Well, it's been nearly a month since the last post to Flamie Stuff. It's not because it has been a boring month; in fact, it has been a very busy and exciting month. When I returned from Vancouver with my work visa, most of the anxiety was relieved, but a lot of hassle and setup still needed to happen. I'll save you the boring details, but I'm finally setup with payroll, have received my first payment, am setup for medical/dental benefits, and am working full-time.
On April 6, Dad Martindale came and visited. We had a fantastic time with him and enjoyed an amazing time in Death Valley (I'll post separately about that... soon... I promise :P ).
My laptop started to flake out on me, so I've ordered and received a new laptop. I went all-out on this one and so far I'm very happy with it. For those that care, it's a Dell Studio XPS 16 (1645 to be more precise), Intel core i7-720QM, ATi Radeon Mobility 4670, 4 GB ram, 500 GB HDD, 1920x1080 WLED Screen. Zoom zoom!
Rowan's been super busy with her Ph.D.; working hard, going to conferences, TA'ing, and doing the stuff that graduate students do! She's also been a knitting manic and finished approximately a million projects ;) I'm sure she'll post about that eventually.
Anyways, that's the end of my government mandated 15-minute break, so back to work for me. Love you all!
Showing posts with label Job. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Job. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
YATTA!
YATTA! I have my TN-VISA. That is all... engage happy times and celebrations all around. YATTA! YATTA!
YATTA video... watch now you must :D
YATTA video... watch now you must :D
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Drama of the past few days
Many are probably already aware of the exciting, busy, hectic, crazy, absurd, and tiring roller-coaster ride that Rowan and I have been on recently, but for those that aren't here a bit of a summary.
Those that have been following this blog, know that I've been waiting on some papers, so that I could cross the border and finally get my work VISA. Well, Tuesday of last week, I finally had those papers in my hand. Rowan and I booked flights for the next day to Canada to visit with Vissers and friends in Kingston for a few days, before crossing the border back into the US, where the processing would (in theory) take place for my work VISA.
Well, everything was going fantastically, we had a great time in Kingston and were dropped off at the Toronto International Airport by my brother on Sunday morning. Armed with my passport and the documents from the (large, well known, and well respected) University I will be working for, we approached the pre-flight border guard and asked for my VISA to be processed. He kindly directed us to the secondary inspection point (as expected), where another guard received my documents, took finger print scans, a photo of me, and we took our seats.
You should see that smiling face in the photo they took (I have a copy of it): bright-eyed, full of hope and excitement, ready to start working hard, and happy as can be. We didn't have to wait around too long before they called me up. The border guard read over my petition letter, and when finished, looked up at me and told me that I would very likely be denied my work VISA. A few questions later and I was asked to sit down while she went to speak with her supervisor. Needless to say, when she came back nothing had changed and I was ultimately denied the VISA.
So, Rowan and I continued on to the US under the VISAs we had before. Such an amazing week, but that couldn't change the great disappointment we both felt for the next few days.
Now it's Wednesday and at least I have some better news to report. The international services here at the University was just as surprised as we were that my VISA was denied, so they figure it must have just been the border guard that I got, as my VISA is pretty much a no-brainer and should have been accepted. This means that my petition letter will be re-worked and I'll be sent out to try again in a day or two. Hopefully lightning doesn't strike me twice...
Those that have been following this blog, know that I've been waiting on some papers, so that I could cross the border and finally get my work VISA. Well, Tuesday of last week, I finally had those papers in my hand. Rowan and I booked flights for the next day to Canada to visit with Vissers and friends in Kingston for a few days, before crossing the border back into the US, where the processing would (in theory) take place for my work VISA.
Well, everything was going fantastically, we had a great time in Kingston and were dropped off at the Toronto International Airport by my brother on Sunday morning. Armed with my passport and the documents from the (large, well known, and well respected) University I will be working for, we approached the pre-flight border guard and asked for my VISA to be processed. He kindly directed us to the secondary inspection point (as expected), where another guard received my documents, took finger print scans, a photo of me, and we took our seats.
