OGC Update
Okay, status update on whether I'm making it to OGC this year:
Still questionable.
Finances are draining pretty much about how I expected them to. The upside about all the changes I made last year in response to the diabetes is that my food costs are actually lower now as I'm eating and drinking less. (Yay!)
That said... if nothing changes in the immediate future, I will probably not be attending OGC. The car can get down there no problem and gas isn't bad on this car either (FAR better than the Taurus did), but the hotel costs will be beyond the budget. There's also the matter of that if nothing changes, I may be in the process of packing up to move home temporarily at that point in time.
Now, that said: I'm guardedly optimistic right now. In the last 7 days, I had 3 interviews. One of them is probably going to fall through and not give me a third interview or job offer. The second was yesterday and I've already had the call back for the 2nd interview this Friday. The third also escalated to a 2nd interview on Thursday. And I put in an app this morning that has already had the 1st (phone) interview scheduled for Tuesday. The Friday one is the one I'm most optimistic about -- I think the interview went very well and it seems like a good place to fit -- similar to my last job, but with more realistic expectations, and a lot of what I've learned in both IT and service in general will come in handy.
So let's put it down as this: If I have a job offer by next week, I'll be at OGC. Whether or not I'll be able to attend the Friday afternoon sessions is up in the air -- it'll largely depend on whether or not I can get them to agree to a day off that day or not. But it'll have me in good enough of a financial situation that I'd feel comfortable with a hotel room.
If I don't have an offer between then and the end of the month... the hotel is a bit more questionable, but I'd probably at least swing attending one day (probably Sunday so I could do the after-party).
If I'm still unemployed by the end of the month... again, could possibly make one day, but only if I've got a potential job in the pipe. Again, it's mostly because I'll be starting to pack things up in prep to move.
Finally, all of the above assumes a job that wouldn't require me to relocate. One of the jobs in the pipe is in the Greater Boston Area. There's no way I can do a 2-3 hour commute every day, nor can I currently afford both my place and a short-term stay place... so if any of the above jobs require relocation in a timely manner, it'll likely mean I'll miss OGC.
So there's where my OGC attendance this year stands.
Still questionable.
Finances are draining pretty much about how I expected them to. The upside about all the changes I made last year in response to the diabetes is that my food costs are actually lower now as I'm eating and drinking less. (Yay!)
That said... if nothing changes in the immediate future, I will probably not be attending OGC. The car can get down there no problem and gas isn't bad on this car either (FAR better than the Taurus did), but the hotel costs will be beyond the budget. There's also the matter of that if nothing changes, I may be in the process of packing up to move home temporarily at that point in time.
Now, that said: I'm guardedly optimistic right now. In the last 7 days, I had 3 interviews. One of them is probably going to fall through and not give me a third interview or job offer. The second was yesterday and I've already had the call back for the 2nd interview this Friday. The third also escalated to a 2nd interview on Thursday. And I put in an app this morning that has already had the 1st (phone) interview scheduled for Tuesday. The Friday one is the one I'm most optimistic about -- I think the interview went very well and it seems like a good place to fit -- similar to my last job, but with more realistic expectations, and a lot of what I've learned in both IT and service in general will come in handy.
So let's put it down as this: If I have a job offer by next week, I'll be at OGC. Whether or not I'll be able to attend the Friday afternoon sessions is up in the air -- it'll largely depend on whether or not I can get them to agree to a day off that day or not. But it'll have me in good enough of a financial situation that I'd feel comfortable with a hotel room.
If I don't have an offer between then and the end of the month... the hotel is a bit more questionable, but I'd probably at least swing attending one day (probably Sunday so I could do the after-party).
If I'm still unemployed by the end of the month... again, could possibly make one day, but only if I've got a potential job in the pipe. Again, it's mostly because I'll be starting to pack things up in prep to move.
Finally, all of the above assumes a job that wouldn't require me to relocate. One of the jobs in the pipe is in the Greater Boston Area. There's no way I can do a 2-3 hour commute every day, nor can I currently afford both my place and a short-term stay place... so if any of the above jobs require relocation in a timely manner, it'll likely mean I'll miss OGC.
So there's where my OGC attendance this year stands.