As I write my final post in this blog, I am sitting back at my real home in Boulder, Colorado. I find myself cuddled under a fleece blanket, cat in my lap, and looking forward to a very busy semester at CU.
My last week in San Diego was as dreamy as every preceding week. Monday at work, I received a message from one of my intern friends named Aysha. The message asked if I would be interested in running on the beach with her after work that day. I was quick to accept the offer, since this was one of the few things I had not tried this summer. After work, we headed over La Jolla Shores and jogged along the wet sand as the sun set over the ocean. The lighting was absolute perfection; in my opinion, it is tough to beat a beach sunset. Perhaps the best part of the jog (other than the scenic view) was to have the opportunity to reflect with a fellow intern on our summer experiences. In addition to the jogging, we were able to swap memorable stories and laughs from the summer.
Tuesday provided me an opportunity to attend my last “Taco-licious Tuesday” of the summer in Old Town, San Diego (see picture at right). I feasted on the $2 tacos, along with five of my good friends. My order? I settled for 2 shrimp tacos and 1 chicken taco, totaling to a “whopping” $6. San Diego certainly has some of the most delicious and affordable Mexican food I have ever sampled!
My last week at work proved to be much more emotional than I had expected. After working with Qualcomm continuously for 1 year, 3 months, I was surprised how attached and committed I had become. I realized that Qualcomm was not only a place where I “worked” 40 hours a week, but a community of people that had fostered and cared for my growth. And just as people get sentimental when graduating from high school or moving houses to another state, I found myself very sad to be ending my employment with them to return to Boulder. On Wednesday, I had a final opportunity to present for 1 hour in front of my team leads and director. While an hour seems like a substantial amount of time to spend talking all alone, I really appreciated the chance to share my progress and project results with the management team. It was wonderful to hear their feedback and approval, since I believe opportunities such as this one give me a chance to grow. I think it is safe to assume I did well, since I got feedback that managers from other teams (who I had not even worked with) were inquiring about me joining their teams for the coming summer!
My last night in San Diego, a group of friends and I decided to go to the Del Mar Horse Races (see picture to the right!). For me, I couldn’t help but chuckle as I remembered the large, intricate hats and dresses worn to the races from the costumes in My Fair Lady. The dress code was much more casual that evening (no large hats required!). While none of us took a gamble to bet on the horses, we all enjoyed the culture and experience. The names of the horses were also quite entertaining. A few of my favorites included: Scotty the Fast, Not-Glue, and Pretty in Pink. After a free concert in the grass following the last race, my roommate Anne and I headed home to finish up packing up the apartment.
Saturday morning, I took Anne to the airport at 6 AM so she could catch her flight home to Pennsylvania. After a tear-eyed goodbye, I finished packing my own car and began the 6 hour drive to Phoenix. I arrived mid-afternoon at Grandpa and Grandma Corner’s house in Sun City West. It was wonderful to be the only family member visiting the grandparents’ house for a number of reasons. First, instead of sleeping on the fold-out couch in the living room, I was awarded the coveted guest bedroom (generally occupied by my parents). Second, with no Christy present, I was given the full attention and love of my grandparents! We celebrated our reunion with a home cooked meal and by renting and watching the musical State Fair together.
My second day in Arizona, my grandma and I took a trip to Walmart to begin a sewing project together. I had brought a sun-dress from San Diego, which needed a little fix to it. Grandma Dorothy graciously agreed to help me sew the fabric purchased at Walmart on the dress. I am quite envious of both of my grandma’s sewing skills. I fear that one day far in the future, when I find myself a grandma, I will have no skills to darn socks or sew Halloween costumes for my grandchildren! I still have high hopes, however, that I may acquire some cooking skills that will create my grandchildrens’ favorite meals! After spending a few hours soaking up the Arizona sunshine at the Palm Ridge pools, I went to dinner with the Ratliff family. It was very exciting to catch up with my Uncle Mike, Aunt Tess, and Melissa and Tim. I consider myself so lucky to be included in a family that oozes love, affection, and laughter whenever we are together. Seeing them has made me all the more eager for Thanksgiving break to arrive, when we can all be together again.
Monday morning, my cousin Tim and I jumped in the car to make the long journey home to Boulder, CO. Tim was accompanying me not only to provide his genial company, but to aide in the transportation of another family member, Molly. Molly, the miniature daschund, had been vacationing for the last few weeks with the Ratliffs, and hitched a ride with me back to her home with Grandpa and Grandma Zuefle in Boulder. After 16 hours, 3 fast food stops, and hours of singing along to songs on the radio, we arrived in Boulder safe and sound.
There are times now when I think back to all of my adventures this summer in San Diego. It truly is a paradise on this earth. Yet that does not change my feelings towards the city of Boulder, for it too is a paradise. I would suspect that if one took a sample of 19-year-old American girls across the country, few would have been given the opportunities I received this summer. While I recognize that many experiences I had were once in a lifetime, I aim to remain truly humble towards life. I believe that if I continue to work hard and make the right choices, life will continue to surprise me in the most breathtaking ways.
And with those final thoughts, I finish my final blog entry tonight from my home in Boulder, CO. Perhaps if I have the opportunity to explore more exotic places in my future, I will create another blog to share those experiences like I did for my San Diego summer. For now, I need to focus on getting prepared for a very busy semester in my Junior year of engineering at the University of Colorado. Thank you for reading and sharing my thoughts and emotions with me this summer. I enjoyed writing them, and I certainly hope you enjoyed reading them.
All my love,
Katie
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
"She ate HOW many free meals in 5 days?!"
I am not sure I really anticipated how quickly this moment would be upon me. I am now a short 5 days away from leaving my California apartment, lifestyle, and friends to return home to Boulder for school this fall. As expected, my final weeks here have accelerated with activities as I try to fit all my favorite experiences into my schedule for one last time.
The fun started last weekend when my parents came into town to visit. While I joined the American workforce to complete an 8 hours of engineering on Friday, my retired parents lived like vacationers around my apartment complex. While I fully believe that my parents deserve every moment of happiness in their retirement, I must admit that a little pang of jealousy hit me as I was forced to go to work while they enjoyed my beautiful city for a day! Haha. However, I quickly turned that jealousy into inspiration, as I realized that working hard for many years will hopefully afford me a similar retired lifestyle one day. Friday night had many exciting activities lined up to celebrate my dad’s (belated) birthday! We started with a walk on La Jolla Shores beach. That evening, there was a bonfire on the beach provided by Qualcomm for the 500 interns here this summer. While I chatted with some of my intern friends and made s’mores on the campfire, my parents went on a walk towards the Cove. When they returned we snapped a few quick pictures (which you can see at right). After that, we jumped in my car and headed to Little Italy in downtown San Diego. After enjoying a spectacular Italian dinner at a restaurant Café Zuchhero, I had a special treat ready for my parents. I work with an interned named Marina, who has been performing at a local comedy club for the past 3 years. The National Comedy Theater has shows based entirely on improvised comedy, similar to the TV show “Who’s Line is it Anyway?”. Essentially, the “improv” comedians take suggestions from the audience and make it funny. My friend Marina gave us 2 complimentary tickets, and I bought the third student ticket. Thus, my parents and I laughed until our bellies hurt at a local comedy club for only $12 !
Saturday, we relaxed by my apartment pool and my parents grilled an absolutely delicious dinner for Anne and me that night. The dinner consisted of marinated “soyaki” chicken and about every grilled vegetable on the planet. This dinner reminded how wonderful it used to be when my parents cooked dinner for me! I am not sure I was ever appreciative enough for how lucky I was to have a tasty meal prepared for me each night! My parents took off for Sun City West to visit my dad’s parents Sunday morning.
Last week at worked proved to be a record breaking “free food” week. I received a total of 4 free lunches, 2 free dinners, 1 free ice cream sundae, and 1 free chocolate moose cake!!! Friday at work was a big highlight for me. You may remember that last year, while I was a Qualcomm intern in Boulder, I traveled to San Diego with the other Boulder interns for an “intern weekend” to see Qualcomm headquarters. Now, as a San Diego intern, I had the treat of watching the Qualcomm interns around the U.S. fly into San Diego this Friday for their "intern weekend". For intern weekend, we all got to hear the CEO Paul Jacobs speak about Qualcomm. This is always very exciting, as I find Paul Jacobs to be a very inspirational speaker. I also had my last QWISE Board Meeting, where I was given a card, t-shirt, and chocolate moose cake to thank me for my work this summer. That evening, I also attended the visiting Boulder interns in a bowling alley downtown. Qualcomm provided free dinner and drinks, in addition to unlimited bowling. It was great to hang out with some of my Boulder friends again!
Now I find myself peering into the near future. One week. A short 5 days. That’s all. It is very unsettling for me to think about moving out so soon, but I understand that I have many exciting opportunities waiting to meet me in Boulder too! Sending my love from California.
The fun started last weekend when my parents came into town to visit. While I joined the American workforce to complete an 8 hours of engineering on Friday, my retired parents lived like vacationers around my apartment complex. While I fully believe that my parents deserve every moment of happiness in their retirement, I must admit that a little pang of jealousy hit me as I was forced to go to work while they enjoyed my beautiful city for a day! Haha. However, I quickly turned that jealousy into inspiration, as I realized that working hard for many years will hopefully afford me a similar retired lifestyle one day. Friday night had many exciting activities lined up to celebrate my dad’s (belated) birthday! We started with a walk on La Jolla Shores beach. That evening, there was a bonfire on the beach provided by Qualcomm for the 500 interns here this summer. While I chatted with some of my intern friends and made s’mores on the campfire, my parents went on a walk towards the Cove. When they returned we snapped a few quick pictures (which you can see at right). After that, we jumped in my car and headed to Little Italy in downtown San Diego. After enjoying a spectacular Italian dinner at a restaurant Café Zuchhero, I had a special treat ready for my parents. I work with an interned named Marina, who has been performing at a local comedy club for the past 3 years. The National Comedy Theater has shows based entirely on improvised comedy, similar to the TV show “Who’s Line is it Anyway?”. Essentially, the “improv” comedians take suggestions from the audience and make it funny. My friend Marina gave us 2 complimentary tickets, and I bought the third student ticket. Thus, my parents and I laughed until our bellies hurt at a local comedy club for only $12 !
Saturday, we relaxed by my apartment pool and my parents grilled an absolutely delicious dinner for Anne and me that night. The dinner consisted of marinated “soyaki” chicken and about every grilled vegetable on the planet. This dinner reminded how wonderful it used to be when my parents cooked dinner for me! I am not sure I was ever appreciative enough for how lucky I was to have a tasty meal prepared for me each night! My parents took off for Sun City West to visit my dad’s parents Sunday morning.
