i have 3 more weeks left of my internship.
today, wednesday, i found out i need to put together a presentation for my General Manager (aka my 5th degree boss, aka REALLY high level) that would reflect my entire activity at MS during this summer. the presentation is supposed to happen on Friday, so it's fun-fun-fun for me for the next 48 hours.
once i am done with this presentation i need to put together a spec for a tool in about...hmm...1 week. i already know what i should put in the spec, but it will still be challenging to verbalize all the details of this thing.
anyway, the point is: i am not complaining about my workload. i actually kinda like it. however, i will be completely absent from this blog in the next 3 weeks, while i am trying to wrap things up with my internship, and while i have Alice and Ale visit me from MD.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
ok, so i thought my apartment-campus was a boring, too safe environment
The Seattle Times:
Man, woman shot dead in Redmond parking lot in apparent murder-suicide
A man and a woman were found dead in the parking lot of a Redmond apartment complex in what police are calling a murder-suicide.
By Seattle Times staff
A man and a woman were found dead in the parking lot of a Redmond apartment complex in what police are calling a murder-suicide.
Redmond police were called to the Archstone Redmond Campus, 4300 block of 156th Avenue Northeast, at 9:10 a.m. for reports of gunfire, said police spokesman Jim Bove. Bove said the man shot a woman "at least eight times in the torso" before shooting himself in the temple. Police recovered a 9 mm handgun near the man's body and found a .357 Magnum tucked into the back of his pants.
Police don't know the relationship between the man and the woman. Bove said the woman lived at the complex.
He said he doesn't think police had been dispatched to the complex before for any reports of violence involving the woman.
--good thing i leave my apartment before 8AM every day --
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Skittles
Today I wanted to blog about the good time I have been recently spending with some of the MS girl-interns. However, I was reading the previous post on "consumerism" and I remembered this episode that happened about 3 weeks ago.
I was spending some time on the rooftop of an MS building with 3 guys. We were just hanging out, they were having beers, I was enjoying a nice Straciatella ice cream. The mood was chill, the view from the rooftop was amazing so, naturally, we started talking about...relationships (what else can you talk about in such a setting?).
Well, one of the guys was talking about how he was trying to break up with this "chick". And he said the best comparison he could think of (to make her understand his intentions) was a Skittles-comparison. Let me elaborate: you need to try all the "flavors", and you cannot afford to spend too much time stuck on just one flavor. So, since she was just one of the flavors, he needed to let her go to continue his exploration.
Now...I actually have a pretty good opinion of the Skittles-guy. But the whole conversation we had is very indicative of the "consumerism" I was talking about in my previous entry. I also don't want to make it seem like the Skittles-mentality only applies to guys. It is just as valid for girls.
I wonder if Skittles-guy actually used his metaphor during the break-up.
I was spending some time on the rooftop of an MS building with 3 guys. We were just hanging out, they were having beers, I was enjoying a nice Straciatella ice cream. The mood was chill, the view from the rooftop was amazing so, naturally, we started talking about...relationships (what else can you talk about in such a setting?).
Well, one of the guys was talking about how he was trying to break up with this "chick". And he said the best comparison he could think of (to make her understand his intentions) was a Skittles-comparison. Let me elaborate: you need to try all the "flavors", and you cannot afford to spend too much time stuck on just one flavor. So, since she was just one of the flavors, he needed to let her go to continue his exploration.
Now...I actually have a pretty good opinion of the Skittles-guy. But the whole conversation we had is very indicative of the "consumerism" I was talking about in my previous entry. I also don't want to make it seem like the Skittles-mentality only applies to guys. It is just as valid for girls.
I wonder if Skittles-guy actually used his metaphor during the break-up.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
it's a consumer's world out there...
take a step back and look at the world today: we buy-buy-buy, we are in a rush to consume entertainment in its various forms, and we forget to fully enjoy anything we do. we are consumers/spenders/customers for everything.
when it comes to our relationships with other people, we apply the same consumer-like behavior. we look for the best deals and, once we don't like something about a certain deal, we drop it. we don't try to fix things, we just replace them. that's why we have the really high divorce rates,and that's why our friends are just temporary.
