So I finished up final exams a few weeks back. I could tell it was slightly more difficult to focus than usual, knowing that my internship was just around the corner. I was also trying to learn Linux as well, since Google works almost entirely on Linux these days. But of course I didn’t want to waste an entire semester of hard work just to do poorly on the final exams (the majority of which constituted at least a quarter of my final grade), so I eventually gained enough motivation to sit down and just get it done. My first two finals were unfortunately scheduled for 7:45 in the morning on the first exam days back-to-back, which also happened to be what I considered my two most difficult exams. While that was annoying, it was admittedly nice to get them out of the way so that I could better focus on my remaining exams.

During this time, it remained in the back of my head that I would soon be leaving some of the best friends I had ever had. I’m extremely grateful to have befriended so many new people, from my dorm hall to all of my classes and from all of the students I TA’d to all the other students hanging out in the Computer Science lounge. Truly, this was perhaps one of my best years. Not only had I met incredible people, but classes in general just seemed to have gone well. It’s difficult to muster the fact that I will be giving up the Aerospace degree after such a great semester. To receive A’s in all of these upper-level courses only to leave the major just doesn’t seem right. But I must remember that this isn’t about what I’ve already done but rather what I now want to do. While I may have the capabilities to excel in both majors, I’ve realized that my best interests lie in shifting my focus to what I really want to do with my life, not just what I can do. So here I say farewell to Aerospace Engineering. It’s been fun.

So with final exams taken and the last good-byes said, I headed home. It was strange going home this time, knowing that I wouldn’t be coming back in about a week as I usually had done the past two summers for summer classes. This would, in fact, be the longest I’d be away from campus since I first arrived as a freshman. Nonetheless, I looked forward to heading to California. Now it would just be a matter of unpacking, meeting up with a couple good friends, packing back up, and flying off. It was a nice two days at home, though. I decided to stop in at my high school and visit a few teachers, as I try to do at least once each year. It’s nice to be remembered by old teachers who are delighted to strike up conversation and see how things are going. Then I headed over to my best buddy’s place (yes, that is her official title) to catch up, as we had not seen each other since January. I had a wonderful time, as always, and can honestly say that not being able to see her again until mid-August was the only negative thing on my mind in regards to my internship. At least the night sky was clear enough to enjoy a moment of star-gazing.

So now with all the catching up done, the true journey was to begin. Having to drive out to the airport at 4:00 in the morning, I reasoned that there was no point in going to bed. Besides, I still needed to finish reinstalling Windows as well as installing Ubuntu to dual-boot into when I wanted to get some experience with Linux. I was able to get most of that done before it was time to head out. I must say, I still feel like a kid when I’m at the airport and on the airplane. This would only be my fourth time on an airplane, the last being four years prior, and I was greatly looking forward to observing all the physics I had been learning about in theory for the past three years. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a window seat, which was frustrating to say the least. However, interestingly enough, the older couple I was sitting next to noticed my Google shirt and informed me that their daughter was an employee at Google, allowing us to strike up conversation. Funny how small the world can seem sometimes.

Upon arriving in San Francisco, the first thing I noticed was the weather. This was no hot, sunny California weather. It was 53 degrees and windy! I was a bit disappointed, but fortunately it would warm up later in the week. The next step was heading to my new apartment. Once we got there, it was now just a matter of finishing up the leasing agreement and getting the keys. That didn’t take too long, and soon I officially had my own apartment. With the furniture service arriving ahead of time and setting up all the furniture, the apartment looked quite nice — a lot of open space still, but nice, nonetheless. And with that, all that was left was to explore the area. For the next few days, I visited a couple of the major attractions in California, including the beach and San Francisco. The weather had not gotten much better yet, so it was admittedly not the most pleasant of experiences. However, it was still nice to see this new world, if you will. It was especially amusing to be driving past all these big companies I’d hear about all the time, like Intel, Oracle, and McAfee. It made me feel at home in a way.

So now to get to the moment I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for — my first day as a Google intern. How unfitting it seemed that I would have to arrive at 8:00 in the morning (we are computer science majors after all), but with the anticipation, it wasn’t too terribly difficult to get out of bed. Luckily, I had already paid a visit to the Google campus, so I was at least somewhat knowledgeable of where I needed to be. I’m usually quite skilled at mapping locations in my head, but even still, I find difficulty in navigating the Googleplex. Arriving at the building where orientation was to begin, it was apparent that a line of interns was already forming past the doors. I was actually a bit surprised at how dressed-up a lot of these interns were, seeing as Google’s dress-code is essentially non-existent. Luckily I was styling in my nice polo.

