poweryogi

Hasta La Bye Bye, Windy City

2007-07-19T10:52:00.000-05:00

In the past couple of days, as a take-my-mind-off-packing-er, I've been reading Dan Brown. So, I guess that's why I'm looking for signs and their meanings. Last night, it rained. Pretty heavily. And, I was thinking back to last year, a taxi ride to Ezeiza airport in BsAs. As my friend and I left our hostel, what seemed like a clear-ish sky darkened, and then opened up. I was told then that it was a very good thing - it means that the heavens are sad to see you go and these are their tears. I'd like to think they were crying for me pretty hard last night. In any case, they did manage to postpone my cleaning up, whereupon I find myself today still here, having lunch at my favorite coffee shop, a few minutes away from leaving this fantastic city. I'm all packed and house keys have been handed over.

Officially, Homeless.

I'm not one for long goodbyes, but while Chicago will always be here, it won't ever be the same city for me when I return. My time in Chicago has been so intricately associated with my GSB experience. I will miss Chicago - it is a truly magnificent city - but I will miss so much more the people I got to get to know this city with.

OK, shut up and drive time. Next stop: Boston. 1000 miles.

Four Kings

2007-07-06T14:09:00.000-05:00

It has been my experience that, when it come to courses, choosing Professors matters more than the subject itself. This has been made more stark as I sit here and try to 'remember' what I actually learned in the two years past ... and I have to say that not a great lot has actually stuck : I'm sure things will come back in context when they need to, but.

I've actually been lucky to have taken classes with some amazing professors, but in the spirit of forced curve grading, here are my top Four faves, in no particular order. It's actually really hard to choose four over the rest (save a few), but the reason these cats jump so high is because they brought something to the experience that elevated, and this is a personal observation, the classroom beyond being just a place to imbibe what they had to profess.

Austan Goolsbee, Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics
Economics and Policy in the Telecom, Media and Technology Industries

The first time I raised my hand in class to make a point, Prof. Goolsbee pointed to me and before I could say anything, he said, "PY, you know I am going to laugh at you if you make a stupid argument, right." And, I loved him for that. Far from being a repudiation of the No-Stupid-Questions ethic, his teaching style is the closest I've seen at the GSB to the Socratic method of learning knowledge. He openly encouraged debate, insisting on people coming to class not just having read his cases, but with formed opinions. These opinions were then set off to clash, Prof. Goolsbee nudging and prodding from the Well, until either one was convinced, and hence able to convince the class, of the strength of their arguments, or seeing the chinks therin, and accepting an alternative thesis. Not just what, but Why.

And, Prof. Goolsbee did it in a manner all his own. I'm fond of the adage that the problem with adults is that they are not kids. Watching him in class is like seeing a kid playing with his latest infatuation. He's all over the place, gesticulating, and radiating an infectious energy. In his free time, he's rumored to moonlight as a stand-up comedian at Second City, and that's probably where the funnies come from. His class was a riot, and the mirth was perfect foil for what was unfolding - under the guise of applying economic principles to analyze policy decisions and their impact on TMT industries, I found myself being instructed in the subtle arts of critical reasoning. I have not come across another professor at the GSB that actually pushed so hard - my yardstick for evaluation being my sitting in class debating with myself in my head. This is also the class that I have most recommended to my peers, and I highly recommend it to anyone attending the school in the future.

Ronald S. Burt, Hobart W. Williams Professor of Sociology and Strategy
Social Network Analysis

Prof. Burt during his first lecture: "As you sit in this class, think of yourself as a gumball machine. If you have a question that comes to mind, let it roll out like a gumball. And, I'll be watching for it. If there are too many well-thought-out questions, I'm going to stop the class. Because, that means that you are not asking enough questions that you don't have answers for. And, that's a dangerous thing." I paraphrase, of course, but that was the general tenor of the Ph.D class on Social Network Analysis that I audited during Autumn Quarter 2006. Prof. Burt is a sociologist, a leading authority on brokerage in social networks, and a phenomenal professor. While the class alternated between hard-core quant stuff and analysis of network behavior, I couldn't help but be in a constant state of thinking. I have scarcely been in a class where I felt afforded the luxury of letting my mind wander - in the best possible way. I would sit in class totally engaged yet thinking of situations, from my past experiences and what was going on around me, where the concepts being talked about applied, their interplay, their foilbes, and then being a gumball machine: I suspect I asked way too many questions for someone auditing the class, but Prof. Burt was very patient, helping me understand what I didn't. If I have to nutshell it, I'd say I learned to extend the argument, search for applications beyond the obvious, to seek meaning where it's not immediately evident. It's hard to describe, but the class was totally awesome. (to be more precise, the classes that I ended up going to - I did miss a few)

Prof. Burt is also an evangelist for the Chicago School. In his opinion, at the University of Chicago, one is at very high risk of running into an articulate opposition to one's idea. At that point, you have two options - either an equally articulate response or an acceptance of a divergent point of view. I learned more about what this school is about - with, at its core the Workshop methodology of knowledge creation - by listening to him than any literature. Prof. Burt is also an extremely nice and approachable guy - I had occasions to talk with him about his work, my experiences at the school, organizations and networks, and also interviewed him for an article for the school newspaper.

A few months ago, out of the blue, I received an email from him asking about my job search. Basically he said that I was an interesting person, and that interesting people don't place as easily as uninteresting people, and that he was worried if I was well. He offered any help or advice to make sure I was OK on my first steps post-GSB. Receiving this email was one of the few 'moments' of my time at the GSB, one that set down some roots, if I may, when the place took a step away from being a 2-year transit stop to one where someone else cared about what was going on with me, and wanted to see good things happen.

Matthew S. Bothner, Associate Professor of Organizations and Strategy
Strategy and Structure: Markets and Organizations

I can't seem to remember if it was Fall Preview or Admit Weekend when I sat in on a class by Prof. Bothner. I do remember the class though, where he talked about Explorers and Exploiters in the context of strategy, using Apple and Wal-Mart as examples. A great class, full of energy and brining a new perspective to things around us. Later that day, I was standing outside the building when Prof. Bothner, on his way home, stopped by to talk with me. We talked about going to school here, the teaching, faculty etc, and ended with him suggesting that this would be a great place for me to attend.

I did, and this pattern of random conversation repeated itself several times, starting with my taking his class. Prof. Bothner is a great teacher, and I have not studied under anyone so dedicated to his students. He brings a phenomenal amount of energy to the classroom, is constantly in motion, generated involvement in his case discussions, and uses media - video and audio clips - extensively, making for an interesting experience. He also grades his cases himself, and writes detailed individual reports back to each student - 180 of them in a quarter - for 3-4 cases. &, he is totally available for discussion and advice. I remember a time when we hung around class talking about Jack Welch, and my lack of any desire to be a CEO :), until 10:30 PM!

The all-round-great-guy apart, what endeared me is his approach to the issues of business and strategy. He is a sociologist by training (I've come to realize, I've taken a fascination to that subject), and seems not to be full of the business BS. In one especially memorable class, he was talking about Annealing. You know, the process of shaping metal by heating it first and then letting it cool to reveal its new form. The class was about applying the analogy to shaking up organizations in the midst of uncertainty. I ask him a question: How do you know when you've heated things up enough and it's time to let things cool? I was expecting a framework-type answer, when he turned to me and: "You've got to feel it in you Gut." I can't think of any other professor who could have given me that answer. When you are surrounded by people who think they know the answers, or are learning them everyday, it's quite the summer rain to be reminded that there is no magic bullet - that despite all the education, the fancy diploma, it still comes down to intangibles.

Omar M. McRoberts, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
Ethnographic Methods

This one is from my Book of Quirky. Any professor who says motherfucker in class has to be a hero, methinks. And, any professor who doesn't fail you for saying fucking in your final report has to belong to a pantheon of something, ya.

Prof. McRoberts is not a GSB professor, he teaches a graduate class in the Sociology department that I took in my final quarter. I walk into class my first day and realize that I have never taken a class with a black professor - it just never happened. And, there was the coolest cat ever to have sat at the head of a class I've been in - dreadlocks, smart as fuck, chill, the works. And, he said something that I should carry around inscribed on something:
"Nothing I profess today I've ever learned in a classroom."

He was talking literally: about how there was no class on Ethnographic Methods, the class he was teaching, at Harvard; how he was trained as a sociologist but his work now is in History. But, I read a more profound meaning: Classroom education is not just a starting point, but an obligation: to move beyond, to discover different things. Simplistic, I realize. But, one can tend to forget these small things when in business school, being around people whose choice of learning is linked directly to what they want to do - bankers want to major in Finance and Accounting, someone concentrating in Marketing wants to find a job in, no surprises, marketing. This is taken to extremes sometimes - people squeezing in a course so that they can get a concentration in something so that they can put it on a resume; conversely, not giving a damn about courses that are somehow not related to their intended line of work. Immediate line of work, emphasis mine.

And, lest you think that this was a profanity-laced experience, I was being a tad facetious. Prof. McRoberts tells stories. One of his best was when we were discussing reading about the culture of Jazz musicians, about the concepts of front-stage and back-stages, literally in performers and profoundly in people's behaviors when they are around others. He told us about the time his dad went to see Miles Davis play. After he finished his set, Dad walks over to the stage:
Mr. Davis, I just wanted to say that I'm a big fan. Love your music.
And, Miles, being the consummate non-square:
Motherfucker, I don't need to be talking to you.

I learned a phenomenal deal from the class about people, and their relationship to the Around them. And, I did a cool 10-week project: An ethnography of the GSB Communities. The plural is deliberate. After observing people in their environment, writing fieldnotes, parsing through this data, I ended up generating a theory about how students here live in 2 sometimes, sometimes not, overlapping communities - the existent one and an imagined one. It was a fascinating report, and hard to summarize all 18 pages of it, profanity et al.

I could go on, but I should stop. It's taken me a while, interruptions considered, to write this post. And, I need to pack.

The GSB Life That Was

2007-07-06T13:08:00.000-05:00

I find myself with some time between sleeping nowadays and am going to do a series of posts looking back at my two years at the school. There is much to be said - should have been said during the past two years, really - and I'll try to cover decent ground over the next week or so.

Not sure if anyone still reads this blog, but this is also more of putting some finality to my experience thing. First post being typed up in a few minutes.

historias del cuarto del julio

2007-07-05T14:10:00.000-05:00

When you have things to do, a holiday is a most welcome thing. But, when you are on holiday, a holiday can be quite a pain. I mean, what do you mean that the coffee shop is closed today? At 2 in the afternoon? But, but, I just woke up? Observance of holiday shmoliday. All right, I complain too much.

I had the second most unusual 4th of July this year. Usual usually has meant staking out a nice spot - on the grass by the Charles, or in Point State Park, or facing Mount Nittany - and watching the choreographed fireworks. A few years ago - Most unusual - I was in Alaska with friends headed towards Seward on the evening of the 3rd. Without having a place to stay, of course. From many miles outside town, we started to come across bed and breakfasts. While I love these joints for their individual eccentricities, they seemed to have a shared similarity that day - No Vacancy signs outside. We must have driven for a couple of hours trying to find something - and there would be a repeated pattern. We would pull into one that didn't have an explicit Go Away sign (and these were all similar in their layout too, a gravel road that led off the highway for a bit before one came across the home), only to have the owners peek at us suspiciously, or in one case, us locking the car doors at the sight of the giant dogs coming at us!

Finally, we pulled into Alaska Nellie's, an old home inhabited by an old woman, and with a set of trailers outside. The trailers were partitioned into small 'rooms' that she was renting out. One of my friends went in, and asked her if she had a vacancy. She did! But, she said, she couldn't rent it to us. Why, Why. Why?? Well, because it had only one bed and we were three. Oh. We'll take it, señora angel. For a bunch of unwashed guys coming off sleeping in tents for 4 days, it was no problema. At all. That night on the floor of that trailer (my friend who was driving us got the bed), was one of my soundest nights of sleep.

Turned out the big Rush was for a marathon that's held every 4th in Seward - this one starts in town, and goes up and down a mountain. Checked out the town that AM, headed back to Anchorage, and got a super vantage point to watch the fireworks that night - from the window seat of an airplane with the pilot banking to get us a better view. Very Cool, indeed.

Chicago, I was told recently, has it's main fireworks on the evening of the 3rd, so that individual neighborhoods can have their celebrations on the 4th. I should have paid attention.

On the evening of the 3rd, I arranged to meet a friend for dinner. She had just moved to LakeView and I live on the south side of town. No issues - it's a 20-odd minute drive. If I left home at around 9, we would be all settled in and breaking bread by 10. So, I leave at 9:15, and at 10, I'm like 4 blocks from my house. Stuck in what must be the second most insane traffic I've seen in the US (the worst was crossing the GW Bridge into New York one especially busy evening). It was gridlock everywhere. Roads closed. No left turns. Jesus in his manger. Christ! So, I decide to go west and take an alternate route. Only problem was, getting to that alternate route meant taking police-mandated alternate routes due to road closings. Finally, I pick up my friend at around 11:30. I know a couple of places that are open until midnight. We make some wrong turns, thanks to Chicago's ingenious 6-way intersections, and get there too late. Really starving at this point, we decided to head to Chinatown, where I know a 1 AM place.

So, we finally head south and find a spot to park - it's around 12:15. And, Penang is still open. It was really funny except for the fact that I was starving to the point of dropping dead - Chinatown is 3 blocks from my house :) 3 hours of non-stop driving just to endUp round the corner! But, the evening progressed dandily from there, nice times were had by all.

Yesterday, the 4th, I woke up late, missed my coffee due to previously ranted Observance of holiday shmoliday, and promptly went back to sleep. Was woken up by my downstairs neighbor with an invite for a soiree at his place, which I lazily stumbled into around 9. Just about the time they were getting ready to leave. Invited along for a walk in the neighborhood, I decided to go along.

And, boy, am I glad I did.

I live, or am living my last few days tobemoretothepoint, in Pilsen, which is Chicago's Mexican neighborhood. And, as we set out (Destination: Tim's backyard, Agenda: Fireworks watching), it was just the coolest street scene. At every corner, there was a block party. And, these were really organized. A small tent covered music players and huge speakers, food, liquor and table-spreads of fireworks. On the streets, there were girls dancing to the music, elder people sipping Caronitas on their porches or lawn chairs, trucks blocking off traffic, chicos setting off fireworks on the street, people running from badly aimed missiles. I was told that these fireworks were actually brought in all the way from Mexico! And the noise - there was only one reference point for the cacophony surrounding me: Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights. Took me back to memories of my own childhood. Very Cool.

