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2005-12-31
New Year Resolution
A lot of free interview trips!!!
Reimbursement Check
I got my reimbursement check for my interview with the nonevil company. After comparing with my expense report, I noticed that they only reimbursed me one-way for my drive to the airport.
I wrote down clearly that the mileage from my home to the airport is 31.8 miles. I guess they have mistaken it as roundtrip mileage. Perhaps it is too hard for people in the bay area to imagine that some people in Texas can actually be living that far away from the airport?
I wrote down clearly that the mileage from my home to the airport is 31.8 miles. I guess they have mistaken it as roundtrip mileage. Perhaps it is too hard for people in the bay area to imagine that some people in Texas can actually be living that far away from the airport?
2005-12-30
Faculty Applications
Just to have some fun (?), I'm going to apply for faculty positions. After getting a list of top 40 CS departments in US (and hand-picked a few from Canada and UK), and removing those in the middle of nowhere, I have short-listed 26 institutes. Of course, some of them are entirely for fun, knowing that I have no chance of even getting an interview. Regardless, it is still a lot of work to do, particularly when I want to have a tailor-made cover letter for each department.
One thing I don't get is, even now, there are still a few schools that require snailmail applications. It makes the deadline harder to deal with (can't apply at 11:55pm) and actually costs me something to apply...
One thing I don't get is, even now, there are still a few schools that require snailmail applications. It makes the deadline harder to deal with (can't apply at 11:55pm) and actually costs me something to apply...
2005-12-26
(Damn) Cat the Second
It seems that people reading this blog are more concern with the damn cat than me. Fine, I'll say more.
The good news is, the old stripe cat seems to be gone; the bad news is, its little stripe kitten has taken over its place. Well, not just took over. It is even better than its mother, as it has also win over more neighbors' heart. One family has put a warm, comfy purple cushion outside their door as a bed for the cat. Another family also has cat's food prepared, but on top of that, occasionally opens the door for the cat to get in freely during the cold winter.
The cat seems to have lost its instinct of fearing human (aka me). It seems to believe that all human are kind and will give it good food. Apparently, the cat is adopted by the whole neighborhood, accomplishing something that even its mom couldn't.
The good news is, the old stripe cat seems to be gone; the bad news is, its little stripe kitten has taken over its place. Well, not just took over. It is even better than its mother, as it has also win over more neighbors' heart. One family has put a warm, comfy purple cushion outside their door as a bed for the cat. Another family also has cat's food prepared, but on top of that, occasionally opens the door for the cat to get in freely during the cold winter.
The cat seems to have lost its instinct of fearing human (aka me). It seems to believe that all human are kind and will give it good food. Apparently, the cat is adopted by the whole neighborhood, accomplishing something that even its mom couldn't.
2005-12-21
I'm Back
I'm finally back from my 3-week trip. And it's been like forever since I have updated this blog. A lot has happened, both happy (seeing my previous advisor, getting an offer from the non-evil company, arriving elite status in Continental, eating well in Hong Kong) and unhappy (not going to list any here). Anyway, it is probably time to put most of those stuff behind and start applying for more jobs.
Labels: hk
2005-12-04
Europe is Done
So finally, the European part of the trip is ending. Looking back at the trip, I have learned exactly one word in German and one word in French: "cheer" is bye in German and "messy" is thank you in French. Not what you would typically think of hearing those words.
At least I learned one more thing in this trip. This is, I don't want to live in a place where English is not the single major language. That basically means no only the "old Europe" countries like France or Germany, but I have also just ruled out applying for Switzerland (EPFL and ETH) and Quebec (McGill)...
At least I learned one more thing in this trip. This is, I don't want to live in a place where English is not the single major language. That basically means no only the "old Europe" countries like France or Germany, but I have also just ruled out applying for Switzerland (EPFL and ETH) and Quebec (McGill)...
2005-12-03
Food
I don't quite get this about the French. Here, nearly all the restaurants open for dinner at or after 7pm. Is it because no French ever want to eat before 7pm? I know someone who always have dinner at 5:45pm. How would they survive in France?
Speaking of food, of course, restaurant time. This time, I want to talk about this "Japanese" restaurant Osakatori near my hotel. Their decoration makes them look authentic, and they always greet you with Japanese. But I started feeling suspicious when I got the soup, which is Chinese pork soup (老火豬骨湯). Then things became more apparent when they speak Chinese. What's interesting, though, was that my sushi combo comes with a bowl of rice, which I never see in any Japanese restaurant elsewhere. So I ended up eating pieces of sushi (fish and rice) followed by more rice... A weird experience.
Speaking of food, of course, restaurant time. This time, I want to talk about this "Japanese" restaurant Osakatori near my hotel. Their decoration makes them look authentic, and they always greet you with Japanese. But I started feeling suspicious when I got the soup, which is Chinese pork soup (老火豬骨湯). Then things became more apparent when they speak Chinese. What's interesting, though, was that my sushi combo comes with a bowl of rice, which I never see in any Japanese restaurant elsewhere. So I ended up eating pieces of sushi (fish and rice) followed by more rice... A weird experience.