Last week at worked proved to be a record breaking “free food” week. I received a total of 4 free lunches, 2 free dinners, 1 free ice cream sundae, and 1 free chocolate moose cake!!! Friday at work was a big highlight for me. You may remember that last year, while I was a Qualcomm intern in Boulder, I traveled to San Diego with the other Boulder interns for an “intern weekend” to see Qualcomm headquarters. Now, as a San Diego intern, I had the treat of watching the Qualcomm interns around the U.S. fly into San Diego this Friday for their "intern weekend". For intern weekend, we all got to hear the CEO Paul Jacobs speak about Qualcomm. This is always very exciting, as I find Paul Jacobs to be a very inspirational speaker. I also had my last QWISE Board Meeting, where I was given a card, t-shirt, and chocolate moose cake to thank me for my work this summer. That evening, I also attended the visiting Boulder interns in a bowling alley downtown. Qualcomm provided free dinner and drinks, in addition to unlimited bowling. It was great to hang out with some of my Boulder friends again!
Now I find myself peering into the near future. One week. A short 5 days. That’s all. It is very unsettling for me to think about moving out so soon, but I understand that I have many exciting opportunities waiting to meet me in Boulder too! Sending my love from California.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Learning to Surf (or to fall gracefully with a surfboard in tow!)
The Qualcomm engineer is an interesting breed of human. Here at 10:30AM on a Thursday, the entire building is completely silent. Believe it or not, people have either not rolled into work yet, or are still in the quiet beginning stages of their mornings. It appears that the 9-5PM workday that generations past and present adhere to is a joke at Qualcomm. I have noticed that many of my coworkers arrive late and stay late. As for me, I tend to get into work around 8:30 and stay until about 5. In my opinion, there are still heaps of places I have yet to explore in San Diego. Thus, I prefer having my afternoons more open to explore the city!
Last Saturday I went surfing with around 20 other Qualcomm interns. The camera crew who had been filming me the previous week attended, so I felt a little extra pressure to do well. I must admit, I was a little nervous that I would be a terrible surfer and no good camera footage would be taken! The first step was to find a wet suit that fit and grab a surf board. You can see a picture to the right of my roommate Anne and I next to a surfboard with flames on it! Hang ten! The surfing lesson started on the beach with an instructor and 4 other interns. It was really nice having small group sizes, since it meant that each of us got a lot of individualized attention from the instructors. After practicing “popping up” which is the core to standing up on the board once a surfer catches a wave, we were ready to try the ocean. The whole experience was very fun, but completely exhausting.
As Saturday night approached, I realized that anything I did with friends needed to require very little energy: my muscles were sore and tired from the busy morning! Some of my girl friends and I decided to go and see Mama Mia the movie in theaters. It was a perfect movie to see with friends, as it was thoroughly corny and peppy (what else would one expect from a movie based on ABBA music!).
This Monday at work I attended another “Executive Luncheon” with the interns. As before, we were provided free hot pizza and drinks. This round, the panel of executives were all engineers. No females on the panel. No surprise. Sadly, the gender inequity in engineering is still very prevalent, but getting better every day!
Tuesday night, my friends and I skipped Taco-licious Tuesdays to grab some sushi at a restaurant one block from our apartment. This was a nice alternative, as the closer location meant less gas money! After sushi we went to the theaters and saw The Dark Knight. Given all of the recent media hype surrounding the film, I was very excited. The movie did not disappoint. It was a thriller to the very core, with a number of scary and humorous parts. I highly recommend it to any Batman fans out there!
Last night, I got my second free meal of the week from Qualcomm. There is a local brewery in San Diego called Karl Strauss Brewery, which doubles as a restaurant bar. Last night, the Qualcomm women’s group I am a part of had a “Women in Engineering Mixer” there. Drinks and delectable appetizers were all paid for by Qualcomm! This event was really special for me, as it offered me another opportunity to share stories and experiences with some of the most fantastic women engineers at Qualcomm. I also had the opportunity to speak to the group briefly about the female mentorship program I have been working on all summer. Hopefully the program will continue to be popular among female interns and engineers! Another great part about coordinating this dinner: I got to take home mountains of free leftovers to eat for the next few days!
As I close down on my last two weeks of work, I am beginning to realize how much I am going to miss San Diego and Qualcomm this fall. While I still love Boulder and am excited for classes, I have really enjoyed living in another place and meeting new people. Perhaps the most exciting thing on my plate for today is the arrival of my parents! They are staying here this weekend and we already have a few fun things planned out to celebrate my dad’s “50-something” birthday! Sending my love to you all.
Last Saturday I went surfing with around 20 other Qualcomm interns. The camera crew who had been filming me the previous week attended, so I felt a little extra pressure to do well. I must admit, I was a little nervous that I would be a terrible surfer and no good camera footage would be taken! The first step was to find a wet suit that fit and grab a surf board. You can see a picture to the right of my roommate Anne and I next to a surfboard with flames on it! Hang ten! The surfing lesson started on the beach with an instructor and 4 other interns. It was really nice having small group sizes, since it meant that each of us got a lot of individualized attention from the instructors. After practicing “popping up” which is the core to standing up on the board once a surfer catches a wave, we were ready to try the ocean. The whole experience was very fun, but completely exhausting.
As Saturday night approached, I realized that anything I did with friends needed to require very little energy: my muscles were sore and tired from the busy morning! Some of my girl friends and I decided to go and see Mama Mia the movie in theaters. It was a perfect movie to see with friends, as it was thoroughly corny and peppy (what else would one expect from a movie based on ABBA music!).
This Monday at work I attended another “Executive Luncheon” with the interns. As before, we were provided free hot pizza and drinks. This round, the panel of executives were all engineers. No females on the panel. No surprise. Sadly, the gender inequity in engineering is still very prevalent, but getting better every day!
Tuesday night, my friends and I skipped Taco-licious Tuesdays to grab some sushi at a restaurant one block from our apartment. This was a nice alternative, as the closer location meant less gas money! After sushi we went to the theaters and saw The Dark Knight. Given all of the recent media hype surrounding the film, I was very excited. The movie did not disappoint. It was a thriller to the very core, with a number of scary and humorous parts. I highly recommend it to any Batman fans out there!
Last night, I got my second free meal of the week from Qualcomm. There is a local brewery in San Diego called Karl Strauss Brewery, which doubles as a restaurant bar. Last night, the Qualcomm women’s group I am a part of had a “Women in Engineering Mixer” there. Drinks and delectable appetizers were all paid for by Qualcomm! This event was really special for me, as it offered me another opportunity to share stories and experiences with some of the most fantastic women engineers at Qualcomm. I also had the opportunity to speak to the group briefly about the female mentorship program I have been working on all summer. Hopefully the program will continue to be popular among female interns and engineers! Another great part about coordinating this dinner: I got to take home mountains of free leftovers to eat for the next few days!
As I close down on my last two weeks of work, I am beginning to realize how much I am going to miss San Diego and Qualcomm this fall. While I still love Boulder and am excited for classes, I have really enjoyed living in another place and meeting new people. Perhaps the most exciting thing on my plate for today is the arrival of my parents! They are staying here this weekend and we already have a few fun things planned out to celebrate my dad’s “50-something” birthday! Sending my love to you all.
Friday, July 18, 2008
My video premier to the world wide web!
I sometimes wonder if each new blog entry will be able to keep up pace with the others I have posted on this website. Probability seems to indicate that at least one of my blog entries should be dull or boring. I hope this is not the one, as I have once again been surprised at my week’s activities. Wondering why I had my own makeup artist and camera crew following me around for 3 days? Read further to find out!
The work week started off busy as ever. I am finding that the better I perform, the greater task load I am given. While this is a good thing, I still find myself continually surprised by the magnitude of my work tasks! If I were a manager, I am not sure I would entrust these tasks to a young intern! Nevertheless, I am very pleased with the sense of accomplishment I get from completing them.
This week was my first week to attend a famed “Taco-licious Tuesday” at Fred’s Mexican Restaurant in Old Town. This restaurant is a popular place for locals and tourists alike, since the $2 tacos and margaritas are famous to San Diego! Picture this: One grilled chicken taco, one shrimp taco, and 2 house margaritas totals up to $8.34. What a steal, right? A group of us attended the Taco Tuesday after work and enjoyed delicious food and good conversation. I have a feeling there will be more Taco Tuesday’s in the weeks to come.
Wednesday I attended my first yoga class, which was provided free by my apartment complex. While I don’t consider myself to be extremely flexible, I had no idea how mediocre my abilities were until this class. There were women ages 20-70 who could bend their bodies in ways I did not know were possible! Between the slow entrancing music and sloth-like motion, I was more likely to fall asleep then get a workout. Yet my assumptions were proven wrong, because when I woke up the following morning, I had sore muscles. Who knew that making ones body become a human pretzel could cause such sore muscles the following morning?
Thursday afternoon I attended a free lunch event at work for the interns, where the interns ate lunch while talking to an executive panel of speakers. After a brief introduction, the executives opened the floor for questions. I raised my hand and asked: “On a day to day basis, what do you do to inspire your employees to innovate?” This was the first question to stump them, as the executives shared glances. The whole room laughed as the executives mentally collected their answers to share. When I got back to my office later that afternoon, I had a smattering of emails from my Qualcomm Boulder friends congradulating me on stumping the executives! I had completely forgotten that a live video was being streamed to Qualcomm’s remote offices (like Boulder, Austin, etc)! It was great to hear from a few of my friends in Boulder, as it reminded me how much I appreciate and miss them.
Thursday evening we continued with a tradition Anne and I have enjoyed since my second week here: Grilling and hot-tubbing by the pool. This Thursday was a really fantastic grilling experience, as we had over 8 people turn out to join us. Something about enjoying grilled food and taking a dip in the hot tub is therapeutic for me. It is one of my favorite ways to celebrate surviving through the work week. This week’s menu? A cheeseburger and tossed salad.
Qualcomm continues to surprise me. I sometimes feel like “The Chosen One” in the company. Another fantastic opportunity was provided for me on Thursday and Friday this week. I was selected, along with another 4 lucky interns, to participate in a professional video shoot called, “A Day in the Life of the Interns.” Since this video will eventually be posted on Qualcomm’s global website for recruiting efforts, no expense was spared to create the film. I had a professional camera crew and director, in addition to a professional make-up artist following me for the past two days! I felt very unnatural and out of place, as I got my make-up professional done and touched-up every few hours for each video segment. I shared a few small laughs with myself as words like “Action!” and “Camera Lighting 1” were casually tossed around by the film crew. I showed the crew the Imaging Lab that I work in, including the light booth and various resolution and color charts I use to test Qualcomm’s camera solution. I also had my first encounter using a “green screen” which was used for the interview portion (You can see this in the picture to the right!). Perhaps my favorite thing to film was a Qualcomm event called “QSOL,” which stands for “Qualcomm Summer on the Lawn”. This event is best described as a company-wide picnic with free food and bands on a green lawn. As I may have mentioned before, I am a part of a women-in-engineering group at Qualcomm. In this group, I organized and am currently co-directing a program which connects female interns to a female mentor. I personally believe that having a female mentor is a very important piece for female engineers, as girls are still a small minority in the computer engineering field! Thus, I invited the female interns and their corresponding mentor pairs to join me at the QSOL event (You can see a picture of all of the women in my program to the right!). We got brightly colored balloons and beach blankets to sit on and enjoy watching the music bands. It was really great to see all of my hard work being put into action at the event.
