Is that a hornpipe in yer pocket, or are ye excited ta see me?
Avast, me hearties! It's Talk Like A Pirate Day! Even the little lj scallywag has an eyepatch. Here I be, updatin' me captain's log.
Yesterday, I had my interview at CareersUSA. Wow. It really did take three hours. First of all, when I went in, I filled out a mountain of paperwork-- really, everything short of disclosing blood type and family genealogical charts. After that fabulous half-hour of fun, I started with skills tests. They had something like 30 different skills tests, and you take whichever ones with which you've had prior experience.
I took Microsoft Office, Works, PowerPoint, Excel, two data-entry tests, two typing tests, and an accounts payable test. The program tests weren't simply multiple-choice, but 30-point projects to complete. Did you know that Microsoft Word has an importable mailing label wizard? 'Cuz I sure didn't. And boy howdy, I have not used PowerPoint since sophomore French. And, to finish it off, they give you a miniature SAT-- tests on reading comprehension, business-related math, grammar, spelling, editing, and pattern recognition.
So... two hours in, I finally got to the interview part of the interview. By that point, my interviewer, Cory, had been looking at my resume for a little while, and the first thing he asked was, "wow, have you ever not worked?" Erm, I'd given him the abbreviated resume, too-- just college forward. He was pretty pleased with the resume, all in all. As it turned out, I got perfect scores on the typing tests, and high marks in the program tests. He said that I should still put resumes out on Monster and Careerbuilder, but that he doesn't anticipate a problem in finding me work. So, yay. I am mildly optimistic.
As for the birthday round-up, when I got home, I had more flowers than I knew what to do with. The first was a bouquet of irises, roses, and lilies from Skyler, with a card that read, oh-so-romantically, "Happy Birthday, Dummyhead." The other were gorgeous miniature roses from
dagger_garnet. Tina, they're so beautiful! Thank you! I especially liked the yellow ones that turned pink and peach speckled at the tips. Anyway, there will be picture.
I also had a full inbox of birthday wishes, which certainly brightened my day. After I came home and changed, Skyler took me to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, where we absolutely gorged ourselves on bruchetta, dinner (I had shrimp scampi), key lime cheesecake, and good French wine. I got to lead my own toast-- "To me!" :)
On the way home, I checked my phone messages, and there was one from my father, sister, and brother singing the Happy Birthday Cha Cha.
Anyway, thank you to everyone who wished me well yesterday. It was very much appreciated.
And in conclusion, Arrrrrrrr!
Yesterday, I had my interview at CareersUSA. Wow. It really did take three hours. First of all, when I went in, I filled out a mountain of paperwork-- really, everything short of disclosing blood type and family genealogical charts. After that fabulous half-hour of fun, I started with skills tests. They had something like 30 different skills tests, and you take whichever ones with which you've had prior experience.
I took Microsoft Office, Works, PowerPoint, Excel, two data-entry tests, two typing tests, and an accounts payable test. The program tests weren't simply multiple-choice, but 30-point projects to complete. Did you know that Microsoft Word has an importable mailing label wizard? 'Cuz I sure didn't. And boy howdy, I have not used PowerPoint since sophomore French. And, to finish it off, they give you a miniature SAT-- tests on reading comprehension, business-related math, grammar, spelling, editing, and pattern recognition.
So... two hours in, I finally got to the interview part of the interview. By that point, my interviewer, Cory, had been looking at my resume for a little while, and the first thing he asked was, "wow, have you ever not worked?" Erm, I'd given him the abbreviated resume, too-- just college forward. He was pretty pleased with the resume, all in all. As it turned out, I got perfect scores on the typing tests, and high marks in the program tests. He said that I should still put resumes out on Monster and Careerbuilder, but that he doesn't anticipate a problem in finding me work. So, yay. I am mildly optimistic.
As for the birthday round-up, when I got home, I had more flowers than I knew what to do with. The first was a bouquet of irises, roses, and lilies from Skyler, with a card that read, oh-so-romantically, "Happy Birthday, Dummyhead." The other were gorgeous miniature roses from
dagger_garnet. Tina, they're so beautiful! Thank you! I especially liked the yellow ones that turned pink and peach speckled at the tips. Anyway, there will be picture.I also had a full inbox of birthday wishes, which certainly brightened my day. After I came home and changed, Skyler took me to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, where we absolutely gorged ourselves on bruchetta, dinner (I had shrimp scampi), key lime cheesecake, and good French wine. I got to lead my own toast-- "To me!" :)
On the way home, I checked my phone messages, and there was one from my father, sister, and brother singing the Happy Birthday Cha Cha.
Anyway, thank you to everyone who wished me well yesterday. It was very much appreciated.
And in conclusion, Arrrrrrrr!