So here comes the difficult part in this blog of mine. As I’m sure you could have guessed, Google has a very strict policy when it comes to sharing information with the outside world. While Google is a leading advocate in the access of information, it is highly contained internally. Thus, I’m going to have to be kinda vague here when I try to talk about any Google-specific material. Perhaps soon enough I will be able to disclose more details, but I think I can manage until then.

So back to my first day. On the list of to-dos was getting my employee badge, setting up my password, and eating food. Yes, sitting down and eating breakfast was indeed part of the schedule. While enjoying my first helping of Google’s renowned food, I would get to meet other interns who would also be partaking in the week of training before heading off to their respective office locations. It was really cool meeting all these other computer science majors from around the country. I certainly surprised myself by how many names I was able to remember, too.

Following, we were all to head into the conference room where we would begin the real orientation. Walking into the room, each intern had a chair assigned to him or her, including his or her brand-new laptop. Back in April, interns were asked to choose either a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or Lenovo ThinkPad. I had chosen the MacBook Air, but unfortunately there seemed to have been few in stock, so most interns who requested it got the slightly smaller MacBook Pro instead, with which I was perfectly okay. So with my shiny new MacBook now in front of me, orientation would get underway. A couple hours later, it was time for lunch! (Notice the slightly obvious jump there?) Again, I would get to enjoy more of Google’s amazing food and meet more interns. It was fun learning about everyone’s backgrounds and the teams with which they would be working.

Lastly on the list, it was time for all the interns to meet their mentors. Interestingly enough, however, my mentor would be on vacation that week. This wouldn’t be too much of a problem, however, since the first week of the internship consists mainly of training courses anyway. As the interns stood around, different mentors would come by, find his or her intern, and head out. During this time, I found myself grouping with a couple of other interns — Paul and Justin — whom I will be referencing a lot from here on out. We made the whole situation out to be quite amusing, seeing as we were almost like pets at the store waiting anxiously as mentors walked past, watching as they took us away. We were some of the last interns remaining. Eventually, Justin found his mentor, and it was just Paul and I who were left. We waited around some more. Only a few more minutes passed, however, before Paul’s mentor arrived, too. Then it was just I, or so I thought. Paul’s mentor would also happen to be the member of the team whom my mentor had asked to get me. So strangely enough, I had already befriended the other intern who would also be working on the same project as I would be.

As this Googler took us to our soon-to-be-office, he began disclosing the true details on what we would be working on this summer. Now I understood why the description of the team I was given way back in February was so vague. Turns out, we would be working on one of Google’s most secretive projects. So obviously I cannot mention anything else about what I’m working on this summer, at least for the time being. In fact, I couldn’t even talk about it with other interns until just recently! But I have to admit, it is pretty cool to be working on one of the few floors at the Googleplex that require special access. (We even get our own cafè on the floor!) Upon arriving at my new office, I got a quick introduction to the team with whom I would be working. Seeing my workstation for the first time was especially incredible. Google was even so kind as to put Google balloons on my desk so that everyone would know I was one of the new interns.

I played around with setting up my workstation for the next few hours before deciding to head home for the day. I’m certainly glad I started learning Linux, though. I was already feeling overwhelmed and intimidated and knew that I was going to have to crash-course myself on Linux if I was going to get caught up to speed. But that’s starting to get into a story for next time.

Overall, my first day at Google was just as I had expected; I was now both excited and scared. Though, I’ll be sure to get into those details in my next post, so stay tuned! =)

As I sit here now in the Computer Science lounge attempting to get ahead on homework, this one thought does not stray from my mind. It’s like this every year; the last 24 hours leading up to my birthday always has me feeling uneasy. I’m not really sure why, though. Technically, I’m only one day older than I would have been 24 hours previously. And then again, isn’t time just something us humans came up with anyway? Every instant in time is just one more instant from the last. Yet here I am, once again, contemplating the thought of turning a new age. Last year at this time was particularly uneasy for me, making the transition from teenager to “adult”. It’s difficult to admit to yourself that you are leaving that stage in your life when you’ve been there for seven years. But it happened nonetheless, and here I am one year later. Most people look forward to the day when they turn 21, as if a new world awaits them. I, on the other hand, cannot say that I am as excited for these new privileges. As I mentioned in my last post, I do not plan on now incorporating the alcoholic beverage into my daily routine. (I am perfectly fine sticking to my can of Coke or Dr. Pepper.) But with the number 21 comes so much hype. It’s a milestone in a person’s life, and it’s hard to believe I’m about to cross it.

