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.
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
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