We stopped by a friends' of somebody, set off a few ourselves, strolled through a couple of these parties, and settled into comfortable lawn chairs in a backyard watching the being-illuminated night sky. And, thusly the night progressed, surrounded by artists and fabulous conversation about The Alchemist, stealing bikes, being 40 and wanting a perfect bike, juggling school|work|art, audio books, Salman Rushdie, holding on to a perfect job and suchlike.

It was one of those unexpected and subtle evenings that made me glad that I chose to act on an impulse and live in this neighborhood. I've gotten to know my neighbors, been exposed to a variety of art, and more importantly, a bit of understanding of the struggles of artists as they hold on to doing what matters to them. And, though I rant, I love going to my local coffee shop, where the people know me by name, and I them. Man, I am going to miss it all. (not, of course, the bastard who stole my bike)

¡Feliz Cuatro de Julio!

And So, it Ends. Or Starts a New Beginning.

2007-06-15T17:26:00.000-05:00

It's officially Official. I passed my classes! And, the Regents of the University of Chicago have, with the powers conferred on them by God Almighty and the Spirit of Rockefeller, conferred on Yours Truly the degree of Master of Business Administration. They have also, in the process, and in their own words, admitted me to a long and illustrious community of scholars. Well, nobody's perfect, ya.

The long silence on this blog has been yin-and-yang matched by a raucous final quarter. I'm really sad that it's over. So sad that I'm back on campus today hanging out in a coffee shop. (ok, i don't have internet access at home. But, also.) This is going to be a period of my life that I am going to really miss. I met some awesome people, did some cool things, found myself a great amount of time to think about some interesting subjects, enjoyed being on a truly inspirting campus in a wonderful city, and, well, lived through it all to tell some great stories.

I think I recall one of our graduation speakers telling us that we have dreams, and we have memories, and then there is the Moment. I can't say I've made all the right decisions, but I will leave this place with wonderful memories, and BIg dreams for the future. I can't suspect that anything more can be asked of this experience.

So, to the Classes of 2007 who have just graduated, Many Congratulations.

So, What Happened

2007-03-16T16:09:00.000-05:00

Thus, gently prod, Shmoo, commenting. Wait. Is this even a real sentence? It feels like it should be. Makes sense in my mind, but I'm not really sure. Kinda like every single question on a Macro final that I just finished today. Man, I so got owned. I think it's been a while since I saw a bunch of questions where I couldn't honestly say that I 'knew' the answer. I ended up trying to figure out answers that, in the end, seemed like they made sense, but. It's all mercifully over now. Just handed in my final case write-up for another class, and the finals for this quarter are done.

Yesterday, in the middle of finals week, I had another interview, this time by video conference. It was really wierd to talk staring at two screens next to each other, one of which was me. Kinda felt like the videos they shot of us doing mock interviews as part of Career Services prep when I got to the GSB. Only, it was Live this time. But, it was an interesting conversation, and I guess it went well too, according to the feedback from the recruiter. Now, it's onto to the next stage, which is basically deliberations about my case by senior management. Not entirely sure when that will fully happen, hopefully I get some news mid-next week.

Speaking of, I will be in New Orleans all of next week for spring break, working with Habitat for Humanity,. We thankfully don't leave until sunday AM, saves me the frantic running to airport right after a final that some of my classmates are having to endure. I sure can use the extra day to de-stress. I am looking forward to next week though, I've never done Habitat before, and should be an interesting experience. I am also going with a good group of people, so that in itself will add to the experience.

OK, time to sign off. I was up most of last night studying for my final, so i'm going to head back home for some shut-eye. Enjoy your break, all ye break getters.

Goodbye, Depression. Thanks for Stopping by.

2007-03-07T12:04:00.001-05:00

I don't fancy the compulsive obsessive Me. So, it's been banished for now. To be replaced by the seriously sleep-deprived Me. And, all is well with the world.

So, if you ever get to voicemail on my phone, you'll get a message that is something along the lines of 'hey, either i'm sleeping or my phone is dead or both. please leave a message.' This AM, it was neither and i was surprised to see a message waiting. Turns out I had it on silent as I've been, well silently, sitting in a library all night. Check the message and it was about the mild-case-of-depression inducing interviews. Call back, and what do ya know - I guess I did OK! So, it's now onto the next round, which should happen sometime next week.

I guess I can say I'm relieved. But, I also realized that I'd broken one of my cardinal rules with these interviews - Play for Low Stakes. Also referred to as the Fuck-It Rule, its observance requires the utterance of the mantra - 'Fuck It' - before you walk into, say, an interview, or the GMAT, or have five hours to write a 25-page business plan. It is meant to bring you good luck. Or, for the disbelievers, it is meant to relieve stress, putting you in a more happy place, thereby resulting in better performance on these things, hence feeding into the you make your own luck thesis.

However, it is not complete by itself. (OK, i don't know why the hell I am making all this up, but I need a distraction from starting on the aforementioned 25-page plan) There is an unmentionable addendum to Fuck It: what's the worst that can happen. However, you don't want to jinx things by thinking of that pre-facto. I guess where I found myself was a place in the recruiting process where the worst that could happen was, actually, pretty bad. In playing the Low Stakes game for the past year and half, I think I find myself now at a place where the stakes are getting higher.

Maybe it's time for me to grow up and realize that? Damn, now that's a depressing thought! Ah well, Fuck It.

OK, you can get things from kissing, people.

2007-03-06T16:59:00.000-05:00

I should check if the dorms on campus all went strictly same-sex. I'm sitting in the coffee shop on campus and there's this couple in the booth in front of me who have been making out non-stop for like the past hour. It was kissing etc at first but now it's evolving into nsf-coffee-shop stuff. Now, there's a card-carrying voyeur part of me that doth protest at my protesting about this, but I am trying to get some long-delayed work done and this is incredibly distracting. Get a room or something already! (and don't make me want to wallow in self-pity for sitting here working instead of, you know)

Doesn't also help that I'm going through what can only be described as a bout of mild kinda, sorta depression. It's been creeping up on me since yesterday evening when I walked out of an interview for what should be one of the jobs that I really want to do next. I don't know man, I thought parts of them went well, but others were a little all over the place. But, this was technical CS stuff and I'm not sure how it's going to pan out. The wait isn't fun.

But, I have things to keep me busy, and Khaled, Taha and Feudel are keeping me good company. Shukran. My friend M and I made the second round of the Global Social Venture competition, and we have to work toward a deadline that is due tomorrow. An all-nighter has been added to the menu. We have an idea to start a non-profit, I will write more about that. It is basically a version of AdSense for Charity, with all proceeds from blogs going to charities nominated by the bloggers. I think it is pretty interesting. Later today, I have meetings with the two teams I am working with in my role as a TA. They are coming up on final presentations, and i am going to be going over their stuff. And, I am creeping up on finals week. Given that I missed mid-terms for both my classes, some work is needed to ensure that I don't flunk out of these! So, that's going to keep me busy, busy, busy for the next 2 weeks.

Then, it's on to New Orleans for Spring Break. While I will be spending time there working with Habitat for Humanity building homes, I do expect to spend some quality time on Bourbon Street. Surrounded, once again I suspect, by people making out. Ah well, circle of life or some such right.

10 Minutes. 50 States. Go

2007-03-01T20:46:00.000-05:00

http://www.ironicsans.com/state21.html

This is pretty cool. OK, a lame way to start blogging again after forever. But, it's pretty cool, regardless. You get 10 minutes - with a countdown clock staring at you - to name all the 50 United States. I got 48, but pretty much froze for the last 2 minute with my mind going super blank.

Check it out, if you have 10 minutes to spare.

Older, but Wiser?

2007-01-19T22:39:00.000-05:00

It's that interesting time of the year, again. The first year wannabe-banker cohort is all stressed out about the recruiting dance that kicks off for them next week. I was talking with a couple of my classmates who are helping them out with mock interviews and the impression is that it's a smart class, but they aren't completely there with their 'stories' yet. They'll get them massaged just right in time. It always happens. Manifest destiny, and all that jazz.

But it's an interesting process to get there. You come up with a baseline story to sell, sorry, tell. Go to all the presentations, pick up bits and pieces and buzzwords. Start to talk the talk. Put on a spiffy suit and practice walking the walk. Do some mock interviews with second years. Get a reality check. Go back and regroup. Practice. Like this first-year girl said today, "the mirror is my friend." In more ways than one, methinks. But, I digress.

On my way back home today, I stopped by one of the campus coffee shops to get some joe. There were a couple of undergrad girls talking, and I happened to eavesdrop. Turns out one of them was talking about her own interviews.

"I am getting a double major in Physics and Statistics. And, the guy was, like, why?"
"Oh my gawd (OK, that I added for effect :). What did you say?"
"I was, like, duh, it was 'cuz of my dad."

Ah, the incorruptibility. Something very endearing about it, no?

Like they say, the problem with adults is that they are not kids.

Venice, anybody?

2007-01-10T02:39:00.000-05:00

I'm sure most of you have heard the buzz by now about The Venice Project, the latest venture of the team that founded Kazaa and Skype. This newest venture is supposed to revolutionize TV as we know it. They are currently in beta right now. I got on the beta program recently, and was just rewarded with two 'tokens' to hand out for invites into the Beta (don't ask me why people go the secretive beta route :) Anyways, if anyone wants in, leave me a comment and I'll send one your way. First comment, First Served.

ps: MBA's and Priority Setting

2007-01-08T15:21:00.000-05:00

I've ranted, in private and an article on ChiBus, on the emphasis, the lack thereof actually, of ethics related issues in our curriculum. So, I was really looking forward to a panel discussion organized by NetImpact on campus later today on the theme of Incorporating Social Responsbility into MBA Careers.

Received the customary reminder email this AM for the event, and it included this gem as an addendum:

It'll start exactly at 6:15 (with some food starting at 6:00) in order to allow people to catch most of the college football national championship.

As I told the person who sent the email, it's an interesting commentary on the times (place, actually) we live in. God forbid someday we have to choose between social responsibility and, oh I don't know, making profits. Doesn't make for a hard guess as to which we'll be inclined to move around for convenience, yeah. Just an observation.

Observations on Consulting Recruiting Observations

2007-01-02T23:23:00.000-05:00

So, I was at the bookstore today picking up my coursepacks for the quarter. Mercifullly, my professors this time around seem to be a considerate lot, with a total bill around 200 bucks. Trust me, that's a steal compared to what I've paid in the past. Was walking around the business books section looking to see if they have copies of'Citizen Marketers', a new book that I did a spot of research for over the summer. I got a copy from the authors, Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell, and am just about to finish it. A brilliant book, extremely welll-written, and I highly recommend it. A detailed review will be forthcoming, maybe this weekend.

Anywho, they didn't have it in stock yet but I was intrigued by a book called 'ideaSPOTTING' by Sam Harrison. Bought it, and I've spent the better part of the past two hours browsing through it. And, I like it a lot. I need to sit down with a more serious eye soon. But, this post isn't entirely about this book either.

While I was at school, I ran into a couple of first years and we spent some time talking about recruiting, specifically consulting. Now, I'm no expert on the matter, but having talked to a select few (well ... the few that selected me to talk with them :), I could offer decently cogent observations on the process, work and firms. And, also my criticisms. In my opinion, these firms really want people who can follow a solid middle path, not deviating much from message. It is embodied in the case interview 'format' that's thrust upon us during innumerable case prep sessions ... listen to the problem, take notes, ask a couple of clarifying question, ask for a minute to gather your thoughts, write, nay draw, a framework, be damn sure to make it MECE, turn the sheet towards them, point out the main 'buckets' you are going to explore ... ad infinitum. No Detours, por favor.

Makes one wonder how different the approach to their work is, ya?

This comes to mind because the first chapter in ideaSPOTTING talks about 'exploration' as the key to finding new ideas. The book is written in a mix of typefaces and fonts that makes for an interesting visual experience, and every page seems like its own chapter. There was one page that, as a title, poses a question which, in my twisted world, could be asked by a consultant as a rebuttal to this thesis of exploration: But why explore when the facts are before you?

Last quarter, I audited an awesome PhD class on Social Networks and one of the intriguing discussions was on groupthink. A few days later, finding myself at a dinner table with a partner of a Big 3 (the capitalization is demanded, ya!) firm, I asked him how they, being what (I consider) dangerously closed networks, combated groupthink. He started by stating the open environement, spirit of debate, etc before ending with an interesting observation: that ultimately they were looking for facts, that lead to data, and data to answers, ergo no scope for groupthink. My professor was as surprised as I was about that response. So, I was intrigued to read what ideaSPOTTING had to say about it:

But why explore when the facts are before you?

There's nothing wrong with backbone data. Or raw statistics. Or bedrock demographics. They're fine as far as they go. The problem is, they don't go far enough. Not if you're looking for information instead of data. And insights instead of information.
To spot ideas, you want insights. Lots of them. Because ideas aren't spotted in forms. They're spotted in sights - those revelatory insights seized only when you roam new turfs, meet new people and have new experiences.

Light bulbs weren't invented by exploring candles.
Iron ships weren't made by exploring wood boats.
Skyscrapers weren't designed by exploring bungalows.
Walkmans weren't invented by exploring turntables.
Cell phones weren't conceived by exploring land lines.
Macs weren't designed by exploring clunky, dull PC's.

I can't help but agree.

My pet peeve of the entire process is how people are even guided on the questions to ask at the end of the interview. Which is fine, except you are expected again to ask only 'safe' questions.

An interesting thing happened when I had a mock interview, last january, with a then-second year. This is part of a program at the GSB called wInterview, which is prep for internship interview season. These are actually taped on DVD's and handed to the first years for review. I finished the mock interview with a guy who was going to another Big 3 firm, and when it was 'do you have a question for me' time, I asked him something about facetime with partners given the traveling etc. I asked because it was something that my ex-roommate and her boyfriend, both consultants, and I had talked about in detail a few weeks prior. He gives me an answer, thanks me for my time, and ends the formal part of the interview. Then, it's feedback time. But, before he gives me my feedback, he asks if it's OK to turn off the recording for a minute. I'm fine, so he does and comes back to the table.

"What the fuck are you doing? Do you want a job or not?"

I was taken aback, but he explained that the question was out of line because it talked about the things that are most 'uncomfortable' about consulting - the travel, the up-or-out policy etc. His advice was to pick something harmless. And, I'm not picking on him, it's something that has come up in several other discussions. Ask about their experiences. What excites them about coming to work? The opportunities that a career in consulting opens up etc.

Well, I find myself a couple of months ago in the final interview of my second rounds with the same firm said second-year was off to. It's question time. The interviews had gone well so far, but there was a question I needed to find the answer to. Me being me, I ask:

"So, fit is very important for your firm, correct?"
"Absolutely."
"I'm curious, how much of fit is conform?"

