It would appear that this is my first post. You, my friend, are mistaken. This is a continuation blog, a continuation from wyzegui.livejournal.com. It's sort of a branch or a fork, you might say, because I will continue to use that LiveJournal account.

See, two years ago, I was in love with a girl. Up until this point, my blog had been public. I had met another girl through my blog and ended up in Australia as a result -- perhaps my favorite two weeks. Having it accessible to everyone was convenient and something I enjoyed. But I was in love with a girl. She was 3 years my junior, and at this point, I was 18. Some imbeciles got it into their heads that because I loved her, if I started dating her, I would sleep with her. Seeing as how she'd be 16 in about half a month, and by Washington state law, after the age of 16, the person must be 5 years older for it to be statutory rape, the argument was quite pointless. It was doubly moot as I wouldn't have (and never did, of course) sleep with her, but they had thick skulls and kept saying I was pedophiliac. About the point where they said they wished they could contact her father, I kind of freaked out. See, if they had the brains to read back through my blog, they very easily could have figured out who her father was and then contacted him. I wouldn't mind if they talked to him, for my sake (except that he might have disapproved of his daughter's name in my blog), but the fact that they could potentially stalk her, or any of my friends for that matter, really bothered me. So at that point, I bunkered down. I deleted my blogger account, and set every post in my LiveJournal account to friends-only. It was sad.

So, for two reasons have I arrived here. First, I enjoy the public setting. I hope I can find another Australian friend and end up there from time to time (Europe would be fun too). I hope people make constructive criticism to my blog, or if they're careful, my life and thoughts. Second, this is Wall of Text. On average, my posts are 2,500 words apiece, with a maximum (thus far) of about 6,600 words. Such a painfully long winded (jokes on you! -- I'm typing) author needs his own domain name.

So, how do I avoid stalkers? Easy. I systematically execute them as they make themselves known. All stalkers must eventually present themselves to their targets, and that's when I strike.

But, on the off chance they remain voyeuristic for the entirety of their stalking career, I will alias basically everyone. For those of you I know, I will maintain my LiveJournal account to keep a mapping of aliases to real names. (Those of you who wish to be known by me can comment, and I'll either friend your LJ account or give you the password to my guest account.) Henceforth, the previously mentioned girl will be affectionately called Dumb Girl, not because she's dumb, but because she makes (or made) me dumb. I reserve the right to realias at any time for any reason, including, but not limited to, their lack of shoes, shirt, or service.

Let the games begin.

Much has happened since I last posted. Very much, though you couldn't tell by looking at this page. It looks like I skipped the entire month of March. What madness!

Boeing sent me to St. Louis for an interview. The ISCFP is located in three areas: Renton (aka Western Washington), Southern California, and St. Louis, and everyone who applied was flown down there. When I went to the job fair, the guy I talked to said I had a month after I got my offer to decide whether to take it. So, I was flown down there without much incident. I had to skip two sessions of 444 and one of the rest of my classes. I had asked to get a later flight so I could attend Thursday's 444 class, but I couldn't then find a ride down to the airport, and had to use the airporter's service, which left at 9:15 (class started at 9:00). So Gaul drove me to the inn and the bus brought me to SEATAC, which brought me to Chicago, and down to St. Louis. In Chicago, I was sitting at the gate and talking with a couple people, a woman and a girl my age. I'd alias them, but, well, I don't know their names, and if I attempted, there's a chance I'd pick their names out randomly. In the terminal, I was sitting there talking, and a mouse appeared. I saw him run out of the gate next to us. I thought he was cute, but the women had other ideas. I just found it ironic that every few minutes, a voice on the intercom would say that the national security threat level was orange, and no one flinched, but enter a mouse, and well, better hide on the tops of chairs.

So I got into the airport. The lady I had talked to in Chicago offered me a ride to wherever it was I was going, but I assured her the hotel would supply a bus for me. After asking around a little bit, I eventually did contact the hotel and they drove me. It was easily the nicest hotel I've been in. It probably shouldn't have surprised me, but it did, that I got my own room. The next morning, I got up around 5:30 or 6:00, showered, ate at the restaurant (Boeing has little food tickets they give to anyone they're keeping at the hotel), and then joined a group of people that looked like Boeing employees. (It was seriously the best orange juice I've ever had.) There was one guy I really liked, named Doug. I asked him, while we were sitting in the lobby, if we'd come back before we needed to go to the airport, and if I should go pack and grab my stuff like everyone else seemed to be doing. He said I didn't need to, or at least, that's how I interpreted his answer.

