The End of my Summertime in Seattle

I’ll admit it: I am writing my final Seattle blog entry … but I am back at home in Boulder already! My last month in Seattle proved to be a very busy time, and I began to neglect writing in this blog. Nevertheless, I am fortunate to have a sharp Grandma Alice who reminded me that she was still waiting to see my final blog entry of the summer! Thanks for the reminder, Grandma! I agree that it is high time I tie off this blog with a recap of my final month with Microsoft in Seattle.

A few weeks before the end of my internship, my parents came into town to visit me in my new city. With only four days to explore an entire area, and with me still working fulltime at Microsoft, we had to be clever about filling our days with fun activities. With the help of my roommate Nanxi’s GPS, I shuttled my parents all over downtown Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland and Redmond. One of my favorite nights was walking along Alki Beach at sunset, since the beach offers a spectacular view of the Seattle skyline. Strolling along the beach with them reminded me of walking along Pacific Beach in San Diego when they came to visit me last summer while I was working with Qualcomm – I am so blessed to have parents who can come share my summer adventures with me in each city! We grabbed fish and chips for dinner from Suds and sat on a picnic bench to watch the orange-splashed sun cast silhouettes of sailboats and their shadows across the ocean’s surface. You can see a picture from the evening below!




On Monday night, we made reservations at a famous seafood restaurant in Ballard called Ray’s Boat House. One benefit given to Microsoft employees is a Prime card. The Prime card offers a number of discounts to restaurants, including a buy-one-entree-get-one-free at Ray’s Boat House. We celebrated Dad’s birthday while eating some delicious crab and seafood dishes at sunset. For the second night in a row, we watched another breathtaking sunset over the ocean. We also visited Golden Gardens Beach, and I showed my parents the sand volleyball courts where I played this summer. After a few days of visiting, I wished my parents a safe trip as they continued towards Vancouver, Canada to explore the area.

After another couple busy weeks at the office, my best friend from high school Angie Johnson flew in for a weekend. We spent a lot of time hanging out with my Seattle friends. We also spent a day exploring the famous Pike’s Market, and tried not to react too much as we walked past cases of scaly fish packed in ice – their dead fish eyes look like they’re staring at you! Ha ha! We also played games at the carnival downtown by the symbolic Space Needle. After riding the roller coaster along the shore, we decided to grab some fresh roasted corn from a vendor (check out the picture below)!




I spent my final weekend with four Microsoft intern friends: Brian, Michael, Sandy and Tushar. We decided to pile in a car and drive to Mount Rainier National Park. The hiking at Rainier was not as spectacular as my first visit, largely due to the weather. This round we found ourselves hiking against a misty landscape, with a thick layer of dew quickly coating all objects. At the top of the trail, we played on a glacier for awhile which reminded me of snow and Colorado! We spent the night in Portland, Oregon. The next day we went white water rafting and even did a class 5 waterfall! To survive the 15 foot drop over the waterfall, we had to literally hold ourselves to the bottom of the raft using tethers to avoid being thrown out (the raft was completely submerged under water for about a second!). It was a wonderful way to spend my last weekend. You can see the picture of us after surviving the waterfall below:





Leaving Seattle was actually much more difficult than I expected it to be. Saying goodbye to many new friends, an incredible team and office environment, and my two roommates was an emotional experience; it is amazing how we can form such deep relationships with people in only a few months time. Luckily, the world we live in today is “always connected,” and staying in touch with my Seattle friends is actually trivial. Nevertheless, as I returned my rental car at the airport and prepared to board my flight home, I found myself overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. While part of me was aching to return to my friends and family in Boulder, another part of me had become very comfortable in Seattle. Again, I find myself humbled and blessed to have experienced living in another remarkable American city.