Let’s see if you were paying attention? Did you count TWO free meals from Qualcomm this week? Did you catch that I will soon have a video being posted online for the entire globe (and Qualcomm’s 14,000 employees) to see? Did you see that I am continuing to enjoy the delicious Mexican food here? Did you catch my wording about how back-breaking yoga can be? If so, than consider yourself thoroughly updated on another dreamy week here in beautiful San Diego. I miss all of my friends and family, but I continue to truly enjoy my time in this incredible city.
Curious what is on the agenda for tomorrow? SURFING LESSONS!! Updates on that will be posted on this blog soon!
The work week started off busy as ever. I am finding that the better I perform, the greater task load I am given. While this is a good thing, I still find myself continually surprised by the magnitude of my work tasks! If I were a manager, I am not sure I would entrust these tasks to a young intern! Nevertheless, I am very pleased with the sense of accomplishment I get from completing them.
This week was my first week to attend a famed “Taco-licious Tuesday” at Fred’s Mexican Restaurant in Old Town. This restaurant is a popular place for locals and tourists alike, since the $2 tacos and margaritas are famous to San Diego! Picture this: One grilled chicken taco, one shrimp taco, and 2 house margaritas totals up to $8.34. What a steal, right? A group of us attended the Taco Tuesday after work and enjoyed delicious food and good conversation. I have a feeling there will be more Taco Tuesday’s in the weeks to come.
Wednesday I attended my first yoga class, which was provided free by my apartment complex. While I don’t consider myself to be extremely flexible, I had no idea how mediocre my abilities were until this class. There were women ages 20-70 who could bend their bodies in ways I did not know were possible! Between the slow entrancing music and sloth-like motion, I was more likely to fall asleep then get a workout. Yet my assumptions were proven wrong, because when I woke up the following morning, I had sore muscles. Who knew that making ones body become a human pretzel could cause such sore muscles the following morning?
Thursday afternoon I attended a free lunch event at work for the interns, where the interns ate lunch while talking to an executive panel of speakers. After a brief introduction, the executives opened the floor for questions. I raised my hand and asked: “On a day to day basis, what do you do to inspire your employees to innovate?” This was the first question to stump them, as the executives shared glances. The whole room laughed as the executives mentally collected their answers to share. When I got back to my office later that afternoon, I had a smattering of emails from my Qualcomm Boulder friends congradulating me on stumping the executives! I had completely forgotten that a live video was being streamed to Qualcomm’s remote offices (like Boulder, Austin, etc)! It was great to hear from a few of my friends in Boulder, as it reminded me how much I appreciate and miss them.
Thursday evening we continued with a tradition Anne and I have enjoyed since my second week here: Grilling and hot-tubbing by the pool. This Thursday was a really fantastic grilling experience, as we had over 8 people turn out to join us. Something about enjoying grilled food and taking a dip in the hot tub is therapeutic for me. It is one of my favorite ways to celebrate surviving through the work week. This week’s menu? A cheeseburger and tossed salad.
Qualcomm continues to surprise me. I sometimes feel like “The Chosen One” in the company. Another fantastic opportunity was provided for me on Thursday and Friday this week. I was selected, along with another 4 lucky interns, to participate in a professional video shoot called, “A Day in the Life of the Interns.” Since this video will eventually be posted on Qualcomm’s global website for recruiting efforts, no expense was spared to create the film. I had a professional camera crew and director, in addition to a professional make-up artist following me for the past two days! I felt very unnatural and out of place, as I got my make-up professional done and touched-up every few hours for each video segment. I shared a few small laughs with myself as words like “Action!” and “Camera Lighting 1” were casually tossed around by the film crew. I showed the crew the Imaging Lab that I work in, including the light booth and various resolution and color charts I use to test Qualcomm’s camera solution. I also had my first encounter using a “green screen” which was used for the interview portion (You can see this in the picture to the right!). Perhaps my favorite thing to film was a Qualcomm event called “QSOL,” which stands for “Qualcomm Summer on the Lawn”. This event is best described as a company-wide picnic with free food and bands on a green lawn. As I may have mentioned before, I am a part of a women-in-engineering group at Qualcomm. In this group, I organized and am currently co-directing a program which connects female interns to a female mentor. I personally believe that having a female mentor is a very important piece for female engineers, as girls are still a small minority in the computer engineering field! Thus, I invited the female interns and their corresponding mentor pairs to join me at the QSOL event (You can see a picture of all of the women in my program to the right!). We got brightly colored balloons and beach blankets to sit on and enjoy watching the music bands. It was really great to see all of my hard work being put into action at the event.
Let’s see if you were paying attention? Did you count TWO free meals from Qualcomm this week? Did you catch that I will soon have a video being posted online for the entire globe (and Qualcomm’s 14,000 employees) to see? Did you see that I am continuing to enjoy the delicious Mexican food here? Did you catch my wording about how back-breaking yoga can be? If so, than consider yourself thoroughly updated on another dreamy week here in beautiful San Diego. I miss all of my friends and family, but I continue to truly enjoy my time in this incredible city.
Curious what is on the agenda for tomorrow? SURFING LESSONS!! Updates on that will be posted on this blog soon!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Celebrating the 4th of July with Julie
Last weekend Julie, my roommate from CU, came to visit me in San Diego. We thought it was the perfect opportunity, considering that both of us had Friday off from work. The fun filled weekend began when I picked Julie up from the airport after work Thursday night. She was exhausted from the trip, but we had no time to waste: 3 days is hardly enough time for good friends to explore the entirety of the San Diego landscape! Thus, I took her straight from the airport to one of my favorite restaurants in downtown La Jolla called Jose’s. We met a big group of my friends there and enjoyed chips and salsa while waiting for the food. While La Jolla generally has the reputation of being quite ritzy and swanky, Jose’s Mexican restaurant is a diamond in the ruff. Its relaxed atmosphere and reasonably priced food are complemented by music from the 80s and 90s and big screen TVs displaying the evening baseball game. After devouring a chicken quesadilla, we decided to call it a night and head back to my apartment complex.
When Friday morning came upon us, we were armed and prepared for the big event of the day: getting to the beach. I had been forewarned that the beaches on the 4th of July are crowded crowded crowded. Nevertheless, we were looking to be surrounded by the excitement and buzz of the celebratory San Diego population. When we arrived to Pacific Beach, all of the rumors were confirmed. We set up camp, which consisted of a couple of beach towels and a cooler filled with a packed lunch and waters. Shortly after we arrived, the remaining specks of sand still showing were covered by other locals and vacationers celebrating the holiday. When I say the beach was crowded, I am not exaggerating. If I stretched my arms out too far after a beach nap, I probably would have accidentally dipped my hand in the neighboring person’s beer mug! Our original plan was to watch the fireworks from the beach, but the cloud cover settled over the shoreline as the afternoon progressed. Thus, we reworked the plan and decided to drive back home and watch a show in downtown La Jolla instead. We joined a mass of people on a grass field and watched a spectacular show of fireworks above the Pacific Ocean. We topped off the long day by grabbing Haggen-Daz ice cream on the way home.
On Saturday we decided to go shopping and then head to Mission Beach for the day. The beaches were slightly less crowded than on the 4th, but it appears this holiday weekend is a popular time to hit the shores! We grilled salmon with citrus butter for dinner that night on the grills at my apartment complex. I also had a chance to share my favorite frozen yogurt place with Julie that evening. Sunday, Julie’s last day in San Diego, was spent doing some shopping in the Cove. We decided that it would be appropriate to grab lunch at a restaurant overlooking the beach. Shortly after, we took a picture (you can see it on right) before heading home to pack up. After relaxing by the pool for a few hours, I took Julie back to the airport to head home for Colorado. I have heard the expression “time flies when you are having fun,” and I find myself a wholehearted believer of the phrase. The three days and holiday weekend passed in the blink of an eye. And upon further reflection, I realize that this has been the case for my entire summer here! As I sit here typing my latest updates for my blog, it is shocking to think I have just finished my seventh week of work. Seven, already? Time really does fly.
This past week at work was quite stressful, but I believe it is calming back down. I was even asked to work a bit of overtime, which is a rare request to give to an intern. Working overtime was both a gift and a curse; While I didn’t particularly enjoy the long hours, the extra money I obtained (1.5 times my normal hourly rate) was put to good use this past weekend.
I went out to a restaurant bar with a big group of friends called Jose’s in the Cove. You may have read about Jose’s many times now, given that it is one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants nearby. The group decided to turn the dinner into a wild night at the bar, so we didn’t get home until late that evening. Saturday morning I awoke and decided a smoothie from Jamba Juice was needed to kick-start my day. I decided to walk the 4 mile journey (towering California gas prices made this decision a no-brainer!). I had a nice long chat with both sets of grandparents on each leg of the walk, which was a highlight of my weekend. Saturday night, two girlfriends and I devoured sushi rolls for dinner and rented a movie from Blockbuster. My roommate Anne and I spent Sunday at Mission Beach and swapped the lunch option for a large boardwalk waffle cone filled with Butter Pecan ice cream! This is one of the great aspects about living on your own: no parents loving eyes to scold me for choosing dessert over lunch!
As I prepare for my last three weeks here, I realize there are many things I have yet to experience. My goal is to enjoy every minute here as much as possible. And after reflecting back on my previous weeks here, I am confident this goal will be easy to reach!
When Friday morning came upon us, we were armed and prepared for the big event of the day: getting to the beach. I had been forewarned that the beaches on the 4th of July are crowded crowded crowded. Nevertheless, we were looking to be surrounded by the excitement and buzz of the celebratory San Diego population. When we arrived to Pacific Beach, all of the rumors were confirmed. We set up camp, which consisted of a couple of beach towels and a cooler filled with a packed lunch and waters. Shortly after we arrived, the remaining specks of sand still showing were covered by other locals and vacationers celebrating the holiday. When I say the beach was crowded, I am not exaggerating. If I stretched my arms out too far after a beach nap, I probably would have accidentally dipped my hand in the neighboring person’s beer mug! Our original plan was to watch the fireworks from the beach, but the cloud cover settled over the shoreline as the afternoon progressed. Thus, we reworked the plan and decided to drive back home and watch a show in downtown La Jolla instead. We joined a mass of people on a grass field and watched a spectacular show of fireworks above the Pacific Ocean. We topped off the long day by grabbing Haggen-Daz ice cream on the way home.
