Why aren't you smiling at me the way you used to? I miss your heart-warming smile. I really do



2 exams, 2 labs reports (1 formal and the other a notebook), 2 homework assignments and an interview with Microsoft.



That basically summed up this past week, the week after Spring Break. That made me ignoring my blog for a week. Somehow, though, I feel mentally sharper. My dad told me that after resting in hospital for three weeks due to some intestine problems, he said he was much sharper with his work than he used to. He argues that after having a long, good rest, one would be more energetic in his work. Then, in 2000, I thought it was a crappy excuse for taking hour-long naps during lunchtime. Yeah, my dad sleeps a lot, very much in contrast to my mother who was trained by nuns in her convent days to sleep early and wake up before sunrise. So, I find myself easily focused on my studies this week. I kept reminding myself that napster and the internet are killing my efficiency so I really kept my speakers off and my monitor lid down while doing work.



There was the Satay Festival yesterday. In charge was Kenneth who I must say performed an excellent job in handling the event. I felt very guilty for not helping in preparing the meat and skewering them into the bamboo sticks the night before. I was bogged down by my physics lab notebook and the calculus exam on Friday. Furthermore, I had to rush to Waterfront on Thursday evening to buy a pair of formal pants and a dress shirt for my interview with my Microsoft the next day.



Pretty funny how I, a Mechanical Engineering major, was called for an interview for a 5-week participation in a summer program with Microsoft. Anyway, dressed in a suit and a tie, I first met Jeff, an Office Development Manager, in the series of two interviews on Friday afternoon. He asked me technical questions like how a binary search work. It was a bit challenging trying to explain something I learnt nearly 3 weeks ago and getting stuck when he questioned whether my code actually works or not. I'm really surprised on how he was dressed to interview me. I must say it was Friday so most American workers go to work in casual attire. This teaches me a lesson. Never assume any ordinary guy walking around the University Center to be some blue-collared worker. You might bump into a recruiter from Microsoft with a 5-digit annual salary and stock options worth a few million dollars. The second interview, was a more casual one with the college recruitment officers who wanted to know my personality. We discussed about what's the next big thing in technology and why I chose to come to Carnegie Mellon.



Less workload next week I think although there's the 2nd Java exam on Friday. Must score this time. I fried the first one by pure carelessness.