Now you can find me in a study room on the CU campus. The never-ending Boulder sunlight is shining through the windows as I write the final sentences of this Seattle blog. Since returning home, I have adjusted quickly to my busy school life. It is a relief to be back among many of my best friends – I always feel so warmed by them. Today I had miniature pre-21st birthday party with my parents and all four grandparents (my birthday is tomorrow!). Eating cupcakes with six of the most important people in my life, while raving at the incredible Rocky Mountain view, was the perfect beginning to what is sure to be an epic week of celebrating my birthday milestone.

If you read my very first blog entry from this summer, you may remember that I was overwhelmed by the scale of Seattle and Microsoft at first. I am now happy to report that I have another city on this planet that feels like home. Where will you find me next summer? I am still undecided at this point, but you can be sure that I will record my adventures down in another blog to share with you. Until then…

All my love,
Katie

"Time Flies When You're Having Fun"

This morning I awoke and was shocked to find myself done with 2 of my 3 months in Seattle this summer. I have never been a huge fan of corny sayings, such as “Time flies when you’re having fun!” And yet, in this particular case, I can find no better way to say it: I have been having so much fun that no matter how hard I try, time seems to be accelerating!

You may ask incredulously, “How can a girl working 40-50 hours a week at the largest software company in the world be having fun?” I understand why people would be skeptical, so I will attempt to explain why working at Microsoft has been so fun this summer through a few recent anecdotes. What, exactly, does fun in the office look like?

FUN IN THE OFFICE:
Suppose you were walking down the hallway by my office last Friday afternoon. What would you have seen? Surprisingly, you would have found a row of ficus plants spanning the entire width of the hall. My co-worker Jason and I perused my building’s hallways to “borrow” various plants from our office neighbors. The end effect was that we were able to create a barrier which sufficiently acted as a volleyball net. Once we had constructed the wall of plants, we proceeded to play a game of volleyball in the hallway. Other employees who passed by, while confused at first, soon quickly joined the fun. We finished the afternoon game by enjoying some of the infinite free sodas provided for employees.

I have mentioned the office dog, Brutus, in a few posts this summer. The new joke on the block is that I am Brutus’s “office girlfriend.” Every morning when I come into my office, Brutus sees me pass his office and leaps up to follow me into my own office. He waits patiently for me while I check my email, and then we head to the building’s kitchen together where I get a piping hot cup of Starbucks coffee and a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I return to my office to begin the day, Brutus at my side. After finishing my cereal, he is the lucky dog who gets to lick the bowl every morning.Since I complete this morning routine 5 days a week, it comes to little surprise that we all joke I am Brutus’s office girlfriend! Haha.

The Microsoft campus covers a large area, with over 100 buildings. But don’t be fooled – not all of these buildings contain only offices and engineers! In fact, in the center of the campus there is a collection of buildings known as the “Microsoft Mall.” You need your badge for entrance, but it is literally a “mall” with over 30 places to eat, a post office, a massage parlor, bike shops, cell phone stores, fountains, and more! Adjacent to the mall is a full-sized soccer field. Microsoft XBOX sponsors Washington’s soccer team, the Seattle Sounders. Last week, the Sounders had their practice on the Microsoft campus, and the employees were invited to watch. My friend Jason and I decided to watch the practice and then pick up lunch at a restaurant called the “Spitfire Grill” at the Microsoft Mall. It is very common for employees to walk over to the Microsoft Mall during the summer months and enjoy an afternoon off!

FUN OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE:
While I certainly have fun in the office, most of the fun happens outside of it! For example, last weekend I hopped in a car with a bunch of friends and drove a couple hours to Mount Rainier National Park. We went hiking in a 7 mile loop and had lunch on the trail with spectacular views! You can see a couple of pictures from the adventure below.





I have recently joined a volleyball team that plays beach volleyball a few times a week. Last Tuesday, my team had our quarter-final match on Golden Gardens Beach in downtown Seattle. It was difficult to focus on the game, considering that the ocean was 10 feet to my left! As the sun set over the Pacific and the boats in the marina gently rocked with the surf, my team won our match and will be advancing to the semi-finals. Wish us luck!

