Montreal: Part Deux

Fall Foliage at Mount Royal Park

WEEK 22 (November 7-13)

My Monday morning starts out with my first ever Safety PMT meeting! As part of an effort to get me more exposure to different areas of the business my boss invited me to attend these weekly safety meetings. I spend the next hour and a half learning about some of the most pressing issues with our F414 engines that are out in the field.

After the meeting I only have an hour or so before my manager luncheon so I spend it coordinating the hanging of my posters in the five conference rooms in the LTTD and playing catch up with e-mails about possible GE/Northeastern Recruiting efforts.

My manager luncheon today is with the Manufacturing Programs Executive. I enjoy hearing about his 25+ years of work at GE Aviation while munching on our delicious catered lunch.

After that it’s back to work on my attempted Green Belt makeshift project. I continue editing my Microsoft OneNote document and plugging through the several hundred page Six Sigma training book. I’m definitely starting to feel the pressure of time and am determined to get down to business quickly. I spend the rest of the day on this, with only a short break for a meeting with my boss to discuss elements of the project.

The Salty Pig

 That night I had resigned myself to a dull evening of laundry and Market Research reading. Luckily for me that changed! While finishing up the wash cycle a classmate called me and asked if I’d like to join her for an industry event at The Salty Pig. An up-and-coming smartphone application, The Level Up, was hosting an event at the restaurant. Not one to pass up free food and wine I immediately agree. The evening was fabulous as is sipped my free vino, tasted delectable spreads of cheeses, cured meats and flatbread pizzas topped with all sorts of delicious salamis. They even had a cotton candy and popcorn bar! Yes! What an unexpectedly fun evening!

Tuesday morning starts off with me strategically placing Post-it notes on all five of our department's conference rooms to designate where my new posters will be hung. This activity may have involved moving some pretty cool F/A-18 and Nighthawk posters behind doors and cabinets to make room... let's hope no one notices.

After my stealth redecorating it’s on to working on the TSTP marketing OneNote book, editing my proposal action item list in preparation for review by department managers and other general administrative stuff.

I take a short break in the afternoon to head to a mandatory co-op session on our processing out procedure. True to form, GE has a TON of paperwork each intern needs to complete before leaving the site on their last day. I make a mental note to start organizing them early.

The rest of my afternoon is spent updating my Proposal Development Checklist and sending it to my boss.

Beautiful South End street on my way to Orinoco

That night I rush home to meet a former University of Washington classmate for dinner at Orinoco in the South End. It’s hard to believe it’s been more than three years since we last saw each other. We catch up for a couple of hours over delicious Venezuelan food.

Wednesday morning starts off with some Microsoft OneNote work (obviously my new addiction!). I set up a new book for my boss for all current, potential and future F414 customers. It includes country histories, engine descriptions and more. I hope he likes it!

Around 11:30 I take a break for another manager luncheon, this time with the manager of Lynn Turbofan/Turbojet Engineering. It’s impressive to see how much he has accomplished in his 10 years of post-graduate work. I hope I can make an executive band position that quickly (but don't worry; I'm not holding my breath!).

That afternoon I work on a proposal process organizational chart for reference as part of my green belt project efforts. I also send out an e-mail requesting that all of the department managers review my list and meet with me. I hope to get a comprehensive, yet concise list to help any future campaign efforts.

That night it’s right to campus for the final meeting with my Corporate Residency (CoRe) learning team. We meet up at Starbucks in the Curry Student Center and spend half an hour discussing our co-ops and getting feedback from our professor on our one-page interventions.

Because of the three-day weekend in celebration of Veterans Day, Thursday is my Friday! Yes! 

I start out work today by meeting with my boss to review my progress on several projects. With just five full weeks of work left it is critical for me to meet with him often to ensure I complete everything on my plate.

That afternoon I attend the PM Council where we discuss issues with hardware returns and even have our local Six Sigma black belt in the meeting to get his input.

The rest of the day is filled with cramming my Green Belt book and trying to make progress on my plethora of deliverables.

That night in class we (attempt) to learn SPSS. I feel like I’m having a MiniTab/Statistics déjà vu as we rush through a ton of new software concepts and I’m left in the dust. I make a point to schedule a meeting with my professor next week to get a one-on-one review session. I really want to learn this stuff and definitely need more practice.

My steak frite at Le Steak Frites in Montreal

Friday morning it’s off from work and off to Montreal! I make the six-hour drive and arrive by 6:00 pm. My boyfriend and I head right off to dinner at the Canadian chain called Le Steak Frites. It’s lovely and boasts bring your own wine. We each indulge in their steak frites plates (mine the original, his the Saint Paul) punctuated by an appetizer of shredded duck confit! Ummm, yum!

Nick and I in Mount Royal Park, Montreal

Saturday it’s up (relatively) early for our day of sight-seeing. We head up to Mount Royal Park, a huge park situated on top of a hill overlooking the city. Our hour-plus drive there (we got a bit lost) was definitely worth it for the stunning fall foliage and skyline views.

One of the many buildings comprising the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

 After that it was off to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The museum was so neat and was actually comprised of several, very different buildings (including a former church, what looked like a government building and a modern structure) all connected through underground tunnels.

That night dinner was poutine (I couldn’t very well leave without it!) at Maamm Bolduc. The quirky restaurant, that also served as a B&B was warm, friendly and perfect after a long day.

Sunday is spent lounging until the clock ticks 2:00pm at which time I pack it up and face the six –hour drive home.

Luckily, I make it to my apartment  by 9:00pm with enough time to review my questionnaire for Market Research, send some e-mails and review my course schedule registration plan for tomorrow morning.

*The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of GE Aviation, Northeastern University, their employees, staff or affiliates.