Why did I ask that question?, is the question often asked of me by my classmates who I've talked about this with. What were you thinking? Well, it was something on my mind, I thought of it as valid, and if a partner at the firm can't answer hard questions, who can? She did actually give me a candid answer - conform is a big part, because they want you to go out and represent them to clients in a certain way, but fit has its place too in terms of the culture inside the firm. I actually think highly of that response, but I must have triggered something in her, because she got a little edgy after that. Towards the end of the interview, in the middle of answering another question, she goes " ... Yogs, we don't make mistakes in recruiting ... (pause) ... we've never made a single mistake in recuiting." That was verbatim, I swear.

You know, I really don't know what to make of that. In a certain cool way, those shall forever remain the last words said to me in a consulting interview. A fascinating bookend to a fascinating recruiting experience. They capture a certain attitude that, in the end, did not agree with me, and mine with them.

To quote Albert Einstein, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

A Year in the Life

2006-12-29T14:50:00.000-05:00

I'm having a moment right now. Last december, almost to the day, I was sitting in this very same cafe in Waltham! And, everything seems oddly similar - I'm a full-time student, excited about school, excited more about going back to start another quarter, can't seem to find the time(or is it motivation?) to blog, don't know what I'll be doing come summer ... and yet, a year has whizzed by so fast. Wow. Time's a flyin'. It's time to sit down and take stock of the year past. So, here's my great, not-so-great and oddly-enough list.

Great
* The top of this list has to be the friends I have made at the GSB. There was a time during my first quarter when I was doubting if I had made the right choice to go to b-school, because the people seemed so, I don't know. But, over the year, I have gotten to know very many really cool and interesting people who are unique in their own way. And, I don't have to be someone I'm not around them.

* Some of my classes. I decided to roll the dice and take Prof. Meadow's Commercializing Innovation during my first quarter with no background in any of the 5 pre-reqs for the course. Looking back, it is probably the single greatest class I have ever taken. It was a ton-load of work, but I couldn't have asked for a better all-round introduction to every facet of business education. As an added bonus, I also had great team-mates and probably the only class that really fulfilled the promise of one 'learning' from the people in their group.

I have also come to realize that it's not so much the course matter as it is the professors who teach them that matters. For me, the holy grail is to understand how to think about a problem, not necessarily if I got the right answer for that particular case. And, there are some professors that enable this more than others. Since the GSB allows, within very loose bounds, the ability to choose classes right from day one, I've chosen mostly very good professors, but still some stand out as especially awesome. I should blog separately about the other classes I've enjoyed mucho.

* DSAC. I am a student GA on the Admissions Committe this year, and read applications and interviewed applicants this past quarter. I was asked during my interview for the position why I wanted to do this, and, though sappy, I said that it was the single best way I could contribute to the school. I really think it is, and every time I read an application, I am reminded of the responsibility it entails. A few posts on my thoughts for applicants should be forthcoming.

* ChiBus. My time as the editor-at-large (go figure :) of the GSB newspaper has been kick-ass. I've enjoyed working with the entire team, writing for the publication (having prospective students come up to me and tell me they loved my articles :), and it's been a great way to get at the 'pulse' (and gossip!!) around the school.

* The I-house. Well, I've written much about my time there, but it is quite possibly the best thing going on the U of C campus.

Not-so-Great
* The top of this list has to be the friends I had before I moved to the GSB. I am so bummed that I've been so caught up in the madness of the experience here that I have neglected to keep in touch with many awesome people. It's definitely on my new year resolution list (then again, those lists have a way of, well, remaining lists. damn.) The whole MBA thing is fine, but not at the cost of losing touch with everything that came before. Need to work on that one.

* Recruiting. I hate it. Every statistic shows that most MBA's stick around maybe for a couple of years on average at their first post-MBA job. It seems like an awful lot of purported 'fit-finding' on the part of companies that, I quite frankly, find a little overwhelming. But, it is what it is, I guess.

* I wish I had seen and experienced more of Chicago. I guess it's a case of 'well, it's going to be there, what's the hurry', but time's a running out now. It's quite sad that I haven't gotten around to seeing more of the awesome theater, museums, live music, parks etc that this really great city has to offer. I really like Chicago, it's the kind of city that I feel grows on you, and I hope to more fully experience it before I leave.

* Last, but most definitely not the least, Me. I had hoped that I would change some things about me, especially when it comes to time management and commitments, during my time here. That hasn't happened and I am entirely to blame. I must sincerely apologize to those who have encountered frustrations on my account. I am truly sorry.

Oddly Enough
* The herd mentality. It is pretty huge at b-school. I saw that in my classmates when we got here, and I can see that in the first-years now. I guess I won't really understand it.

* Recruiting. OK, I need to take one more dig. I was recently talking with friends about the offers people got, and there were more than a few What?'s. I never really thought about it, but a lot of people turn into someone else when they put on a suit and walk into an interview room or recruiting event. It is actually a skill, adapting to the situation and people you are talking with. But, once you spend a year at school, you get to know who they are when they are in jeans. And, I wonder what the companies are looking for - the person in the suit? I guess they have no real way to find out otherwise. Anyways.

* 41 and counting. One of the questions I get most often from prospectives is about the lack of cohorts and its impact on creating a community. I, for one, have found this system to have a lot of benefits. After my first quarter, I decided that I was not going to repeat people in my study groups - for good or worse. And, it's generally turned out to be a cool thing. I have worked with 41 different people so far. And, I have learned a lot. There are many I'd love to work with anytime, and a few I'd never hire. I can't think of another opportunity I'll have to get such a cross section of teamwork experiences.

* Chibus. Oddly enough, working at the newspaper has also made the GSB more personal. One of the great perks of the post is that the newspaper has its own office in the basement. It is small, window-less, and messy - in stark contrast to the immaculately clean, almost corporate, Hyde Park Center. Having an own little 'space' in the building has made it much less of walking in and out of a building every day. I've hung out there, worked, have my stuff lying around - and even caught a few naps. Oh, and did newspaper stuff :-)

* Why MBA? The oddest thing of all is that, almost a two years since I submitted my application, I find myself truer to the things I wrote down in my essays! I think the GSB is really an environment, in large part, where things are questioned, and the status quo not easily digested - I could say, post haste, that the mascot essay I wrote was not without basis. And, I hadn't talked much about my long-and-short term goals, well, because in part I didn't really know, and in part, I wanted the experience to inform my path. I think I might actually be headed towards an entrepreneurial type of situation, which is what, well, I wrote about. I guess the point I'm trying to convince myself of is that the GSB was the right place for me. Of course, it was the only place that would accept me, so ... :-)

* Oh, recruiting, one last time. So, I interviewed with some consulting firms, and the recruiter from the Mickey D's of that world called to inform me of the bad news after my second round interviews. Her opening words: "All of us felt that you will be a successful entrepreneur and make millions some day." For once, I'd like to believe a consultant's recommendation :-)

Anyways, that's all I've got. Hope everyone had a fab holiday season and here's wishing a grander 2007. Now, i have to go and get ready for a 1000-mile drive from Boston to Chicago. Sounds like I'm just moving there for school, yeah. Like I said, some things don't seem to have changed.

Bye Bye 2006. You've been good.

12 Days of Christmas

2006-12-05T18:25:00.000-05:00

'tis the holiday season. Here's some cheer, Indian style.

I just had to Scrybe this

2006-10-21T23:27:00.000-05:00

I just remembered an old adage that if you are writing software, you are best off making it a platform that others can build stuff on. OK, that wasn't even an adage, let alone old, but whatever. So, why did Google buy YouTube? Other than, of course, that they were getting their hindsides whipped in online video sharing? I suspect YouTube is fast becoming a platform: for expression, for exposure, for home-made-porn-makers, for looking-at-home-made-porn, for marketing, sometimes to searchers-for-home-made-porn, for starting new companies, for ... Wait. Yeah.

Check what I just came across. It's a pre-launch video for a new online calendaring+to-do+offline+ well, take a look. I think it's mighty cool.

What I think is cooler is this - their website. Take your startup that wants to get its new product message out, and wants complete attention from its potential customers when it's delivering that message. And, for bonus points, it wants to build in a powerful system of capabilities so that the message has a chance at getting viral. Oh, and it would be great not to have to pay for most of this.

So, what do they do? Shoot a video in their office and upload it to YouTube. Voila. It's in front of millions of people, some of whom are commenting about this, subscribing to this feed, intriguing some of their own subscribers, some of whom decide to leave some comments, and some others with plenty time on their hands embed this video on their own blogs, and this gets the message in front of an entirely new set of people and the cycle may continue. Help add some spice to this concoction by linking to the same YouTube video from their homepage - to help direct all comers to the center of the tornado, helping it build momentum.

Platform? Getting there, methinks.

Hugs! Free Hugs!

2006-10-21T22:35:00.000-05:00

Man, time is a-flyin! I didn't realize it was weeks since I last blogged. Incidentally, about blogging more often. There goes that. So, I came across this video on YouTube today. The description says:

Sometimes, a hug is all that we need. Free hugs is the real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man whose sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their life.

In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal.

As this symbol of human hope spread accross the city, police and officials ordered the Free Hugs campaign Banned. What we then witnessed was the true spirit of humanity coming together in what can only be described as awe inspiring.

I wouldn't necessarily endorse their recommendation - In the spirit of the Free Hugs campaign, pass this on to a friend and hug a stranger! After all, If you can reach just one person... - but it is worth a watch. Which would make you the 3,757,697th person to do so. In exactly a month since it was posted. And, maybe you'd want to leave a comment. Which would make you the 10,678th (At the time of posting, of course)

Gotta love YouTube.

Or why KV will be a Genius

2006-10-03T18:19:00.000-05:00

[File Under: Course Reviews]

I've discovered an interesting behavioral pattern. I seem to enjoy more the classes I audit than those I am enrolled in. Last quarter, I was in a class on Organizational Behavior and, to caveat - for the 6-odd weeks I actually went to the class, this was the class for which I prepared most thoroughly the cases and readings. This is playing itself out again this quarter. This time, I am in an absolutely fantastic Ph.D class called Social Network Analysis, taught by the way cool Prof. Ron Burt. Proof of Life: I've actually been 'reasonably' on time to both the classes we've had for this course so far ;-)

This is the only professor I've had at the GSB who uses a Mac! And, not one, but two. Earlier today, he was demonstrating how to use the statistical software to do the mucho regressions required of the class, and he was using Virtual PC to run as it is a Windows-only piece of software. He kicked off the software, showed us the results and was about to move on when the rest of the class, working on their PC's, said that they were still waiting for theirs to load. He goes: "A Macintosh pretending to be a Windows machine is faster than an actual Windows machine?" Did I say he was Way Cool? But, I digress.

The class is about understanding social networks, in a broad sense. In the first class, he showed us a short clip about Steve Jobs and his Macintosh team, and a team at DG in the 80's out to develop a faster 16-bit processor. After we saw it, he started to collect what he termed 'emotional data', which was basically what we felt about those teams, the connections that bound their members, how they worked, why they were successful etc. It was a fascinating exploration of these cult-like structures, and how they can be an effective tool to exact an almost slavish productivity from the group, all of it given willingly.

Today, in typical some might Chicago fashion, we went data crunching. We created sociograms and then started to analyze how people find themselves at differing points in these networks. Social networks typically take the forms of several clusters with connections between them. Nodes on these graphs are people, and the lines who they connect. Turns out that there are two typical leadership roles in such networks. One is being in the thick of a cluster, completely interconnected to everyone else inside. The other is that of being a bridge, at the intersection of 'social worlds.' The former is very 'central', but typically wedded to a small group of ideas which are championed by the surrounding group. The latter, on the other hand, brings in variation due to his/her being part of several groups and exposed to heterogeneity of approaches and, more critically, though processes.

We then looked at how this maps to creativity and innovation. Research indicates that innovation can be traced as a chain, with the key transit points being these folks who are the interchange of ideas. But, what is it that makes them valuable? For one, the breadth of information they are exposed to expands, due to an increased likelihood of seeing differing views of doing things. Secondly, due to their plugged-in-ness to disparate networks, they typically get information earlier than most outside of the clusters. Both of these put them in a position where they can effect what my professor calls 'information arbitrage.'

There is an interesting manifestation of this arbitrage opportunity: Genius. Prof. Burt asserted that genius is a social phenomenon, not so much an individual characteristic. When one sits at this social intersection, they can 'see' opportunities. This, to repeat, is due to the fact that s/he can see variations in ways of doing things, and if they come up with an idea, they know where to sell it. Ideas do well not just because they are inhrently great, but "because they find great adherents." The more you live at the intersection of social worlds, the more likely your idea is going to be deemed a great idea. And, since people typically associate ideas with the one who espouses them, your transfering of one set of thought processes from one cluster to the other will deem you a genius to the latter if it is the first time they have been exposed to it. I thought that was pure distilled common sense. Way cool.

Which led me to think: how does this apply to business school? I look around, and there is definitely a social network structure at play. There are 'cliques', if I may, of students who are very close to each other, and there are the 'social butterflies' who are not wedded to one but flit between many.(As well as a decent number of outliers whose connections to the rest of the community are tenuous at best). If the thesis of the class is to believed, the butterflies will be more creative and successful than the clique-sters. But, it is still an overall closed network of MBA-types being groomed towards a mostly similar style of thinking. What would be most beneficial is for each of us to be plugged into clusters that are completely disparate and dislocated from the people we go to school with.

Like, say, surfers in Biarritz.

I did a double-take when I read about KV's plan to stay in Biarritz and commute to school in Londres. But, the more I think about it, the more it seems like a stroke of genius. I learned today that the more one lives inside closed networks, the lesser idiosyncratic their conversations get, and the more they fill with the jargon of the network. They get very 'local' in terms of their language, which is increasingly understood only by their world. Which, if I listen to the people around me at school, is so very true. LPF. TNDC. Closed Lists. Bid Points. Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Surfer Girl. Wait, strike that.

Research presented in class indicates a strong co-relation between idea generation and the heterogeneity of types of network connections of the generators. These people have a 'vision advantage' that translates into higher compensation, better career progression, and even happiness. The last point is due to fewer forced behavioral constrains as they live in these differing social structures.

Translation: KV has a much higher likelihood of being seen as a Genius. And, with a Surfer Girl.

An Auspicious Re-start.

2006-10-03T02:29:00.000-05:00

I just got my first ding of the recruiting season.
From a firm that I didn't even apply to!

