Week 5:
A Bump in the Road

July 8, 2021

Early this week, my project hit a road bump. Initially, we thought we had the materials I would need to get started, but that was not the case. Luckily, we made this discovery early in the week, so we had plenty of time to discuss alternative options. After talking with Tri, we determined that it would be best to design our own general material that Microtek can use for future projects. Tri estimates that we will be able to get the materials within the next two weeks.

Even though we don’t have the materials I need to get started, there is enough material leftover from previous projects to iron out the kinks in my procedure. When all the materials finally come in, I should be able to get the ball rolling quickly. At the very least, I’ll have a clear project outline and background information to pass on when my internship is over.

This setback is a little frustrating, but it also allowed me to observe and participate in the design process. Product and material design were not among my interests when I came to Microtek, so it was not included as a significant aspect of my original project. However, with my brief experience helping Tri this week, I am interested in learning more about SolidWorks and designing products.

Spencer’s family has been in town this week, so I’ve mostly had the house to myself in the evenings. I’ve had some good bonding time with Dax and Dobby.

Over the holiday weekend, we’ve mostly spent time around the house. Saturday night, Spencer’s family and one of his friends came over for dinner and a ping pong tournament. Every family has that one game that gets super intense. For my family, it’s cornhole. For the Knowlton’s, it’s ping pong. Never have I seen a more heated ping pong game. Watching was hilarious and very impressive because they’re all very good at both ping pong and friendly trash talk.

On the 4th of July, MyPhuong and Leah invited Ji-Hye, Juan, and me to their house in Escondido to watch the fireworks. The house is still under construction, but it has a great view of the entire San Diego area, and we were able to watch 4 separate firework shows at once.

We were also there early enough to catch a gorgeous sunset.