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
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