The shuttle from the hotel brought us to the Boeing site. It wasn't very well organized. There were supposed to be two groups of students, and the email said that the first group should be ready for the bus at 7 and the second at 7:30 (when I think they meant 10:30), only, it didn't say which group any of us were in. Apparently I was in group two, but it worked out because one of the guys in group one was stuck in an airport and came just in time for my interviews, so I switched with him.

Prior to the interview (a week or two in advance) we all received an email with pre-interview work. Basically, they posed a very simple problem having to do with a personnel database, and asked us to solve it, then discuss our solutions in a group and present a final group solution at the end of a 45 minute meeting. I sort of took charge of our group time, which I hadn't really planned on doing. The first thing I asked was what each of our areas of expertise were so that we could weigh our opinions in various areas against each other more effectively. We actually had a pretty diverse group. I'm an algorithms buff. The guy to my left was a systems person; the guy kitty-corner, an MIS person; and the guy across from me was a software engineer (interested in the process more than the product). The systems guy was very long-winded and had a knack for quibbling at length over points so small, I couldn't tell the difference between his idea and the software engineer's. But all went well. All four of us had basically the same idea, but embellished in various areas. As for me, my area was testing (since it was mentioned in the directions), and none of the other three had touched it.

A little after that, I had my individual interview in front of four employees, one of whom is the head person of the Washington division. They asked eight questions in a structured interview fashion, almost all of them relating to leading or managing. It's been a while so I don't remember most of them. Sufficed to say I didn't answer them the best I could have, I don't think. One of the questions was, "When was a time where you had to choose between two equally viable options, what happened, and what was the result?" I thought about it for a couple minutes, then talked about my choice to get a MacBook over a PC laptop. It worked out well to get a Mac because I was in Unix that quarter (and required not to use Windows to program) and girls seem to like it.

We had lunch back in the large room where everyone was waiting, some of us done with our interviews, and some waiting to begin. I talked to a girl who was pretty cute from Pennsylvania. I think every guy thought she was cute. If anyone was to get a job, I suspect she would (and not because she was cute). This whole aliasing thing is getting annoying already. I know her first name, but I never plan to mention her again. Why should I make an alias?

I was talking to Doug during lunch, and he said I had ten business days (two weeks) after I received my offer to decide. I had applied to Microsoft at this point, and on one of the forms, gave them a date as to when I would need to know if I had a job offer. It was based on the one-month thing, but I wasn't too worried.

After a presentation on what the ISCFP is, group one headed to the airport. Unfortunately, all my stuff was back at the hotel. They worked it out so that I had another half day at no charge. I don't know whether I have Boeing or the hotel to thank. But thanks ambiguously referenced corporation!

I sat in the terminal for quite some time. I got there at 3; the flight was at 7:45; the plane arrived at 8:30 I think, and left about 20 minutes later. I was going to Denver this time, not Chicago, and my layover was only 45 minutes. A really long story short, I ended up sleeping in Denver's airport. I've been in a few airports. This one was quite possibly the worst for sleeping in. My pillow was with my checked luggage, so all I had was my laptop case and my leather jacket, neither of which served well as a pillow. I got maybe two hours of sleep that night, collectively, and each time, twenty minutes in, or so, I woke up with a very sore neck. The one plus to Denver is it's the only airport I've seen that still offers free wireless internet access, so I was able to facebook a little, and chat with my mom that night.

Last you heard, I was starting to pursue a girl I'll name Fran for no other reason than it was the first name that popped into my head just now. Fran was the first girl I found that really fit the three broad nonnegotiables I set for myself, or rather, for any girl I ever would date (from here out). She sort of hinted a few times during our numerous facebook conversations that she had no intention of dating anyone right now for various reasons. Dumb girl did that a few times (I really need to change that nickname) and so, hoping I had learned my lesson, I asked her straight out if she was meaning to say she would never date me. I realize (present tense) this took any romance that might have been there out of the picture, but it turns out my intuition was right -- that was what she was implying -- and I may have saved myself some heart break. So, I do and don't regret doing it, but I won't do it again. She's a great girl, Fran, but I think the fact that I saw those three nonnegotiables in her made me want to date her more than there being some sort of spark.

