It's been a month since I've given an update on the job search. I kept waiting thinking there would be some happy news to share or maybe the next phone interview would pan out, so I kept waiting. The sad reality is we've had almost all bad news over and over for the last couple of weeks.
San Antonio needed someone right away, and couldn't wait until Joel finished in June, so they were already in the hiring process and are not a job possibility anymore.
Columbus has pretty much said there's no option of staying.
Vanderbilt ended up being a bad option. Joel heard from 2 separate sources that the working environment is caustic and the reason there are job openings is because people are fleeing the program. They also haven't got back to him, and Joel felt it was better that way.
Albany is pretty much not an option anymore either. The job is brutal in terms of hours and work load, so it would have been an absolute last option, but I think the director also realizes that Joel's not all that interested, because he never followed up to schedule an interview.
Joel also found out 2 programs that never responded back to him at all are interviewing another Fellow he works with, and the guy also has an interview scheduled at Dallas where Joel wanted an interview. Ouch.
Joel had been praying that Heavenly Father would shut doors, so he wouldn't be tempted to take a job where we weren't supposed to go, but I don't think he was prepared for his prayers to be answered so dramatically. Within the last 24 hours we've had two huge "no's." He had a phone interview with Dallas last week, and to be completely honest, it was his ultimate dream job. It was exactly what he wanted to do at a top Children's Hospital in the country. As much as he tried not to, he had his heart set on it. Unfortunately, he didn't feel all that great about the phone interview and it turns out his intuition was correct, because he found out last night they've decided not to extend him an interview.
The bad news kept rolling in. This morning he had a phone interview with Richmond (also a location he was extremely interested in), and the phone interview turned into more of a questioning about Joel's fellowship at Columbus. He suggested that Joel should consider staying at Columbus to do an additional year of BMT fellowship and then they'd be interested in him. It was odd, because the division chief flat out told him they were only looking to hire someone who had at least a year of experience, so Joel's not really sure why he extended a phone interview to him in the first place unless he just wanted information about Nationwide's fellowship program.
Where does this leave things?
Joel has an interview with Penn State Hershey this week. So far it's his only scheduled 1st interview, so that adds a bit of pressure for this one to go well.
He has also applied to a job opening in Atlanta, Georgia, but doesn't expect to hear back from them until mid-November.
One other possibility is Wake Forest (Winston-Salem, North Carolina). He met with their lead COG guy at a conference in Dallas 2 weeks ago, and it looks like they are in the process of getting a position approved by the board. He told Joel that would take about 3 weeks, and then they would most likely extend an invitation for a 1st interview to him. Fingers crossed that this actually pans out!
Other possibilities that are longer shots:
-UNC told him to check back in November to see if they end up having a job opening.
-Pittsburgh thought it might be hiring starting in January
-Fresno also thought it might be hiring later and to check back in December.
The moral of the story is be careful what you pray for. :)
We're really hoping there's some good news soon, because it's been pretty depressing so far.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Fall Blocks
My productivity continues- wahoo! I pieced together my Peace Circle blocks yesterday. We had to make 2 Geese Migration blocks with each block being scrappy in one Fall color. I love a good scrappy block, and I also used colors I tend to not use a lot in regular quilts, so it was a double win in the land of scraps.
I seriously had forgotten how a person can have so much time when they only have to worry about themselves and their own family. I cleaned out all of the craft stuff, cleaned the junk drawer, completely organized my fabric stash, and it's only 10 in the morning. Happy Thursday, everyone!
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Curved Deficiencies
Curved Sewing and I have a rather strained relationship. In fact, I try to avoid it as much as possible. Wouldn't you know it, the very first block we were given to do as part of the Peace Circle for do.Good Stitches was almost all curved sewing. I may have whimpered a bit when I saw the instructions. I cut all the pieces out for the block and then promptly put it off. They sat there for 2 weeks. I tried to give myself pep talks, but finally it was the 30th of the month and I had no choice but to piece the block together.
