Connections

One reason I hesitated to move to Washington was because most of my friends and family are in California. I started college not knowing anyone, but joining a fraternity facilitated making friends and filled my schedule. Once again I’m faced with starting over, and I wonder if Microsoft will play that role of friend maker and schedule filler. I moved up here expecting only to know my aunt and uncle, who live in Sequim (pronounced squim for some reason); Dan, who was in my fraternity and works here full time now; and Tom, with whom I worked on a school project and who works at Microsoft too. I plan to connect with them as much as I can, but I have to start looking at how I can start meeting new people and widening that circle of friends and expanding my network.

They emphasized networking a lot at Microsoft orientation, but it’s not something I’ve thought much about before. It’s strange to me to walk around and see the people around me not as people, but as nodes of a vast web of personal connections. I see networking going three ways: I put in minimal effort, excessive effort, or just the right amount of effort. Too little and I worry that I’m missing out on opportunities and experiences. Maybe if I had reached out more, I could have gotten that job, that invitation, or that date. Too much and people become facets of a diverse social life to be collected, cultivated, multiplied, and milked. Fat (job referrals) for the hibernating (unemployed) bear to burn during the cold winter. Just right and I’m happy. I’m not the most gifted social butterfly, so I doubt I’ll overdo it. I need to work on pushing myself out there more.

On Sunday I went to Dan’s to watch the Seahawks game with him and his family, who were friendly and interested in my job and my recent move from California. They invited me to go with them to dinner, but I had to decline to go to dinner with my other friend, Tom. Hopefully I can take them up on a dinner invitation another time. Tom, his friend S.G., and I ate at a local Thai restaurant later that evening. I ran into Tom and S.G. at the local gym a couple days later; big gym, small world. I’m looking forward to visiting my aunt and uncle in Sequim on Saturday.