Grace Hopper Adventure!

Grace Hopper (1906-1992):

an American computer scientist and United States Navy Rear Admiral. She developed the first compiler, conceptualized the idea of machine-independent languages, and popularized the term "debugging". 

In honor of this spectacular woman, a women in computing conference is now annually in different locations each year. MSU WIC (Women in Computing) has a group sent every year. I wasn't confident enough to go last year, so this was my first year attending. Safe to say, I was extremely excited for such an amazing experience. 

This year's Grace Hopper Conference (GHC) was held in Minneapolis, and not being that far from Michigan, we decided to do the 10 hour drive there. Tuesday morning, we set out, stopping along the way for a few snacks, then arriving around 8pm that night. Gas station snack were not enough substance for our group, so shortly after checking into the hotel, we ventured out for food. Searching yelp for places still open, we found a cafe called the Hard Times Cafe, after eating our delicious food (I had biscuits with mushroom gravy, yum.) and chatting for a while, we returned back to our hotel for some rest as it would be an early morning.

Due to our little amount of sleep (2am-630am) and dislike of waking up, the people in my room ended up running a little late with respect to the rest of the group; however, we still got there with enough time to get our badges and find seats for one of the first keynote speaker, Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and author of Lean In.

After some very motivating speakers, most of our group decided to hit the career fair to talk to companies/grad schools and get all the cool swag that was available. For anyone who has been to a career fair, this might be a little different from what you're used to. Imagine a room with around 100 companies who all are looking for your profession and are trying to convince you to come work for them by bringing lots of really cool things (one place was even giving out free manicures!). 35 resumes, 10 new shirts, two bags full of free things later, and a much better idea of my future later, I felt my work was done. Granted this was across the three days of the conference and intermingled with amazing panels and interesting speakers. 

One of the nights of the conference, we found ourselves with a little bit of free time, so a group of us decided to venture to the Mall of America. 

Wanting to save time, we went straight from the conference, which meant that we were dressed in business wear still.

 However, this did not stop us from riding one of the indoor roller coasters that can be found at the mall of america. (The picture to the left is half our group buying tickets for the roller coaster shown below) Despite being indoor, it actually went quite high and fast, so we really enjoyed ourselves. 

After checking one thing off our bucket lists, we decided to wander around the stores a little. After walking for over 30 minutes, we did a half circuit of one floor.  Now, as a shopping loving, I was completely fine with the sheer number of stores; I only wished that we had more time (and money) to spend. 

I did end up buying a can of matcha from Teavana, not due to the rarity of the store, but due to my constant desire to buy some. Otherwise, I stayed strong and didn't buy anything else! :)

I was rather tempted by the notebooks on the left though; the art style was beautiful. If not obvious, these were found at the disney store. 

We stayed until the mall closed, then went to recharge in preparation for the last day of the conference. Trying to go out with a bang, the conference ended with a giant party hosted by Google and Microsoft with lots of deserts and glow sticks.


Everyone in our group was reunited and caught up after our hectic week by going out for dinner afterward (even though it was already around 11pm). Stories were told and laughs were shared, but soon we found that it was time to return to our lodging and get some sleep to prepare our for another full day of driving.  

The drive went much as to be expected, the only things truly worth noting was stumbling upon the full madame butterfly opera on the radio and stopping in Chicago for Chicago style deep dish pizza (specifically the "Lou" at Lou Malnati's). We all arrived home safe, happy, and very exhausted. Overall, it was a fantastic trip and one I hope to be able to experience again! 

Until next time...
:D

Hisashiburi!

As the title states, it's been a while: Two years of school, a summer in California, and a roadtrip across the US later, here I am!

 I am not the best at posting at regular intervals, so I've always fallen off while trying to record my life, whether it was a diary growing up or a blog while traveling. This time I will try to keep to it, not for anyone else but for myself.

After a summer of realizing that I still have a lot to learn and feeling upset about the current me, I resolved (with the help of my very motivated roommate, Charli) to work toward being the person I want to be. It is still a work in progress, but I am now going running more, being more conscience about what I consume, and trying to concentrate on learning more. Saturday, I ran the furthest I had ever run just because I felt like I could keep going! I really want to sign up for a 5k soon, so I can commit myself to actually training for it. Ganbarimasu! *^*q




Also on Saturday, I went to my friend, Matt's "Hobbit Party".  There was a lot of super delicious food and several of us dressed up!

I dressed up in Merry-esque fashion, as Charli and I were planning on going as Merry and Pippin together, but due to a baby coming earlier, she went home to offer her congratulation instead.

The pictures included were taken the following morning in my rather messy bathroom, but I was rather proud of my outfit (which was almost all thrifted for less than $10!).

After feasting, there was some alcohol involved. Most of us ended up falling asleep slumber party style on the floor watching hey arnold. Overall, it was a very fun night!

I get to see two of my favorite ladies (Ktea and Nat) in a bit, so I have to jet, but expect a post again soon! :D