Monday, October 17
_________________________
I've been accepted
[journal] Geos turned me down and Nova accepted me. I feel that it is Geos' loss. I am still steaming over the interview at Geos.
Geos' primary goal is to maximize how much money they make. During the interview process one of their few questions was asking if you had any objections to selling Geo's, recruiting students, marketing, etc... and then how you would go about doing that. Simply, Geos is a business and every teacher they hire is a spokesperson for them. An Asian face is not selling their image of an English teacher. Look, I don't like using the race card, but I don't want to go in depth at all the clues that directed me to this opinion (it would be 10 paragraphs). Just take my word for it that if you're Asian, you're gonna have to be stellar to make it onto the Geos team.
Anyways, I'm glad that Nova gave me an opportunity to work for them. Lucky for me, they were my first choice.
PS I haven't been this excited since being a kid during Christmas time.
|
Thursday, October 13
_________________________
Nova Called
[journal] Nova called Shawn (Oakdale Psychological Rehab). They called my boss while I was in the room with him working. I pretended that I was working, but I was totally listening. I just kept spamming the keyboard like this: asdlfkjsdoij asdpoi sf waltnwlth ga sglkjgslkj while I was listening intently. By the end of it three thoughts ran through my head:
1. If they called Shawn, maybe they called Cliff (who would give me an awesome recommendation).
2. Shawn gave me a 8/10 recommendation.
3. If they are calling my references, I actually did pretty well and they are considering me for the position, otherwise they would have chucked my file after the interview.
Today I found out that they did not call Cliff.
1. They did not like what Shawn said of me (10%)
2. They only call one reference (80%)
3. They liked what Shawn said and didn't need to call anyone else (10%)
Who knows.
Tommorrow is my interview with GEOS. It's the dreaded three day one.
|
Tuesday, October 11
_________________________
One Down
[journal] I did the Nova interview. I was doing very well for 4/5ths of the entire time.
The first thing we had to do was interview a partner and present to the other people what we found out (aced it).
The next part we had to do was to stand in front of the group while a slide of somewhere in Japan came up and we had to talk for 45 seconds based on the picture (did pretty well). There was a picture of a cherry blossom with some buildings looming in the background. I talked about the dichotomy in Japan between metropolis and beautiful countrysides. After I was done the Nova representative added in a bit about the cherry blossom holiday, which I think was what they were really looking for in the picture.
We did another little bit where we had to guess the prices of certain things and that was just a fun little game and I learned that a medium pizza cost more than I thought (35 to my 15) and one hour karaoke with all you can drink alcohol was less than I thought (10 to my 40).
After that we had to write a quiz that involved situational multiple choice, grammar multiple choice and 2 essay questions. I again did well although I did not get to finish the second essay question due to poor time management, but when I quickly looked around the other people were just writing their first (but I would like to do the best that I can do).
So at this point we broke off for a break and then it was time for the one on one interviews. I was doing well and I had made a good impression on the rep (I think). The interview process involved the same rep and one other rep. I was hoping to get assigned to the rep that I was already comfortable with and who seemed very friendly. Instead I got another rep who was also friendly, but nerves got to me some. A few of my answers were not the best and sometimes I took long to answer. There was a situation that we played out where I was the teacher and she was the student and although I was okay, I think with my experience I should have done better.
They are going to tell me within 3 weeks if I get offered a position.
I still have 2 more interviews. The next one is with GEOS and is a three day process that begins on Friday.
|
Monday, October 10
_________________________
Tomorrow
[journal]Tomorrow is my interview and I am really excited. It's one of those pivotal points in your life when you know a decision could change how you are going to evolve.
If I play poker later on tonight, I'm going to be the same guy. If I'm accepted to Japan I am going to be a very different person than if I stay here in Canada. Japan! It's a world apart. I'm going to be living on my own, taking care of myself.