Everything is Right again with my world :-)

Welcome back, gentle reader. Trust you me when I say that I have missed blogging as much as regular readers tell me they have missed reading my rants. I decided to, for symmetry's sake, mirror my blogging habits with my career path these past few months - and take the summer off! Yup, I am back at school after a relaxing summer. But, that's past. And, as I recall, we focus on the immediate present on this blog.

Like, last night.

So, yesterday was the deadline to apply to one of the top (oh, how they love that word, don't they) consulting firms. After a night of debauchery with the secretly hip Le Voyageur on saturday, I went brunching with a friend I helped move sunday morning, then stopped by CB2 to pick up some furniture etc for my hipster loft in the Chicago Arts District, walked around some of the Open Houses, comissioned my first piece of (very inexpensive) tile art from my artist neighbor Vanessa Shinmoto, grabbed some dinner, and got home around 9 PM to start working on the online application.

Nada.

See, I just moved into my new place, and as I wait for my internet connection to be set up, I'm leeching off the open network of some kindly neighbor. I guess the said Kindly neighbor decided to get un-kindly and added protection to his network. Last evening. So, I'm sitting here like 2 hours to the deadline and no internet access. Jumped in my car, raced to school, and booted up. Finished up my cover letter (and checked to make sure I wasn't saying firm B instead of M), readied my resume and logged into the website.

Deja Vu. I'm sure that was what it was. I had, once again, not realized that 12 PM is in the afternoon, not midnight! Well, what r'you gonna do. Deadline blown by like 10 hours, I tried to submit just in case, but the system was so broken that it took me 2 hours just to get to page 3. So, I shoot off an email to the recruiting manager with my cover letter and resume, basically apologizing for being a jackass. And, I came back home. Woke up this morning, no internet access at home, so go to school, got stuff taken care of, and check my email. There's one from the recruiter. Basically said that it would be OK if I can send in my office preferences by 11:30 AM sharp. The watch sayeth: 12:35. Of the PM. Yes, I know now, thank you. PM means afternoon. So, I sent an email back, hoping against hope that they would be OK. And, they were. Phew. That was close.

Which is way more can be said for another firm. As I was getting ready to apply, I get an email from them thanking me for applying to their XYZ office and that I was a kick-ass superstar etc but their staffing requirements mean that they can't interview with me. The ye olde it's not you, it's me. Ah well, it's better now than after I've bared my soul to you, my someday darlings.

So, I sit here. Closed wireless network miraculously Open again. I should post before the plug is pulled. And, no, the plug has not been pulled on this blog. It's got another 9 months of life at least. I should be posting much more regularly from now on. Wait ... I've said that before too ya ...

The Lions have Arrived

2006-06-26T18:59:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not talking about the English football team. They've made the quarters of the World Cup but it has been an unimpressive display so far methinks.

What I am referring to is the Cannes Lions - one of the world's premier advertising awards. It's been today's timesink, and a fabulous one at that. I love advertising, especially film ads. The best ones combine aspects of storytelling, production and sublime messaging to create an intrigue about the product that transcends 'we want you to buy this' to 'i want to try this.' Many of the winning ads do, and that's what's fun about spending hours checking these out.

A few days ago, I was at the local grocery store, and near the checkout was a collection of speciality-type chocolates. I picked up a box of Baci. Baci? I'd never heard of those until a month or so prior. I was checking out the winners of another really awesome ad awards - the EPICA - when I came across what the romantic in me considered the best of the bunch. Yes, it was for Baci. When I saw them at the store, I bought them not so much for the chocolate, but for the little notes in them that the ad highlighted. [personally, i think the ones in fortune cookies are way better. but, i digress]

I recommend checking both the Lions and the EPICA winners and finalists when you have the time to spare, but here are some of my faves.

NoitulovE - If the pundits be the voices of God, this spot by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO for Guiness is the absolute best ad of the year. It won both the Epica D'or as well as the Grand Prix at Cannes.
Synopsis: Three young men at a bar drink Guinness. Suddenly the action pauses and the film starts to play in reverse. The men walk backwards out of the bar. As they walk they seamlessly go back down the evolutionary chain through hundreds, thousands, millions of years. Super: GUINNESS. Good things come to those who wait. (bonus points: The name of the ad, NoitulovE, is Evolution spelled backwards!)

A Love Story in Four Parts(One, Two, Three, Four): This set of four spots, by Thailand's JEH United Bangkok, for Smooth-E Baby Face Foam absolutely rocks (personal bias since I've been to Thailand and really like the language).
Synopsis: Decades ago before DVDs, the classic Thai selling method was free outdoor cinema that sold a product during a show. We brought that back… We created "The Love Story" series of 4 episodes that not only sells but also pokes fun a conventional 'Beauty' commercials.

Imitation, best form, Flattery, etc: I guess most people may have seen the spot called 'Balls', made by Fallon London for Sony's Bravia LCD TV's. It won a Gold at Cannes. There was another ad, almost an exact replica of the first one down to the music and the frog, created by Clemmow Hornby Inge called 'Bravo' for Tango Clear, and it won a Silver. Very beautiful both.
Balls Synopsis:Dropping 250,000 brightly coloured bouncy balls down the streets of San Francisco for real = colour like no other.
Bravo Synopsis: To promote Tango Clear, a refreshing fruit drink with no added sugar, we dumped thousands of pieces of fruit in Swansea and filmed what happened.

You say Tomato, I say Tomato: Two awesome, awesome ads to promote language centers (of all things!). One of them, called 'Mayday, Mayday', created by Norway's BTS United for Berlitz Language Centers won a Gold at Cannes. The other, called 'Rapid Spanish', created by Kolle Rebbe Werbeagentur for Inlingua Language Center, won the B2B award at EPICA.
Berlitz Synopsis: At a German Coastguard, a recruit is getting his tutorial on his first day. The senior officer leaves the control room. Suddenly a "mayday" comes from an English ship: "WE ARE SINKING". The recruit answers in german-english: "Whatz are you sinking aboutz...?"
Inlingua Synopsis: Well, it's better told seen.

Boys and Girls, use Condoms to prevent AIDS: Again two spots, one a winner at Cannes, the other at EPICA, but both were for the same campaign - AIDS awareness, by TBWA\Paris. They are both animated spots: 'Sugar Baby Love' and 'Vibrators'. Contains animated nudity.
Sugar Baby Love Synopsis: As a little boy grows, he discovers that he prefers men. After a series of dating catastrophes, he finally meets the man of his dreams. TAG: Live long enough to find the right one. Protect yourself.
Vibrators Synopsis: As a little girl grows, she discovers that she too, well, prefers men. After a series of dating catastrophies, she finally meets the man of her dreams. TAG: Live long enough to find the right one. Protect yourself.

Argentina's Silver Lining: I was in Buenos Aires for spring break, fantastic place, but it is a country still trying to drag itself out of the economic mess it's been in since the last 3-odd years. But, there seems to be an emergant creativity in that place. Take a walk through Palermo Soho, considered one of the planet's hippest neighborhoods right now by the travel-writers-in-the-know, and you are surrounded by some of the coolest independant fashion designers, jostling for space with art-house-restaurants. I was talking with a woman who had a month-old boutique called Postman where she sells all of 3 designs of laptop bags/totes, and I later google it to find that tourists buy half-a-dozen bags at a time! Hey, I bought one too. As did my traveling companion.
Anyways, it seems like this creativity extends to the world of advertising too. I couldn't help notice that there were quite a few Argentine winners at Cannes! Here is a i-like-these listing:

Truth: Political Message created by Savaglio\TBWA
This TV commercial addresses people in a straightforward and intelligent way. It starts by providing a very dark vision of Argentina, to later surprise the audience with a totally opposite message that appears when you read it upside down.

Father & Daughter: Young & Rubicam Buenos Aires for MTV
A rock star has to explain to his daughter how she was conceived. With no inhibitions, he decides to tell her the story in great detail... Moral: Rock is hard.

Vladimir: El Hotel/JWT for Knorr Soups
a love story between a Russian man and an argentine woman who meet by any chance. Clara and Valdimir, each one in their one country, meet themselves working on cleaning in a conference room. Without realizing, she presses the redial button and a videoconference screen opens with Vladimir on it. Heart-warming stuff

Sorry Mum: Santo for Unilever.
Children apologize for getting dirty.

Dog: McCann Ericsson Argentina for Bavaria Beer
Sometimes a good beer can give you the joy that you need

Enjoy!

wii will wii will rock you

2006-05-29T22:24:00.000-05:00

[file under: Games People Play]

i heart youtube. and dailymotion. and google video. and revver. and vidilife. and the many video sharing sites that are God's intervention to slow down our growing productivity rate. I don't know if you've spent much time on these sites, but they are an absolute time-sink. as well as a treasure trove. i don't know which of the two was an inspiration, but a fellow student decided to consider youtube as the subject of his group's research paper for a marketing class. yup, the GSB gets it ... well, kinda. his group decided to nix it in favor of studying female viagra. come to think, the GSB does get it :)

bad jokes apart, the growth in video online is just astounding. See this chart at Google Trends for a comparison with the other social media darling, flickr. if this trend continues, the telcos might yet have to start switching on some of that dark fiber. one of the cool things about these services though is just the varied amount of content available, and stuff like tagging and embedding in people's blogs making it possible for dissemination to a much larger audience.

case in point: i came across a video on digg today for a demo from E3, the gaming mega show that was held a couple of weeks ago. for those who missed it, nintendo announced their latest console, the wiierdly named Wii. and you heard it here first - they are going to make some kind of HBS case study on this someday. of how a scrappy almost down-and-out console maker, unable to compete on technological prowess, decides to change the rules of the game. they reinvented the controller, adding motion sensing capability and a 'nunchuck' extension. i haven't seen it in person, but the pictures/videos i have seen have been super cool. like this one, where two players use their Wiimotes to play drums.

And, as I was reading through people's comments (it's the honorable thing to do, no?) I came across a link to this video of a guy hawking a Creative Labs keyboard on which he does a little drum demo. Rock and Roll, actually. it's about 2 minutes long, but wicked cool.

ok, back to work now.

It Happens Only in India

2006-05-28T19:21:00.000-05:00

I saw this video on Zaphod's blog of traffic at an intersection in the city of Hyderabad. Kinda cool, methought.

Venturing back toward the Old

2006-05-26T14:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the finals of the Chicago New Venture Challenge. I had submitted a not-so-detailed executive summary over winter break, and was fittingly dinged. But, some people I know made the finals and I watched the latter half of the presentations yesterday. And, I have to say, there was some really polished presenting. Interesting ideas, thoroughly researched, and backed up with detailed financial analyses and ROI/valuation projections. There were also some insightful questions from the panel of VC's who were judging it, but tame compared to what I had been led to believe - that the judges tore apart some of the contestants in the past.

The results were announced during a reception for the participants, which I did not go to. I was out later that night with friends when one of them told us about the results, and I have to say that there was a consensus of What? It seems (and this is hearsay, i wasn't there) that Professor Kaplan, before announcing the winners, said that these would not have been his choices! So, what's going on?

Well, it seems that the GSB has decided to get on the Webtrain. We had two dot-coms share the first prize this year, after having an online test prep service, a pharma startup, and dental marketing software ideas win the last three. The two prize-winning plans were for GrubHub.com, a restaurant locator service, and Collectica, a community for collectors incorporating tagging, user-generated content and suchlike.

Further details, and lists of winners, can be found at here, which BTW is also a good blog tracking entrepreneurship at the GSB and beyond.

The people's choice seemed to go with either Hybridtronics or BB Catalyst. The former is commercializing technology to retrofit buses and trucks to go hybrid, and they have an arrangment in place with Tata Motors in India. This is a huge deal, especially with the Supreme Court in India, with their verdicts, driving (pardon the pun) a slow, but sure, move towards using alternative fuels such as CNG, LPG etc for public transportation. BB Catalyst is thinking on a truly global scale to solve problems, and has found a great niche. Made up of Japanse and Latin American team members, they have contracted to buy used modem kits at throwaway prices from Japanese telcos and rehab and sell them at significant discount to new products to ISPs in Latin America. Turns out Japanese technology is so advanced that ISP's there replace customers' modems every 8-10 months and they are left with huge disposal costs. And, the cost of equipment in LatAm is prohibitively high impediing broadband adoption. And, they projected some really sweet margins, and contractual agreements with some huge players.

Maybe the winners' plans were better overall, maybe the fact that both of them had either revenues or promises of helped them, or maybe the next wave of internet companies are 'the' thing to invest in right now ... but it was a good experience for me to sit in that room, listen to them present, and challenge my own opinions. While I still think that the web holds some of the best potential for phenomenal growth ventures - and the inevitable burnouts - it was educational to be shown ideas that are solving some 'real' problems, and I suspect, have the better chance to turn into lasting, sustainable companies.

Congratulations to all the finalists.

Ah, the Fan Mail.

2006-05-25T18:41:00.000-05:00

Talk about finding interesting THINGS to do - I ACTUALLLY READ one of them spam emails today. I guess the 'Greetings Poweryogi!' sucked me in, and the possibility of FINALLY finding my true LOVE kept me going. Excuse the CAPS, they are just in character with the LETTER, reproduced below. Why? 'coz I want to BLOG, and can't find ANY other inspiration right now.

---
Greetings Poweryogi!.!

at first I should tell you about my appear, so I got E-mail from one DATING AGENCY but really that was VERY STRANGE for me because I closed all my accounts at DATING SITES, because I don't like people who are interested just in non SERIOUS RELATIONS, I have much FRIENDS from that sites but really I did not find someone special for me....

But I got your E-mail address and thought "MAYBE THAT IS MY DESTINY" to find someone special?
Really there was written that you wish to know me.
So I don't know where you did get MY E-MAIL ADDRESS but I hope that is NOT JUST MISTAKE.

I hope to hear from you soon....
If you decide to answer me I promise to SEND YOU big LETTER and MY BEST PHOTOS !!! I'd like to learn more about you. PLEASE, WRITE ME some lines about your personality, your hobbies, your way of life. I'm really interested to know!
As for me, I'm an easy-going and open-hearted person. I take life as it comes and have optimistic views. It doesn't mean that nothing makes me sad, but I consider all the difficulties in my life to be useful for me.

I'm very communicative and like to spend time in a good company. I enjoy outdoors activities and sport. What about you? Do you go in for sports?
Hope to hear from you soon, please use solaris13@HotPOP.com to answer me ! I wit your letter with large impatience . Please do it for me .

Katya
---

Click for Small Change™ supports the Guild for the Blind

2006-05-17T23:33:00.000-05:00

[File Under: Sensible AdSense]

It's that time again. Actually, it was some time ago, this post is long overdue.

