2022 Byte Internship Chronicles#

Since starting on 2022.04.18, I've been doing my internship remotely until finally arriving in Beijing on 2022.07.26 to start the on-site internship. I continued interning until 2023.06.29 when I finally converted to a full-time position. This journey has been quite long, so I've only recorded some of the experiences. Just like my previous Tencent internship chronicles, I can't share work-related details due to confidentiality, so I'll stick to writing about interesting life experiences.

Originally, I was supposed to intern in Shanghai, but with the repeated fluctuations in the epidemic situation there, and the current trend of a resurgence of the epidemic, it got me really worried. I was afraid that if the situation persisted, I might have trouble returning to school after a few more months, and I need to focus on my thesis since graduation is approaching.

2022.07.26 Arriving in Beijing for Internship#

I live in Huilongguan, and it's worth mentioning my friend > Original: https://wiki-power.com/ who seems to have practically moved into the company (Baidu) since arriving, earning the title of "Huilongguan Phase King," as he rarely returns to the apartment after the initial visit.

The distance from Huilongguan to Zhonghang Plaza is quite far, approximately 12 kilometers, and finding short-term rentals near the company area is quite challenging unless you're wealthy. So, I decided to forgo the housing allowance and stay in Huilongguan.

Despite the 12 kilometers, the subway line 13 is a direct route. Although "direct" here means no transfers, it still involves a two-kilometer walk. I must say that the location of Zhonghang Plaza is somewhat inconvenient in terms of public transportation access. Taking a bike seems feasible upon exiting the subway, but it doesn't seem entirely necessary. Walking for a short distance works just fine.

The question is: What's the best strategy for navigating the crowded subway? Fortunately, Byte starts work at 11 a.m., so I can plan to leave a bit late to avoid the morning rush as much as possible.

This morning, I left at 09:40 a.m., anticipating the typical crowded subway experience, but surprisingly, the station was not as packed as expected. While the subway itself had a good number of passengers, it wasn't overwhelmingly crowded. It was definitely an improvement compared to my experience squeezing into Subway Line 1 in Shenzhen at 8 a.m. The situation took me a bit by surprise. At the following station, Xierqi, also known as Longze, a significant number of people disembarked, and the subway suddenly felt spacious. After that, I completed the uneventful journey to Zhichunlu station, where I started the two-kilometer walk. Overall, the walk was quite pleasant since the weather wasn't too hot, and there was plenty of shade from the trees. I've even discovered a route with consistent tree shade. Tomorrow, I'll explore more to see if there's a closer alternative. After the reasonable walk, I finally arrived at the ground floor of the company at 10:28 a.m.

Upon arrival, I still didn't know my way around, so Tianrui, a friend, escorted me. For lunch, I had a boxed meal, which surprisingly tasted better than expected. Then I went to the IT department to collect my mouse, keyboard, and stand. I even managed to get an additional stand for my computer. The three-piece set came in handy. I had already applied in advance for my work card, so it was readily available. However, I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't get a 4K monitor. It seems like a lengthy process, and I might not get it even if I stayed longer. I guess I missed out on this one.

In general, the overall experience was positive, but the chair was less than comfortable. It was suitable for taking a nap, but not for long-term comfort. There wasn't much room for adjustments, and it made me feel quite uncomfortable, especially for my neck. It's more suitable for lying down and using the phone. Unfortunately, work comes first, so I have to get used to it. I think my efficiency might be better when working remotely, haha.

In the evening, I took Line 13 at around 9 p.m. It was indeed crowded at that time, but with my audacious spirit, I managed to squeeze in effortlessly. After the transition to Changping Line at a subsequent station, it was surprisingly empty, which highlighted just how many people live in that area.

2022.07.27 Commuting to Work: Subway Squeeze#

Embarrassingly, I couldn't squeeze onto the train at Longze Station today. There were just too many people. It feels like I left a bit late. Or perhaps it's due to the rain today. I'll aim to leave at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. The journey itself was manageable, and at least the weather wasn't hot. It was even a bit cold. On the downside, the new route I explored today seemed longer than the previous one. Well, it looks closer, but appearances can be deceiving.

