The good: The interview. The bad: Sinus Infection

Well, I have a lot to update tonight so I'll get right to it. Wednesday was my introduction to the corporate world with my interview at KeyBank in Key Tower, Downtown Cleveland. To sum up, I feel I nailed it. Despite not sleeping well due to the sinus infection I unknowingly had, I stepped up and dominated the interview. I knew things were going well when: each mini-session went long, the many times I had my interviewers laughing and smiling at my answers, and finally when I was asked to come back after lunch and talk with a person I wasn't originally supposed to at the start of the day. Granted, the feelings I have about my performance do not guarantee I will get an offer, but for me personally, knowing that in arguably the biggest moment of my life with the most riding on it that I was capable of and turned in that kind of performance, that in itself means a lot. So many times before in moments similar to these, I was "happy to be there". This time, I was happy to be there, but I wanted to take advantage of it as well, and I feel I did that.

The people at Key were very kind and gracious. Two things I took away from their working environment were leadership and energy. They place a great value on keeping their talented employees in the firm, grooming them for future leadership opportunities. Also, you could feel the positive energy in the room. Everyone was passionate about working for Key and their respective jobs, which says a lot about the work culture. I was very impressed with what I saw.

Here's a funny moment. After I finished, I had to use the restroom, and the only one on the ground floor was in the Marriott, which shares Key Tower with KeyBank. I'm still in my suit (looking sharp), and as I walk through, I happen to pass some Marriott employees who all greet me with, "Good afternoon, sir," and "How are you today, sir?" I could barely contain my laughter, after all, I was just interviewing. But, I can't wait to get back into the corporate world and experience that on a daily basis hehehe. The whole trip was everything I expected and hoped for. I felt very comfortable among the working crowd and am not intimidated at all. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to experience this, hopefully this is just the beginning.

Oh, and one more thing. The girls in their business suits and/or business casual clothing: WOOOWWWWW!!!!! Another reason I can't wait to get back in that environment hehe.

Tomorrow begins the final week of the Tour de France (very sad) and the first of 3 days in the Pyrennes. Today offered an opportunity for the sprinters to steal the glory one last time before the latter part of next week. Despite a breakaway containing American Chris Horner and Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel that stayed away until the final kilometer, Robbie McEwen won his 3rd stage of the tour, beating Stuart O'Grady to the line at the finish in Montpelier. Horner was a member of the original breakaway group of 5 that was away most of the day. Chavanel joined them with around 10 kilometers to go, then attacking again, with Horner only able to follow. They were agonizingly close to winning the stage, holding off the field until the very end.

Lance Armstrong still holds a 38 second edge over Michael Rasmussen. Christophe Moreau is 3rd, 2:34 behind, followed by: Ivan Basso, 2:40; Santiago Botero 3:48; Levi Leipheimer 3:58; Francisco Mancebo 4:00, Jan Ullrich 4:02, and Andreas Kloden and Floyd Landis 4:16. One name missing is the young Alejandro Valverde, who had to quit the Tour with a knee injury. He banged his knee against his bike during the team time trial and has progressively gotten worse, despite his win at Courchevel over Armstrong just earlier this week.

Tomorrow, the race starts in Agde and is mainly flat (4 small climbs in the first half) until the end. First, the riders must climb the Port de Pailheres, a climb 15 kilometers where the average gradient of the road is 8.1%!!!!! Then, after a short descent comes the final ascent up to Ax-3-Domaines, a climb of 8 kilometeres where the average gradient is 8.3%!!!! The kicker is, Sunday is harder, hahahaha. Be sure to tune in tomorrow, it's a huge day. Even though it seems Lance is in control, many things can happen. It's also entertaining to watch the Basque cycling fans come out in their orange shirts and cheer on the riders while they climb the Pyrennes. I wouldn't expect Armstrong to give a huge effort until Sunday, where there are 4 Category 1 climbs before the final, "above category climb" to Pla D'Adet, but if he sees others in trouble, he'll go for it tomorrow.

Today, the golf world said its final goodbyes to the greatest it has ever seen, Jack Nicklaus. It is amazing that he not only won 18 majors, but finished 2nd 19 times also. It will be hard for Tiger Woods to match those records. Yes, he has won 9 majors, but I believe he only has 2 2nds (correct me if I'm wrong, '02 PGA and '05 US Open). Anyway, what a sight it was to see all of the people straining to catch a glimpse of Nicklaus as he finished his 2nd round today at St. Andrews, the birthplace of golf. The last 3 holes of St. Andrews run up against the town, namely the clubhouse, the club's hotel and other apartment buildings and businesses. There were people looking out every window, hanging off railings, even watching from the roofs of the buildings. The players who had already finished their 2nd round also came out to catch a glimpse of the greatest ever finish. When Nicklaus failed to chip in short of the 17th green, it was clear he wouldn't make the weekend cut, which disappointed everyone. But in true Nicklaus fashion, he almost drove the 18th green, putted onto the green, then made a 14-footer for birdie on his last competitive hole. Not being that old, I didn't get to see Nicklaus in his prime, but I did get to see that unforgettable final round of the '86 Masters where he charged on the back 9 to win. From then on, I've always matched the Masters, and have slowly become an all-around golf fan. Thanks Jack for all of the memories.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods holds a four shot lead at the halfway point over Colin Montgomerie. Among those 5 behind are Jose Maria Olazabal and Vijay Singh, 6 behind are Sergio Garcia and Fred Couples, 8 behind are Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els. It should be an interesting day with Tiger and Monty paired together. I have to admit, part of me would like to see Monty do well, especially after the London terrorist bombings of a week ago. A Monty win would provide the people of Great Britain a huge boost. But I'll root for Tiger because Monty is a cheater. I will never forget his "improved lie". I'll root for Phil, as I always do, then Tiger. But Tiger seems to be in command, especially after shooting a bogey-free 67 today.

Michelle Wie made it all the way to the Pub Links quarterfinals where she ran into Clay Ogden of BYU. Ogden never let her get into the match, birdieing 4 of the first 5 holes to take an early 4 hole lead. Wie never got closer than that, losing 5 and 4 as Ogden put on a short-game clinic, saving par from everywhere. I still think she needs to play more tournaments, like these, against girls her own age. But her winning 3 matches exceeded my expectations and shows the experience she's gathered the last couple of years is paying off. Michelle heads to France to play in the Evian Masters before finishing off her summer schedule at the Women's British Open.

Another quick couple of things to mention:

• I will not be one of the people going to buy the new Harry Potter book tonight. Nothing against Harry Potter, it's just not my thing.
• The Space Shuttle Columbia will not take off until early next week at the latest, having originally supposed to launch Wednesday. This is NASA's first launch since the older version of Columbia broke apart while returning to Earth 2 years ago, killing its crew. I am one of those people who have questions about the longevity of the space program. It seems there isn't much else to do, maybe it's time for the space programs of each nation to come together to form one joint space program. After all, NASA was created to rival the Soviet space program and its quest for the Moon.
  

Finally ( I can't believe I almost forgot to mention this), what made Wednesday so incredible was my health. I spent the night at home home and was forced to the couch after coughing in bed, repeatedly. I went to the doctor on Thursday and was told I have a sinus infection. The only problems I have are the coughing spasms I have at night, which keep me awake. So, basically I'm fine, except I haven't slept a lot in the last week, so I'm pretty tired. Now that I'm on antibiotic, hopefully that does the trick.

And that is all. Thanks to everyone for their support this past week, it means a lot.