I named this blog post a fellowship kind of weekend because I spent the entire weekend with some of the other people who are here in Palo Alto for the fellowship program. Actually, many of you may not know why I'm here and for how long, so let me explain. My company, SAP, likes to recognize top performing employees - so we have a special group called Top Talent. Every year, all managers go through their employees and decide if any of them meet the "top talent" criteria and nominate them for this group. Upper management has to sign-off on who gets to be part of the Top Talent group because they try to restrict it to approximately 2% of the employees worldwide. Part of the Top Talent program is the fellowship program, which allows the employees to apply for a six-month fellowship in a different area of the company. The idea is that the people who are top performers are more proactive with their career and are quickly moving to the top. So by allowing them to work in an entirely different area of the company without any risk, they are able to build up their skill set faster and advance their career more quickly. The fellowship may or may include relocation, it depends on the receiving team's requirements and budget.
Previously I worked in product development. I'm not a software engineer, but I'm part of the product management team. I met with customers to understand their business processes for their sales teams and then designed the software to meet those business requirements. Part of my product slightly touched the marketing teams, but it was primarily focused on sales teams at larger consumer products companies. However, I wanted to understand the big picture better and get hands-on marketing experience - after all, that was my major in university, and yet, I've never worked in marketing. So I applied for the top marketing position which was available - working as the assistant to our Chief Marketing Officer. Just to be clear, I'm not a personal assistant but an assistant who helps our CMO manage projects, gather information from all of his teams, give strategic advice, etc. It may sound like a sexy job, and I've already had some pretty cool experiences so far. But it's not all glamorous. Anyway, I digress, but that's the background as to why I'm here and the small group of fellows who have bonded so far. I will be in California only until mid-February when I will return to my love, Montreal.
So last Friday I took myself out on a date, and I finally discovered an amazing restaurant here in the area. Everyone I speak with tells me how incredible the food is around here, but I was really struggling to find a place I considered fantastic. I've found it now! Flea Street Cafe - they have a seasonal menu which is to die for! In Montreal, there is an Italian restaurant which makes a Gorgonzola gnocchi that just melts in your mouth. I haven't ever tasted anything which rivals it... until now. :-) I'm so excited that I have a place to introduce to people when they come to visit. :-) And it rained for the first time since I arrived in California - a heavy downpour which is apparently quite unusual around here. I thought someone was watering the plants outside of the restaurant and turned to look out the window and saw a wall of water coming down. It was both surprising and refreshing.
On Saturday I rode my bike to Philz - he's becoming my weekend habit. :-) That was the farthest I've ridden a bicycle in a long time. While I was in Montreal, I would try to bike to work on most days but it wasn't very far - I think just 8 km. But Philz's is about 10 km from my house. I was all nice and sweaty when ordering my cup of joe, but who cares. The bike ride was so enjoyable!
Saturday afternoon I spent with Barbara, another fellow from Germany. She's pretty cool. We did a tour of some of the Silicon Valley towns and ended up in San Jose at Santana Row. I don't know if this place is well-known outside of the area, but wow, this place is unreal. Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Tesla, Gucci, and many more. There were Ferraris and Lamborghinis lining the road. I really felt like I was under-dressed in my shorts and t-shirt. As Barbara and I were walking, we saw all of these really tall women walk past us. We guessed that they were models. Two blocks down, there was a very tall woman modeling in front of said bright yellow Lamborghini and some photographer taking her picture. Then several more blocks down, we see a runway.... ooooohhhhh... FASHION SHOW!!! Barbara and I were elated. While it was a "private party," there was only a waist-high fence separating the public from the party. So we could see everything. We staked out our spots and watched the fashion show... in honor of Fashion Week in NYC. It was so much fun!
I spent Sunday at the beach with some other fellows, Roman and Celeste (from Montreal - I previously worked with Roman on a project) and the "other" Roman, from Germany. Roman and Roman took wind surfing lessons while Celeste and I baked on the beach, reading fashion magazines and talking. It was a beautiful, relaxing day... even if I did bake my boobies (first time in a bathing suit all season - they were not prepared for the California sun!). Afterward, we munched on some yummy Italian food and walked around Alameda before returning home.
After last weekend, I finally felt like I was making some friends that I could hang out with during the week. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE Mikey and Brett, but it's hard to see them during the week with my demanding work schedule. So it's nice to be able to expand my friend network here.
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