2022.07.29 Monthly Bike Pass#

The sun was scorching this morning, so I decided to purchase a monthly bike pass from Meituan. It's really nice biking to work, especially with the breeze at the bus stop. The heat isn't as much of a concern. The only issue is finding a bike, and it's affecting my exercise routine, haha.

2022.08.01 Welcome, August#

It's a new month, and my internship is coming to an end soon. I had previously agreed with my professor to return to school in September to focus on my thesis. I'm finding it hard to leave this new working environment, even though it's hotter here. Nevertheless, going back to school has its perks. I can enjoy the last of my student life there. However, for now, I need to ensure a smooth transition before leaving.

Every weekend when I return to the company, I always forget what I should be doing. I feel a bit disoriented. Today's weather was exceptionally hot. I was sweating a lot during the over 40-minute commute. It's definitely several degrees hotter than at home.

2022.08.03 A Seat on the Subway#

It's a cause for celebration—the subway was unexpectedly not as crowded today, and I even managed to get a seat. After enduring crowded trains for so long, this was a pleasant surprise. I've never seen it this quiet before. Maybe it's because people stayed up late worrying about the Taiwan Strait issue and overslept. Haha, I managed to grab a seat for the first time.

After getting off the subway, it was time to hunt for a shared bike. There's an advantage in Beijing—it's the abundance of shared bikes. However, it seems that there aren't many Meituan bikes around, but there are plenty of Didi's Qingju bikes. Unfortunately, I had purchased a monthly pass with Meituan, so it's a challenge to find one. Nevertheless, it's not a big problem if I can't find one, as there are plenty of other shared bikes near the Jingdong office, just a few hundred meters away.

2022.08.09 No More Shared Bikes#

These past few days have been weird. I couldn't find any shared bikes on my usual route. Neither today nor yesterday. The weirdest thing is that there were no shared bikes near the Jingdong Technology Building, which I've never seen before. It's strange, I don't know what happened. Not being able to find a bike meant I had to walk to the company, which is about a 2-kilometer walk. It's not bad to get some exercise, though.

Today the temperature is the lowest I've experienced since I arrived. I even felt a bit of cold in the morning. The highest temperature was only 28 degrees Celsius, which was quite comfortable. Unfortunately, the temperature is going to rise back to 32 degrees starting tomorrow. Compared to the scorching 35 degrees last week, this temperature is bearable. Last week was just unbearable, too hot. I could barely walk outside without feeling overheated. Today feels a little cold. I can even feel the chill inside the office without a jacket.

2022.08.11 Found out why it\'s so hot#

No wonder it's been so hot every day. I just realized the street I pass by is called "Welcoming Summer Street." No wonder it feels so hot every day, but after the start of autumn, the temperature feels okay. Last week was really hot, though.

Finally managed to grab a shared bike today. I didn't leave until 09:40, and after getting off the subway, there was a guy adjusting the shared bikes. There were plenty of them available to ride, it felt good. But the problem is, at this time, the subway is really crowded, which is awkward. It seems getting a shared bike really depends on luck. I might try leaving at 09:35 next time.

2022.08.31 Finally Finished the Defense#

It's been a while since I last wrote. I finally finished the defense yesterday, freed at last. As for the results, I probably have to wait until the third batch ends, which should be around October. I'll just have to wait for that. Then this morning, I experienced something incredible. After taking the subway many times, it was the first time I felt the emergency brake. It was really impressive. It felt quite scary; I thought there was something wrong with the train. Then it slowly started again. It was strange, but the brake was really powerful. I couldn't even stand still with both hands holding the overhead beam. The inertia was too strong. It seemed like the train was too close to the one in front. It's weird.

And now, it's time to start fixing bugs again. There's a bunch of bugs in my hands, too many to handle. On top of that, there are many demands waiting for me. It's quite overwhelming. It's a lot to handle.

2022.09.05 Business Trip Failure#

I was supposed to be on a business trip to Hangzhou at this time, but it fell through. There's a typhoon near Zhejiang, which led to the cancellation of almost all flights. Speaking of which, Air China's CA1712 flight was really out of line. I had already arrived at the airport when they decided to cancel the flight around 12:00 for the 13:30 flight. Air China really did it this time. But later, almost all the flights were canceled, leaving only Hainan Airlines operating. It's really different when it comes to airlines that operate in the sea, hahaha.