"I don't compromise" seems to be our catch-phrase. well, why NOT compromise? what is so bad about compromises? oh...yeah...they take time and effort. and we are unwilling/unable to provide those two things; we cannot "bargain" for our deals. we just want everything upfront and within easy reach.
so...i guess my point is: we need to slow things down. how do we do that?...
(I just came across this song; it is romanian; you don't need to understand the lyrics, just watch the clip).
when it comes to our relationships with other people, we apply the same consumer-like behavior. we look for the best deals and, once we don't like something about a certain deal, we drop it. we don't try to fix things, we just replace them. that's why we have the really high divorce rates,and that's why our friends are just temporary.
"I don't compromise" seems to be our catch-phrase. well, why NOT compromise? what is so bad about compromises? oh...yeah...they take time and effort. and we are unwilling/unable to provide those two things; we cannot "bargain" for our deals. we just want everything upfront and within easy reach.
so...i guess my point is: we need to slow things down. how do we do that?...
(I just came across this song; it is romanian; you don't need to understand the lyrics, just watch the clip).
Monday, July 21, 2008
missing my people / my fam
today more than ever i feel the need to be around my family and around my old, old friends...i guess i am homesick all of a sudden. the song below is one of my old-time favorites. i kinda grew up loving this band's songs.
the song is about falling inlove during the summer; mine is almost gone...
the song is about falling inlove during the summer; mine is almost gone...
Sunday, July 20, 2008
smooth flow
Jazz Alley: dim lights, amazing food,awesome jazz-loving crowd, and, of course, the smooth flow of live jazz. I closed my eyes and let myself get carried away by the rythm. I forgot about work/people/specs/meetings/drama; it was all about me and the unbelievable high I got every time the saxophone started playing.
It was also about watching the reactions of those around me. There was a couple right across from my table; they were celebrating their 1-year anniversary. He was wearing a fly, old-fashion hat, and he had his arm around his woman; she was dressed up and had stars in her eyes every time she looked at her man. At some point they stood up and started dancing. They were the only ones doing it, and they enjoyed every second of it.
...And then there was the lonely lady to the right of my table. She seemed to be 40-50, and she was looking really pretty. This lady was having dinner all by herself and, to be honest, I felt really bad for her that night. However, looking back, I think I like her better than the couple. You see, she did not need some anniversary-excuse to go out and have some fun at a jazz club. She was not dressed up for someone else, and she was not trying to impress any friend or any lover. She was just enjoying herself, the music, and the food at a classy jazz club. You go, girl!
It was also about watching the reactions of those around me. There was a couple right across from my table; they were celebrating their 1-year anniversary. He was wearing a fly, old-fashion hat, and he had his arm around his woman; she was dressed up and had stars in her eyes every time she looked at her man. At some point they stood up and started dancing. They were the only ones doing it, and they enjoyed every second of it.
...And then there was the lonely lady to the right of my table. She seemed to be 40-50, and she was looking really pretty. This lady was having dinner all by herself and, to be honest, I felt really bad for her that night. However, looking back, I think I like her better than the couple. You see, she did not need some anniversary-excuse to go out and have some fun at a jazz club. She was not dressed up for someone else, and she was not trying to impress any friend or any lover. She was just enjoying herself, the music, and the food at a classy jazz club. You go, girl!
Friday, July 18, 2008
we all have good things inside us...
yesterday i went out with a group of interns. we ended up at this hookah-place downtown seattle (i think it is called "zaina"). hookah = ok; company = awesome; crazy old guy that kept telling us jokes = HILARIOUS!
- hookah: it was actually my first time smoking one of these. i enjoyed some minty flavor; i was not a huge fan of the rest of the flavors (too sweet).
