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Hello from Seattle.
I just thought I would blog my interview experience here for a few reasons. It’s good to let you guys now how I am doing so I can get your support, and as well, if everything works out this blog may be the best way to let TPX know how I’m doing in a far away land. Also this is a good record of how I felt when I’m “young and naive” when I look back in a few years. Lastly, I think if I start blogging about my Microsoft Interview experience, especially if I list some Microsoft PM Interview Questions, TPX may start to get a lot more hits =P. Hehe, especially if I make a post entitled that.

The interview trip did not have the best start. Flight from Toronto to Chicago was delayed because of poor weather (strong winds or something) at Chicago, and the flight from Chicago to Seattle was again delayed. By the time I got out of SEA-TAC Airport it was past 4pm, when my flight was scheduled to arrive at Seattle at 2:25 pm. The flight was also rather bumpy due to the winds in Chicago and the pouring rain in Seattle. (Forecast says rain in Seattle for the upcoming days….it does rain quite a bit in Seattle).

The feeling of the flight was rather different from my previous one to Virginia last week. I didn’t get that feeling I was leaving home for some foreign land… I guess the 4 months when I lived here really made a big difference. When I got off the flight into the Seattle Airport’s terminal, it even felt a bit like going home – in that I know exactly where to go.

So I got my rental car (a Yellow Cobalt) and drove back to the hotel – without using a map even… everything is still so fresh in my mind, I even remember the road names and exit numbers I should be taking. The hotel MS booked for me is actually the same as the one I stayed in last June when I came here for the intern interview, just a different buildling (all under the same Marriott chain).

Now the bad part of the process continues. Since my flight arrived late, I got stuck in traffic and didn’t arrive at Redmond (where the hotel and MS campus is) until 5:00pm. And so I got to the street and started to look for the hotel. I knew where the hotel I stayed at last year was and suspected it was a building beside it, so I drove there first and started to look around… and couldn’t find it. This was around 5:30pm and thanks to daylight savings the sky is all dark and everything. After driving around a few times I finally located the building….

…except it was all dark and no lights were on and I could barely make out the name and street number of the hotel. There were a few cars parked outside and the front doors were open, but otherwise everything is dark inside. I parked my car and looked at the hotel and NONE of the lights were on… it is as if the entire hotel is desserted… and the place is so quiet too (except for the sound of pouring rain). I started to think to myself…OMG what kind of hotel did MS place me in…

I got inside this pitch dark hotel and found the front desk lit by glowsticks and nightlights… apparently power went out (I guess because of the storm) in that block so the entire hotel has no electricity, and hence the darkness. I got the key to my room, which happens to be on the 3rd floor, and was told to take the elevator (?!) to the 3rd floor and is the room at the end… and I asked urrr the elevator still work? Ha, of course not. The receptionist meant the stairs. So I practically felt my way down the corridor and squinting in the dark to find something looking remotely like stairs. I finally found it and had to climb up three flights of stairs in the dark (only light was from the exit signs), and found my room, which was also pitch dark. Not a very welcoming arrival at all.

Anyhow so I went back out and drove off to Microsoft campus to find my friends. I still remember the way around town, but what I don’t remember is the traffic pattern here (I don’t usually drive during rush hour) and actually the traffic seems to have got worse….it took me almost 20 minutes to get across one block. In the end I was able to find my friend in his office, and we also met up with a few other friends/classmates and went out for dinner together.

We were eating and chatting during dinner and I really felt that this was just like my life yesterday. I guess being around people you know makes a huge difference. For some time I even forgot this was an interview for me and a regular day of work for them and felt we were all MS interns having a dinner gathering again.

Anyhow I really do feel like coming home here, guys. It really saddens me to leave Toronto but I guess sooner or later we all have to move on with life right? Even if it is not because of job/career it may be because of relationship/family etc.

But all in all I speak too soon. I don’t have a MS offer with me yet so I still can’t claim this as my home. Need to work hard tomorrow to land this job… and pray to God that I rely on Him and not on my strength to pull through. And most most most most most important of all… be obedient… if this is not the job for me and God intends to put me somewhere else, give me the heart of obedience to follow where He guides me…

Ah by the way, I’m interviewing with Microsoft Office Sharepoint and OSS (Office Shared Services) tomorrow.

And just another random fact, one of my friends is a so-called “Mac developer” at MS. He has 2 Mac minis at his office and is using his boss’ mbp while he is on vacation. Hehe.

I replaced the brake bolts and replaced the wheel.. trying to start the car resulted in a very dead battery. I put the car into neutral and pushed the car halfway out of the garage so I could drive the Accord into the garage within range so I could jump start the car.

I jump started the car and after a good few minutes managed to back the car out without hitting anything. I took it around the corner and gave it a good push (all the way to 5th gear, maybe 70km/h or so) until I hit Yonge st. Instead of turning onto Yonge, I decided to double back instead.. the brakes felt good. I pushed it on the way back and then tried to slam the brakes. They locked up (no ABS) and everything was dandy. I thought I hit the clutch.. but apparently I stalled… and.. my car battery was dead.

So.. here I am (in the rain) at a stop sign.. and my car is completely silent.. awesome.

Luckily I didn’t go out to Yonge.. so I was just around the corner =p.. I turned on some really weak flashers (don’t think they really worked).. then ran home.. got my mom to drive her accord over and jumped the car.. again.

So now it’s 10:52.. I’m sitting in the garage facing the mx-3 while it idles.. hopefully charging the battery and not with a timing belt too loose to charge the battery.

At least the brakes are good now 🙂

while browsing forum 1031 (jon should know which forum this is)… i came across this topic

topic title: “husband’s underexposure”
My husband convinced me that if he spent almost $1500 on a Canon XTi and lenses that he’d take professional quality photos.

The problem is he refuses to take the camera out of fully automatic mode and he’s taking all these crappy photos. It’d probably help if he’d put down his beer and TV remote and use more than one hand on the camera and pay attention to what he’s doing. He insists that for $1500 the camera should be able to take award winning photos all by itself. He just keep telling me that “The XTi underexposes! The XTI underexposes!” Personally, I just think he doesn’t know what he’s doing. I think he’d be better off going back to his disposable 35mm cameras

LOL…

Well I tried to write this post yesterday but I hit reload and lost it.. grumble. So on Wednesday night I changed my strings. The actual process itself was simple enough (first time changing my bass strings) and the only thing is I may have cut the E string a little short so it doesnt wind enough around the tuning peg for my liking.

Note the price isn’t too cheap.. granted its the first strings I’ve bought for my bass, and it’s been a year. But it was something like $34.99 + tax. The box totes them as handmade.. i wonder what part of it is actually handmade.

Anyhow.. onto the sound:

It should be no surprise since the strings are what vibrate to make the sound.. but I was quite amazed how much the sound changed with the new strings. They sound VERY raw in comparison. The sound is a lot nicer.. but after two evenings of playing with them.. have decided they really aren’t that “tone” I’m looking for, for worship. On the “bright” side.. (hohoho..) they give my sound a lot more character which is good for overdriving for songs like l’arc and glay.

They’re really smooth, but still very detailed.. I think the detail is a regular product of the EMG-Hz pickups in the ESP. This truly has become a metal/rock bass. Get a pretty good slap sound out of it too, much nicer than the old strings.

I also changed my order with my friend from the cheap J-Bass to a cheap P-Bass.. but no ETA on when..