The Google Adsense revenues on this blog have continued their forward, albeit at a snail on vacation's pace, march. Enough, though, to make the next donation, to add to the first two.

As the next installment, I made a contribution of $15 to the Guild for the Blind. They are a Chicago-based non-profit that serves the visually impaired, mainly by helping them prepare for and obtain professional employment. Usually, the visually impaired are relegated to doing call-center type work. What makes the Guild unique is an emphasis on finding career paths that utilize a person's abilities and education.

There was also a personal motivation behind this choice. I did a consulting project for the Guild during my first quarter at the GSB as part of a student club at the GSB called the Business Solutions Group, and the people who run it are a great bunch of folks. Our team's mandate was to do research and come up with a strategy to better connect their membership to the corporate world. I'm not sure how much of that work was impactful, not unlike this small donation, but as we'd like to think on this blog, even the smallest things matter.

On an unrelated note, I had a conversation with an author of a marketing book last week and he asked me for a Web 2.0 startup that I found interesting. I thought of Squidoo. They are a blogging-based platform that lets one create 'lenses' that are areas of interest or expertise. An added bonus is that these lenses can earn you royalty. What I find interesting is what you can do with it - "A single lens might not earn a lot, but if you imagine hundreds of lenses working to your favor, or fundraising for a charity, it can really start to add up," according to their website.

I get a certain sense of, i don't know, when I read this. I wrote, almost exactly a year ago, when I added Google Ads to my website with the intent to donate all proceeds to charity: "So, here's my pitch to Google: why not create a program around this. So that interested users can sign up to have any revenues from ads on their blogs/sites be pooled in a repository - pennies from each site add up to dollars - and it be administered in a sensible fashion." A few months ago, I made the same pitch to three people from Google who I met as part of internship recruiting. Each of them thought it was a great idea, but I don't think they've really done much with it.

Then again, it's never too late :-)

Hello, Mr. Hyde

2006-05-09T16:10:00.000-05:00

It's been a while. This quarter, I have finally come to realize what a weight the MBA workload can be. I'm not sure why it took me this long, or why I even got this far actually. I guess it's a mixture of getting more 'into' the curricular aspect of this experience, overloading myself with 5 classes, and a schedule that's so packed in the middle of the week that I spend the weekends going from catching up on lost sleep to getting some extra sleep for the week ahead.

So, how bad is it?

Last tuesday, at around 7 AM, I wake up with a start. Staring at me was the manager of the I-house. 'Is everything OK?', asked Mr. B. It took me a minute, while he looked at me like I was a zombie, to realize that I was actually sleeping on a sofa in the lobby! I was up until 4 AM the previous night/morning working, and discussing Coase, Miller, Nash, and assorted economics with a friend who was studying for a mid-term. After that, I wanted to 'rest' for a bit before finishing up my work - and I guess I had fallen asleep.

Cut to Wednesday at 3 PM. We cut there because that's when I found the time to get some rest, after being up all night Tuesday working on reports for two classes. I get to my room, competely tired from the lack of sleep, and needing a decent power nap before my class at 6 PM. Set the alarm on my phone, pull the shades, and settle in. I wake up soon after, aroused by the ping-ping of someone trying to IM me on my computer. I have no idea why that woke me up. The time: 7:10. I honestly didn't know if it was the morning or evening. That clarified, and an hour late to class, I dressed and was about to run out when I noticed something: There is a Mr. Hyde running around here !

Strewn on my bed was a battery. I didn't recall owning anything of that type, so I looked closer. Turns out it was the battery of my cellphone ! And the back cover was on the floor and the phone itself was under my pillows. Somehow, unbeknownst to me, I had (or I think it was me :-) not only reached across to the table, picked up and turned off the alarm on my phone, but removed the backplate, yanked out the battery, and thrown these guys three different directions ! Weird, I tell you. I have absolutely no recollection of any of this stuff. None what-so-ever !

So, like Opal Mehta in her now-disgraced novel, I need a plan: to Get Kissed, Get Wild, and Get a Life. Maybe I'll start tomorrow. I'm already running late for a meeting.

So, you're Waitlisted. What Next?

2006-04-14T12:10:00.000-05:00

I really need to do something about blogging. It's not like I am swamped with work or anything, aside from preparing for 5 classes this quarter, but I guess I'm spending a lot of my off-time just lazing around doing nothing. Maybe I should move the lazing around doing nothing to my group projects, so that I can blog during my off-time?

Anyways, Belated Congratulations to all the admitted students. Ran into Vatsa today after the student info session that I did as part of my DSAC responsibilities (wow, 'my' and 'responsibilities' in the same line!)

I have received a few emails from those waitlisted asking for tips/advice. I know I haven't been the most responsive, my apologies. I did ask one of my classmates, who was on the waitlist during our admission cycle, to answer one of these questions, and I think her response merits a wider audience. Reproduced below, with her permission. I hope some of you find this useful.

The applicant should do 2 things.

1) Write a letter to the admissions committee re-affirming their desire to attend the school (I expressed that the GSB was my number 1 choice) and outlining exactly why this is true. Also, most applicants know what aspect of their application is weakest and can be a cause of concern. So, the applicant should address this in the letter head on, and express how they intend to address this weakness at the GSB. For example, my weakness was extra curricular activities. I was working full time and going to school part time, which left little time for other stuff. I recognized my weakness and explained the reason for it in my letter. In addition, I said that I intend to be very involved at the GSB through various groups. Another example: if the applicant has a weak GPA b/c they were having a good time in college, they should say it! And say that they have changed since their college years. Since then, the applicant has re-focused their efforts b/c of experiences at work or b/c of their motivation in b-school or something that illustrates how they will be different. They should also write about how they intend address the classes at the GSB. Maybe they intend on taking refresher courses in the summer before class. The point is that if the applicant recognizes an aspect of their application is weak, chances are the admission committee also recognizes this. They should address the concerns they may have regarding the applicant. In the end, the committee wants to acceptpeople that will perform well at the GSB, academically, socially, etc

2) The applicant should make something/do something EXTRA ordinary. When Iwas in the similar position, the person that gave me advice told me thatpreviously, someone wrote a song about why they wanted to come to the GSB.Another person made a ginger bread house of the HPC. As you may know, Iused to do cancer research before coming to b-school. Well, we worked withand grew cells (yes animal cells) that we could dye to glow fluorescent red(GSB color) under the microscope. So, I managed to grow cells that spelledout CHICAGO GSB under the microscope, took pictures of it, and created abanner that I sent in. In addition, I created a 10 slide PowerPointpresentation explaining what I did, why I was doing it, and what I wastrying to say about me through this project. The point is to indicate thatyou are willing to go above and beyond in order to show your desire to cometo the GSB. The other point is to showcase something about yourself thatyou may not have shown the admissions committee in your application, to makeyourself unique in the committee's eyes. My project focused the photographythat I did for work and for fun, thus my inclusion of the photos of the cells and also some photos that I took myself for fun.

Being waitlisted means that either the committee isn't sure/has doubts aboutthe applicant or others are just more qualified than the applicant. By putting an applicant on the waitlist, the committee is basically putting the ball back in the applicant's court. The applicant can either do nothing, which shows that the applicant doesn't care enough about the GSB to do something about being waitlisted. Conversely, the applicant can do something that eases those doubts/expresses the motivation/tells more aboutthe applicant as an individual/makes the committee interested in theapplicant, all of which are GOOD things. In the end, the committee would rather give the spot to someone who, first and foremost, REALLY wants to be at the GSB because that applicant will be motivated/involved/gives back tothe community/all the qualities that a committee looks for.

Sin - What is it?

2006-03-24T01:34:00.000-05:00

[File under: The Next Adventure]

Last saturday, I had a flight out of O´Hare at 6:05 pm. The Plan this time around was to have my laundry done the previous night, and packed etc and get to the airport with sufficient time, and not spend mucho dinero on a cab. My last-minute flight was costly enough.

As things usually turn out in this corner of our beautiful world, I ended up dinnering with two of my favorite people from the GSB on friday night, and the clothes went into the washer only around 2:30 PM saturday. All said and done, I missed the train to O´hare by a minute. Which meant a 50 $ cab ride. What´s funny - or About Time, some might say - is that as I watched the train leave the station, and was pissed about spending the money on a cab, I thought about Economics ! About sunk costs of a non-refundable ticket etc. The etc is because I don´t think anything else that came to mind made any sense.

But, it was a good decision. Got to the airport on time, checked in with plenty time, and headed to security check. There, as has become routine, the woman took one look at me, circled something on my boarding card, and sent me to the ´special´ security check line. As I proceeded to get frisked and my luggage bomb-sniffed, I couldn´t help wonder if there wasn´t something else at play here.

See, as I was walking in, the one-who-circled-my-card woman also noticed the book I was holding in my hand. It was a copy of ¨The Merciful Women¨, by Federico Andahazi. The cover of the book has a semi-nude woman with like half her torso exposed. No, it isn´t that kind of book. It´s art, man. Anyways, in a mutual ´you see my book, i see yours´ exchange of glances, I happened to notice the cover of the book she put down. It was titled: ¨Sin - what is it?¨ and a subtext about what the Bible says about sins and sinners.

I obviously jest when I suggest that she wanted to put me through the extra security check for my reading books with sinner-type covers. But, on a more serious note, why the fuck are federal government employees allowed to read religious material on the job - especially those who are incharge of security at airports? I seriously don´t get it. Would it be of any surprise that this person put every Arab-looking person walking through there through these checks. Would it be of any surprise that this person gave a free pass to a potential bad guy who didn´t look like one of the Bible-suggested bad guys? I know, I am making judgement calls about a person based on a book they may just have been leafing through or something, and maybe I shouldn´t, (or maybe it´s OK, because others make similar calls based on things like skin color), but it was just a tad disturbing.

However, this disturbing was nothing compared to the disturbingness of the book. It was filled with gems such as these:

The second possibility was that, because of the abstinence to which his remote dwelling condemned him, Derek Talbot might be tempted by the picture to indulge in solitary satisfaction, at which point, with amazingly good timing, we would pounce on the precious fruit of his forbidden pleasure.

Ewww! (OK, I didn´t really know it, but it was that kind of book :) I have to say, at some point, the whole thing was more funny that faux-erotic or whatever it was supposed to be. I picked it up at a used book store earlier in the week. In part, because of a glowing review:

¨Is Andahazi a writer touched by a magic wand? Has he made a pact with a demon: his soul in exchange for these little pearls?

Not too bad. But, I should have looked closer - it could have been a tad biased. The review was by an Argentine newspaper. And, Andahazi is an Argentine author who lives in Buenos Aires. Which is where I was headed. (and the reason i picked up this book was to read an author from there)

The security check cleared, I flew to Miami and changed planes to get on my ride to BsAs. The seat belt signs are turned on, everyone is settled, doors close and the pilot gets on the intercom. The flight is going to be delayed by 45 minutes because they blew two tyres on the landing and they need to be replaced. It was a full two hours before we took off. And, they came around serving drinks.

¿Agua, senor?

Aha. One of the interesting things about South America that I found during my previous trip came back to me. You need to specify if you want your water with or without gas. I was so ready for this one.

¨Sin gas, por favor¨

If Le Voyageur can, so Should I.

2006-03-22T09:33:00.000-05:00

Blog during finals week, that is. Those were my thoughts as I was speeding across town last week. I wanted to write something for long, but I've been affected by a bad case of Writer's Block.

And then I check this comment from her: "Alright, right back at ya PY. You haven't posted in WAY too long."

I know, sorry. Like I said, Writer's Block. (ok, that's an excuse. me admits)

She continued: "What are you studying for finals or something?"

Le V! How can you! OK, I did (finally !) do a little bit of studying. But my week leading upto finals was filled with farewell parties, running rescue missions, midnight breakfasts, being late for finals, and the like.

Here's the story.

Well, the Big Plan was to get to my two take home finals over the weekend (the one before last) so that I could manage to atleast find some time to prepare for my Investments final, which I was in seriously grave danger of flunking. Saturday night a good friend who is going to Turkey next quarter had a see-you-in-6-months party. It was supposed to last from 8-11, so I headed out there, only to end up not getting into bed until 3 in the morning.

Next day (St. Paddy's) I was woken up around like 3 in the afternoon I think by a friend. Well, she and others had gone to the south side for a parade and the bus they were supposed to take to get back left without them. and they were at around 100th street south. (for non-Chicagoans - anything south of 60th is a no-no zone). So I headed out through some really bad neighborhoods, picked them up, and we ended up getting dinner, and it was like 7-plus by the time I got back home.

The Big Plan was, like, a non-starter. So, I decided to hit the Investments books. In the library. Now, this is a new thing for me. I've start to hang out at the library of late. The Regenstein Library is supposed to be the most used university library in the US (and it made some list of top 10 libraries to pick up people. Unrelated to my purely academic pursuits, of course :) So, I get to the library around 10 and just as I am settling down there was a commotion and the music starts. Music. Yeah. Turns out a group of around 20 undergrads had practised a dance routine and they put on a performance. It was really cool. The studying here can get to people, big time. (as an aside, they make T-shirts here that read: The University of Chicago - Where the only thing that'll go down on you is your GPA !)

Anyways, a couple of hours later, as I finally understand what the big deal is about tangency portfolios and the CAPM, I feel hungry. I had like eaten a big dinner earlier. Turns out, it was from the smells of food that people were walking in with. Some investigation later, it was revealed that there was a free 'midnight breakfast' in one of the halls on campus. And, of course, it's my duty to partake in free food fests. So, I headed out and it was awesome. The atmosphere that is. They had reggaeton music blaring, hundreds of students - some in pajamas - lining up to get fed and just chill. Satisfied, I headed back to the library and the books. It took Fama-French to put me to sleep that night.

Cut to tuesday (I have no recollection of monday, except that I didn't probably get any studying done). I had to get to a consulate, which I barely did as they started to close, and then headed to Gleacher to work on my first take-home final. I had a week to do it, and here I was, opening it 2 hours before it was due. It took me 3, and I ended up submitting it an hour late.

On the way out, I ran into a classmate for my other take-home-final class. Of course, the good Chicago student he is (which is probably the 549 of us other than me!) he had already done this case and handed it in. Asked him how long it took him, and he was like - you know, the usual for a take home. Around 12 hours. A-ha. The damn thing was due at 5 PM next evening. I had time.

Wednesday around 2. Finally got to the case. Took me 4 hours. And it was rough. Due at 5. Submitted at 6:30. Sent the professor a note. Same-day penalty will be applied. Cool.