This day always makes me stand back for a moment and look at what my life has been and where I am now. I find it strange how, when I think about my life in terms of just plain ol’ years, it doesn’t seem like that much time has passed. But when I think about the time in terms of school years, it seems like forever. As I go through each year one-by-one, and remember all the significant things that have shaped me into who I am today, I find myself in no less than awe. I am happiest to say, however, that it puts a smile on my face. It’s incredible what all can happen in 21 years. I still remember the day I moved into my childhood home. I can remember my first day of Kindergarten and First Grade. I remember the first time I rode a bike without training wheels. I remember the first book I read on astronomy. I can recall the first time I created my own webpage. I can think of the first time I was on stage in front of a thousand people.  I remember the first time I realized I had a crush on a girl. I remember the first time I found a group of friends who liked me for who I was and accepted me. I remember my first school dance. I remember the first time I rode a steel roller coaster. I remember the day I first decided what career I wanted to do. I remember the first time I found a best friend. I remember when my sister got married and moved away. I remember the first time I bombed a math exam. I remember the first time I felt betrayed. I remember the day I visited Virginia Tech and instantly knew it was where I belonged. I remember coming to college knowing no one and ending up with more amazing friends than I could have ever asked for. And I remember the first time the girl who means the most to me took my hand in hers, the first time we kissed, and the first time she placed her head upon my chest as we looked up at the stars. And now I can say that I remember the day I got an offer letter from Google. Like I said, it’s crazy how much can happen in 21 years.

So what else can I say? I guess I really just wanted to capture these last moments of thought in writing. While there are always those days where I can feel worthless, I know that I am truly one of the luckiest. Sure, others may have me beat at those things I strive to be the best at, but they can never say that they have experienced those things that make me realize how fortunate I really am. I have wonderful parents who have always loved me and believed in me, an amazing sister who I have always looked up to and who has helped me through some of my toughest times, and incredible friends who always give me reason to smile and feel blessed. I hope you all know how much you mean to me. While I look to the stars in admiration, know that you make this world my truest home.

So thank you, both those whom I know now and those whom I have yet to meet. And while I may never be able to truly express my sincerest gratitude for all that you have done or will do for me, just know that I will always want to be here with you, sharing in both your triumphs and your sorrows. So, now, as I approach adding that last number to the Fibonacci count, I recall the lyrics from a choir song I sang almost four years ago, one that has stuck with me as some of the most genuine lines I’ve sung:

There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger, nor a guest,
But like a child at home.

But that is still twenty-two days away. The real reason I felt like posting was just as I had promised in my last post. The day following, I finally received the email from Google about the group they had set up for all the interns to join to assist in coordinating housing and roommates. This is exactly what I had been waiting for to get the ball rolling as far as actively finding a place to live and whatnot. The group also included a forum, and it was only a matter of time later that the introductions began. Since forum posts automatically get sent by email, my inbox began to explode within only a couple of hours. Interns from all over were making themselves known, excited to be joining the Mountain View team. Most simply listed their name, degree, school, major, and Google team. Admittedly, it began to become a little intimidating, seeing schools like MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, and other well-known prestigious computer science schools representing the majority of interns. Then there was me, Mr. Virginia Tech. Now I’m not saying that Virginia Tech is not worthy nor capable of holding its place among these reputable schools, but one does begin to worry that he might have gotten himself into too deep of water. I’m sure this is just silly, nonetheless, and that I will be meeting some of the coolest people upon arriving on the Google campus. And for this I cannot wait.

So going back to housing. Upon adding my name to the coordination spreadsheet, I received an email a couple of days later. A fellow intern gathered all who would be interning during the same time period as he would be and began an email thread just among us. Quite a brilliant idea, really, and this greatly helped cut down on the additional stress of having to juggle between classwork and seeking out housing. A week or so went by, though, with no luck. Looking through the newest income of introduction emails, I noticed that the guy who started the housing thread, however, had found an apartment. The name he gave of the apartment was actually one that had been referred to me by my mother some time earlier when seeking out advice on the housing in Mountain View. Knowing that this was about as good as I was going to get, with it being only a few miles from the Google campus, I quickly sent out an email on the thread and asked if anyone would be interested in rooming there. I doubted someone would reply back, but thankfully that was not the case. A few hours later, I received an email from one of the guys accepting my proposition. A roommate had been found!

Now it was time to actually rent the apartment. We had to act fast as there was only one two-bed, one-bath apartment left. That evening, my new roommate and I would be engaging in a flurry of emails back and forth as we each filled out the forms and whatnot on the website. A few button clicks later, we were the proud new renters of an apartment. Whew! Finally, the stress of having to find a place to live and someone to live with was over. But with having found an apartment, someone to live with, and renting the apartment taking place in the course of just a single day, one realization began to dawn — I really did not know my new roommate at all! Now the thoughts began flooding my mind, hoping that I did not just make a huge mistake. I figured I’d check to see if he had a profile on Facebook, but alas I was unable to find one. I supposed I was simply going to have to email him to find out more about him.

