'll be back up for another meeting. I don't know what kind of job this will be yet but I've applied to Terracon for hydrogeology jobs, so I will probably be doing something like that.

On top of it, I don't ever think I applied to this particular town, and since they said they were referred to by a colleague, I am convinced this was the recruiter from Republic Services who referred me.

This town has a pretty awesome selection of local restaurants!

Tea Leaves and Thyme - an English tearoom I can totally take my mom and aunt to

The Magnolia Thomas restaurant - an awesome southern restaurant

Freight Kitchen and Tap - A railroad-inspired restaurant I can't wait to check out with my brothers and sisters-in-law

And they have a Caribou Coffee!


Urggghhhh wish I'd get that e-mail or even a call from the guy to find out when and where for the interview. I'm very excited to find out more about this job!

Probably will be Tuesday when I get the e-mail since Monday is Labor Day.

----------------------------------------------

Unrelated news, but The Killers has a new album coming out on September 18th for anyone who is a fan.

I contacted the person from Terracon asking if there was an update on our meeting. He responded about a minute later with this:

Chris,

Thank you for contacting me regarding this.
My schedule has changed slightly due to impacts to my projects by the recent storm.
I apologize but I don’t think I will be able to meet this week.
I will look at my schedule for the upcoming weeks and make arrangements to meet with you soon.

I will be in touch.

So I just gotta stay busy in the next few weeks until I get a place and time for our meeting. Trying to think of what I can do during this time, any ideas? I was thinking about trying to pack up some more and getting some more exercise done.

Ever have kind of an "Aha!" moment?

I think I had mine yesterday and today. Mom was watching a show on TV about the Amish, in which the younger ones want to leave their community and drive a car, have electricity, and so on. They do challenging labor all day and use dated equipment, such as push mowers to mow their lawns.

Well, this got me thinking about my life. No, I'm not saying I want to be Amish, but my "Aha!" moment is that I'm just not challenged enough.

I used to say that my life was hard. Especially in school when I struggled and barely passed my classes. Well right now, I've got a remarkably easy, laid-back lifestyle. I'm trying to find a job, and hopefully I'll hear from the person in Fort Lauderdale who may hire me for Terracon. But right now, what do I do? I do a few chores, maybe go off and run an errand, and then spend the rest of my day playing Skyrim and messing around on the computer.

And you know, I really hate this, because quite simply I'm addicted to technology and convenience. I was watching Dr. Phil the other day and the episode was titled "the demise of guys". At first I thought it was kind of a sexist episode, but when I watched it, there was one part that really made sense. They were talking about a 23 year old kid who spends somewhere around 40 hours a week playing Call of Duty on his Xbox. There was a doctor/psychologist who said that this is an addiction because it's an escape from the real world. In video games, you control what's going on, your life is exciting, there's something happening every minute.

That really clicked for me, because I've been playing Skyrim so much lately, and have been slacking off while I wait for this e-mail about my job.

Well today I had to mail a package for Mom. I told her I'd go exercise today (there's a church I go to that has a recreation center where I either walk an indoor track or shoot hoops on the basketball court). I haven't been there since the trip to Winder, and today, I tried to talk myself out of going and just coming home after mailing the package, playing Skyrim or whatever.

I had to tell myself "No, you said you wanted to challenge yourself, so go exercise." And I did, I went and shot basketballs for about 20 minutes, and then came home and did a 20 minute Tae Bo DVD workout.

So my goal at this moment, while I'm waiting for this e-mail, is to get off the laptop and xbox and challenge myself every day to do something positive. Those days I sit around and do nothing, I feel incredibly guilty with myself, whereas days like today where I got some things done and haven't really touched the xbox, I feel great.

^

Same.

Of course, I can't vote, but I don't think they're going to help at all.

This isn't a rant or a vent, just something I wanted to talk about, so I thought I'd post it here.

I love watching College Football, it's exciting when the season starts and I have something to watch (or listen to if it's Pay Per View) every Saturday. A few years ago, I was obsessed with wanting my team (The University of Alabama Crimson Tide) to win and wanting our rival team (The Auburn University Tigers) to lose, even to the point where I used to say terrible things on Facebook about Auburn. I would always say I was 'rooting for Alabama and whoever Auburn was playing against' when it was game day, and even despised tigers due to them being Auburn's mascot.

I don't know what happened since last year, but I've kind of...matured. It's like all that anger and bitterness toward Auburn isn't there anymore. And for the past two games they've played, I've commended Auburn on Facebook, even if they lost.

The first time it happened, I got some negative feedback from a relative of mine about it. I debated taking down my post, but instead left it up, because I really enjoyed watching Auburn play, even if they're our rival team.

Football aside, I've been kind of like this for a while now, where very little bothers or angers me anymore. Maybe it's the fact that I've gotten some positive feedback and progress on my job search. Maybe I've somehow hit some level of enlightenment. Maybe I'm just much more thankful for what I have than angry for what I don't. I have no idea, but whatever it is, I've been exceptionally mellow the past few months.

I'm still a fan of Alabama, I mean we're still the #1 team in the country, and have convincingly won all of our games this season so far. But maybe...maybe I've become a fan of the SEC as a whole. My state admittedly is not the best state in the US, we have a lot of things that need to be worked on (and I'm sure that can be said for any state), but you know...Alabama won the 2009 national championship. Auburn won the 2010 national championship. Alabama won the 2011 national championship...

I'm damn proud of my state for having some of the best college football teams in the nation. And even if it means some of my family members will shun me for commending Auburn on their games, so be it. It just shows that I can love this game and still be a good sport about it.

Sounds like a good backup plan. =]

Brian from Family Guy? That's cool!

Hi <3

Hi, I'm a 17 year old man and this is my ponysona;
x
x

also pony conventions are a thing; http://www.bronycon.org/
https://www.facebook.com/BroniesForever FB page

google; Brony

I guess it's because of being old enough to remember when MLP was a toy line only for girls...

I'll try to stop thinking there is something wrong with watching it as a guy and just watch it.