Interviews and more books

So, my job interview came and went. I think it went really well, not like a formal interview at all, just a nice relaxing chat. There are a lot of pros about this job - in that it's just the type of work I'm looking for, and it comes with a nice salary, etc. - but some major disadvantages as well. Such as:

1. They'd like me to work there for 12-14 months, starting this July and then working right up into September, so that there's an overlap between me and the YinI student starting next year. Not good as it means I'll barely have any time to relax after my A-levels are finished, and I won't be able to do any travelling just before I go to university, which is something that I'm possibly interested in doing. Also, I'd be working right through two consecutive Augusts, which just seems abhorrent to me at the moment, since August is most definitely classed in my mind as Holiday Time.
2. At the moment the journey is a 40-minute train ride to Waterloo, then nine stops up on the tube, and then a five-minute walk. Miraculously, yesterday the train/tube part took only just over an hour since both were on time and I barely had to stop walking in between. However, I suspect this is a rare occurrence. This means that I'd have to catch the 7.45am train, which means that (considering how long it takes to drag myself out of bed) I'd have to get up just gone six ay-emm. Very bad.
3. The longish journey enters into Zone 2 on the London transport system, which means that my daily ticket would cost a whopping £12.70, or about £50-£55 per week if I bought a season ticket. This is about one third of my salary (after tax). Plus, the office is going to relocate mid-2004 (when I'd be there) and they don't yet know where to, so conceivably I could have to travel much further and spend a lot more money just to get in to work. Here's a huge tube map if anyone wants to have a look [670k].
4. The company doesn't offer sponsorship through university for this position because they're an architectural firm and don't have any suitable work for an IT graduate. This is another thing that is Not Good, because I was kinda banking on that.
5. Since they use lots of graphics, they have about 75% Mac computers and 25% PCs. This is a 'bad point' simply because I'm being picky (well, only slightly) - I've never used a Mac computer. Well, not since the seldom-used computer in our classroom in Year 5 of the junior school was a Mac, but I barely used it and I can remember it baffling me because I hadn't used them before. However, there is a 2-3 day training course that I would be sent on right at the beginning of the working period, so this might not be a huge problem.

And, as I think I've mentioned, I also applied to IBM's pre-university employment scheme way back in October, which I really would like to do. However, the closing date for applications is stated on their website as the end of February, so presumably they haven't even started processing the application forms yet seeing as I haven't heard one peep out of them. So if yesterday's interview results in a job offer I'll have to either accept it and then pull out of the IBM scheme, or decline it, cross my fingers and hope I get a result with IBM.

My interview was over by 11.30am, so I went to Oxford Street and went shopping, which left me £80 poorer. Knew that was a bad idea. Or maybe not, cos I bought Jasper Fforde's Lost In A Good Book, Douglas Adams' The Salmon Of Doubt, David Lynch's Dune, Hitchcock's Rear Window and Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits, amongst other things. All discounted, of course, since I am a cheapskate. The Jasper Fforde was bought because I'm now about 150 pages into the prequel to it, which you should be able to see on the sidebar. One of the most entertaining reads I've had in months :)