I took a flight out of Denver the next morning, decently early, but what is early to someone who took 6 twenty minute naps during the night? For my inconvenience, the airline actually gave me a nicer seat, Economy Plus or something. Leg room is nice. On top of that, there was no one in the middle seat, while I was in the window seat and another guy was in the aisle.

From the airport, my Uncle Orca (aliased, remember) picked me up. His son, whom I'll call William, had played a lacrosse game. Not enough people from the other team had shown up, so he was one of the few who was drafted to the other side. He had a hard time not rooting for his actual team. We also talked a bit about my mom's engagement to a man I'll call Jack, as in Jack Nicholson. Jack's a good guy and all, but there's a general consensus that no one is good enough for my mom. While at my Aunt's and Uncle's, I got an email saying I would receive an offer from Boeing in the next week. I don't think they gave me a number, but I was excited I had a job and called various people, like my mom, sister, and grandparents. From there my (female) CS friend, Tonics (because an alias matters after I've said "female CS friend"), drove me back to Western.

Come Wednesday, I get my call from Boeing. The woman on the phone offered me $54,000 a year. I asked, just to make sure, that I had ten business days to decide, and she corrected me saying I had five. That was a problem. I'd given Microsoft a month and now they had a week. So I emailed one of the people I was in contact with, and she suggested using my negotiation phase to barter for more time. I hate the political hooplah involved in getting hired. Why don't both sides present all their cards at once and then make an informed decision without any thought of "I could have done better"? Anyway, I asked for time until April 4th, and they gave me until March 24th.

I'd been talking with Microsoft this whole time, and they said they could put me in the rushed line and get me an offer by the 21st, if I was to get one, which was perfect, seeing as how that's the day I was leaving for Jamaica. The interview would take place on the 20th. On the 20th was my CS444 (software testing) final. I emailed Reedy and he said I could take it a day early.

My best friend (female), Hime, likes this math major she met in geology (or so I've gathered that's where they met). From what I've heard, he likes her too, but my point is, she invited us (Swood, Gaul, and myself) over to hang out with him, her, and a couple of their mutual friends. He, Daniel, is so much like Gaul that it's creepy, though I get the feeling he only talks like Gaul when they're together, that is, guttural speak. All this to say, that in the middle of an exhilarating game of credit card Monolopy, I left to walk to the INN, because Hime, who is usually my ride, was hosting on the 18th.

I got there a little earlier than most people do, which I believe was right at 9:00, even after missing the bus by half a second. It drove off as I got to the bus doors. Anyway, I sat down and talked to Jim, the pastor there, about my job offers and the like. When we finished talking, I looked around and a lot more of the pews had been filled. I looked back and saw a girl from my Bible study, whom I'll call Donna as in Donnatella Moss, and asked if I could sit with her. A couple minutes later, Minnie, another girl from Bible study whom I knew a little better, came back. She usually sits with Donna. She blinked at me, then looked to where I was sitting, blinked again, and looked back. "The last time I was here you were over there," she said. "Yes, but now I am not there since there are no people in that pew." I had meant that there was no one to sit with, but smart-mouthed Donna said, "That's a very astute observation, that the pew is empty." I love it! From there we went on and on about why it was an astute observation and how lesser minds would estimate ten, even twenty people in that empty row, but not I. I, being black and white, will announce by my convictions that there are no people in that pew. It just went back and forth. It'd been way too long since I'd had a really ridiculous conversation, and she and I laughed all the while.

When I got back, I facebooked her. Within a half hour, I had a message on my wall (now all you stalkers who aren't friends of mine on LiveJournal are going to look at my wall and figure out the secret identity of Donna Moss, just to spite me) saying, "You like the West Wing too?!" And thus began iteration upon iteration of facebook pokes and wall posts and messages.

