hakuna matata

okay since serene complained... haha. actually i guess i was meaning to blog about my job stuff and so on but the whirlwind of spring quarter senior year + commencement caught me and swept me up.

so, quick summary of job stuff: God has provided most abundantly even though his timeline was clearly quite different from mine. haha. all those consulting interviews in fall quarter.. i guess they built up my confidence. getting final rounds. even though there were multiple let-downs and disappointments when i didn't get offers. and i also learnt (thanks to serene's honesty, i appreciate that) how much of a monster i can become when it comes to being competitive... quite shocking, really.

winter quarter, i was kind of tired of interviewing and submitted a few resumes for the sake of it, heart really wasn't in it. lazy. unmotivated.

spring quarter, i realized just how little time i have left, and things like air tickets etc have to be settled. fasted that one meal which was quite a big deal since i was eating literally all the time during that period. was quite bad, really. so i tried my hardest, contacted alumni to help. got a couple more interviews, two rejections and this one i was a little iffy about, given the odd location (the shopping complex where college students do their grocery shopping! i didn't even know there was an office building) and also the fact that they called me in directly for final rounds (i.e. a full day of interviews) without any preliminary phone interview. also, lousy website means i couldn't find out much about the company.

went there, met the people. liked the good-natured joking i saw between people, kind of reminded me of last summer (bluepulse). the last guy i met was the CEO. i thought it was ok but it seemed like he wasn't so interested at the end and i had this sinking feeling in my heart. decided it was time for retail shopping. while driving to macy's, told God i was so tired of interviewing and trying to tell people how good i am etc. why is a job so hard to get?! and then 1 hour later, the CEO calls me and tells me i have an offer... cannot believe it man. later i thought about it and was wondering how much i get paid... gotta wait till i get back to find out. get back, find out that it is a really good offer! and at that point i was already ready to settle for anything. plus i get to start whenever..

that's a pretty short summary as it is. but i have been greatly blessed.

some amazing praise notes i had to throw out:

1. extension of deadline for my econ paper outline! i was getting stressed out about it last night, realized i had two interviews to prep for plus a concert tmr night etc... and i had no data set at that point (still working on it). today i went to class and the prof says to us, "i don't know if this will help, but i can give you a tiny extension..." and at this point i'm staring at her with huge eyes like she's just given me a great treasure. anyhow i feel like a huge load has been lifted off (but also i guess less stress means i will procrastinate on it a while more :|) and i can concentrate on interview prep and all that.

2. i feel like God has given me favour with people.
a. i emailed a prof about the data set thing last wed and she replied thurs morning; emailed her last night and she replied this morning (i was frankly VERY amazed), and then i find out from another classmate that she also emailed this same last fri but hasn't received a reply. i'm like wow. maybe my data question is easier to answer, but still..
b. i emailed an alum to help with my job thing (which led to my wed interview, more praise!) and today as i was talking to another friend, i realized she emailed the same alum but didn't get her resume internally referred. perhaps my email was more explicit/sounded more desperate, but also wow...

3. strange coincidence. i guess i was thinking about the EAD card (which allows me to stay and work here after graduation) since i have an interview tmr, but i suddenly decided to check on the status (i guess i'd thought about checking before but figured it was too early for anything to have happened) and so i went to fish out the letter they sent me with the tracking number. and guess what?

"Current Status: Card Mailed
On April 27, 2009, we mailed the new card directly to the address we have on file."

again, i'm just astonished. like, what are the odds...

anyhow, just feel like God's been speaking to me through these little things and He is good. i also thought about the possibilities that neither interview works out and i'm back to square one, but I will trust in His grace and His plans for me.