Friday, May 5, 2017
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Parks and Recreation Review: 1x06 "Rock Show"
I can now say that I'm on season two of Parks and Rec, even if season one was only six episodes long.
At the end of season one, I can say that I'm not a fan of Andy. He annoys me. I'm hoping that he becomes a more complex character over time. Most of the characters are pretty shallow at the end of the season one, and considering it's only six episodes so far, that's not surprising. Right now, though, I'd label Andy as the most annoying.
Leslie's business meeting/date was one of the most awkward things. If I were Leslie, I feel as if I would no longer be on speaking terms with her mom. Essentially everything she does is something that I feel like Leslie should get far angrier about than she does, especially considering how frequently these things happen.
We meet Tom's wife Wendy, who comes out of nowhere, in this episode. While looking at the episode synopsis and such to help jog my memory, I noticed that Jama Williamson, who plays Wendy, was born in Evansville, which got me very excited since I'm from the same area of Indiana. (We don't have that many notable people from around here.) I've also read enough to know that she shows up again, and I'm excited about it for that reason alone.
I did wonder how much the story of the pit would carry over into season two because I thought the show might diverge into something else entirely, but it seems, at the very least, that the pit story will be continuing.
While I am enjoying the show so far, I am hoping to get a bit more depth from the characters over the course of season two, especially since it's longer. I think that would help me get into it more.
At the end of season one, I can say that I'm not a fan of Andy. He annoys me. I'm hoping that he becomes a more complex character over time. Most of the characters are pretty shallow at the end of the season one, and considering it's only six episodes so far, that's not surprising. Right now, though, I'd label Andy as the most annoying.
Leslie's business meeting/date was one of the most awkward things. If I were Leslie, I feel as if I would no longer be on speaking terms with her mom. Essentially everything she does is something that I feel like Leslie should get far angrier about than she does, especially considering how frequently these things happen.
We meet Tom's wife Wendy, who comes out of nowhere, in this episode. While looking at the episode synopsis and such to help jog my memory, I noticed that Jama Williamson, who plays Wendy, was born in Evansville, which got me very excited since I'm from the same area of Indiana. (We don't have that many notable people from around here.) I've also read enough to know that she shows up again, and I'm excited about it for that reason alone.
I did wonder how much the story of the pit would carry over into season two because I thought the show might diverge into something else entirely, but it seems, at the very least, that the pit story will be continuing.
While I am enjoying the show so far, I am hoping to get a bit more depth from the characters over the course of season two, especially since it's longer. I think that would help me get into it more.
Reign Review: 4x04 "Playing With Fire"
Mary and Greer's vacation in this episode reminded me of how thankful I am that Greer has stuck around for this season. I really thought that she would go back to France at the beginning of the season, and back at the end of season three, I didn't think she'd be making an appearance in season four at all. If I'm thankful for one thing this season, it's that Greer is still around. It's reassuring that Mary still has one of her ladies in waiting.
Darnley shows up and proposes pretty early in the episode. No surprise there. This was the first episode where I stopped to wonder if we would be seeing their wedding this season. Now that I've seen the later episodes I know the answer to that question, but at the time I thought it might be the series finale.
Here's something I wrote right after seeing this episode, and I'm going to leave it as is since my perception is different now, having seen later episodes: They're dropping little doses of Knox into each episode despite nothing all that significant happening with him for a while. I wonder what the situation with Knox is going to lead to. Something big has to happen with him before the end of the season. My best guess is that it will involve his wife considering how that's being set up.
During this episode, I was still completely clueless as to who Mary's anonymous source was. I don't feel like we were given enough hints to even begin to guess.
After Charles took off with Bianca I was worried that she was dead, so it was nice to see that that wasn't the case. This was the first episode were I felt reassured that Charles wasn't off doing something violent, which made me feel a lot better.
Claude is forced to marry Narcisse's son. I've never been a big fan of Narcisse, so it's nice to see that his son is a lot different than he is. That difference seems to be genuine, not an act, too, which is refreshing on this show. I don't think we've gotten a new character on the show for a while who comes across as having as good of intentions as Luc seems too. It makes me worry that there's going to be a reveal later on that he's not who he seems to be.
