I will not be coming to the fest...

[PQ]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

and on a completely unrelated side note...

a zebra just happened to swing by my house for a few hours yesterday as well.

What was 'A Zebra' driving?

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

as I said before, I'm currently unemployed... which sucks. point blank.

but since I did my 2 weeks for the reserves I was supposed to get a nice chunk of change for my service. well, I called the finance dept on the way back home thursday, because it had been the 14 days since my paperwork had been finished and I had still not received my paycheck....

they tell me that they can't process my pay because they never received a copy of my orders. so I email them a copy, then they tell me that apparently, someone has canceled my orders in the system and they can't process my pay information..... So I try calling the persons responsible for creating/modifying/canceling orders... and it just so happens that they are on vacation for the next week

so a few more phone calls and I finally get a hold of my pro super and chief and start getting things rolling with them (since I'm 4 hours away from the base and can't just walk in on my own). then I get an email this morning saying that they have figured out what went wrong and that they can process my pay, but it won't pay out for at least another week

and they can't advance it because it "has to process in the system" and all that jazz... so now I'm deciding which bills get paid for now....



enough with the bad news... now for some good.




As you all have read, I've been working on my A&P license. well, originally it was supposed to be a 13 day course and I would walk away with my license. unfortunately, the class drug its feet and I finished my 3 written exams, but had to do my 2 weeks military service and couldnt stay in town another week to do the oral and practical.

fast forward to Feb 7. get back in town and head to the school to find out when I'd be able to do my O&P exams. well, the instructor said he was trying to set a date to get me tested... so for the next few days I would come in and read thru the books again and again and again.

well, weekend goes by and he tells me that one of the new guys in class is going tuesday and wednesday to test. I ask him when I'm going to go. his reply "I'm gonna try and get you in by the end of the week"
I told him flat out "there is no try to get me in. I've already waited a week longer (actually 3 weeks if you count the 2 I was out of town) to test."
He asked me what I was doing for a job. I told him I was out of work, focusing solely on this course and told him that I was going home and he could call me when he figured something out cus I couldn't keep paying him $100.00/day to "review" when I could do that at home.

so tuesday afternoon I get a call.

John- "Hey, just wanted to let you know that my main examiner is going to finish up with Ralph (the other guy testing) and then he's going to examine one other guy from his class, then he's not taking anyone else on for another 2 weeks."

Me- "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I can't wait that long"

John- "its ok, I talked with one of my other examiners and he's agreed to take you starting wednesday."

Me- "Great, do I need to show up at class in the morning or do I head straight to the airport."

John- "You'll come in here first thing in the morning, its only about a 3 hour drive to Charleston."

Me- "Wait....wut? Charleston?"

John- "Yeah, my other examiner is down in Charleston"

Me- "Ok. Thanks, I'll see you in the morning."


so... last minute, I have to tell my wife that even tho I just got back into town from doing my reserve weekend (after already being gone for 2 weeks prior to that), that now I have to drive to Charleston first thing wed morning and I'm not sure when I'd be getting back home.


needless to say, she wasn't happy, but it was the only way to get this done.

So I headed out down to Charleston and spent most of the afternoon and evening Wednesday and all day Thursday finishing my oral and practical exams for my license before driving back home.


so now, in addition to being licensed thru the ATF as a pyrotechnician...



I am an officially Licensed A&P mechanic through the FAA.



Now, I'm job hunting like a madman and have been on the phone almost non-stop since friday setting up meetings and interviews. Just waiting on that next phone call.



still unconfirmed about fest attendance. got a couple "feelers" out there trying to figure out ways to make it work. But unless I get confirmation in the next week or two, chances are slim that I'll make it.

So you got the light bulb working?

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by midnighter

What he said

Thanks!

Originally Posted by CamaroSkooter

So, you can fix up a plane and then blow it up in stylish fashion?

I think you need to give Michael Bay a call

maybe... lol we need more than just 3 transformers live action movies anyway....

Originally Posted by badgebunny

WELL WOO HOO that you finally got everything taken care of! I know its stressful but it will be worth the pay out in the end! The test guy sounded like royal ding dong. I hope you find a job soon, cause the fest just wont be the same with out ya!



JEALOUS! I WISH I COULD SEE A ZEBRA! May swing by and see him on my way to Fl this summer.

the test guy was actually great, it was the instructor that dragged things out. that and the FAA not telling us that the approving official was out of town for a couple weeks and didnt sign my paperwork till tuesday afternoon....



and when are you heading down to FL? you might have to swing up a little north and see Spikette.

or go thru charleston during the 4th of July and watch my fireworks show

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by PQ

What was 'A Zebra' driving?

So you got the light bulb working?

a vette with purple turn signals....lol


and yeah... I got the light bulb working... and the starter as well....