Ya, it looks about as good as I feel about it...not great. E for Effort, but F for Execution. It's a large block (18"), so luckily we only had to make one.
If I recall correctly, the worst block I ever made for Wish Circle was the very first block as well, so that gives me hope that things will get better. In the meantime, I will continue to avoid curved quilting like the plague whenever possible.
Ya, it looks about as good as I feel about it...not great. E for Effort, but F for Execution. It's a large block (18"), so luckily we only had to make one.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Baby Thompson #4
Typically when I find out if we're having a boy or a girl I go straight to work and have a quilt done for the baby within a week or two. This time is quite a different story. I actually found out early what we were having, because of the required chromosomal testing (since I'm over 35). I've known since the end of May that we're having a boy, but as you well know, I did very little sewing at all this past summer. I'm now 32 weeks along and have finally finished the quilt.
Even though I couldn't get my act together to get his quilt done, we're excited about this little guy. Little Lady in particular cares quite a bit about this one. She already tells everyone she has 3 brothers. She is very proud of her status as the only girl. In her primary class at church they had a lesson on families. They were given something to give to each of their siblings and she pretty much demanded a third one stating that Baby Matthew needed one as well. That's actually how her teachers found out I was pregnant, because they couldn't figure out who Matthew was.
This was a really fun quilt to put together. The design for the quilting is a new one to me: Loopy Clouds. It's an easy design that flows a lot like mixing open flowers and loops. You can see it a bit better on the back.
Now we just have to wait a few more weeks for him to come and use it.
Even though I couldn't get my act together to get his quilt done, we're excited about this little guy. Little Lady in particular cares quite a bit about this one. She already tells everyone she has 3 brothers. She is very proud of her status as the only girl. In her primary class at church they had a lesson on families. They were given something to give to each of their siblings and she pretty much demanded a third one stating that Baby Matthew needed one as well. That's actually how her teachers found out I was pregnant, because they couldn't figure out who Matthew was.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Finally! A Finish!
I can't remember the last quilt I finished. That's probably not a very good sign. Gratefully, I found time to layer 3 quilt tops this past week and I actually finished one of them, and since my friend had the baby 3 weeks ago, it's a good thing I finally finished it.
This quilt made me happy, because everything I used, including the back, came from my quilt stash. It does make me chuckle that after putting together an entire quilt top of scraps that I couldn't even tell a difference in my scrap bags. Sigh. I'm trying. I like to think that one of the bags was lighter. I mean, I did make a whole quilt top for crying out loud!
I worked my way back into quilting with a simple loopy lines in yellow for a slight contrast to the fabrics.
Yay, for a finish! I have the next quilt all ready to be bound, so I'm hopeful to finish that one this weekend while I'm on a roll.
Monday, September 21, 2015
First Job Options
We've finally entered into the beginning of the job-hiring season. Joel scheduled his first official interview! The really funny part about it is that it's where he went to medical school: Penn State in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He had a phone interview and then he's scheduled to fly out there the end of October for the first round of interviews. We thought that job was a long shot since so many things had to line up into place for the opening to exist, but lo and behold, he got a phone call!
Joel also had a phone interview for Albany, New York this afternoon. This is a completely different type of job than in Hershey. The hospital in Albany is a much smaller program and requires a lot more clinical hours and call. There's almost no research element. It is a huge change from Joel's previous experiences at large hospitals, so the director wants Joel to take some time to think about whether this is something he would like to do or not. He's meeting with him at a conference they're both attending the beginning of October and if Joel feels good about it then they will officially schedule an interview in Albany.
There isn't anyone who specializes in Joel's area of interest and research at Hershey, so he would have a nitch there. Albany doesn't even have the program he does, so he would get to start up the treatments basically from scratch and be THE person for the program. Both offer interesting, but very different opportunities.
