Fourth of July in Boston

4th of July on the Esplanade

 Week 3

This week at work centers around the looming union strike decision. Human Resources holds numerous meetings to detail what interns should do if a strike occurs. We are instructed to avoid driving to work, disguise our badges on the commuter rail and more. Crazy! While I really hope that there isn't a strike (who would want to spend the first weeks on co-op not able to come into work?) it was fascinating to see some of the issues large corporations encounter daily. GE is definitely in a different ball game than my previous workplace of 12 employees!

Besides getting a first-hand look into labor union disputes, I am also diligently working on completing my required online tutorials and mandatory processing documents. Now that I finally have a computer, phone, desk and chair all of this is much easier to accomplish. Throughout the whole GE orientation process it has been really nice to have a fellow Northeastern MBA co-op to share a cube with. We are definitely helping each other maneuver the often complicated GE internal site!

Revere Beach

The rest of the week is spent on administrative tasks and my heavily laden meeting schedule. That's why this week's co-op lunch at Kelly's Roast Beef on Revere Beach is the perfect end to my third week. I'm particularly excited about my jaunt to Kelly's because it will be the first east coast 'beach' I've seen since moving here. Surprisingly, the Revere beach is much nicer than I anticipated (no California beach, but still). All the interns grab their lunch from the walk-up counter and plop down on outside tables and chairs to enjoy the weather and sea breeze. My roast beef sandwich is arguably the best I've ever had!

As if one fun outing wasn't enough, after my long week of online training at work, it's off to Dillon's on Newbury Street to meet up with school friends for drinks and appetizers. While I really enjoy the company and my spinach and artichoke dip, I don't stay long because I have to head home and get ready for my boyfriend's arrival tomorrow morning!

I wake up bright-and-early Saturday to meet Nick at the airport. I'm so excited for his Fourth of July visit and am determined to take in all that this historic city has to offer. After picking up the boyfriend, what's the first thing we do? Hit up his favorite food joint: Boston Shawarma. I sometimes wonder what he misses more: me or those lamb kebabs!

Sad serving sizes at Coppa

After our unconventional breakfast, Nick and I take advantage of the two free Museum of Science tickets a classmate working at W.R. Grace got me. I haven’t been to the museum since I was 12 and came to Boston on a field trip from California. Oddly enough, it is just as I remember it. We even take in their lightning show where they recreate lighting indoors! How fun. That night Nick and I hit up Coppa on Shawmut Ave. for some fancy meat and cheese platters. Unfortunately, I'm underwhelmed at the small portion sizes and lofty prices. 

Sunday morning we start our day with brunch at Tremont 647 with my friend and her husband. This is the first time Nick has hung out with my Boston friends so it was a real treat. After our fill of homemade strawberry key lime poptarts, we partake in a Boston Duck tour. Despite being a bit overcast it is still very fun as we get our fill of Boston history facts (just in time for the 4th of July!).

Plenty of people in front of The Old State House

Happy Fourth of July! I am determined to make the most of my time in such a historic city. Nick and I get up early to watch the reading of the Declaration of Independence from The Old State House. The space around the building is packed with people in their best red-white-and-blues. Bands play festive music and children wave mini American flags. We spend the rest of the afternoon strolling around Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market before heading home to rest before the firework show tonight.

In front of the Old State House

The big finale of the day is taking in the firework spectacular from the Esplanade (right on the Charles River). Each year the Boston Pops and other famous bands play music from the hatch shell and they launch fireworks off of a barge in the middle of the river. The water is packed with people celebrating on boats, rowing up in their kayaks and some even in inner tubes to watch the display.

Nick and I munch on hot dogs and soda and take in the pleasant weather and superb people watching before closing the night staring into the sky at brilliant pyrotechnics.

I’m sad walking home that night through the ocean of people stopping traffic on Massachusetts Avenue because Nick is leaving early tomorrow, but I relish the opportunity to have experienced this holiday in the  best way I can imagine.

Week 4

After having Monday off I’m back to work and what a tough transition it is. I barely got any sleep last night after getting home late from the fireworks show and seeing Nick off early this morning. What's more, since co-ops don't get paid holidays, I'm going to have to make up the eight hours from the 4th of July by working overtime all this week.

Luckily, I have some new tasks to fill those extra hour behind my desk. For example, I begin learning how to transfer international marketing licenses and create their corresponding compliance plans. What does this mean, you ask? Well, for any company to market or even discuss a product such as military engines internationally, we have to obtain licenses from the Government. I complete the license transfers and compliance plans for nine different countries. It’s a great way to see how far-reaching the engine line I’m working on is and how many nations use our technology around the world.

I’ve also been in on several meetings to discuss the formats for our large, impending proposal. Formats are not what one would initially think. They are not the design of a page or layout of text, as I naively believed, but rather formats refer to different sections of requirements (mostly highly technical) that we must fill out regarding the engine.

I also continue to plug away at the 30+ mandatory employee tutorials on our internal GE website. I cover everything from trade compliance and intellectual property protection to workplace safety and harassment prevention.

Despite these new ventures, things are still a bit slow at work so in an effort to drum up assignments for myself I send out an email to everyone whom I've met thus far at GE. And guess what? It worked! Before close of business that day I have two new assignments. While they are small (mostly Microsoft Word and Excel formatting and putting together format packages for our meeting) it’s something and I’m proud of myself for going out and earning my keep.

That Thursday after work I meet up with my Corporate Residency Learning Team for our preliminary meeting with our professor to discuss our progress at work. We all convene at Uno Chicago Grill on Huntington Avenue, just a short walk from campus. It was actually quite fun! Our professor bought the whole group drinks and we all enjoyed dinner together. It was especially nice to hear about my classmates experience at GE and our classmate working at LogMeIn. Everyone seems pretty pleased with their roles. In fact, some of them have already given presentations to executives or completed their Six Sigma Green Belt training. Impressive!

That weekend I enjoy some free time after my exhausting week of overtime. However, between naps and doing laundry I do manage to book tickets home to California for Labor Day! While it's a long way to travel for a few days I'm excited to go home and see the boyfriend and family. Nick and I also book our flights to Florida for Thanksgiving. I haven't been to Florida since I was a little kid and I'm very excited to spend the holiday with Nick and his family.