Intel Irritation

I still haven't received the call from Intel saying that I am not what they are interested in, but I did talk to someone who had a phone interview for the same position as me and his experience was completely different than mine. He had the person he was expecting interview him as oppose to a random person who wouldn't say there name. Unlike with my interview the questions he was asked were strait forward. I would have done well with his interview which was completely different questions, but instead I had mine which was horrible. Many of the questions were involving similar or even the same topics, but they were asked in radically different ways. Examples:
He was asked things like: Explain what a diode is made up of. & What is a pointer in C programming?
I on the other hand was asked about similar topics with questions like: What are all the voltage levels for the ____ diode? & If ____ is being sent to a ____ function with _____ and _____ then what do you do? And those are the questions that I actually had an understanding of what he was even asking. Many others were worse.
From what I could tell other people had normal interview experiences and questions while I get the mumbled trick questions from someone who just wanted to get off the phone.
Why would they have such radically different interviews for the same thing?

Bowling. And the Save

I have been quite frustrated with bowling lately, but this week I was able to save myself complete embarrassment with a really good game at the end of each series. In singles the person I was bowling started off with 240s and was leaving me with little hope of doing anything in singles. I just kept falling further and further behind. The last game however I had a string of about 7 strikes in a row and ended up with a 240 something or 250 something game. I ended up with a 636 series for the 3 games so that last game salvaged my series. I still lost total pins by a lot, but at least I won one game.
In doubles I started off slow again and was having a few problems with my hand where I actually dumped two balls in the gutter in the first two games. We lost those, but I had another long string of strikes in my last game and bowled a 257 for another series around 630.
I can't do too much if it takes me 2 games to figure out a line I can play on a pair. In my first series in my first two games I think I had about 8 pocket 7 pins, so my main issue on that pair was finding a way to get an angle into the pocket that could carry.
Well, I am assuming a majority of the people who would read this have no idea what most of that meant. Oh well.

*POP*

Should I be sad about the rush I get when popping open one of the Pillsbury roll containers. I slowly rip away the label making sure to be cautious like the label says. Contents under pressure! Must be careful! Wait, what's this, I must press the seam with a spoon till it pops. Can I use a knife???No, too risky. I slowly press with the spoon until POP!
Of course I jump and react as if I never knew what would happen. Good thing I pointed the can ends away from myself and other or there could have been serious trouble.
Anyone ever get hurt by these things? What are those containers called anyways?
Well that was enough excitement for one week. So much adrenaline, I feel like I can do anything now. It was like falling out of a plane. Did I ever mention I have fallen out of a plane before?

I Kane Dalk Me Mout Es Num

I am not a big fan of the dentist. It is truly needed, but it sucks. Even for cleaning the sharp instruments and horrible tasting stuff bring back bad memories. I grind my teeth so it is especially fun because I get a combination of pain and criticism. Today I had the joy of being stuck with needles and drilled. Oh what fun it is to wake up on 4 hours sleep and drive 30 minutes to wait around for 20 minutes and then be put through such a fun experiences. It is always nice when the dentist keeps saying Sorry when injecting stuff in my cheek. I also enjoyed the sound of him saying "Hmmm" in surprise as he drilled into my back right tooth. Sounds like that made me really wonder what he found in there that made him so react that way. I don't think the shot had quite the effect it was suppose to, because despite being numb I could still feel everything a bit, and it hurt. My favorite part of the whole experience was the excitement I felt when one side of my face was completely numb with the dentist drilling away and I hear "Oh, got the tongue a little there." Twice he left to deal with other business. I think he left someone waiting in his office and went to talk to him in the middle of working on me. He said it was to let things settle of something. He asked me about when my dad is going to retire, perhaps with a hint of fear in his voice, (There is a long story behind that) and kept having different people ask me about my insurance. That is a topic I didn't seem to know enough about. I guess they didn't have that information, but neither did I. I think he thought I was hiding something. After all that I enjoyed my nice numb ride home. So, how was your morning?

