first post from

seattle. vic and i got in on sunday afternoon after 3.5 days of uneventful driving, except for my blown tire in nd and vic's $230 ticket (he was doing 83 in a 65 mph zone) in the same state. we stopped in eau claire, wi, bismarck, nd, and missoula, mt. i had to spend $150 to get two new tires in bismarck, but i probably would have needed to do this anyways sooner rather than later. i thought i caught a nail or something, but the mechanic said that it looked like my tire was just plain worn-out.

it was an interesting sensation when my tire blew out: i was flying along at 80 mph when i heard a loud pop and then the proverbial thud-thud-thud of a blown tire. so i had to pull off on the side of the road and put on the spare. i was 90 miles from bismarck, and since i couldn't go over 45 mph on the spare, it took me two hours to get into bismarck. the whole shebang probably set me back about three hours in total.

what surprised me about the trip was the beauty of montana and western north dakota. the gorges, ravines, sheer cliffs, big skies...amazing. montana is truly god's country.

i couldn't help but notice how white middle america is. i constantly got stares in these small towns: not out of animosity, but out of curiosity, i think. people out there just don't see a lot of chinese people, and i stuck out like a sore thumb. several girls were digging me at the bar we went to in bismarck, nd, however: i like to think that it's because of my good looks (haha) but i think a lot of it had to do with my relative exoticism.

middle america: the red states: agrarian communities are dying. so many of the people i saw were in their 60s and 70s: i think that it's much easier for the the young ones, with the advent of the internet and cable television, to find out that there's very little opportunity (and going-on) in these small towns these days, and get the hell out as soon as they can.

our apartment is pretty sweet. we're on the 21st floor and have a decent view. the nicest thing is that we have our own smoking balcony, which is also perfect for a keg. vic got the master bedroom, but we each get our own bathrooms. my only complaints would be that the furniture is kind of cheap, and that i got shafted on the lighting. i only got one lamp in my bedroom, and it's a 40 watt bulb, if that. i called northwest suites to request another lamp (since vic got 2) but they want to charge me $30 for the delivery of a lamp - for that amount, i could buy my own lamp! well, i suppose i'll have to live with poor lighting in my bedroom for the summer.

seattle is really cold. i should have packed more cold-weather clothing. i expect, however, that it'll get warmer in july and august. on the tour of seattle i went on today, the guide said that seattle averages 75 degrees in the summer, and 45 in the winter. apparently, seattle gets two months of gorgeous days, three months of cloudy days, and seven months of dreary. in the summer, it doesn't get dark until 9:30 pm (we're quickly approaching summer solstice) but gets dark at 3:30 pm in the winter. the guide said this explains why seattle-ites do a lot of stuff indoors, even though it's known as being a very outdoorsy city.

today was my first day - orientation. most of it was spent filling out forms and whatnot, and getting the standard spiel the company gives to all incoming employees. the mba interns separated from the undergrads at lunchtime - i was surprised to learn that the company will hire approximately 950 interns this year, 50 of whom are pursuing mbas.

at lunch, we introduced ourselves, and got a chance to hear from some former mba interns and now full-time employees. the key points i pulled from the luncheon:

1. nail the job/get the offer - basically, set a precedent/expectations and work hard

2. don't just work - get involved with social activities, both with the mba intern community and with the company at-large. apparently, the exec luncheons are really valuable opportunities and i should try not to miss them.

3. network, network, network not only with mba interns, but also with other people in the organization. i have somewhat of a goal to contact at least one person every day, but i doubt that meeting 90 people in my three months here will be possible. i'll be happy if i get 1/3 of this.

tomorrow, i meet with my mentor, who i'm pretty happy with. as well, the mba interns are going to the mariner game (playing the phillies) so that should be a good opportunity to meet the other 40 or so interns i haven't met yet.