With all the apartment logistics out of the way, I sent my new roommate, Erich, an email asking him what year he was in at the University of Texas (which I had found out through his introduction email way back). He replied back, telling me that he was a third year, like myself. I was very pleased about this, actually, though I wouldn’t have minded much otherwise. I responded back with a little information about myself and proceeded to ask what sort of things he liked to do. I was only expecting a few sentences with the typical generic responses, but to my surprise, he actually sent a decent-length email, and certainly not anything typical nor generic. He said he enjoyed solving puzzles, as most CS majors do, but also that he liked writing fiction and poetry. This intrigued me. I have done some dabbling in poetry, myself, and have plenty of friends who like to write fiction. He also went on to talk about how he enjoyed languages, both computational and natural, and toying with absurd ideas. Now he started to sound just like my best friend back home. This was becoming more interesting. Finally, he brought up that he used to do martial arts and was thinking about possibly getting back into it while in Mountain View. Again, another commonality between us. It was quite evident that I was going to enjoy having Erich as a roommate.

While Erich ended up having a Facebook profile after all, he was not very active. Nonetheless, he did like to post his poetry as notes. Eighty-nine to be exact. And naturally, as a fellow “poet”, I felt inclined to read a couple. And then that couple turned into ten. (I had to start doing homework eventually at some point, or I would have continued.) I was amazed to say the least. These poems were incredible! Every word would ring in my head; it was as if he knew me. His poems reminded me greatly of my own, but so elegantly written so as to keep the distinction clear that this was no poetry of mine. In his email to me, he mentioned that he would add that he was not decent at writing until someone told him that they would hit him if he kept it up, and I can see why. I look forward to reading the remaining poems as I get the chance to do so in the coming weeks. If you’re reading this, Erich, keep up the great work — you have real talent.

I suppose that pretty much wraps up all that I have to talk about for now. Needless to say, I am beginning to become quite anxious about starting at Google. It’s getting a little bit more difficult each day to focus on the work currently at hand. But I suppose that’s a good thing, really.

Cheers!

Firstly, starting in January of last year, I became an undergraduate teaching assistant for the computer science department. The CS department at Virginia Tech has a UTA program where undergraduate students can take on the responsibilities of helping students with their course work, including holding office hours, supervising programming labs, and grading homework. Taking my first CS course at VT as a freshman, I was fortunate to have an awesome UTA whom I have since looked up to as sort of a role model. He was kind, humble, and always happy to help. I knew then that I wanted to become a UTA, too. The following semester, I applied and, after waiting a month or so, received the email that I was being offered the position as the UTA for that same course, which is the first course that CS majors must take. Frankly, I was ecstatic; I knew that becoming a TA would be something that was perfect for me. I would go on to TA that course for two semesters, another intro course for non-CS majors during the summer, and have now become the TA for the next course in the sequence for CS majors, which puts emphasis on data structures (my particular interest).

During this time, I have come to realize how passionate I am for teaching. Others have told me many times that I would make a great professor, and I have given it serious consideration. In high school, I would tutor students in math and physics. Now, aside from helping with CS, I am helping others with all the different topics covered in engineering, particularly the engineering science courses — Statics, Dynamics, and Mechanics of Materials. While I have hours of my own work to get done, I always find myself wanting more to help everyone else with their own work. Perhaps this might come back to bite me, but I just can’t help it. But with all that said, there’s still one thing that hinders me from choosing to be a professor — the research. While I love learning and love theory, I just can’t see myself wanting to do research. Perhaps I have the wrong impression, though. At any rate, the plan is currently to go into industry and, maybe, just maybe, I’ll one day decide academia is more my thing.

