GSB Mennonite

XBOX 360

Last Friday I had the chance to attend an XBOX 360 presentation as part of Microsoft's Breakfast Series. Most of the Breakfast Series don't have 1400 people attending, so this one had a lot of extra energy. Multiple times I let go an audible and physical "Wow!" The presentation included some just 'baked' code along with a demo of some very very cool features. Looks like a great thing to look forward to for this years annual post-Thanksgiving shopping trip.

Two Weeks

Today was the end of my second week at Microsoft. The time has gone very quickly, and I've enjoyed immersing myself with the people, company, culture, and projects! I also really like the Seattle area - lots of green all around thanks to the nice amount of precipitation. :)

I would recommend taking at least a week or two between the end of Spring quarter and the beginning of an internship...to rest and also to mentally transition from school schedule to work life again.

Hopefully more updating this weekend, including some links I need to add.

End of the First Year

I finished up my final paper last Thursday night - in the midst of the first week of the internship...unfortunate scheduling, but it will help at the end of the summer with Fall LEAD.

In celebration, I leave this small picture - from Chicago GSB's Hyde Park Center. Let me know if anyone spots it this summer! :)

Pike Place Market

The Pike Place Market is a few blocks away...it's a really neat mix of food, stuff, art, and not-too-touristy stuff. Also, the first Starbucks is just across the street. Here's a shot of one of the fruit/veggie areas.

Microsoft: NEO and First Week

Last Tuesday was the first day of the internship and New Employee Orientation. We had an excellent orientation facilitator, with great Audience Captivation Training skills. :)

The afternoon was a neat tour of Seattle inlcuding the locks and salmon ladder between the lake and the bay.

The rest of the week seemed to fly by - meeing my mentor and manager again, connecting with the rest of the team, getting setup with a laptop and attending intern bowling night. Bowling night actually turned into billiards night also, which was a lot of fun. And then arcade night. Jurassic Park III is a fun shooting game. :)

Friday afternoon was a team building event - and we played Whirlyball; which I was familiar with thanks to Chicago GSB admit weekend.

Great first week and hopefully will get into the projects more directly this next week.

Spring LEAD

A big thanks to our fellow Spring LEAD participants. Thank you for all your stories, examples, and patience this quarter! They were great and all the facilitators were awarded Oscars...see mine below. I brought it with me to Seattle and have it proudly displayed on the window.

I think/hope my last module - Myers Briggs Temperament Indicator (MBTI) - went well. And we had a great time hanging out with everyone at the reception on Friday afternoon after the final class.