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Hey folks!  It’s been too long since I’ve written something on this blog, and I figured it’s time to correct that terrible, terrible error.  I know you all care so much about my life, so… yeah :)

Anyhoo, it’s been an amazing few months for me.  I’m becoming more and more comfortable with my new home in Washington, having a great time at work, and just generally doing cool stuff often.

As I’ve mentioned before, I joined a Barbershop chorus in the area, which has turned out to be a ton of fun.  We’re singing great music, preparing for the international competition in Anaheim in late June/early July (yes, I will be coming to SoCal!), and making new friends.

Work has been a lot of fun.  The product I’m working on is finally public (Silverlight 3 Beta and .NET RIA Services) as of March, and while it’s been very busy, we’re also working on very exciting stuff.  Also cool – I’ve started a blog that’s more tech/work related: www.davidpoll.com.  I know it’s superficial, but I’m enjoying the fact that a few folks linked to me and suddenly my name is searchable!  Try it: Live Search Google…  Gotta love it!

Other randomness… I just saw Star Trek yesterday, which was a ton of fun.  I really went in expecting to be disappointed, but was extremely pleasantly surprised to find that the movie was awesome.  I’m not a Trekkie by any means, but seeing those classic characters reincarnated on the big screen left me with a smile on my face for the whole movie.

I don’t have too much else to say, I suppose.  Congrats to all my friends (whether from High School or Cal) who are graduating in a few days!  Onward and upward!

Labels: career, family, friends, Microsoft, Personal

First – a word on the historic events of a few weeks ago: pride.  Yes, one word – I wasn’t kidding.  I’m proud.  I’m proud that in the US we value our democracy and our freedoms more than we value power, and that the immense power of the presidency can be passed peacefully and respectfully from person to person, and the our presidents relinquish their power and welcome their successors, no matter the political affiliation.  And I’m extremely proud that as a nation, we have demonstrated that we can look beyond what’s on the surface when judging a man, instead seeing the content of his character.  I hope President Obama is very successful in his presidency, and in spite of my partisan differences with him, he is my president, and I support him.

Other things going on in my life: my bid to join Northwest Sound was successful!  I’m having a total blast with them, and they’ve all been extremely welcoming to me.  I continue to enjoy work – it’s certainly a challenge, but oh so worth it :).  I’m slowly getting used to living in the Northwest – learning the sights and sounds, getting fully comfortable in my apartment, and so on.  It’s an exciting time in my life – I’m just taking it in (it’s like drinking from a firehose!).

Labels: career, Opinion, Personal

Ok, ok, so it’s not really intended to be French, it’s just French-ish. French-esque. French-ly. Something like that.

But I digress. Life in Bellevue’s pretty good so far. I love my apartment (it’s amazing!), my job, and, well, life in general at the moment. The trip up here was easy – many thanks go out to my Dad for joining me and helping me build my vast collection of new Ikea furniture (Ikea == awesome, in my humble opinion) – and my first two weeks here have been busy but fun.

Among the highlights:

• Replacing my driver’s license and plates… it’s a long and frustrating story, but one I won’t soon forget
• Learning about and pursuing joining a barbershop chorus
• Finding out some friends will be coming to visit
• Going into the city for a talk on the Israel/Gaza conflict
• Living in a place where it snows (it snowed my 2nd night here!)
• Seeing widespread frost for the first time in my life. It’s sad, but I’d really never seen the ground and trees turn white without it having snowed outside!

Anyway, I wanted to check in. I’m having a great time here so far. If you’re ever in the Seattle area (and I know you) drop me a line!

Tomorrow’s an exciting and important day. I’m sure I’ll have some things to say, but I figured I’d leave this post to personal stuff for the meantime, and save the comments on the making of history for later.

Hey, folks!  It’s been a long time since I’ve written (though I was quite happy with my election night post), and some big things are happening, so I am obliged to share.

Today is the eve of a whole lot of "new” for me.  It’s the end of one hell of a year (for many reasons).  It’s my last full day of California residency.  It’s my last real day in “student mode,” where I’m just working part time, permanent residence is my parents’ place, etc.  It’s also the start of a huge new journey for me.

First, let me take a moment to reflect on my time at Berkeley.  It was a very fast-paced 3.5 years, during which I managed to pick up both my B.A. and M.S. in Computer Science.  You might say I got a certain degree of satisfaction from my work there :)  But really, I have to thank everyone who supported me throughout my studies.  In particular (as far as Berkeley folks go), Koushik Sen and Dan Garcia, both of whom really helped make the experience a joy and exposed me to the resources I would need to earn my degrees and set myself up for success.  Many thanks to both of you.  To all my Berkeley buddies, it was a hell of a time getting to know you and spending time with you.  Please keep in touch, and if you’re ever in the Seattle area, look me up!  I’ll try to make my way back to California often, although I don’t know how frequently I’ll make it to the Bay area.  Time will tell!  As always, to my family, none of this would have been possible without your love and support, and I will always be grateful for that.