On Wednesday morning, I had my 444 final. I'd studied about half the slides, and certainly memorized the V-diagram. As a result, I felt quite confident on about half the exam, and after that was about 75% confident. I kept a running tally of about the grade I'd have given myself based on how good I thought my answers were or how confident I was the answer was True or B. I estimated about 91% before turning it in. As I was walking out of the room (since I was taking it early, I was in a room across from a couple of the CS profs' offices), I noticed binders upon binders of course curriculums, including 444's. He put me in a room with every slide presented in the course, though he told me when I pointed it out, that they were slides from last year, rather than this year, but not a lot of the information has changed. Of course I didn't cheat, but I thought it was funny. Today I went and talked to him, wanting to see my final, because I was surprised I got an A in the class, when Bob had told me he got an A-. Apparently I got a 91% before the curve, and after the curve, I had 114% because I actually followed the directions on the last problem and went to town on it. Minor victories get me psyched.

That evening, my grandma came and picked me up, and I took her out to dinner. She drove me to Ichigo's place. He and I watched Bleach, and talked a bit with his parents. In the morning, he loaned me his car so I could get to my interview. (He had a final.) That kid is one of the most generous people I know. It took me an hour to go a 20 minute distance. I made every wrong turn possible, and even a couple right ones I thought were wrong and turned around. Turning around on I-405 during rush hour is not the easiest or best thing to do. (I always wondered why it's I-405 and not WA-405. Doesn't it start and end at places in Washington?) Even after I got to MS's campus, I was at building 88 when I needed to be at 19. That took another 10 minutes and a couple more U-turns. The interview was to begin right at 9:15, and that's when I got there. I had wanted to get there at 8:45, because the email had said that I would have some paperwork to fill out. What they meant was a slip of paper saying which car was mine so they wouldn't tow it. The women at the desk were impressed that anyone would loan a friend their Scion tC.

Everyone interviewing that day was dressed nicely. Most people had donned suits, and the "shabbiest" person I saw was wearing khakis and a nice jacket and shirt. But not I. No, I was wearing a black nerd tee-shirt that said "while(!succeed=try());", and jeans and a leather jacket. The email said they were more interested in what people had to think than what they had to wear. I figured my clothing would tell them what I thought.

The interview was long. First I met with my recruiter for about 10 minutes. She got me into one of their little shuttles and sent me to building 35. Once there, I met with five men, and ate with one of them. Whether they meant to or not, each interviewer asked harder questions, all of them technical. The one that threw me off the most was a mathematical proof.

For any prime number p >= 5, there exists an integer n such that p^2 = 24n + 1. Prove it.

From there, I drove back to Ichigo's and my grandpa picked me up and took me out to dinner to celebrate before going to their house in Burien. We talked about all sorts of things. I had basically decided to take the MS offer, no matter what it was, unless God told me to take the Boeing one in the 16 hours I had to decide. They, however, were under the impression I was leaning toward Boeing (which probably was my fault), and told me they had prepared speeches to convince me not to work for Boeing. Honestly, I think I could have been happy at Boeing, but Microsoft really is a better environment for me. That is, I didn't choose MS because of the money, and if the "compensation" amounts had been switched, I still would have chosen Microsoft. There was a funny story about one of the things we talked about, but alas, I cannot tell it now as it might mess up the space-time continuum. Ask me again sometime, perhaps in a couple weeks. On the way back from the restaurant, they asked if I was excited about the job. At that point, I kind of just spilled. A week or two prior, I had met with Solomon, as I have about two or three times a quarter this year. It became apparent that the reason I've been feeling so dead in everything is that I don't let myself feel because "every time I've put hope in something, I've been let down." So that's the gist of what I told my grandparents, and became the focal point for several conversations we had that night and the following day. It's hard to know how much I agree with because to some point, I think we ought to rely on God for our joy, but a nonbeliever will tell you that you are ultimately in charge of your joy. I think it's a bit of both. At any rate, we had a couple good conversations in the hot tub, my grandpa and I, and the next morning, I went on their daily walk with Biscuit (oh no -- I forgot to alias their dog).

Around noon, my recruiter called me up. She went over what my offer was. There's a lot. A lot a lot, ranging from a $80k starting salary to, my personal favorite, a King County bus pass. That really was the deal-breaker, let me tell you. They have wifi on their busses now. Start work early and get motion sickness! Ridiculous.

That evening, my mom, Jack, my sister and her boyfriend, and Alexander (the Great), met at a restaurant in Burien to celebrate. "This is the last time Grandpa pays," said Grandma. From there, Alex drove me to the airport, and off to Jamaica.

It's nearly one, and I have about 3,000 words left. I'm calling it a night. The exciting conclusion of March tomorrow!