You should see that smiling face in the photo they took (I have a copy of it): bright-eyed, full of hope and excitement, ready to start working hard, and happy as can be. We didn't have to wait around too long before they called me up. The border guard read over my petition letter, and when finished, looked up at me and told me that I would very likely be denied my work VISA. A few questions later and I was asked to sit down while she went to speak with her supervisor. Needless to say, when she came back nothing had changed and I was ultimately denied the VISA.
So, Rowan and I continued on to the US under the VISAs we had before. Such an amazing week, but that couldn't change the great disappointment we both felt for the next few days.
Now it's Wednesday and at least I have some better news to report. The international services here at the University was just as surprised as we were that my VISA was denied, so they figure it must have just been the border guard that I got, as my VISA is pretty much a no-brainer and should have been accepted. This means that my petition letter will be re-worked and I'll be sent out to try again in a day or two. Hopefully lightning doesn't strike me twice...
Thursday, February 18, 2010
More Fishy Sweatery Goodness with a Small Job Hire Progress Update
Perhaps, I'm getting a little too excited about this, but the sweater is still progressing really well, so I figured I'd post a few photos of where I'm at now.
So I'm now have way through the 6th row of diamonds. Figured it was time to try it on (I last tried it on just after the ribbing at the bottom), and it's still looking great. I've pulled it snugly around my waist for the photo, but infact there is a few inches of ease, which seems to me to be a perfect fit. Still a long ways to go, but it's going well!
Concerning the hiring, it's been going a little slower than hoped for, though perhaps not slower than expected. Anyways, I got news that we're now only waiting on one more thing before everything can be sent of to the Internation Services here at USC. So, we're still around 2 weeks away from having my VISA and officially starting, but in the meantime I've been learning and training myself as much as possible so I can hit the ground running.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Deemed Suitable for Hire
The background check was completed incredibly fast, and I have been "deemed suitable for hire". I guess I don't have a big criminal record or anything... but we already knew that ;) What does this mean now? Well, assuming the required signatures have been gathered, then everything can be sent off to OIS, and the final processing can commence. If that's the case, then everything should be in place in about (or less than) 2 weeks for a short trip to Canada, which should result in a VISA for me! Huzzah!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Update: Job for Jason
A small forewarning: this post will be fairly wordy, with not many pictures to keep you entertained. For those with short attention spans or for whom reading more than the dialogue boxes in a comic strip is a bore, I have included paragraph summaries.
Just thought I'd let everyone know where the job application process is at.
The University of Southern California (where I will be working) has been plugging away at my application. Last night I was told that I had not yet applied for the job online, and as such they hadn't even started on the background check. So, today I filled out all of the requisite forms and hopefully that is now underway; the background check is estimated to take 5 days (though I have heard varying accounts of how long this has taken for other people). This development was a bit of a disappointment for me. I had applied to the position online previously (back in December), so I thought all of that was out of the way. Something must of changed though, because the online job posting had a change in ID number and title, which means I needed to reapply for it; sadly no one told me about this. Still it's all taken care of now, and hopefully the delay won't be too severe. Paragraph summary: the job application is being processed; one small delay, but no major problems; background check is underway.
Also today, we (an administrative guy from the department I will be working for who has been handling most of the paperwork, a woman that has lots of experience with Canadian VISAs, and myself) met with the director of the Office of International Services (OIS). Since the background check wasn't done, which also means we don't yet have an offer of employment letter, there wasn't much she could do. Fortunately, except for the background check and a few signatures on a form, everything is in place to hand off to OIS. Once OIS has the package of information, they'll process it, fill out some forms, double check the forms, and then finally give me the go-ahead; this should take them about two weeks. By go-ahead, I mean, they'll hand me a pile of papers, which I'll take with me on a trip to Canada. Upon returning to the US, I'll present this package of papers to the border guard and I should have my work VISA. Paragraph summary: Once the background check and offer of employment letter are in place, it will take two-weeks before I can go and get my VISA.
