Depoll.com

Wow, it's a little strange to be back in school.  I'm looking forward to the semester, though.  With only 3 days of classes per week, I finally have time to start working out again, and I'll soon be trying to pick up golf!  In the meantime, I'm going to be running Gamescrafters this semester, which should be a lot of fun as well.  Can you blame me for being excited?

The weirdest experience thus far has been in my CS classes, where I'm finding I know 60% of the people in the class, either from being peers, or from my TA-ing.  It seems like in the last few semesters I have only known a few people, and suddenly all I see are familiar faces.  It's nice :)

Anyhow, just thought I'd check in.  Time to get ready for a workout!

Labels: Berkeley, school

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posted by depoll @ 1:35 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

Well, folks, I'm back in the good ol' U.S. of A., and it sure feels good. Had a wonderful time with my family in Israel and Turkey, and came back with a sexy Turkish tan (otherwise known as a beet red sunburn). The company was good, and it gave me some times to sort out some of the recent (happy) developments in my life. I have a much clearer picture now of where I want to go and how I'm going to get there. I owe my parents and uncle a special thanks for their valuable advice in this regard.

Also of note: I'm now 20 (as of the 20th)! Gone are my days of teenagerdom! It's nice to be able to say that, although it certainly doesn't feel very different. The biggest thing for me in my 20s is going to be moving past school, and on to a career and (hopefully eventually) a family. I'm very happy with where I am right now, and can only look forward to what's to come.

In the meantime, I'll be headed back to Berkeley on Thursday, with school starting next week. I'm really looking forward to this semester, and I've got some exciting things planned. In the meantime, if anyone knows of a personal trainer and/or a golf instructor in the Berkeley area, I'd be very happy for some recommendations. Time to get fit and learn something I've been putting off for a long time. Hi ho silver, away!

Labels: Berkeley, career, family, school, summer, vacation

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posted by depoll @ 3:51 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Howdy everyone! Well, I'm now back in Southern California, after a looooooong drive down. Sadly, I received a ticket just as I was leaving Washington (goody... car issues on the first and last day there!). It's my first speeding ticket, so hopefully I'll be able to do traffic school online or something like that. Anyhow, it's great to be home, but now I'm off again! Tomorrow morning I leave for Israel, and soon after that I'm off to Turkey. It's great to be on vacation (really haven't been on any substantial vacation since April, so it's good to take a little break from school/work). I'm looking forward to spending some time with my family (parents, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc.). It should be one heck of a vacation. Many thanks to my aunt and uncle for helping to make it possible!

My last week at Microsoft was great, much more relaxed than I was used to. It was really great getting to know everyone on the team, and I had an awesome time working on Acropolis. I have to make a shout out to the team for shipping their August CTP this week (which has a feature I worked on during the latter half of my intenship). Congratulations, you guys!

During my last week, I received a full-time offer, which I now have to consider. I'm definitely going to be doing my M.S. at Berkeley over the next year and a half, but I now know I have an offer waiting for me. I've got a little time to decide, and it's very tempting, so I'll be making an effort to explore my options and discuss all of what's going on with my parents and uncle over the next few months. Not too shabby of a choice to have to make, if you ask me. :)

Anyhow, what comes next is an opportunity to relax, have fun, and brood over my choices. I'll hopefully have internet access and will be able to share while I'm in Israel and Turkey, but if for some reason I'm SWC (stuck without connection? don't ask, I just made it up.), I'll speak to you when I return. Have a great few weeks, everybody!

Labels: Acropolis, family, internship, Microsoft, summer, vacation

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posted by depoll @ 9:31 PM 0 Comments Links to this post