In Person Interview

So I got past the phone interview and now I am scheduled for an in person interview this Thursday!

Hopefully, I will be employed by the end of the week!

Ahhhh! Ok I'm not going to talk about it anymore. I don't want to jinx it. 

Phone Interview

Well it's about time!

I have a phone interview with NxStage Medical for a Clinical Research Associate position on Monday. 

Wish me luck and hopefully I will have some good news to report the beginning of next week.

Facebook Display Change/Twitter

Being an avid user of social media I felt compelled to comment on the Facebook display change. I don't really understand why people are making such a fuss about the it through blog posts, FB petitions, and disgruntled status updates.

It's not like the entire setup of the main page was flipped upside down. The layout is remains essentially the same with most of the links in their exact same places. Quick links to pictures, events, etc. are in the left column, the news feed is in the central column, and random advertisements, people you may know, and birthdays are in the right column. 

The only changes Zuckerberg has include adding a filter to the news feed and providing easier access to update your status. Both of which are efficient improvements and fitting the trend of social media. 

I love being able to add and subtract people from my main news feed. For example, I have this one girl I didn't really like in high school who is ALWAYS on my news feed. Whether it's her stupid status updates ("Hanging with my boo right now") or her new photo albums (she's THAT GIRL who still posts pictures of herself in the mirror in skanky outfits). To be completely honest, everytime I see her on my news feed I end up looking at her profile. I know, its that whole "train wreck" scenario and I can't help myself. Now I can do something about it and not tempt myself.

The easier access to status updates is another efficient update. One of the key features of the entire website is being able to update your friends on what your doing and thinking. With the creation of Twitter more and more people are becoming accustomed to doing status updates. Since the feature is so popular and often used it only makes sense to create access from it on your main page. DONE!

If your dealing with technology and the internet you should be accustomed to its evolving nature and not be so resistant to change. 

Also, I doubt Zuckerberg is going to modify anything. He knows that the new display fits his vision of the website so he will continue to request feedback and input until everyone calms down and becomes used to the new site design. 

VIVA LAS VEGAS!

It's official folks! Joey G is headed back to Sin City this Memorial Day Weekend. I can't explain how excited I am to go there. I had such a blast the last time I went and I have been wanting to go back ever since. 

Last Christmas I went with my family and we mostly did the touristy activities while we were there. We gambled and walked through all the casinos on the strip and on Fremont Street, saw Jersey Boys, and went to a lot of restaurants. It was great to go on vacation with them but Vegas isn't exactly a family destination like Disney World. I wasn't able to experience the nightlife that Vegas is all about (I had my brother with me but the club scene wasn't really his scene). 

I'm staying at the luxurious Excalibur hotel with some of my BU favorites (David, Lauren, and Marina). The weekend is going to be full of lying by the pool, exploring casinos, and partying it up at all of the nightclubs.

May can't come any sooner!!!!

GOT MILK?

Alex's cat that I renamed "Mister Kitty". I was pretty much obsessed with him and his milk mustache.

Recap: Any College Parties Going On?

Once I left Concord, I moved into my sublet in Gardner Court. 

That's right folks I'm living where I once partied freshman and sophomore years of college. How ironic? I am not going to lie it was very weird moving back into the BU area. Memories of college still come to mind when I ride the T through the campus but I have lost that strong connection I once had. Everything is exactly the way it was but it doesn't feel like home anymore. I felt the same way when I went back to West Palm Beach for the first time once I started college.

It's also weird to not see at least five people I know when I go from one end of Comm Ave to the other. 

Anyway, I am living in G. Court with three BU senior girls.

I was pretty fortunate that I was able to get the place when I did. It was the first sublet lead I had and I got it when I was still in San Francisco. This saved me the hassle of searching for places, which is a task I have grown very tired of.

I have the place until the end of summer.

Walden Pond

I had to bug Alex a decent amount to get him to take me to the most famous Concord landmark, Walden Pond. 

Here are some pictures from our adventure:

The pond was frozen so we walked all the way across to the site of Henry David Thoreau's house.

"Your such a flirt HDT"

Thinking deep thoughts at HDT's house site.

Recap: Living in the CONC

Alex's parents were extremely kind in letting me crash at both of their places for the month of February. 

For the first half of the month, we lived in the basement of Alex's dad's house. This was completely fine with me since I finally had a bed that was elevated off the ground. His father actually works at MGH as a lead engineer for breast cancer research. Naturally, we ended up talking a lot about engineering and some different methods I could use to get a job (possibly at MGH!).

Alex was working part time at a local Italian restaurant called Paparazzi. While he was there, I was extremely busy working on personal projects. 

My days were pretty hectic so let me break it down for you as simply as possible:

-Dropped Alex off at work

-Starbucks run

-Library trip to look for jobs and use the internet

-Walked into town to get lunch

-Walked back to the library 

-Drove home to make dinner

-Watched TV or read

-Picked up Alex from work

Repeat!

I loved what a role reversal this was for me and Alex. In Berkeley I was the one who was gone all day doing errands and looking for jobs while Alex was at home cleaning and making dinner. Joey G was the husband and A. Mo was my wifey.

