Today was UMBC’s Career Fair. It was brutal, but I think my overall experience was positive. And I only say brutal in that there was a lot to see and do—I didn’t think it was gong to be that intense.

Yesterday, I actually went to the Career Center on campus and had them do a critique of my resume. I am REALLY glad I did it. I wasn’t all that confident in my resume to begin with and I had no idea how to build on it; but they really did have some positive stuff to say about it. The biggest help though was their resume writing page on their site, especially the workshop. My old resume looks so dinky compared to the monster that I have now. hehehe. But I think the best thing I really got out of it was creating my objective. When they helped me come up with one, it really stuck with me and I focused on that throughout my day at the fair.

So back to today. With my new and improved resume, wearing my traditional business attire (blue shirt, tie, black slacks), I was psyched and confident to hit the career fair; and that mood stuck with me throughout the whole time. How were the companies? Actually, to my surprise, the big ones that I initially were interested in didn’t give me the impression that they were really actively looking for new employees. It was the smaller, local ones that really won me over. It’s because they had this passion in their voices when they talked about their company… and they showed more intense, sincere interest in me.

An interesting, but positive, reaction that I got a lot was when I answered when my ‘expected date of graduation’ was. Right when I said that I finished last year, they had this surprised look on their faces: a little bit of that “wow I didn’t expect to see someone like you” mixed in with “oooh I’m really glad to see someone like you” look.

Another cool thing about the fair was the free stuff! A lot of the companies had giveaways, I guess to attract people to their booths. Let’s go through the haul: 7 pens, stress ball, foldable frisbee thing, 2 key lanyards, sudoku video game keychain, ruler with built-in calculator, mini desk light, mini binoculars, mousepad, cap, bag, and assorted mints and candies. I later found out that Xerox was actually handing out USB drives… dammit! lol I regret not just hitting every booth, no matter what field they were in, and just grabbed the free stuff. I was just so tired, but I also had ran out of resumes to give out. So, to those reading this and going to job fairs: bring LOTS AND LOTS of resumes! I mean it!

I am REALLY REALLY REALLY hoping to hear from some of the companies that said they were going to contact me this weak. And I hope I can get some interviews lined up by next week. I have been getting more and more excited about taking time to do traveling now that I have the time and money.

Okay, so for future reference (hopefully not for me, but maybe as tips for others):

• Bring a LOT of resumes. You should be able to obtain a list of the companies attending, so make sure to print at least 50-75% the number. You just never know what you will find there! And make sure to have it critiqued by someone.
• Bring a backpack or messenger bag. Something to carry the free stuff!
• Bring a folder to hold all the fliers, papers, and cards you will be collecting.
• Here’s something I didn’t do, but I REALLY wish I did: right after you talk to one of the company reps, whip out a notebook, write down the name of the company and what follow-up actions you need to do. I am confident that most of the people I talked to will be contacting me, but a couple had wanted me to look at their site and apply online rather than them taking the resume I gave them and using that to match me to something they might have. Kind of a pain.
• Bring a friend. I was lucky enough to have one come with me who helped keep me positive throughout the whole thing.
• Don’t be skeptical of a particular company because it might not particularly be in the field that you are interested in… you just never know what they have to offer. My case in point: a bank was represented there that happens to be the bank that bought out the bank I work for (and now the reason I’m looking for a new job). I just felt like stopping by there to see what they had, and surprise, surprise… the rep there remembered me! He actually worked for the Shriver Center and helped me get my internship that eventually landed me my first job. But that wasn’t all! He was actually there to recruit for a software engineering position! In Maryland! Seriously, I thought all technical jobs were going to be housed at their main office in Pennsylvania, but geez, this was a big surprise to me. So give all the companies a chance!

The career fair was a LOT of fun! Who knows, I might actually do it again next year, even if I do have a job then. It’s free and it never hurts to see if there’s something better out there…

So… College. The time to be free and independent. I miss the community, the socialization. I miss a lot of things about living on campus, living among my peers and away from the family. I love my family, but at some point in one’s life, you just have to be out on your own. But now? I’ve graduated. I’m in that transition mode of moving back home to trying to find the next step in life. Sitting here, thinking about it, I recall a lot of things I long for in the days passed.

I do NOT miss the late night papers and cramming. I do miss the classrooms, oddly enough. Sitting in the lecture hall, learning new ideas and interacting with the professors. I found out that one can easily adore or loathe university instructors and professors. It all depends on their teaching style and your attitude towards learning. The ones that I enjoyed the most were the ones really enthusiastic about their subjects, making a real effort to show you why you should be learning what they are teaching. The ones that I pretty much hated were the ones that just gave long, boring lectures and expected you to learn everything on your own by reading the expensive textbooks. Their cold hearts would then give you impossible exams that you have no hope of passing unless you are a certified genius.

I miss my gym classes. I felt a sense of accomplishment after lifting weights and running on the treadmills. I’ve gotten lazier now that I have work 8 hours a day; I’m even less motivated to go to the local gym. I guess the sense of being graded on effort drove me to go. I’m thinking about investing in a bench press and perhaps a stationary cycle. Before, I could just walk to the RAC and work out. Now, I need to drive out to a gym… even pay fees for right to go (money wasted if I decided to pay for membership, and then end up being lazy and not even go). I think I also miss having a weight lifting partner or someone to help rouse me…

I miss the walks to class. While it may seem tedious to some, I enjoyed the trip as I made my way through campus, watching the other students and observing the activities around me. We had a pretty diverse community… however, I always found it odd that most people tended to crowd around people of similar ethnicities. The Commons would always have groups of asians or blacks or whites. I have never, ever found myself befriending a large group of just asians. I guess it must have been a big observation for me because ever since grade school, I was usually the only asian kid in the class. Meh, it never really bothered me and no one ever made it a problem. Sometimes I felt a little like an outcast, but I guess I learned to deal with it. College presented me the opportunity to socialize more with asians, but I felt a little intimidated. Would I have fit in with them? I would ask myself. After graduating, I find that those thoughts were ridiculous… those times should have been over with after high school.

