Squaw Valley!

Happy Valentine's Day! As promised, I am absolutely exhausted from last week's festivities, which included wandering around San Francisco, working in our Mountain View office, and finally trying my hand at downhill skiing.

We got to the Resort at Squaw Creek around 1:30 in the afternoon. Because Google had rented out the entire resort, we were surrounded by people from all different Google offices, from Phoenix to The Dalles (Oregon). I was a little nauseous my entire cable car ride up the mountain, thinking about the upcoming situation that could potentially involve me breaking my face/leg/body. Sure, I’d been on skis before, but only on flat ground, or hills with groomed tracks.

After skiing numerous beginner hills with some VERY patient coworkers, I was convinced to try the 3.2 mile intermediate run. I was extremely proud of my ability to handle myself until about halfway through my first intermediate skiing experience.

And then it turned ugly.

I persuaded my coworkers to go ahead down the ridiculous ‘hill’ that lay before us, promising them that I’d be fine and would soon join them at the small landing at the bottom. Twenty minutes later, still at the top and starting to get stressed, I knew that something needed to be done. So, amongst the veteran snowboarders and skiers flying by me on either side, I did the only thing that I could do: laid down and embraced the fact that I was fully clothed in nylon, lifted my skis off of the ground, and slid the 80 yards down to where my coworkers were waiting.

After my little 80 yard sliding adventure, I somehow made it down the rest of the mountain alive. How, I’m not quite sure. I’m glad I did, though, because that night was definitely memorable.

There was a party for everyone that had come to the ski trip, with themed rooms, food, drinks and photo booths. In one room, the 80s cover band Tainted Love played, and they were amazing. It made the party even more fun to be able to be surrounded by everyone from the managers to the newest employees, everyone enjoying the atmosphere, the music, and the company of those around them.

I didn't know what to expect when I entered the work force, but I know that working at Google has far exceeded any expectations that I had.

By the way, this snow is out of control. Snow angels, anyone?