So onto the next big thing. Since I started as a TA, something inside me started to change in regards to where my passions lie. I originally started at Virginia Tech majoring in Aerospace Engineering and Ocean Engineering with minors in Computer Science, Astronomy, and Math. After a semester or so of back-and-forth debate with myself, I decided that my interest in programming was just too strong and that I should drop the Ocean Engineering major and instead upgrade my CS minor to a major. Then a semester later, I decided to add Engineering Science as a minor. I stuck with this combination for a good amount of time, thinking this was the perfect blend for all of my academic interests. But that’s where I was too right. As I head into my senior year, it has become more apparent that, while aerospace engineering is truly fascinating in theory, as a career, I am at a loss of interest. Over the past six semesters of aerospace classes, I have greatly enjoyed the theory and ended up having a strong aptitude for it, too, even ranking first in one of the hardest classes that aerospace majors have to take (thin-walled structures) and ranking second and fourth among all aerospace engineering majors ranked as academic juniors and seniors, respectively. Unfortunately, this semester I also had to take a three-hour lab. And I hated it. I quickly realized that, despite my love for the theory, I absolutely despised doing the hands-on work. I was soon to learn, too, that these labs were what constituted a majority of the curriculum senior year. I can’t believe I had not realized it sooner: A career in aerospace engineering wasn’t going to be sitting in a classroom; it was going to be sitting in a lab. While I think I knew this in the back of my mind from the start, I believe I was purposely ignoring it for the sake of not wanting to admit that everything I had thought was “me” — this belief that I was to explore the final frontier — was wrong, and that I was not meant to be an aerospace engineer after all. But I could neglect this no longer; I was miserable in that lab. And with only a week before the deadline for dropping classes, I had little time to make the most difficult decision, perhaps, of my life. It’s difficult to describe all that went through my head during that week, but I knew that dropping the aerospace major and upgrading math to a major was the right decision. It would be the decision with least regret, I reasoned. And aside from the reasons mentioned, there was actually one more reason for my somewhat-sudden change of heart, and that brings me to my biggest update.

I’m a Google intern! But let’s back up, first. Funny how all these seemingly separate things can end up forming a giant web of connections. So back when I started as a TA in the spring, I worked alongside one of the graduate TAs. Unknown to me, she was also interning for Google that summer. It was at some point during June as I was taking summer classes that she posted something on Facebook regarding her project at Google. Of course I had to comment and, in the process, jokingly ask that she put in a good word for me. Little to my expectations, I received a message from her later that day asking if I would like for her to give me an employee referral. It had never crossed my mind — working for Google, that is. All this time, I had seen myself as working in the aerospace field, never thinking that I could find myself working for a company such as Google, Microsoft, etc. But suddenly it was as if someone had removed the box that I had so haphazardly put myself in. And so began the process of becoming a Google intern, and consequently the process of me realizing that computer science was my true passion after all.

In early August, I began to make progress in the interview process. I first received an email informing me that I had been given an employee referral and, upon acknowledging my interest in being considered as a software engineering intern, received a phone call from the university programs staff in which to learn a little more about me. I was then requested to send my resume and transcripts and told that someone would be contacting me in the fall to follow up. Months went by before anything happened. During this time, I actually ended up interviewing with three other companies — NASA Wallops, Microsoft, and Optimal Satcom. I received offers from NASA and Optimal Satcom, though I ended up turning down the offer from NASA on account of them not being able to “officially” offer me the internship until Congress approved of the budget. It was a bit disconcerting holding out for Google knowing very well that my chances were slim. (Honestly, I thought of this as practice knowing that I was most likely not going to get an offer from a company that hires only the brightest of the bright.) But luckily I had that Microsoft interview, too, which I completely bombed. In my defense, insomnia hit the night before and I had two exam before the interview. My brain and mouth simply could not function. I do not doubt for a moment, however, that this experience was the biggest reason I did as well as I did when Google called me for my interviews, then no longer a programming interview virgin. And so that brings me to those. Finally, right before my finals in December, I received the email from Google that they would like to set up the interviews. And so I was to have two 45-minute phone interviews on January 10 from two of Google’s very own engineers. (Talk about pressure!) That gave me about twenty days to prepare, and prepare I did. At the recommendation of one of my good friends, I purchased Programming Interviews Exposed, which I highly recommend to anyone going into a programming interview. Along with some other resources, I conditioned myself for that fateful day, creating mock-interviews in my head over and over again, sometimes even at the penalty of my all-too-frequent insomnia nights.

And on that night before the interview, it’s not surprising insomnia would strike at its fiercest. Thankfully, though, I was able not to let that get in the way. I made myself a cup of coffee, looked over my books one last time, and waited until the hour arrived. I sat with the phone lying on the table before me, just waiting to jolt for it when that screen lit up. But strangely, it never happened. It was 1:00, time for the first interview, and, nothing. I began to get worried. At first I thought perhaps there was no signal. After quickly checking to make sure there was, I worried that perhaps I did my math incorrectly when adding the three hours from Pacific Time. After checking my math for the fifth time, I thought that perhaps they just forgot about me. It was already fifteen minutes past the hour and now I was really worried. But then it happened — the phone rang. I answered to hear the lady on the other end inform me that there had been some miscommunication on her end and that she would like to reschedule the interview for later that day. Whew. At least the problem wasn’t on my end. So we rescheduled the interview for a couple hours later, but I was still not off the hook for the second interview that was supposed to occur right after this first one. So the process repeated: phone on table, me staring, waiting. Unlike the first time, however, this guy was right on time. And so the true interviews began.