I never expected Leith to be alive, but I am beyond thrilled to see that he is. Leith has always been one of my favorite characters, and while the timing of his return is terrible, I'm happy about it. Actually, his return is a bit conflicting. I've always shipped Greer and Leith, but while I never liked Greer with Castleroy, I had come to accept Leith with Claude. I can't say that I enjoyed them together quite as much as Leith and Greer, but I liked them well enough. I wanted them to both be happy at any rate, and it was clear that that was only going to happen with each other.
Now Leith has lost both Greer and Claude, and that's really upsetting. Leith is such a good person, and he deserves to be happy. I don't know how they're going to do that at this point, but I hope that they do.
Watching Elizabeth put up with the bluntly sexist Maxford was frustrating (because of him) as much as it was enjoyable (because of Elizabeth). I loved her smirk when she successfully shot the deer. I also feel like this is such a thing that Elizabeth (and Mary) would have had to deal with frequently and it hasn't always been quite as overt on the show as it likely was in real life.
Darnley shows up and proposes pretty early in the episode. No surprise there. This was the first episode where I stopped to wonder if we would be seeing their wedding this season. Now that I've seen the later episodes I know the answer to that question, but at the time I thought it might be the series finale.
Here's something I wrote right after seeing this episode, and I'm going to leave it as is since my perception is different now, having seen later episodes: They're dropping little doses of Knox into each episode despite nothing all that significant happening with him for a while. I wonder what the situation with Knox is going to lead to. Something big has to happen with him before the end of the season. My best guess is that it will involve his wife considering how that's being set up.
During this episode, I was still completely clueless as to who Mary's anonymous source was. I don't feel like we were given enough hints to even begin to guess.
After Charles took off with Bianca I was worried that she was dead, so it was nice to see that that wasn't the case. This was the first episode were I felt reassured that Charles wasn't off doing something violent, which made me feel a lot better.
Claude is forced to marry Narcisse's son. I've never been a big fan of Narcisse, so it's nice to see that his son is a lot different than he is. That difference seems to be genuine, not an act, too, which is refreshing on this show. I don't think we've gotten a new character on the show for a while who comes across as having as good of intentions as Luc seems too. It makes me worry that there's going to be a reveal later on that he's not who he seems to be.
I never expected Leith to be alive, but I am beyond thrilled to see that he is. Leith has always been one of my favorite characters, and while the timing of his return is terrible, I'm happy about it. Actually, his return is a bit conflicting. I've always shipped Greer and Leith, but while I never liked Greer with Castleroy, I had come to accept Leith with Claude. I can't say that I enjoyed them together quite as much as Leith and Greer, but I liked them well enough. I wanted them to both be happy at any rate, and it was clear that that was only going to happen with each other.
Now Leith has lost both Greer and Claude, and that's really upsetting. Leith is such a good person, and he deserves to be happy. I don't know how they're going to do that at this point, but I hope that they do.
Watching Elizabeth put up with the bluntly sexist Maxford was frustrating (because of him) as much as it was enjoyable (because of Elizabeth). I loved her smirk when she successfully shot the deer. I also feel like this is such a thing that Elizabeth (and Mary) would have had to deal with frequently and it hasn't always been quite as overt on the show as it likely was in real life.
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Naruto Shippuden Review: Episodes 381-385
History within fictional worlds is often fascinating to me. That's why I loved learning that the Ten Tails was actually the source of all the world's chakra.
It gives us a reason for the tailed beasts' existence, but even more than that, it explains why they're important to the world despite being presented as monsters earlier in the series. We've seen the monster thing turning around thanks to Naruto, and I think this furthers it.
I'm also struck by how much the story of the woman eating the fruit from the tree reminds me of the fall in the Bible. If there's a similar story in Japanese mythology, then I wasn't able to find anything about it. (I did look after watching that episode.) I really do wonder where the inspiration for that came from. I don't necessarily believe it came from the Bible, but the parallels caught my attention.
Madara's statement that the Shinju would bloom within fifteen minutes doesn't feel all that accurate while watching the episodes, but that's to be expected with Naruto.
