Things we know and things we see

My career counsellor neglected to tell me my 10am appointment was cancelled because she is staying home with a sick child. I understand the child is sick, but could you call me from home, so I won't schlep my things all the way to Northeastern and miss an MS Office class in the morning?

I have no discernable plan to get jobs. I have a list of companies I would like to work for: AT&T Bell Labs, the Speech and Language Department at BBN, MITRE, Lernout & Hauspie, Haskins Laboratory, SRA, Lyrix (that's in Tewksbury, though), DialogMagic(?), Microsoft's Speech department (will I get penalized if I do not use WinXP??), LingoMotors, MERL, MIT and Harvard. I am sure I can get 5 or 10 more companies like that out of my memory banks. I wonder if there are companies like that in the Chicago/Milwaukee area?

Also, assuming I will not get a job right away in those companies, what full-time job can I get fast? In an environment I like? Using the stuff I've learned from part-time jobs and co-op?

I should have graduated in 2000, but nooooooo, I thought I could live on my own.

Thank you, LinguistList

Here are some Boston-area language companies (but are they still around?):
WordStream, Infotech, WebMind, Speechworks International, Net Zero, Teragram, Simpli.com, AnswerFriend. I assume it is some of the company name + .com (except for infotechcs.com)

Chicago area:
Cysive
University of Chicago (www.uchicago.edu)

Milwaukee area:
Marquette University (www.marquette.edu)

So, I have places I really want to work for. Guys, ideas for 'safety' employers, not linguistics-related, but seems close to what I am interested in, that lets me analyze data and talk to people about what I learned, about other things I like?

(no subject)

Okay, next week, I got a pre-employment assessment at a bank. We will see how that goes. At the least, I have a long ass employment history I can show the good folks along with my resume, and I figure $8 or so at 40 hours a week with benefits isn't bad. We will see however.

I found an ex-coworker wasn't very nice to his father and his side of the family and had a general problem with homosexuality, and I asked him about it and other things. He says he had no problem with me, then again, I'm a girl. My manager and his cousin told me not to pursue it any further. Oh well, it felt good to get it out.

I've been extremely lazy about my novel and looking at driver's manual. I figure by November 15, I will pay off my credit bill. What will that mean? When will I feel comfortable enough to leave my mom's house, move even? When I get my first paycheck from a full-time job. When will I feel it is okay for me to move in with Sivan? I don't know, maybe some nest egg and contacts to find another job. I have a place to live there, almost rent free.

I just don't know.