in the news

hum, it's been a while since i really read the news. today i went through my colossel google reader pile up of news. here's what i learned:

• Bill Gates is stepping down as CEO of Microsoft to do philanthropy with the Gates Foundation full-time. kudos Bill!
• Inflation was expected at 1.7%. Actual is 3.3% to date
• Apple is expected to miss it's quarter earnings. But then again, 43% of college undergrads that plan to buy a computer this fall will buy a Mac. I support that haha. My MacBook Pro is super.
• Sri Lanka is growing as a country with strong ethical clothing manufacturing
• the SEC is changing accounting standards from GAAP to international standards. good stuff. it's about time. metric system next right?
• Obama can spend 10 minutes just saying, "Thank you."

ok...so it's very dark right now and this shuttle is taking a very different route than usual. hum...

sometime in the fall

today i went home early because it was 85 degrees in san francisco. at 6pm. WAOW.

i sat in the park overlooking my beautiful city thinking about life.

hello berkeley. did you have a good first day of school?

jen's diet

you may not know my friend jen. that's unfortunate. because this post is only funny if you know her:

10:37:17 PM
im hungry
fuck
im always hungry now
my mom wont let me eat rice
i get 2 bites a day
like seriuosly
im not even exaggerating
and then evreything else is fish and veggies
i just want a juicy cheeseburger
mmmm

Bird Tragedy

Today another bird died from a case of clean windows.

I was walking along when it looked as if someone threw a shoe out of a window. I gaze upward at the morning sky, and there, tufts of gray feathers floating softly in the air. I walk over and see a little gray bird, twisted in a heap upon the green grass, twitching, its eye in a hollow stare. I turn to Minna. I say, "What do we do?" She says, "File a ticket." I say, "I don't know what to categorize that under. Do I put it as 'Urgent' priority?" (Ok, I didn't really say that, but it would've been funny if I did).

In our stupor, we watched the little gray bird. Slowly, it stops twitching. "There's nothing we can do," says Minna. We walk away. "There's nothing we can do."

treadmills with tv's

in a chat with richard he asked, "how's real life?"
i said, "real life working at google isn't really real life."

i feel so spoiled. example: treadmills with tv's on each one. tv's with CABLE. this is not a new thing, but i've never ran on one before. running a couple miles watching friends is np. i can never go back.

but a lot of feeling spoiled is actually cuz i have a really awesome manager and a supportive team. marianne is really taking care of me, making sure i know what's going on, walking me through every step, answering questions, etc. i learned that the #1 reason why people leave their job is because of their manager. their manager might not even be rude or demanding; they might just be disorganized or have poor leadership skills. not so for me, so looks like i'm staying put :)

copy-paste from helen the dj melon's blog

Does this happen? Do people really become closer to their high school friends as they graduate college?? I've met so many people who've hated high school, or don't have a group to hang out with when they go home, or hang out with different groups.....!??! Really? That boggles my mind! I just can't believe how far we've come. I can't believe we're right here, right now. That we still call each other to hang out everyday to do absolutely nothing. Come on, we used to have the boys sit on one side of the table and girls on the other. We used to drive to a haunted hospital! But now we actually say things like..."I'm proud of you and who you've become." What the eff!? Who are we????

Anyway, I love my friends so effin much. Ahh!! I love that the girls can still have legit sleepovers (the kind where you eat double-stuffed oreos and watch chick flicks) even though we're 22 years old. I love that the guys are protective over the girls and will seriously kick asses to make sure of that. I love that we're so comfortable now...lying in each other's arms, holding hands, "Sure, you can sleepover" nights. =]...unlike our awkward middle school years. We seriously spend too much time with each other. I can't imagine my life without them. I can't get enough. I feel like I'm in love..but with my friends. When I think about us, I get all the butterflies in my stomach and I'm just so excited for the next time we hang out! It's...weird. I know.

My first day in the "real world"

today was my first day at Google. ohhh my was it long. but fun. they hooked us up with sweet laptops (macbook PRO baby!), giant sled-sized backpacks, and food of course.

i went very light on the meals today. i am going to be very conscious about how much i put on my plate. never get seconds. one dessert and one coffee per day max. as long i remember that the food will be just as good tomorrow, i should be fine.

this week will feel like more like class than anything. today was definitely flashback to business and PACS classes--everyone on their laptops, checking email and chatting, spacing out on the speakers, and the speakers fully knowing what's going on.

hmm so much for "transition" to work!