Its Friday!

This is the Exchange Party (that is our cafeteria)

Exchange Explorers!

Friday was another great day at work. It was a lot more of getting organized and understanding the network at Microsoft, and all the tools we will need to use. We finally got our laptops set up, after lots of difficulty, so now we can start working from home as well! We got to go to our first CEP (Customer Experience, which is the branch of exchange I work within) Exchange team meeting, which included the head project manager, lots of full times, and my personal manager. It was totally scary. We walked in and were scared to sit down because there weren't enough chairs, but the PM who conducted the meeting made us sit and some of the full times stand! He introduced us around the room, and told the team about the project we will be working on. The entire meeting was over my head, and was actually really intimidating. A lot of the things they talked about were internal issues like a program for catching and dealing with bugs properly, so I wouldn't understand how to use them unless I was used to the way Microsoft has its employees stay organized, but listening to the developers talk about creating that particular application, was sooo scary! Someday I'M going to have to do that!!! But the PM said he was very proud of us for staying awake throughout the meeting, so I guess we succeeded in acting like we knew what was going on. I've begun to realize, though, how much Microsoft does that I never even knew about. All their server products, and business applications. I've always loved apple, but you honestly can't even compare the two companies. There are things that Microsoft does, that apple just doesn't, and doesn't need to. They are two completely different companies, both totally amazing! Its really neat, though, to have this stereotype that I've always had towards Microsoft disappear. I've always respected them as a company, but still made fun of the design and functionality of lots of their products. Its not until working there that I really see how many awesome things Microsoft does, and the new technologies that they contribute to. They are way more than just the company that makes Windows and Word, they really do so much! Around 4, my manager came and got us and took us to the cafeteria where they were having their monthly "MAPI beers" which is a party for the entire exchange team. It was pretty fun...and kinda nerdy haha. They had a DJ, and catering, and someone that did caricatures . We met a few people that worked on our floor, and socialized with the older exchange interns. My internship is only for freshman and sophomores, and there are only 4 of us in Exchange. They call us the Pod haha! Then there are other interns that are juniors and seniors, and each of them works individually on a project, rather that in a group like ours. After the party, my group went back upstairs to work. Our manager was kind of surprised, I dont think he expected us to all be so excited, and asking so many questions. We stayed until about 7, and were the only people left. On a friday, even the full times, leave early. But we are still so excited to be there we all basically want to sleep in the office. We borrowed lots of books from our manager, and will spend some time during the weekend studying. Friday night, we had some other explorer interns over to our apartment and had lots of fun. This morning (Saturday) my roommates and I went to downtown Seattle to Pikes place market, which is like a huge farmers market. They have tons of vegetable and fruit stands, a few flower stands with the most gorgeous bouquets for 10-2o dollars. They had a pasta stand with all sorts of dried pastas like chocolate, mixed fruit, and normal ones like lemon garlic and basil pesto. Lots of gift shops and restaurants as well. We stopped at the cutest bakery with the line out the door and got a Cinnamon roll with apple it it. The smell of the bakery was AMAZING...I thought of you granny!! We had lunch at this little sandwich shop that had very different things. My sandwich was ham with artichoke hearts and cheese on the best bread. We did a little shopping in the stores all around downtown, not just pike place market but it was a little rainy and COLD ( its may wheres the 100 degree weather i'm used to) so we took the bus back home, and will save the space needle and more seattle sightseeing for another day. I napped for awhile then woke up to make dinner. My roommates and I all have about the same degree of "living on our own" experience, and haven't succeeded in making ourselves a decent meal yet. Tonight, my roommate bought cookie dough and made a batch of cookies, burnt them, made the rest of the dough and burnt them again. So, sadly we didnt eat a single cookie out of that roll of dough. At the same time, my mac and cheese turned out soo watery, and my microwave chicken was hard as a rock. I dont know how we can be so good with computers but are having a hard time feeding ourselves. We all joined a Microsoft intern group called free food, so maybe we will get so emails on where we can take advantage of Microsoft catering! My roommate and I started studying a little bit tonight, mostly ended up on facebook, but had to laugh because at one point, between the two of us, we had 5 laptops open and running on her bed, as well as a few C# and Visual studio books. Thats what we do on a Saturday night....we are CS students, and we love what we do!

Trying to feed ourselves....the frozen pizzas were 10 for $10!!

ROOMIES....In front of Pikes Place Market

These are all the Gorgeous flowers!

This is the ORIGINAL Starbucks!! Its sooo small!

We had to have a pic of what we were doing on a Sat. Night.

These computers are between one of my roommates and I!

I WORK AT MICROSOFT!!

I'm a Microsoft Employee!!! YAY!!!