As I said before, I enjoy learning about the history of the world, so I liked getting another peek at Hashirama's past. This flashback made him seem even more like Naruto, which is a parallel that I appreciate, and I liked seeing the Kage coming together for the first time, especially when we've been seeing the present Kage fighting together as well.
To a certain extent, Naruto actively seeking out the "good" in everyone he fights can be a little annoying to watch play out again and again, but I also believe that it's a crucial character trait of his that I have to accept, if not embrace.
I liked what Naruto and Obito said to each other in 385 and how their outlooks were compared, with Obito believing he was doing what a Hokage would do and Naruto insisting that he was taking everyone's freewill away and would therefore never be accepted.
It gives us a reason for the tailed beasts' existence, but even more than that, it explains why they're important to the world despite being presented as monsters earlier in the series. We've seen the monster thing turning around thanks to Naruto, and I think this furthers it.
I'm also struck by how much the story of the woman eating the fruit from the tree reminds me of the fall in the Bible. If there's a similar story in Japanese mythology, then I wasn't able to find anything about it. (I did look after watching that episode.) I really do wonder where the inspiration for that came from. I don't necessarily believe it came from the Bible, but the parallels caught my attention.
Madara's statement that the Shinju would bloom within fifteen minutes doesn't feel all that accurate while watching the episodes, but that's to be expected with Naruto.
As I said before, I enjoy learning about the history of the world, so I liked getting another peek at Hashirama's past. This flashback made him seem even more like Naruto, which is a parallel that I appreciate, and I liked seeing the Kage coming together for the first time, especially when we've been seeing the present Kage fighting together as well.
To a certain extent, Naruto actively seeking out the "good" in everyone he fights can be a little annoying to watch play out again and again, but I also believe that it's a crucial character trait of his that I have to accept, if not embrace.
I liked what Naruto and Obito said to each other in 385 and how their outlooks were compared, with Obito believing he was doing what a Hokage would do and Naruto insisting that he was taking everyone's freewill away and would therefore never be accepted.
Monday, May 1, 2017
HESS Interview Process
Yesterday, I wrote about moving to Japan. While my ultimate goal was working in Japan, I did also apply to work for HESS, which owns a chain of English schools in Taiwan. Here is a post describing that experience.
On HESS's website, they make you go through a checklist before you're able to access the application. The checklist is essentially a short series of questions that are meant to make you think about whether or not you actually want to work for HESS. It's obvious what the "right" answers are, and nothing about this part is complicated though I did think it was interesting that it's necessary for reaching the application.
After the checklist, you'll get a button to take you to the actual application. Since I can no longer see my application, it's difficult for me to recall the specific information that it asks for. You will want to make sure that you have references (and I think a reference letter) that you can upload to the application. I think I also uploaded my college transcripts and a cover letter. HESS also requires that you provide them with pictures of yourself.
After submitting the application, I got an email from HESS asking me to answer more questions through a Google form. This was shorter than the application but still detailed. I'm not sure if they eliminate people before this step, but because HESS has you put preferred location on your first application, this part of the process gets more specific about what area you would like to work in.
Not long after I completed the Google form, I got an email from HESS asking to schedule a Skype interview. I really liked their process for scheduling interviews. I could see all of the available interview times, and I clicked on the one that worked best, which automatically scheduled that interview time for me.
In the email I received about the interview, I was told to prepare a lesson plan based on a topic given to me in the email. I did this. However, it turns out that I didn't need to, which I'll explain in a moment.
On the scheduled date of the interview, I was ready, if nervous. Then, Skype wouldn't connect. The interviewer tried several times; I tried calling them; and then they messaged me via Skype asking if they could call over the phone. I, of course, said yes, and the interviewer, after verifying my phone number from the application, called over the phone.
I'm not sure how completing the interview over the phone instead of Skype changed the process. I didn't do much talking during the interview though. Most of it was the interviewer explaining HESS to me and telling me what would happen if I got a job. There wasn't much "selling myself" at all. While I had been nervous prior to the interview, I was significantly less so after realizing that I wouldn't be saying that much.
