Once again, I've failed to maintain some sort of routine in writing here. Often, I think of great things I want to write about, but alas life comes into the way and it just doesn't happen. I apologize for that.
We're finally pulling our life together and getting settled in our house. No puppy yet, but it's on the list. It's quite a feat trying to shop. Being the wife of a purchasing manager can be tedious. Yes, a woman complaining about a husband who loves to... lives to... shop, and shop, and shop. Ugh! We literally have to go to every story in the city... and not just that, but every chain of every store... to see where we can get the best value for our money. M's not at all cheap, but he likes to know that he is geting the most out of his money. The culture of shopping and bargaining here in Panama has turned M into a monster. He refuses to buy a major item unless he gets a deal of some sort. Even if it's 5% off.
Frustrating... but hey... we have great stuff!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Tests
It's been a while since I've written, but we just recently moved into our new house and don't the internet yet. Right now I am using what I like to call and "internet stick", which connects through a mobile WAP to the internet. It's great to have when you are bored.
Guess what? I got a job call back. I applied for a job about 2 weeks ago. The next day I received a call asking me to come in for the recruitment test a week later (last week). The recruitment test was a small personality questionnaire followed by the Wonderlic test. The personality questionnaire was interesting. The front side had a bunch of traits (energetic, polite, determined, loyal, etc.) and you were to pick which traits you think people expect you to have. On the back were those same traits and you were to pick which traits you believe you do possess. It seemed dumb, considering who in their right mind would call themselves disloyal or rude? But it must serve some useful purpose I'm sure. Afterwards we had the Wonderlic test. If you haven't heard of it, look it up. I prepared as internet research led me to some sites saying this particular company gives these type of tests. It is comprised of 50 IQ type logic/ reasoning questions, and you have 12 minutes to answer as many as you can correctly. It is a mixture of both multiple choice and ones you have to enter the answer yourself, both easy and difficult. You are not expected to finish it, and you are only marked on correct answers.
From what I read online, a decent (average) mark is over 20, excellent is over 30. The company actually only requires over 16 for a call back. I completed 39 questions upon the timer going off at the test. The next day I called back and found out I got a 33! Woo! So now I am going for my second test on the 24th. It is apparently the same test to check for consistency (a waste of time IMHO).
Interesting fact: People put pictures on their resumes here.
For those intrigued-- here are some Wonderlic type questions:
1. If three inches of rope cost 7 cents, how much would 2 feet of rope cost?
2. What is the next number in the sequence: 5, 10, 20, 40,...?
3. An instrument store gives a 10% discount to all students off the original cost of an instrument. During a back to school sale an additional 15% is taken off the discounted price. Julie, a student at the local high school, purchases a flute for $306. How much did it originally cost?
4. If the perimeter of a rectangular house is 25 1/3 yards, and the length is 22 feet. What is the width?
5. The scientist was able to evoke powerful emotions from her audience. Evoke means
A. Sell B. Calm C. Call forth D. Exaggerate
6. VINTAGE NOVELTY these words:
A: Have similar meanings.
B: Have opposite meanings.
C: Have neither similar nor opposite meanings.
7. Assume the first 2 statements are true. Is the final one:
1. True 2. False 3. Not certain
The boy plays baseball.
All baseball players wear hats.
The boy wears a hat.
8. Which of the following numbers represents the smallest amount: 0.400, 0.04, 4.0, 40?
9. In printing an article of 48,000 words, a printer decides to use two sizes of type. Using the larger type, a printed page contains 1,800 words. Using smaller type, a page contains 2,400 words. The article is allotted 21 full pages in a magazine. How many pages must be in smaller type? (although not necesarily difficult, I actually skipped this question on the test as I knew too much time would be spent on it)
10. A boy is 17 years old and his sister is twice as old. When the boy is 23 years old, what will be the age of his sister?
Have fun!
Guess what? I got a job call back. I applied for a job about 2 weeks ago. The next day I received a call asking me to come in for the recruitment test a week later (last week). The recruitment test was a small personality questionnaire followed by the Wonderlic test. The personality questionnaire was interesting. The front side had a bunch of traits (energetic, polite, determined, loyal, etc.) and you were to pick which traits you think people expect you to have. On the back were those same traits and you were to pick which traits you believe you do possess. It seemed dumb, considering who in their right mind would call themselves disloyal or rude? But it must serve some useful purpose I'm sure. Afterwards we had the Wonderlic test. If you haven't heard of it, look it up. I prepared as internet research led me to some sites saying this particular company gives these type of tests. It is comprised of 50 IQ type logic/ reasoning questions, and you have 12 minutes to answer as many as you can correctly. It is a mixture of both multiple choice and ones you have to enter the answer yourself, both easy and difficult. You are not expected to finish it, and you are only marked on correct answers.
From what I read online, a decent (average) mark is over 20, excellent is over 30. The company actually only requires over 16 for a call back. I completed 39 questions upon the timer going off at the test. The next day I called back and found out I got a 33! Woo! So now I am going for my second test on the 24th. It is apparently the same test to check for consistency (a waste of time IMHO).
Interesting fact: People put pictures on their resumes here.
For those intrigued-- here are some Wonderlic type questions:
1. If three inches of rope cost 7 cents, how much would 2 feet of rope cost?
2. What is the next number in the sequence: 5, 10, 20, 40,...?
3. An instrument store gives a 10% discount to all students off the original cost of an instrument. During a back to school sale an additional 15% is taken off the discounted price. Julie, a student at the local high school, purchases a flute for $306. How much did it originally cost?