I appreciate my parent's house, their hospitality, their constantly paying for food, TV, gas, insurance, but if I stay here I'll never leave -- it's so comfortable.
I think that's the main thing. Even if I get a job here in Canada, my parents spoil me. I want to live a little more dangerously (sounds cheesy), a little more independent, and a lot different.
And everything rides on if theylike me. It depends on my smile, Karen's haircut and Cliff's reference letter.
|
Sunday, October 9
_________________________
I just can't help myself
[journal] When it's late at night and I'm surfing the web, sometimes, an unstoppable urge takes over my little body.
I buy poker books, and I'm not talking about a single book, they come in threes.
One moment I'm reading the customer reviews on amazon, the next I'm placing a few in the shopping cart just to see how much it would total if I were to purchase it and the next there's this credit card (with my name on it) lying on the table in front of me and I get an email sent from amazon thanking me for the purchases. It's happened twice now. It's like magic.
I nearly bought six poker books this time, but contained myself to three in the last moment.
The good thing however is all the books I've bought from amazon.ca have been 30% off and they don't charge PST, so I've saved 37%. You know I'm totally SAVING money buying these books.
Poker books I've read (2 of them I've split with Mike and the rest I've bought myself):
1. Moneymaker : How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker -- by Chris Moneymaker (Hardcover)
2. No Limit and Pot Limit Hold'em by -- Tom McEvoy, T.J. Cloutier
3. Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big With Expert Play -- by Ed Miller, et al
4. Hold'Em Poker for Advanced Players -- by David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth
5. Phil Hellmuth's Texas Hold'em -- by Phil Hellmuth
6. Harrington on Hold 'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments: Strategic Play (Vol. 1) -- by Dan Harrington, Bill Robertie
7. Harrington on Hold'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments: Endgame, 2 -- by Dan Harrington, Bill Robertie
8. Caro's Book of Poker Tells -- by Mike Caro
The three new incoming books:
1. Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker Guide -- by Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson (Foreword)
2. Poker Essays, Volume III -- by Mason Malmuth
3. Weighing the Odds in Hold’em Poker -- by King Yao
In the not to distant future:
1. One of a Kind : The Rise and Fall of Stuey "The Kid" Ungar, The World's Greatest Poker Player (Hardcover)
by Nolan Dalla, Peter Alson, Mike Sexton
2. Poker Essays, Volume I -- by Mason Malmuth (if the III was good)
3. Poker Essays, Volume II-- by Mason Malmuth
There are a few other general gambling books that have caught my eye. It seems as though I have to look outside the poker genre because I've pretty much devoured all the good poker books.
Oh and if by chance you are interested, the Harrington books are the best.
|
Wednesday, October 5
_________________________
Spending Money
[journal] From the beginning of September to today I've made about a grand playing online poker 3 hours a day.
At the beginning I was making a lot more money because I was putting in more hours, but it was impossible to maintain the hours without my parents throwing me out of the house (they don't know I play for money; however they suspect. Reading a new poker book a week probably is a strong indication) and also the playing was emotionally consuming, putting me in a grumpy mood when I wasn't making a lot.
I started at the 25 cent limit tables, playing three tables simultaneously. (3 tables)
Then popped in a 50 cent table and reduced myself to two 25 cent ones. (3 tables)
Then two 50 cent tables at once. (2 tables)
Now just one 1 dollar table. (1 table)
I made about the same money in each category, but it was a way to ease myself into the higher tables and learn how the people on that table play. Obviously the higher stakes you play at the better the people are. I believe that I will be staying at the 1 dollar table for a very long time. All I will be doing is adding more tables to a maximum of three.
Just so people don't worry about me I'd like to add that I will take this as a serious hobby, but nothing more. During the month I still worked at my brother's restaurant and worked at my dad's office for a week.
Also next week and the following week I have three interviews for teaching overseas in Japan. In chronological order, Nova, Geos and ECC. If I get hired, I could be in Japan as early as January!
|
|
|