A.J.'s South Park Evolution

Here is my own personal South Park Evolution which I made from Planearium. I had to make some changes so there isn't as much in the picture so I could post it.
1. Happy little me in elementary school.
2. Start growing up and getting into art and stuff.
3. That would be me in early H.S. when I grew out my hair and always had a backward hat on.
4. In late H.S. I had a friend shave off all my hair and the hat turned around for awhile. The hat thing kind of went back and forth for awhile depending on how the hat fit, but who cares.
5. That is me working at a pizza place. The knife if for cutting pizza of course.
6. I have lightened my hair twice. Once in H.S. and once in college for a Halloween thing. I guess it provided extra goofiness. Sometimes you just need some changes.
7. This is me not so long ago. Last semester or two of college I just let the hair go. People started calling me Jesus.
8. As it says earlier in this blog, the hair has come off, I got a new interview suit, don't sleep enough, and this job search is driving me crazy.

For those of you that know me, how close do you think I have come? Now lets see you.

Minesweeper addiction

I admit it. I am addicted to some of the free games that come with windows. Mainly Minesweeper and FreeCell. I have been away from Minesweeper for awhile but I am still able to get down to times in the 130s. With FreeCell I am around 80% for wins.

Stupid Stupid Stupid

Ahhhh. I just completely bombed the Intel phone screening. I studied all the wrong things and my difficulty with tech talk really messed me up. It also didn't help that my environment wasn't the best in the world for this. Grumble! The whole interview was programming and tech questions other than talking a little about my senior project. Absolutely nothing about work experience, group experience, how I would handle things, personality... it was all just. "What is used for..." "How do you program ..." I am suppose to hear back that I am not what they are looking for sometime next week. The guy that interviewed me wasn't anyone I had talked to before, and actually didn't even give me his name. He mumbled a lot (not that I don't) and seemed like he just wanted to get done with it and go do something else.
Now I have to find a way of getting ready for the career fair on campus and hope I can appear less stupid tomorrow than I did today. I make horrible first impressions...

Stress, Pressure, Fear

Ahh, the pressure.
It is going to be a tough week considering how unprepared I am for everything. I feel like I am going to have to cram for about 10 finals at once without much of an idea of what questions will be asked in each of these classes. All this while also being evaluated how I act and my personality and social abilities. I guess I should explain more about why I feel like this.
Up until now most of my job search has consisted of trying to get my resume out there with the ultimate goal of getting an interview. Coming up on Friday is the Tech Career Fair on campus where I am an Alumni which will be a major opportunity for me to do this. I can get more of an idea of what I am looking for while really getting my info out to groups that might consider interviewing me. I figured I would spend a lot of time this week getting ready for it. I would go in organized and ready to make a good impression. So much for that idea.
One of the biggest issues with spending your job search trying to get yourself out to the industry is what happens when someone does end up showing interest. You realize that you are not at all ready for that. This is even worse when the interview is all about technical questions and you have forgotten all the details from all the classes you have been taking over the years. Just because you can get a good grade in classes doesn't mean you were able to memorize all that material...or even learn some of the important points. Usually the class ends and you just move on. A word of advice for those that are still in school. Take the classes to actually learn stuff, not to just get through and graduate. Not that it is practical when working, taking a number of difficult classes that everyone is just trying to get through, and attempting to maintain some kind of a life outside of school and work.
To make a long story a little shorter: Like many people from what I have heard, I have a phone screening interview with Intel on Thursday. Intel interviews have a lot of technical questions that are much like the questions I have faced in my CpE, CSc, and Engr classes I have taken. I do not have the best of memories and do not remember most of that stuff anymore. This leads me to the thought that if I don't want to make a total fool of myself I should be cramming like crazy for this considering I hear it is about 80% technical knowledge questions, and it's just a phone interview to try to get an interview. This conflicts with my ability to get ready for the career fair. So what am I doing typing this then you might be wondering. Well I don't know. I shouldn't be, but I am procrastinating. This doesn't even take into consideration all the other stuff I am dealing with and should be getting done. I guess I am going to have to see what I can do and take this as a learning experience and keep going. Intel has always scared me anyway.

I should probably correct what I type before posting, don't you think. Then again, does it matter? What audience am I writing this for anyways.

