Browse by Tags

• SeaFair in Seattle!

  One last personal post and then I'll get to the work stuff. Last Friday we got off the ship... Saturday was moving the office with Bob... Sunday we went to a SeaFair party!!! I've lived in Seattle for 14 years and never really paid any attention to SeaFair Read More... Posted Thursday, August 07, 2008 9:05 PM by PatHelland | 1 Comments Filed under: Personal

• I Moved into My New Office in Building 35

  So, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am starting in the SQL team this week after the one week vacation. My friend, Bob, came over on Saturday with his pickup truck and we moved everything from building 42 to building 35. The Microsoft moving organization Read More... Posted Thursday, August 07, 2008 8:05 PM by PatHelland | 1 Comments Filed under: Personal

• A Fun Cruise to Alaska with Friends

  I'm starting this blog entry on the bus riding to work on Monday, Aug 4th... it's taken all the bus rides until today, Thursday, to finish. There's NO computer stuff in this post... This is a vacation travelogue! Wow! We had a good time in spite of Lisa Read More... Posted Thursday, August 07, 2008 12:45 PM by PatHelland | 0 Comments Filed under: Personal

• Transferring to the SQL Team

  Since I returned to Microsoft in March of 2007, I've worked in the Developer Division on a project in the area of RIAs( Rich Internet Applications). This is a fascinating space in which lots of fun stuff is happening. I've been privileged to work on a Read More... Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008 2:17 PM by PatHelland | 1 Comments Filed under: Personal

• A Weekend at Foo Camp

  Well... I was lucky enough to get invited to Foo Camp (which was last weekend) and I figure "What the heck! Let's do it!". Foo Camp is held at the O'Reilly headquarters in Sebastopol, CA which is 1 to 2 hours (or more depending on traffic) north of San Read More... Posted Wednesday, July 16, 2008 6:29 PM by PatHelland | 1 Comments Filed under: Personal

• I Got My Christmas Tree Up at Work...

  My office is a bit unusual... even for Microsoft. Anyway, during the Christmas Season, I like to add my Christmas Palm Tree that Lisa brought when she moved from Florida. I managed to score some motif appropriate ornaments last year. They are flamingos. Read More... Posted Monday, December 24, 2007 5:12 PM by PatHelland | 2 Comments Filed under: Personal

• OK... A Mediterranean Cruise in November Was Not My Smartest Idea...

  In retrospect, we had a good time on our first week of vacation... but we would have had a better time if we'd thought things through. This trip was planned around TechEd EMEA in Barcelona running November 5th-9th. The conference was great and we had Read More... Posted Sunday, November 25, 2007 10:28 PM by PatHelland | 1 Comments Filed under: Personal

• Friday, November 16th -- A Day at Sea with a Major Storm...

  Oh, my, it was moving!! I used to own a large power boat and have had it in 15 foot seas. Then, I experienced 30-35 degree pitching (forward-backwards motion) and rolling (side to side). I’ve been seasick on smaller boats and this did not bother me. Still, Read More... Posted Sunday, November 25, 2007 10:17 PM by PatHelland | 1 Comments Filed under: Personal

• Thursday, November 15th -- The Bus Tour from Hell and a Lovely Formal Evening

  On Thursday, we had signed up for YET ANOTHER all day cruise… Again, Roger and D’Arcy had wanted to try the “Corleone Village and Wine Tasting” tour but hadn’t purchased tickets as early as we had. So, off we were (without our new friends) onto yet another Read More... Posted Sunday, November 25, 2007 10:13 PM by PatHelland | 1 Comments Filed under: Personal

• Wednesday, November 14th -- Pompeii, Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, and Motion Sickness...

  Naples! The evening cruise had been quiet and we were back at it with the tour busses. Our new friends had not been able to book with the Royal Caribbean sponsored tour to Pompeii, Sorrento, and the Amalfi Coast. D'Arcy had gotten on the Internet and Read More... Posted Sunday, November 25, 2007 10:04 PM by PatHelland | 2 Comments Filed under: Personal

• Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 -- Our Second Wedding Anniversary (and NOT in Rome as We Had Planned)

  After months and months of talking about our second anniversary in Rome, we decided not to go after all... We started the day by sleeping in!!! What a joyous relaxation after TechEd and Tour-busses! We slept late, exercised, and had a couples' massage. Read More... Posted Sunday, November 25, 2007 9:52 PM by PatHelland | 1 Comments Filed under: Personal

• Monday, November 12th -- Florence, Pisa, and Challenges with the Tour Bus

  We had determined that D'Arcy and Roger had tickets for the same 10 hour excursion to Florence and Pisa as we did... to get on the same bus, we needed to arrive at the theater together and get the same stickers. We met for a very fast (think inhaling) Read More... Posted Sunday, November 25, 2007 9:46 PM by PatHelland | 1 Comments Filed under: Personal

• Sunday, November 11th -- Nice, Eze, and Monaco

  We awoke Sunday morning in the harbor of Villefrance which is close to both Nice and Monaco. By 7:30AM, we were in the theater at the bow of the ship sitting waiting to be called for our excursion and to get on the tenders to ride from the Voyager of Read More... Posted Sunday, November 25, 2007 9:33 PM by PatHelland | 1 Comments Filed under: Personal

• Saturday, November 10th -- Departing Barcelona on Voyager of the Seas

  Warning! There's nothing in this blog post but "what we did on vacation"... no computer stuff. So, back in February when I decided to return to Microsoft, I told my bride, Lisa, she would love it. Before contacting Microsoft, I looked online to see when Read More... Posted Sunday, November 25, 2007 9:15 PM by PatHelland | 1 Comments Filed under: Personal

• TechEd Barcelona

  Wow! What a fun week from November 4th-9th! I am recounting this on November 25th after two weeks of vacation. Shortly after returning to Microsoft last Spring, I offered to present at TechEd EMEA held this year in Barcelona, Spain. I had proposed three Read More... Posted Sunday, November 25, 2007 8:08 PM by PatHelland | 1 Comments Filed under: Personal