- company: a bunch of fun interns plus my friend, hero, who was flown in by MS all the way from NC. since the place had some pretty good dance music, it didn't take long before hero, deb, mehmet and i turned the narrow space between tables into a mini-dance floor (there's nothing like some amateur belly-dancing =P ).
- crazy old guy: i will go back to "zaina" just because of this dude (i dont know what his job is, but he works there). he was probably in his 60's, and he had the funniest jokes. every 5-10 minutes he would come by our table and share his wisdom with us. i would post some of his quotes here, but...idk....i might be tagged for inapropriate blog-content. (if you really want to hear some of them, i will tell you in person).
- hookah: it was actually my first time smoking one of these. i enjoyed some minty flavor; i was not a huge fan of the rest of the flavors (too sweet).
- company: a bunch of fun interns plus my friend, hero, who was flown in by MS all the way from NC. since the place had some pretty good dance music, it didn't take long before hero, deb, mehmet and i turned the narrow space between tables into a mini-dance floor (there's nothing like some amateur belly-dancing =P ).
- crazy old guy: i will go back to "zaina" just because of this dude (i dont know what his job is, but he works there). he was probably in his 60's, and he had the funniest jokes. every 5-10 minutes he would come by our table and share his wisdom with us. i would post some of his quotes here, but...idk....i might be tagged for inapropriate blog-content. (if you really want to hear some of them, i will tell you in person).
Monday, July 14, 2008
Laura is not here
I was doing some random browsing on Youtube and I found one of my all-time favorite songs. Enjoy Nek e sua bellissima canzone.
many of you will relate to this...cause you do it too
what happens when we all get too polite? what happens when we can no longer be honest about what we think, and we hide behind linguistic tricks?
Sunday, July 13, 2008
charlie bartlett
If you are sorta nostalgic about high school days, you can watch this movie. I liked it because it reminded me of some of the people from my high school. And it reminded me about being 17-18 and enjoying the really small things. And it really put me in a good mood, when i needed it the most.
Pay attention to Charlie's mother. I found her hilarious. And pay attention to Charlie's anti-suicide speech; it is probably the best i've ever heard in a movie.
Pay attention to Charlie's mother. I found her hilarious. And pay attention to Charlie's anti-suicide speech; it is probably the best i've ever heard in a movie.
Friday, July 11, 2008
7 week report :-P
i just had my mid-internship review with my manager. his feedback was generally positive, so i am happy. he asked a pretty interesting question during the review meeting: "so do you feel that your time here has been going by quickly?".
i honestly did not know what to answer..."both" i said, and he kinda took it as a bad sign. "well, it is really not a bad sign", i tried to explain...
if i think of the stuff i've learned at work, then time has flown by pretty slowly. i know a lot more about Search; i know a lot more stuff about how things work at Microsoft; i've changed my mind about the industry (initially i thought it was not a great thing); all these put together make me feel like i've been here for quite a while.
if i think of the fun-stuff i've been doing (meeting people, going places) then, yes, time has flown by pretty quickly so far, and i feel like i still need to do a lot more stuff before my internship ends. i've met sooo many interesting interns, that it will be hard to leave this place and go back to MD. let's see, here are short descriptions of some of them:
- the "fab four" explorers who work in the same "hallway office" as me. Ronny, Judith, Nik, and Nikki. they are waaay to loud sometimes. they make fun of ronny all the time (well, he's just really funny to begin with). they are nice to have around; whenever i am too tired or need to relax, i just take my headphones off and listen to their stories. judith always talks about her funny family, nik always picks on judith, nikki can sneeze for 10 times in a row, and ronny...well...ronny is just ronny and that's enough.
- phil and lucky: the amazing SDE interns from Commerce Search. their projects are hard as hell, but they've been doing great work so far (their managers have nothing but good things to say about them). phil is my doubles partner for ping pong, but i havent played any matches with him in a looong while (yeah, i need to work less). lucky is the mellow overachiever; good for really deep/serious conversations; bad for ping pong cause he always kicks my ass (my expansive ego cant take that).
