iso_whiteSnow asked me to write about this a little while ago when I mentioned in a pulse that I would be interviewing people for positions at the tennis club I help manage.  I have to say that an interview is a whole lot more fun when you’re the one asking the questions!  What a different dynamic.  I’ll try my best to write down how I felt being on the opposite side of the table for once.

The Importance of the Interview
Haven’t gone to numerous interviews in the past year, I know how important that date felt to me.  I was always thinking that this one meeting could potentially have a big impact on how I live my life over the course of the next few months, or even years if it was a big position.

On the day I did interviews, I did not get the same feelings of importance for that day.  To me, it was just another task on my agenda to complete.  Sure, I was excited to do it being my first time and all, but in the end I treated it like any other business task.  Now I can understand how past interviewers must of have felt when they interview me.  For me, this was a big event which I was extremely nervous and hopeful about.  To them, I was just a 2pm appointment.  

First Impressions
People weren’t kidding when they say how much of an impact your initial thoughts are of a person.  I unconsciously judged each of the three people I interviewed that day right off the bat.  What was interesting was that my initial impression didn’t change much (if at all) after the interview was over.  I’m not sure if that’s because the initial impressions were a very good summary of that person or perhaps those initial impressions influenced the way I viewed that person there after.  Whatever the case may be, the fact remains that the first impression is muy importante.

For example, Person #1 came in very laxadacical, which made me wonder how much he really cared about working here.  Person #3, however, came in with a genuine smile and looked ready to go.  Points go to Person #3!

Details Really Matters
During the interview, I took notes so I could later compare with the others.  The more the person said the more I was able to write down and remember.  Person #1 gave very brief answers to a lot of my open-ended questions, so I wrote very little for him.  On the other hand, Person #2 gave pretty thorough answers to most of my questions and thus I had plenty of stuff for me to take down.  Comparing the two, Person #2 seemed like a safer bet base on the fact I just knew more about him.  I still didn’t have a good idea of Person #1 even after the 30 minute interview.  So yes, if asked a question try your best to answer that question as fully as possible! 

The Experience Factor
Ah yes, experience.  I didn’t get a lot of the past job due to this.  I used to think “uhh, how can I GET experience if you don’t give me a chance?!”

After interviewing these people, I realized how, as the interviewer, I wasn’t thinking about that at all.  From my POV, if I had two people that were more or less equal but one person had previous experiences whereas the other had none, I’m going to go with the one with experience.  To me, that person would probably get a hang of things faster and would have more success seeing as he or she has done similar work before.  It’s nothing personal; just thinking about it through a purely business view. 

Person #2 and Person #3 both had potential to do well, but in the end I picked Person #3 for several reasons, one of which had to do with her having previous experiences.  Person #2 was nice and capable, but frankly it’s not my problem that he hasn’t done jobs like this before.  I do sincerely hope things work out for him, but alas I have to think what would be best for our club.  Should I take a chance on someone who may or may not do well, or should I take a chance on someone who has proven they have done well before?  As you can see, the decision isn’t really too hard.

I’m sure there’s more I could talk about, but those were the first thoughts that popped up.  I’m definitely going to use the knowledge I gained from this exprience in future interviews I go to!  I hope it helps some of you guys out as well that may be looking for jobs.  Try not to get too discouraged from future rejections; it’s nothing personal hopefully.

You know, I’ve recently noticed I really say a lot of odd phrases to my little brother.  These phrases would occasionally slip out with other people, but they’re usually reserved for him.  I’m still trying to figure out how I first started to use a lot of these phrases, although I have theories.  Here’s a sample of some of the quirky things I tend to say to him, the scenario for which I would say them, and the possible origins of said phrases:

Alexism #1:  “Don’t you worry about that BOY!”
Used When:  He is being too nosy, is asking a stupid question, or whenever I just don’t feel like answering him.
Possible Origins:  I’m pretty sure I got it off a show or movie, but I can’t remember specifically which one.  Anyone want to help me out?

Alexism #2:  “Let’s roll out!” or “Let’s roll bounce!”
Used When:  I’m trying to hurry him up if we need to go somewhere immediately.
Possible Origins:  Apparently the first phrase is from Transformers, but I’m pretty sure I got it from that Ludacris song.  The second phrase was definitely from the movie title “Roll Bounce”.  I didn’t ever watch that movie; just thought that was a funny title.

Alexism #3:  “Shut up and be a man!  Do the right thing!”
Used when:  he doesn’t stop his whining.
Possible Origins:  Russell Peters of course!  I guess Mulan can also take some credit for this as well.

Alexism #4:  “Follow me and everything will be alright.”
Used when:  I’m attempting to encourage him.
Possible Origins:  When my brother was really young, the very first song I taught him to sing was the chorus to Uncle Kracker’s “Follow Me”.  Why that song?  Beats me.  Perhaps it was so freakin’ catchy and very easy to sing.  Anyway, ever since then I would sing that line to him as a little inside joke.

