DIS-Functional Wonder Peeps 7/20 & 7/24, 2008 PART II

[CamColt]

Hehehehehe! That new page cracked me up!

Very cute, Cheri! Some I had a hard time figuring out who they were.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I was woken up by a thunderstorm at 2am, so I looked at the links you all sent me...but now I have to go back because I only remember looking at one page with the McD's!

 

[Anal Annie]

OK, so remember the old days of film cameras when you could only take 24 or 36 pics? With digital I took like 148 pics on Saturday - went thru all of them yesterday and narrowed it down to a mere 93 I think it was! With so many it's a hard to pick only a handful to share... I think you can see why I wanted to go on a pretty day...


Here's a handful of kites - there were some really cute ones and they were all unique - didn't see any repeats:

This one was funny - it was a HOOGE shark with a scuba diver attached:

The Washington Monument from the tidal basin:

Not all varieties of cherry trees were in bloom just yet:

DH & DS:

Great day for a swim:

The Jefferson Memorial:

Me & DS takin' a break:

Stunning foliage:

Like I said, we were not down there alone!

Inside the Museum of Natural History - us and about 10,000 other tourists:

This little bauble is The Hope Diamond:

 

[RonnieJo66]

Happy Birthday Soccerdad-Chris!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

Yup, it's him's birthday. He's as old as me now. Now if I could only figure out why he isn't falling apart like I am


Annie - great pictures. The trees are beautiful. Do you go every year?

 

[Anal Annie]

Yup, it's him's birthday. He's as old as me now. Now if I could only figure out why he isn't falling apart like I am

The menfolk age better 'cuz they just sit around waiting for their honey do lists. They don't run around frantically looking for the missing $20 PTA checks or worry about what to feed the family for dinner ETC. (i.e. they got it made!) Tell him Happy Birthday for me anyway tho!

Annie - great pictures. The trees are beautiful. Do you go every year?

Thanks...actually, I am ashamed to say that I have lived here in the DC area since 1984 and this is the first time I have gone down for the festival!! I just got it in my head this year that I was going to go while the blossoms were at peak and was waiting for the prettiest day - it just happened to be the opening ceremony day among other things and a weekend so it was PACKED!

Well...back to the job hunt............

 

[CamColt]

Happy Birthday, Chris!

Very nice pics, Annie!

And I missed saying it before, but Cheri, what a great story Cassie wrote. Wow!

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

I thought she did a pretty good job for ony being 10 and having severe writing problems.


good luck with the job hunt, Annie. Hopefully you'll get something good this week

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

Um, how come I am not in posession "Bald Great Stone Dragon" picture??? Please to be sending ASAP. Now THAT would be good on the web site

 

[tinkryansmom]

Yup, it's him's birthday. He's as old as me now. Now if I could only figure out why he isn't falling apart like I am

That would be because men have us women to take care of them!!

Happy Birthday Chris!!

Annie - great pictures! And PD for the job hunt.

Must to be checking out the website now.

 

[tinkryansmom]

Man those people on that one "Peeps" page are good looking. Do we know them?



Thanks Cheri! I always knew I would be a star one day! Wait until Ryan sees that.

 

[SueEllen]

Happy Birthday Chris!! Hope it's a great day.

So what's Cheri getting ya, huh?

Sue Ellen

 

[Anal Annie]

Your pixie dust worked! Keep it comin'!!! keep it comin'!!! I got a call today for an interview at MedImmune!! (It's a BIG pharmaceutcial company w/ HQ right down the road -around the corner from my old job - so it would be a great commute). They're wholly owned by AstraZeneca and have like 3,000 employees. They make FluMist (among other stuff of course). I've never worked for a BIG, BIG corporate conglomorate kind of company before but I think I'm done with these LITTLE companies that keep laying me off! OK, so maybe I'm prematurely excited...it's just an interview - but FINALLY I got a bite! Actually, I had submitted my profile for this on March 5 - so it's been almost 4 weeks. Whew!

OK...so I'm a bit rusty on the whole interviewing process...any tips? I scheduled it for tomorrow at 2:00 as she only had like 3 openings this week and I'm concerned that with both of our Grandmothers on death watch I should just GO and get it over with before I have a conflict. Betsy - you were just interviewing someone else today... besides not having the talking stain on my shirt like in that TIDE commercial, anything I should do / not do?!

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

I know you didn't ask me but, mentioning your vacation prob wouldn't be a good idea, neither would spitting/sputtering on the interviewer.

TZM would be a good person to ask too. He is MIA though. come out come out wherever you are. olly olly oxen free!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

i agree about vacation...don't ask about how much is given or how much sick time..that is always an alarm in my head when someone asks

hmm...let me think some more..the girl I hired came highly recommended from the last employer so that helped alot

 

[Anal Annie]

I know you didn't ask me but, mentioning your vacation prob wouldn't be a good idea, neither would spitting/sputtering on the interviewer.

TZM would be a good person to ask too. He is MIA though. come out come out wherever you are. olly olly oxen free!