4. If the perimeter of a rectangular house is 25 1/3 yards, and the length is 22 feet. What is the width?
5. The scientist was able to evoke powerful emotions from her audience. Evoke means
A. Sell B. Calm C. Call forth D. Exaggerate
6. VINTAGE NOVELTY these words:
A: Have similar meanings.
B: Have opposite meanings.
C: Have neither similar nor opposite meanings.
7. Assume the first 2 statements are true. Is the final one:
1. True 2. False 3. Not certain
The boy plays baseball.
All baseball players wear hats.
The boy wears a hat.
8. Which of the following numbers represents the smallest amount: 0.400, 0.04, 4.0, 40?
9. In printing an article of 48,000 words, a printer decides to use two sizes of type. Using the larger type, a printed page contains 1,800 words. Using smaller type, a page contains 2,400 words. The article is allotted 21 full pages in a magazine. How many pages must be in smaller type? (although not necesarily difficult, I actually skipped this question on the test as I knew too much time would be spent on it)
10. A boy is 17 years old and his sister is twice as old. When the boy is 23 years old, what will be the age of his sister?
Have fun!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Still running... and the MOVE
I'm on week 2... woo hoo. It's crazy but I already feel better about myself. I'm sure there are no physical changes whatsoever, but mentally I feel a hell of a lot more confident. It also helps that I eat whatever I want guilt free. Love it!
Friiiidayyy we get to move into the new house! I am so excited. It was an extremely long process, apparently banks take 2-3 weeks just to release a promissary note, and another 2ish weeks to transfer the funds to the seller. Luckily our seller was willing to let us move in on the promissary note alone. Thank god. Corporate temp housing is great in that it's free... but doesn't let us feel at home. It's temporary, just like it's namesake, not allowing you to feel like this is a move,but rather an extended vacation.
So about the house... it's a three bedroom, office, family room, living room, dining room, kitchen, maids quarters, 3.5 bathrooms, balcony, patio, and 2600 squ feet. I love it. Let's walk you through it... when you come in the front door, the stairs are to the left hand side, with a lighted walk way all the way up. Straight ahead is the small hall, with an office on the right and a 1/2 bath on the left. The hall opens to the living/dining area with a walk out to the backyard. On the right is the entrance to the eat-in kitchen. From the kitchen there is a second door to the patio, as well as a door to the laundry area. The laundry area opens up into the backyard. The back portion of the laundry area houses a door to the front driveway, as well as the door to the maid's quarters and maid's bathroom. Upstairs when you exit the stairway you walk into the family room with a walk out balcony. On the right is the entrance to the master bedroom with a walk in his/hers closet and full bathroom. Behind the family room straight ahead is a guest bathroom, and on either side of it are guest bedrooms equipped with a built in california closet unit.
The curb appeal of the house is awesome too. Drive up to luscious (and I mean luscious!) green grass with a decorated palm on the front lawn. The pathway to the front door is lined with white stones and decorative flowers. There is a long window framing the stairway of the house and a covered driveway with concrete pillars. The backyard has some decorative work along the back wall (backyards are fenced by concrete here, not metal fences), and we will be putting in a small garden ourselves. I have to find another word for decorative :.
It's an awesome house, perfect for entertaining and boy do we plan to do a lot of that. It's a fully gated community with only one entrance/exit and 24 hour security, including guards who ride through the neighborhood on bikes. There is a pool, tennis courts, parks, barbecue area, gym, and social area. It's like living in a resort. So excited.
Friiiidayyy we get to move into the new house! I am so excited. It was an extremely long process, apparently banks take 2-3 weeks just to release a promissary note, and another 2ish weeks to transfer the funds to the seller. Luckily our seller was willing to let us move in on the promissary note alone. Thank god. Corporate temp housing is great in that it's free... but doesn't let us feel at home. It's temporary, just like it's namesake, not allowing you to feel like this is a move,but rather an extended vacation.
So about the house... it's a three bedroom, office, family room, living room, dining room, kitchen, maids quarters, 3.5 bathrooms, balcony, patio, and 2600 squ feet. I love it. Let's walk you through it... when you come in the front door, the stairs are to the left hand side, with a lighted walk way all the way up. Straight ahead is the small hall, with an office on the right and a 1/2 bath on the left. The hall opens to the living/dining area with a walk out to the backyard. On the right is the entrance to the eat-in kitchen. From the kitchen there is a second door to the patio, as well as a door to the laundry area. The laundry area opens up into the backyard. The back portion of the laundry area houses a door to the front driveway, as well as the door to the maid's quarters and maid's bathroom. Upstairs when you exit the stairway you walk into the family room with a walk out balcony. On the right is the entrance to the master bedroom with a walk in his/hers closet and full bathroom. Behind the family room straight ahead is a guest bathroom, and on either side of it are guest bedrooms equipped with a built in california closet unit.
The curb appeal of the house is awesome too. Drive up to luscious (and I mean luscious!) green grass with a decorated palm on the front lawn. The pathway to the front door is lined with white stones and decorative flowers. There is a long window framing the stairway of the house and a covered driveway with concrete pillars. The backyard has some decorative work along the back wall (backyards are fenced by concrete here, not metal fences), and we will be putting in a small garden ourselves. I have to find another word for decorative :.
It's an awesome house, perfect for entertaining and boy do we plan to do a lot of that. It's a fully gated community with only one entrance/exit and 24 hour security, including guards who ride through the neighborhood on bikes. There is a pool, tennis courts, parks, barbecue area, gym, and social area. It's like living in a resort. So excited.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)