Microsoft, like Qualcomm, is famous for spoiling its interns! Last Friday our recruiters put on an event for all interns from the West/Mid-West universities. The event had a free catered burrito buffet, free t-shirts, free video games, as well as a number of other free gifts. They gave us all $50 gift cards just for attending! We also played a massive intern game of “Capture the Flag,” which was a lot of fun.

Perhaps the most impressive event, however, happened last Thursday. Each summer, Microsoft invites all 800 interns to a massive summer celebration. (When Bill Gates was still the CEO, it used to take place at his mansion on the ocean.) This summer, Microsoft rented out the entire Pacific Science Center in Seattle and showed the new Harry Potter 6 movie on IMAX screens (this version won’t even be released until next week). To get us all there, a fleet of 25 buses lined up on the Microsoft campus at 5PM. We had a police escort of 30 motorcycle cops who proceeded to shut down (not one, but) TWO of the major interstates in Seattle to transport all of the buses downtown. You can imagine the look of shock on the commuters’ faces as they were stopped to allow a fleet of 25 bases pass by them across the Lake Washington bridge!! After arriving at the Pacific Science Center, we had a massive BBQ with gourmet hamburgers, hotdogs, and desserts galore. There was also an open bar! We ate the free dinner on an outdoor patio by the ocean and then moved into the theater to watch the movie. To top the evening off, Microsoft provided every intern with an XBOX 360 game console (worth hundreds of dollars) as a thank you for working here this summer! It was an absolutely awesome night! You can see a picture of me with some friends below holding our new game systems:



Today I went to downtown Bellevue to see their Art Festival with my friends Tyler and Lauren. The downtown area is covered with art booths for local artists and food vendors. While snacking on roasted corn on the cob, Philly cheese steak sandwiches, and shaved ice, we enjoyed looking at the various paintings and handmade jewelry. It was another beautiful afternoon spent in the Seattle sunshine!

While there have been infinite fun activities this summer, I cannot possibly tell you about them all. I hope you have enjoyed hearing about a few of the highlights in this blog post! When I consider that I have only 4 weeks left to spend in Seattle, I crave to do even more and experience everything I can. Tomorrow I am going on a cruise of Seattle’s lakes with some girlfriends, and tomorrow evening my parents arrive for a few days. Updates on both of those adventure will surly appear on my blog soon. Time may “fly when I’m having fun,” but it seems to “soar when I’m having fun in Seattle!”

Concrete Furniture: The Next Big Thing

People love it when they get Fridays off work. A long weekend. Who could resist? For Seattle, the Friday off during the 4th of July weekend may very well be the best Friday of the entire year; when it rains 10 out of 12 months, a sunny, long weekend to grill and go boating seems like paradise! My 4th of July weekend began with a shopping trip with some girlfriends, including my two roommates Yang and Nanxi (Check out the picture of us, with downtown Bellevue in the background). Later we met a group of people at Alki beach to enjoy fish & chips, the sun, and ice cream (The picture at the beach shows me and my roommates!). We topped off the day by grilling bratwurst and relaxing.




On the Independence day itself, I met up with my friends Eugene and Puneet to grill dinner and relax in their backyard. We decided to forgo the crowds of downtown Seattle fireworks and instead watch the local neighbors shoot off their "less-than-legal" fireworks. The next day we had another large grilling party and made gourmet burgers with every possible topping you can think of: 5 cheeses, sauteed onions and mushrooms, veggies, olives, pico de gallo, and more! We finished off the day by listening to Puneet play his guitar (he has been playing for 10 years and is very talented!). As we all lay spread out on blankets in the grass listening to guitar music, I found myself incredibly thankful to have met such wonderful people this summer.

