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PoofyCurls
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Name: Valerie
Country: United States
State: New Mexico
Interests: Dining, Wine, Skiing, Movies, Hiking
Expertise: Systems Reliability and related Software, Industrial Engineering, Semiconductors, Manufacturing Software
Occupation: Research and development
Industry: Government
Message: message me
Member Since:
12/10/2002
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| Wow - last semester went like wildfire. I loved it, but the net result was a constant stream of analysis work (Sandia), Time Series (Stat class), sleeping, eating, and fitting on the rest of life.
Let's see...
* Quals went great - I passed at the PhD level. (That doesn't technically do me any good right now, since I got a Master's degree, but it makes me feel good - and gives Ed more ammo regarding my inability to stop myself at "good enough.")
* I was offered and accepted a fulltime position at Sandia, in the same department I have been working with. I am really excited about it, which is good because I start *tomorrow*.
* December and early January have been full. I graduate 12/16, took Ed home for Christmas for the first time, and had a fabulous time in Las Vegas with Deb, Dan Cohen, and Deb's family.
Today is all about closing out vacation time and getting ready for work time. My last activity today will be a massage (thanks to Ed's parents graduation present) to end my vacation with a bang (or, in this case, a pampered sigh).
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| I've been studying like mad all week to get ready for my Qualifying Exams next week. I'm not quite ready yet, but I have 4 days left and am confident that I'll be ready by then.
On an somewhat-unrelated note, here's a closing thought from Ed:
There's a subtle, though important, distinction between not saying someone's crazy and saying someone's not crazy. :) (Yes, all that integration and programming has finally made me batty.)
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| Wildlife:
I'm really enjoying my work at Sandia. One of the surprising upsides is that I work WAY out on the east of the base, near the mountains (Google Earth - Kirtland Air Force Base). This is cool because we have all kinds of wildlife that I get to see. So far I've seen - bunnies (cotton tails), hares (desert-ready, with long ears & large feet), prairie dogs, road runners, and a coyote. The coyote was awesome - tall & lean, but not scrawny - a real killer, I think.
Excel Databases:
A direct quote from a powerpoint slide given to me this week by a customer: "Format of the original database: Excel". At least it's not a multi-user Excel database with its own front-end. Oh no, wait, I saw one of those this week, too! Software Engineers of the world - unite. :) {This is only funny if you realize that Excel is a spreadsheet program, NOT a database program.) | | |
| I now have 2 weeks of work at Sandia under my belt and am loving it. I'm working on an interesting project, with people I like, and getting to do real work already.
Was great to see Deb last week - hope she's enjoyng her new job, too.
Found a cool website you all might like http://www.wififreespot.com/. It lists airports and hotels with free wireless internet access. | | |
| Been very long since last post. Those in the know are aware it's been a bit of a challenging time for me. But, I am returning triumpantly.
I start work at Sandia on Monday. I'm super excited about it.
Read below for my profile for Ed's company (Group Harmonics). The new website should be live by the end of the week, but I'm giving you a little preview here. I sounds too good to be true, but I've actually done all this. :)
A veteran of improving work
group effectiveness, Ms. Peters has solved process optimization problems for
entities of every size, from (four different) Fortune 500 volume manufacturing
operations to medium, small, and even start-up companies. Her work has been
both technology-centric and people-centric, with a focus on data-based solutions
which are feasible from the human perspective. She holds a degree from Berkeley
in Industrial Engineering, and is currently completing a Master’s degree in
Statistics with a focus on business applications while doing direct research
work with Sandia National Laboratories. Ms. Peters has developed a variety of
technical and organizational behavior models, and has at times managed worldwide
deployment groups directly to ensure that the tools she developed met the needs
of those who commissioned them. Not content to remain purely in the technical
world, she has taken her skill into other arenas, including retail sales and the
nonprofit sector. She has served as a developer, coordinator, and trainer for
both technical and non-technical seminars, and remains active in a variety of
organizations including the Society of Women Engineers. | | |
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