What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

NTulip — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 22:50:25 GMT

I would assume that restrictions were set on everyone about what can be disclosed about the party, house, BillG, etc.

Were there camera's allowed?

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

Oz — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 23:03:44 GMT

Can an internship go any cooler than this?WOW
I am lucky if I can get free coffee and meet with the VP where I intern. Congrats - have fun!
By the way how was the food? :)

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

Sakun — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 23:04:32 GMT

No pictures/cameras/cell phones were allowed at the house. Security was on heightened alert and there were no exceptions. This is mainly for Bill and his family’s security.

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

David.Wang — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 23:21:52 GMT

Well, your assumptions would be quite valid. I remember my visit, and I would wager that security could have only improved since then.

Let's just say that cameras would be problematic, at best, in such a mass setting.

Oh, I can say more, but I am keeping my mouth shut. The intern BBQ at BillG's house remains one of the "perks" that interns have over full-time employees, so let's not ruin it. :-)

//David

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

HeatherLeigh — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 02:54:06 GMT

I know..I already told Sakun that I am so jealous. Of course, the fact that Sakun was the first person to walk up to Bill at the event and introduce herself with "I don't write code" thrills me to no end.

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

Sakun — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 02:56:14 GMT

Oz,

The food was great! It was a BBQ so we had the traditional items (i.e., burgers, ribs, potato salad) but the dessert was the thing that got me going for seconds. We had the best tasting pies ever (apple, cherry and blueberry), caramel and chocolate brownies and vanilla ice-cream. It was so good.....

David,

Yes, the interns BBQ party is definitely a privilege. Would not trade that for the world :-)

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

bill — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 06:30:09 GMT

Sakun, you're so lucky to have an experience like this. When I was an intern in 2002, they only let people who were graduating within the next year attend the BBQ, so I missed out.

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

HeatherLeigh — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 20:24:28 GMT

For the witty spanish speakers out there (and you are so charming too) that insist on being vile, you can pretty much expect that your comments are going to be deleted. Your mothers must be very proud.

My limited foreign language skills pretty much require all posts to be in English here.

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

Sakun — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 01:10:23 GMT

Bill,

Due to the size of the intern program and capacity limitations at the BillGs’ home the events is still only for graduating interns (this year only interns graduating by 8/30/2006 received an invitation), and they have not made any exceptions on this rule. So you did not miss out.....

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

jf — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 03:29:04 GMT

Ah... what a disappointment. I was hoping for something more than "how great it was in 800 words", but no, it isn't.

Come on, "great", "amazing" and "wonderful" don't describe the real world. If I was to go to BillG's house I sure wouldn't miss on anything that would need improvement. All this excessive praising makes the post sound utterly fake.

Either that, or this intern is so big a fan of BillG's that she can't even see the real world around the man.

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

HeatherLeigh — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 05:53:06 GMT

jf-what if she feels that way? You want her to be sour just to amuse you? That's not Sakun's style. Obviously you are not a fan of Bill's so I am not sure what you would expect to see here.

Our intern is happy and got to do something cool. She deserves it.

So what type of BBQ was used for all these folks?

alek — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 07:56:13 GMT

Size matters when it comes to BBQ's - and cooking for hundreds is a challenge - did they use something like this http://www.komar.org/bbq/biggest_bbq/

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

HeatherLeigh — Sat, 23 Jul 2005 01:24:06 GMT

Alek-that is an impressive machine. So I have the standard (but nice) gas BBQ that you get at Sears. Because it's just me, it would be a vanity purchase for me to get something big and shiny like that, but I have definitely thought about it. I guess that could mean I am a little vain but the stainless ones are just so darn pretty!

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

DanF — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 07:24:27 GMT

Do you think that a 3 bedroom 2 bath house would look funny with one of those dome libraries (See Sakun's link at the end)? *drool*

It's always a blast to see people so jazzed about their work, I can't wait to finish my job since for my level of education at the moment (Associates) I am bound by... let's say, silver handcuffs. I love your blog Heather!

-D

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

HeatherLeigh — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 18:18:11 GMT

DanF-it might look a *tiny* bit out of place ; )

Working with Sakun has definitely increased my excitement level about the work that I do. First because she's so darn smart but also because she gets so into it.

Thanks for the nice words about my blog!

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

alek — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 18:19:52 GMT

Heather - the stainless ones do look darn nice ... especially when you first set 'em up. However, like all grills, they get dirty over time - I was just more curious what type of grilling setup BillG has - I'm sure it's awesome.

BTW, meant to say earlier that I enjoyed reading your story - thanx for posting.

re: What happens when an awesome intern goes to BillG's house for a barbecue?

HeatherLeigh — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 20:32:32 GMT

Alek-I bet Bill's is the kind that comes with people to do the grilling ; )

You are right that they look good when they are clean. Then I supposed there is the letdown after you use it and realize it will never be that clean again. I know someone who buys new grates every year (you know who you are!), which I think is a little over the top. But who am I to say, I actually wiped down my grill this morning when I was in the backyard playing with the dog.

BBQ-ing with BillG

Microsoft JobsBlog — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:04:28 GMT

Over on Heather's blog, Microsoft HR intern Sakun recounts her journey to Chez Bill ! gretchen