2022.09.13 Getting Ready to Write the Paper#

Because I have to return to school for the midterm defense and paper writing, I've left Beijing, so it's not quite the same as working in Beijing.

This midterm defense is quite odd. It's a new policy introduced this year, and it's really out of line. Because of this, the teacher called me back. Otherwise, I'd still be working in Beijing today, and I could have had a few more company box lunches and my 24-inch screen. Just used it for a month, and now I have to return it.

I don't know how long it will take to write this paper either. With a small paper, I could graduate by publishing in a general publication, but I chose to publish a paper in SCI, although it was not a top journal, which cost me a lot of effort. Writing the big paper will probably be very difficult. I'm not sure how I'll meet the graduation requirements. Our specialized school may not be prestigious, but the paper requirements are really strict. Once I finish writing the big paper, I'll probably have to start working in Beijing again.

2022.10.27 Finally Able to Return to School#

Today I finally embarked on the journey back to school, only to find out that the school requires me to quarantine. Even in a place with a low risk for two consecutive months, I still had to be quarantined and was taken to a shelter in Qingdao. It's really inconvenient. The school's blanket policy states that anyone returning from outside their district must be quarantined, not just from outside the province. This is really inconvenient. The only good news is that I don't have to pay for the quarantine, but being quarantined is still quite inconvenient.

2022.10.28 First Day of Quarantine#

The living facilities here are quite complete, and the accommodation is okay. However, the sound insulation is particularly bad. If the person next door talks, I can hear it very clearly, and the guy next door has been on the phone, which prevented me from sleeping at noon. In addition, this kind of board house is difficult to keep warm. Because it's still autumn, the temperature difference between day and night is quite large. Basically, I need to use the air conditioner to cool down at noon and it gets really cold at night, sometimes I even need to turn on the air conditioner for heating. If there's no air conditioning, it's really torturous.

Today, there have been new cases in Qingdao, so students returning today and tomorrow must stay longer and are not allowed to return to campus. Many close contacts have also arrived here, almost filling up the shelter. This has led to a significant decrease in overall operating efficiency. They're even delivering meals late. I'm starving. I also want to complain about the 4:30 wake-up for nucleic acid testing. It's really harsh. Testing should take place in a timely manner instead of delaying meals.

2022.10.29 The second day of isolation#

Last night was almost a living hell. This makeshift cabin is just a wooden house, and the soundproofing is really terrible. I couldn't bear it at all. I don't know if it was from next door, downstairs, or across, but someone was playing games until two in the morning. I usually fall asleep before 11 pm, and I was woken up by the noise. He kept on gaming, playing CF for a while and then switching to Honor of Kings. I could hear their voices clearly, it was maddening. Plus, I was woken up at 3:30 am to do a nucleic acid test, it was really the ultimate torture.

Also, remember the first paragraph of this article? It was because of fear of not being able to return to school that I switched to Beijing for an internship. But in the end, the result is the same, not being able to go back to school, needing to be quarantined. It's really lonely.

Today is the weekend, I don't have to work, so I turned on the TV. I usually only watch children's channels on TV, so I happened to see the movie "Boonie Bears: Back to Earth", which was the New Year's film of 2022. This is probably one of the best movies I've seen in the past few years, including last year's "Boonie Bears: The Wild Life". The setting is very fresh, and the plot is very rich. The fight scenes in "Back to Earth" are also very good. Most importantly, the setting and the plot are innovative, outshining many sci-fi films. It can be said that it is the only movie worth watching during the 2022 New Year's period. Of course, it's still a children's animation after all, the logic is not particularly rigorous, but the flaws do not conceal the overall excellence of the movie.

Speaking of which, the "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf: Guardian of the Sheep Village" series is also very good. Of course, because it's not a movie, the plot is a bit draggy and there are many bloopers, but it's still a good animation. A few years ago, "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" was a bit immature and embarrassing, but over the past few years, it has become an excellent animation.

