So, I’ll start with my Interview first as I spent a lot less time at the Interview, and I have a feeling more of you are interested in how that went than my visit with my family.

Interview

I drove from Kingston to Brockville for my interview, and when I arrived, I was sat in a boardroom and two executives began discussing all their IT needs with me. Currently they contract out all of their IT needs to various departments. Everything from printer cables, websites and marketing online are all given to outside firms to deal with, and while they don’t see themselves getting rid of any of those companies, someone internally could reduce the work they need to outsource, and allow them to being to plan for the future.

Very little was asked about my previous work experience and at the end of the meeting, it seemed like everyone was pretty positive about me joining the company and helping them with their various IT needs. I would, in a sense, be their one man IT department. Of course now they have to go back and double check that it makes business sense as it is not a small investment to bring aboard a new person in a company, and despite being good at a little bit of everything, even my skills aren’t all encompassing and as such, I would only be able to handle a percentage of their overall needs.

They let me know I should hear something back in a week or so, and so now I wait.

This means that if they decide to hire me, and the financial incentive is there, that I could be moving to Brockville by the middle of October. While this definitely changes my plans for a Christmas vacation, I am fairly excited about the potential of this all.

I am also very nervous about the opportunity as well. Moving again isn’t fun, and I’ve grown comfortable in my current job. Also, the variety of their needs is almost overwhelming: marketing, design, coding, server management, help desk, general IT needs, IT planning, and more. Every day could be different, and while that’s exciting, I worry it is beyond my skills.

I’ve always tried to stay a generalist, taking time to learn a little bit of everything, but the numerous tasks they are looking for me to fill is almost innumerable. I have to admit though, as I get further in my career, it is only becoming harder to find jobs that will allow me the variety that I enjoy. It could be the opportunity I’ve always been looking for, but I definitely don’t want to let anyone down. I was basically introduced to this company through a friend, and I would hate to make her judgement look poorly based on the limitations of my experience and expertise.

Side note: I didn’t get to see Danielle.

Visiting Family

I really hate driving, and going through Toronto, and spending five hours after work to drive there, and nearly six to get back was just brutal for me. I wouldn’t want to do that commute very often. It was nice to see everyone though. I really enjoyed being in Kingston, and felt like I was back home. It is a feeling I rarely get. The only other time in recent history I’ve felt like that was when I went to Ottawa after visiting Barry. I really feel like I belong in either Kingston or Ottawa. Hopefully, if I move to Brockville, I’ll also feel that way, as I’ll be able to constantly visit family and friends in either Kingston or Ottawa.

I keep thinking people are going to stay the way I remember them, and I guess that’s in part because I don’t see them very often. I saw Ben, my nephew, and he’s grown quite a bit since I last saw him. Same with my cousins.

It was really nice to see everyone, and despite the normal level of drama, it was a good visit. I didn’t get to see enough of my cousin Mark, which was a disappointment, but I’ll see him at Christmas. Also, my aunt was great and treated me both to supper and breakfast while I was there which definitely helped out after having paid over one hundred dollars in gas for the trip.

The trip also reminded me how much I miss my brother. While he and I didn’t always hang around each other as we got older, I just always assumed we’d be near each other and help each other out. I guess I just took him for granted. I’m glad he was able to come over to my mom’s place and we got to chat a bit. I’ll never get over the fact that he smokes though.