Last night I returned home from a long week of travels. On January 17th I left Hudson, WI and traveled to Chicago. The weather was awful and I averaged around 50 mph all the way to Chicago but I did obtain an impressive 35 mpg in my car. On my way into the city I stopped by Oerlikon for a tour of their facility. After an hour and a half tour of the facility and many questions answered. I waited around for half an hour for the HR director to come and interview me. I was semi-expecting something like this but was not going to dress up for my 6 hour car ride down jsut to see the facility. I ended up talking with him for about another hour and then headed into downtown Chicago to meet up with Marlena, a good friend from SLU. Since I did not know the address of the place I was supposed to meet Marlena I spend the next two hours trying to find a wireless signal for my computer so that I could look it up. I tried three different coffee shops, none of which had a free signal. For being a city ranked in the top of the nation for wireless connection it is sure hard to find a free or unlocked one. My search ended when I received a phone call from Marlena and she was able to give me directions. The rest of the night was spent at a little bar by Marlena's house where we had dinner, a few drinks and great conversation/gossip. Nicole met up with us later in the night and it was a pleasure to catch up with a couple of friends I have not seen in quite a while.
The next day I spent all day at caribou coffee, the only place with free Internet, researching jobs and waiting around for Coliver to get done with all of her activities so that we could leave for Saint Louis. I originally planned on staying in Chicago until Saturday morning and going out that night with Jin (my freshman year roommate) but Coliver was really wanting to get back to STL as soon as possible. Once she was ready go to I met her at her house and we started driving out of Chicago at around 7pm. Unluckily there was really bad traffic and it took us an hour to get to the other side of the city. Luckily for me I had the company of such a great conversationalist and there was not a dull moment for the whole 5 and a half hours we were in the car together.
Originally this trip was intended to only include a stop in Saint Louis for an Alumni Association Trivia Night and do some work in the workshop of Parks, but it was quickly expanded into a multiple stop trip. The trivia night (on Saturday) was a bunch of fun. It was great to meet up with a bunch of old friends from SLU and have a great time together answering interesting trivia. Unluckily, I was unable to use the labs until Tuesday so I had to stay at my old apt for a couple of days. This lead to a couple of college parties all of which changed the feeling of SLU for me. I used to feel very welcome at anything pertaining to the SLU community. This changed a little during my "super senior" semester last year but it was not until my last visit that it really changed. I felt unwanted and like an outsider. When I was with a select group of people it was fine but at other times it was boring and did not feel accepted as a peer. This whole experience was what I needed to move on with my life. After I finished my manufacturing projects at SLU on Tuesday afternoon I headed to Columbia to meet up with my cousin. We met for dinner with a few of her friends and ended the night at a bar with dollar longnecks. I always enjoy hanging out with my cousin and her friends. They are very different from my SLU friends and always a good time.
The next morning I got up and headed to Fayette to visit my aunt and uncle. I talked with them individually for about 45 min and really wish I could have stayed around longer but still had to make it up to Iowa State to see my friends up there. I arrived in Ames around 4:30 met up with Kirk. The next three days were filled with debauchery and good times. It was nice to connect up with Kirk and Chris who I have not had much time together with since we went our own ways in college. During this time I had plenty of time to discuss important issues with some of my best friends from high school.
I decided to come home on Sunday night and met up with Bryon my high school friend. He ended up coming over to play some ping-pong and then go see a movie. This is where the night really got interesting. We went to a 9:45 showing of Atonement. When the movie was over and I was walking out to my car I found another car parked in it's spot. My car had been stolen while I was in the theatre. So, If you happen to see a 1999 Black Honda Civic Si driving around with a bent front license plate bent up and a crack in the driver side rear bumper I would really appreciate a call. This would not be so bad if I had full coverage but all I have is liability and therefore if the police don't find the car then I am out of a car and get no money back.
This situation brings about a paradox. I no longer have a car and to get anther one I will have to take out a loan but in order to take out a loan I need a job. This wouldn't be so hard but it is kind of hard to find a job if I don't have a car! Hmmmmmm... what to do? It seems like my luck with cars is not going to change any time in the near future. Maybe I should just start biking everywhere and train for my bike trip this summer.
On a good note: I received an e-mail today from Oerlikon and they are putting me threw 3 more interviews with various managers. If all goes well then the main recruiter will want to meet with me in mid-February for a formal interview! I will just say that I don't think that there will be anything that will go wrong in the phone interview.
This trip has been one to remember. It was great to meet up with many of my friends and hope that this is not the last time I will get to see them.