- the "champions": i met these kids because of Tom. Tom is this perfect example of a "social butterfly". he brings people together, and he can organize some of the best parties. you can't get bored when he is around. the "champions" themselves are a pretty interesting group. geeky as hell, but REALLY fun. so far, i need to admit tho that, out of all the champions, my favorite is Mehmet. he is this larger-than-life guy with tons of energy. he is the life of the party, and he says he will help me make dolmas ("sarmale", for romanians).
- the "russians": well, in this group most of the people are russian, or at least from the former Soviet block. hmm...let's see, my favorite in the group is this guy called eugene (idk how to spell the russian version of his name). he's the type of chill dude with a really naughty smirk on the face. my next favorites are Janette (i am sure i spelled that wrong) and Barjan. they are an interesting couple: Barjan is this ADD-guy who starts talking to random people on the street with a fake Borat-accent (Barjan is actually from Kazahstan). Janette seems to be the opposite: she is a typical good-girl, with really good taste in clothes.
well, so...this is how i would summarize my 7 weeks in seattle so far. i did not want to talk about work, cause i get enough of it all day long. i also did not want to talk about the places i've seen, cause...they are just places. the folks around me, tho , they are pretty awesome and this would be an entirely different experience without them :)
i honestly did not know what to answer..."both" i said, and he kinda took it as a bad sign. "well, it is really not a bad sign", i tried to explain...
if i think of the stuff i've learned at work, then time has flown by pretty slowly. i know a lot more about Search; i know a lot more stuff about how things work at Microsoft; i've changed my mind about the industry (initially i thought it was not a great thing); all these put together make me feel like i've been here for quite a while.
if i think of the fun-stuff i've been doing (meeting people, going places) then, yes, time has flown by pretty quickly so far, and i feel like i still need to do a lot more stuff before my internship ends. i've met sooo many interesting interns, that it will be hard to leave this place and go back to MD. let's see, here are short descriptions of some of them:
- the "fab four" explorers who work in the same "hallway office" as me. Ronny, Judith, Nik, and Nikki. they are waaay to loud sometimes. they make fun of ronny all the time (well, he's just really funny to begin with). they are nice to have around; whenever i am too tired or need to relax, i just take my headphones off and listen to their stories. judith always talks about her funny family, nik always picks on judith, nikki can sneeze for 10 times in a row, and ronny...well...ronny is just ronny and that's enough.
- phil and lucky: the amazing SDE interns from Commerce Search. their projects are hard as hell, but they've been doing great work so far (their managers have nothing but good things to say about them). phil is my doubles partner for ping pong, but i havent played any matches with him in a looong while (yeah, i need to work less). lucky is the mellow overachiever; good for really deep/serious conversations; bad for ping pong cause he always kicks my ass (my expansive ego cant take that).
- the "champions": i met these kids because of Tom. Tom is this perfect example of a "social butterfly". he brings people together, and he can organize some of the best parties. you can't get bored when he is around. the "champions" themselves are a pretty interesting group. geeky as hell, but REALLY fun. so far, i need to admit tho that, out of all the champions, my favorite is Mehmet. he is this larger-than-life guy with tons of energy. he is the life of the party, and he says he will help me make dolmas ("sarmale", for romanians).
- the "russians": well, in this group most of the people are russian, or at least from the former Soviet block. hmm...let's see, my favorite in the group is this guy called eugene (idk how to spell the russian version of his name). he's the type of chill dude with a really naughty smirk on the face. my next favorites are Janette (i am sure i spelled that wrong) and Barjan. they are an interesting couple: Barjan is this ADD-guy who starts talking to random people on the street with a fake Borat-accent (Barjan is actually from Kazahstan). Janette seems to be the opposite: she is a typical good-girl, with really good taste in clothes.
well, so...this is how i would summarize my 7 weeks in seattle so far. i did not want to talk about work, cause i get enough of it all day long. i also did not want to talk about the places i've seen, cause...they are just places. the folks around me, tho , they are pretty awesome and this would be an entirely different experience without them :)
Saturday, July 5, 2008
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