There's still that potential job with Boeing as a hardware Certification engineer (kind of a consultant position). They sent me some documentation about it. I think that means they're considering me for the position, but I really don't know. I read it. Seems like something I could do -- but it's not a perfect fit. Couldn't I just get paid to stay at home and work on cars?
Probably not. And things are getting tight budget-wise. Any remaining ego and self-respect are gone.
We went over to Mason & Deb's for a 4th of July cookout. Brought my folding ladder so Mason could climb up on his roof later on to enjoy the fireworks. We didn't stay long. Once Emmy was finished with her dinner and her bath, we skedaddled back home so the parents could relax and get a little downtime.
On the 5th, Cheryl and I went with Mary and Dylan to the Air Zoo down in Kalamazoo, one of my favorite places. I took a million pictures (of course) but I won't bore you with them. Just imagine all the airplanes in the world in various states of repair, from pristine to Is that really an airplane? and you'll have an idea. The kind of visit which makes you want to go directly from there to Dayton or Pima or maybe even Washington, D.C. to spend a year or so just staring at aircraft and spacecraft and any little craft in between.
There was the inevitable car work. I've been trying to install the parking brakes in the Camry but having difficulty because I can't fit my big, fat hand between the hub and the backplate to get all those springy springs properly seated. With the help of a 1/2" breaker bar, I finally managed to get the hub+backplate off the car which I thought would make things easier since I could use the workbench to install the parts but that didn't help as much as I had hoped because I still can't separate the backplate off the hub without a press or some other tool I don't have. Rats. I'm stuck. And there are too many other things which have higher priority.
Like getting a job.
Probably not. And things are getting tight budget-wise. Any remaining ego and self-respect are gone.
We went over to Mason & Deb's for a 4th of July cookout. Brought my folding ladder so Mason could climb up on his roof later on to enjoy the fireworks. We didn't stay long. Once Emmy was finished with her dinner and her bath, we skedaddled back home so the parents could relax and get a little downtime.
On the 5th, Cheryl and I went with Mary and Dylan to the Air Zoo down in Kalamazoo, one of my favorite places. I took a million pictures (of course) but I won't bore you with them. Just imagine all the airplanes in the world in various states of repair, from pristine to Is that really an airplane? and you'll have an idea. The kind of visit which makes you want to go directly from there to Dayton or Pima or maybe even Washington, D.C. to spend a year or so just staring at aircraft and spacecraft and any little craft in between.
There was the inevitable car work. I've been trying to install the parking brakes in the Camry but having difficulty because I can't fit my big, fat hand between the hub and the backplate to get all those springy springs properly seated. With the help of a 1/2" breaker bar, I finally managed to get the hub+backplate off the car which I thought would make things easier since I could use the workbench to install the parts but that didn't help as much as I had hoped because I still can't separate the backplate off the hub without a press or some other tool I don't have. Rats. I'm stuck. And there are too many other things which have higher priority.
Like getting a job.
My contact at Triple Crown told me about an opening with Teledyne located in Elgin, Il, just northwest of Chicago. It's on on-site job so I'm not excited about it, but I'm running out of options here.
So I said OK and she set up an interview for me. She warned me that there was a coding test. I hate coding tests. They generally like to ask trick questions about esoteric features that no one uses -- or they ask about the concepts that we all learned in college but haven't thought about since we graduated because now we just know how to "do" it but couldn't explain it if we tried.
I did the interview a couple days later (on the 10th) and it was a disaster. It was like the interviewer and I were on different wavelengths (or different planets). He would ask a question and I'd try to figure out what he was asking, and then I'd answer and he'd look at me like I was speaking a different language. Then we got around to the actual coding test and I just flubbed it. Apparently I'd studied all the wrong code. And I got nervous. It was humiliating and embarrassing and drained all the happiness out of my life for at least the next week.
And still nothing more about the Boeing job.
We drove down to Indiana on the 12th for the Reunion. I drove with Deb and Emmy; Cheryl drove with Adam; Mary and Dylan visited some friends along the way so got down there a bit later than the rest of us. Cheryl and Adam and I stayed in the cabins in the park (which was lots of fun and very relaxing) while the rest stayed in motels. Even though we had a mouse in our cabin, I prefer it to the motels.
Since Cheryl and Nancy had made the arrangements for the site, we went over to the park office early in the morning and picked up the key to open the gate, then we went over and started setting up. Judy and Dad arrived around 10, and the rest of the crew (except for Brian) were ready to go by noon, so we commenced pretty much on-time and had a wonderful feast. Then us older folks went on a hike along the river before heading over to Betty's for the traditional home-made ice cream and leftovers. After much chatter (and good-byes to Deb & Emmy who were heading back to their motel for bed), we went back to our cabin for a quiet evening. In the morning, we packed up, checked out, and I dropped Cheryl off at Deb's motel so she could help drive them back up north while I went into Bloomington to go to church with Jerry and Naomi and then out to Culver's for lunch. Afterward, I headed up to Indianapolis to hang out with Judy and Dad at their hotel (they were flying out early the next morning) before driving home.
Finally something from Boeing: no on-boarding yet since the Hiring Manager is on vacation. Huh? It's been over a month and they're still lolly-gagging over the hiring process. I'm wondering how serious they are about this. My Randstad contact says that the on-boarding goal is (now) July 29th.
While I wait, I finally got back to the Corolla wiring which still has something screwy with the headlights -- they only work when you push the stick to enable the brights -- but wasn't able to figure out what is going on. So instead I helped Deb watch her nanny kids at the pool a couple times because (apparently) I have lots of free time -- and love hanging out with kids! Also helped Cheryl create an interview video as she is looking into a teaching job at another school.
On the 26th, Cheryl and Mary and Deb (with Emmy) drove out to Illinois on the Mississippi River for a Girl's Weekend where they got to hang out with Sandra and Isabelle and Maisie. I stayed home with Adam and ate junk food and sat up all night watching action movies. (Actually, I had lots of veggies and watched one movie before falling asleep on the couch.)
I sent out more resumes.
We started moving all of Deb & Mason's boxes out of the basement and into the garage so she can go through them and figure out what to throw out and what to keep.
Mary started planning a drive up to Maine -- by herself! -- next month to meet up with Dylan, who will be up there on a business trip.
Mary started planning a drive up to Maine -- by herself! -- next month to meet up with Dylan, who will be up there on a business trip.