Google: Week 3
First I would like to acknowledge my mother’s coworkers who started reading following last week’s bidet story. I hate to set the bar low, however I do not think I will be able to keep up to par with that level of humor. Anyway thanks for reading and please feel free to leave comments, as that’s one thing this site is lacking in.
Week 3 was not as eventful as the previous weeks, however the highlight of the week was lunch with Cheri on Monday. Cheri, who I think of as a second mother, was in the Bay visiting her eldest daughter Kristen and Kristen’s boyfriend Adam. When she arrived at Google I presented her with my Stole of Gratitude for all that she has done to aid in my college success which started when she pushed me to apply to colleges during my senior year of high school. For that and the countless other ways she has helped me, I owe her my deepest gratitude. So once again, thank you Cheri.
As I mentioned previously each of the Google lobbies have a Naked Juice shelf with seemingly all 28 varieties of the drink. Starting last week I made it my goal to drink every flavor, one each morning. I shared this information with the receptionist in my lobby who thought it was an excellent idea which I think is because she may have already conquered this feat. Anyway she’s quite cute, so every morning following breakfast I go into the lobby to grab a naked juice and chat with her. Such a great way to start the day.
Following Monday’s lunch with Cheri nothing worth mentioning happened until Friday. Friday I attended a talk given by a fellow Ph.D intern, and later in the day we had a T.G.I.F. social in which there was free wine and beer, as well as various hors d’œuvre. An intern who also is a DJ provided the music for the social. I had a buzzing amount of beer and then went and checked out Sergey and Larry’s office with some other interns followed by a game of cutthroat.
Saturday I went to the Computer History Museum with other UCSB graduate students. The Museum was quite interesting though only two percent of their collection is currently on display. The free tour (admission was free too) covered various stages of computing from punch cards to vacuum tubes to integrated circuits to super computers and finally to personal computers.
Saturday evening I had a delicious dinner at Victor’s, courtesy of his mom, and then he and I went to Berkeley to meet up and drink with our friends Mira and Molly. Since I had just received my first paycheck on Friday, the first round of Patron shots were on me.
Anyway that was the week. I am still greatly enjoying my summer. To end this (and hopefully provoke comments) I want to spice it up by commenting on a video clip I saw on the news last week. Unfortunately I cannot find the clip online, nonetheless the context was two Southern people were asked how they would feel about having an African American president. One lady’s cut response was “I think he’s a Muslim”, and another man’s response was something along the lines of “there aren’t many black people around here. The only black people I see asking for change are holding out a cup.”
I comment to this in the form of the following questions:
Does having a middle name of Hussein really imply that someone is Muslim? And more importantly, what would it matter if Obama was? Are the parents of children not teaching their kids to be accepting of everyone despite their skin color, religious beliefs and sexual preference? What message are our nation’s citizens sending their kids about acceptance when they are openly opposed to a candidate solely on the basis of race or religion. And finally, why are we still considering religion when making political decisions?
I hope everyone has a great week!
Related Entries
Comments
Comment from Ben
Time July 15, 2008 at 1:16 am
C’mon Bryce, that last bit at the end was a pretty obvious plug for comments. I think your life is interesting enough without the obvious hooks for social commentary.
Here’s to your naked juice sessions with the receptionist and whoever else you’re drinking with!
B
Comment from Bryce Boe
Time July 15, 2008 at 7:55 am
Ben: Haha, yes it was quite a plug for comments there at the end, but I think it worked as you submit your first comment. 
Cheri: I agree completely. The realization that __some__ Church going Christians were in some ways hypocrites partially contributed to my losing of faith some number of years ago.
Comment from Patty
Time July 16, 2008 at 9:46 am
Loved the bidet story, enjoy reading your blog.
Live down here in the bible belt and you really see how ignorant people are!! It is scary! The religious
fanatics and Republicans have people scared to death thinking that Obama is secretly plotting with Muslims all over the world to destroy the US. Most of the ignorant people who believe this do not have college degrees,
but a lot of people who have are still wary of him. I don’t understand!!
Comment from Cheri @ Blog This Mom!
Time July 14, 2008 at 12:11 am
Boe~
You are welcome. But really, it was all you. All I did was point out that you were capable of great things, and you proved me right. (I love to be right.)
Visiting Google to see you was one of the highlights of my week. Receiving your Stole of Gratitude was one of the highlights of my life.
Good thing you put a hyperlink for Naked Juice, indicating it as a brand. We wouldn’t want anyone to misunderstand and think you were drinking juice naked with the cute receptionist.
Skipping down to your last set of questions, what I find MOST disturbing, perhaps, is that the “Christians” who are concerned about whether a politician’s religion is something other than their religion do a grave disservice to the teachings of Christ, which is that we must love one another, be inclusive rather than exclusive, we are not to be judgmental, and to treat everyone equally. So opining whether Obama is a secret Muslim, like that’s a bad thing, is one of the least Christ-like statements a so-called Christian can make. Also, your last point is essential. If one of the key maxims of our political system is separation of church and state, why indeed are we discussing the religious affiliations of candidates anyway? And the people who are talking about race? That conversation was supposed to be over in the 1800s.
Good post, Boe.