Richmond (Virginia) also got back to him this week. The division chief is brand new, so he's trying to get settled, but he told Joel there will definitely be openings. Joel's supposed to contact him mid-October once the chief has determined the exact needs of the program. Then Joel can decide if any of these openings fit with what he would like to do.
Other hospitals who are supposed to be contacting him in October: Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt (Nashville), Winston-Salem (North Carolina), Dallas, and San Antonio.
Fresno does not currently have an opening that matches what Joel does and Columbus is not looking very promising in terms of being able to get a job approved by the board. If we haven't heard back from the other places he applied, we currently consider them as not an option. He has a couple of promising leads right now though, so we're excited for this next phase.
Joel also had a phone interview for Albany, New York this afternoon. This is a completely different type of job than in Hershey. The hospital in Albany is a much smaller program and requires a lot more clinical hours and call. There's almost no research element. It is a huge change from Joel's previous experiences at large hospitals, so the director wants Joel to take some time to think about whether this is something he would like to do or not. He's meeting with him at a conference they're both attending the beginning of October and if Joel feels good about it then they will officially schedule an interview in Albany.
There isn't anyone who specializes in Joel's area of interest and research at Hershey, so he would have a nitch there. Albany doesn't even have the program he does, so he would get to start up the treatments basically from scratch and be THE person for the program. Both offer interesting, but very different opportunities.
Richmond (Virginia) also got back to him this week. The division chief is brand new, so he's trying to get settled, but he told Joel there will definitely be openings. Joel's supposed to contact him mid-October once the chief has determined the exact needs of the program. Then Joel can decide if any of these openings fit with what he would like to do.
Other hospitals who are supposed to be contacting him in October: Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt (Nashville), Winston-Salem (North Carolina), Dallas, and San Antonio.
Fresno does not currently have an opening that matches what Joel does and Columbus is not looking very promising in terms of being able to get a job approved by the board. If we haven't heard back from the other places he applied, we currently consider them as not an option. He has a couple of promising leads right now though, so we're excited for this next phase.
Friday, September 11, 2015
The Boys in the Boat
This month's book club read was The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
The summary:
"Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.
The emotional heart of the story lies with one rower, Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not for glory, but to regain his shattered self-regard and to find a place he can call home. The crew is assembled by an enigmatic coach and mentored by a visionary, eccentric British boat builder, but it is their trust in each other that makes them a victorious team. They remind the country of what can be done when everyone quite literally pulls together—a perfect melding of commitment, determination, and optimism.
Drawing on the boys’ own diaries and journals, their photos and memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, The Boys in the Boat is an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate story of nine working-class boys from the American west who, in the depths of the Great Depression, showed the world what true grit really meant."
I was surprised by how thoroughly interesting I found this book. I was completely drawn in by Joe Rantz's difficult life story and also by the process of rowing. I really knew nothing about rowing before reading this book, but even the descriptions of some of the races were nail-biting to read. The book also gives some really fascinating insights into the workings of the Nazi party and their use of the 1936 Olympic games as propaganda leading up to WWII. If you like nonfiction this is a really great read!
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| Source |
"Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.
The emotional heart of the story lies with one rower, Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not for glory, but to regain his shattered self-regard and to find a place he can call home. The crew is assembled by an enigmatic coach and mentored by a visionary, eccentric British boat builder, but it is their trust in each other that makes them a victorious team. They remind the country of what can be done when everyone quite literally pulls together—a perfect melding of commitment, determination, and optimism.
Drawing on the boys’ own diaries and journals, their photos and memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, The Boys in the Boat is an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate story of nine working-class boys from the American west who, in the depths of the Great Depression, showed the world what true grit really meant."
I was surprised by how thoroughly interesting I found this book. I was completely drawn in by Joe Rantz's difficult life story and also by the process of rowing. I really knew nothing about rowing before reading this book, but even the descriptions of some of the races were nail-biting to read. The book also gives some really fascinating insights into the workings of the Nazi party and their use of the 1936 Olympic games as propaganda leading up to WWII. If you like nonfiction this is a really great read!
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