On Saturday we decided to go shopping and then head to Mission Beach for the day. The beaches were slightly less crowded than on the 4th, but it appears this holiday weekend is a popular time to hit the shores! We grilled salmon with citrus butter for dinner that night on the grills at my apartment complex. I also had a chance to share my favorite frozen yogurt place with Julie that evening. Sunday, Julie’s last day in San Diego, was spent doing some shopping in the Cove. We decided that it would be appropriate to grab lunch at a restaurant overlooking the beach. Shortly after, we took a picture (you can see it on right) before heading home to pack up. After relaxing by the pool for a few hours, I took Julie back to the airport to head home for Colorado. I have heard the expression “time flies when you are having fun,” and I find myself a wholehearted believer of the phrase. The three days and holiday weekend passed in the blink of an eye. And upon further reflection, I realize that this has been the case for my entire summer here! As I sit here typing my latest updates for my blog, it is shocking to think I have just finished my seventh week of work. Seven, already? Time really does fly.
This past week at work was quite stressful, but I believe it is calming back down. I was even asked to work a bit of overtime, which is a rare request to give to an intern. Working overtime was both a gift and a curse; While I didn’t particularly enjoy the long hours, the extra money I obtained (1.5 times my normal hourly rate) was put to good use this past weekend.
I went out to a restaurant bar with a big group of friends called Jose’s in the Cove. You may have read about Jose’s many times now, given that it is one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants nearby. The group decided to turn the dinner into a wild night at the bar, so we didn’t get home until late that evening. Saturday morning I awoke and decided a smoothie from Jamba Juice was needed to kick-start my day. I decided to walk the 4 mile journey (towering California gas prices made this decision a no-brainer!). I had a nice long chat with both sets of grandparents on each leg of the walk, which was a highlight of my weekend. Saturday night, two girlfriends and I devoured sushi rolls for dinner and rented a movie from Blockbuster. My roommate Anne and I spent Sunday at Mission Beach and swapped the lunch option for a large boardwalk waffle cone filled with Butter Pecan ice cream! This is one of the great aspects about living on your own: no parents loving eyes to scold me for choosing dessert over lunch!
As I prepare for my last three weeks here, I realize there are many things I have yet to experience. My goal is to enjoy every minute here as much as possible. And after reflecting back on my previous weeks here, I am confident this goal will be easy to reach!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Shadow Day with Peggy Johnson
As I have been alluding to in my previous posts, yesterday was a very special day for me. I had the opportunity to shadow an incredible woman in engineering, Peggy Johnson. Peggy is currently serving as Executive Vice President of the Americas and India. But more importantly, she is a normal mom and woman who has mastered work-life balance and somone I greatly respect. I wrote a continuous series of entries during my day in attempt to capture as much raw emotion as possible. I hope you enjoy reading about my shadow adventure:
-------------------------
10:05 AM
Before coming into work today I was all adrenaline and excitement. It seems goofy, but for me, the reaction that often occurs when people see celebrities is similar to the one I get when near corporate leaders. I have heard and read that one of the best ways to prepare for situations that may cause one anxiety is through multiple “dress rehearsals” an practices. Thus, I spent much of my last 24 hours in the suit I was wearing today talking to myself in mirrors and brainstorming possible conversations and situations I may find myself in today.
The first scenario I had dreamed up did not go exactly as I had predicted. Upon our first meet-and-greet, she was very friendly to me. I explained that I saw her speak at the Q-Awards Scholarship Weekend I had attended in San Diego, and she wasn’t able to recall it! I imagine this is incredibly juvenile of me, but her response saddened me a little. However, upon further reflection I realized that an executive vice president of one of the greatest companies on the globe probably cannot remember a quick one-hour speech to 30 minority students. She is probably involved with so many fantastic speeches and opportunities every week that smaller speeches to smaller audiences probably fade into the fabric of her everyday job.
The first meeting of day was a conference call from 9:30-10:00 with Cingular CTO (Chief Technology Officer) Kris Rinne. My roll in this meeting was simple: I was a fly on the wall, just listening in to see how business gets done. Also joining us in the meeting was Senior Director of Business Development Howard Wright. Kris Rinne is one of those women who is talked about in all women-in-technology circles. I found it almost amusing today how she took our conference from her mobile device. Times have surely changed since my parents were in the workforce only 3 years ago! I also couldn’t help but smile as I listened to the three of them casually toss around first names like Paul (for Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm CEO) and Ralph (for Ralph de la Vega, President and CEO of Cingular). I especially enjoyed watching the body language and nonverbal interactions between Peggy and Howard. Many of the notes I jotted down during the meeting were direct quotes or phrasing used on each side. It was as if nothing said could be perceived as remotely offensive. The speech seemed to be the epitome of diplomacy. Perhaps my biggest learning experience from this meeting was listening to the tone of conversation. Although there were clearly important business deals at play, the whole thing felt very light-hearted. All parties were laughing. A lot. Joking. A lot. This is not something I expected. When imagining the scenario in my mind, I had anticipated a more “corporate” feel. While it now seems obvious, I was pleased to watch how business was able to be completed in good humor.
11:20AM
I have just come from a meeting directed by Peggy called “A-Team Staff Meeting”, which is essentially Peggy’s biweekly staff meeting. In this meeting, one of the 6 members called into a conference bridge since he was traveling back from Argentina. One of the team members had announced his retirement plans, so the first part of this meeting was delegating each of his duties to the remaining members. I found it incredibly fascinating how flexible the team members were to change. One man to my right was told he would probably be going to Cairo, Egypt next week for a round of meetings with one of Qualcomm’s partners, and he simply nodded and smiled. Is this the pace executives are expected to move at? He could literally be off to Egypt in 4 days to meet with a new customer and his response was to simply smile and nod! It also came out in the meeting that Peggy and a team member traveled to four South American countries in four days last week! I suppose much of traveling becomes routine after awhile. But still. Wow. The idea of a global market, while exciting, is quite frightening too.
One of my “starred” notes from the meeting was Peggy’s tactic to explain how to “back fill” the retiree’s position. I found her approach very clever. She explained it something like this: “I am sure as we feel the weight of his retirement, we will all be wondering ‘When are we going to back-fill this position and get some relief?’ I think it will be best for our team to wait until we feel the painful areas, and then hire one of your direct reports into the position.” She acknowledged that her decision will temporarily cause more stress on her team, but showed them how it will ultimately provide long-term relief where it is most needed. It is small lessons like these that I consider invaluable from today!
12:03 PM
The last meeting I attended this morning was a preparatory meeting for Peggy’s Executive Insight Presentation this evening. Essentially, Peggy will speak to about 35 people (director level and up) about her leadership growth and insights she picked up along the way. It is being held at Estancia La Jolla, a very fancy hotel. What does this mean for me? In a few hours time I will be the only intern on the globe eating appetizers and sipping cocktails (or soda, in my case) with 35 of the top leaders in Qualcomm San Diego. Would someone pinch me please? I must be dreaming. While I have quite a bit of work to do for my normal job this afternoon, I am allotting a certain amount of time to mentally prepare for this incredibly rare opportunity.
The rest of my afternoon is free to me, since Peggy will be attending an off-site meeting with a customer in San Diego. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to attend this particular meeting, so I am happy to relax and work on some tricky Matlab code in my guest office for the afternoon. My guest office is directly next to Peggy’s on the 9th floor of the executive tower. The view is absolutely breathtaking, as I sit here sipping my coffee with the San Diego terrain laid out before my eyes (see pictures of my "guest office" at right). For possibly the 50th time today, I am counting my blessings and wordlessly thanking the people who helped make this day possible for me.
7:20 PM
So I just got back from Peggy’s “Executive Insights” speech. Wow. Just wow. I pulled my car up to the Estancia La Jolla hotel and got ready to walk in when a man approached me with his hands reaching out towards me. What did he want? My keys. Valet parking. Of course. Luckily this was compliments of Qualcomm, but I still wasn’t prepared to have my first valet parking experience today! (Personally, I think a 19 year-old getting valet parking is rather ridiculous, considering most of the men parking the cars were older than me!) The appetizers included deep-fried shrimp kabobs, mushroom roundletts, and beef skewers among other things. I was surprised to see that my hiring manager, Felix Singh, was in attendance. I feel slightly guilty, as I hadn’t told him I would be shadowing Peggy today. My reasoning had been simple: this was a fantastic opportunity, but I didn’t want to seem like I was bragging! Thus, I had explained the situation to my work mentor who I report directly to and simply told the rest of the office I would be gone today. Nevertheless, he already knew that I was shadowing her (tricky managers! Haha), and it was nice to have another familiar face in this sea of Qualcomm executives.
Peggy's actually speech was inspirational, as I have consistently seen to be true in all talks I have heard. She seems to embody this real, tangible excitement when she talks about her past and future. I marveled how she managed to captivate the diverse audience in attendance. I would imagine it is quite difficult to entertain the lawyers, businessmen, and engineers with the same speech! I snagged a picture or two throughout the day, which you can see to the right. Overall, I am still in shock at how well the day went. I always pray that things will go almost exactly as I had planned, so it is a rare treat when things actually go better!
-------------------------
10:05 AM
Before coming into work today I was all adrenaline and excitement. It seems goofy, but for me, the reaction that often occurs when people see celebrities is similar to the one I get when near corporate leaders. I have heard and read that one of the best ways to prepare for situations that may cause one anxiety is through multiple “dress rehearsals” an practices. Thus, I spent much of my last 24 hours in the suit I was wearing today talking to myself in mirrors and brainstorming possible conversations and situations I may find myself in today.
The first scenario I had dreamed up did not go exactly as I had predicted. Upon our first meet-and-greet, she was very friendly to me. I explained that I saw her speak at the Q-Awards Scholarship Weekend I had attended in San Diego, and she wasn’t able to recall it! I imagine this is incredibly juvenile of me, but her response saddened me a little. However, upon further reflection I realized that an executive vice president of one of the greatest companies on the globe probably cannot remember a quick one-hour speech to 30 minority students. She is probably involved with so many fantastic speeches and opportunities every week that smaller speeches to smaller audiences probably fade into the fabric of her everyday job.
The first meeting of day was a conference call from 9:30-10:00 with Cingular CTO (Chief Technology Officer) Kris Rinne. My roll in this meeting was simple: I was a fly on the wall, just listening in to see how business gets done. Also joining us in the meeting was Senior Director of Business Development Howard Wright. Kris Rinne is one of those women who is talked about in all women-in-technology circles. I found it almost amusing today how she took our conference from her mobile device. Times have surely changed since my parents were in the workforce only 3 years ago! I also couldn’t help but smile as I listened to the three of them casually toss around first names like Paul (for Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm CEO) and Ralph (for Ralph de la Vega, President and CEO of Cingular). I especially enjoyed watching the body language and nonverbal interactions between Peggy and Howard. Many of the notes I jotted down during the meeting were direct quotes or phrasing used on each side. It was as if nothing said could be perceived as remotely offensive. The speech seemed to be the epitome of diplomacy. Perhaps my biggest learning experience from this meeting was listening to the tone of conversation. Although there were clearly important business deals at play, the whole thing felt very light-hearted. All parties were laughing. A lot. Joking. A lot. This is not something I expected. When imagining the scenario in my mind, I had anticipated a more “corporate” feel. While it now seems obvious, I was pleased to watch how business was able to be completed in good humor.
