JasonB

I'll reiterate the above and approve ONE stereotype of Durham: Avoid neighborhoods east of downtown. Perhaps most importantly because Duke is west of downtown... but also because they're crummy. Don't be shy of NORTHeast of downtown, though.. if you find a place in that area I can be more specific. -j

Bob Schmitz is your basic landlord in a college town of 275,000: IT DEPENDS. I've heard of him (and really, not him, but his company, because let's face it the guy is loaded and has people to do his work) being ok to quite good, with a few naysayers. Pick the property well; if you see yourself wanting to get that screen door fixed at some point during your stay, maybe its not the place for you. But if you can live with a little of the usual landlord neglect, I think you'd find most of his properties quite pleasant. -j

Just found out that Bull McCabe's (downtown, @ Chapel Hill and Main, great pub food) has Big10 Network! Just ask Willie or Tracy or Jay or Malachy to humor you (erm.... let's just say I've been there)

As a die-hard Illini fan and a staunch defender of anti-BigTen trash talk, I have railed against picking one of the Triangle's storied ACC basketball teams to receive the honor of my fan-ship. Thanks to the 2005 tourney, I obviously can't be a Carolina fan, I couldn't care less about State, and I have found Duke and their fan base to be really, really annoying. Still, I am grateful to now become a Duke fan, especially because now one of my teams will not be a heart-attack-inducing disaster every season. I heartily recommend embracing Duke and their winning record as a nice warm and fuzzy way to start caring about basketball. :) Oh, and as far as getting SEC games on the teevee at area bars, etc., all I can say is good luck! It probably won't be as bad as my experiences trying to watch the Illini recently, when they were trying to blow a great lead, were down 2 with 2 minutes left, and every available channel seemed to be playing the tipoff of a Gonzaga game.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Thank GOD that's done with. Congrats to all!

Aw! Love from the allnurses gods! Merci.

Puke update: Almost did this morning, thinking about tomorrow. Be well, all.

I am so going to puke at some point this week.

Hoping the few people I spoke with today at the interviews who had flights in a northeasterly direction got out of town ok! I think the girl on the way to Philly is probably holed up here waiting it out (and hoping she gets back in time for a mandatory micro lab on Monday!) I think I did pretty well interview-wise. Drew an ace with my first interviewer, a man who has frequented the restaurant I ran... I am definitely more worried about the financial situation, though, as I am every time that nice woman from the financial aid office gets up to speak. I am choosing the path of blissful crossing-of-that-bridge-when-I-trip-over-it. And I'm sure as hell going to be networking my a** off in the ICU while volunteering there. Here's to being personally invested in the economy's improvement! Yours, as always, in nail-biting anticipation, J.

Crap. I would start saving some cash for the deposit, but I don't want to jinx myself!

Snow day! Work is shut down. Hope everyone from out of town has been able to leave safely! Thanks for the insights about the interviews; it has been really helpful. I guess it's time to hunker down and actually practice for the interview. I've never had a formal interview of any sort... as a cook a job interview usually involves showing up and getting thrown on an unfamiliar grill station for 5 hours on a friday night. The thing is, I'm really not nervous at all about it. Perhaps I should be?

Welcome to the worry factory, Amy! I've got the 5th as well, as I think one or two others do. The advice so far seems to relax and be yourself (assuming, I guess, that ones"self" is energetic and talented). -Jason

Good luck, all! Let us know how it goes. Hope the weather here improves a bit; you missed our usual January Indian Summer.

quick survey: who's interviewing on the 5th? Looking forward to it!