November 7th. Today, myself and millions of other Americans voted in the mid-term elections, expressing our views on candidates and for states with propositions such as California, deciding on laws that could take affect in as soon as ten days. I’m not here to write about my political opinions or thoughts on candidates; friends know that I’m liberal and because of my dual nationality, a proponent of state assistance. I’m writing tonight to just present a hopefully unbiased perspective on my first time voting in person at a polling place. True, I had voted two years ago in the 2004 Presidential Elections but this was through an absentee ballet which was convenient and provided me with plenty of time to understand the ballot and choices. Today, I voted electronically in my new “home” state, California.
July 4th, Independence Day. Two hundred and thirty years ago, the US claimed its independence from Britain and the US as we know it started. Ironically, tomorrow after twenty-two years of being mostly independent from commitments and responsibilities, I begin work at Apple and give up, in a small way, the freedom I’ve personally been used to. No longer will I have months off during the summer to travel and return home to Finland, nor will I have the long weekends and breaks I’d gotten so used to in college. Instead, however, I’ll have a steady paycheck, be working at one of the most innovative tech companies around, and be living under the California sun. I can deal with that.
Russian Ridge: A View of the Pacific
So what have I been up to since I graduated in late May? A whole lot. It’s been a hectic six weeks and all told, have travelled over 10,000 miles during the time. Straight after graduation, I returned home to New York City for a couple of days of r&r before heading out to the White Mountains in New Hampshire for close to a week with several friends. There, we climbed, hiked, ran, and generally had a wonderful time in the great outdoors. The weather co-operated, the company was friendly, and the scenery pristine, yielding many photographic opportunities with the results posted over at Flickr.
Today was the first day that I woke up without knowning what to do next! Yesterday, I unofficially finished my undergraduate life at Hamilton College. The slightly-revised version of my Honors Thesis in Computer Science was handed in (yes, I got honors!), the last exam was taken, and my Ferry building (Computer Science department) key was returned. I’m done. Between now and graduation on May 21st, I can relax and enjoy the final days of college life: relaxing in the sun, wining and dining with buddies, and of course, spending as much time as possible with the closest friends.
Perhaps the best thing yesterday though was getting an official offer of employment from the company I’ve always wanted to work for: Apple Computer. Returning from a run with a friend, I had one of the best phrases known to mankind left on my voicemail, “…we have exciting news for you.” Returning my recruiter’s call, I found out that the position I had interviewed for on Monday, Mac OS X Product Release Engineer, was officially mine if I wanted it. Long story short, I had been interviewing with Apple since February for a position, first with the iCal team, and now, with the Mac OS X team. The offer is very competitive and I’ve more or less decided that I’ll be taking it. I should receive a written copy of the offer on Tuesday and after I look through it, I’ll be getting back to my recruiter with my decision. So, it looks like Phantom Planet’s lyrics, “California here we come,” will be holding true.
This past Saturday featured Hamilton College’s third annual music festival, May Day. Headlining this year were the fabulous New Pornographers, minus lead female vocalist, Neko Case. Also playing were electronic/techno DJs Chromeo, indie pop band Elf Power, Ris Paul Ric, DJ Dave Nada, and local band, Zeaskeez. The event couldn’t have happened on a better day: blue skies with 65 degree weather. With minimal campus saftey presence and a laid back security staff, May Day felt like any odd music festival found in europe and allowed for a pleasant, relaxed time. Here are a couple of photos taken of the New Pornographers; more photos can be found over at flickr in the May Day 2006 set .
The New Pornographers at Hamilton College
With less than two weeks remaining in the semester, things are starting to get quite busy on-campus, both academically and socially. This post will detail some of the events that will occur during the next few days and will hopefully make up for expected lack of posts.
Tomorrow, former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw will be visiting campus as part of Hamilton’s Great Names Series. He follows such speakers as ex-president Bill Clinton, comedian Bill Cosby, and former mayor Rudolph Guilliani. As a senior HCEMS member, I’ll be covering the event and will hopefully have a chance to meet him. More on Tom Brokaw’s visit can be found on Hamilton’s news site.
Friday, the final copy of my thesis on scrolling PDFs with an eye tracker is due. I’m just now putting the final touches on the document and will hopefully distribute it to the faculty tomorrow. Along with a public presentation, the thesis is used to determine whether or not I will be able to gain honors with my Computer Science degree. Moreover, Friday also holds the last CS Smash of the semester, followed by a BBQ afterwards with the housemates and friends.
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