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.