I'm sure there are people out there that can beat this, but I was pretty surprised to realize that I've now lived in 9 separate states (some multiple times and locations).
My newest residence is Cupertino, CA in 'Silicon Valley' south of San Fransisco. I've started an internship at Lab126, which does research & development for amazon.com's Kindle. I'm one of the first interns to start for the summer and I'm already enjoying the company, people and pace. Amazon is a different type of company and I like being a part of it (even if they aren't my direct employer). They don't spend all their time making powerpoint presentations, they instead invest time in their vetting their ideas through white papers. They have some crazy and peculiar ways centered around their customer, but they stick to them and live by them. Its way more relaxed that I could have imagined.
I've got a cute lil apt to myself and there's a pool (and sunshine to take advantage of) and I even got a bike to use for the summer. I'm definitely excited to start meeting other interns and making plans for discovering the area (here I come Napa!).
So far all is good, can't wait to share more :)
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Dubai - the american city in the desert
So I feel like I've been neglecting my blog, but really I haven't been traveling as much so there was fair reason for the lack of posts.
I was granted the opportunity to go to Dubai as part of the interview process for a program called Executive Track at the business school Hult that I have been accepted to. I've been accepted to the London campus which would be a fantastic adventure! This less than well known school has 5 campuses cross the globe; Shanghai, San Francisco, Boston, London and Dubai. The Executive Track program is a mentoring program for those lucky enough to be accepted. Dubai was the final evaluation.
I left Seattle at 1pm on Friday, arrived in Washington DC at 845p and left for Dubai on a 777 at 10pm. It was a long 12.5 hour flight, but I kept busy with movies (RED and Unstoppable), my book (Through Painted Deserts), sudoku and sleep (but not much). Sadly I arrived at about 10pm so I couldnt see the fabulous island designs as we landed. We were staying at the Holiday Inn by the Mall of the Emirates and it was really nice. There was a beautiful rooftop pool and nice rooms. My roommate was a wonderful lady from San Fran (originally India) but sadly, she had come down with a nasty cold. I did a little exploring of the hotel (I could see the sail hotel from the roof) before hitting the hay and getting some rest before the big day.
I wont go into the details of evaluation day other than it was a mix of individual and group activities and it left me wondering if I want my business career in the hands of this particular school. By the end of the day I was feeling my jet lag and feeling the onset of a nasty cold.
Monday we had to ourselves, so after breakfast and the realization that I couldn't afford to go up the worlds tallest building, my roommate and I ventured out and over to the Mall of the Emirates. It was a pretty impressive, expansive and expensive!! But I must say it was pretty darn cool to see the infamous 'Ski Dubai', an inside ski area. Possibly the most interesting thing you could have in the middle of the desert.
After exploring the mall, we decided to try to venture to the creek front where there were supposed to be markets and lots to see. We took the metro system which was pretty nice and easy. The only fault was that I was turned around at the exit so it took a little bit longer to find the creek. By the time we found it we were hot, tired and needed to get back to the hotel to check out. On the way back we stopped to take pictures of the worlds tallest building. It is pretty impressive, and reminded me somehow of the Empire State Building in NYC.
Back to the hotel we found ourselves exhausted and ready to go home, but with about 8 hours left before our flights. We spent some time on the roof (taking naps) and in the lobby (chatting and drinking tea). But eventually we just gave up and went to the airport. I was sad to go without doing more but when you're sick there's only so much you can do.
The airport was quite the experience. I think my luggage was scanned 3 times before being searched at the gate....I won't be complaining about US security for a while. I did get a chance to write postcards before leaving though :) And it is quite a pretty airport with palms and gorgeous decor.
It was a long trip back to the states, but I was glad to be back so that I could recover from my cold in comfort. Now I have some very cool passport stamps and a new experience.
