HP Ski Day at Bogus – Cross Country Skiing with my co-workers Soumya and Theresa:

As you can see it was snowy all morning, but cleared up nicely in the afternoon.

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Easter weekend in Minnesota:

We went to the zoo… on the busiest day in Zoo history!  Hence the mound-o-strollers at the Zoo Farm.

Easter eggs and Easter toys…

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SWE Conference in Seattle, Washington:

The Cherry Blossoms were blooming on the University of Washington campus.  Also, on the flight home there were clear skies and we flew right next to Mt. Rainier, it was so cool!

The photo on the left below is a SWE group that went on a tour of the Theo Chocolate Factory.  It was fascinating! (and yes, we got LOTS of samples).  Theo Chocolate is the only chocolate making company in the US that is Fair Trade Certified (which means they pay the farmers fair wages).  Also, did you know that Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, which are separated into cocoa solids and cocoa butter?  And the cheaper chocolate bars that you buy in the store are made with cocoa solids mixed with animal or vegetable fats instead of cocoa butter… making them much less healthy.  The chocolate solids that comes out of cocoa beans are the 2nd most anti-oxidant rich food in the world!  (the first is a strange berry from Brazil).  If you don’t like dark chocolate, you should try to acquire a taste for it… it’s much better for you (less fat, more anti-oxidants), and it is very rich so you don’t need much.  I now have a plethora of chocolate knowledge… but I’ll leave it at this   Try to find some Theo Chocolate in your local whole foods or grocery co-op.

And… the second photo is from a concert I went to in Seattle – my FAVORITE band was playing, Mates of State.  They were fabulous and as you can see I got to stand right in the front!

Hope everyone is having a happy April ~

HP Recruiting on Thursday night:

During a break from workshops and SWE meetings, my new HP friend Amy and I wandered the career fair.  I gathered a bunch of goodies to give away at SWE events.  Oh, we also found the Microsoft booth and played guitar hero

The HP group went to a formal SWE Awards Banquet on Friday night, where we cheered on a fellow HP employee who won an award.

I attended SWE meetings as my section representative – we voted on important issues regarding how SWE is run.  This group is like the legislative branch of SWE and it was a really interesting experience.  Especially because there was a couple very controversial issues at stake!  Here’s me taking notes and everyone holding up their green voting cards.

Finally, here’s some other random photos of Baltimore and the conference…

Sunset from my flight:

For some background on me & engineering, here is a profile I wrote for a SWE newsletter last year.

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SWE Newsletter – October, 2007

How I got into engineering
Growing up I was always interested in math and science and excelled in these subjects. In high school I really enjoyed my Chemistry, Physics and Calculus courses. One day in Physics class, two professional engineers came to talk to us. One was a female and a Chemical Engineer. She told us about a summer internship she had which involved taste-testing ice cream. I didn’t know very much about engineering at that point—and to this day I’m not really sure how much engineering her internship involved—but at the time I thought, “There’s a job I could live with!”

With the encouragement of my parents and high school math teacher, I decided to give engineering a try. I initially considered, of course, Chemical Engineering. However, when I started college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, I took one semester of Chemistry and decided that ice-cream tasting internship or not, I was definitely not interested in Chemical Engineering. Luckily the following semester I took a Computer Programming class, and right away I knew that was it. As college continued and I moved from general engineering courses to more specific Computer Engineering courses, I became more and more excited and confident in my decision to pursue Computer Engineering.

My current job
I have worked as a Hardware Design Engineer in Boise for 4 years. My job involves working with a team to design and test computer chips (Application Specific Integrated Circuits, or ASIC) that control LaserJet printers. At this point in my career I would say this job is pretty close to ideal. Although working on printers may not sound particularly spectacular, let me explain why I enjoy it so much.

The work I do is interesting, challenging, and provides continual learning. No matter how much you like the people you work with or your paycheck; if you don’t enjoy the day-to-day work that you do, I am not sure you would ever consider it your ideal job.

The next best part of my job is the people I work with. I have been lucky to work with a fun and intelligent group of people. Our work environment is relaxed and emphasizes teamwork. I am continually impressed with how willing my coworkers are to help each other out. Coming into work with this group of people makes every day enjoyable.