While I didn't time it, I feel like I talked for maybe fifteen minutes during the hour and a half interview. I was asked about the lesson plan I had created, and instead of having to teach it like the email had implied, I just had to explain what I'd put in my lesson plan. I have no idea if this was because the interview was over the phone or if they would have done this anyway. I also had to answer a question about what I would do if a student misbehaved in class and continued to misbehave even after being redirected several times.
Those were the only times, at least that I can remember, where the call actually felt like an interview. I feel like most of their decision was based on my application itself and that they likely accept most applicants. I can't confirm this of course, but it's certainly what it felt like.
Almost a week after the interview, I got an email from HESS saying that they would like to offer me a position. There was a button in the email that I had to click in order to confirm said position. As I had taken a different job in Japan, I emailed them back to think them but declined the offer.
They did email me several days after the initial offer with a reminder to confirm (as I hadn't yet while I waited to hear back about the job that I did accept). In that email they said something along the lines of, "If you've already accepted, please ignore this email. If you've rejected the offer, we'll record your answer shortly," so I'm not sure how often they go through the responses and figure out who accepted and who didn't (or how many applications they have going at a time).
On HESS's website, they make you go through a checklist before you're able to access the application. The checklist is essentially a short series of questions that are meant to make you think about whether or not you actually want to work for HESS. It's obvious what the "right" answers are, and nothing about this part is complicated though I did think it was interesting that it's necessary for reaching the application.
After the checklist, you'll get a button to take you to the actual application. Since I can no longer see my application, it's difficult for me to recall the specific information that it asks for. You will want to make sure that you have references (and I think a reference letter) that you can upload to the application. I think I also uploaded my college transcripts and a cover letter. HESS also requires that you provide them with pictures of yourself.
After submitting the application, I got an email from HESS asking me to answer more questions through a Google form. This was shorter than the application but still detailed. I'm not sure if they eliminate people before this step, but because HESS has you put preferred location on your first application, this part of the process gets more specific about what area you would like to work in.
Not long after I completed the Google form, I got an email from HESS asking to schedule a Skype interview. I really liked their process for scheduling interviews. I could see all of the available interview times, and I clicked on the one that worked best, which automatically scheduled that interview time for me.
In the email I received about the interview, I was told to prepare a lesson plan based on a topic given to me in the email. I did this. However, it turns out that I didn't need to, which I'll explain in a moment.
On the scheduled date of the interview, I was ready, if nervous. Then, Skype wouldn't connect. The interviewer tried several times; I tried calling them; and then they messaged me via Skype asking if they could call over the phone. I, of course, said yes, and the interviewer, after verifying my phone number from the application, called over the phone.
I'm not sure how completing the interview over the phone instead of Skype changed the process. I didn't do much talking during the interview though. Most of it was the interviewer explaining HESS to me and telling me what would happen if I got a job. There wasn't much "selling myself" at all. While I had been nervous prior to the interview, I was significantly less so after realizing that I wouldn't be saying that much.
While I didn't time it, I feel like I talked for maybe fifteen minutes during the hour and a half interview. I was asked about the lesson plan I had created, and instead of having to teach it like the email had implied, I just had to explain what I'd put in my lesson plan. I have no idea if this was because the interview was over the phone or if they would have done this anyway. I also had to answer a question about what I would do if a student misbehaved in class and continued to misbehave even after being redirected several times.
Those were the only times, at least that I can remember, where the call actually felt like an interview. I feel like most of their decision was based on my application itself and that they likely accept most applicants. I can't confirm this of course, but it's certainly what it felt like.
Almost a week after the interview, I got an email from HESS saying that they would like to offer me a position. There was a button in the email that I had to click in order to confirm said position. As I had taken a different job in Japan, I emailed them back to think them but declined the offer.
They did email me several days after the initial offer with a reminder to confirm (as I hadn't yet while I waited to hear back about the job that I did accept). In that email they said something along the lines of, "If you've already accepted, please ignore this email. If you've rejected the offer, we'll record your answer shortly," so I'm not sure how often they go through the responses and figure out who accepted and who didn't (or how many applications they have going at a time).
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