These animations may seem a bit childish for both adults and kids, but they are just right for someone of my age, as I still have some childlike innocence, ha ha.

2022.10.30 The last day of isolation#

I slept for over an hour amidst the yelling of the gaming guy last night, but was woken up again at half past one. It was maddening. Finally, at about two o'clock, he stopped playing and was ready to sleep, and I finally got a peaceful sleep. BUT, at around two thirty, I was woken up again to do a nucleic acid test, it was really maddening. Everything else is alright here, but not being able to sleep soundly is really uncomfortable.

Originally, I was informed that I could leave today, but after checking the list, I found out that I am from a high-risk area. It seems that high-risk areas are now directly divided according to cities without considering specific districts. So I still have to wait for the nucleic acid test results to come out in the afternoon before I can leave, probably around five or six o'clock. It's tormenting.

2022.11.07 A little expert in nucleic acid testing#

Since I returned to school, I have been getting nucleic acid tests done every day for more than two weeks. And there are so many people here at school, it's really killing me. Truth be told, if there were cases on the campus, then the nucleic acid testing period would be the most contagious time. This is really a gathering. Just look at the picture and you'll understand. The area is the exit, and the line stretches for several circles around this little square. There are thousands of people gathered, and the time I took the photo was not even during class time, so more people would come later. It's unbearable.

2022.11.14 The school is finally unsealed#

Hooray! Today the school is finally unsealed and we can go out of the campus freely.

The first thing I did when I went out today was to repair my bicycle. I went for an internship and ended up staying at home for a while, probably about three months in total. And when I came back to look at my bike, oh boy, it was in bad shape. First, the rear brake was stuck and I couldn't brake, then a spoke on the front wheel was broken, and the rear tire was flat, and the stand that supports the bike was broken. That's a headache. So the first thing I did today was to repair my bicycle, which cost me 65 bucks.

Then I went to cut my hair. It's been a long time since I had my hair cut at school. While cutting my hair, it reminded me of something interesting. Back in my freshman year, the water in our dormitory building was cut off. Why? It was because they accidentally cut the water pipe while fixing the network, and a power outage was narrowly averted. As a result, the entire B-zone dormitory building was left without water and we couldn't wash our hair, it was even difficult to get drinking water. Then my friend Xin went a week without washing his hair and when he went to the barber's, he asked them to wash his hair. It cracked me up.

I looked at the latest policy for returning to school, and it turns out that students from other places still need to be quarantined in the A7 dormitory building. This is purely perfunctory, because in A7, four people are put in one room, and the epidemic prevention materials inside are not being used, they are just there to be seen. In addition, the dormitory does not have a private bathroom, so students still have to use the public restroom. What's the difference between this quarantine and not being quarantined? The most ridiculous part is that there is no food provided, you have to trouble your roommates to bring you food. So, to be honest, being quarantined in A7 is not much better than being in a makeshift cabin. So the current situation is, unless you return to school with the majority of students, otherwise it's a real and very troublesome matter.

2022.11.21 More torturous than doing nucleic acid tests#

My bank card was temporarily suspended for non-counter transactions because my ID had expired and I hadn't dealt with it. Recently, I needed to use the card, so I had to reactivate it, and since the bank is closed on weekends, I could only go today. So I rode my bike to the bank, and it's quite far, my butt was sore from the ride.

I had done a nucleic acid test at school first before going to the bank. I arrived at 9:40 and got a number. Then the torture came, there were so many people today, most of them were there to deal with their passbooks, and dealing with passbook-related issues was soooo slow. I got number 18 and waited until 13:30 before it was my turn. I hadn't eaten or slept at noon, and it took me only about ten minutes to complete the procedure. Then I quickly rode my bike back to school, just in time for my evening shift. Waiting in line for so long at the bank was even more torturous than waiting in line for nucleic acid testing, but the good part is that I don't have to do this every day.

Last Friday, when I went out to dinner with my classmate, he told me that the graduation thesis should be at least 30,000 words. I've been scratching my head for a while and have only written over 10,000 words. That means I still lack 20,000 words. Oh my, this is maddening, I feel anxious, it's really scary.