I’m super-psyched about heading up to Washington to start my career with Microsoft in earnest.  True, for the last few months my affiliation with them has been ongoing (and my full-time work began in the summer), but this marks the start of a more lasting association, and I’m really excited to jump in and see where this takes me.  I love the work and the people, so it’s a real treat for me to get to wake up and do what I’ll be doing each day.  I may be “young and naive,” but I’ll enjoy it while I’ve got it :)

As for the location itself – I’m just praying that I have the wherewithal to face the weather up there.  For the first time in my life, I’ll be living in a place where it can snow!  I had to buy winter clothes for the first time in my life!  Those of you who knew me pre-Berkeley (and even during the first year up there) know I was a strictly shorts-and-polo-shirt guy.  In the dead of winter (which in SoCal is a brisk 60 degrees :)), it was all I’d wear.  Berkeley finally broke me of the habit, but I’m fairly confident it will be Washington that finally strips me of my un-layered tendencies.  Wish me luck!

I’m looking forward to moving in to my new apartment in Bellevue.  It’s a big place, and with a view to boot!  I’ll try to post some pictures once everything’s set up.  It will be the first place I can really call mine – no roommates and with a long enough horizon (indefinite stay) that I can really make it feel like home.  It’s an exciting prospect!

Finally – to 2008, I must say “Adios,” “Au Revoir,” “Adieu,” “Auf Wiedersein,” “Lehitra’ot,” and “Goodbye.”  You’ve been interesting – to say the least – and I’m sure I’ll look back on you with a certain amount of reverence, but in the meantime, I’ll just say "Happy New Year!”

P.S. Tomorrow, my dad and I begin the trek up to Bellevue.  Puns, Politics, and Perfect Pitch (ok, it’s a stretch, but I couldn’t think of any other p-words for singing) are sure to ensue in the long hours in the car.  Gotta love a road trip.  Thanks dad for keeping me company!

In the past, I’ve tried to avoid talking politics on my blog (if only to maintain some professionalism – those who know me know I’m passionate about politics and highly opinionated), but tonight is a night worth commenting on.

I’ve now had at least 4 people call, IM, or text to console me on the loss of John McCain, the candidate whom I supported. Some have been surprised that I expressed pride in what we accomplished today. I’m writing to address some of this cynicism, and declare why I feel such pride in my country right now.

Let me start by saying that I vehemently disagree with now President-Elect Obama’s policies and philosophies in many respects. I won’t go into the details, but I want to be clear that none of what has happened has changed that.

To me, among the miracles that makes this country great is that every 4 or 8 years, we change our government, and we do so peacefully and with the understanding that we, collectively, have made the decision to respect and accept the outcome of our elections. For over 2 centuries, we have consistently made efforts to respect our fellow countrymen and the collective wisdom of people all across the country striving to make it a better place. Even after the civil war, we as a nation were able to heal and again come to respect and expect to respect one another. Today, we saw the electoral process at work, and while the outcome was not what I had hoped, I can only have respect for the decision we made, and I am proud that we as a people could once again come together to make this choice.

President-Elect Obama said it perfectly tonight in his victory speech: “That’s the true genius of America. That America can change. Our union can be perfected.” We live in a nation of change. It’s not the bumper-sticker “change” we’ve been hearing about for the last 2 years, but the notion that while no one man is perfect, together we can strive through change toward perfection. I believe that every president, congressman, governor, man, woman, and child who has ever worked with the intent of improving this nation through their contributions, however small, has made an impact and helped to “perfect” this great American experiment. Through successes and failures, we’ve learned, adapted, and changed, and with each election my faith in our ability to do this is refreshed.

I’m also proud, today, because we’ve just elected our first black president. What makes me proud is not simply that he’s black (which is historic in and of itself), but rather that we as a nation have learned to look beyond race and creed, and we, collectively, will grant him the power and responsibility of the office of the President of the United States. He’s not the black President, he’s not the liberal President, he’s our President, and that title needs no qualifiers.

So today, while I’m disappointed with the results of the presidential election (among others), I’m also beaming with pride for our nation. Now, I can only wish President-Elect Obama the best for the next four years. I don’t agree with what he wants to do, but I hope it has (and want it to have) a positive impact for the country. I want what’s best for the USA, and can wish for nothing less than that. I hope that Obama will be a great leader for us all, and I will be proud to call him our President.

Tonight, our electoral process worked the way it was supposed to work, and that makes me proud to be an American.

Labels: politics