We started off with just the usual small talk. The first thing he mentioned was my double major in aerospace engineering. Turns out that he was a chemical engineer himself. (Score!) He then inquired as to what my hobbies and interests were, where I was in the CS curriculum, and other stuff like that. I told him that I was greatly interested in data structures, and that’s where he shifted to the technical questions. While I can’t give any further details due to the non-disclosure agreement, I must say I found his questions to be highly interesting and enjoyable. And each answer warranted an algorithmic analysis. After he was satisfied with my solutions, he asked me about what projects I’ve done, and I went on to talk about my geographic information system I had created in my Data Structures and Algorithms course that past summer. I made sure to emphasis the point-region quadtree, which was one of the fundamental data structures involved. I could tell that he was highly interested in this data structure as he, himself, had never heard of it. Thus, I was able to teach him a thing or two about it. (Score, again!) And in what seemed like a flash, time was up. After hanging up, I was highly satisfied with how I had done. But round two was just around the corner, and this time she was not late. Unlike the first guy, she spared no time for small talk and instead dove right in with her technical question. While the first guy was more interested in how I would design, this engineer was more interested in my problem solving abilities. Her question seemed more brain teaser-esque, but ended up boiling down to a core CS/math algorithm for which I had to code up the solution. And upon her satisfaction, the interview was complete. All that was left was waiting to get the result.

I thought I would have to wait for a week or so before I’d hear anything back from my recruiter (who I have to say seems more like a friend whom you are emailing back and forth than a recruiter), but I got the email the very next morning. “We would like to thank you for taking the time to interview with us for a Software Engineering Internship position. I have good news for you. Your phone interviews went well and we will be moving forward with the next step.” I was in absolute disbelief. Granted, I thought I had done pretty well, but just to see those words before me — amazing. I was told that my information would be shared with potential teams and that I would be notified if a strong match is found. Only ten days later, I received the news from my recruiter that a host matching interview had been scheduled. The project was front-end social, using Java, HTML/CSS, and JavaScript. While I did not have the leisure to focus on preparing like I had with the last two interviews, I was able to skim my books in between classes during the day of the interview.

And then it was time once again. I sat nervously in my room, this time with my roommate sitting just mere feet away, and picked up the phone as it first rang. This time I was first told all about the project for which I was being interviewed. Admittedly, I was so nervous about the whole thing that I didn’t really take it much that she was saying. I heard what I wanted to hear, though, and that was all that was needed. After finishing that up, it was technical question time. This time it was sort of a mix between the first two interviews. Since this was a host matching interview, it was only expected that I’d be asked a question relating to the project, and this time I had to use the entire interview time to discuss and code up a solution for just one design, successively adding more difficult additions to the scenario. I was able to quickly come up with a design for the initial problem. The solutions for the next part was not so readily at mind, though. I had to really think about all the data structures I’d come across and how appropriate they would be for the situation. Astonishingly, I remembered a data structure that I had only come across from brisk Wikipedia hopping this last summer. It would be perfect! Amazing how that one thing I remembered looking at for ten seconds would be of use in this very instant. Not apparent otherwise, she seemed quite satisfied with this solution. And that is true luck, I must say! I coded up the solution and that was that. (Usually this is done via Google Docs, but for some reason the session was not set up and I had to read my code over the phone.) Again with the part where I ask the questions and then it was done. While I was not feeling as good about this interview as I had with my last two, I still felt pretty confident in how I had done. I quickly Google’d (funny now when I use that in regular vocabulary) the question she had given me and, looking at several forum posts for such a problem, found out that the design I had suggested was the optimal solution. Looks like it’s not just the searching with Google that makes me “feel lucky”.

The host matching interview was over and now I waited once again. I thought that this was only to be the first of several interviews from the team, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out otherwise in the next couple of days. “Great news! Your host interview with Irene went well and we would like to move forward with the next steps. I’ll start preparing the offer paperwork for approval and should be able to get back to you in the next few days.” They were the words I never thought I’d see. Offer. Was this truly happening? Was I truly being offered a position as a Google intern? I can’t say I’ve ever felt more like I was flying.

So a month later, paperwork filled out and everything, I’m readying myself for an internship in Mountain View, CA, with Google. Crazy. And so I thought this would be as good a time as any to revive my blog and share the experiences yet to come with all who wish to follow me. I cannot begin to describe how excited I am to start, but I know there’s still plenty to get through ’til then. For one, I now have to start looking for a place to live and hopefully find a roommate as well. Honestly, this is a bit more stressful than I imagined. I’m guessing that my next post will most likely be involving that step in the process. But that’s for another day.