This past week at work has been much busier. As of last Friday, I have officially completed the first half of my internship. To formalize my review, I had a special 1-on-1 meeting with my manager to talk about the progress towards my project. It sounds like everything is going on track! Microsoft was also buzzing this week about the announcement of the new Google Chrome Operating System (OS). In a nutshell, Google is proposing that the computer user's main experience should be centralized around the web, not the local desktop environment. To be fair, Google has a point. I have heard numbers that users claim 70% of their computing experience is on the web. This number quickly converges to almost 100% when the user population is defined to be younger. While I have heard and talked with many Microsoft employees internally about this announcement, I am not at liberty to reproduce the conversations online. However, I can say one thing with full confidence: We, the world, know nothing about this new OS except some 100+ words released in their official Google blog. Nobody has seen any code yet. And let's be clear, the current Microsoft Windows OS has been in development for 25+ years and includes millions of lines of code and thousands of developer hours. The Mac OS has been in development even longer (closer to 35+ years, depending on when you start counting). You really should not misunderstand me; if there is a single company on the planet that could build a "lightweight" OS from the ground up in a few years, it would be Google. But still, the world has a right to remain skeptical about their recent announcement. Will it be a major threat to Microsoft? Again, I can only speculate as an intern, but I would now say no. Google Chrome OS (at least version 1.0) will be no more threatening to Microsoft Windows than Bing is threatening to Google search.

My last 2 days at work have been spent in employee training with all of the other Windows User Interface Program Mangers (PM). It was surreal to be sitting with so many brilliant, creative people learning the process of designing a user interface for the next one billion people. The room was littered with post-it notes, white-board drawings, and sketches. There was also tons of free food and snacks provided, with the office dog Brutus acting as the Microsoft vacuum for all the crumbs. I learned something funny in the training session that I would like to share with you now. In the early 1900s, Thomas Edison had an idea to invent furniture made of concrete because it would be cheap, easy, and last forever. While Edison may be known as a great inventor today, he had many bad ideas as well. I am particularly grateful that his concrete furniture didn't become a hit, because I am really enjoying writing my blog on a squishy bed instead of a concrete box!

This afternoon I am off to play sand volleyball with my coworker Jason. I miss everyone at home, and will see you all in another 6 weeks!

Christy’s Wedding Weekend: The Maid of Honor’s Perspective

If you were in the Los Angeles area this past weekend, you may have seen a number of interesting scenes. Perhaps you watched a bridal party wade through the loose sands of Manhattan Beach to get the perfect picture. You may have witnessed a collection of transparent-skinned Coloradans testing their expertise on the sand volleyball courts. You may have even seen a bouquet of flowers tossed and caught in the ceiling decorations of a grand ballroom.

I suspect that if you are reading this blog entry, you know exactly which special event was the cause of these distinctive scenes: my older sister, Christy Corner, tied the knot this weekend with Justin Diehl. If you are reading this, you likely attended the wedding and remember it vividly. However, if you enjoyed the open bars too liberally, or could not attend, I offer this humble blog entry as an attempt to recapture many of the warm memories from the weekend. Enjoy!

DAY 1: REHEARSAL DINNER

After arriving in Los Angeles late Wednesday night, I knew it was time to sleep before all of the fun began. On Thursday morning, the five women in the bridal party (me, Leah Wickham, Melissa Ratliff, Kelly Diehl, Jessa Gyzm), Christy, and the two moms arrived at a nail boutique called Mani-Pedi Cutie to get our nails done for the wedding. It was great to relax with the girls and get pampered for a few hours. Next we arrived at the wedding rehearsal to go over the steps for the big day. I learned I had a very crucial title besides “Maid of Honor.” I was also the designated “dress fluffer”, who needed to ensure that Christy’s dress would remain beautiful and un-bunched throughout the wedding day. After running through the agenda and practicing a couple of times, we were all feeling good about the ceremony coming the next day. The day ended with a rehearsal dinner at Beaches, the restaurant where Christy and Justin first met at a happy hour. Situated near the coast on Manhattan Beach Blvd, our party offered spectacular views of the ocean. Two main highlights of the rehearsal dinner included a slideshow of Justin and Christy growing up and the unveiling of a special cake for Justin. Justin’s cake was literally a hemisphere of chocolate and frosting decorated as a bright orange Warriors basketball! After the rehearsal dinner, Christy, Leah and I moved to the Hermosa Beach House hotel to catch some dreams before the wedding day dawned.



