going home + interviews + [kinda] POWER METAL!
i'm going home for thanksgiving tomorrow. i think i've got my time mapped out pretty good. i've got an interview at 10:15am with the canada border services agency. it's supposed to be half an hour long, and hopefully they stick to schedule. i then catch the 11:08am bus back to my place for 11:30am, change out of my suit and grab my bags, kiss my computer goodbye and catch the 11:45am bus, connect to another one 5 minutes later and then i'm at the bus station nice and early.
as i mentioned, i've got an interview tomorrow morning. i dont know what the canada border services agency is about, but according to wikipedia, it was formed as a result of 9/11. I get the feeling they're going to look at my name and go "NEXT!" -- that being said, maybe i should've grown my beard out for this one. haha. all jokes aside, it sounds like a really cool job. here's part of the job description:
Under the supervision of a Research Scientist or Project Technologist, the student will participate in various projects for the detection of contraband using an ion mobility spectrometer (IMS), a gas chromatograph equipped with a mass spectrometer detector (GC-MSD) and a GC-IMS. The student will work on the development of methods for the detection of narcotics and explosives. The results of the analyses will be used to recommend modifications to instruments which will be eventually used at points of entry into Canada. The student will also be involved in the preparation of pseudo-narcotics for the canine training program and in acceptance tests of various pieces of equipment
I don't know about you but i think scanning for contraband with analytical equipment sounds really neat. barring racial prejudice i think i've got a fair chance at getting this job, since i've got experience with gas chromatography and lab etiquette. it also mentions being good with MS Word and MS Excel would be advantageous.
we'll see what happens, it really depends on how hard the questions they ask me are.
speaking of co-op, those douchebags magically made one of my frigging interviews disappear again. sigh. incompetent and worthless are two words that come to mind. they ask for feedback all the time during those time-wasting workshops, but they only want feedback about the workshops and not how badly the fuck everything else up.
teh musicz!
i've been listening to a lot of power metal lately. mostly Kamelot and Masterplan, like i mentioned a few posts ago. here are some choice songs that i think people should at least give a shot. i know two people who aren't (or rather, weren't) fans of metal but like power metal. so, who knows, maybe you will too. anyway, these aren't really powermetal in the traditional sense but they're closer to that than anything else. i dont care much for genrizing descriptions anyhow so whatever, let your ears be the judge. blah!
Masterplan
the songs i'm linking here are all from the same album, when Jorn Lande was their vocalist. he's responsible for one of my most favourite songs ever under his own name.. but i digress.
Sail On - time for a change before your life just falls apart - anneka likes this song. need i say more?
Enlighten Me - enlighten me, i want to see how this could be the end of reason - like i said in an earlier post, this is one of my current favorites (although i'm getting to the overplayed-song stage, it still r t3h r0x)
Crystal Night - you can't rule mankind - this song is about how much nazis suck. it's well-written and is one of my alltime favourite songs, but perhaps that's because i first heard it while i was playing day of defeat. i've had it for a few years now, and i'm still not sick of it.
Soulburn - and the world is like a shining diamond, the way it glitters if you polish it right - the thing i like most about this song is the evolving chorus. and perhaps the sad/optimistic tone of it all. hard to explain?
Kamelot
Kamelot is weird, because power metal is all about leather pants, unicorns and long hair. but the lead singer has short hair! totally threw me off when i first saw a picture of them... surprisingly, and completely orthogonal to my beliefs, having short hair doens't impair his voice D:!!11 (LAWL!)
Wander - sing that song from long ago so i remember you - this song is nostalgic. it's SLOW/SOFT and nowhere near what some people would consider "metal". i've been listening to this song while going to sleep for the past week or so. listen to it, you ignorant bastards.
Karma - and now I know, I reap the seeds i've sown - the first Kamelot song i ever heard a few years ago. it's really very very good, good enough for me to be recommending it even 3 years later. and as you can tell it left it a pretty good first impression ^_^ that goes for Wander, too...
The Haunting (Somewhere In Time) - Somewhere in time i will find you and haunt you again, like the wind sweeps the earth - I only got this song last night, but i saw the music video a few days ago and the song got stuck in my head. this features Simone Simons, a very attractive redhead from the band Epica (who, incidentally, are named after the Kamelot album with Wander on it..). I really like this one.
