November 2011 "From My Perspective"

[Trudy in Illinois]

Every one of us has had to endure interview questions. Some of them were rational; some were not. Here is a list of actual ones used in job interviews with various companies. Enjoy and maybe get a pencil. “BNET contacted all of the companies who made top 25, and among those who responded, none were able to confirm the origin of the questions. But none of them denied that the questions had been used, either (though some said these questions were not part of a standard set used by all interviewers), and some even offered a possible explanation as to what kind of answer the interviewer was after.” ‘Think you're prepared for your next interview? Well, if you can answer these, you probably are:

1. If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and put in a blender, how would you get out? 2. How many ridges are there around a quarter? (Reportedly from Deloitte) 3. What is the philosophy of martial arts? (A spokesperson for Aflac (NYSE: AFL - News), where this question was used, says she hopes the candidate quoted Kwai Chang Caine from the 1970s TV show Kung Fu: "I seek not to know the answers, but to understand the questions.") 4. Explain to me what has happened in this country during the last 10 years (Reportedly from Boston Consulting) 5. Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 how weird you are (Reportedly from Capital One) 6. How many basketballs can you fit in this room? (Reportedly from Google) 7. Out of 25 horses, pick the fastest 3 horses. In each race, only 5 horses can run at the same time. What is the minimum number of races required? (Reportedly from Bloomberg LP) 8. If you could be any superhero, who would it be? (Reportedly from AT&T) 9. You have a birthday cake and have exactly three slices to cut it into eight equal pieces. How do you do it? (Reportedly from Blackrock Portfolio Management 10. Given the numbers 1 to 1000, what is the minimum number of guesses needed to find a specific number if you are given the hint "higher" or "lower" for each guess you make? (Reportedly from Facebook) 11. If you had 5,623 participants in a tournament, how many games would need to be played to determine the winner? (Reportedly from Amazon) 12. An apple costs 20 cents, an orange costs 40 cents, and a grapefruit costs 60 cents. How much is a pear? (Reportedly from Epic Systems) 13. There are three boxes. One contains only apples, one contains only oranges, and one contains both apples and oranges. The boxes have been incorrectly labeled such that no label identifies the actual contents of its box. Opening just one box, and without looking in the box, you take out one piece of fruit. By looking at the fruit, how can you immediately label all of the boxes correctly? (Reportedly from Apple) 14. How many traffic lights are in Manhattan? (Reportedly from Argus Information and Advisory Services) 15. You are in a dark room with no light. You have 19 grey socks and 25 black socks. What are the chances you will get a matching pair? (Reportedly from Convergex) 16. What do wood and alcohol have in common? (Reportedly from Guardsmark) 17. How do you weigh an elephant without using a weigh machine? (Reportedly from IBM) 18. You have 8 pennies. Seven weigh the same, but one weighs less. You also have a judges scale. Find the penny that weighs less in three steps. (Reportedly from Intel) 19. Why do you think only a small portion of the population makes over $150,000? (Reportedly from New York Life)
20. You are in charge of 20 people. Organize them to figure out how many bicycles were sold in your area last year. (Reportedly from Schlumberger ) 21. How many bottles of beer are [consumed] in the city [in a] week? (Reportedly from Nielsen) 22. What's the square root of 2000? (Reportedly from UBS) 23. A train leaves San Antonio for Houston at 60 mph. Another train leaves Houson for San Antonio at 80 mph. Houston and San Antonio are 300 miles apart. If a bird leaves San Antonio at 100 mph, and turns around and flies back once it reaches the Houston train, and continues to fly between the two, how far will it have flown when they collide? (Reportedly from USAA) 24. How are M&Ms made? (Reportedly from USBank) 25. What would you do if you just inherited a pizzeria from your uncle? (This question comes from Volkswagen (Stuttgart: VOW.SG - News). A spokeswoman for the company tells BNET while the question is certainly not standard, the company's business analysts often have to take over and manage projects started by other people, so this question may have been a manager's attempt to see how a job candidate would run a project they 'inherited.') Finished? Brain drained? Pencil chewed? Got milk?

I bought something which was in a bubble, hard-to-open wrap. After working on it for 15 minutes, I got it open. Well, some parts were missing, so I took it back. The cretin they had working behind the counter told me they couldn't take it back because it was open. I asked him, "How could I know if all the parts were there if I didn't open it?" He said it didn't matter, it was store policy. I told him, "So if no one finds your body, you aren't dead?" The look---priceless, the refund---$28.35. Sometimes it pays to ask questions.

The South has some very interesting ways of telling something. Here are a few I’ve heard: “cuttin’ rusty”—a nasty, difficult attitude. “Slept with a skunk family”---a very offensive body odor. “A while back”---phrase used for ‘I can’t remember when, but it happened.’ “Set a spell.”---invitation to stay for as long as it takes to drink a tall glass of sweet tea and swap some tales. “Y’all come back.”---invitation to return because your company is liked; not said if you’re not really welcome anymore. “Bless your/her/his/their heart.”---not really meant when a derogatory remark is made, but the remark is accepted by others; a polite way of saying, “No sh**.”