11:20AM
I have just come from a meeting directed by Peggy called “A-Team Staff Meeting”, which is essentially Peggy’s biweekly staff meeting. In this meeting, one of the 6 members called into a conference bridge since he was traveling back from Argentina. One of the team members had announced his retirement plans, so the first part of this meeting was delegating each of his duties to the remaining members. I found it incredibly fascinating how flexible the team members were to change. One man to my right was told he would probably be going to Cairo, Egypt next week for a round of meetings with one of Qualcomm’s partners, and he simply nodded and smiled. Is this the pace executives are expected to move at? He could literally be off to Egypt in 4 days to meet with a new customer and his response was to simply smile and nod! It also came out in the meeting that Peggy and a team member traveled to four South American countries in four days last week! I suppose much of traveling becomes routine after awhile. But still. Wow. The idea of a global market, while exciting, is quite frightening too.
One of my “starred” notes from the meeting was Peggy’s tactic to explain how to “back fill” the retiree’s position. I found her approach very clever. She explained it something like this: “I am sure as we feel the weight of his retirement, we will all be wondering ‘When are we going to back-fill this position and get some relief?’ I think it will be best for our team to wait until we feel the painful areas, and then hire one of your direct reports into the position.” She acknowledged that her decision will temporarily cause more stress on her team, but showed them how it will ultimately provide long-term relief where it is most needed. It is small lessons like these that I consider invaluable from today!
12:03 PM
The last meeting I attended this morning was a preparatory meeting for Peggy’s Executive Insight Presentation this evening. Essentially, Peggy will speak to about 35 people (director level and up) about her leadership growth and insights she picked up along the way. It is being held at Estancia La Jolla, a very fancy hotel. What does this mean for me? In a few hours time I will be the only intern on the globe eating appetizers and sipping cocktails (or soda, in my case) with 35 of the top leaders in Qualcomm San Diego. Would someone pinch me please? I must be dreaming. While I have quite a bit of work to do for my normal job this afternoon, I am allotting a certain amount of time to mentally prepare for this incredibly rare opportunity.
The rest of my afternoon is free to me, since Peggy will be attending an off-site meeting with a customer in San Diego. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to attend this particular meeting, so I am happy to relax and work on some tricky Matlab code in my guest office for the afternoon. My guest office is directly next to Peggy’s on the 9th floor of the executive tower. The view is absolutely breathtaking, as I sit here sipping my coffee with the San Diego terrain laid out before my eyes (see pictures of my "guest office" at right). For possibly the 50th time today, I am counting my blessings and wordlessly thanking the people who helped make this day possible for me.
7:20 PM
So I just got back from Peggy’s “Executive Insights” speech. Wow. Just wow. I pulled my car up to the Estancia La Jolla hotel and got ready to walk in when a man approached me with his hands reaching out towards me. What did he want? My keys. Valet parking. Of course. Luckily this was compliments of Qualcomm, but I still wasn’t prepared to have my first valet parking experience today! (Personally, I think a 19 year-old getting valet parking is rather ridiculous, considering most of the men parking the cars were older than me!) The appetizers included deep-fried shrimp kabobs, mushroom roundletts, and beef skewers among other things. I was surprised to see that my hiring manager, Felix Singh, was in attendance. I feel slightly guilty, as I hadn’t told him I would be shadowing Peggy today. My reasoning had been simple: this was a fantastic opportunity, but I didn’t want to seem like I was bragging! Thus, I had explained the situation to my work mentor who I report directly to and simply told the rest of the office I would be gone today. Nevertheless, he already knew that I was shadowing her (tricky managers! Haha), and it was nice to have another familiar face in this sea of Qualcomm executives.
Peggy's actually speech was inspirational, as I have consistently seen to be true in all talks I have heard. She seems to embody this real, tangible excitement when she talks about her past and future. I marveled how she managed to captivate the diverse audience in attendance. I would imagine it is quite difficult to entertain the lawyers, businessmen, and engineers with the same speech! I snagged a picture or two throughout the day, which you can see to the right. Overall, I am still in shock at how well the day went. I always pray that things will go almost exactly as I had planned, so it is a rare treat when things actually go better!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Walks on the beach; Speeches in suits
Walks on the beach; Speeches in suits.
It's funny how two such different activities can both be so satisfying.
This weekend proved to be another adventure for me in the beautiful La Jolla area. It began with an excursion to Pacific Beach with some of my friends. Last Saturday I had the chance to really soak up the rays and water on a couple hour beach walk right along the shoreline. It almost seems as though the gentle lapping of waves, mixed with a salty sea breeze naturally stimulates excellent conversation. I walked and chatted with a new friend named Kate and we spent the time reminiscing about volleyball (she also played club volleyball competitively in high school in Texas!). I hadn't realized how much I had missed talking about volleyball until we brought up the old memories. And as the end of the stroll neared, I realized that walking on the beach is not only a great way to meet new people, but it is incredibly therapeutic. It is little wonder why so many people choose to unwind by drifting along these sandy shorelines. The group topped off the afternoon by grabbing some carne asada (steak) chips and guacamole from a Mexican restaurant next to the beach. Delicious! Later that evening we visited a friends house and had margaritas and chips & salsa on their porch for a few hours.
On Sunday I went shopping with my friend Aysha and her sister to some outlet malls about 20 minutes north. I kept my shopping to a minimum. A coach purse at an outlet mall is a "cheap" $150 dollars compared to the regular $400, and yet I cannot help but feel that I could use that money in a more meaningful way (like 3 tickets to Disneyland, the happiest place on earth). Smile. My biggest purchase was a new, very classy black business suit from Banana Republic. I have a very special occasion coming up tomorrow where I will get the chance to wear it... (details to come later).
This Monday at work was hardly the typical work day. I worked a cool 10.5 hours, with a 30 minute sushi break in the middle (even engineers eat lunch. Shocking, I know. haha). The biggest event today was a one-hour presentation I gave to all of my leads and managers in the multimedia team. The scene looked something like this: I was dressed up quite nicely in a new pair of Express slacks, a laptop next to me with my Powerpoint presentation slides plastered on a large screen at the front. At the end of an impossibly long wooden table sat my audience, consisting of all managers with their accessories in tow. In the special land of engineering, coworkers do not compliment each other on a nice pair of shoes or a new watch. Rather, one would more often hear, "Nice laptop. What OS are you running on it?" or "That coffee mug is very decorated. Painted for you by your daughter, you say? I need one of those..." The presentation was an opportunity for me to share with the managers what I had worked on thus far. Although it is difficult to know, I believe the presentation went very well. They had a lot of positive feedback for me, and I was told a number of times that the visual aide was very professional. The only problem with doing well the first time is this: Setting a high bar from the beginning makes the second bar at bit higher and harder to achieve. But I am ready for the challenge.
Walks on the beach; Speeches in suits.
As I reflect back over my last two days, I find it quite amusing that two very different activities can both provide me with immense satisfaction. I love how multi-faceted life continues to be. For now, I must try to dream of walking on the beach to sooth my mind before a VERY big day tomorrow. While I won't give away what I am up to just yet, I will simply say this: tomorrow, I may very well be the luckiest intern on the globe.
It's funny how two such different activities can both be so satisfying.
This weekend proved to be another adventure for me in the beautiful La Jolla area. It began with an excursion to Pacific Beach with some of my friends. Last Saturday I had the chance to really soak up the rays and water on a couple hour beach walk right along the shoreline. It almost seems as though the gentle lapping of waves, mixed with a salty sea breeze naturally stimulates excellent conversation. I walked and chatted with a new friend named Kate and we spent the time reminiscing about volleyball (she also played club volleyball competitively in high school in Texas!). I hadn't realized how much I had missed talking about volleyball until we brought up the old memories. And as the end of the stroll neared, I realized that walking on the beach is not only a great way to meet new people, but it is incredibly therapeutic. It is little wonder why so many people choose to unwind by drifting along these sandy shorelines. The group topped off the afternoon by grabbing some carne asada (steak) chips and guacamole from a Mexican restaurant next to the beach. Delicious! Later that evening we visited a friends house and had margaritas and chips & salsa on their porch for a few hours.
On Sunday I went shopping with my friend Aysha and her sister to some outlet malls about 20 minutes north. I kept my shopping to a minimum. A coach purse at an outlet mall is a "cheap" $150 dollars compared to the regular $400, and yet I cannot help but feel that I could use that money in a more meaningful way (like 3 tickets to Disneyland, the happiest place on earth). Smile. My biggest purchase was a new, very classy black business suit from Banana Republic. I have a very special occasion coming up tomorrow where I will get the chance to wear it... (details to come later).
This Monday at work was hardly the typical work day. I worked a cool 10.5 hours, with a 30 minute sushi break in the middle (even engineers eat lunch. Shocking, I know. haha). The biggest event today was a one-hour presentation I gave to all of my leads and managers in the multimedia team. The scene looked something like this: I was dressed up quite nicely in a new pair of Express slacks, a laptop next to me with my Powerpoint presentation slides plastered on a large screen at the front. At the end of an impossibly long wooden table sat my audience, consisting of all managers with their accessories in tow. In the special land of engineering, coworkers do not compliment each other on a nice pair of shoes or a new watch. Rather, one would more often hear, "Nice laptop. What OS are you running on it?" or "That coffee mug is very decorated. Painted for you by your daughter, you say? I need one of those..." The presentation was an opportunity for me to share with the managers what I had worked on thus far. Although it is difficult to know, I believe the presentation went very well. They had a lot of positive feedback for me, and I was told a number of times that the visual aide was very professional. The only problem with doing well the first time is this: Setting a high bar from the beginning makes the second bar at bit higher and harder to achieve. But I am ready for the challenge.
Walks on the beach; Speeches in suits.
As I reflect back over my last two days, I find it quite amusing that two very different activities can both provide me with immense satisfaction. I love how multi-faceted life continues to be. For now, I must try to dream of walking on the beach to sooth my mind before a VERY big day tomorrow. While I won't give away what I am up to just yet, I will simply say this: tomorrow, I may very well be the luckiest intern on the globe.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Another week where I avoided a sunburn...
I'd like to take a second to warn all future San Diego tourists. Here in beautiful, upscale La Jolla, there is a famous beach called La Jolla Shores. Often people will refer to the beach as a "black beach" since the sand is saturated with a mineral that turns the sand a black color. However, the beautiful blackened sandy beaches of La Jolla Shores should not be confused with Black Beach. Black Beach happens to be the only nudist beach in the San Diego area!! I (thankfully) didn't make the mistake of attending, but I am told that a collection of older, European men are the usual attendees to Black Beach. You have been warned! haha
Last weekend, my roommate Anne and our friend Kelsey decided to bask in the sun on the black sands of La Jolla Shores (see the picture at right). The sand was warm, and the company was fantastic. However, I can say one thing: if one is looking for a private, secluded beach ... they should probably avoid CA entirely! haha. While snoozing on my bright orange beach towel, I was nearly hit with flying sand toys or running college students more than once. And once in the water, let's be honest, the waves are going to push people wherever they want to (even if it's on top of a pregnant mother wading 10 feet behind them. Yikes!).