I was destressing in the winter garden when I realized, at like 7:30, that I don't own a calculator. Investments final at 8 AM the next morning. Sweet. Luckily, there was an office depot closeby and I got a calculator. Ended up staying up all night for the final. It was really rough. At around 6, I so so so felt the urge to lie down for a bit. But - and again, this is a new thing for me - convinced myself to go for a walk, shower, coffee, coffee, and head to the exam. 10 minutes late. But, I think I did OK.

After the exam, headed back to the consulate again, and then off to a high-school (on the south side) to talk to 9th graders about India. This was interesting. One of the first questions I got asked was: "do you work at 7-11?" I was almost tempted to say "i will, if they give me an internship" :-) After that, I came home and finally went to bed.

Woke up. It was like 12. Like noon. Like the next day. Like another exam. In like 3 hours. And, like, I had to study for it. I just read through some of my notes and headed over. Again, 10 minutes late. But, it was a beautiful thing. I think the 20 hour sleep was just what I needed. I was so fresh that I actually remembered stuff from class and I guess I did wing it decent good.

And so, it ends. Another quarter. On Saturday, I woke up, did my laundry, loaded up my backpack, and headed out to a far-away country for a week.

I'll write more, but I have an internship interview, in said far-away country, in 3 hours. I have to go buy a shirt first. Wish me Luck !!!

ciao !

this ain't your mama's microsoft

2006-02-27T17:18:00.000-05:00

have you seen this - the Project Origami video. the buzz-o-meter is off the charts on this one.

i'm not a big fan of microsoft personally, but i really like this, whatever it may turn out to be. I guess someone found a video on Digital Kitchen - the news now is that it is over a year old - that shows the possible uses of a concept device by Microsoft called Origami. There is a website - verified to be owned by Microsoft - called The Origami Project which provides a teaser that more information will be released on March 2nd. You can follow the bloggers following this stuff on technorati.

I find this whole Origami thing really interesting. It looks like a really lightweight and sturdy handheld with multiple inputs methods - stylus, sync to computer, bluetooth etc. Microsoft has not really gotten into the hardware game until now (except for the XBOX of course), so this would be breaking new ground, if they actually deliver the box. On top of that, this whole viral buzz creation thing isn't something I'd associate with a MS product launch. Partly because it never really works if you are going to announce things that don't arrive on shelves for upto a year later. What I find surprising is that they didn't get their uber-blogger Scoble in the loop. I came across this Origami thing late last night and Scoble was where I went to look - but I was really surprised to see no information there. What I did find is this really cool video of how Microsoft may have packaged an iPod. Funny yet topical, methinks. Will this new Origami thing be victim of a similar process, effectively killing it before it even takes off?

I'm curious now. Waiting to see what they unveil.

Talk to Moi

2006-02-09T15:08:00.000-05:00

So I went coolhunting and look what I found!

Odeo is one of the coolest gigs rocking the world of podcasting. I was taking their Studio product for a spin today for a podcasting project I just started working on. While there, I noticed a link that said Buttons. I like their product a lot, have podcasts that I subscribe to there, so I figured why not get one of those to plug on the blog.

But, I found something totally something else. It is a button that I have linked to on the sidebar called 'Send me a voice message'. If you are using a computer with a microphone, you can - as it promises - leave me a voice message! This is turned into an .mpg file and added to my podcast list and I also get an email letting me know. The greatest thing is that there is no signup required to leave a message ! Easy. Effortless. Nice.

a b c d e f g ... spellings cast a spell

2006-02-07T12:23:00.000-05:00

Quick Hat Tip.

Check out this very very cool link - Spell With Flickr.

It was Dugg recently and my brother pointed me to it. It is basically a script that spells words by pulling images for each individual alphabet from Flickr. I changed the header on my blog to use their javascript that changes the images on every visit - and I LOVE it. You'd be excused for thinking I was a narcissist - I keep going back to my own blog a few times a day to see how it looks :-)

Here's to Wisdom

2006-01-30T14:05:00.000-05:00

Teeth, and Otherwise.

Early last week, I started to feel bursts of sharp pain in my lower left jaw. It seemed like the entirety of that area of my mouth was going to explode. Too busy to get it checked, I relied on Advil to keep it at bay. I even entertained the thought that it was TMJ, kinda like having a fancy defect. But, alas, it wasn't to be.

I woke up thursday morning in a lot of pain, and skipped class to let it subside. Feeling much better, I attended a make-up section in the afternoon. But, I had to leave half-way and run to the student care center. There, the miracles of the US Healthcare system started to play themselves out. Do you have an appointment? No. Oh. Pause. We can get you one, OK? Sure, but can someone take a look at this now, please. Well, the best we can do is a nurse. The thought of nurses in uniform caused a momentary relief, but this was serious business, so I said OK.

The nurse was kind enough to take one look, and get me a doctor. The doctor took one look and said that I needed to see a dentist, who would presumably take one look and give me a referral to an oral surgeon. So, I called the dentist's office and I was given an appointment. At exactly the same time as my interview today ! SOML. (story of my life - happens so often that I should start using acronyms :) I said No Can Do, so they gave me one for this thursday and advised that I go on an accelerated diet of Advils (600 mg every 6 hours). FIne.

Thursday night was hell. I felt like I should reach in and pull the damn wisdom tooth myself. Wake up friday morning (can i say that - if I haven't really slept thursday night? Hmm.) with half my face swollen. So, I call the dentist's office pleading death by crying if I didn't get this taken care of. So, I get sent to another facility, where a kind dentists did take one look and said that I couldn't wait another day. This was indeed a possibly infected wisdom tooth that needed to be extracted asap. The only oral surgeon available held court in fancy (read: ex-fuckin-pensive) digs in an office tower downtown. Get down there, only to be told that the doctor was busy by a, herself very busy giving grief to a poor boyfriend who hadn't returned her call earlier that day, secretary. I decided to sit it out and as luck would have it, the doctor was indeed less busier than she thought.

The procedure done, I have spent the entire time since then on a diet of wonderous vicodine. Which is all fine, except that I have an interview in less that an hour, and am nowhere close to being in any kind of shape to attend it. At least, I managed to launder a shirt and press my suit. But, I am starving since any attempt to eat solid food has me practising my Owww war-cries. I'm not even sure if I can keep up with two hours of talking.

And, just a while ago, I realized that these guys are going to call me later today to tell me that I bombed the interview, so might as well have my cell phone charged. I plug the charger into the socket on the floor, and as I am about to stand up, bang my head on a rail. Ouch. That hurt. And then I realized that I had to pick up my laundry from the basement. As I was coming up the elevator, the janitor who was cleaning it said: Careful man. Sure thing, I nodded. Yeah, I did slip as I was getting off my floor.

So, here we are folks. Off to an interview. Too much in pain to be bothered with shaking in my boots.

PS: Just realized that medical gauze is pretty cool to use to shine shoes :-)

Tagged!

2006-01-28T14:39:00.000-05:00

woohoo, i got tagged ! no, honestly, i needed something to do, sitting as I am here unable to talk after having my wisdom tooth extracted last night.

So, here goes:

Four Jobs I've had in my life:
* Newspaper Subscriptions seller
* Software programmer
* Concession Stand Guy
* Wedding Crasher (for the free food :)

Four Movies I can watch over and over
* Love, Actually
* Lagaan
* My cousin Vinny
* No Man's Land

Four Places I have lived
* Bangalore, India
* Hassan, India
* Happy Valley, Pennsylvania
* Boston, Massachussets

Four TV shows I loved to watch (back when I had a TV)
* Deadwood
* Carnivale
* Sopranos
* The Apprentice

Four Places I have been on vacation
* Denali, Alaska
* Oslo, Norway
* Cusco, Peru
* Ayuthaya, Thailand

Four Websites I visit daily
* Digg
* Google News
* Memeorandum
* Hella

Four of my Favorite dishes
* Mom's pappu-charu (oh, how long has it been !)
* ceviche
* ma paw tofu
* linguini puttanesca

Four Places I would rather be right now
* Dubai
* Boston
* Angkor Wat
* Ushuaia

Four Bloggers I am tagging:
* Wakechick
* Le Voyageur
* Brit-Chick
* Byron

Recruiting: Keeping Score

2006-01-25T23:41:00.000-05:00

The Winter Garden at the GSB is probably one of the worst places in the world to be right now. No, I'm not talking about the cleaning crews vacuuming away. It's hard to believe that interviews for internships for my class started only last thursday - feels like I have seen hundreds of people running around in dark suits for, like, forever. And the offers are starting to pour in. Like TDC said to me this afternoon, our world has suddenly been divided into two camps - the Haves and the Have-Not-Yets.

I am actually finding it uncomfortable being in this building. The talk everywhere is of closed lists, second rounds, and that daily evening routine - waiting by the phone for the interviewer to call. Without realizing it, I'm partaking in the same conversations too - something I intended not to. I should really stay away from this madness.

This afternoon, I was chatting with a couple of my good friends who have not been second-rounded yet, and it was like their fears and worries about finding an internship started to affect me. I have never been gladder running off to a study group meeting ! Good luck guys, it's still early days, it'll all work out soon. It's not my place to offer advice, but really do I like this quote:

Let others cheer the winning man, there's one I hold worthwhile.
Tis he who does the best he can, then loses with a smile.
Beaten he is, but not to stay, down with the rank and file.
For he shall win some other day, who loses with a smile.

While on the subject of quotes, I found this one by Vince Lombardi quite topical:
“If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?”

In addition to the Haves and the Have-Not-Yets, there is a third category of cats that make a special effort to enhance the reputation of MBAs as the scum-of-our-earth: the Have-but-Want-Mores. This is an, admittedly small, category of the population that is not satisfied with the five-odd offers they already have, including their 'top' choices. They somehow find the strength in them to go at it every day, seemingly until Kingdom Come, moving from Banking to Consulting to ....

Now, I know all about choices and free will and competition and winners and losers-should-suck-it-up and la di dah. But, I can't find it in me to condone this behavior. Many years ago, I was an undergraduate student at a college that had no working campus placement system. A few of us decided to change this and put one in place for my graduating class. I visited dozens of companies with a friend asking them to consider recruiting at our school, knocking on doors of people who didn't even bother to acknowledge our presence. It was a gruelling experience, but one that hasn't let me forget how precious the recruitment opportunities we have at the GSB are. I might sound like a pinko, but I do believe that they need to be used judiciously.

I think there is a sense of entitlement at this place - that all these jobs are one's to take. I think it is absolutely awesome that we have the choices to pursue a variety of career interests. Truly Awesome. But, one can't forget that this is not a community of One. Every offer that one accumulates (knowing fully well that they already have others that they are more interested in) is an offer that someone else wanted to but doesn't. I know I can't expect much sympathy for this argument, given that this place is all about the Individual.

But, every individual here is also here because of a certain thing they want to develop called the 'network'. I have to ask - are you better served by having a classmate work at a 2nd Tier firm because you cornered a Top Tier job that you knew you weren't going to take? You know that the companies aren't going to go back and make other offers once you decline. In a delightfully perverse way, you are better served by stopping and thinking about your fellow classmates.

I will be remiss if I don't point out again that such examples are a small minority. For the most part, those I have had conversations with are stand-up folks who have removed themselves from the running once they got their top choice jobs. I admire that because I think it is the right thing to do.

In my opinion, Keeping score is not the point of this entire exercise. Finding the right place for each one of us is.

The Time-Space Continuum

2006-01-20T06:50:00.000-05:00

It happened for the second time in a week. I wake up. Look at the clock. 10:30. Class at 8:30. Damn.

Except, this time I was to head straight from end of class at 11:30 to the airport with some people to catch a flight out to Houston. OK, so class was blown. But, I hadn't packed. Worse, I had planned to get my laundry done before I left. Why, oh why, did I have to fall off to sleep without setting an alarm?

Actually, last week, I did set the alarm. I was up until 4 in the morning, and wanted to grab a couple of hours of sleep before heading to class. So, I set the alarm on my cellphone, put the cellphone across the room in its charger and zzz. I wake up, look at my watch and it's 10:50 ! Cursed myself for not listening to my alarm, when I realized that the cellphone was in my hand !!! So, I had - sometime during the morning, apparently unbeknownst to me - walked over to the cellphone, turned it off, and back to zzz. This MBA thing man, plays with your mind.

Anyways, this morning. I scramble. Grab my stuff, unlaundered and all, pack it up, and on the way to the shower, I open the curtains.

What the ? It's dark outside !

Got to say, i haven't had such a surprise thrown at me in a while. I was pretty confused when it hit me - it was 10:30 PM, not AM. Open up the laptop to check the date. Phew. It was actually the night before, not a day later :-) This MBA thing man, plays with your mind.

I went skating last afternoon in Millenium Park and must have fallen asleep as soon as I got home. That was a relief. I could do my laundry, get my homework done in time, make the class, and catch the plane. Life is good. Tons of time. Maybe a little zzz as reward ...

Woke up like an hour ago. At 5. And here I am. Homework. Due. In 2h 25mins. Haven't started. Sh*t.

At least my clothes are in the washer !

Recruiting Tips

2006-01-19T19:12:00.000-05:00

OK, you've got to stop laughing now. I know, the Yogi offering recruiting tips is like the GSB offering scholarships. But, it could happen, and when it does, it is with very good reason.

So, dear recruitees, here are some words of pure, distilled wisdom fresh from personal experience.

If you can help it, never, EVER, tell a recruiter that *he* reminds you of an old girlfriend !

Not good :-)

Second, make sure you check up on any 'baggage' before applying. I realized this AM during class - the formulas were getting a bit much (and I never got that homework done :) - that I know someone who works at one of (the only two !) firms I have interviews with. Which might actually be a good thing, except his wife totally hates me. You see, she wanted to set me up with her sister at one point. She sent me pictures and everything, and me being me, I procrastinated about writing back and then I replied back apologizing profusely and sent her a couple of my pictures (I look so much better in real life anyways) and promising to call asap. You know what happens next, I got sidetracked and that call never happened. I learned later that she was mucho pissed. I deserve it for being such a jackass.

And karma points being what they are, I will probably crack my first round cases, wow the socks off the partners in the second rounds, and as I am getting off the elevator leaving the building run into this guy . And a certain Congratultions letter will get the Printer-to-Shredder treatment :-)

Which leaves me with one shot at a job on-campus - at the most sought after firm for consultants. Whose recruiter looked at my card (since I was too lazy at that point to order official GSB cards) and said: "do you use these to pick up girls at bars?"

Did someone say admissions mistake?

this is Deep sh*t!

2006-01-19T07:05:00.000-05:00

So, I wake up. Like. 5 minutes ago. Plan wasn't to have slept at all. Homework. Due. In 2 hours. Haven't started. Sh*t.

