Recovering Avocados

The avocados did not survive as well as I had thought. Only the lower buds of 2 of the 3 saplings’ began sprouting. #1 sprouted only 1 bud; #2 showed none; #3 had two buds, but apical dominance stopped the lower. I had been considering trying to transfer the lower, second bud of #3, using #2 as rootstock, but I made the decision too late, and what little growth there was wilted away after being suppressed. I cut back a bit of growth on #2 that was hosting mold, but I think I got a bit too aggressive and it’s likely a total loss now. Fortunately, #3 has been growing aggressively with its well-established root system and is already back to half its height when I nearly killed it with frost-bite. #1 is also growing but not as quickly.

Personal Education

I’ve been reading “A Precide Guide to Software Engineering” by Gerard O’Regan, and I’m enjoying it greatly. For the most part, I’ve picked up what I know about software development from all over the place – reading about small parts of software engineering that are directly relevant to some problem I’m trying to solve.

This is the first time I’ve gone out of my way to get a complete/authoritative/rigorous overview of software engineering, and I feel like I’m getting a lot out of it. Unsurprisingly, most of the new stuff isn’t relevant to what I do personally. The book focuses on development in large-scale organizations, but it’s eye-opening to see how my personal experiences can be translated to working with a sizeable team, from the top to the bottom of a business hierarchy.

New Job

My first screen with Irena McDowell, the director of engineering at GE, was __ and I thought it went pretty well – of course I was a bit awkward, but I felt like I represented myself decently.

The second interview, a technical screen, was this morning at 9am, and I was extremely nervous because I actually didn’t sleep at all – I was too excited and nervous like the night before a field-trip. The first portion felt pretty good despite an initial technical hiccup with Microsoft Teams, but the second portion was pretty rough. To start off, I was asked about switch and when statements in Kotlin, which threw me off because in my mind switch statements don’t exist in Kotlin. I confirmed later that they don’t, so I suppose it was meant to be a trick question.

Unexpectedly, I was offered the position! I was overly elated, but that quickly turned to disappointment when I clarified with my recruiter that my deferred felony was still on my record. I had told her before about my DUI and mentioned that I also had a deferred felony but it was supposed to be expunged. It turns out the DUI has been expunged, but the deferral is still on the record. I talked with a lawyer and apparently it would only elligible for expungement 5 years after the end of the deferral period (Dec 2022), but a recent law reduced drug possession crimes to misdemeanors, so I actually can get it removed but it would take about 90 days – definitely not in time to clear a background check.

My recruiter checked with her compliance team and they believe it won’t be a problem since it wasn’t an actual conviction but it’s not definite and I’m pretty nervous.

I’m moving ahead, looking into properties in Kentucky, and thinking about how to complete my degree. The whole purpose of getting my degree was to give myself confidence in looking for a job, but now that I have one (maybe), the only reason I would get a degree is if I want to be involved in research some day, and/or to pander to the simple-minds who worship those magic pieces of paper.

Whether I clear the background check or not, it’s validating to be offered the position.