We had just gotten off the I5-N."Turn it up! Turn it up!" A shrill voice from the back of the bus yelling to the driver. The driver enthusiastically turned the volume on the radio up. "The traffic on 520 W and I5 is backed up quite a bit but it now seems to be clearing up." A  loud cheer went up in bus#13 that was part of the 20 bus motorcade arranged for the 800+ summer interns to go to Woodland Zoo.

 

It takes a while to get used to special treatment. All traffic on 520-W and I5-N was stopped for the Microsoft interns on their way to the Summer Intern Celebration @ the Woodland Park Zoo. 20 bus motorcade with police escort. Not a single stop along the 15 mile journey. Puzzled expressions from the stopped motorists, a few bystanders and kids waving as the convoy passed them. Once we reached the zoo, we were treated to a surprise concert by Vampire Weekend and Ben Folds. The concert was good but personally though, the journey was more exciting for me. No hard feelings Ben Folds! And no prizes for guessing what the Zoo fest ended with - free Zunes to all the interns.

 

Oh by the way, remember that the internship lasts only 12 weeks. When and if you do come back to Microsoft or Seattle as a full-time employee, you will be on the receiving end - waiting (and impatiently waving hands?!?)  for a 20-bus convoy filled with interns to cross the bridge (maybe even secretly praying for the internship to end soon!). But for now, I'm an intern and am loving it.

 

- Deepthi