Well, it’s almost 5:00 am now and I should really be getting some sleep before the trip back to VT in the afternoon (it was spring break this week). I apologize for the extremely long post, but hopefully everyone is now caught up to speed on my life, for the most part anyway. I assure you that my posts in the future will hardly compare in length. Cheers!

On to my next topic of interest… the new Facebook usernames. So I have to say, I’m getting quite tired of everyone’s complaining about how Facebook is changing. Okay, so I know the whole “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” saying, but honestly I think people need to realize something: We’re living in a different age. And therein lies the beauty. Despite being ignorant when it comes to politics, I still think Obama got it right when he chose “change” as his platform. That’s exactly what this age is all about. Everyday, we are progressing exponentially, and in case you didn’t realize it, progress is change, and consequently, change is progress. (Even change that is negative provides a bit of progress one way or another.) So I commend Mark Zuckerberg for his desire to progress. And these usernames, I believe, are a good step forward. So what if MySpace uses usernames? This isn’t about MySpace. If Facebook constantly compares itself to MySpace in the pursuit of having it never be similar in any shape or form, then they’re automatically limiting their design space. (Yes, I’m using terms I learned in my engineering courses and applying them.) If usernames are a good addition, then usernames it is! (I admit that I spent the last minute before you could register a username watching the countdown, which you can see from this screenshot I took of the last second.) And in any case, these usernames are simply used so users can access profiles more easily. Other than that, there is no change to how we’ve been using Facebook for the past four or so years. So why is everyone compaining? As long as you don’t choose a username like “ImOnABoat”, you should have no issues with random people viewing your profile. (Which only prompts me to say, don’t choose a username that everyone is going to type in just to see who has that username!) So I hope I’ve made my point clear: This is the age of the internet, and with that comes rapid change and progression, and it’s not going to slow down for anyone, so we’ve got to keep up with it.

Well I think that will do for now. But I would like to leave you with a line I found from a “You know you’re an engineer if…” list, that being: “If you thought the real heroes of ‘Apollo 13′ were the mission controllers.” So true…

So now that the spring semester is over, you’d probably expect to find me back home and relaxing from such an arduous year. A fine assumption this is, but alas not the case. I am actually back at Virginia Tech until July 6 for a summer session of classes. With two majors and two minors, it is not too difficult to understand why I’d be sacrificing some of my summer for academic advancement. People always ask me if I am trying to graduate early when I explain to them my overloads on credit hours and summer sessions. And every time I simply reply, “No, I’m trying to graduate on time.” Of course by “on time,” that will probably come out to be five years of undergraduate study. As strange as it might seem, I am actually somewhat uneasy about switching to the Class of ’13. The number 12 has always been my favorite/lucky number, so I have always been somewhat fond of the idea of graduating in that year. Those chances are slim now that I have elevated my aspirations. Regardless, this summer session serves as an escape from complete boredom at home. (Why do nothing at home when you can get further in your studies, right?) So instead of sitting in front of my computer all day at home, I am taking nine credits of courses, those being Differential Equations, Statics, and Macroeconomics. Which brings me to another point.

Since I had already decided to take summer classes early on in the year, I would be unable to accept the internship at NASA Goddard for the summer. Of all the things I would hope to never have to say, this would be one of them: “Work at NASA?! Seriously?! Actually get the chance to experience my dream?! Sorry… I have class.” It’s almost funny how these things happen; you dream of one moment in your life and when that moment finally arives, you must pass it up. But I have to believe that all of this will work out in the end. I mean, this is only an internship after all. My real dream is to work for NASA as a full-time employee. On the bright side, I know that NASA has my name in their pile of potential recruits. Moreover, they have already picked me once, so I know I must be doing something right. Hopefully next summer will bring better fortune.

So here I am now at Virginia Tech. I just returned from my first round of exams, both in Statics and Differential Equations, so I am not too motivated to get started on my weekend homework. I do believe I did well on both exams, but now I must turn my attention toward my Macroeconomics exam which is on Monday. Honestly, I highly dislike economics. At Virginia Tech, students are required to fulfill “liberal education” requirements, and since this economics course satisfies those requirements, I chose to take the course anyway. (It’s better than any of the other course options, I’m sure.) I expected the course to be more mathematical, but it’s really just conceptual, and quite candidly I have a hard time grasping the concepts of interest, investment, consumption, and whatnot. Hopefully a scan through the textbook and a thorough review of the lecture slides will grant me an A on the exam.

