The Bike Wife 1.0: The First Interview!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

The First Interview!

I had my first interview today at 3pm (or 10am Monday morning in NZ). This is how I envisioned my day leading up to my interview:

Sleep in, make a healthy breakfast, sit down and study Maori culture, socialized healthcare, and current NZ nursing regulations. Have a healthy lunch. Go for a short bike ride to clear my head. Shower, dress semi-professionally to put my brain in the right place (ie: caring about WORK on my day OFF!). Study up a bit more, and have my interview. Oh, and I planned to "study" yesterday too.

This is how it went:

Sleep in a lot... much needed though I admit. Made healthy breakfast, black bean & egg breakfast burrito with tomatoes from our yard. Get on the internet. Facebook. Blogs. Pinterest. Bank website. Strava. Friend calls. Sure lets go ride bikes, it will put me at ease. Ride = 100 degrees of HELL, dizziness and dehydration ensue so I unceremoniously flop myself in the creek fully clothed. After 15 minutes of laying in the creek cursing Chico, I head home. Its 2pm. Huh. That took forever. Fast and furious studying happens. Lunch doesn't happen. Oh, and yesterday, studying so did not happen. I cleaned the house floor to ceiling, because really no phone interview can happen with a dirty house. (If anyone has issues following my sarcasm, I apologize. But I probably wont stop).

So they called at 1501, Im sweaty and covered in creek water, lamped out in my chair practically panting from the heat, and furiously skimming the job requirements.

In all though, I felt like it went really well. I actually got asked a question regarding the Maoris and the Treaty of Waitangi, the answer to which I had read 5 minutes prior to my interview. See, preparation pays off. Ha.

This interview was for an Emergency Dept position and a Short Stay Unit position in Wellington Hospital. Although these are my desired areas, Welly isn't our desired location. So currently I'm going to consider this a practice interview, and cross my fingers that the 3 jobs I applied for in Nelson produce an interview/employment.

From here? Relax a little. Race some bikes again this weekend. Get the hell out of the 100+ weather and smoke!

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Bike Babble

Here's a list of terms to help decipher what the #@&*! I'm blogging about:

Berm - a turn in a trail, usually built up with hard packed dirt, or sometimes wood/rock. A berm's purpose is to allow/withstand the weight of a rider making an aggressive turn.

Chamois - the padded spandex shorts worn under loose mountain bike shorts, and never, ever on its own. Also, should never be worn a minute longer than absolutely necessary. Like a condom.

Clapped Out - and old, well used bike. It may have been nice at one time, but is now a POS.

Clipless - bicycle pedals that clip in to one's bike shoes, thus making the human and the bike into one cohesive unit.

DH - downhill; as in DH bike (more travel), or DH trail. Downhill mountain biking is gravity assisted decent down a mountain, usually with technical features like jumps, drops, and rocky sections. DH races are very technical, usually no climbing, and are only a few minutes in length.

Enduro - A multi-staged race that includes both climbing and descending, and can also include being shuttled to the top of a trail or mountain. Timed stages are usually downhill, un-timed stages uphill.

Fire Road - a large, wide open trail, usually the width of a 4-wheeler or truck, typically smoother dirt or gravel. Preferred by roadies who are trying to mountain bike.

Fork - the front end of the bike, below the handle bars. The fork compresses (see "travel") anywhere from 2-8 inches on a mountain bike , depending on the type, to allow for more aggressive riding.

Free Riding - a broader range of mountain bikers; generally used to describe individuals who build their own trails, use natural features as stunts, are creative in trail/jump building. Will hike-a-bike for good DH trail riding, will put blood, sweat, and tears into good trail building.

Full Suspension - front and rear suspension on a mountain bike: the fork in front, and a rear shock in back. Contrasts with a hard tail (a mountain bike with suspension only in the front) or a road bike or cruiser (no suspension at all).

Gap - the distance between the take off and landing of a jump or drop, ie: the spot where you and your bike are in the air.

Hucking - to commit to a very large jump, drop, or gap, usually a very large stunt.

Loamy - soft, highly organic dirt. Desirable. Not rocky. Think Oregon and Washington conditions.

MTB - Mountain Biking

North Rim - A local Chico trail that is extremely rough and rocky. Quite steep in some places, less in others, but a steady climb for several miles. There are barely any trees, and it is the bane of my existence.

Shred - to ride vigorously, synonymous with "ripping" and "killing it".

Shuttle - the means of getting up to the top of a mountain/hill where a downhill trail starts. Usually in the form of a truck, or "shuttle truck".

Single Track - a narrow trail that is approximately the width of the bike. It is frequently smooth and flowing, but it may also exhibit technical rocky sections and may be criss-crossed with tree roots. Considered the best type of trail on which to ride mountain bikes.

Super D - a long downhill race with some climbing. Not nearly as much climbing as in XC, or as long of a race. Usually Super D has more technical downhill features, and lasts 20-30 minutes.

Travel - the amount that the fork is able to compress, thus, the larger amounts of force the bike can withstand.

XC - Cross Country, as in XC bike (less travel) or XC trail (uphill & downhill). XC racing is up and down hills, and courses are typically several miles long, and can take 2-4 hours to complete.