May 26, 2006
One Week in California
Today marks the one-week anniversary of living in California! After a long weekend of visiting friends and my mother's family in the area (gotta love Napa Valley), I started work Monday at Tellme Networks. So far, it has been terrific.
To put it mildly, things are a little different out here. For one, there is the weather. It rained two days this past weekend. Everybody says it is probably the last time it will rain for another 3 or 4 months. I get up in the morning and it is sunny. I go home from work, and it is sunny. All that time, there is no noticable humidity. It is an excellent contrast to what I have experienced living in Cleveland for the past two years.
There is also the San Francisco Bay Area. Anybody who thinks Cleveland is the most intelligent city in the US hasn't been to San Jose or any of the smaller cities surrounding it. The differences between Caltrain and RTA are pretty much symbolic.
Next, we have the work culture at Tellme. Nobody has an office, not even the CEO. Desks are arranged in pods of four to six people. When we need to talk to somebody, we just look up and see if they are around. If you need something, you just ask the people around you. Everybody is very open and friendly (the jar of various sweets they put on the desks of the new employees and interns helps lure people over to meet you). Every employee I've met is extremely knowledgeable, but none are arrogant of their abilities. Of course, the stereotypical Californai tech company working culture still exists (wear what you want, ride scooters around the office, play volleyball outside, bring your pet, free soda, etc). Recent happenings have also contributed greatly to employee morale. The office is located two blocks away from downtown Mountain View, where there are plenty of places to eat and chill out. Speaking of eating, the food out here is amazing. I'll never consider fruit in Giant Eagle fresh again.
I almost forgot about living details! I am living in Redwood City, which is about 10 miles north of Mountain View (directly up the 101) and am subletting from a fellow employee of Tellme. Redwood City is a few miles away from Palo Alto, the home of Stanford (I had no clue they had so much land) and about 30 minutes south of San Francisco. It is a great half-way point between San Francisco and San Jose. I ride my bike about 1 mile to the Caltrain station, board, then ride two blocks to Tellme. Hopefully by the end of summer I will start riding all the way to and from work. There are so many bikers out here that I almost feel pressured into doing that!
So, to sum things up, life is California is awesome. It is a much-needed vacation away from Case. It probably came at the right time, as I wouldn't want to be at Case right now. I will be coming back to a different university in the fall. It will be interesting.
But, until then, I have 3 more months to enjoy California. It is going to be a fun time.
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