Well, I think that’s a good enough post for now. So until next time, starry skies to all!

//

As it turns out, however, I found myself running into several obstacles and never did get Windows 7 installed. The first obstruction in my way dealt with a problem I had run into several days before. When my Java Virtual Machine was called by a website, an error message would pop up telling me that several virtual machines running in the same process caused an error. I Google’d the error message but the results were not too helpful. It seems this is a popular error with no concrete solution. So I uninstalled Java in the hopes of solving my problem with a fresh install. Unfortunately, when I went to install Java, another error message popped up and upon clicking OK the installer would terminate. So at that point I was without Java on my machine. When I went to download Windows 7, nothing would happen upon clicking “download now”. Further inspection on my part would lead to the realization that my absence of Java was the culprit. So now I was forced to solve my Java issue. To make a long story short, I booted up without loading start-up items or non-Windows system services. This seemed to solve the issue and Java successfully installed.

Now I was able to download Windows 7 onto my computer. The download took quite a while, as expected, but I knew it would be worth the wait. Once the download was complete, I used Microsoft’s Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel, a utility that allows you to create a virtual CD-ROM drive on your computer, to read the ISO image instead of burning the image to a DVD. Having read Microsoft’s guide on installing Windows 7, I knew to click “custom” as my installation type so as not to overwrite my current version of Windows. Next, I was asked where I would like to install. As desired, I chose my external drive as my location of choice. Unfortunately, upon clicking “next”, a window popped up telling me that I was not permitted to install Windows to my external drive because the drive has a USB interface. I was devastated to say the least. Apparently, Microsoft does not allow Windows to be installed to an external drive. So perhaps I won’t get the chance to experience the new Windows for myself any time soon. There is hope, however, for as I am posting this, I am doing some skilled research on finding out how to bypass Microsoft’s limitations. At the least, perhaps I can use Microsoft’s Virtual PC utility to explore Windows 7 while retaining my current version (but how exactly to go about doing that will take some extra research). I will post the results of my expedition most assuredly in due time.

Before I officially begin my post, however, I’d like to give credit where credit is due. Although I have been somewhat against weblogs (as I always saw it as a crude attempt at web design), I have found one blog in particular that has shifted my perspective. My new friend, David, has been posting his remarks, opinions, and insights on the world of technology through his blog, My Piece of the Inter(.)net, since October of 2007. Upon reading his blog, I became inspired by the capabilities a blog could hold. All this time I have come across so many discoveries, articles, software, etc. and just wanted to share it with those who shared the same interests and passions as I do. Now through this blog, I hope to do just that. So I invite you to share with me now my dream, my passion, and my life. Ad astra — to the stars!

In the desire to constrain myself from writing a novel as my first blog post, I think it’s best just to mention something fascinating or compelling for each of the topics you will come across in my future posts. Well let’s start off with the aerospace, shall we? An article on Discovery News was recently released about the first commerical spaceport getting the green light. I must admit that I almost let out a small yelp at the sight of the title. My aerospace interests lie in getting people to space and expanding our currently earth-bounded community. This is such a fantastic start in that direction and I find myself just wanting to leap into this project. But I know I’ll have my time soon, and for now I will just have to admire these achievements from my dorm room.

On the computer science end, I just now decided to take advantage of Microsoft’s DreamSpark program and got myself nearly $2000 in Microsoft software absolutely free, including Visual Studio 2008 Professional and Expression. How wonderful it is of Microsoft to give away their professional-level developer tools to students in the hopes of inspiring and creating the next generation of avid developers. I applaud you, Microsoft. Hopefully I’ll be able to play around with this stuff before the semester starts.

And finally, I give further kudos to Microsoft for not only winning a spot as my computer topic but also as the astronomy topic. Yesterday when I posted my message of Year-of-Astronomy-anticipation as my Facebook status, my friend, David, commented on it, directing me to the WorldWide Telescope software created by Microsoft Research. The capabilities of this visualization software environment are beyond words. I literally spent a good two hours this morning (and I’m talking around three o’clock this morning) messing around with the numerous features, flying from Jupiter to the Ring Nebula as well as scanning the Apollo 12 landing site and zooming in over the Vallis Marineris of Mars. I find the most fascinating part, however, to be the guided tours which range from traveling the Earth at night to a broad journey of the Universe. I am still in awe over what the normal, everyday person can obtain with today’s technology, and this is why I am so passionate about blending the benefits of technology and the beauty of astronomy together.

Well I think that’ll do for now. I hope I have not scared you off with such a long post, but do understand that being the first post and all advocates a lot of things to be said. The next one will be shorter and more concise, I promise. But until then, a happy new year to all! :-)