DAY 2: WEDDING DAY

We awoke bright and early on Friday morning to prepare for the wedding celebration that night. Christy and I ventured downstairs to check out the included breakfast buffet and enjoyed our first cups of coffee and pastries on the patio next to the beach. After collecting plates of other snacks to share with the bridesmaids, we returned to the room to begin the preparations. Christy’s friend Sierra met the bridesmaids in the hotel room, and set-up a makeshift hair studio in the bathroom to style our hair for the day. While waiting for our hair appointments, the bridesmaids enjoyed chatting, eating snacks from Trader Joe’s, and helping each other tie our dresses. We also each received our gift from Christy; she gave each of the bridesmaids a beautiful pearl bracelet and a set of pearl earrings to wear! After we were all ready, we met the photographer to begin taking pictures. The entire wedding party took photos on Manhattan Beach with the ocean in the background. It was entertaining to watch the people on the beach stare in shock as we all stomped through the sand and wind to find the perfect picture spot!

Finally, we headed to Los Verdes Golf Club to prepare for the actual ceremony. The wedding party had a “secret room” where we could all relax before/after the ceremony and surreptitiously hide Christy. As family and friends arrived, we all nervously and excitedly waited to begin. The ceremony began and went so fast it seems like a blur now! Dad entered the secret room and the bridesmaids began their hike around the building to begin our walk down the aisle. The wedding itself proved to be a touching event. I will never forget the feeling of standing up at the alter watching Christy and Dad approach us to the tune of Pacabel’s Cannon. I mostly watched Justin’s eyes during the ceremony (Christy’s back was towards me). I also enjoyed watching Justin’s groomsmen transform into gentlemen – they had been very goofy and light-hearted during the rehearsal. My mom’s and Nancy Diehl’s eyes were sparkling as the sun set and the ceremony ended.

The after party was surely a treat for everyone in attendance. The DJ announced the names as the wedding party made our grand entrance into the ballroom. Each pair of the wedding party devised our own dance moves upon entering (I think mine and Issac’s was best! Ha ha). After the bride and groom’s first dance to the song “Lucky” by Colbie Caillat and Jason Mraz, the toasts began. Issac spoke about Justin always being one step ahead in life, and I talked about sharing sisterhood with Christy. We then had a surprise toast presented by Leah from Christy’s best friend Lindsay Copperberg. Lindsay was recently deployed to the Persian Gulf and could not attend the wedding, but it was touching to hear her words on Christy’s special day. The night continued with a feast of delicious food and tinkering glasses to encourage a kiss between the bride and groom. The second round of toasts came from the fathers who both reflected over Christy’s and Justin’s growth through the years. Their toasts were the perfect combination of sentimental and humorous stories! The most emotional part of the night for me was the Father-Daughter/Mother-Son dance, where they danced to the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The night continued with the newlyweds cutting the cake and the classic bouquet and garter toss. Everything was running flawlessly until Christy accidently tossed her flowers so high that they landed in the gauze netting decoration near the ceiling. Thankfully, cousin Tim’s height saved the flowers, and one of Christy’s California friends caught the bouquet! The rest of the night was spent dancing with friends and family.

DAY 3: BEACH PARTY AT MANHATTAN BEACH

The final day of the wedding weekend was the beach party on Saturday. It was easily one of my favorite days, considering Seattle’s beaches are far inferior to the beaches of southern California. We played volleyball, enjoyed swimming and crashing through the cold waves of the Pacific, and napping in the sun along the shore. The grandparents spent the afternoon chatting under colourful beach umbrellas. We also successfully demolished the remainder of Justin’s Warriors Basketball cake! Dinner that night was shared at an Italian restaurant with me, Justin, Christy, Mom and Dad, Nancy and Greg Diehl, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Judy, and cousin Rachel.

