Welcome to the Boyd's Nest: Quick Job Update

Phillips and Co = no-go. It sounded promising, but apparently becoming an "Investment Advisor" would have me as one of about 50 guys working in a call center making cold-calls to individuals and businesses to solicit portfolio management services. The job required 60-100 cold calls per day, 2 to 3 solid leads, and no face-to-face time with clients. The base salary for that job would've helped us make ends meet, but I have a hard time seeing myself advancing in this company--they claim that it is a team environment, yet there are 50 or more guys vying for a single Junior Partner position with the firm. I just can't bring myself to be the next Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) from Wall Street:

If you want an idea of the work environment, picture a 60x25 room. Fill it with 50 frat boys, cheesy sales pitches, and the word "bro." It sort of had the vibe of an AT&T tech help center. It was a little disappointing.

Last night, Katie and I were talking about moving down to Eugene to try our luck out there for jobs. With over 40 copies of my resume and cover letter circulating the field, I felt like I struck out up here after achieving only a 5% response rate. It was a hard decision, but the competition might not be as fierce in Eugene, which is why we were considering it. Katie will be watching my aunt and uncle's place for the month of February, so we would also be able to benefit from having a rent-free month. Plus, Eugene is absolutely beautiful and more up our alley than sprawling urban metropolises... metropoli?

Versus:

Around 8:30 this morning, however, a staffing agent from Bank of America called my phone and invited me to have an interview with one of the Portland branches. I said "absolutely!" Before hanging up, she asked me if I was familiar with the Lombard-Greeley area of Portland, which I sort-of am. She said, "Well, there's an open position out there for you also--do you want an interview?"

"Sure!"

It is amazing how our situation can change in just a matter of hours. With Bank of America being my first choice, and with the greatest opportunity for career development in Finance, there was no way I could turn it down (even if it wasn't in beautiful Eugene). I had my first interview today for a Personal Banker position at the B of A just down the street (1.4 miles) and I have another interview for the same position this Thursday. Today's interview went great--I felt confident coming out of the meeting and am sure I will do even better this Thursday. It looks like Portland is back on the map! Sorry Eugene--your turn will come.

In other news, we had a very enjoyable weekend with my Eugenian and Lake Oswegian cousins--Joe, Susan, Timothy, MacKenzie, Jacob, Madison*, Danny, Chris, and Hieu. On Saturday we went to The Old Spaghetti Factory and spent some time at Chris and Hieu's condo, where we played video games and hung out as kids. The next day we met up with them for a nice nature walk, lots of Oswegian exploring, and an awesome trip to an indoor clubhouse pool with an extravagant slide and waterpark-like features:

Since our visit, Katie and I have been inspired to check out Lake Oswego for our first rental--it is a lot like Walnut Creek/Moraga/Eugene in terms of layout and scenery. most of the apartments and townhomes in that area are about $400-$500 less than the rent we were paying in Novato, and have free access to that clubhouse. The heated indoor pool, full-range gym, spa, sauna, and other indoor recreation activities definitely sweeten the deal of living in this community. It is a little more south of Portland, but only about 15 minutes from where we currently live:

Regardless of what happens over the next few weeks, things are likely to change drastically. If I secure a job up here in Portland, then we will likely have a nice rental by March. I really hope this is the case, simply for the sake of adding some stability to our lives and being able to have some friends/family up soon! If I don't get the job, however, I'll be down in Eugene and pounding the pavement down there for work. Those are the plans for now--both are bittersweet and full of excitement :)

Nothing more to say on my end, so I'll leave you with a few pictures from our weekend that Katie and I took. By the way, click them for full-size versions!

Katie and Baby Jacob