2022.11.29 It\'s Freezing Cold#

Today is really cold, it suddenly dropped in temperature, and it was a drastic drop. I immediately put on my down jacket, otherwise I would have frozen to death. It's a combination of physical and financial chill, truly a chilling and pressing feeling. The sudden drop in temperature, accompanied by wind and rain, even knocked down my BMW, and tore several holes in the rain cover. It's definitely a bit inconvenient, but with a little bit of patching, I can continue to use it. Now it's a trade-off between rainproofing and windproofing.

After a week of hard work, I have already written 20,000 words of my 30,000-word thesis, only 10,000 words away from the minimum standard. I asked some of last year's graduates and found out that they wrote 50-60,000 words, they must have been very creative. It's really challenging for me, if I have to write that many words, I feel like I have to include a lot of experiments, which will be a huge task.

2022.12.07 Rushed Home Overnight#

The day before yesterday evening, I was happily writing code and working on flowchart functions when suddenly my roommate came back and told me the residential area was about to be isolated. At first, I didn't take it seriously, but the school held a meeting, urging everyone to go home quickly and not to stay on campus. The dormitories might be closed next, and it's possible that we would have to spend the Chinese New Year there. It's not acceptable, so I packed my bags overnight and prepared to leave the next day.

I got up at 4 am yesterday, packed up, and left. My roommate was dragging his feet, we only left at 6 am, he was in no hurry at all haha. When we finally left, there were crowds everywhere and we couldn't find a taxi. It wasn't until 7 am that I finally managed to get a ride, and the price was twice as much as usual, a hundred bucks; it's a bit inconvenient. Then the high-speed railway station wouldn't let us in, only those on the next fast departing train could enter, so I waited and immediately bought a ticket for the next one, since it was only one stop away. Then I sneaked in and caught the train after a short wait. When I arrived at Rizhao High-speed Railway Station, it was quite interesting - people wanting to take a nucleic acid test would leave from here, while those who didn't would leave from another place, so much for voluntary nucleic acid testing. I took a cab home, which cost me 27 bucks, and by 9:30 I was already home, it's really convenient and doesn't affect work, hahaha. The only awkward thing is that the village asked me to self-isolate and avoid contact with people, and they even put a red paper on my door, but it's fine, as long as I don't end up in a cabin.

Today, I was told I don't need to self-isolate anymore, just need to be cautious, and I can tear off the red paper, hahaha, it's really convenient. The virus won't disappear, and the need for a massive amount of manpower and resources for epidemic prevention is understandable. It's best to stock up on some medication and pay attention to protection.

I write a thousand words of my thesis every day. Today, I have finally reached 30,091 words in the body of the text, from the introduction to the references, plus a short abstract. It feels like I have reached my limit, but I heard that last year my senior classmates wrote 50-60,000 words, I don't think I have that ability. I'm really struggling, I've been writing a little every day for about half a month, it's been really exhausting.

2022.12.25 The Final Sprint Before New Year#

I thought I could get through 2022 without any trouble, but it's clear that this vision is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. Not a single person in my family has been spared. Yesterday, my parents started to have a fever, and I began to feel a sore throat and fatigue. It's likely that it's about to start. Thankfully, I had asked my family to stock up on some medication when I posted 20 messages, and I also brought some home from school. They're coming in handy now. I haven't bought an antigen test, but given the degree of fever, there's no need for a test anymore.

These past two days, I've been feeling a scratchy throat and runny nose since the night before last. Yesterday, the sore throat got a little worse, and this morning, I was coughing along with the scratchy throat, although not very severely. I took a nap at noon and started feeling very tired in the afternoon, probably starting to run a low-grade fever. Luckily, I brought a thermometer back from school, and when I checked, it was 37.3°C, I'm starting to run a fever. I didn't expect the virus to spread so quickly in our small rural area, and it seems that the vast majority of people are showing symptoms. It's completely contradictory to the proportion of asymptomatic infections reported this year. In this situation, we can only rely on the body's resistance.