So, what do I do. Boot up Blogger. Look up stat counter. Good Morning and Hallelujah!

I have hits from a link on a new-born blog that is just a few hours into its life. Hmm.

The author, who goes by the moniker Deep, writes: "My old buddy, lets call him poweryogi, who never shys away from experimenting seems to have found his religion in blogging." Hmm.

If I think who I think this is, and I think I may be thinking right, I think this is awesome! There's a reason why Serendipity is the most beautiful word in the english language. Welcome to the blogosphere, Deep ! This is a way cool way to start my day.

OK. Got to run. Homework. Due. In 1h 50mins. Haven't started. Sh*t.

Sing in your own voice

2006-01-11T14:35:00.000-05:00

I will always remember what days like today must be for those applicants whose applications were denied by the GSB. I had many of those myself during the application process but, for some weird reason, it was hard to get used to. It hurt every time, as it must, but I am a firm believer that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

But, one must also keep this in perspective. These results are only the imperfect opinions of a set of people who are looking at a few sheets of paper and have met you for an hour. There was your story, of your own telling, but you had no control of its reading by those who read it. An application failed the race against other applications. It is an inaccurate reflection on the person behind the application. I wish for those who are disappointed today to move on to better things - be it stronger applications for other schools, reapplications, or find something else that sparks those neurons, if that's case.

I was reading Hugh McLeod's manifesto on ChangeThis just now and there was a section titled, Sing in your own voice, that made me think.

Picasso was a terrible colorist. Turner couldn't paint human beings worth a damn. Saul Steinberg's formal drafting skills were appalling. T.S. Eliot had a full-time day job. Henry Miller was a wildly uneven writer. Bob Dylan can't sing or play guitar.

But that didn't stop them, right?

So I guess the next question is, “Why not?”

I have no idea. Why should it?

Good Luck !

The Rule of Four

2006-01-11T00:20:00.000-05:00

Back to Blogging ! The unrelenting stupidity of the end-of-quarter stress about a month ago had sucked the mojo out of moi, and I spent a majority of my winter break trying to regain it by hibernating. It's time to get it back, post by post.

How was y'all's n'year? Mine was spent in almost exactly the same way as the past two years - working on application essays :-) Only this time, there weren't my own. I was helping a couple of friends (and wasn't too much of help to a third one - you know who you are!), and realized that I've become somewhat of a maestro at offering up free advice. Correction. Offering up free advice and sounding like I know what the hell I'm talking about. The amazed you-da-man looks on their faces have convinced me that I may yet have a career in consulting.

Talking of careers (and that's all I can really do at this point), we are a week or so away from this place being flooded with 'cut it with a knife' tensions. It's the start of interview season and I've heard that the zorros among us come out, swords blazing and all, ready to take down everyone else in their path to the promised lands of prized internships. I've even been told a few people break down and cry. I sure hope it doesn't turn out so bad.

I've sent in four internship applications in typical fashion, all on the dates they were due. One with no cover letter (though it was required), one more with no cover letter (hey, they didn't say they needed one), and two past the deadline (hey, but I wrote you guys a cover letter!). I'm sticking with four. That's the number of schools I applied to the second time also ! Maybe there's a lucky number thing going on? Further validation - Just like with my applications, I got a ding from the first firm :-) The second one invited me to interview ! The other two are probably still wondering why I didn't stick to a you-the-best cover letter but was telling stories. I'm sure they'll at least get a kick out of it. The way I look at it, if i can bring a smile to someone's face, even in my stupidity, my job on this earth is done :-)

And, talking of applications, congratulations to those who received admit calls from Chicago GSB today! Go out and enjoy the moment, and I hope to meet with some of you over Admit Weekend and beyond. Fair warning: a year from now you'll be telling wide-eyed applicant listeners how your life was transformed on this day :-)

To those who didn't get the call today, the best with finding out the results tomorrow. I'm not plugged into the admissions center, so I don't know if they have finished making all the calls or not, but I suspect they may have missed getting to some just because of the sheer volume of communications. It ain't never over until it's over. I wish you luck.

And, finally, to those few lucky ones that this school, in its infinite wisdom, has chosen to put through the Yogi experience, hope you get some sleep :-)

Midnight on the Midway

2005-12-09T13:34:00.000-05:00

So, we made up a 75-year old tradition yesterday.

It was the first big snowfall of the year and I got home to the I-House around 11:30 from dinner to find a flurry of excitement at the front door. It was going to happen ! A couple of us had talked about it at lunch-time, but we now had a full count. So, while a few miles west, a plane skidded off the runway at Midway airport, we were doing our own skidding and sliding on the park outside the I-house called Midway.

Midnight Football in the Snow !

This is, the legend goes, the tradition at the I-house ! To warm-up, we helped push a minivan that was stuck in the snow. And then we went at it for the next hour. We had players who had never played a game of football. Some had never seen a game of football. Maybe a couple had never seen snow ! But it was such an awesome game. At the end of it, one of them had a bonafide black eye, another had to leave because he had a head-on collision with another player, and a third lost his cellphone! All of us had tons of fun. Afterwards, changed into warm clothes, we sat around in the dining hall with beers and it was almost 3 when I made it back to bed.

Definitely one of the best experiences I've had since coming here.

If you must hear one thing today.

2005-12-07T18:09:00.000-05:00

Props to Seth Godin for his post on Pandora. He described it as "Web 2.0 plus music plus affiliate plus free plus cool". I don't know what that really means, but this is one kick-ass project.

It is a service based on something called the Music Genome Project and the premise is very elegant. You enter a song that you like and it creates a station that plays songs that are similar to that song. Simple as that. Add to that a very very cool interface that shows each song in an iPod-like interface, intuitive ways to store songs you like, play-more-like or omit a particular song, and the ability to buy a song from iTunes. Very slickster indeed.

I created a new station with the song 'Big Yellow Taxi'. The selections they've played so far:
Fight Test by The Flaming Lips
Stone Cold by The Deuce Project
Your Every Color by The Train
No Man's Woman by Sinead O'Connor.

OK, this is real-time reporting folks. The thing stopped playing after the last song and asked me to register if I want to listen more. I did and the options are either go free with ads (like a real radio station) or pay 3 bucks a month. I opted for the free version.

Started where it left off and the two songs since:
Big Yellow Taxi by The Counting Crows.
Think a Man would Know by Ben Taylor.

Wow. The more I think of it, I think these guys are onto something. I mean, there's all kinds of stuff out there like this. But this is one of the few I have seen that puts everything together so well. There is an option also to add more kinds of music to a station to further customize it. Or create a bunch of different stations. Buy the songs you like. Or just go there and listen.

Vox by Sarah McLachlan
Grass by XTC

There's a little button that asks "why is this song playing?". Clicked and this is what I get: Based on what you've told us so far, we are playing this track because it features acoustic rock instrumentation, mild rhythmic syncopation, meandering melodic phrasing, mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation and major key tonality.

That sounds like a load of foo-fie-ness, but I suspect not. How are they making these recommendations? They are based on the Music Genome Project and here is something interesting:

We ended up assembling literally hundreds of musical attributes or "genes" into a very large Music Genome. Taken together these genes capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony.

Over the past 5 years, we've carefully listened to the songs of over 10,000 different artists - ranging from popular to obscure - and analyzed the musical qualities of each song one attribute at a time. This work continues each and every day as we endeavor to include all the great new stuff coming out of studios, clubs and garages around the world.

That's their secret sauce to create Interestingness (if I may borrow the term coined by Flickr). Take Pandora for a spin if you have some time.

"Web 2.0 plus music plus affiliate plus free plus cool". I think I'm getting it now.

How to Succeed with Women

2005-12-06T21:57:00.000-05:00

Well, I don't have much to proffer on this subject, but this is the title of a book that happens to be sitting on the table next to me. I just randomly turned to a page to see what it was about. And, boy, is it Gospel, or is it Gospel :-)

Your car can be an important part of your seduction strategy. Teenagers aren't the only ones having sex in cars, and many successful sexual experiences start in men's cars and move to the bedroom later. Here are 3 ways to make your car into a rolling seduction chamber.

Rolling Seduction Chamber? Well, maybe I should check this one out.

1. Make your car clean.
Ouch. No go there. Sorry. This chamber deal won't really work for me.

Next Page.

Now think about homes you've seen that seem to send romantic messages to women. While many of these homes may seem expensively furnished, their style follows basic principles you can follow, too, to make your home more inviting and romantic.

Maybe one of these principles could work?

1. A Seductive home looks like an adult lives there. A seductive home is not a closet, a warehouse, a dorm room ...
Strike Two. Dang.

Skip the section to two pages later.

Have a "piece on the side". As you begin to develop your harem of available sex kittens ...
Hope spring eternal.

Is there anything here that I could go out and use?
Do you want to insure dates tonight? Borrow a friend's baby and women will be all over you.

I need to get myself a copy of this book :-)

The best seat on the plane? Close enough.

2005-12-06T01:08:00.000-05:00

"Why do you think we got these seats?", my friend T asked as we walked down the aisle. I couldn't resist now, could I. 'coz these things happen when you travel with me :)

A minute earlier, I had boarded the plane to Duke with my team headed for the Fuqua Product Strategy case finals. The airhostess looked at my boarding card and said, "you have the best seat on the plane". Really? Is it an exit row? "no". smile. "it's the last row, all the way to the back". i dig humor on planes. "and you probably think it's a window seat, don't you?". it isn't?? "well, it is and it isn't. they added new seats where there used to be a closet and there's no window."

So, here I was sitting at window-seat-without-a-window that wouldn't recline and no overhead storage space either. Right next to the restrooms. On a flight that was delayed by over an hour to start with. Nice start to the trip. Actually, the flight turned out to be very pleasant, with good company and time to read up on our target company, John Deere. Got in a hour late, no sign of our transport, waited another half-hour-ish and finally got to our hotel near Duke's campus.

There was supposed to be a social-hour thing starting at 8, but we made our fashionably late entrance past 9, only to find not too many people to strut our fashions to. The other teams had been there for a while and were starting to disperse. Some even were sitting around working out strategies. Us, well we got some drinks. And went to sleep.

Friday was a long, long day. Up at like 7:30. Breakfast with John Deere folks at 8. Got some additional information that was a twist to the case. Drove to Fuqua's very nice business school campus building, and were huddled in a conference room from 10~ish A.M. The case was due midnight. And we got to it in right earnest. Strategies were laid out, work broken up, parts assigned and we were to sync up on our first part by 2 PM. Well, 2 came and 2 went. Some of us were ready, some weren't. And we plodded along. I took a break and met up with Attagirl for a bit. And took another break and checked out Fuqua Fridays. As the deadline approached, things started to fall in place, and, surprisingly, no one wanted to kill each other yet. The financials were done past 11. Our recommendation to the company was finalized. 30 minutes before the deadline. And then thrown away. And a new one was in place. Just like that.

"OK, we have to send this to the judges now". "Is this deck in order?". "Should we review this?"."Hey, you changed my slides!". "No Time". "Does this run like a Deere". "OK, we have to send this to the judges NOW".

What email address do we send this to?

Hmm. Is it in the email they sent us? Let me check. Nope.
Is it in the case document? Let me check. Nope.
I think it was in another email. Let me check. Nope.
We should call the organizers. VoiceMail. Both of them.
Do you think the other teams are still here? Let me check.

Hmm, the doors are all locked. We can't get into the corridor where they are. Maybe that woman will let us in. Did you forget your badge? Well, I'm from Chicago. OK. They are not here. Can you let me into the next set of doors. Thanks. "Hey guys, do you know the email address?". "Yeah, it's in the folder they gave us during breakfast". Ahh. Thanks. How do I get back in? How did you get in here? There was this woman. She left. OK, maybe I can run back down and up another set of stairs.

"hey guys, we got the email address". "What is it?". Dunno, it's in the folder. Let me check. OK it's here. Send. Send. Send. 11:52. Phew.

After being cooped up in a study room for 14 hours, it was such a relief to get this done with and out of the way. Called a cab, that took forever to show up, got back to the hotel and stayed up past 2:00 to go over the actual presentation to be made the next day.

Which started really early, at 7:15 in the lobby. We were bused to John Deere's offices where the five teams made presentations to senior executives in their boardroom. We went 4th, which was great because we got some more time to unwind and think about what we were going to say. The guys at the next table were doing homeworks for class.

We walked out of the presentation and the general feeling wasn't all that great. We were all a little somber, trying to see if we read anything on the judges faces, talked about the things we could have done better, the questions we could have answered firmer, the positioning we could have strengthened, etcetera. After all the work we had put in, not just the previous day, but the past week on this case and the first round, I think there was a slight sense of we-could-have-been-better. For the first time, we felt like we weren't going to win the thing.

We were to be back at Fuqua at 5:30 for the awards ceremony. What would have been a long, agonizing wait was mercifully avoided as soon as we slumped on our beds and fell into a deep sleep. I think the tiredness of the roller-coaster ride got to us. Showed up at the event, good food, good conversation with one of the judges, and it was time to announce the winner.

But, before that, I should do what the judge did and take this opportunity to thank the three wonderful student organizers of this event from Fuqua who worked so hard to make this an unqualified success. Y'all's hospitality was very highly appreciated by our entire team. A really smooth operation from start to finish, with not a cause for complaint. Thank you so much, we enjoyed ourselves. If I may say so, you represent you school very admirably.

And, I think we didn't do a bad job either. We came second !!! It was actually very cool to hear our names be called. I was pretty stoked. We didn't win, but hey, it's our first quarter in b-school. There'll be more of these. The winning team was a 2nd year team from University of Michigan. Congrats to you guys, and all the other finalists. I have to say that I really enjoy working with my group. I hope we'll be back at Duke next year and take it away.

An exciting trip with an interesting beginning begs a fitting end, yeah. We were supposed to hang out at Fuqua's Prom. We almost ended up getting shiny teeth instead. So, we are in this cab headed to a place called Blayloc Cafe in downtown Durham. The driver was a nutjob, talking on the phone all the time, and once turning into a one-way lane into incoming traffic. Not fun when you're riding shotgun. After driving for a while this guy pulls up to the side of a wooded street. Asks us to get off, turn into a parking lot, and walk to the end of it, and that we would find the cafe there. Now, we did get off, but mercifully the dude didn't take off, because there was nothing at the end of that lot. We got back into the cab and this time set out to find the actual address. He's on the phone again and we manage to find a Blayloc. Only problem was, the address he had was for Blayloc Dentistry :-)

Over a half-hour, many wrong turns, more cell-phone-talk-driving, and a de-tour of the supposedly Tabasco District later, we found outself outside the party. And gave ourselves a nice and proper ending. Free Beer.