I am not so much a spitter, but I DO use my hands a lot when I talk and I have been known to knock things over etc.! I have to try to sit on them when I interview! And yeah, the vacation is a touchy subject for sure!! I was in the same situation the last time I had to look for a job - already had Hawaii booked... I can't remember if I brought it up on the first interview or the second interview. I know I was up front about it during one of the interviews - not trying to hide anything.... And I know I had to wait 3 months before I was eligible to accrue any leave and that date hit the week AFTER I got back...so they had no problem letting me go - but it was unpaid.

Betsy... TZM... ANYONE else have any thoughts on that one?! Would you rather know up front or have 'em drop it on you later?! Most places have a 2nd interview these days... This lady emailed me after she called and I was surprised to see her title wasn't HR blah, blah but it was "Director, Technical Assurance / Information Technology" and this job is IN their IT Dept.... So I wonder if she's the hiring manager?? That would be a bit odd wouldn't it? To bypass HR?

 

[Anal Annie]

i agree about vacation...don't ask about how much is given or how much sick time..that is always an alarm in my head when someone asks

hmm...let me think some more..the girl I hired came highly recommended from the last employer so that helped alot

I am hoping they're the type of large organization that just gives you an information packet to look thru that covers some of that benefit stuff. It wasn't on their website...sometimes the benefits are covered there. I am fine taking it unpaid, as long as I can take it - just don't want to conceal anything. But if the concensus is to wait & not bring it up then I'll try to hold off........and hope I get a call back!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I wouldn't ask about it..but if they do a call back you can tell them you have a cruise paid for and that is in July and that you understand this will be unpaid

I had my 2006 cruise booked when I was hired for the job I have now..but..they also called me for 3 months trying to hire me so when I told them about it, they were all "that's ok!!"

 

[tarzanman]

Sorry I was unavailable for the past couple of days. We were having fun with the parental units in Tampa (translation: drinking with my mom and dad for a couple of days). We did find some great TB shirts for Betsy though.

Ok. So here is the deal with big corporations.
Congrats on getting an initial interview!!! Breaking through the ice is never any easy thing to do with this new internet application process. It is pretty common these days to have your interview with the department hiring manager. To be honest, you might never interview with HR at all. Do not be suprised if there are more than 3 interviews. You don't know how many candidates they are weeding through.

Do's:
1. Learn some high level things about MedImmune and Astra Zeneca and what each company does.
2. Be yourself. You are either the right person or you are not.
3. Have a few questions for the interviewer. Examples:
- What kind of time schedule does the department work?
- Could you describe the work that I would be doing?
- How is the traffic for commuting?
- One thing they like about the company?
4. You have every right to ask about when you should expect to hear from them again (regarding second interview or whatever).

Don't:
1. Ramble on with answers to questions. Sure you can talk but don't go on forever.
2. Do not ask about HR benefits until the next interview. If they decide that you are it after one interview, they will give you a benefits package with the offer details.
3. Don't worry about your vacation. Most companies will honor pre-booked vacations. You will probably have to take it unpaid but they will not hound you about it. They still want their employees to be somewhat happy.


Good luck Annie!!! I am sure that you will be fine. Talking with your hands is what everybody does so don't worry about that. I interviewed someone that brought a bottle or water with them and it was annoying as she kept taking little sips from the bottle when she was nervously figuring what to say. You will be fine.

 

[Anal Annie]

Thanks TZM! The woman that called me today was very personable and easy going on the phone so I am hoping that's a good sign! In case you couldn't tell by the way I write my posts...I CAN INDEED ramble! I am someone who often writes just like I talk. I will try not to stumble TOO much! I used to have a document with list of interview questions - which I of course lost last week when my old computer crashed! I can't imagine too many places being worse to get on with than my last job. The HR person there called to schedule a phone interview. OK...that was 1 1/2 hours! Just on the phone! Then about 3 weeks later I finally got to go in to interview with my boss. Got thru that and she says to be considered any further I have to take this test. OMG. I don't test well AT ALL. That scares me! It was over 300 questions and I guess it was sort of a combination IQ / Personality test. I don't know. But it was HARD. There were questions like "If John lives on W. Elm and his friend Frank lives on South Oak St. which is 3 blocks East of Maple......." This test was a bear. I don't ever want to take another test like that again, ever! Anyway, I will "study up" some more in the morning about MedImmune.

My instincts about scheduling the interview for tomorrow were right on. My Grandmother passed away this evening so later in the week would've been a problem! The services will be in WV probably on Thursday morning. Right now I guess the plan will be for us to drive over there in time for the service(leave here by 7:00) and then return home in the afternoon. DS's swimming starts back up again tomorrow eve. on Tues & Thurs. and they have the MSA (standardized testing) on Thurs & Fri this week so I should try to get him back for that on Friday at least. I emailed the teacher awhile ago 'cuz they were making a big deal about having 100% attendance (they get a pizza party or something). I told him I don't want him to be the source of blame for not having 100% but this certainly wasn't planned. They'd better not count his absence on Thurs. against the class!!!! Worst thing is we still have DH's Grandmother about to pass too. Rough month...