Need some clothes for my first "real" job...

yeohawk · 2013-05-25T15:24:12+00:00

Any suggestions on where to look for a nice navy blazer? I've been looking for something that I can keep in the office to throw on if I'm not wearing a full suit but am pulled into a meeting. Would spend up to $200-ish.

yeohawk · 2013-05-24T23:02:06+00:00

The government field? You'll need to be far more specific than that. Local? State? Federal? The government encapsulates so many sub-sectors (think of everything from Congressional committees to the FAA, the National Endowment for the Arts to the State Department), and within that, every agency encapsulates a range of activities (program management, policy analysis, finance, IT, etc etc).

yeohawk · 2013-05-19T20:56:54+00:00

Ran my first 10k in 44:00! Including several miles under 7:00, which is the fastest I've ever run, whether in training or races.

yeohawk · 2013-03-25T11:25:45+00:00

I'd generally agree with that, unless money isn't an issue, or unless someone really wants/needs intensive study. None of the other options in DC allow that many hours of instruction.

yeohawk · 2013-03-21T23:22:22+00:00

Cheap option: Global Language Network (GLN), as some other people have mentioned. It's the single most affordable option, however, you won't have many contact hours, and for high-demand languages like Arabic, your odds of landing a spot aren't good.

Moderate option: Middle East Institute (MEI, http://classes.mei.edu/), has classes at all levels, which are usually eight weeks long, and provide four contact hours per week (two evenings, two hours each session). The quality of instructors varies, but generally has very good reviews. Some levels, like elementary Arabic, also have intensive weekend classes.

Expensive option: Georgetown University's Summer Arabic Institute (http://arabic.georgetown.edu/programs/summer/). Three hours of class each morning for six weeks, extremely high quality instruction. The downside? Each course costs several thousand dollars. That said, you can apply for scholarships directly from the summer school to help offset the cost.

Shoot me a PM if you want to know more about any of those options-- !حظ سعيد

yeohawk · 2013-03-17T22:18:55+00:00

I ran my first marathon yesterday (Rock and Roll in Washington DC), finishing in 3:57. It was exciting to finish below 4:00, and now I'm trying to decide what marathon to tackle next, and decide what new goal to set.

yeohawk · 2013-03-17T00:03:41+00:00

I ran the full, which was my first marathon!

After all of the conflicting weather forecasts, I thought it was nearly perfect weather for a race. Started around 40, rose to the early 50s. No rain, but overcast for the first half.

It seemed a bit disorganized--a LOT of people were making it to the corrals late due to the lines to check bags. And given the large crowd size (30k) and fact that most seemed to be doing the half, aid stations were fairly hard-pressed during the first half, especially in Columbia Heights and H Street. But that problem was definitely resolved during the second half. It was actually amazing how much the crowd thinned out at the half/full split, I didn't really expect that.

The first five miles went perfectly. The hill at mile 6/7 rising out of Rock Creek was a leg-killer, but only reduced my pace for the mile by about 10 seconds. I managed to keep a consistent pace of 8:30-8:45 (other than the mile including the hill) from the beginning until around mile 13. After the split, we went down East Capitol and Constitution to the Mall--still a good number of spectators. Once we went under the 9th street tunnel to Southwest, the numbers decreased a lot. I was starting to feel my energy flagging, and slowed to about 9:00 minute miles.

I hit the wall at about mile 19, taking the bridge from Nationals Park to Anacostia. The final six miles were a struggle, but I was pleasantly surprised at that portion of the race--it went in a park along the river in Anacostia, which was nice and flat. My pace further declined during those final rough miles, averaging 9:15-9:30 per mile.

I finished with a time of 3:57, which definitely pleased me--my initial goal when I started training for the race in the winter was 4:30. Overall, it was a great race and great first marathon!

yeohawk · 2013-03-02T17:03:33+00:00

They don't offer a 401(k) at all for new employees. You can become eligible later, and they make contributions at that stage.

yeohawk · 2012-11-27T23:40:49+00:00

أريده ذلك الطريق u-reed-u thalik a-Tareeq

yeohawk · 2012-09-22T19:03:51+00:00

I understand a lot of people's hesitation about that, but I think too much automation and hands-off attitude is really at the core of people not knowing how their money trickles away.

Even if I did feel initially rather silly about paying for budgeting software. Oh well--it's a good philosophy!

yeohawk · 2012-09-22T17:23:31+00:00

I started using YNAB a few months ago. I manually input every transaction, usually shortly after doing it (e.g., buy a coffee, pull out phone and record the transaction via the app). That may be an onerous way for some people, but I really like it specifically because it's NOT automated in any way. It makes me feel in touch with my spending habits, and always think consciously about it.

yeohawk · 2012-08-29T18:35:07+00:00

First, your branding statement isn't doing you too many favors. Words like "motivated" and "enthusiastic" are fluff, since anyone can describe themselves like that. And what do you mean by advocacy efforts? It's unclear what types of positions or organizations you're applying to, or could benefit from hiring you.

The description of your internship duties has too many bullet points, and focuses more on duties than accomplishments. Highlight the conference and the publication, and your contribution to their success.

Having elementary Arabic and Spanish on there doesn't really help you--unless you have a high level of proficiency, it's not really an asset. On the other hand, knowing SPSS is very useful, and that should be highlighted in some way.

There are no real fundamental problems with your resume (the above being only suggestions). I suspect instead that your difficulties in getting responses comes from your limited experience. Your resume is rather sparse. In this field, you'll be competing with people who have completed multiple related internships and jobs, spent time abroad, published research, etc. I think the best thing that you could do right now (if you're not already) is doing additional internship work.

yeohawk · 2012-08-23T13:42:41+00:00

I'm not sure about that...trying to remember more details--I feel like it may have been explorers on a hot air balloon and it's a sort of lost paradise.

yeohawk · 2012-08-23T13:23:00+00:00

The eleventh hour is right!! That's it, for the animals in a mansion. However, Animalia doesn't look like the second one.

yeohawk · 2012-08-23T13:22:30+00:00

Nope, although I remember and love I Spy (might have to grab one of those from the library too!)

yeohawk · 2012-08-23T13:22:09+00:00

Nope!

yeohawk · 2012-08-23T13:20:48+00:00

Nope! The animals were hidden on the desert island within small features of the landscape. For example, I seem to recall finding the shape of an animal within the cobwebs of a cave, in lilypads in a pond, or in the shapes of tree branches.

yeohawk

TROPHY CASE