Based on the times required for things to happen, I estimate that this should all be done in 3 to 5 weeks. I think 3 weeks is definitely a best case scenario, and anything faster than that would be a miracle. 5 weeks gives lots of room for delays and things happening slower than expected. Paragraph summary: 3 to 5 weeks and Jason should have his TN-VISA.
That's all for now. I'll try to post updates as they happen.
Oh, and in case I haven't mentioned it yet: I will be working in a research laboratory at the University of Southern California as a "Research Lab Technician". More specifically I'll be managing, operating, and maintaining an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Paragraph summary: Jason will be working with a "science machine" at a university.
Just thought I'd let everyone know where the job application process is at.
The University of Southern California (where I will be working) has been plugging away at my application. Last night I was told that I had not yet applied for the job online, and as such they hadn't even started on the background check. So, today I filled out all of the requisite forms and hopefully that is now underway; the background check is estimated to take 5 days (though I have heard varying accounts of how long this has taken for other people). This development was a bit of a disappointment for me. I had applied to the position online previously (back in December), so I thought all of that was out of the way. Something must of changed though, because the online job posting had a change in ID number and title, which means I needed to reapply for it; sadly no one told me about this. Still it's all taken care of now, and hopefully the delay won't be too severe. Paragraph summary: the job application is being processed; one small delay, but no major problems; background check is underway.
Also today, we (an administrative guy from the department I will be working for who has been handling most of the paperwork, a woman that has lots of experience with Canadian VISAs, and myself) met with the director of the Office of International Services (OIS). Since the background check wasn't done, which also means we don't yet have an offer of employment letter, there wasn't much she could do. Fortunately, except for the background check and a few signatures on a form, everything is in place to hand off to OIS. Once OIS has the package of information, they'll process it, fill out some forms, double check the forms, and then finally give me the go-ahead; this should take them about two weeks. By go-ahead, I mean, they'll hand me a pile of papers, which I'll take with me on a trip to Canada. Upon returning to the US, I'll present this package of papers to the border guard and I should have my work VISA. Paragraph summary: Once the background check and offer of employment letter are in place, it will take two-weeks before I can go and get my VISA.
Based on the times required for things to happen, I estimate that this should all be done in 3 to 5 weeks. I think 3 weeks is definitely a best case scenario, and anything faster than that would be a miracle. 5 weeks gives lots of room for delays and things happening slower than expected. Paragraph summary: 3 to 5 weeks and Jason should have his TN-VISA.
That's all for now. I'll try to post updates as they happen.
Oh, and in case I haven't mentioned it yet: I will be working in a research laboratory at the University of Southern California as a "Research Lab Technician". More specifically I'll be managing, operating, and maintaining an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Paragraph summary: Jason will be working with a "science machine" at a university.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Good News!!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Cats and Job Search
I know the title of this post has "Cats" first, but I feel like talking about job search first, so too bad :) Besides, you are probably already sick of seeing the cats. Just a quick update on how things are going with the job search. Over the past week or so, I've been working on improving my resume and profile with the big online job search engines. Last week I received an email from a company that had found my resume online, gone over it, and thought I would be a good match for a current opening that they have. I replied quickly and am still awaiting further information. Then, just today, I received another email from a job I applied to online. They wanted the most recent copy of my resume. Maybe it is just a coincidence, but this is more interest that I have had before from companies. When more exciting or interesting things happen, I'll be sure to post.
As promised, a few new cat photos. It is a gorgeous day today. Sunny and cool. Ong-bak was sitting on the arm of the sofa, looking out the front window, but when I came over to take a picture of him, he got up and snuggled right into my crotch. We often call him a little crotch monkey, because he always seems to want to snuggle right there. It is probably just because it is warm, but it is still amusing. After only a moment of snuggling, he noticed Scimitar was eating, and not to be outdone he jumped up and started eating as well. Anyways, that's all for now.
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