2022.12.30 Finally Recovered from Fever#

Suffering from a fever is truly tormenting. It started in the afternoon of the 25th, and by 7 pm, it was shooting up towards 39°C. I felt very very cold during dinner in the afternoon, and then I slowly rose to 39°C in the evening. Ibuprofen didn't help at all, and I had to take another dose in the middle of the night. You have to take it at least four hours apart. I could hardly sleep with the fever, and I felt very alert, even with a fever of 39°C, I was chatting with seven or eight people all night, waking up several times and only sleeping a few hours. The good thing is, it started to decrease after taking the medicine in the middle of the night, around 3 am, it was about 37.5°C.

The next morning, I got up and started to run a fever again, reaching 38.3°C. I felt very groggy all day, and in the afternoon, the fever rose again, up to 38.8°C. The most important thing is that neither ibuprofen nor compound paracetamol tablets were effective, it was a continuous high fever. Feeling unable to cope, I went straight to get an IV, and after queuing and getting the injection in the afternoon, I returned home with a fever of 38.8°C, but it slowly decreased before going to bed, down to 37.2°C, and then I had a good sleep at night.

After two days of continuous high fever, on the third day, I started feeling better all day, with only a low-grade fever, maintaining between 37.2°C and 37.8°C, which I could accept. Then on the fourth day, the high fever recurred, it really came back and forth, rising to 38.5°C twice, I was considering getting an IV again, but I drank a thermos of hot water that day, and ibuprofen started to work now, unlike the second day when I didn’t get any relief even after taking the medicine. So there was no need to go to the hospital, I endured it. Things started to stabilize on the fifth day, with the body temperature not exceeding 37.5°C, and I drank water all day, but now my throat is starting to hurt, along with the cough and runny nose, it's really torturous. It wasn't until the sixth day that the fever finally disappeared completely. Today, my body temperature stayed below 37°C, I'm finally over the fever, but I still have symptoms of coughing, it's really tormenting.

2023.01.26 Dug a Hornet\'s Nest#

On January 2nd, my mom and I went up the mountain to get some soil for planting flowers at home. The soil on the mountain had a layer of black dirt on the surface due to the rotting of plants throughout the year, which made it convenient for planting flowers. We then gathered two buckets of soil to take home, as we didn't need a lot for our own gardening. On the way down the mountain, my mom spotted a hornet's nest. At first, we thought it was a wild chicken's nest, but upon closer inspection, I realized it was indeed a hornet's nest. Although it was enormous, we didn't have any tools at that time, and it was a bit high up, so we decided to go back home. Due to a bit of laziness and the fact that the mountain was quite high, it was quite exhausting to make a round trip, so we never went back to dig up the hornet's nest.

Today, my dad and I armed ourselves with the necessary equipment, prepared two long bamboo poles and some ropes, thinking that if the poles were not long enough, we could climb a tree to reach the nest. When we arrived, we found that tying two bamboo poles together was achievable. However, since they were two separate poles, the first one was thinner at the front and became difficult to control after being tied together. Additionally, the hornet's nest was strongly attached to the tree branch. A single poke would result in a hole appearing, just like poking a very thin paper shell, breaking upon touch. Thus, we couldn't poke it directly, so we had to gradually destroy the connecting point until it collapsed entirely. Unfortunately, when it fell to the ground, it broke into pieces. It was nearly intact before, but it shattered upon hitting the ground. Since hornets are not likely to overwinter in the nest and instead find crevices and other places to spend the winter, there were a lot of frozen dead hornets and larvae inside. The entire hornet's nest weighed over three kilograms, fulfilling the wish to dig up the hornet's nest that I had in early February, hahaha.

2023.03.17 Joyful Go#

Tonight, I just want to say that joy belongs to others, as all the fuss tonight made me want to go. It's not because of the "Joyful Go" event itself, as I didn't even manage to participate, so joy is definitely not mine.