I miss the parties; gatherings with beer pong and comradery. I had never drank alcohol or beer before coming to college. I remember getting really drunk my first time; I was really glad to have good friends to share the experience with. The nights of mayhem at the apartment, the late nights at bars in Baltimore… these times were the most fun since I learned how to cut loose and socialize more. I fancied myself a geek throughout high school, so partying and drinking for me was such a wake up call.

Since graduation, distance makes it difficult to get people together. I miss my friends. We keep in contact. We still hang out from time to time. We just don’t do it as much anymore. I miss how we would see each other everyday, hang out, and just enjoy each other’s company. Sometimes we would just go out for a bite to eat, or catch a movie at the theater, or even just stay in and play video games. Most of the time now we communicate through instant messaging or phone calls. I guess one can look at it this way: now when we do get together, it’s even a bigger cause for celebration. Like we party even harder to make up for the time we’ve been missing. The latest excursion on my birthday being one of the best, if not THE best, in recent memory. I promised myself to make more efforts to party with my friends.

College is done now. I am always telling myself that I’ll go back eventually for my Master’s. I know I want to. Right now, I just need a break from all the exams, papers, and projects. All the other aspects of college that I yearn for seem to be slowly fading away each new day. I have new responsibilities, goals, and activities to focus on: a career in need of development, saving for retirement, a renewed interest in eating healthy and exercising, finding my own place to live in, my newfound love for drinking and dancing at clubs and lounges, closely managing my finances and expenditures, a growing wanderlust for new and exotic places, paying off my student loans, seeking that special relationship with that special someone…

My life has to continue, I guess. I wonder what new experiences await us in the coming years…

I installed a pre-made picture gallery script. It’s way more robust than the one that I had made up. I added a crap load of pics. Give em a browse.

In the news that is my life, the past month and a half has been a bit crazy. I finished up all my classes at UMBC. Now I work full time at where I had my internship. Nice benefits in addition to my much beloved salary. I moved back to Annapolis with my family. I’m starting to look around Annapolis for a house as soon as I get some savings. I’m aiming to have a house by January at the latest. This past weekend my car got hosed as soon as I arrived in Delware to help my cousin move. It’s at the mechanics now after it got towed back to Maryland, and it looks like it had a leak in its transmission… I hope it’s not too serious and I can keep it. I love my car! Everyone at Delaware kept telling me to get a new one, but I’m trying to keep mine…

For those who don’t know: I gave up and finally got a damn MySpace account. Fuck. I couldn’t help it. There’s a lot of good bands and musicians on there! I have family and friends on there too, so it’s nice to keep in touch with them.

Also this past weekend I went to the Baltimore Comicon. Wasn’t as fun as the past ones, but it might be because I went on Sunday rather than Saturday. I didn’t get any sketches since many artists were already full with work, but I got a nice load of prints… It’s a good thing pay day is coming up, some of these prints and sketchbooks are getting expensive!

That’s all I can think to write up right now. I gots the work in the morning, so I should get to bed. No more late night binge drinking for this guy! Jk!

Last Class Ever (Hopefully): Thursday, August 17, 2006; 2:30pm-4:05pm

Move Out Date: Friday, August 18, 2006

UMBC Commencement Date: Tuesday, December 21, 2006; 10 A.M.

For those who care, I’ve redone the pictures section. I’ve made use of my databases this time to give the thing some sort of organization. I coded the whole thing myself in php. I’ve added a whole bunch of pics in there, so go ahead and take a gander.

That’s pretty much it.

What lead me to having to take 4 summer classes? Well, I have to take PHYS 122 and CMSC 441 over. PHYS 122 is pretty hard if you don’t study. I had a D last time because I didn’t really study hard enough, but I should be fine the second time around. For CMSC 441, I had a HARD teacher. His exams and homework/quizzes were hard as hell. My friend’s teacher had a really easy one (as I saw from his exams) and I’m taking him this summer.

The other two classes are AMST 320 and CMSC 491B. I need AMST 320 for the required 45 Credits of upper-level courses numbered at the 300 or 400 level. CMSC 491B is for a required CMSC three-credit CMSC 400-level course.

I’ll still be interning at the bank in the summer. Hopefully I can focus on studying so I can finish school and move on.

Also, since I’m taking summer classes, I’ll be living on campus. And I applied for transitional housing, so I was able to stay in the apartment until I have to check in at the summer place. It’s kinda lonely by myself, but it sucks even more since my roommates left me to clean the whole place by myself. They helped a little but not much. I have to clean out the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and hall in addition to my own room. I have to vacuum the whole place, clean and wash the damn fridge, and wash and clean the shower and toilet. They left a hell of a lot of trash. I just took most of it out this morning. I guess I’ll feel better later when I leave… I’m going to leave some trash in one of their rooms and maybe they’ll get charged. What trash? Maybe a lot of my leftover PORN magazines. I wonder who it will be…

• It was Hawaiian themed… so we got to see some chicks in bikinis.
• Travis had to open a gift that Mike wrapped himself… with about 4 rolls of duct tape.
• Some girls were oggling a magazine we had in the bathroom… our really bad porn magazine.
• Matt had a wild time… here’s a brief look:

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Other stuff happened, but I’ll leave that to those who were there.

Later.

I think it really speaks about me, don’t you?