On Sunday, my friend Jonathan and I decided to explore a different famous beach of San Diego, Pacific Beach. This beach was unsurprisingly just as busy as La Jolla Shores, but the waves were so much better! In fact, I secretly sat on the beach watching all of the surfers trying to pick up tips, since I will taking a surfing lesson at Pacific Beach (compliments of Qualcomm) in a couple of weekends! Jonathan and I body-surfed in the waves for hours, which is simply attempting to catch a wave and surf it without a surfboard. We finished off the day by grabbing some pizza and Jamba Juice smoothies.
My roommate Anne and I drove into work early on Tuesday in order to leave in the early afternoon and do some shopping in Pacific Beach. We went with some of Anne's cousins and shopped for hours. We capped off the shopping afternoon by picking up some sushi and sake at a little Japanese house next to the beach. I must admit that I have become a sushi addict since I have arrived in CA. I'm sure this surprises many of my family members, given that I spent the majority of my life avoiding it! haha. My favorite sushi rolls? California rolls and crunchy rolls are near the top of the list!
Thursday this week offered me an opportunity that most interns can only dream of: I was paid for 8 hours of work to attend a free San Diego Padres baseball game! I joined about 300 interns at the game against Minnesota for a day of fun, beer, and baseball. You can see a picture of me and some of my friends at the game to the right! Sadly, the Padres lost 4-3, but I am used to baseball teams losing (thank you, CO Rockies! haha).
Last night I ventured off to Little Italy in downtown San Diego. We sat outside on a patio at a chic Italian restaurant called Cafe Zucchero. Between the savory Italian smells wafting around us to the live music being played across the street, the whole experience was absolutely divine.
I realize that this blog entry has been absent of much of what I am doing at work, but have no fear! I am still putting in the 40 hours a week like the rest of working America. The next big action item on my plate is a 1 hour "milestone presentation" I will be giving to all of the multimedia managers on Monday. I am a little nervous as I hear they ask very difficult questions, but I am also very excited to present the status of my projects I have been working so hard on these last 5 weeks! But for today, I am going to set work on the back burner and head out for another beach adventure. And although my friends and I haven't determined which beach we are headed to today, I can guarantee you that the infamous Black Beach won't be my the list! As always, I love and miss you all dearly.
Last weekend, my roommate Anne and our friend Kelsey decided to bask in the sun on the black sands of La Jolla Shores (see the picture at right). The sand was warm, and the company was fantastic. However, I can say one thing: if one is looking for a private, secluded beach ... they should probably avoid CA entirely! haha. While snoozing on my bright orange beach towel, I was nearly hit with flying sand toys or running college students more than once. And once in the water, let's be honest, the waves are going to push people wherever they want to (even if it's on top of a pregnant mother wading 10 feet behind them. Yikes!).
On Sunday, my friend Jonathan and I decided to explore a different famous beach of San Diego, Pacific Beach. This beach was unsurprisingly just as busy as La Jolla Shores, but the waves were so much better! In fact, I secretly sat on the beach watching all of the surfers trying to pick up tips, since I will taking a surfing lesson at Pacific Beach (compliments of Qualcomm) in a couple of weekends! Jonathan and I body-surfed in the waves for hours, which is simply attempting to catch a wave and surf it without a surfboard. We finished off the day by grabbing some pizza and Jamba Juice smoothies.
My roommate Anne and I drove into work early on Tuesday in order to leave in the early afternoon and do some shopping in Pacific Beach. We went with some of Anne's cousins and shopped for hours. We capped off the shopping afternoon by picking up some sushi and sake at a little Japanese house next to the beach. I must admit that I have become a sushi addict since I have arrived in CA. I'm sure this surprises many of my family members, given that I spent the majority of my life avoiding it! haha. My favorite sushi rolls? California rolls and crunchy rolls are near the top of the list!
Thursday this week offered me an opportunity that most interns can only dream of: I was paid for 8 hours of work to attend a free San Diego Padres baseball game! I joined about 300 interns at the game against Minnesota for a day of fun, beer, and baseball. You can see a picture of me and some of my friends at the game to the right! Sadly, the Padres lost 4-3, but I am used to baseball teams losing (thank you, CO Rockies! haha).
Last night I ventured off to Little Italy in downtown San Diego. We sat outside on a patio at a chic Italian restaurant called Cafe Zucchero. Between the savory Italian smells wafting around us to the live music being played across the street, the whole experience was absolutely divine.
I realize that this blog entry has been absent of much of what I am doing at work, but have no fear! I am still putting in the 40 hours a week like the rest of working America. The next big action item on my plate is a 1 hour "milestone presentation" I will be giving to all of the multimedia managers on Monday. I am a little nervous as I hear they ask very difficult questions, but I am also very excited to present the status of my projects I have been working so hard on these last 5 weeks! But for today, I am going to set work on the back burner and head out for another beach adventure. And although my friends and I haven't determined which beach we are headed to today, I can guarantee you that the infamous Black Beach won't be my the list! As always, I love and miss you all dearly.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Work Hard. Play Hard.
"Work hard. Play hard."
This is the motto that Qualcomm has chimed at the interns all summer. And thus far, that is exactly what I have done.
The fun started last weekend when some friends and I decided to head to a beach for the day. We chose to try Mission Beach, which is one of the most popular beaches for the youth of San Diego. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't very cooperative, and we ended up grabbing lunch instead. The lunch was at a rooftop restaurant parallel to the beach, and I had an incredible seafood bisque. The restaurant was in such a scenic location, I mental note to go again around sunset!
My roommate Anne and I have also started a grilling tradition on Thursday nights. We are so lucky to have a beautiful pool and cabana area for use at our apartment complex. Last night we marinated some salmon and cooked up some cheeseburgers on the grill with our friends Kelsey, Luke, and Andrew. We finished off the fun night by taking a dip in the hot tub.
Today at work was busy busy busy. The day began with a phone meeting with my old manager from Qualcomm Boulder, Bhavna Woods. She was very supportive of my choice to not rejoin the Boulder office in the fall. I am thinking that with a full engineering schedule, a research position, and my student program manager job for the Women in Engineering Program, I will have my hands plenty full! We also talked about me potentially joining her as a keynote speaker at the national Society of Women Engineers convention this fall!
I also had a design review on a project I have been working on for awhile which went very well. I celebrated by joining some friends for a free box lunch and concert on the Qualcomm lawn. "More free food?" you ask. Qualcomm is never in short supply of free food for its employees! The concert and picnic event today is one of many over the summer called QSOLs(Qualcomm Summer on the Lawn). The band performers were from Qualcomm, reinforcing my conclusion that Qualcomm employees are full of surprises!
Tonight we are planning to head to downtown La Jolla, affectionately known as the "the Cove". The area is full of amazing restaurants and bars. Some of my guy friends are at the Padres game tonight and will meet us at a restaurant for dinner and drinks after it's over. I am looking forward to going to a free Padres game with all of the interns in a few weeks (just another example of how Qualcomm spoils us).
Tomorrow I hope to continue fulfilling the Qualcomm intern motto more. After a full day of working hard, I plan to play hard at the beach tomorrow with my fair share of beach volleyball and chips & salsa. Work hard. Play hard.
This is the motto that Qualcomm has chimed at the interns all summer. And thus far, that is exactly what I have done.
The fun started last weekend when some friends and I decided to head to a beach for the day. We chose to try Mission Beach, which is one of the most popular beaches for the youth of San Diego. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't very cooperative, and we ended up grabbing lunch instead. The lunch was at a rooftop restaurant parallel to the beach, and I had an incredible seafood bisque. The restaurant was in such a scenic location, I mental note to go again around sunset!
My roommate Anne and I have also started a grilling tradition on Thursday nights. We are so lucky to have a beautiful pool and cabana area for use at our apartment complex. Last night we marinated some salmon and cooked up some cheeseburgers on the grill with our friends Kelsey, Luke, and Andrew. We finished off the fun night by taking a dip in the hot tub.
Today at work was busy busy busy. The day began with a phone meeting with my old manager from Qualcomm Boulder, Bhavna Woods. She was very supportive of my choice to not rejoin the Boulder office in the fall. I am thinking that with a full engineering schedule, a research position, and my student program manager job for the Women in Engineering Program, I will have my hands plenty full! We also talked about me potentially joining her as a keynote speaker at the national Society of Women Engineers convention this fall!
I also had a design review on a project I have been working on for awhile which went very well. I celebrated by joining some friends for a free box lunch and concert on the Qualcomm lawn. "More free food?" you ask. Qualcomm is never in short supply of free food for its employees! The concert and picnic event today is one of many over the summer called QSOLs(Qualcomm Summer on the Lawn). The band performers were from Qualcomm, reinforcing my conclusion that Qualcomm employees are full of surprises!
Tonight we are planning to head to downtown La Jolla, affectionately known as the "the Cove". The area is full of amazing restaurants and bars. Some of my guy friends are at the Padres game tonight and will meet us at a restaurant for dinner and drinks after it's over. I am looking forward to going to a free Padres game with all of the interns in a few weeks (just another example of how Qualcomm spoils us).
Tomorrow I hope to continue fulfilling the Qualcomm intern motto more. After a full day of working hard, I plan to play hard at the beach tomorrow with my fair share of beach volleyball and chips & salsa. Work hard. Play hard.
Friday, June 13, 2008
...all companies provide free stand-up comedy shows on the lunch hour, right?
I am convinced I will eventually find a week where work and play here in San Diego are not just marvelous. But that time hasn't arrived yet! Since today is the superstitious Friday the 13th, one might except chaos. Yet all signs so far point to smooth sailing.
I worked 3 hours OUTSIDE this week. As a member of a team which works on sensor quality testing for the cameras in cell phones, I get to participate in some of the "field testing". This excruciatingly difficult (haha) work invovles walking around outside with various colorful objects and taking pictures. I am still in shock that I get PAID to do that! There is a small downside though. The camera sensors have to get tested at dusk and under the night sky. Thus, I'll be having a late night here soon. On the upside, if an employee past 6PM Qualcomm will provide you with a free, hot meal!
I was also recently recruited to sit on an "Intern Steering Committee", which is composed of 5 people who help come up with ideas on how to connect interns together. My first task as a committee member? We are conductnig a t-shirt design contest for the 500 QCT interns all over the globe, and the committee will be selecting the top 3 designs for a global vote!
