So, I went to the interview in Pittsburgh.  Had a lot of flight issues and ended up spending about 6 hours at Detroit Metro.  I finally made it to Pittsburgh at about 11:30 and to the hotel at 12:30.  There was a message waiting for me that somebody would be there to pick me up at 6:55.  So, after about 4.5 hours of sleep I got up and dressed and went with the Bettis rep to Bob Evans for breakfast, then on to the lab.

At the security gate was a nice security officer with the Department of Energy holding an M16 (yes, really).  We then went on to the security office to check me in and have my bag searched, then to HR.  They got all my application info then I was office to another security office to be finger printed.

With all the security stuff done, they explained what they could of the position.  A big part of the position is classified, and requires Top Secret security clearance.  It will take 2-4 weeks to make a decision, then 2-6 months to get clearance (“We are they government, we go kind of slow”).  I was also told that they don’t actually do manufacturing on site, it’s contracted out, and the job would be largely engineering support to the contractor.

Through the day, I interviewed with 3 or 4 people, the final two taking me to lunch.  Hearing about all the advanced stuff they do and who they have (2000 engineers, several hundred Ph.D.s), I feel a little under-qualified, but know I could do it.  It sounds really exciting, and am crossing my fingers.  Should know in a couple weeks.

So, after all that, I got home about 9:30 Thursday night.  Friday afternoon, it was back on the road up to Alpena for Jenn’s shower.  We stopped in Atlanta to see the florist and go over a few things, then went out to eat with Jenn’s parents.  Saturday morning Jenn had a dress fitting and we went to the farmer’s market.  The shower was a couple hours later.  My Dad and Grandma made it up, so I went and drove around town with my Dad while the ladies did their thing. After a bit of driving, we went to Jenn’s parent’s house and my Dad met her Dad, then Jenn called and told us to come to the hall and eat the leftovers, so we all headed there.  After about another hour, they headed home and we packed up all the gifts.  We hung out at Jenn’s parents for a few hours, then went looking for a hotel near Lewiston.  Unfortunately, there was a wedding and a softball game in town, so all the rooms in town were booked and the nearest we could find was in Gaylord.  Sunday morning we went to mass and to meet with the priest who will perform our wedding ceremony.  He seems pretty fun, and an OK guy.  After that, we finally headed home.

Monday wasn’t much.  Tuesday we were offered to lease our apartment until Dec 31, which is longer that what we were hoping for, but better than May, so we signed.  I better have a job by then.  Hell, I think I have to at least have part time by my birthday if we want to stay afloat.

That about covers it all.  Will let you know if I hear anything.

nick