Puddle Jumping

Sunday midday and Monday afternoon I got to puddle jump. Granted, it was snowing Sunday here in Cleveland so all puddles would be ice at the moment, but I wasn't physically jumping in puddles like a small child wearing galoshes after it rains. What was I doing then? Well, there's a hint in Shae's last post. Give up? I went on an interview. The interview was with ITT in Ft. Wayne. The company travel agent thought I should fly. Thankfully, she did not register me for the flight that involved a 2-hr layover in Chicago (or the flight with a layover in Detroit). Had those been my only options, I was going to say "but I can get to there by car in less time." Instead, I rode a Beech craft 1900 -- a little twin-prop plane. It was a rather different experience than my red-eye from Seattle WA to Cleveland OH over Labor Day weekend. It was neat though getting above the snow clouds and seeing the sea of white. Not to mention seeing the frozen lake.

I have decided that arriving in the Ft. Wayne airport is nice because they give you a cookie as you leave. This was a happy surprise, and left me to wonder if other airports did this too, but I can tell you now that Cleveland-Hopkins does not.

Courtesy of the modern wonder that is a rental car, I was able to visit Shae and family. I figure that the worst case scenario of this trip would be that I got a free (more or less provided I get reimbursed) trip to visit my friends.

How did the interview go? Well, I was there from 8 am until about 2:30 pm. I saw enough of the building to feel horribly disoriented by the end of the day. The work sounds like interesting, honest-to-goodness engineering work as opposed to my current position where I am bored because they don't sufficiently challenge me. So it sounds like a good opportunity, while at the same time I must admit to being a little overwhelmed at the prospect of actual engineering work. I was asked various questions regarding what I learned at Rose and I felt so rusty as I was formulating my answers (this might also had something to do with the airplane ride the day before; though really I got enough sleep, I just still felt out of it).

Now, having been on an airplane all of 3 times in my life, perhaps the fact I have an aerospace concentration from Rose isn't quite as absurd. On the return flight I was actually fairly calm, which is great progress for me.

So, that is the story of my trip to Ft. Wayne. I may have some interviews closer to home in the near future as well, but I don't know yet. All I know is that it will be an adventure seeing where I end up next.

The other moral of the story is that while it was probably a great blessing that I was able to fly for this trip, I think next time I'd rather drive.