I’m from Pittsburgh and a Steelers fan. The emblem on their helmets and denoting the team has drawn my attention to find out just what it is. The other teams were understandable, but the Steelers was a quandary. It is a hypocycloid steel emblem---three diamond shapes and is based on the Steel mark logo belonging to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Created by U.S. Steel Corp. (now known as USX Corp.) It is the only team in the NFL which has their emblem on only one side of the helmet.

I found out that the average size for a woman in the USA is a size 14. I was thrilled, although I’m not a size 14, but would like to get down to it. I’m now ABOVE average which is what my parents told me to strive for.

I was reading an article about inner peace. Here are the statements about how to know if you have inner peace: “If you can start the day without caffeine; If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles; If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it; If you can understand when your love ones are too busy to give you any time; If you can take criticism and blame without resentment; If you can conquer tension without medical help; If you can relax without liquor; If you can sleep without the aid of drugs…I was agreeing to most of them and felt pretty good until I read the last line---“then, you have inner peace and are probably the family dog.”

The longest place name in the United States is Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, located near Webster, MAOn the average, an American opens their refrigerator door 22 times a day. With 2 teens in our home our neighbors are probably thinking someone is using Morse code.

I got this note and a picture from a friend. I’ll share it.
March was when my boy celebrated his 15th birthday, and I got him an iPhone. He just loved it. Who wouldn't? I celebrated my birthday in July, and my wife made me very happy when she bought me an iPad. My daughter'sbirthday was in August so I got her an iPod Touch. My wife celebrated her birthday in September so I got her an iRon with a standing iPad. It was around then that the fight started. What my wife failed to recognize is that the iRon can be integrated into the home network with the iWash, iCook and iClean. This inevitably activates the iNag reminder service. I should be out of the hospital by Thursday!

I’ve watched football in high school, college, and in my adult life. I’m married to a former professional football player. There is one of a few things I can never understand------the game is 1 hour long, but it takes 3 hours to complete the one hour game.

Recently while watching a football game with Hubby, an opposing player literally flew into the fella running with the ball. Hubby yelled, “Illegal flying!” I said, “Of course; he didn’t have his pilot’s license.”
Have you ever wondered: if an asp on the grass is a snake, then why is a grasp on the ass a goose?

I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers. -Khalil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist (1883-1931) It’s interesting how opposites teach us so much. Mother used to say, “I hope you have a child just like you!” I did and am now raising her daughter who is almost just like her. You’d think I’d have learned!

In Cape Cod, MA there is a tom turkey which attacks the mail truck as it delivers residential mail. Ben Franklin wanted our national bird to be a turkey. Imagine if it had happened; we’d still be getting mail via horse and rider. Hmmm, come to think of it, at times it seems we are.

"He who throws mud only loses ground." ~Fat Albert

Today's Stock Market Report:Helium was up, Feathers were down; Paper was stationary; Fluorescent tubing was dimmed in light trading; Knives were up sharply; Cows steered into a bull market; Pencils lost a few points; Hiking equipment was trailing; Elevators rose; while escalators continued their slow decline; Weights were up in heavy trading; Light switches were off; Mining equipment hit rock bottom; Diapers remain unchanged; Shipping lines stayed at an even keel; The market for raisins dried up; Coca Cola fizzled; Caterpillar stock inched up a bit; Sun peaked at midday; Balloon prices were inflated; And, ScottTissue touched a new bottom.

A friend of mine sent me a list of THE TOP TEN of various subjects and countries. There was ice cream, chocolate consumption, bottled water drinkers, and so on. I was reading the list to my teens. One piped up and asked, “Which one eats the most bologna?” I turned to that child who has been known to eat almost a pound of it in one sitting and said, “That would be YOU!”

A friend and I had some tense words. I knew from what she said she didn’t care if the friendship ended. She insulted me about my size and was bragging about all the weight she’d lost and how diligent she was staying on the eating program and that nothing chocolate could sway her to change. I made these for her: Layers Of Love Chocolate Brownies Made with a genuine love of chocolate, this decadent brownie features vanilla-flavored white and semi-sweet chocolate morsels, chopped pecans and caramel layered within a rich cocoa batter. Ingredients: 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut in pieces; 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 3 large eggs, divided, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 cup chopped pecans, 3/4 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Premier White Morsels, 1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping, 3/4 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels Directions: PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 8-inch-square baking pan. COMBINE flour, cocoa and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Reserve 3/4 cup batter. Spread remaining batter into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle nuts and white morsels over batter. Drizzle caramel topping over top. Beat remaining egg and reserved batter in same large bowl until light in color. Stir in semi-sweet morsels. Spread evenly over caramel topping. BAKE for 30 to 35 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. She called asking for forgiveness and how good these were. Cost of brownies----$3.75; cost of sweet revenge-----priceless.

I was on a diet where I was told, "If it tastes good, don't eat it". Then the doc put me on one which allows tastes of sin every now and then. I kept sinning every “now”; I forgot about "then". Doc took me off that one and called my minister.

Blessings to you and gratefulness for your enjoyment of this newsletter. Let me hear from you. I’d love it. Trudy J