Just to catch up on the events from the past month:
I’d interviewed (on Oct 30th) by phone with Big Energy, and was a perfect fit for the job. I’d done the exact same job at Highly Recognisable Multinational Manufacturing company, and the guy at B.E. was delighted to find someone who was familiar with the programs used by the SNOC (System and Network Operations Center). BUT… the economic downturn had caused a hiring freeze at B.E., so they were unable to hire another contracter at this time, and would probably not offer another position until July 2009.
Fast forward to Thanksgiving at Aunt J’s house. All the aunties, an uncle, and my parents were in the kitchen. Uncle B was explaining to my father how his hematocrit was down to 10 at some point during the progression of his disease (years ago – he’s better now) due to a very slow internal bleed, and Dad couldn’t understand how he wasn’t passing out from lack of blood. I explained that the blood volume was replenished quite quickly by intracellular and extracellular fluid (it’s basically the same fluid as plasma, just changes names depending on where in the body it’s located, and moves pretty freely to wherever it’s needed). The red blood cells, on the other hand, took weeks to be produced by the bone marrow. So a slow bleed could dramatically alter the makeup of the blood due to the various components of the blood being replaced on vastly different timetables.
Which is when Aunt J stopped in the middle of what she was doing, looked at me in amazement, and said “Maghag, WHY are you not a doctor or a nurse?” and basically told me to get my butt back to college.
And considering that she went back to school after her kids were grown and got her PhD just before her 50th birthday, and is now globetrotting for a major Pharmaceutic Manufacturer, and enjoying the heck out of it, she’s in a position to tell me to do the same.
So I got home from Turkey Day and applied for admission at University of Anonymous-city-where-I-live.
Fast forward again, to yesterday, Friday:
I finally got an email saying I’d been accepted to the UofA, and classes start Jan 12th, with orientation on Jan 6th. But I ALSO got a call from Big Energy saying one of their contractors had put in a resignation and they’d been given the green light to “back-fill” that position, so would I please come in for a face-to-face interview on Jan 5th.
When it rains, it pours…