THAT was embarrassing...lmao

[66olds442]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

I did my 2 weeks for the reserves I was supposed to get a nice chunk of change for my service. well, I called the finance dept on the way back home thursday, because it had been the 14 days since my paperwork had been finished and I had still not received my paycheck....

I feel your pain, PCS'd 5 December and STILL have not recieved anything other than Base pay from Finance. I believe I'm owed almost $4K ATM.

[PQ]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

a vette with purple turn signals....lol

Wow. What was he doing way up there? Did you drive it?

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by PQ

Wow. What was he doing way up there? Did you drive it?

Just drivin thru. Didn't drive it. Should have tho. Was pressed for time

[bossbunny]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

Thanks!

maybe... lol we need more than just 3 transformers live action movies anyway....

the test guy was actually great, it was the instructor that dragged things out. that and the FAA not telling us that the approving official was out of town for a couple weeks and didnt sign my paperwork till tuesday afternoon....

and when are you heading down to FL? you might have to swing up a little north and see Spikette.

or go thru charleston during the 4th of July and watch my fireworks show

Some time in May. We are going to Fort Walton! I will keep ya'll posted. May have to drive Daisy so I can get away if I need too without having to fight over cars. We will just have to see.

[zebra]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

and on a completely unrelated side note...

a zebra just happened to swing by my house for a few hours yesterday as well.

hey, man! thanks for having me - it was pretty fun
got any brownies left?

Originally Posted by badgebunny

...JEALOUS! I WISH I COULD SEE A ZEBRA! May swing by and see him on my way to Fl this summer.

Originally Posted by PQ

What was 'A Zebra' driving?

So you got the light bulb working?

yeah... i didn't have a set of tires to haul back like i planned, so i got to take the economy car

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

a vette with purple turn signals....lol...

so he's leaving the gas station as i'm coming off the interstate & we're on the phone, so he just sits in the center lane waiting on me - apparently expecting Penny. as i'm coming up on him, i say where i am & he's like "wait, i don't see your tru... oh, muther f*****!! you never said you were driving THAT"

oh, and you missed my LED halo tails

Originally Posted by PQ

Wow. What was he doing way up there? Did you drive it?

loooooooong story (and be vewwy, vewwy quiet... i wasn't exactly supposed to be there )

he never asked...

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

Just drivin thru. Didn't drive it. Should have tho. Was pressed for time

well, i know we woulda made it to the dealership in record time if you had
...actually, come to think of it, i really couldn't've afforded to potentially have any "incidents"

Originally Posted by badgebunny

Some time in May. We are going to Fort Walton! I will keep ya'll posted. May have to drive Daisy so I can get away if I need too without having to fight over cars. We will just have to see.

come on... Daisy'd love the weather down here

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by zebra

hey, man! thanks for having me - it was pretty fun
got any brownies left?

there were a couple left the next day.



so he's leaving the gas station as i'm coming off the interstate & we're on the phone, so he just sits in the center lane waiting on me - apparently expecting Penny. as i'm coming up on him, i say where i am & he's like "wait, i don't see your tru... oh, muther f*****!! you never said you were driving THAT"
lmao


what about when I turned on yellow and had to wait for you and Penny....

oh, and you missed my LED halo tails
yeah... guess you would've had to get in front of me for me to see them...

loooooooong story (and be vewwy, vewwy quiet... i wasn't exactly supposed to be there )

he never asked...
thought about it, but didn't want to intrude... figured if you wanted me to, you'd offer it.



well, i know we woulda made it to the dealership in record time if you had
...actually, come to think of it, i really couldn't've afforded to potentially have any "incidents"
potential "incidents" are a constant state of mind. and we would've been going fast enough that by the time the "incident" arose, it wouldnt be of concern.



come on... Daisy'd love the weather down here

.

[CamaroSpike23]

another update....(and since I'm lazy and dont want to retype everything out, I'm just going to copy everything from the mods section.)


got a call last week from a private airport in Columbia offering an aircraft mechanic job. went down for the interview last thursday morning (bout 100miles one way). they offered me the position in their jet engine aircraft hanger starting this week. and due to the fact that I live over 50 miles away from the shop, about 60% of my paycheck will be non-taxable per diem.

got back into town thurs afternoon and went straight to the drug lab to get a piss test done. finished that and the pre-employment forms and submitted them.

Everything was looking great (minus the daily drive to work every day).

then friday morning, I get a call back from the lead program manager for Caterpillar. She told me that the plant manager wanted to meet with me to discuss the job offer that I applied for a few weeks ago (that I haven't heard back from for nearly 3 weeks now ). so I go in and talk with the manager and he told me he had already reviewed a dozen or so resume's and personally interviewed 4 other people for the position and passed them all over because he was extremely picky and would rather wait to find the right person rather than hire the wrong one and have to deal with it later down the road.

so at that point, I felt that I going to be #5 to be passed over when he said, "I really like your gumption and charisma, and out of the other resume's and applicants, you are the best so far."