There are a few more, but I think that’s enough for me to share for now.  I hope you enjoyed some pointless knowledge for the day

P.S. My little brother, in turn, has Justinisms for me, although they somehow manage to be lamer than my lame phrases.  For example, he’s trying to make “Justin time!” a catchphrase but it’s soooooo not working out.  He also enjoy saying “Okie dokey Doctor Jones!” over and over again (not unlike that YouTube clip).  Urgh how fun for me.

You know what I’m talking about.  You’re going about life just minding your own business when all of a sudden these thoughts creep up on you.  “What if I had done this?”  “What if I could have been smarter when I was younger?”  “What if she really isn’t the right one for me?”  Questions like these can mess up your view of things drastically and can lead you to make choices you weren’t even considering just a few moments ago. 

A big example of that from my life regards that last question:  “What if she really isn’t the right one for me?”  It was a question I asked myself a few years back, while I was about 2 years into my relationship with my college sweetheart.  Everything was going relatively fine.  We never had any really big problems and we got along amazingly well.  If I didn’t know better, I would have said there was no one better for me.  I used to think, “I’m with a great girl that I’m happily committed to.  I am so fortunate.”

Of course, things changed one day.  Out of the blue, she asked me “So, where do you think we should live after we graduate?”  With that question, something seemingly woke up in my head.  All of these doubts and “what if”s started flying around, confusing my scheme of things.  I started to think “Wow, are we already thinking that far ahead?  We’re just 20!  Wait, we are just 20 years old!  Am I sure she is right for me?  What if she isn’t and I made a mistake?  What if there’s someone else better for me out there?  What if I had passed her by already?  What if what if what if…” 

Long story short, those doubts led to the eventual end of our relationship.  By the time I realized how stupid I was to be thinking of those “what if” thoughts, it was too late.  The glass was broken and she also began to have those thoughts as well. 

Looking back at that time over the years, I used to think “What if I hadn’t had those thoughts?  What if I had kept my mouth shut?  What if we had continued the way we were?  Would we have been together to this day?” 

However, I finally stopped that when I realized I need to stop thinking about all those “what if”s.  There are infinite amount of possibilities throughout the course of my life and this just so happened to be my path.  I started to think of that “mistake” as not a mistake at all.  Had I not done that back then, I’m sure I would still be wrestling with those commitment issues and insecurities I used to have.  Had I not done that, I wouldn’t have done so many wonderful things that, looking back, I never would have had the chance to do or experience had that relationship continued.  Perhaps what happened was exactly what was suppose to happen at that point of time.

I don’t see myself getting married anytime soon.  However, I think I would be perfectly fine with meeting the girl that would eventually be my wife at this point of my life.  Over the years, I have grown to be very confident about who I am and what the important things really are.  I just got to keep reminding myself that everything that has happened before, whether good or bad, had led me to where and what I am today.  It is for that reason that I will not let those pesky “what if”s affect me so much ever again.

I’m heeding her call for Xanga love (her original Xanga Challenge post).  The Xangan I got paired up with was:

I wasn’t familiar with her yet, but I knew I got a cool one when I saw a message in my inbox from her saying “heyboyhey ” .  Her profile picture and her message made me think she was friendly and happy-go-lucky type of girl, so that gets some points in my book already.  After sending her a reply, I went into lurker mode and check out all her page has to offer.  I check out her profile first to find quite a variety of taste.  Her “About Me” section was short but sweet:  “The rumors are true. I give good comment (when I’m in the mood).”  I don’t know why, but that made me smile. 

Looking at some of her past blog entries, it seems like she enjoys posting up funny or intriguing things.  Her “Dumb Smart People” post was a fun read and I was a bit surprised by the data she provided on her “I don’t get twitter” post.  Most of her post follow that pattern, although she does write about her self once in a while i.e. “Ten silly little things“.  Her initials apparently is P.M.S.  Now why couldn’t I have had something cool?  My initials just stands for air condition -_- .

Overall, her posts were quite enjoyable to read and she seems like a good person.  I’ll be waiting to see if those rumors she mentioned are true!

Prior to the DC Xanga meet up, I went on a four day trip to Williamsburg, VA. I went with some old friends from college and made a couple of new friends as well while down there. We stayed at a timeshare at the Powhattan resort, which was quite lovely. Most of the time was spend either in our timeshare or out around the resort. On the day before we left we also checked out a bumper cars place and Busch Gardens.

Overall, I have to admit the trip was just okay for me. I won’t put down everyone’s business, but I got pretty cranky and upset after a couple of friends woke me up the first night (which was the first night I’ve had in a while where I could actually sleep in) and when I told them to quiet down they not only got louder but they came up and took my bed!  After that, I just pretty much left them alone the rest of the trip and hung out with the other group of people.  I’m not mad anymore, although I was quite pissed off at the time.  Oh well, it’s whatever now.  Things happen.

