crossing fingers

okay, i'm feeling considerably less elated about the job offer i received because it sounds like the recruitment agency isn't happy with the permit application process. so while i'm hoping everything will be turn out alright, i'm also praying really hard that i get offered the job i finally finished interviewing for yesterday, because that company won't have any problems with permit applications and it's also a job that i really, really want.

---monday:

i actually spent monday studying, which was my plan. then gd came with me to muay thai. it amused me to see the look on the face of the guy who knocked me off my feet when gd introduced me as her boyfriend; he also trains at h2o and knows her from there. ahh, pride :)

the muay thai class was primarily conditioning, as usual, and gd's back couldn't handle the suicide bear-crawls followed by suicide runs. after all the exercises we'd done before those, none of us were handling particularly well even without having back troubles and by the time i got to the running i was actually wobbling. even if i hadn't been planning on taking it (relatively) easy before the final interviews i wouldn't have been able to box after all that.

i continued studying while gd made dinner, and the salad was even better than when i do it. i got through some important stuff, but went to bed feeling the muay thai class. tense back + gd + tiger balm = falling asleep in a trance.

---yesterday:

i slept really well, and woke up easily with no need to snooze. i began my day with an hour focused on the introduction to algorithms book, the one i bought ages ago and really, *really* should've treated as my primary source over the past few weeks. it's an amazing book.

i shouldn't have forgotten my kindle with the aforementioned book loaded onto it, but as it turned out i wouldn't get much time to read after leaving home anyway.

the final interviews:

i felt offline for most of the time. just... slower. it was a slow day.

the first interview was about system architecture, and i think i did well.

the second was on algorithms, and not only was it a struggle but it was only in the final moments when the interviewer told me what he was thinking that i suddenly realized that the problem was almost identical to one i'd read about the night before :S

lunch was spent with pulse's friend, the guy who put forward my resume, and was really nice even though there weren't any vegan protein options. oh, well. nobody's perfect. the conversation ran in all sorts of directions and i was comforted to hear that everyone feels the same way about the kid who made me nervous in my first interview.

the final interview was certainly not my best, but i definitely did what needed to be done and i appeared to satisfy the interviewer - although it could be that he was just being nice.

anyway, i walked out of the offices with a positive feeling and hoping that they feel the same. then i entered "what if" mode; what if they extend an offer? how do i delay them or turn them down without closing the door? that was really troubling me until this morning.

i got home, paid the rent, got a form from the bank for the recruitment agency, all of that was pleasant. then i printed out my tax forms, and couldn't make heads or tails of them. much, much less pleasant. that set off a serious headache that i took with me to jiu-jitsu.

i worked with a guy who's about 20 pounds heavier than me, and we worked really hard. i didn't feel particularly satisfied when we were done, just tired and itchy. i suspect that the latter is some kind of allergic reaction to the combination of training shirts i wear in lieu of a proper rash-guard :/

gd had eaten without me, so i went to p.m. and had their japanese tofu while reading the new wired. it was delicious and i ate too much - only towards the end i realized that it's a dish with egg in it so i'm not going to do that again :(
i couldn't find someone homeless to give the leftovers to, and then realized that giving someone something like that without utensils would be a little cruel anyway.

...

the "disruptive by design" ad in this month's wired disrupted my reading in the metro because it kept unfolding.

---today:

it was a beautiful start to the day and i left gd's with electrified emotions. i ran into pulse on the metro, apologizing for putting her in the awkward position of knowing that i've accepted a job offer but not being able to update her friend. i mentioned her to gd later and it's now been made clear to me that the two of them are no longer friends after an incident last week. i'm disappointed to say the least :(

i spoke to the immigration lawyer who helped me with my previous permit application, and was relieved to hear that a) it's better that i haven't applied for the csq without the minimum year of work experience and b) a rejected permit application won't invalidate the current one.

so that's me breathing more easily and feeling less stupid.

then i got dressed and headed down to the recruitment agency to sign papers. no papers were signed, issues were raised and a bit of faith was lost. now i'm playing that all by ear, and i'm glad i didn't cancel the interview i have in forty minutes...