The final area that is great about my job is the benefits and opportunities that HP offers to employees. I appreciate benefits like flexible work hours, the ability to telecommute, flexibility when raising a family, and the importance placed on work/life balance.

I love my job, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love my non-work life as well. I like the motto “work hard, play hard” and I practice this by sticking to a 40-hour work week most of the time and taking vacations throughout year. Another great thing about working for a large company like HP is that there are a lot of opportunities to change jobs and try new things. Although I have just told you how much I love my current job, I do not expect to be doing the same thing in another 5 or 10 years! I like to be challenged and continue to learn new things, and at HP I don’t think I will have any trouble accomplishing that.

Why I like engineering
Someone once described engineering to me as using science to develop practical solutions to real-life problems. What initially drew me to math and science is my interest in how the world works and my natural aptitude in the subjects. But what got me hooked on engineering is the idea of taking that science and applying it to find solutions to problems. In addition to problem solving, I like engineering because it allows me to do what I really enjoy in life – spending time with my family and traveling.

Why I am involved with SWE
There are many reasons why I enjoy participating in SWE, but I will focus on the two most important to me: outreach and professional development.

I am passionate about outreach because I think there is a social pressure for young girls to shy away from math and science. Until our society changes, it is important for us to encourage young girls and women by informing them about engineering, providing role models for them, and supporting women who are pursuing engineering. As a whole, women are not better or worse engineers then men, but they do bring diversity of ideas and skills to the workplace and they should not be discouraged from entering a profession dominated by men.

My second reason is professional development. By taking officer positions and organizing programs, I am able to improve my leadership, teamwork and communication skills. This benefits me personally and also in my career. SWE is an excellent way to develop leadership skills because it is a low-pressure and supportive environment.

Keeping Busy Outside of Work
Although I do my fair share of lounging, TV watching (Chuck is my new
favorite show this season), and gaming (Guitar Hero anyone?),  I also like to
keep busy with other activities.  I’ve been playing soccer and volleyball
almost continuously since coming to Boise.  My soccer team is a lot of fun;
the best thing about our team is that everyone tries really hard.  You wouldn’t
believe how much difference that makes in a game – we’ve beatan plenty of teams
who may outskill us, but we outplay them.  Volleyball is fun because a bunch of
my friends at work also play.  In the summer we play in the sand at HP on an
organized league, which is nice for getting out of the office for a couple
hours during the day.

Besides sports, I’ve also taken the role of President this year for our
local Society of Women Engineers section (Southwest Idaho SWE).
I’ve been involved with SWE since college because I enjoy networking with
other women engineers and encouraging young girls to consider engineering
for their career.  Unfortunately, I think there is a social pressure for
young girls to shy away from math and science. Until that changes, I think
it is important to provide positive role models for girls, tell them what
engineering is and encourage them to try it. I’m not in SWE because I think
women are better or worse engineers then men.  I just think that women bring
a diversity of ideas and skills to the workplace and they should not be
discouraged from entering a profession dominated by men. So, this year I’m
the section president and although it’s keeping me busy, I am really
enjoying it.

Ben has also been busy with side projects outside of work, which you would
know if you saw our living and dining room – currently full of wires, resistors,
and other miscellaneous electronics.  And, although mountain biking season is
over, we’re excited for the upcoming snowboarding season – let it snow, let it
snow, let it snow!

Ben’s New Job
This fall Ben took a new job with HP.  That’s right, now we both work at the
same company.  We work in different areas though – I do hardware design for
LaserJet printers, and he’s doing software design for a color and imaging
group.  Confused?  What I do is make the little black chip that goes inside
your printer.  Ben basically writes programs that run on that chip.  See,
totally different   Anyway, so far we’re both really happy with the move.
I like having a carpool companion, and he likes the challenges of his new job.

Happy Holidays
From traveling to my dream location of Machu Picchu, to spending holidays and
vacations with family and friends – Ben and I have had another amazing year.  I
hope that all of you are happy and in good health.  Have a Merry Christmas and
a very happy New Year!

With Love,
Alonna and Ben