I'm getting used to the feeling (unfortunately) of having too much to do with too little time to do it. I am in the full swing of looking for an internship while trying to juggle my class load. This quarter has not only introduced mentors, internships, and more networking than ever, but the coursework per class has gone up significantly. Beyond the textbooks that we have for our classes, we have a significant amount of reader text to traverse. I am definitely learning to absorb information quicker, though I sometimes feel it's at the cost of depth in the material. These are courses that I would love to spend more time on, but will probably do so in the upcoming quarters.

The rest of the Bay Area trip went as follows.

Monday: Intel Santa Clara has a great campus that is very large. They even have a museum going through the history of the company. We met with the manager of the Rotation Engineer Program (REP) and also the Accelerated Leadership Program (ALP). I would be more aligned with the ALP, but that's not something I'd worry about until next year. It's a 2.5 year program with three 8 month.

IBM's research facility in San Jose was a completely different feel than Intel (who we visited earlier). The facility is located off in the middle of green pastures and surrounded by residential property. Not in the middle of other businesses parks. The facility has a very academic feel to it, and it's quite serene. They're Extreme Blue summer internship sounds like something I'd definitely be interested in.

Monday night ended at Jared's work, Palantir, where I got to meet with many of the business side employees. It was a start-up, and definitely had the attitude where everyone came in when they wanted, but worked their tails off because they believed in the product. I believe that's one of the signs of a start-up heading in the right direction.

Cisco was the first stop for Tuesday morning. We met with a senior manager who had been at the company for a while. He gave us a good perspective of what it was like working there in terms of responsibilities and mobility. I'm not sure how many internships they offer in business, but it seems like something worth looking into.

eBay was next on the list. We visited the Campbell site, and it had a very young and viberant feel to it. Talking with the managers it's good to hear that they are being adaptive to the changing consumer and sellers needs while also staying active in the technology front. I can see why there's so much talent in the Bay Area with all these great companies.

Our final stop was the Googleplex for the second time this trip. We met with a product manager who had a strong understanding of the upper management and also gave us a ore detailed tour of the facility. The ethos and management style of Google is completely backwards from what is traditionally taught at business school, but they're still making tons of money and making it work. It would be interesting to see how long this last for, if it's sustainable and how they'll change as they keep picking up employees (currently at approx 16,000).

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New Year, new goals. I'm doing a tour of the Bay Area visiting tech companies to see which ones I'd like to intern at for the summer. So far I've seen managers and recruiters from Google (YouTube), Adobe (Flash), EA and Apple. Next week I get to visit IBM, Intel, Cisco, and more.

I've also taken this opportunity to talk with my friends from the Bay Area. It's great to catch up with them and see what they're doing these days. I have some friends working at start-ups as well at the larger companies. I'm staying with Jared, but also visited Victor, Monelle, John, and alumni from the class of 2007. Next week I'll meet with some more friends from previous companies.

The only problem is that the weather. We're having high winds (50-70 MPH) as well heavy rains. It's messing up my brand new suit and I'm starting to come down with a cold. I'm thinking about going back on Tuesday now instead of Wednesday, but I'll have to decide when I wake up tomorrow how I feel.

Great Trip!

After the past three days, it's felt like the quarter is already weeks ago. It's a bit funny to think that last Sunday at this time, I was cramming through Statements of Cash Flows trying to get things to balance perfectly. Since then I've completed all my finals to the best of my ability. I'm confident I'll pass all my classes, but I definitely have to work harder next quarter to get better marks. I think I'm getting the hang of studying again. Something about time management and preparation.

The Holiday Cheer is finally creeping into my life. Did most of my Christmas shopping this weekend (didn't have much to do), but it amazes me still how much commerce goes on at this time of year. Consumerism at it's finest. I'm excited to see my brother again and also friends who I've neglected through the quarter. I hope I can spend time with plenty of loved ones the next couple of weeks!

Ennekube shamed me into posting again. I've been overwhelmed with work for finals and have neglected my blogging responsibilities. I finished my Accounting final on Monday and that went fairly well. I have Economics tomorrow, and Quantitative Analysis on Thursday. After 6 PM I'm free! Free to apply for internships, polish my resume, and work on getting ready for next quarter!

I went to the Concrete Games/Incinerator Games Holiday Party last Friday and had a blast. Nick was very nice in letting me be his date. And then I ran off to chat with everyone else. I really was the chick in that duo, being a little socializer. There were also a plethora of happy hours I attended, Minus 1 Lounge, Shakespeare's Pub. All great events for meeting new people. I can barely remember my own name with all the new people I'm meeting. It's definitely worth it though!

I know I'm asking a small audience, but if anyone has a Kindle that I could play with for a couple of days, that would be great!

This is a webapp that I signed up for recently (15 minutes ago)

Grand Central

I still have to play around with it, but it has huge potential if they can get the integration bit done right. It was purchased by Google recently, so it's just another way for Google to rule your world (could be worse...). If you're interested in signing up, you should sign-up. If they don't give you an account, you can shoot me an e-mail and I'll send you an invite.

Back to the crunch. School on Monday with plenty of work to complete.

Though Black Friday didn't have a large turnout of friends (me, Nick and Jason), it was still all those things that I love about it. Complaining in the early morning from fatigue. Surprisingly cold weather for San Diego. People trying to sell vouchers to get a buck. Lines, lines, lines. The feeling of satisfaction when you get something that sells out.

I walked away this year with only one thing for myself, Super Mario Galaxies. But I did buy some stuff the night before on Amazon. So my spending for this year was a bit low. But I think it was a great move, considering I have no sources of revenue.

Classes will kick in the 100 yard dash after the break. I believe I have two weeks of classes, followed by finals. I still have not plans for Christmas or the New Year. There's always the traditional move of being with friends and family, which is both comforting and cheerful. But I also hear of globe trotting affairs by my classmates which sound like something I'd really enjoy. We'll see if I can kick the wanderlust up a notch.

I never thought the day would arrive, but my brother is now engaged! I'm very excited for him as he's about to move on to the next step in his life. A new job, a new wife, a new life! He proposed yesterday at sunset at the beach, and Heidi said "yes!"
We had dinner at RB Inn to celebrate the occasion and the furious rush to plan the wedding has begun.