Dec 27
It is now 134 hours before New Year for me in Vancouver. New year… new spirit… new plan… new clothes… new gadgets… what else?
It’s a good time to evaluate what we have done this year. Have we been good or bad? Have we achieved our new year resolution from last year? What can we do better next year? Blah… blah… blah…
Anyway, I had five new year’s resolutions; but have achieved two of them. How about the others? They are just gone with the wind. 
Anyway, what are my new new year’s resolutions this year?
- Secure my job for 2009.
Although I still have a job until today; I might be laid-off soon. Many projects in my current company have been cancelled. About 200 people have been laid-off in the last 3 months. Worse, their cash flow position is not looking good at all. This is going to be the first thing I need to do in January 2009. There is a high probability that I have to move from Vancouver… 
- Recover from my financial lost.
I wasn’t investing in Madoff fund or any other Ponzi schemes; but I have lost money significantly. I don’t have any Christmas present for myself this year. We have to postpone our Disney trip. It seems that we have to tighten our belt next year.
Let’s see whether I can achieve my new year’s resolutions next December.
Dec 21
We’ve been having heavy snow in Vancouver in the last couple of days. It is probably the heaviest snow I’ve ever experienced in Vancouver.
The weather forecast says that we’ll have another snow on Wednesday, which is one day before Christmas. It means… we may have a white Christmas in Vancouver this year….
I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the one I used to know
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow…
I and my wife took a chance going outside to take some pictures this afternoon. As you can see, the snow is really thick, isn’t it?
This one is a picture of playground in front of our house. I guess tomorrow kids will be playing snow here… playing snow ball, building snow man or just enjoy the snow.
The last picture is a lonely bike. Don’t know whose bike is this… we just found it in the middle of heavy snow.
Dec 16
(Picture is from stock.xchng.)
What are the frequently asked questions at job interview? Well, some of you may have heard questions like these:
- Tell me about yourself.
- What do you see yourself in 5 years from now (or 3 years from now)?
- What are your strengths/weaknesses?
- What is your biggest mistake in your career?
- How do you handle conflicts with your boss (or colleagues)?
- blah… blah… blah….
I have done more than ten jobs interviews this year alone. Many interviewers did not ask that kind of questions. Instead, they ask me to solve technical problems on a white board. Yes, I was applying for technical position; so white board interview seems to be a common way to select the candidates.
How does white board interview look like? One of the most famous white board interviews is from Microsoft. Check the video below to watch white board interview process at Microsoft:
