My Google Journey (2)

Day 2 (5/23/17)

Activities:

Explored and worked out in one of Google’s gyms for the first time.

Met most of the Engineering Education team — the team I’m working with for the summer — and my Engineering Practicum partner.

Attended workshops discussing Google’s Development Workflow and “How to Code like a Professional.”

In my free time, I finished an Inbox Management course through Google’s online professional development catalog.

What I Learned Today:

Various dancing Androids like these decorate the walls of Google’s Danceplex (dance studio). I thought it was too cute to pass up.

• While it’s important to stay persistent, sometimes it’s more important to understand your limits — especially when it comes to running on the treadmill for the first time in awhile.
• Every company’s workflow is truly unique. In the past, I always thought modern companies just used Git or something related to that and adopted some version of Scrum. For Google, they use all their own proprietary software, and it was cool getting to see a totally different way to conduct project and change management.
• Don’t give up on your dreams or passions — even if you have to pursue them in nontraditional ways. There are a lot more ways than the average online application to get into Google. I’ve heard everything from new, almost-hidden programs for high schoolers and up to even clerical errors that ended up working for the better.
• I truly appreciate receiving a company laptop to use throughout my internship. However, I will state it here that, so far, I do not like developing on a Chromebook.

A Google Data Center on the main campus that was made from a recycled shipping container.

Reflection:

Perhaps it was because I got up earlier than necessary to workout or maybe it was the workout itself, but I felt especially exhausted by the end of the day today to the point that I could feel I wasn’t performing my best in my last workshop. Nevertheless, I am grateful we didn’t have a lot of hard work so I could go home early. It makes me wonder how full timers make sure to set aside time for their own health and wellbeing as well on top of having families and lives outside of work.

A close up of the Google Data Center’s description.

After reading and watching various resources about inbox and e-mail management, I’ve learned a lot of new ways that I can setup my GMail to help make the entire system more organized and less overwhelming. I personally struggle with keeping track of e-mails, so I’ll see if the current system I have set up will actually work at keeping me organized for the next couple of weeks. In the end, I expect I’ll need to experiment with various iterations before I find what works for me. Does anyone else use a complex system for e-mails? Or is it just me who doesn’t like answering them right away?

If I’m being honest with you all, I’m a very introverted person. While I genuinely enjoy being with others and getting to know people, I get psychologically drained from being around too many people I don’t know or am not as comfortable with. Yesterday, I made sure to go outside of my comfort zone to reach out to as many people as I could, but this makes me wonder whether that also impacted my performance today. It’s almost as if I need to pace myself in terms of how many people I meet, for worry I’ll burn myself out if I don’t. Do other professional introverts feel the same?