So today was almost just as exciting as yesterday. This morning, we woke up and had no costume for the "Super Hero gone wrong" themed scavenger hunt that was planned for the explorer inters, so my roommates and I dressed in all black and RAN through target in our heels 2o min before we had to be at work getting batman masks and capes. When we walked in though all the interns started taking pictures so I guess the costumes were a hit! We went on our scavenger hunt and my team came in second. We went to work after that and got our laptops and an awesome computer bag filled with office supplies and gift cards to starbucks, cheesecake factory (which my group is using this weekend), and to the microsoft cafeterias. Our laptops are thinkpads where the monitor can twist around and turn into a flat touch pad. Its pretty cool. I'm getting much better with windows. Today we organized our emails which are flooded with cool confidential stuff! We also installed Visual Studio which is the application we will be programming in. Tomorrow I will begin to format my laptop and get connected to the system and microsofts intranet. We are also going to start brainstorming ideas for our project as well as start learning c# which is the language we will be programming in. We get to attend an Exchange meeting that the entire Exchange department gets to attend, so I'll be in the same meeting room with all the big corporate guys!!! YAY!! I'm excited because the past few days have been a lot of getting set up and learning the rules and benefits and has just been crazy, overwhelming with info. Tomorrow I hope will be an actual day to start working. Its weird to walk around the building look into other peoples offices and actually see them coding, just like I would be in school. I'm getting a little nervous because I am the oldest in my group, and think I am supposed to be the leader in coding. They organized us into groups so that our skills complimented each other, and I think I am supposed to help the other in coding, which is something I have never been too confident in. Its nice though because everyone is so motivated, so we all intend on getting books and learning things together and helping each other out. Its so hard to believe that in 2 months I will have created an application that millions of people will be using every day! Its just so nice being around so many people that are so excited to be working at microsoft, and that are so excited for us interns to be there and are so willing to help. 

We also got to hear about more fun events that are coming up. One is a product fair with Steve Balmer, the CEO of microsoft, so thats pretty cool and maybe I can even meet him!! In the next few weeks, all the exchange interns are going to go to downtown Seattle and tour on a Duck bus, which is a bus for tourists that drives around and also floats on the water. It should be really fun, and to get there we are getting picked up in Hummer limos!! I'm soo excited! We also have a glass-blowing day planned, and we are getting a day off work at some point where all the interns will go out and instead of working, will participate in a philanthropy event! So there is lots of cool stuff coming! We also learned that another part of our summer will be job shadowing, so I will actually get to work around and learn from lots of real microsoft employes. Things just keep getting better, and i'm not sure if I ever want to leave!! The summer is going to go by WAY to fast, I already know! 

This was my scavenger hunt team!

We were batman gone female!

Orientation

Here are all the Explorer interns!!

So today was AMAZING!!! We got to Microsoft early and had to fill out a bunch of paper work and listen to a bunch of boring legal info. They did tell us lots of exciting stuff, and had previous interns give us advice on how to do well. They told us all about the activities that we will be doing over the summer like an intern trip to Mt. Rainier and Kayaking on Lake Washington. After that, we got to meet with our Manager who will be helping us with our project. He took us to our office where my group of 4 people will be working. Sitting on our desks were tons of boxes for our new computer!!! It was better than Christmas. We got to set up our own computers, which are pretty nice machines with dual flat screens and a 4 GB memory. Our makes all the full time employees jealous because we have lots of windows and a beautiful view, but its big enough to fit the 4 of us which is why we have it. Tomorrow we get our laptops, phones and goody bag full of t-shirts and other Microsoft stuff!! AND...I work in the same building as BILL GATES!!! He is two floors above me. My group-mates and I decided we had to come in early one morning and wait by the elevator for him to get to work haha. (We aren't aloud on the 5th floor where his office is) I was really sad to learn that every year Bill Gates holds a Bar-B-Que at his house for all the interns, but since he is retiring in June, this will be the first year he won't be having it. But besides just all the cool stuff, we learned a lot about what project we will be working on. I am in the Microsoft Business Department working on the Exchange team, which is Microsoft's Corporate Mail Server. There are 3 positions in Microsoft, the Design area which is called the Program Manager, the Developers who actually write code, and the department that tests it. Through my internship, we will get to work in all areas which is really exciting. My exact project will be to create a gadget for Microsoft Vista that will allow easy access to the Exchange Server. We basically have entire freedom to design and create it however we want, and our goal is to start it from scratch and deliver it by the end of the summer. So i'm really excited to start working. Today was sooo much fun and I'm so excited for tomorrow. We are going on a Scavenger hunt and have to dress up!! 

These were our what our desks looked like when we walked into our office.

This is my group, the Exchange Team

Unpacking!!

This is the view from my desk

This is the building I work in. Bill Gates' office is on the 5th floor!!

First Day

Today I got to spend some time just driving around and exploring the Seattle area. I didn't actually go into Seattle because I heard traffic and parking was really bad and I was scared to go by myself. Instead I drove through downtown Redmond which was really cute, and they even have an outdoor mall!! YAY! Then I drove to Bellevue which is a town just a few minutes south of Redmond. They have an amazing downtown with another outdoor mall, a cool looking art museum, and lots of huge buildings. As I drove more on the outskirts I found the most amazing park. It was right on the water of Lake Washington and had the tallest trees, and lots of green fields with the softest, thickest grass I've ever seen. I walked around barefoot for awhile. There were lots of rocks and picnic tables to sit on and read, or do some programming haha! So the day was a success, I didnt get lost once, and I managed to find a Grocery store and get stocked up on food. Now i'm relaxing and watching the spurs game!! I cant wait for orientation tomorrow!

Hello Washington!!

Here are some pictures from the plane, and of my apartment and Washington that I took on my first day. So far everything has been great! My roommates are awesome, and Washington is BEAUTIFUL!! 

My Mom and I on the way to the airport!

Flying in to Seattle

This is my Apartment