My third gig at Microsoft

I have just started to work as a Technical Writer at Microsoft again. This is my third gig there as a contractor. So what does a Technical Writer do? Well, in my case, I write technical articles that are published on Technet. It involves a lot of information research and iterations with stakeholders about the product with which I work.

My first work week only lasted one day, and then I was home with Irene and her arm infection. After nearly a week off to take care of Irene, and then, back at work, moving office twice, and installing all the software that I need in my daily work, I have now finally settled in my new job. I am working in a peer team to the one I used to work in, which is really great because I already know most of the people, or, at least, know of them.

Microsoft is located in Redmond, about 30 minutes drive from downtown Seattle. This software giant has about 90,000 employees worldwide, out of which 40,000 work at the Redmond Campus.

This blog post is not going to be about Microsoft, but I would like to share some pictures with you. The following photos are all taken in various parts of the MS Campus. The buildings might not be architecturally beautiful, but the surrounding areas offer a lot of green space, recreational grounds, and a beautiful backdrop of the Cascade mountain range.

If you come visit, I will take you for a tour. For you guys who already live here, did you know that MS houses a large art collection inside their buildings, which also include a very big chunk of what used to be the Berlin wall?

My job as a nurse

No, I did not abandon my blog. I was just jet lagged from our trip, and then I became a nurse, involuntarily.

My husband caught this nasty something with fever. Still, he went to work. But, of course, his manager sent him home. So now he has had his first sick day from work, ever. What is this thing about work and not being able to stay home even if you are sick. Is it a competition or some kind of sport? I do not understand it. Can someone please explain. Preferably someone who is just like this. Ask your husband I hear you say. Well, I do not really know if he falls into this category, but it definitely triggered my thoughts on the subject. Fever reducers and water coming up.

What is worse is that my youngest daughter caught this nasty, contagious infection in her eczema on her arm. And the wound does not want to heal. On Friday, we are seeing the doctor for the third time.

So a lot of administering of antibiotics, pads, creams, and bandages, and screaming. I am kind of scared the neighbors will call the police when they hear Irene screaming her heart out when I wash her wound.

So anyone who needs to have a bandage around their arm, please call me. I am now a nurse, somewhat trained, although without certification.

Tokyo: the last stop on our trip

When you read this blog post, I am already back in Seattle. We flew home via Vancouver and got back in the evening of the first day of the new year. Happy, but tired.

The last days of our trip, we spent in Tokyo navigating the subway system like pros. No, not really. You do not really need to be smart to find your way around Tokyo. Colour coding and numbers made it easy, and the stations had names in an alphabet that we could understand.

We stayed in the Asakusa, a laid-back area in the north east of Tokyo. Asakusa has a beautiful temple.

Asakusa also has many small streets where no cars are allowed to drive making it a pedestrian-friendly area.

Near our hotel, we found a whole bunch of Tamagotchi characters, much to Irene's liking. By the way, did you guys know that the word "tamagotchi" is a portmanteau of the Japanese words "tamago" (egg) and "tomodachi" (friend)?

One of the highlights of our trip was that I got to see my dear old friend Chris, his Japanese wife Mika, and my godson Leon. We had not seen each other for seven years, so it was great to meet and catch up a bit.

My first impression of Tokyo was that this city is all about food and shopping. Food I like, but not shopping so much. OK, I can admit that I do like to look at Japanese household articles, and I have brought home a few things that I will show you some other time.

One day we went to the Roppongi area to have a look. I was happily surprised to find a "Maman" by the French-American artist and sculptor Louise Bourgeois. I really like this spider.

After Roppongi, we headed for Tokyo Tower to take a look at the view of Tokyo. Built in 1958, Tokyo Tower is 332,5 metres/1,095ft, and is a communications and observation tower.

And what a view! This is how it looked in each direction. Talk about metropolis. Tokyo, a city of the future for sure.

And with the above view, I take farewell of Tokyo, and promise to return to this city and to Japan, because although we had a whole three weeks here, I do want to come back and see more.