our ability to save information is much more advanced than our ability to figure out what this information means. My company makes products to search through the data and provide our customers with reports that show them meaningful occurrences.
The first step for my group is to develop an algorithm, then we plug these algorithms into programs that run through the data to find trends; the next step is to optimize this process so it doesn’t take forever.
Since I’m new to this group, I get to build simulations in MATLAB and write them in Python. We have our own large data set we use to test against. My job is to see if the new algorithms actually can be used to identify trends in large data sets. After I exercise the new algorithms, I provide Mark, the guy with the dog, my findings. He works with Ian, the hairy guy, to fine tune these algorithms so they work more effectively.
I’m looking forward to when I’m considered knowledgeable enough to get past running simulations for my co-workers and can start using C++ to write code of my own, which actually will be a lot of fun—even though when I told Cassie what I did, she rolled her eyes halfway through the explanation, shook her head and said “What?”—then told me I needed to get laid. She may not be a rocket scientist, but on the sex front, she’s very perceptive.
Taking into consideration Ian and Tom’s outlier personalities, the ten engineers on my development team work well together—we all have a strong mathematical background. Two other engineers on my team are big-time San Francisco baseball fans. In the month I’ve been here, I have learned a lot of baseball statistics. Before joining this group, I didn’t even know what an RBI was. Now I know who leads the team and what their RBI score is. Cassie says that that’s the first thing I’ve learned in all my years of schooling that may come in handy one day in landing a guy.
At 11:50 a.m., I get an internal IM from Hita—the only other woman on my team: Ready for lunch?
Hita and I have been friends since our freshman year of college. We were in the same classes and quickly became study partners. Back in the spring she got me in to interview for this job, lucky for me the position was still open when I decided to leave my boyfriend in London. Hita’s American, but her parents came from India. She’s tall, about five foot ten, with long runner’s legs, thick, shiny hair that goes down to the middle of her back, and she has an easy-going, happy personality with a quirky sense of humor that can get her in trouble.
Our freshman year there were seven of us that decided to go to the Halloween parties at school as princesses. Hita was one of the princesses, Pocahontas. Get it? –Indian. My hair is very dark brown, my skin is pale, and my eyes are brown. I was Snow White. Initially, the seven of us had nothing in common except a desperate need to make the most of campus life, which we did, starting with that Halloween party. Six years later, I’m still tight with this group of women. We jokingly refer to ourselves as “The Princesses” to this day—and at times refer to each other by our princess names.
As Hita and I walk down the hall, she asks, “Hey, how’s it going?”
“Fine, though I’m looking forward to the day I can do more than run other people’s algorithms through MATLAB.”
“Give it some time, it takes a while to get the hang of what we’re doing.”
Changing the subject, I can’t help but tell her, “There is the most beautiful guy at swimming. I saw him again this morning.”
She chuckles, “Juliette, you’ve been back what, a month, and you’ve already eyed your next man.”
“What? How long do I need to be back before I can start checking out guys?”
She shakes her head. “You’re amazing, I don’t even know what happened in London.” Then she gives me a long look and I can tell she wants details. Since I don’t say a word she jokes, “Hey, if he doesn’t work out, Tom can’t get his eyes off of you.”
Scrunching up my nose I say, “Of all the guys who have to have the hots for me, just my luck, it’s Creepy Tom.”
“Hey, it could be worse, Ian could have the hots for you.”
“Ewww, could you imagine having