AFTER THE WEDDING WEEKEND

You can now find me seated, legs-crossed in LAX waiting to catch my plane back to Seattle. The airport is such a miraculous place to people watch – it really seems to attract an eccentric group! Usually, it is the human idiosyncrasies which make people watching so enjoyable to me. Today, however, I find myself captivated by people and their wedding bands. Across from me, you will find a married mom with her son and daughter (both of whom are busy listening to their iPods). The mom is talking to an older gentleman, who was in LA this weekend for a 50-year high school reunion. He also has a wedding ring sitting comfortably on his left ring-finger. As I watch the many faces and wedding rings in the airport, I cannot help but smile. Each wedding ring is a reminder that these people also experienced a wedding weekend once. They too shared a day with their closest family and friends, fed their new spouse cake, and danced to their favorite songs. When I consider this, I feel warmed by the people around me. This weekend, Christy and Justin added even more affection and love to this world. I feel so thankful to have been a part of it.

Love,

Katie (a.k.a. The Maid of Honor!)

Interns Get Benefits – Dogs Do Too

One day after work last week, an intern friend of mine Eugene invited me join him and his friends in downtown Bellevue. They would be waiting in a Microsoft building, he told me and provided directions. I followed the directions precisely and found myself, not at a Microsoft building, but at a massive multi-story shopping mall! Slightly confused, I called Eugene only to hear that I had found the right place and that I should take the elevator up to the 28th story of the building. Upon entering the elevator, I had to use my employee badge to gain access to the 28th floor and the pieces came together. Indeed, there are Microsoft buildings that consist of half chic shopping area and the other half has offices. The 28th floor of the Lincoln Center was nothing short of breathtaking. While the interior could be best described as one of many Microsoft cafeterias, the entire top story is surrounded in glass windows overlooking downtown Bellevue and Seattle. As the sun set over Lake Union and the hilly terrain of Seattle, we enjoyed free drinks (compliments of Microsoft) on the large patio overlooking the landscape. It was the perfect way to unwind after a long day at work.

The group of us then decided to go to grab dinner at a local sushi place – as was the case last summer, being again near the ocean means sushi places are everywhere! One the 3rd story of the Microsoft building, you will find an IMAX Movie Theater. We used our employee discounts and went to see the newest installment of the Terminator. It was a great action movie and so fun to watch with some of my engineering friends; we always enjoy watching high-tech movies, as we can instantly spot the occasional technical improbability (e.g. the main character fixed a radio by jiggling an electrolytic capacitor. Ha ha!).

In a previous blog entry, I introduced you to a woman who works in the office next to mine named Michelle. Michelle has a certified therapy dog named Rufus who accompanies her to work every day. Rufus is clearly the office entertainment, as he still acts very much like a puppy. During our department’s BBQ last week, he transferred from person to person flashing hi puppy-dog eyes in hopes of scoring a piece of chicken or some potato chips. It’s a wonder that Rufus isn’t the weight of a whale, given how much I saw him eat that day! When I was talking with Michelle on Friday, I learned something new about Rufus: he basically gets the same benefits that interns do. You can imagine my surprise upon learning that he was receiving a badge with his picture on it that would scan him into any Microsoft building on campus!! I would not be surprised to hear that he probably receives some sort of veterinary health benefit too. The other day I saw Rufus provoke one of our Vice Presidents into a game of Tug-O-War with his toys – it makes me wonder if Rufus has any idea at all that he is slobbering on the person who is redefining the next generation of computing. When I asked him this, his response was a cute blank stare, followed by “woof.”

