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March 18, 2004

Career Day

Yesterday I left work early and drove down to Sumner Junior High to talk to a group of 9th graders about working in the software industry, specifically at Microsoft.

I left work at 11:10 to catch the 11:23 bus to Seattle. Unfortunately I missed the bus by mere seconds, and had to wait another 30 mins for the next one. Once downtown, I rushed into my apartment to grab my things and then ran down the street to the nearest available Flexcar. I got in the car, entered my PIN, only to have the INVALID PIN light come on. Great. I tried to start the engine, but the ignition stuck, and the car wouldn't start. After calling their support line, I finally got the car started (and $10 credit for my inconvenience). I was already late, and would be missing my first session. I called and left a message with a student that I would be late. Apparently the student forgot to write down my name, and gave the message that "a guy would be late due to car trouble".

I finally got to the school and gave my talk to a largely receptive audience. There were a lot of questions about XBox and game development (of course). I wasn't surprised that no one had heard of .NET, so it was tricky trying to describe my job in terms they could understand.

I enjoyed giving the talk, and afterwards a student came up to me and asked what he could do now to prepare for a career in game development. I told him to go home tonight and start working on a game. Everything he needs is online, and the earlier he starts, the better his chances.

Unfortunately for me, I don't take my own advice.

07:26 | Work

Comments

Everyone's favorite new toy at SJH: Microsoft stress balls. Few have them, all want them.
(The kids really like them, too.)

Posted by: Teresa at March 18, 2004 10:02 AM

Requins, Requins Partout! Now on XBOX!

Posted by: ian at March 18, 2004 4:47 PM

Toe Jam and Earl 3 is a great game for X Box

Posted by: tyler at March 20, 2004 8:51 PM

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