March of Mephisto - Wailing for your sorrow is only my way to comfort you - another song i only got last night, same album as The Haunting. this one opens the album, and it's pretty good. this man can really sing, he does some pretty complicated vocal trills on this song, if you will.
anyway i know nobody's going to download this crap but i felt the need to link it all anyway. enjoy if you grab something.. and happy thanksgiving folks.
as i mentioned, i've got an interview tomorrow morning. i dont know what the canada border services agency is about, but according to wikipedia, it was formed as a result of 9/11. I get the feeling they're going to look at my name and go "NEXT!" -- that being said, maybe i should've grown my beard out for this one. haha. all jokes aside, it sounds like a really cool job. here's part of the job description:
Under the supervision of a Research Scientist or Project Technologist, the student will participate in various projects for the detection of contraband using an ion mobility spectrometer (IMS), a gas chromatograph equipped with a mass spectrometer detector (GC-MSD) and a GC-IMS. The student will work on the development of methods for the detection of narcotics and explosives. The results of the analyses will be used to recommend modifications to instruments which will be eventually used at points of entry into Canada. The student will also be involved in the preparation of pseudo-narcotics for the canine training program and in acceptance tests of various pieces of equipment
I don't know about you but i think scanning for contraband with analytical equipment sounds really neat. barring racial prejudice i think i've got a fair chance at getting this job, since i've got experience with gas chromatography and lab etiquette. it also mentions being good with MS Word and MS Excel would be advantageous.
we'll see what happens, it really depends on how hard the questions they ask me are.
speaking of co-op, those douchebags magically made one of my frigging interviews disappear again. sigh. incompetent and worthless are two words that come to mind. they ask for feedback all the time during those time-wasting workshops, but they only want feedback about the workshops and not how badly the fuck everything else up.
teh musicz!
i've been listening to a lot of power metal lately. mostly Kamelot and Masterplan, like i mentioned a few posts ago. here are some choice songs that i think people should at least give a shot. i know two people who aren't (or rather, weren't) fans of metal but like power metal. so, who knows, maybe you will too. anyway, these aren't really powermetal in the traditional sense but they're closer to that than anything else. i dont care much for genrizing descriptions anyhow so whatever, let your ears be the judge. blah!
Masterplan
the songs i'm linking here are all from the same album, when Jorn Lande was their vocalist. he's responsible for one of my most favourite songs ever under his own name.. but i digress.
Sail On - time for a change before your life just falls apart - anneka likes this song. need i say more?
Enlighten Me - enlighten me, i want to see how this could be the end of reason - like i said in an earlier post, this is one of my current favorites (although i'm getting to the overplayed-song stage, it still r t3h r0x)
Crystal Night - you can't rule mankind - this song is about how much nazis suck. it's well-written and is one of my alltime favourite songs, but perhaps that's because i first heard it while i was playing day of defeat. i've had it for a few years now, and i'm still not sick of it.
Soulburn - and the world is like a shining diamond, the way it glitters if you polish it right - the thing i like most about this song is the evolving chorus. and perhaps the sad/optimistic tone of it all. hard to explain?
Kamelot
Kamelot is weird, because power metal is all about leather pants, unicorns and long hair. but the lead singer has short hair! totally threw me off when i first saw a picture of them... surprisingly, and completely orthogonal to my beliefs, having short hair doens't impair his voice D:!!11 (LAWL!)
Wander - sing that song from long ago so i remember you - this song is nostalgic. it's SLOW/SOFT and nowhere near what some people would consider "metal". i've been listening to this song while going to sleep for the past week or so. listen to it, you ignorant bastards.
Karma - and now I know, I reap the seeds i've sown - the first Kamelot song i ever heard a few years ago. it's really very very good, good enough for me to be recommending it even 3 years later. and as you can tell it left it a pretty good first impression ^_^ that goes for Wander, too...
The Haunting (Somewhere In Time) - Somewhere in time i will find you and haunt you again, like the wind sweeps the earth - I only got this song last night, but i saw the music video a few days ago and the song got stuck in my head. this features Simone Simons, a very attractive redhead from the band Epica (who, incidentally, are named after the Kamelot album with Wander on it..). I really like this one.
March of Mephisto - Wailing for your sorrow is only my way to comfort you - another song i only got last night, same album as The Haunting. this one opens the album, and it's pretty good. this man can really sing, he does some pretty complicated vocal trills on this song, if you will.
anyway i know nobody's going to download this crap but i felt the need to link it all anyway. enjoy if you grab something.. and happy thanksgiving folks.