Last night was my first official night in downtown Seattle. About 30 interns met at the Microsft Transit station and used our free bus passes (provided by Microsoft) to take a bus into the downtown International District. Before the show, we went to a Thai restaurant which serves only pho noodle soup bowls. For only $5, I got a gigantic bowl of noodles, veggies, and chicken in broth. After dinner, we took a short underground bus ride to the Seattle Symphony and saw Stravinsky’s Firebird. The guest violinist was absolutely spectacular; Leila Josefowicz received the 2008 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (aka. Genius Award). I have never heard sounds like that come from a violin before! You can see us all before the show:

This weekend, I plan to explore a number of places outside of Seattle. Today I am headed on a scenic drive with some friends, and tomorrow I drive to Forks with one of my roommates. I miss Colorado, but I also find myself loving the greenery and scenery in WA. I feel so lucky to have lived in two such beautiful cities!

A Window into the ‘Evil Empire’ of Microsoft

I know, I know. Opening this blog entry with a blatant “Windows” pun probably does not inspire you to continue reading. However, if you have ever been curious about how the Microsoft machine appears from the inside, I encourage you to read further.

They told me, “All of their employees work nights and weekends.” They cautioned, “Haven’t you been watching Microsoft stock lately? The company is on its decline, and not headed back up.” They questioned, “I thought you would be avoiding static companies – why aren’t you looking for more innovative opportunities like Google or Apple?” Oh yes, there were plenty of critics ready to speak out against the company infamously nicknamed the software industry’s 800-pound gorilla.

Since I have joined Microsoft, I have seen a very interesting trend among my co-workers and the speakers. Many of them, including the very successful ones, had no plans to actually accept an offer from Microsoft when they flew to Seattle for the interview. I’ve heard reflections like, “I wanted to see the ‘Evil Empire’ from the inside,” or “Who would turn down a free trip to Seattle?” Yet somehow, Microsoft works its magic to change all of their perceptions (including my own) in a day of interviewing. How do they do this??

The answer is obvious: Microsoft is simply NOT the Dark Side from the inside. After observing the campus and people, that fact becomes immediately clear. I believe that if you took pictures of the meeting rooms, people’s offices, and the buildings (there are literally hundreds in this area), you would not be able to tell the difference between them and Google buildings. Everyone in my hallway listens to music loudly. The lady in the office next door, Michelle, has a dog which she brings to all meetings. In a department meeting the other day, I watched an 8-months pregnant woman surf her facebook account. On my team of 8 people, we have 3 women, a man from Bulgaria, a man from China, a woman from India, a man from the UK, and a partially blind man. Microsoft bought over 100 Toyota Prius hybrids to provide free taxi service to all its employees between buildings, for goodness sake. Despite popular opinion, Microsoft is not full of employees that sleep here on weekends and never see the light of day.

Let’s be honest, though. A company which employees more than 95,000 people worldwide (41,000 at my location!!) can’t gain the reputation of 800-pound-gorilla unless SOME of the rumors are true, right? The truth is this: Microsoft, Windows, Office – it is EVERYWHERE. A couple years ago, our CEO Steve Ballmer was quoted to say, “The install base of Windows computers this coming 12 months will reach 1 billion. If you stop and just think about that, parse that for a second, by the end of our fiscal year '08, there will be more PCs running Windows in the world than there are automobiles.” (Curious how all Operating Systems stack up to Windows worldwide? See graph below.)

ONE BILLION WINDOWS COMPUTERS. No matter how you twist it, one billion is massive. It is humbling to spend my internship working in the Windows organization, on a product that affects hundreds of millions of people every day. It is ironic that the same success that grows Microsoft also traps it from being “Apple innovative”; when you are designing an operating system across 96 countries, in hundreds of languages and cultures, you cannot just make a “cooler” looking UI with all-new graphics whenever you feel like it.

