New Horizons Sighted

Yesterday was the Engineering Career Fair and the starting point on this new phase in my life. I got my resume shined up, my tie neatly tied, and I took the first few steps into the unknown. I must have taken more than a few steps since I found myself absolutely exhausted by the end of the day. Counting the resume I handed out at the CTL booth, I gave out 16 resumes and made contact with 18 prospective employers. Even if I only manage a 25% call-back rate, I should still be looking at 4 interested companies. I made some really great connections at some of the booths, and there were actually a couple times when I had to step out of the ballroom in order to frantically write notes on how to make employment at that firm possible. I was also scheduled for an interview already, which starts me at about 6%.

When I said, "Bring me that horizon," I had no idea what that kind of request could actually bring. I said that I got an interview...yeah, the interview was to work at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Definately a new horizon-- and a far one! The PHNSY is looking for civil engineers to serve as maintainence, repair, and materials inspectors for the submarines and other large ships docked on Base in Pearl Harbor. They wasted no time in scheduling my interview either, because it was this afternoon. The interview went very well, but I have mixed feelings about starting my engineering career in Hawaii. I still definately want to keep this as one of my options. I will have to wait about three weeks to see if I've been selected for the position. In that timeframe I hope to be getting a few more calls from other employers as well just to keep my options open. I would absolutely love "working in paradise" as they called it, but I wouldn't be expecting to see much of my friends or family. I think that would be the hardest part. Who knows? Maybe I would get visitors since they would be getting time to catch up AND a great island getaway!

At any rate, this was the ONLY engineering interview I could think of that I could answer the question, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" with "Relaxing on the beach in Oahu!"

Aloha!

All systems go for launch!

Tomorrow begins another chapter in my quest toward life after CSU. For the past 5 years I have been studying toward becoming a bona fide Civil Engineer, and now it's time to get to work on finding out where I can go from here. I'm going to iron my shirt, pick out a tie, and dust off my resume because tomorrow...is the Engineering Career Fair at CSU! Am I excited? Definitely! Am I nervous? You bet!

I have had an amazing experience working at my current internship with CTLThompson here in Fort Collins for the past three years. I have learned some things that couldn't have possibly been learned by sitting behind a desk in school, and I have created a great working relationship with the entire staff there. I would have to say that they have treated me very well. As far as future employment goes however, I would like to keep my options open. They have expressed a very big interest in bringing me on as full-time staff, but they can't make any commitment to me until they know they will have enough work. Chances are that they will hire me, but I need to know what else is out there.

This brings me to Plan B, and the reason for getting excited about the Career Fair tomorrow. I feel that there might be some other opportunities out there for a recent engineering grad with three years of experience, and I would kick myself if I didn't take the time to find out. I would love to stay in this area of Colorado (especially Fort Collins), but part of me is finding the same words used by Captain Jack Sparrow, "Now...bring me that horizon!"

As an engineer, I have to admit that I have expanded my options all the way down to Plan D. I could even have a Plan E if I wanted to look at options outside of engineering, but I don't plan on going that far down my list. As it stands, tomorrow is a day to pursue Plan B in the hopes that I will have some very big decisions to think and pray about over the next few months. What's over that horizon? I don't know, but I have set my course toward finding out!

Wish me luck!

The Days are Just Packed

What?! Nate has a blog? It's true, I've finally decided to dive into the world of blogging. The other night I couldn't sleep, which seems to be a fairly common occurance lately. I did almost everything I could think of in order to get some necessary REMs in before class in the morning, but it was no use. I listened to some nice music on Pandora, played solitare, read a little, and I even tried to lie in bed and do A LOT of mental math hoping that it would tire me out (it usually does during the day at least). None of these things worked so I decided to go through my email inbox and do some archiving (I know, mental math, archiving...I'm a total engineer). In my inbox I came across a link to a blog that my cousin started last year in order to track his progress toward completing a new health/fitness/self improvement goal each month. He encouraged all the family to join in with him, but I admit that I used the, "I don't really have the time" excuse and forgot about the email. A little over a year later, I have been inspired (thanks, Jason).

I signed up to follow the "30 Days Challenge" so I could at least use the archives from last year to start fresh this year. I should have known that in signing up to watch my cousin's blog I was asked by my computer if I wanted to start a blog of my own. Since I already keep a daily journal on my computer, I thought, "Why not? This could be fun!" I have some friends who have blogs, so it's about time I got with the times. Which brings me to...

"The Days are Just Packed" Isn't it glorious? I love Calvin and Hobbes (I have a cat named Calvin), so I thought that this would make an excellent title for my blog page. I lead a fairly busy life with school, work, band, church, the gym, etc. For me, the days are definately packed, but I've found that it's always nice to sit down and have a little bit of "reflection time" on what exactly they have been packed with. This blog is that reflection time, and I thought that it would be nice to share some if it with my friends and family (especially since some of us live pretty far away from each other).

Here's to "days that are just packed," in the hopes that they will be packed with good things!