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.