On Sunday, I attended a CMU alumni get together at Adaptive Path in San Francisco. The event coincided with CHI being in San Jose this year. And CHI was the reason I was in SF.

Dan Saffer was our host, so I got to talk with him a bit. One thing everyone seemed to mention was that Dan looks different, due to non-thick black glasses and longer hair. So if you think he looks as he does on his site, think again.

Overall, it didn’t feel too much like a networking opportunity, which was part of the motivation for attending. I met one other Adaptive Path member, and talked to a handful of alumni, including some recent HCI graduates. But I struggled to maintain conversations due to two hours of sleep the night before and a cross-country flight that morning.

For me, it was more about seeing the Adaptive Path space and chatting with Dan about my internship there this summer. The layout of the space is very open and looks like a welcome and collaborative place. My classmates were jealous.