You also can’t just cater to the American teenage population. Some of my favorite commercials on TV are those “Mac vs. PC” commercials put on by Apple. You know the scenario as well as I do: a classic “cool kid” is the Mac and a “washed-up business nerd” is the PC. My generation latches to these kinds of campaigns … which brings us full circle. These commercials, and other media sources, do a brilliant job painting Microsoft as the static Evil Empire. It is perhaps the reason there are so many critics out there who warned me before my internship. People would shake their head and say, “Joining the 800-pound-gorilla, Katie? Really?” Well all I can say is, the closest thing I have seen to an 800-pound gorilla is the occasional hefty employee who decided not to shave that morning. Everything else feels as though I am working in one of the most pioneering, omnipresent companies on the planet. Oh, right. I am.

Welcome to Seattle - Home of (unlimited!?) Starbucks

Dearest family and friends,

As I did last summer in San Diego, I will be blogging about my many adventures this summer. This summer, however, I will be enjoying an internship with Microsoft in Redmond, WA (just outside of Seattle). I hope you enjoy the mediocre writing, spelling/grammatical errors, and sharing my adventures through my blog this summer!


After a pleasant three week trip around central Europe (Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary) with my parents, I returned home to sunny Boulder. Jet-lagged and under a time crunch, I quickly packed my life away into boxes for the trip out to Seattle. After seeing a few close friends and saying goodbyes, I boarded a plane from Denver to Seattle.

The flight was fairly uneventful. I dropped by the Avis booth to pick up my rental car and received a very pleasant surprise. This summer, I will be driving a beige 2009 Toyota Corolla (see picture below)! I always thought interns would get the shabbiest rental cars, which had collected the many unpleasant smells of its previous drivers. My car, however, has less than 3,000 miles and still has the "new car" smell! I drove about 20 minutes to the condo where I am living in this summer. The condo property is beautifully landscaped; it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, plus a kitchen and living area.

Most of my first weekend was spent unpacking and hanging out with my roommate Yang. Yang is originally from China but is completing her PhD at Iowa State in Electrical Engineering. My other roommate is from Toronto, Canada - her name is Nanxi. I feel so lucky to have two such kind, fun, and considerate roommates in the condo. On my first Sunday in Seattle, my friend from CU, Tyler, and I decided to explore the town. We walked all around the Microsoft campus and then headed to the beach later to grab some fish and chips fresh out of the frying pan (a local place called Suds) and marvel at the expansive ocean.

Between the meetings, training sessions, and computer set-up process, my first week at Microsoft went by in a flash. I think I am going to have a great experience here this summer. This is my project, in a nut-shell: I will be working as a Project Manager (PM) intern, exploring ways to make Windows 8 more accessible to people with disabilities. For example, some people are deaf, blind, or cannot interact with the computer using keyboards or a mouse. Thus, Microsoft wants to make sure that these people, and others, can still have a comfortable experience on the computer. My team seems very dedicated and passionate, and they have been very instrumental in quickly bringing me up to speed. I can't wait to work more with them over the next three months. I also have my own office, with both a desktop computer and a tablet laptop! The best part? Microsoft gives all its employee unlimited beverages, including all sodas, juices, milks, and Starbucks coffee and cocoa! Delicious.

It is now my first weekend in Seattle. Today I went kayaking on Lake Union with a group of interns. We kayaked under one of the major highways, and ended up in a heavily forested area covered in moss and lily pads. We also fed countless baby ducks with some leftover potato chips from lunch. Exhausted after kayaking and playing Frisbee all afternoon, you can currently find me curled up in my computer chair, looking out my window at the numerous green trees. Past the hum of traffic, I can see 4 Microsoft buildings. They have about 45,000 employees at their headquarters in Redmond, so it comes to little surprise that you see their buildings everywhere.

I am now going to stop blogging and begin another summer goal of mine: rediscovering my love for art. I went to a small store and am now freshly equipped with new paint supplies. My first picture? The Seattle skyline.

Sending my love across the continent,
Katie