Have you ever just sat in your office and thought to yourself, "You know what I want right now? I would love a free stand-up comedy show at lunch today. Oh, and better yet, I would like it to be right here in my building in one of the conference rooms with free snacks and drinks." Oh, you haven't ever thought that? Me neither. But now, I think about it every day! For that is exactly what happened yesterday at lunch. The comedians were both very funny, especially given that they were catering to a very diverse group of people and cultures!
On Wednesday night, I had a chance to show off my apartment to the Stucka family and my parents who are in town. We also managed to snag a bite of my favortie frozen yogurt shop close to my apartment! Tonight I look forward to going to stay with them and Christy and Justin in a beach house they rented. It seems that I am not the only family member living in a dream!
Last but not least, I know you all care about updates on Angie and Julie. Angie and I talked on the phone for about an hour yesterday exchanging adventures of our new cities. Angie is busy taking the subway and managing fashion shows, while she stays in NYU dorms in the fabulous New York City. She gets to speak and interact with top designers and celebrities (literally) on a daily basis! Julie is working in Denver with United Launch Alliance (ULA). She truly is a rocket scientist! We are both getting really excited for her to come and visit over the 4th of July weekend!
Perhaps I was wrong about nothing bad happening today on Friday the 13th: the US Open Golf Tournament is in town, and I have a feeling traffic will be frightening on the commute home! I love and miss you all!
I worked 3 hours OUTSIDE this week. As a member of a team which works on sensor quality testing for the cameras in cell phones, I get to participate in some of the "field testing". This excruciatingly difficult (haha) work invovles walking around outside with various colorful objects and taking pictures. I am still in shock that I get PAID to do that! There is a small downside though. The camera sensors have to get tested at dusk and under the night sky. Thus, I'll be having a late night here soon. On the upside, if an employee past 6PM Qualcomm will provide you with a free, hot meal!
I was also recently recruited to sit on an "Intern Steering Committee", which is composed of 5 people who help come up with ideas on how to connect interns together. My first task as a committee member? We are conductnig a t-shirt design contest for the 500 QCT interns all over the globe, and the committee will be selecting the top 3 designs for a global vote!
Have you ever just sat in your office and thought to yourself, "You know what I want right now? I would love a free stand-up comedy show at lunch today. Oh, and better yet, I would like it to be right here in my building in one of the conference rooms with free snacks and drinks." Oh, you haven't ever thought that? Me neither. But now, I think about it every day! For that is exactly what happened yesterday at lunch. The comedians were both very funny, especially given that they were catering to a very diverse group of people and cultures!
On Wednesday night, I had a chance to show off my apartment to the Stucka family and my parents who are in town. We also managed to snag a bite of my favortie frozen yogurt shop close to my apartment! Tonight I look forward to going to stay with them and Christy and Justin in a beach house they rented. It seems that I am not the only family member living in a dream!
Last but not least, I know you all care about updates on Angie and Julie. Angie and I talked on the phone for about an hour yesterday exchanging adventures of our new cities. Angie is busy taking the subway and managing fashion shows, while she stays in NYU dorms in the fabulous New York City. She gets to speak and interact with top designers and celebrities (literally) on a daily basis! Julie is working in Denver with United Launch Alliance (ULA). She truly is a rocket scientist! We are both getting really excited for her to come and visit over the 4th of July weekend!
Perhaps I was wrong about nothing bad happening today on Friday the 13th: the US Open Golf Tournament is in town, and I have a feeling traffic will be frightening on the commute home! I love and miss you all!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
"Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine." ~Elvis
After a slow start during my first week at Qualcomm, I hardly expected the roaring pace I would adjust to for the second week. The image that comes to mind when I reflect is a watch face with the hands wildly spinning around and around again. Finding the highlights of the last week is difficult to break down, but I’ve done my best below!
I’ve now made friends with 4 of the 13 shuttle drivers, who drive various (fuel-efficient!) cars between the buildings that comprise Qualcomm campus. The grounds are literally so massive that one must call shuttles to move from one building to another. Yet the sheer size of Qualcomm bothers me very little, as I find it offers some advantages. First, I have the opportunity to walk to buildings close to mine. These short walks are not only a welcomed burst of exercise, but offer me small opportunities to improve my summer tan! Second, I get to interact with employees from all levels of Qualcomm. As I was riding between buildings for a meeting on Thursday, I found myself singing old Elvis tunes with Albert the shuttle driver, while a vice president of Qualcomm sat in the back drumming his hands to the beat on the seat cushion. However, I must admit, it is a bit challenging to do work in the electronics lab when the song “Can’t Help Falling in Love” or “Hound Dog” runs through my mind like a broken record.
As you may or may not know, I am sitting on the QWISE (Qualcomm Women Science in Engineering) board this summer. I am the first intern to do so, and I am so very grateful that the incredible women on the board share their time and wisdom with me twice a month. Perhaps the most exciting event at the board meeting this week was updating the board members on a mentorship program I have been co-directing with my work associate Juhi the last few months. I truly believe that much of my young success has come from having fantastic female mentors along the way (beginning with my loving mom and older sister Christy, followed by the director of the Women in Engineering Program at CU, Beverly Louie, followed by my manager at Qualcomm Boulder, Bhavna Woods). I understand that this may sound slightly corny, but these women each inspired me in unique ways. Thus, due to the phenomenal impact they have had on my life, my coworker Juhi and I decided to create a mentor program for all female interns in Qualcomm this summer. The task is no easy feat (given that there are about 100 female interns nation wide), but I am very enthusiastic to watch my hard work these last few months launch into a meaningful program! And of course, we are busy planning a few activities for the mentor pairs, including a cupcake and pottery painting party at a local craft shop!
Mid-week, my roommate Anne and I decided to drive to Old Town San Diego and taste some cuisine from a local Mexican restaurant famed to have the best margaritas and guacamole in the area. We met some of Anne’s family there and had a great evening full of laughs and stories. Delicious Mexican food is a general theme I noticing in my adventures in San Diego this summer (this comes as little surprise, given that it is a short 30 minute drive across the border to Tijuana, Mexico)! But don’t worry, family! I haven’t made THAT particular adventure since I have arrived in this paradise. I also had superb chicken tacos and fried fruit burritos last night from a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, while overlooking the ocean and sunset. Spectacular.
Today I traveled to historic Balboa park with a few friends from work. The park sits directly alongside the San Diego Zoo, and is literally littered with art museums, botanical gardens, and culture. Today there was a free Georgia O’Keefe art exhibit open to the public, as well as a number of cultural dancers performing a hula in traditional clothing. Between the gorgeous mid-70 degree weather, free organ concert (from the largest outdoor organ on the globe), and the cultural fusion present everywhere, the whole park felt very similar to Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall. It was really fantastic to be a part of everyone celebrating creativity and diversity.
When I forecast forward to next week’s adventures, I try not to get too excited. It is almost overwhelming when I think about the potential each week here holds. Perhaps the farthest I can look right now is to getting up tomorrow morning and starting the Monday morning routine: teeth brushed, get ready for work, read the New York Times on my computer over a cup of free coffee (compliments of Qualcomm, of course!), and gearing up to conquer another tough bit of computer code or hardware malfunction. And if I am exceptionally lucky, perhaps I will have Albert as my shuttle driver tomorrow morning so I can get a good dose of Elvis to kick of the Monday!
I’ve now made friends with 4 of the 13 shuttle drivers, who drive various (fuel-efficient!) cars between the buildings that comprise Qualcomm campus. The grounds are literally so massive that one must call shuttles to move from one building to another. Yet the sheer size of Qualcomm bothers me very little, as I find it offers some advantages. First, I have the opportunity to walk to buildings close to mine. These short walks are not only a welcomed burst of exercise, but offer me small opportunities to improve my summer tan! Second, I get to interact with employees from all levels of Qualcomm. As I was riding between buildings for a meeting on Thursday, I found myself singing old Elvis tunes with Albert the shuttle driver, while a vice president of Qualcomm sat in the back drumming his hands to the beat on the seat cushion. However, I must admit, it is a bit challenging to do work in the electronics lab when the song “Can’t Help Falling in Love” or “Hound Dog” runs through my mind like a broken record.
As you may or may not know, I am sitting on the QWISE (Qualcomm Women Science in Engineering) board this summer. I am the first intern to do so, and I am so very grateful that the incredible women on the board share their time and wisdom with me twice a month. Perhaps the most exciting event at the board meeting this week was updating the board members on a mentorship program I have been co-directing with my work associate Juhi the last few months. I truly believe that much of my young success has come from having fantastic female mentors along the way (beginning with my loving mom and older sister Christy, followed by the director of the Women in Engineering Program at CU, Beverly Louie, followed by my manager at Qualcomm Boulder, Bhavna Woods). I understand that this may sound slightly corny, but these women each inspired me in unique ways. Thus, due to the phenomenal impact they have had on my life, my coworker Juhi and I decided to create a mentor program for all female interns in Qualcomm this summer. The task is no easy feat (given that there are about 100 female interns nation wide), but I am very enthusiastic to watch my hard work these last few months launch into a meaningful program! And of course, we are busy planning a few activities for the mentor pairs, including a cupcake and pottery painting party at a local craft shop!
Mid-week, my roommate Anne and I decided to drive to Old Town San Diego and taste some cuisine from a local Mexican restaurant famed to have the best margaritas and guacamole in the area. We met some of Anne’s family there and had a great evening full of laughs and stories. Delicious Mexican food is a general theme I noticing in my adventures in San Diego this summer (this comes as little surprise, given that it is a short 30 minute drive across the border to Tijuana, Mexico)! But don’t worry, family! I haven’t made THAT particular adventure since I have arrived in this paradise. I also had superb chicken tacos and fried fruit burritos last night from a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, while overlooking the ocean and sunset. Spectacular.
Today I traveled to historic Balboa park with a few friends from work. The park sits directly alongside the San Diego Zoo, and is literally littered with art museums, botanical gardens, and culture. Today there was a free Georgia O’Keefe art exhibit open to the public, as well as a number of cultural dancers performing a hula in traditional clothing. Between the gorgeous mid-70 degree weather, free organ concert (from the largest outdoor organ on the globe), and the cultural fusion present everywhere, the whole park felt very similar to Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall. It was really fantastic to be a part of everyone celebrating creativity and diversity.
When I forecast forward to next week’s adventures, I try not to get too excited. It is almost overwhelming when I think about the potential each week here holds. Perhaps the farthest I can look right now is to getting up tomorrow morning and starting the Monday morning routine: teeth brushed, get ready for work, read the New York Times on my computer over a cup of free coffee (compliments of Qualcomm, of course!), and gearing up to conquer another tough bit of computer code or hardware malfunction. And if I am exceptionally lucky, perhaps I will have Albert as my shuttle driver tomorrow morning so I can get a good dose of Elvis to kick of the Monday!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Who knew I would be dancing by the CEO on Day 3?
