想い出は遠くの日々

I’m on hiatus. Will be back in a week or so.

Here’s my long delayed entry with regards to Seattle:

As many of you know before, my trip to Seattle went off to a bad start with me forgetting my wallet at home :p

Regardless, I soldiered on and eventually arrived in Seattle safely. One of the nice things that I got while I was in town was a rental car for the duration of the interview. Upon arrival in Seattle airport, I picked up my vehicle for the trip:

A big fat SUV… driving that thing from the airport to the hotel was harrowing. Seattle interstates have these bumps that marks lanes, and for most of my journey, I heard the bumps (which means I’m not in my lane).

Eventually, I got to the hotel… the Bellevue Hilton. I would say that the hospitality was quite remarkable, bringing in interview candidates and paying for all expenses.

In hindsight, having a rental vehicle wasn’t such a great boon after all… I did end up in downtown Seattle for a night but I was too tired to safely explore the city in a huge SUV. Some sights include the Seattle Space Needle:

That’s it I think… I am off to Seattle in July for full-time work. And oh, I noticed my pictures are rather poor in quality… I will get a new camera soon.

I just got off the phone with Microsoft. Of the two groups that I interviewed with on Monday, I received offers from both of them, with each team manager trying to convince me to join them. I just accepted one of the offers. With this, I have declined my other standing offer – an offer which my former superiors and I have worked very hard for last year. However, with further examination, that path is nothing but an illusion of grandeur. I don’t know whether I should laugh or cry about this.

For those of you who knew me from high school, many of you know that working for Microsoft was one of my ambitions, a milestone in my life. I remembered how awestruck I was when I heard that my CS teacher’s son-in-law works for Microsoft and how I was ecstatic when I received a Microsoft pen from him. I guess I’ve reached that goal.

It’s amazing how in the last 5 years, I’ve been through so many experiences. So many pleasant and not-so-pleasant turns, yet with enough determination, hopes and aspirations are achievable… shows to you that in life, if there is a will, there is a way.