Tuesday, March 18, 2014

No, I Just Wear This Sling As A Fashion Statement

To give you all a gauge of time in this everlasting story, this was now around October of 2012. I was in my most favourite class, Human Computer Interaction 2, this semester. It was great because I could work on such interesting and new technologies, and it was also so fast paced with so much work that I cried from it a couple times. That's how you know if it's a good class: it breaks your soul.

I was still in my sling at this time, but mostly just while I walked around so that no one decided to body check me into the lockers or something. You really never know with people. When I got to class or work, I'd sit down and take it off so I could type and pretend to be a normal person.

At this point, I was thinking about the poster that I had seen. There was an information session coming up about a very fantastic company that I'd always wanted to work for. I'd talked to my parents about it and my Dad decided to come with me so he could write notes.

The day of the session rolled around and we went to the school together, then sat in a small classroom where it was taking place. There were a LOT of people. They had pizza and drinks on the table, and then proceeded to tell us about this place that they wanted us to apply at. It sounded amazing, though there were only 3 position types and none of them were exactly what I wanted to do. That wouldn't stop me though. I listened to a lot of people's questions, Dad and I made fun of a couple under our breaths. Then we were able to go, and discuss things with the presenters if we so chose. My dad went off and let me wait for people to finish asking their questions of one of the people. So I waited. This guy was in a Program Manager position, which I figured I would fit into the best, despite not having any business background. After a while, he looked at me and says "Wow! What did you do?", gesturing at my sling. I responded "Oh, nothing, I just wear it for fashion." Immediately after saying it, I decided I was an idiot, but thankfully he found it really funny. I told him what I actually had, and he looked a little blown away. I asked a couple of things, like how much my minor would help me and what the medical support from the company was, and that was that!

I honestly didn't think anything would happen from putting my resume in, but a short while later I got an email from Microsoft saying that I was chosen for an interview for the position of PM. I freaked, yelled at my parents to come read it, fist pumped, etc. And then I got really scared. I didn't have a job for after University yet, which was fast approaching, and I really wanted to work here! So I started getting prepared. I made a paper portfolio and practiced thinking about interfaces. And went shopping for interview clothes, of course. The day of the interview rolled around and I was strangely calm. I'd given myself lots of time between a class and the interview so I could be sitting in the seat early.  I won't give you too much insight into the interview itself. I'll just say it went pretty good. I left thinking it was one of the better interviews I've done, and left it at that in my mind. After that, I went home and told my parents and brother how it went.

About a week later, I got another email from Microsoft saying I'd been chosen for a second interview... in Seattle! I had to do so much for this, fill out forms, tell them when I was okay to go and how long I'd stay for. My mom decided to come with me for this because then I wouldn't be alone and she could shop.  The time flew by very quickly for this, and soon I was at the airport boarding the plane with my mom. We took off, and I immediately got a searing pain in my shoulder. Mom said "I guess she doesn't like flying", which we both found quite funny. We landed in Seattle and took a cab to the hotel. It took forever. I'm sure we didn't even go far, but it felt like we went from Calgary to Edmonton. Really, we went to Bellevue and got dropped off at this amazing hotel. I can't stress that enough... the hotel was beautiful. We had great views of the city and dogs in down coats and mini umbrellas. Yes, I'm serious. The dogs were dressed warmer than the people walking them.

The trip was a little whirlwind. We did a bunch of shopping and saw a friend, but the main part of the trip was obviously the interview itself. I won't tell you about the inner workings of the interview, because I'm sure Microsoft wouldn't appreciate that, but just know I met a really nice Masters student from my school who was also going for an interview in Bellevue. I'll save the stories from this too, though they were hilarious and involved tanning beds and snow sharks. It was one of the best experiences of my life, and solidified in my mind that at this point of my life, there was no place I'd rather be than Calgary. You know, I don't get Seasonal Depressive Disorder, but I felt very depressed from the minute we touched down. Calgary is a very sunny place, and apparently Seattle can too, but it sure wasn't while we were there. I'm also so happy Mom was with me, because she was with me from the second I joined the other interviewees (it was kinda like the first day of school) to when I got back and texted her. She jumped in a cab (who she'd made wait for her while she was outlet shopping) and came back as fast as she could. It made me realize that with all the big moments in my life, my family had been there for me. Whether it was my health problems, getting into University, or going for an interview in Seattle, they were always there. And I'm not ready to give that up. I've had a lot of people come and go in my life, and no matter what, they're still there.

So after Mom and I went to the Microsoft store (it's like heaven for me) and got our matching Surfaces, we got back in the cab and got back on our plane. My donor seemed to have gotten over her fear of flying because my shoulder didn't hurt. On the way home, I tried to make a plan in my head about what I was going to do for a job when I graduated. I had four months left to get a job. And I was in for quite a surprise when I got back.

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