Weirdness!

So.... I got a contract!

I was submitted for a couple of opportunities before going to the cottage, but hadn't heard anything since, so thought they were not interested.

Found out on Tuesday that one still hadn't started their interviewing.

Got a call yesterday that they hired me. Ummm.... I've never interviewed with them?!? Not a problem, apparently they were wooed by my resume and references.

It's a little scary - what if we don't click? Oh well... I guess if we don't, at the 6 month mark, when re-negotiations begin for the remaining 12 months, we cut our losses!

This has renewed my faith in my former manager though... he IMd me last week saying he'd given a reference to some gov't lady who was going to hire me without ever meeting me. I thought he'd turned to substances ;).

Not sure when my start date is yet, should receive the contract today or tomorrow. Business Analyst Process Re-Engineering. It's like being a re-enactor. But different. ;)

Booyeah!

I had a great weekend! Went to my brother's girlfriend's BBQ on Friday night, it was a lot of fun. Nice people, her friends and visiting family! She's a keeper - makes the BEST dahl (dall?) I've ever tasted.

Saturday evening we were at my brother's for the August family birthdays. Since there are three with birthdays then, it's just easier for all to get together. It too was a lot of fun!

Sunday morning Steve was a little sore in the head (self-induced) and in need of a greasy breakfast so we checked out a new to us place, the Baker Street Café. I found out today their specialty is cinnamon buns. Didn't know that going in! I ordered eggs florentine, Steve had eggs benedict, and both were excellent. The plate was huge though, and I couldn't finish it all. Nice to have so much real fruit on the plate and not a slice of orange though! I wished I'd had my camera because I would have snapped a photo it was so pretty. Needless to say, there was no LSD yesterday!

So this morning was it, time to run that 16k. It was cool (14C/57F) and windy, but sunny. Brrr! We had a warm weekend and this was a bit of a shocker! The first km was tiring, and unfortunately, the top of my left foot hurt from the get go :(. And I felt really fat. My lungs felt good though! By 6k I was trying to run on my heel to take the pressure off the front of my foot. Needless to say, by the end of the loop (14k/88.6mi), both feet were hurting a lot, so I opted out of the extra 2k. I was disappointed, but as of right now, the feet aren't hurting much :). I also just visited a few health sites and all said that metatarsal breaks can be home diagnosed by pressing on the bones - if you want to pass out, get it checked out. If not, loosen your shoelaces! So my feet don't hurt at all when I press, tried squeezing, everything. So not that. But I did put speedlaces in a couple of months ago! dun dun dun.... I think they might be putting pressure on the area. Next run I'm going to loosen those suckers and see if it helps!

News on the job search - got a call on Thursday from a recruiter I'd never seen (but submitted my resume online to their company) and they had a VERY interesting opportunity they wanted to talk to me about. Not going to blog about it, because the systems involved you need to have the highest of security clearances to work on apparently. Sounds cool to me! I've been submitted and have my fingers crossed I'll be called for an interview.

Better hit the books! Today is a refresher on UML. Never had formal training, and found a great book/cd :)

I guess it's time for an update!

Steve and I had a great great time at the cottage, though the weather wasn't always too great! Steve's Mom and my sister and her hubby came for the weekend and we had a nice visit. Sadly it had gotten cold by then, and we could only swim on Saturday for an hour.

Last weekend my daughter KT and I went on a shopping trip to NY for her birthday. We havn't had a road trip in a few years, and this is what she wanted for her birthday - she paid for her shopping, I paid for the two nights at the hotel, the gas and the meals. We had a great time. I'll post pictures once she loads them.

Running: I came down with a cold last week after the cottage, so I didn't end up doing my 16k until Thursday. I've been busy since, so the plan is to run this week's 16 tomorrow.

Job: I had an interview for a contract position on Monday last week. I did not think it went well at all, but got called for a second interview for this past Monday. This interview went much much better, but I found out today that I wasn't selected. The feedback was good though, I interviewed very well, and the two 'negatives' were 1. no experience working with the government (this is a common theme, which is really hard to get around since no one will give you that first 'in'!), and the other candidate had more web development experience.

I'm disappointed, it was an opportunity to learn about other ECM systems. C'est la vie. Yes, I've been working hard on bringing my French back too ;). I was submitted for two other jobs, but haven't heard anything so assuming that I wasn't selected for interview. So back to square 1.

I don't think I have anything else to report! We'll see how the 16k goes tomorrow ;)

Long time no update!

I registered for the 1st annual Army Half Marathon (dog tag medals people!) a couple of weeks ago. Then ran 12k and buggered up my hip - last weekend it hurt to put weight on it, but after several steps it was fine. Strange stuff. I have no idea how I hurt it. :(

I was supposed to race in my second Du of the season yesterday, but because my hip was still constantly sore (but not bad like last weekend) but definitely aggravated by the bike as I found out last weekend. So skipped the du :( (congrats to Steve and Karen who both came in 3rd in their age groups), instead opted to stand around for 5 hours on my leg. Smooth move there chicky.

Today I was to run 14k. My hip hurt the whole time, but doesn't hurt any more or less than it has all week, so if still ok tomorrow, I will be thrilled. Only 7 weeks until the race!

I didn't get the job I interviewed for. Oh well. I have another interview on Aug 11 for a different contract, and have been submitted for 2 other opportunities. Something will come my way soon enough.

I have been spending more time sitting on the deck, reading for study and for fun, listening to various podcasts on my iPod, and enjoying my time off. It's tough, the job search is permanently on my mind, as is getting my French back in top shape. Speaking of which, I've started taking novels I had on my TBR list out of the library which have been translated into French. Ooh la la. ;)

That's if for now. We rented a cottage for the week (before the layoff that is!) so we're going to spend the rest of the week reading, studying, getting interview ready, sleeping, swimming, running, walking... Can't wait!!