Summer Fun

This particular email today comes from sunny Northern California, where I've been living and working for the summer. I can't remember if I sent an email out explaining who I worked for, but it's Google, if you didn't already know. It's hard to believe that half of my summer is already gone. It seems as though I just started last week.

To start out this edition, I'll go a bit into what I work on. I can't give much information about it, but I'm working on Google Docs, an online application similar to Word that I would suggest for all. It has some draw backs when compared to Word, but it also has some advantages over the Microsoft version. I myself work on some of the front end things, such as the look and feel, as well as the features that are available to the users. I absolutely love my work, as well as where I work. It's pretty much like college, except you get to work on whatever you want, as long as it fits the general motto of Google.

On a real fast second note, I'm just going to give a quick apology regarding the language of this edition. I've been reading a lot more, recently, and the book that I'm currently working through has a different tone then most. It seems that that tone has seeped into my brain, however, and I'm doomed to write in it. (See why I'm apologizing? It's horrible!) Abby and I have been reading a lot, as we always do in the summer, and have a new list of recommendations for you all.

• A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole - An interesting read, recommended by Mr. Hamiltion a few years back. It's an easy read, based in New Orleans, and stars a character that you almost always want to smack. I'd recommend this book mostly to those of you who want something of a different pace, and don't have anything else to read.
• M.A.S.H. by Richard Hooker - This is the book that the movie and TV show are based on, and you can tell by the end of it. While the characters and story line are slightly different, the overall book is very similar. By the end of the piece I felt as if I had been watching M.A.S.H. all weekend, and I wanted to watch more.
• Lullaby by Chuck Palahiniuk - Another disturbing book by Chuck, this time focusing on the mass consumption of materials and how we're destroying our planet. If you like Chuck's other works, you'll like this one as well. It's a quick and, as I said before, disturbing read that I'd only recommend to those of you who enjoy horror stories and books like The Things They Carried (a classic).
• The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer - My favorite thus far this summer, this autobiography is a true piece of work. The book describes J.R.'s youth and his travel into adulthood, how he quested to find a substitute for his father and how he found it in the local pub. A good book about discovering yourself, I recommend this piece to anyone who's struggling with where they want their live to go, or who feel somehow cheated by their situation in life and youth.

Enough on books, though. I bet you're all curious as to what I do while I'm not working or reading. Well, until last weekend, my friends and I would take the train on Saturday up to San Francisco and distribute Free Hugs, a world-wide campaign to spread happiness. I wish I had more pictures of the hugging, but it was actually too much fun to stop and take more. We had people stopping at red lights and jumping out of their cars to hug us. Everyone we passed, even if they didn't get a hug, walked on with a smile. For those of you who wish to do something similar to this, just make a sign with cardboard and go to it, just watch out for private property. We were told by the police last Saturday that we weren't allowed to give out Free Hugs on the private property of the city and that we would be arrested if we tried to continue. Needless to say, that stopped the hugs.

The fellows in the pictures are my buddies, Cesar and Tim. Tim (above) lives in Santa Barbara and came up a few weekends to give out free hugs and just generally hang out. Cesar (right) is actually a friend of a friend of mine, Tim (another Tim who lives in Colorado), who has become a very good friend this summer. He lives just down the road from me and we often go out to movies, dinner, or just hang out in general. He's kind enough to drive me any place my bike can't take me, and he's helped me a lot with learning the new technology I need to use for work.

My bike is almost as important to me as Cesar and Tim are, at the moment. My primary mode of transportation, I bought the bike from WalMart on my first day here. Truly a WalMart bike, I've now pumped about an addition $100 into her so that I can keep riding her to work and around town. That's one of the nice things about this area, it's perfect for biking. Mostly flat, tons of bike lanes, always sunny, and everything's within riding distance. As soon as I finish this post, in fact, I will be riding the 2 miles down to the WalMart to buy Miss Abby some kitty litter. I live about three miles from work, so getting to and from is just as easy with my bike. To aid with the summer heat and riding constantly, I've also cut off most of my hair. My long locks are now down to shoulder length and I couldn't be happier. Sometimes I even wish it was shorter. I plan on mailing the hair (yes, I still have it) to Locks of Love, where they'll turn it into a wig for a child with cancer. If any of you have the ability to grow your hair out, I ask that you do so and donate as well. The hair that you donate needs to be at least 10 inches long, so plan accordingly. Also, a lot of hair salons will cut and style your hair for free when you go to donate, as well as mail the hair out for you.

Hmm... what else to talk about... Well, I guess this is where I'll get random. I have some pictures, so I guess I'll just tell about them. This first one is at the Google Developer's Day party that was thrown after the conference. For the event, Google had tens of arcade machines brought in and setup for free play, as well as about 15 pool tables. Outside on the patio they had free drinks and carnival food (cotton candy, hot dogs, tacos, ice cream, fries, etc.) and all of the tables were whiteboards (something that you can always find at Google) which people doodled on while they ate and mingled. The glasses used that night were glow in the dark cups with the Google logo, glowing in the four main Google colors. Cesar and I each got a complete set of these glasses and they're currently in my freezer waiting for an event to use them with. After the party, Cesar and I went on an excursion into the main buildings of Google and discovered the ball pit, someplace I will surely have to return to and work from. We also discovered some of the other microkitchens and surveyed the food offerings that they provided. For those of you who don't know, within 150 feet of anywhere within a Google building, you will find healthy food for the hungry works. Most of the food offerings are organic and bought from local vendors instead of the major corporations like Lays chips and such. There are also usually some sort of entertainment near the kitchens, including pinball machines, pool tables and Foosball. The Googleplex also has a gym, lap pools, volley ball court, and 14 different cafes, each with their own theme and unique menus.

While Google is a fun company to work at, there's also serious busy going on. You can tell this from the quality of my work notebook. See? I actually doodled that while struggling though a tough programming problem. Working at Google has really stretched my skills and forced me to learn some new computer languages that I had been putting off. I enjoy the struggle and wonder if I'll be able to pull myself out of the mindset that Google has put me in and step back to the one that college provides. While I don't miss the course work of CSU, I do miss the atmosphere and my friends, along with the more laid-back attitude. Don't get me wrong, Google's laid back compared to most companies, but they're still a company and work still has to get done. On the bright side, I should be able to refer you all to a link in a week or so to see some of the work that I've done.

Wow, this email is huge and I feel like I've just been putting off going to WalMart and working on another scholarship application. I'm trying to get a scholarship to a conference for women in Computer Science in Orlando this October, as well as one to a conference regarding my gaming research in North Carolina in August. We'll see what develops.

Alrighty, hopefully I'll be sending you another email soon.

Peace, Love, and Free Google t-shirts,
Tar

P.S. - George and Vassie came out and visited me last weekend and took a few pictures of me and a Google sign. I bet if we bugged them enough, they're reply-all the pictures.