Making Movies

I am obsessed with the movie industry. I realized that now. No normal job really interests me, but I find every aspect of movie making interesting. I watch the extras and "making of" parts of my DVDs and for that moment I am deeply inspired. Then it comes to an end, and I realize it isn't practical and hide those thoughts deep in the back or my subconscious till the next time. I go through my day writing scripts in my mind. At night I can't sleep and instead come up with the structure of an entire movie along with the main power scenes and how to get there. These thoughts pass and the entire thing is eventually forgotten. I figure in most cases it is better off, considering the thoughts are coming from times when I am lying in bed and can't sleep, desperately attempting to turn my brain off.
I watch movies...Comedy, Drama, Action. I watch the actor and wonder "If I truly became dedicated could I become good at that." I watch a movie for the first time through innocent eyes. It is the best time not knowing what will happen, experiencing everything like I am there. Getting so into a movie that it doesn't matter if it is on a tiny screen with distorted volume and static. It doesn't' matter about the talking around me and the traffic driving by. On the rare occasions where a move is that good it still seems like you are there experiencing it all first hand while drowning out the real world. Later I watch the movie again through the eyes or a writer, again through the eyes of a director, and again through the eyes of an actor. I pick it apart piece by piece. It is like listening to a song where you focus in on one instrument and the rest fades to the background, then focusing on something different the next time you hear it. I do all this being critical, viewing in amazement, and trying to figure out what it is about each scene that makes it what it is. I start seeing the world through different eyes. Every event can be written about. How would I change this and that? Could I play that part?
I having reoccuring scripts and roles in my mind. Some stories fade away faster than others. Then I snap back to reality and leave it all behind...Because it's not practical.
Abilities can be developed, but so much of what you can do is who you know.
It's not practical.

Sick, Broken, Down

Well, I haven't posted anything in quite a while. There have been a ton of things I could have written about. Even should have written about. Just haven't brought myself to do it. So many distractions and other things I should be doing. That and the feeling that no one cares anyways. I could have at least posted a pic of me with short actually cut hair...but I am not motivated to at this time. Even when I am doing productive things I am feeling like I should be doing something else. Blah!
Well right now I am sick and missing part of my thumb. Bowling has sucked lately. Mostly because my hand has changed and the ball doesn't fit my hand at all. I should:
a.) Get the ball re-drilled.
b.) Get a new ball or two to work with and get them drilled
c.) Get other new equipment I.E. shoes, a bag, towel...
All this adds up quickly and it isn't smart to be spending with no income. All that and other reasons for delaying which I shall not discuss. Yesterday when bowling I was having a lot of difficulty both keeping my hand in the ball and then getting out of the ball. Eventually I threw one and a part of my thumb got torn off. It is like a very deep already popped blister. About 3mm deep. The layers just came right off in the ball. I stopped bowling at that point. Interesting note: The last ball I threw was actually a good strike for a double.
Right now I am sick. At least I hope I am sick...other wise it means I have managed to develop some serious allergies.
Well last night at about 2:20AM I went downstairs to the old woman's APT who lives bellow me to turn down her TV. She had been continually turning it louder and louder and watching it every night. I was sleep deprived enough that I needed at least part of an OK night sleep so I gave in and went down there. I knock on the door and ask "Do you need help turning your TV down. It is really really loud." She says OK and moves her walker out of my way so I could walk inside. This is when I notice she got a new TV since the last time I was there. Of course it is a bigger TV then I have ever had. This eliminates the having an old TV and not knowing how to turn the volume down on it excuse and I had made up for her. I also noticed that beyond the whole watching it at such a high volume that my APT shakes even though she seems to have great hearing, she was also basically watching static. It was the news but it was horrible reception. Maybe it was from aliens or something. I has been an interesting thing to try and figure out. Well, at least if you can get past the not being able to sleep and concentrate on anything because of it. It's also odd that she just lets random people who knock on her door in at 2AM when she is there alone. I don't trust people at all and could never do that.
On a final note: Yesterday I got my diploma. It actually proves it's over and I did everything I was suppose to, which is interesting considering I never really had a true guidance councilor to check what I was doing. I have actually really truly graduated from college. Questioning that can now end.