Tonight, as I saw everyone getting ready for it, I, who have never used Douyin before, decided to give it a try. I downloaded the app, registered smoothly, and linked it to Feishu to enter the live room. Initially, everything was fine, but after a while, I was prompted to re-enter my account and then forcibly logged out, requiring real-name authentication to log in again. Real-name authentication involves providing personal information and facial recognition, which, having been on the internet for many years, I'm used to, so I finished the authentication process as usual. However, after the facial recognition, I kept receiving a message saying "Frequent operations, please try again later" throughout the night. From the first attempt to the last, the prompt persisted. I searched internal documents, switched to the intranet, and even contacted Douyin's customer service, but I couldn't resolve the issue. In the end, I had no choice but to uninstall Douyin, leaving me in a state of torment after being troubled by it all night.

I never expected that as a ByteDance employee, I'd be blocked from using the company's own service. When I authenticated my account with Huoshan Engine before, it was swift, but here with Douyin, it got stuck. I even changed my phone number, but it had the same effect. However, I don't use Douyin much, so it doesn’t really affect me, but it's still a bit frustrating when I think about it.

2023.04.20 Back from Hangzhou#

Visiting Hangzhou wasn't easy at all. The high-speed train ride took 7 hours, and it made my whole body uncomfortable. I left on the 17th, waking up at 7 a.m. and then taking a rideshare to Qingdao West Station. I arrived at Shanghai Hongqiao Station around 14:41, and it was really crowded. Then I transferred to a train to Hangzhou, arriving around 15:44. After that, I went to the company to start working. It was a whole day of hassle. Returning was also quite a torment. I left Hangzhou East Station at 12:38 and arrived at Shanghai Hongqiao Station at 13:46. Then I took a train all the way from Shanghai Hongqiao to Qingdao Station, and from there, I took the subway to Jinggangshan Road and then a taxi back to school, finally returning at 9 p.m. There were two important tasks that I needed to complete, so I worked until after 11 p.m.

I explored Hangzhou a bit. Hangzhou is really hot. It was 15°C in Qingdao, but 32°C in Hangzhou, a drastic difference. However, Hangzhou has a lot more subways than in Qingdao. I heard that taking the subway is even faster than taking a taxi in Hangzhou because the subway doesn't get stuck in traffic. So, I took the subway to the company, and it was not bad at all. Wuchang Metro Station is only a kilometer away from Bafangcheng, and there are lots of eateries around Bafangcheng, an entire street of delicacies, really something. I also went to see the West Lake at night, though I couldn't go down to touch the fish. I just took a stroll along the side, a bit disappointing, hahaha.

I also checked my work seniority, which is now 1.01 years, surpassing the average. It's been said that "in-service for seven months." If I continue to intern, I will have spent half of my time in these companies as a graduate student. It's quite sentimental, hahaha. But to be honest, it's just two companies, Tencent and ByteDance. I've been extremely busy lately, to the point where I can't even write my work diary, and the workload is backed up until at least June, a bit stifling.

2023.06.29 Officially Started Working#

I arrived in Hangzhou yesterday. While it was 27 degrees Celsius in my hometown (Rizhao), in Hangzhou, it immediately soared to 36 degrees. It's scorching, and if I hadn't experienced the hot weather down south during my previous trip to Shenzhen, I wouldn't have been able to bear it upon my first arrival. After settling in, I went out for a meal and then took a walk around Zhejiang University's Zijingang Campus with dreams of attending Zhejiang University, but unfortunately, my performance didn't make the cut, hahaha.

This time, I rented a place in Sheng'Ao Mingzuo, which is only a 4-minute walk from the office area. Compared to my previous commute in Beijing, which involved a 40-minute one-way trip by subway plus walking, this is already quite good. There are also plenty of food options around here, unlike in Beijing, where it was very remote and even ordering takeaway was quite difficult. Here, there's a more lively atmosphere, and I plan to go out and explore when I have the time. However, at the moment, going out in this Hangzhou heat feels disrespectful to myself, so for now, it's more suitable to lie in bed and enjoy the air conditioning.

After officially joining the company, my seniority is reset to zero. It feels a bit difficult because my 1.19 years of experience as an intern now becomes 0.0. Of course, I have also become a fresh new recruit and need to start afresh. After all, the data doesn't lie - now I am a rookie just starting out on the first day. So, my 1.19 years of experience as an intern at ByteDance has come to an end, and it's time for me to start working officially.