Qualcomm conducts a BREW Conference each year in San Diego, where BREW developers, customers, and marketing members across multiple telecom companies come together to hear a variety of speakers and demonstrations on our BREW product. (BREW is a Qualcomm solution which consists of a code platform that non-Qualcomm cell phone developers can "write on top of". This allows them to use a common code set which includes basic functionality like an address book and call history log, but customize the icons or add other specialized graphics or applications on the cell phone chip as wanted).
Why on earth would I be excited that the BREW conference was coming to San Diego this week? The answer is simple. A group of old friends from Qualcomm Boulder came to San Diego for the week to attend the conference! Last night, my good friend Stevi called me and said, "Katie! The finale of the BREW conference is a concert and free dinner in the Gaslamp District in downtown San Diego. I have an extra ticket! Can you come?" I accepted and took an exciting drive down I-5 to the heart of San Diego. The entire main street of the Gaslamp District was blocked off. The edges of the roads were lined with free gourmet food, all leading towards a huge concert stage where the performance from a legendary rock band titled "LIVE" would perform. The concert was wonderful (and quite loud), and the company of my old Boulder friends was great. After the concert, we decided to go to some of the bars on the street. (Generally, my age would restrict me from entering these bars at night. However, I was lucky that the percentage of Qualcomm workers under 21 is probably less than 0.5% . Thus, no IDs were checked and I was able to spend more time with my friends!) We were all hanging out and dancing while devouring the free table of desserts. Then we noticed someone on the dance floor. Paul Jacobs, the CEO of Qualcomm global, was dancing only a few feet away from us with his wife. Having seen Mr. Jacobs speak on numerous occasions, I cannot tell you how excited I was to be so close to someone I deeply respect. My friend Stevi and I seized the moment and got a picture with him. I will post it on this blog as soon as she uploads the pictures to her computer! Needless to say, the whole night seemed very surreal. Who would have thought I would be chatting and sipping a long island iced tea along side the CEO on my third day at Qualcomm SD?
Why on earth would I be excited that the BREW conference was coming to San Diego this week? The answer is simple. A group of old friends from Qualcomm Boulder came to San Diego for the week to attend the conference! Last night, my good friend Stevi called me and said, "Katie! The finale of the BREW conference is a concert and free dinner in the Gaslamp District in downtown San Diego. I have an extra ticket! Can you come?" I accepted and took an exciting drive down I-5 to the heart of San Diego. The entire main street of the Gaslamp District was blocked off. The edges of the roads were lined with free gourmet food, all leading towards a huge concert stage where the performance from a legendary rock band titled "LIVE" would perform. The concert was wonderful (and quite loud), and the company of my old Boulder friends was great. After the concert, we decided to go to some of the bars on the street. (Generally, my age would restrict me from entering these bars at night. However, I was lucky that the percentage of Qualcomm workers under 21 is probably less than 0.5% . Thus, no IDs were checked and I was able to spend more time with my friends!) We were all hanging out and dancing while devouring the free table of desserts. Then we noticed someone on the dance floor. Paul Jacobs, the CEO of Qualcomm global, was dancing only a few feet away from us with his wife. Having seen Mr. Jacobs speak on numerous occasions, I cannot tell you how excited I was to be so close to someone I deeply respect. My friend Stevi and I seized the moment and got a picture with him. I will post it on this blog as soon as she uploads the pictures to her computer! Needless to say, the whole night seemed very surreal. Who would have thought I would be chatting and sipping a long island iced tea along side the CEO on my third day at Qualcomm SD?
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
My first few days on the job
I think many engineering interns might agree with me: the first days at a new internship are rarely packed with excitement and legitimate work to be completed. Thus, my more relaxed schedule has allowed me to begin a blog documenting my summer adventures here in sunny San Diego!
I arrived in town on Sunday, May 25th to an executive suite apartment in a corporate housing complex (paid for by Qualcomm for the summer). The drive to San Diego was everything I had heard and more. Whether I was climbing a mountain pass at a slow 40 mph or racing at a terrifying 75 mph on the 5-lane interstates, CA drivers are either three inches from my back bumper or ripping past me in the passing lane. Yet the reward was beyond belief. With my apartment located less than 2 miles from the beach and less than 2 miles from the work, the negative aspect of traffic seems negligible. The "executive suite" contains 2 bedrooms with queen-sized beds, 2 bathrooms, a living room, a dining room, and a fully stocked kitchen. Did I forget to mention it also has 3 TVs, 2 DVD players, a patio, phone, high-speed internet and cable TV included? Needless to say, I consider myself very fortunate to have such a generous place to live at this point in my career. I have also met my roommate, Anne Sellner, who is pursuing her BA in Public Affairs at Pennslyvania State University. I count myself doubly fortunate to have a roommate who is fun and easy to get along with.
FIRST DAY OF WORK (if you can even call it "work"):
This may have been the easiest day of paid work I will ever encounter in my career. We were asked to dress casual, as we weren't going to meet our managers that day. Orientation consisted of free breakfast and playing Qualcomm-develped Wii videogames, followed by a tour of the Qualcomm campus and a brief overview of its history, ending with a free lunch. It was great to see so many familiar faces of HR members (I met a number of them on the two times I traveled to San Diego while working at the Boulder QC location the past year). I must admit that is is comforting when people know your name already on the first day, as it is all to easy to blend into the sea of the 500 interns Qualcomm San Diego hires each summer! We were let out at 1 PM, so I decided to spend the rest of the day shopping at an outdoor mall in La Jolla just a few blocks from my apartment complex. I had no trouble finding ways to spend all of the money I was being paid for "working 8 hours" that day at Qualcomm! Armed with some new sunglasses, a new bathing suit, and a sun dress, I could tell that my first day of "work" was a day to envy.
To finsih a nearly perfect first day, my roommate Anne and I signed up for a free cooking class provided by the housing association and learned how to make some delicious Mediterranean food! We also capped off the evening by relaxing our "stressed-out" muscles in the hot tubs. It turns out that going to the hot tubs was a lucky idea, as we talked with a few other locals about where the sharks like to hang out (or more importantly, where they don't!).
Note to self: Seals are sharks favorite food. If you you see one, wade in ocean to take a picture then get the HECK OUT OF THE WATER!!
SECOND DAY OF WORK:
My second day of work began with a meeting with my team lead, Surendar Thaneer. (My hiring manager is actually Felix Naveen Singh. Since he is a Director, he must delegate his duties accordingly). The team I have joined is called Multimedia functional. I offer two descriptions of the team:
1. For my engineering friends: I will be writing test scripts in Perl and MATLAB to test the functionality of the camera and videocamera apps. The point is to basically automate the testing and provide proof to the OEMs that our software has been thoroughly tested.
2. For my non-engineering friends: My guess would be your cell phone has a camera and videocamera on it? If you enjoy them, good! I spend 40 hours a work helping to develop and test their functionality!
The major part of today consists of setting up my office enviornment and meeting various people on my team. I have also made an effort to set up and concentrate a number of meetings and demos with my team memebers in the next few days to get a strong foothold on my future work.
For lunch I joined a fellow intern on my team, Devika. Qualcomm is notorious for having large amounts of leftover food distributed around the buildings just after the lunch hour. We followed a tip from another intern friend and snagged some delicious free Chinese food. I have heard stories of legendary interns who never pay for a lunch their entire time with Qualcomm, and I can only hope I might one day join their prestigous rankings! haha
I arrived in town on Sunday, May 25th to an executive suite apartment in a corporate housing complex (paid for by Qualcomm for the summer). The drive to San Diego was everything I had heard and more. Whether I was climbing a mountain pass at a slow 40 mph or racing at a terrifying 75 mph on the 5-lane interstates, CA drivers are either three inches from my back bumper or ripping past me in the passing lane. Yet the reward was beyond belief. With my apartment located less than 2 miles from the beach and less than 2 miles from the work, the negative aspect of traffic seems negligible. The "executive suite" contains 2 bedrooms with queen-sized beds, 2 bathrooms, a living room, a dining room, and a fully stocked kitchen. Did I forget to mention it also has 3 TVs, 2 DVD players, a patio, phone, high-speed internet and cable TV included? Needless to say, I consider myself very fortunate to have such a generous place to live at this point in my career. I have also met my roommate, Anne Sellner, who is pursuing her BA in Public Affairs at Pennslyvania State University. I count myself doubly fortunate to have a roommate who is fun and easy to get along with.
FIRST DAY OF WORK (if you can even call it "work"):
This may have been the easiest day of paid work I will ever encounter in my career. We were asked to dress casual, as we weren't going to meet our managers that day. Orientation consisted of free breakfast and playing Qualcomm-develped Wii videogames, followed by a tour of the Qualcomm campus and a brief overview of its history, ending with a free lunch. It was great to see so many familiar faces of HR members (I met a number of them on the two times I traveled to San Diego while working at the Boulder QC location the past year). I must admit that is is comforting when people know your name already on the first day, as it is all to easy to blend into the sea of the 500 interns Qualcomm San Diego hires each summer! We were let out at 1 PM, so I decided to spend the rest of the day shopping at an outdoor mall in La Jolla just a few blocks from my apartment complex. I had no trouble finding ways to spend all of the money I was being paid for "working 8 hours" that day at Qualcomm! Armed with some new sunglasses, a new bathing suit, and a sun dress, I could tell that my first day of "work" was a day to envy.
To finsih a nearly perfect first day, my roommate Anne and I signed up for a free cooking class provided by the housing association and learned how to make some delicious Mediterranean food! We also capped off the evening by relaxing our "stressed-out" muscles in the hot tubs. It turns out that going to the hot tubs was a lucky idea, as we talked with a few other locals about where the sharks like to hang out (or more importantly, where they don't!).
Note to self: Seals are sharks favorite food. If you you see one, wade in ocean to take a picture then get the HECK OUT OF THE WATER!!
SECOND DAY OF WORK:
My second day of work began with a meeting with my team lead, Surendar Thaneer. (My hiring manager is actually Felix Naveen Singh. Since he is a Director, he must delegate his duties accordingly). The team I have joined is called Multimedia functional. I offer two descriptions of the team:
1. For my engineering friends: I will be writing test scripts in Perl and MATLAB to test the functionality of the camera and videocamera apps. The point is to basically automate the testing and provide proof to the OEMs that our software has been thoroughly tested.
2. For my non-engineering friends: My guess would be your cell phone has a camera and videocamera on it? If you enjoy them, good! I spend 40 hours a work helping to develop and test their functionality!
The major part of today consists of setting up my office enviornment and meeting various people on my team. I have also made an effort to set up and concentrate a number of meetings and demos with my team memebers in the next few days to get a strong foothold on my future work.
For lunch I joined a fellow intern on my team, Devika. Qualcomm is notorious for having large amounts of leftover food distributed around the buildings just after the lunch hour. We followed a tip from another intern friend and snagged some delicious free Chinese food. I have heard stories of legendary interns who never pay for a lunch their entire time with Qualcomm, and I can only hope I might one day join their prestigous rankings! haha
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