I was granted the opportunity to go to Dubai as part of the interview process for a program called Executive Track at the business school Hult that I have been accepted to. I've been accepted to the London campus which would be a fantastic adventure! This less than well known school has 5 campuses cross the globe; Shanghai, San Francisco, Boston, London and Dubai. The Executive Track program is a mentoring program for those lucky enough to be accepted. Dubai was the final evaluation.
I left Seattle at 1pm on Friday, arrived in Washington DC at 845p and left for Dubai on a 777 at 10pm. It was a long 12.5 hour flight, but I kept busy with movies (RED and Unstoppable), my book (Through Painted Deserts), sudoku and sleep (but not much). Sadly I arrived at about 10pm so I couldnt see the fabulous island designs as we landed. We were staying at the Holiday Inn by the Mall of the Emirates and it was really nice. There was a beautiful rooftop pool and nice rooms. My roommate was a wonderful lady from San Fran (originally India) but sadly, she had come down with a nasty cold. I did a little exploring of the hotel (I could see the sail hotel from the roof) before hitting the hay and getting some rest before the big day.
I wont go into the details of evaluation day other than it was a mix of individual and group activities and it left me wondering if I want my business career in the hands of this particular school. By the end of the day I was feeling my jet lag and feeling the onset of a nasty cold.
Monday we had to ourselves, so after breakfast and the realization that I couldn't afford to go up the worlds tallest building, my roommate and I ventured out and over to the Mall of the Emirates. It was a pretty impressive, expansive and expensive!! But I must say it was pretty darn cool to see the infamous 'Ski Dubai', an inside ski area. Possibly the most interesting thing you could have in the middle of the desert.
After exploring the mall, we decided to try to venture to the creek front where there were supposed to be markets and lots to see. We took the metro system which was pretty nice and easy. The only fault was that I was turned around at the exit so it took a little bit longer to find the creek. By the time we found it we were hot, tired and needed to get back to the hotel to check out. On the way back we stopped to take pictures of the worlds tallest building. It is pretty impressive, and reminded me somehow of the Empire State Building in NYC.
Back to the hotel we found ourselves exhausted and ready to go home, but with about 8 hours left before our flights. We spent some time on the roof (taking naps) and in the lobby (chatting and drinking tea). But eventually we just gave up and went to the airport. I was sad to go without doing more but when you're sick there's only so much you can do.
The airport was quite the experience. I think my luggage was scanned 3 times before being searched at the gate....I won't be complaining about US security for a while. I did get a chance to write postcards before leaving though :) And it is quite a pretty airport with palms and gorgeous decor.
It was a long trip back to the states, but I was glad to be back so that I could recover from my cold in comfort. Now I have some very cool passport stamps and a new experience.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
new adventures
Wow, happy 2011!!!
So my life has changed once again. I've moved back to Washington (state, not capital) and so happy to be around my friends again. I lucked out and was able to not only transfer my job, but get a promotion in the process too! The new store is a little bit smaller and slower but the women who work there are just as fantastic.
And now I've just learned that I've been accepted to Hult International Business School (http://hult.edu/). Its a really exciting program because in the one year MBA program there is the opportunity to spend time at three of their five campuses. I have been accepted to the London campus which means I can spend the first six months there and then I hope to rotate to the campus in Shanghai and then San Fransisco.
Now I'm moving on to figuring out how to fund my MBA which is a whole new challenge to start attacking.
Its been a fun week to say the least.
Hugs & love :)
So my life has changed once again. I've moved back to Washington (state, not capital) and so happy to be around my friends again. I lucked out and was able to not only transfer my job, but get a promotion in the process too! The new store is a little bit smaller and slower but the women who work there are just as fantastic.
And now I've just learned that I've been accepted to Hult International Business School (http://hult.edu/). Its a really exciting program because in the one year MBA program there is the opportunity to spend time at three of their five campuses. I have been accepted to the London campus which means I can spend the first six months there and then I hope to rotate to the campus in Shanghai and then San Fransisco.
Now I'm moving on to figuring out how to fund my MBA which is a whole new challenge to start attacking.
Its been a fun week to say the least.
Hugs & love :)
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