Then come Concord and I was the one wearing the dress.

For the second half of the month, we stayed at Alex's mom's place in West Concord. Again we both lived in basement, only this time I was sleeping on some cushions on the floor (more to what I'm used to). I still upheld my usual routine during the day (see above).

Now when I go back to Florida to visit I usually plan to stay for a weekend. Anything longer and I would want to rip my hair out from disabling boredom. Granted there are things to do in West Palm Beach (shopping, movies, more shopping) to keep me relatively sane. After living in Concord for two weeks however, I felt like I was back in FL but only worse. There is absolutely nothing to do because the town only caters to suburban families. There is also no one to see since all of our friends are a 40 minute commuter rail ride away. 

For that reason, I understand his decision to move to Sydney. I am just glad that he stuck it out at home for awhile until he saved up enough money to go. I hope he finds everything his looking for out there.

Recap: Road Trip #2

On the road once again, hopefully for the last time!

My second trip across the country was not nearly as enjoyable as the first. Driving by yourself is lonely, mind numbing, and requires a large amount of endurance. Granted it's nice to take in the passing scenery and to have that feeling of independence driving through countryside. However, those feelings fade in midst of a half an hour. 

With no one to talk to and hating all my music in my iPod, I ended up trying to memorize rap songs (Hey, it kept me entertained and now I know half of Lil Wayne's album The Carter III). 

As for my endurance, I realized that I am not one to really take breaks. I hated driving so much that I would gun each of the trips and make as few stops as possible. I'm talking 8-9 hours trips each day with maybe a half an hour total time for breaks (thanks Red Bull!)

The long stretches of driving was definitely the worst part of the trip. However, the BEST part was being able to see and stay with some of my BU favorites.

San Francisco, CA-->Los Angeles, CA

I was able to see Ms. Lauren Varona for a night. I stayed with her on my way to San Francisco last year and was able to stay with her again on my way out. We ended up going to the Abbey in WeHo (a huge shocker since I go there everytime I'm in LA) and seeing Tabitha from Bravo's show Tabitha's Salon Takeover. 

She's no Britney Spears but I'll take it!

Los Angeles, CA--> Tombstone, AZ

During my trip to Arizona, I was driving in the fast lane about 20 feet behind this woman in a Mazda compact car. All of a sudden I hear a loud bang, similar to a gun shot. Her front left tire ended up blowing out. I nearly rear ended her before she swerved and drove onto the shoulder of the road. 

Gripping story, I know! What do you expect? I was driving into Arizona.

I spent the night with my aunt and uncle again, as well as picked up my mom from the airport. She was nice enough to fly out to share some of the driving.

Tombstone, AZ-->Kerrville, TX

Thankfully my mom was with me to take over a large portion of the driving.

Like I stressed in my last blog, 

DRIVING THROUGH TEXAS F*$%ING BLOWS!

That's all I have to say about that!

Kerrville, TX-->New Orleans, LA

Finally I made it into N.O.L.A. where I stayed the weekend with Sassie Jamie Lynn. I was so happy that we were able to reunite and do what we do best together.....dance until 4 in the morning.

New Orleans, LA-->Gainseville, FL

Not much happening during this trip but here is a picture of a Louisiana causeway to enjoy:

Gainesville, FL-->Raleigh, NC

As I made my way up to Raleigh, I had to say goodbye to warm weather and hello to wind chill factors and snow. It was alright though since I was going to a semi-SAPA reunion. I spent the night at Barbara's place and we ended up driving to meet Sam who works an hour or so south. 

Good Times!

Raleigh, NC-->Pittsburgh, PA

As I left Raleigh, it started to get even colder.

I spent the night at Liz Miles place in Westchester and we ended up going out to a nice sushi restaurant in her town for dinner. 

After we got back from dinner, Liz and I start watching TV and saw the weather report for the next day. Apparently an intense storm had just finished making its way across the Midwest and was going to slam New England with heavy snow and nastiness.

AWESOME! 

I had made it this far without any serious weather and now I had to drive through a crazy snowstorm. Granted I could have crashed at Liz's place for an extra night but I just wanted the trip to be over with by that point. 

P.S. I HAVE NEVER DRIVEN IN SNOW BEFORE!!!

Pittsburgh, PA-->Concord, MA

I left pretty early in the morning (after I spent nearly 20 minutes getting all the snow off my car and removing all the ice from it's windows). The snow wasn't bad for the first few hours but got progressively worse as I drove out of Pennsylvania and through New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. 

The snow got so heavy that there was pretty much zero visibility. This meant I had to drive about 15mph on I-95 for a good stretch of my trip, turning my six hour drive into a ten hour expedition.

Also, no one in their right mind would ever want to drive in this horrible weather, except for those who drive SUVs and Emergency Vehicles. Imagine my little compact Jetta trying to navigate the snowy roads with Land Rovers and trucks darting past and spraying waves of water and slush on my windshield.

Not going to lie.

I though I was going to die....a couple of times.

But thankfully I made it to Alex's place in the late evening and we celebrated Berkeley style!