So we talked a little bit more and he told me he wants me to come back monday morning to meet with him again and with the lead program manager and the regional manager as well

this job has just about absolutely nothing to do with my A&P license. the position is for a Marine Engine Service Warranty Engineer and basically, this job is nearly the exact same thing I do for the Air Force, only instead of $238M aircraft, its multimillion $$ marine diesel engines.

All that being said, the Cat position is paying about $7.00/hr more than the mechanic position is and its just over a mile from my house.


The downside to all this is that I was supposed to start the mechanic job on wednesday this week. and the airport called me friday afternoon to tell me that my drug test and background check came back early and if I wanted to, I could start as early as tuesday. I told them to hold off and we'd stay with wednesday. I feel bad that if this Cat job works out, I'm going to have to pass up the mechanic job after touring their facility and accepting the position. The good thing is that I havent started yet so I'm not really quitting, but I still feel bad about the situation. But with Emily getting more pregnant and less mobile as the days go by, having to drive an hour or two each way for work would really be stressful for both of us, esp once the baby gets here cus Emily will have to take the baby to the babysitter and pick her up because I'll be leaving for work at 530-600 and wont be home till 630-7 at night. :(



fast forward to monday this week...

Alrighty... just got back from the face to face interview. spent a little over an hour discussing my criteria and whatnot. he asked at one point what I could tell him to prove that I wasn't going to take this job for a couple months then up and leave on him.
I told him that flat out, this was the best job offer hands-down that I have had and coupled with the proximity to my house and the salary, it would be perfect for a long term commitment. then I made the comment that I wasn't there for a job, to which he looked at me with a puzzled look and asked what I meant by that. I told him simply,

"I'm not here for a job, I'm here for a career."




talk about mother Fing brownie points!!!: headbang:


that lit his eyes up for sure.



so as it sits right now, I'm waiting for an email/phone call from his boss (who is currently in Australia on business) to say yes or no on the position. He likes me, the program director likes me for the job, just waiting on the top dog to make the decision. And they've been trying to fill this position for quite some time now apparently so everyone keep your fingers crossed.

Now I've got to call the Airport job people and tell them that I can't start until monday (just in case). cus I dont want to have to wait till tonight or tomorrow evening to call them and say that I wont be coming in to work on wednesday (or at all if this all works out).


Fast forward to yesterday.....at 4:50pm


so its about ten till 5. still haven't heard from the program director yet after the interview. I called him yesterday and left a message and tried calling again today. then I called the logistics coordinator who first set me up with this position, no answer.... go figure. last time it took me nearly 3 weeks to hear back from her.



so as it sits... still waiting. looking towards my drive to Columbia on monday....:(




then... at 4:58....

Just got off the phone with the logistics coordinator.....





I'm going in tomorrow for a "formality interview" with the logisitics side president. He just got back from australia this morning and wants to meet with me in person to formally offer me the job!!!!!!!!!!!!




fast forward to today...


so... got back from the interview... everyone was really bland when it came to talking about start dates and what not. didn't actually get an offer from the president or the manager, or the program lead, or the logistics coordinator.....



so I called the recruiter program manager who has been working me thru all this. no answer so I left her a message.







then about half an hour later she calls me back to say she hasn't heard from the pres yet and that its still undecided. talked to her for about 20 min discussing the potential benefits and what not. then I got off the phone, slightly disappointed.






















then less than a minute later, she calls me back so say she just got the confirmation email from the pres saying they want to offer me the position!!!!!!


So now the only thing I'm waiting on is the "offer letter" from them to sign and fill out. they have to send me a whole packet of information to fill out plus they have to order new personal equipment for me. only downside is that it will take a week or so to get the equipment in. in the mean time, I can do my drug test, background check and all that jazz.

[CamaroSpike23]

another update... just got the offer letter in my email!!! now I'm just waiting till my package comes in the mail!!! and I had to call the mechanic job and let them know I wasn't going to be able to take the position on monday....ooh boy was that woman pissed. lol she apparently couldnt comprehend why I would take a job that is within 2 miles (as opposed to nearly 100miles) of my house and pays $7.00/hr MORE.

[GTAHVIT]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

another update... just got the offer letter in my email!!! now I'm just waiting till my package comes in the mail!!! and I had to call the mechanic job and let them know I wasn't going to be able to take the position on monday....ooh boy was that woman pissed. lol she apparently couldnt comprehend why I would take a job that is within 2 miles (as opposed to nearly 100miles) of my house and pays $7.00/hr MORE.

She'll be fine... LMAO

[PoorMansCamaro]

tl;dr

are you coming? lol

[Zabo]

Noice! I had no eff'n idea you had been going for an A&P dude! Hows the market looking as far as jobs go? O&P a bear or no?

Now time for you to pile away some cash for that SS/ZL1/Spike Special.