Well, I don’t want to end this post with a downer, so let me present to you what happens when you go against me in water bumper cars!  Hint:  A lot of pwning hehehe.

 

 
*Puts on game face* Let’s do this!

The video is kind of long, so if you don’t wanna watch the whole thing you could just skip to the following highlights (includes annotation):

:43 Selene getting owned
:48 Both getting owned in a straight line (“DOUBLE KILL”)
1:47 Selene and I agree to start double teaming Chris (her BF btw)
2:10 Chris taking it
2:35 Chris taking it times two
3:00 “Ohh Chris is stuck in the corner!”
4:00 Chris double teamed again
4:40 “Right on the head! Right on the face!”
4:50 End game cheap shot hehe
5:50 Chris’ soggy aftermath
6:10 My happy strut for being the driest

Well, this has been the longest hiatus I’ve had from writing a post in a while. As you might have read previously, I’ve been quite busy this past week. So many events happen back to back that I haven’t really had much time to relax and chill. I almost didn’t have time tonight, but luckily I was able to get out of a match I was suppose to play. I’m just too mentally exhausted, but I’m sure one good night of sleep will fix that up. 

I’ll write about my Williamsburg trip later.  First, let me tell you all about the Xanga meet up in DC this past Saturday:

Well what can I say? It was pretty much what I expected and in a lot of ways even better. I’m so happy that the turnout this time around was more than double the last one (which I didn’t attend; oops!). I guess it helped that I brought some of my real life friends along who also happened to have Xangas. They tend to not update as much, but hopefully now they will start blogging some more.

As mentioned over at The ChershiresGrin recap post, we ate, chit chatted, and XTVed (you can check out archive footage over at CiaoBella810′s page) for about 4 hours over at a place called Bus Boys and Poets. Time went by surprisingly fast and we very well may have stayed in there longer had we not made prior arrangements to go over to the Spy Museum.

Random shots from lunch

Xanga Cupcakes made by the lovely Torri

That Spy Museum visit was extremely cool. We got to participate in a thing there where we became spies in a simulated spy mission. I was having a lot of fun getting into it, although I admit the lack of sleep from the night before was catching up to me about then (thanks a lot to shatterFocus’ late night XTV =P). I definitely recommend that museum if you ever visit DC. I may have to do it again, since apparently the ending of our mission changes depending on our actions.

After that, we decided to eat and hang out one last time before we all parted ways. By the time the thing ended it was around 7:30pm! We hung out much longer than expected, but I’m certainly not complaining. These were some seriously great folks that came up for this meet up and I’m happier knowing them now. You people that missed out this time around better make up for it next time! It’s not scary, I promise

I’m going to be pretty busy this coming week, so I probably won’t have time to make any real post updates until after next weekend. What will I be up to?

June 5-7: Family Stuff
I have family from Hong Kong and San Francisco staying over to watch my cousin graduate from high school. This will most likely be one of the last times his father will be able to see him unfortunately. He has cancer all over his body and only has a limited time left, so I hope he gets the most out of this visit.

My cousin will be moving to San Francisco sometime after he attends a court date (consequence from a big school prank he was a part of; long story). I will hopefully come along just to visit for a week, so get in touch with me San Francisco area Xangans! I sure would enjoy having people show me around.

June 8-12: Virginia Trip
Right after all my extended family leaves, I will be traveling down to Williamsburg, VA with some old friends from the Chinese Student Association. We’re staying at the Powhattan resort and plan on visiting nearby beaches, Busch Gardens, and whatever else that area has to offer. Anyone ever been there and have suggestions for things to do?

June 13: DC Xanga Meet
If you read my previous entry on this then you already know what’s going down. I still want some more people to go! You know it’ll be fun…

I will try to read, comment, and pulse on occasion during this upcoming week, though forgive me if all I can offer is my footprints. I’m thinking I may go do another XTV now that I have a brand new MacBook and access to a webcam. Should I do one sometime soon? If so, when? I’m free-ish to do it before this Sunday or after next Friday. It was a lot of fun doing it with strawberries_and_honey last time, but what should I do this time around? I’m open to suggestions.

Alright, talk to you all later,

Alex

This is actually the second DC meet up that CiaoBella810 and TheCheshireGrins have planned for Xangans to hang out.  I missed the first one and now “my life is in complete shambles” (as quoted in CiaoBella810′s entry).  I’m going to definitely try to make it this time around!

This is happening next Saturday, June 13th.  Apparently we will meet up for lunch starting at noon over at Bus Boys and Poets, followed by a trip to the Spy Museum around 5pm.  Sounds pretty cool huh?

I know some people might be nervous about these things, but trust me it’s fine.  I had my own little Xangan meet in Los Angeles and New York not too long ago and it was a lot of fun, so I’m excited for this one that’s closer to home.  There will be plenty of good memories!