if (!$have_degree) {haveProblems();}

I heard back from the company in Japan. They liked my experience but wanted to know if I had ever used Oracle. I never had but could learn without much trouble. The big problem though, they wanted to know if my diploma is equivalent to a Bachelor's degree.

I knew this would come back to haunt me.

My diploma is functionally equivalent to a Bachelor's (as far as I am concerned) but not in some other people's minds. There is a stigma attached to it. Many people feel that it is not as good as a degree for some odd reason. They think I didn't work to earn it. It was bloody hard to get that diploma. The CS course at Algonquin was very difficult. There was a lot of work involved.

I was lucky because I understand computers very well and was able to grasp the concepts and zip through the work without trying too hard. I could zip through my assignments quickly so I never got bogged down. Others were not so fortunate. They had to slog through it all.

It has made it a little hard to find jobs in the past and it may prevent me from getting a work visa for Japan.

return false;

The trip has basically imploded. I have backed out. Only Bernard and Remi are still going, but they are not going to travel together. They are going to look after their own hotels and travel arrangements. I have no clue what is happening now. I will probably plan out my own private trip some time in the near future.

That sucks.

I discovered on my last trip that exploring a different country is a lot more fun when there is someone else to explore it with. Being alone means I have no one to talk to, and no one to hang out with.

Poo.

$members = $members-1;

Charles has just pulled out from the trip. The group seems to be self-destructing. With the tension between Bernard and Remi and now Charles dropping out and Remi just this moment sent an email saying he might pull out too. This is looking worse and worse every day. It's looking like this is the end. It seems very bleak right now. I guess the next day or so will determine what is happening.

I don't want to go to Japan alone again. I like having someone to hang around with, but with the way this group is going... I might have to.

function leaveMessage(phone_number) { return call; }

I was getting anxious about not hearing back from the company in Japan. My friend Andie called me this evening and convinced me to call them. I didn't want to because I am too shy to do that sort of thing. In the end though I knew I should. So I swallowed my fear and made the call.

I have never had luck with international calls.

My first attempt provided me with just a funny beeping sound so I hung up and tried again. This time I got a voice telling me that the call couldn't go through and to hang up and try again. Third try I mis-dialed, managed to hang up before the call went anywhere. Forth time I managed to connect, but their phone system told me that I was blocking caller ID so I should call back with caller ID enabled. I hung up to turn it on, but I realized that it was probably just because it was an international call. I never block caller ID. So I called back to wait for the answering machine. I left a message asking to be called back.

One big hurdle out of the way.

I went and lay on my bed and read a C++ programming book. I am too geeky for my own good sometimes. After about 10 minutes of waiting the phone rang. I ran to the computer room and took a few deep breaths. I was nervous. My heart was threatening to go on strike if I didn't stop getting it all worked up like this. I answered the phone in as calm a voice as I could manage.

The gentleman on the other end explained to me that this week is a holiday in Japan so he hasn't gotten around to evaluating the submissions yet. I apologized profusely for bothering him and felt like a twit. I should have known that it was a holiday in Japan right now.

Anyway, I feel a lot better now. I know I will have to wait at least a week or two before I hear anything again. I can wait now that I know it wasn't just an email going missing.

My heart can relax for a little while.

bash> sudo nice -20 group_interaction

There is a lot of tension in the group right now. Things are not smelling of roses. On Friday, at the meetup Bernard made some jokes about Remi's weight and Remi didn't like that at all. Remi sent an email to Bernard about it, and Bernard replied and back and forth and the two of them are annoyed at each other right now. If this doesn't get settled soon and all the egos get assuaged then things are going to grow and grow. By the time the trip comes around we are all going to be at each other's throats. Then two weeks in close proximity with these people? Eek!

I am working hard at not annoying anyone but I know I do occasionally. It's human nature. "Hell is other people" and all that. I hope I don't feel like strangling anyone by the end of all this.