The 411 from Fuqua

2005-12-02T18:23:00.000-05:00

Quick Post. Have been cooped up in a room from almost 10 AM working on the case finals for the Fuqua Product Strategy Competition. Final product is due at 11:59 PM. Working away on it.

Just wanted to drop by to report that Attagirl is Alive n Kicking and doing fabulously well. Hi, AG ! Good to meet you, though it was for a short while.

Required Reading

2005-11-29T16:42:00.000-05:00

Back from London safe and with a nagging case of the cold. I just wanted to link to an awesome post by Future MBA girl who just got her dream job.

Many congratulations, FMG !!

A door Opens. Closes. And it opens Again.

2005-11-24T20:16:00.000-05:00

My friend Farbe commented on my last post: 'PY: You are travelling again - why am I sitting with my ears perked up and in anticipation of your next blog?'

Given my tendency to make my travels, let's say, interesting I was looking forward to my next post too. But, I decided to do the good-boy routine this time. Normal is Boring, said an Ad for 7-Up a long time ago, but I guess it does get you to where you have to go when you have to. I had to get into London wednesday morning for a presentation at Google's offices. 'Please make sure you are here between 4:30 and 4:50 so that we can start on time at 5 pm', the invite said. I wasn't going to risk doing anything stupid and miss this one.

Leave school at 2:30 PM tuesday to catch the 3:50 train to O'Hare - Check.
Arrive at station 10 minutes late - Check.
Next train not for 40 more - Check.
Arrive at O'hare 25 minutes before Departure - Check.
Barbarian at the gate: 'don't tell me it was the traffic. you were supposed to be here 2 hours before takeoff' - Check.
Settling in to get some sleep on the flight - Check.
Staying up to watch Mr. and Mrs. Smith - Check.
Arrive in London - Check.
Handle on my baggage broken in transit - Check.
Meet up with friend for breakfast - Check.
Get offered to ditch Hostel and stay at his place - Check.
Head to LBS - Check.
Make Suzy wait for a half hour - Check.
Meet up with Suzy and KV - Check.
Tell Admissions at LBS about why I want to do an exchange program - Check.
Get told by Admissions at LBS they don't make the decisions on those - Check.
Go shopping on Oxford Street for clothes for evening presentation - Check.
Leave back for home and get off train at 4 - Check.

I had just enough time to get back home, change and head towards Victoria. Walking out of the station, I was making a mental checklist of things I needed - business cards, directions, wallet, socks. Socks. Damn. Socks.

I just remembered that I had forgotten to pack any socks !! See, in my hurry to pack, I found like 4 pairs but with only one sock of each, so I figured I'd go buy some in London before heading to google. The socks I had on were these colorful knit peruvian wool ones that were a gift from a friend. Let's just say them and wingtips aren't exactly buddies.

Luckily, there was a mall in the train station. But, as is usually the case, there were no stores selling socks. I did manage to buy a sandwich though. Walk outside, and considered heading home and bumming a fresh pair from my friend. But, what if he didn't have any? I decided to leave that for the last-case scenario and see if I could find something along the way. Nada. Then, I see a shoe repair store. Walk in, and he has no socks. But, he directed me to another place that was back where I came from. As if to reiterate the point that I need to take Managerial Decision Making, I headed back. And didn't find the store. Turned around again and headed home this time.

This thing was going downhill in a hurry.

Then, I saw this woman's store thing. Walk in, see a few men's shoes, ask the lady if she had socks. She then shouted for her husband to come out. Said it would be a minute. He was on the phone. Out walks this jovial chap of around 60. Of course, we have socks. Black or Blue? Blue. Wait, maybe black. Can I see both? Sure thing. Except it took like a couple of minutes to fiddle around with the boxes. Black. 1 pound 50. Thanks much Sir, I couldn't have gone to my presentation without these. No worries mate, what presentation?

Note to readers: Never, Ever, get me started on a conversation. 15 minutes later, I stepped out of the store having talked about the river behind his store, the museums of DC, driving into Boston, London's architecture, significant pauses trying to figure out that city with a tennis stadium ... Newport, yes !, the Patriots' stadium, similarity between London and Boston, and trying to answer his question: why do you want to move to London?

Ran home, changed, didn't have time to eat my sandwich, ran out again to the train station. 4:55.

This wasn't good. But, the train arrived prompty. And it left on time, albeit a tad slow for my liking. At least, there were none of those abrupt stoppages in between stations that seem to happen with regularity on the Tube. This guy stopped at a station.

The doors opened. closed. Then, they opened again. Stayed open for a while. Closed. Opened again.

Damn it. why now? Finally, they closed and the train moved on. Got off the Tube at like 5:20. Ran down the street, through the tallest revolving doors in the world, and up an elevator. Entered the office, hung up my coat, took a seat. 5:30-ish. The presentation was well on, but I was looking quite dapper. At least that's what I think those looks, especially from the Stanford women, meant. So I look around, and there are people with their hands raised. I tap the guy in front of me. What's the question? What is Google's Strategy. Thanks.

My hand goes up. Yes?

And, just like that, the road turned and it was all uphill from there.

What passport do you travel on?

2005-11-17T14:03:00.000-05:00

I was chatting with Byron and C last evening when this question came up. I was wont to say Indian, but we agreed that I might be better off travelling on a Chicago GSB passport now !

I am happy to report there might be some truth to that.

Today started out Awesome. Awesome like the way I like my Awesome. With an Adventure.

There is something about traveling that I just absolutely love. I don't know - every time I set out, it's one unexpected thing after another. I am off to a recruiting thing next week to the UK, for which I need a visa. The primo procrastinator that I am, I neglected doing anything about it. I travel next tuesday, so I figured it's kinda time to go get one. So, the day before yesterday, I went online to check the procedures and they said that I needed an appointment. Luckily I got one for 9 AM this morning. Then I bought a decent priced ticket, and also found a place to stay.

Last evening, I realized that I needed to actually apply for the visa. Was going to do it after a night out celebrating our Fuqua Finals with my team. Sure enough, I had a good time and, sure enough, I came home and fell asleep :) Without setting an alarm. Got to say, I did get a good night's sleep. I woke up at 7:30 this morning and I kept thinking that there was something I had to do. It hit me like 15 minutes later ! So, I run down to the computer lab and start filling out the application. It took me around 30 minutes or so, including trips back to my room to get information about every single time I visited the UK. If you are wondering, or are beyond wondering as a long-time reader of this blog :), why I didn't do this stuff from my room - they require this thing to be printed out, and though I have a perfectly fine printer capable of not only printing, but scanning and copying, it's still sitting in its box. For like the last two months :-)

Anyways, stuff done, I get ready to drive to the consulate. The optimist that I am, I discounted the traffic situation. Well, I was mistaken. The loved-by-the-big-time-consultants analyst that I am, I found a way out of the mess . My friend who I was giving a ride to knew a parking lot on a traffic-free street half-way-ish to the consulate. So I got off the highway, parked there, and took a cab downtown. Stupid, maybe. Did it work? Oh, I was only late by like 10 minutes to a 15-minute appointment window.

I get there and am fishing for the appointment letter when I see the fine print - No Cell Phones Allowed ! The one time I didn't need a cellphone - there it was, in my pocket! I was at a consultate in Toronto once where they didn't let me in with one, and they wouldn't keep it with them at the counter. So, I almost - true - considered burying it in the soil of one of the plants they had in the lobby :-) good thing I decided to ask if it was OK to carry it with me. Suprisingly - no wonder I love surprises - they were like Sure. I'd like to say it was my good looks, but I think it was the suit. (ok it was the suit - someone at the I-house who was walking by just told me it was a nice suit. Maybe she'll cook dinner for me? But, I digress)

That done, I walk in and get called on right away - only to realize that I hadn't even read the bold print.

'can i see some information about this MBA event?'
Oopsie.
'you know we require a letter confirming participation right?'
Oopsie Again.
'Hmm, so, what do you do?'
I do the GSB.

'OK. You can pick up your visa this afternoon'

:-) Now, I just need to hand in my I-20 to the Office of International Affairs and hope to get a signature back from them authorizing my travel. I should get it with plenty time. Right?

Or why I'm like never getting a job. Like, ever.

2005-11-16T00:36:00.000-05:00

Get this.
(you might just do one better than me!)

I got an email yesterday inviting me to a dinner tonight with one of the biggie consulting firms. This was to be after a presentation that they were going to have this evening on campus. I showed up all excited early and bright this AM, went to class, another presentation, got some lunch, chatted with friends, and was waiting for said presentation to start. Seeing that I had over an hour to go, I decided to head home for some down time.

Well, down time I did get. A little too much.

I fell asleep !!!!

The presentation was to start at 4:45. Woke up at 5:30. Rushed back to campus, past the company reps at the sign-up-type table looking at me like I just broke a Parisian curfew, and into the hall. Funny thing was, the presentation was still on. And I found myself standing at the back of the room. In the middle of all the other consultants from the company. I'm sure they took more than one mental paparazzi shot of this latecomer. I can see why Closed Lists can be such a power trip. They gonna make be bid for the open list now. Damn.

Things went a little better from there on, I think. Dinner was good, at a nice joint. Too bad I wasn't picking up the check, 'coz the waitress had a smile to put my number down for :)

On the way home, I was thinking of other big-time consulting company that I had met a campus rep twice already over the last few days and hadn't sent a thank-you note yet. I was talking about it to someone earlier too. I came back to the computer with a note composed in my head to send to her. What do you know? Yes, gentle reader. Story of my Life. There was an email from her ! Saying how good it was to meet me, and - get this (i suspect you are) - inviting me to a dinner next week. That's pretty cool. Except, I will have to refuse her invite because I will be leaving town that evening !!

And so we kiss, ever so tenderly, another Closed List goodbye.

Square Peg for a Round Hole

2005-11-14T00:14:00.000-05:00

Last night, over dinner, WakeChick kinda dared me to get someone to cook a dinner for me. (and she can be pretty good at this - or maybe i'm just a sucker for these things - ended up leaving my number on the check for the waitress, at her, well, would you say encouragement, WC :-). Anyways, I figured I should at least step into the kitchen for once if I were to get anywhere with this cooking thing. And so, three months after I got here, I finally got myself a food locker in the communal kitchen at the I-house. Of course, I realized pretty quick that an empty locker isn't much more than an empty locker, so off I went to get some groceries.

Two days ago, I was at a 'lunch and learn' thing with Prof. Art Middlebrooks who made it into an Ideation session complete with props and Play-Doh. In that class, we went through a bunch of creative exercises one of which was to answer a question he posed to us - you suddenly find someone mistakenly drop off a truckload of wine corks at your doorstep. What do you do with them? My friends T & A (clean thoughts, now) came up with a cool one - start a winery now that they have the corks for the bottles !

That thought, quite like the previous paragraph in this post, popped up in my head abrubtly and out of context as i stood staring at the wine rack at the grocery. You see, I felt like some wine and wanted to get myself a bottle of red wine, but was also pretty sure that once I opened it I wouldn't get back to it for a few days and it wouldn't be all that by then. So, I was resigned to getting a white that I could refrigerate. And, then I saw it. Wowza.

Talk about a product that you come across and it's like someone's read your thoughts and decided to surprise you by putting it there. It was one of those boxed wine things - that don't lose their flavor for about six months ! And it came in a box to appeal to a packaging whore like myself - The Wine Block !Now, I'm not all that kicked about drinking wine from a box but then again, I'm a starving student (at least i'm supposed to be :) so I'll take it. But seriously, I love it that the wine doesn't spoil, is actually good, takes up less space, has 1.5 litres and costs 10 bucks. This is actually one of the more innovative designs I have seen on grocery shelves in a while (the 'while' includes the four-odd months I haven't stepped into one). I suspect they could take off and do pretty well.

Come to think of it, maybe they already are. Is that why the corks showed up at my doorstep in the first place - 'coz no one needs them anymore? Hmmm.

Shall We Fuqua?

2005-11-12T12:55:00.000-05:00

I have been an absent blogger of late, but it's been owing to time spent on interesting projects. All of the week before last, my team (3 marketing whizzes and, well, me) was brainstorming on a case submission for the Fuqua Product Strategy Competition, the "World's Largest Business School case challenge focusing on Product Strategy". It was a blast - we applied techniques that they teach in class - 3C, 4P, 9Z (ok, there's no 9Z lest you run to your deans complaining that your classes aren't as cool as mine :), did a lot of research, financials, came up with pizza-pie-in-the-sky ideas - and decided to go with one of those ! Show them a vision of what's possible. No seriously, it was really neat stuff.

As time ran down (and I absented myself for a couple of hours to film a commercial), we finally got our different pieces together into one document. Only to find that each of us had used different font sizes and spacings. That cleared up, we started a final review and the 10 minutes we allocated per page started to go into the 20s. Finallly, with around 5 minutes or so to go, we stopped arguing if a period at the end of sentence goes before or after quotes. Blessed it godspeed and clicked Send.

And, we were told a few minutes ago that we made the Finals !!!! WOW !

This is so cool. Five teams - 2 from Notre Dame, 2 from Michigan, and 1 from Chicago - were selected from the many entrants. Off we go now to Duke to battle it out mano-a-mano during the finals. This is sweet. Sweet.

Go Team !

GND = Gracias, Non-Disclosure ?

2005-11-11T11:21:00.000-05:00

Question Everything.

That's supposed to be the mantra here at the GSB. It definitely was the one espoused by my mascot for the building when I wrote my essays. And, amidst the craziness of trying just to stay on top of things, I do try to stop and ask a question or two here and there.

Like last week. I was at lunch with a professor of marketing with a few other students. Having finished working on my sandwich and emptied the bag of chips, I had to find something else to keep my attention. I decided to resort to a question - professor, what are your thoughts on grade non-disclosure?

It was almost like a schmoozing-standard-issue question that wannabe bankers or consultants employ where you already know the answer that is to come. There were no surprises here. He didn't like it one bit. From his perspective, it makes us uncompetitive and that ultimately impacts the quality of the education we receive. What was ever more profound was his unqualified assertion that GND has made us students more uninterested. He has noticed this very clearly in the classes he teaches. Students come unprepared to class and there's no stick of grades to force them to study. Now, this guy is distilled-pure brilliant, and it was on ample display. When countered with our viewpoint that GND gives us the freedom to take the classes we *really* want to take, as opposed to easy classes where we can get A's, he counter-countered by asking of us why it was that in an advanced marketing elective, which ostensibly everyone is taking only because they are interested in the subject, there was such limited class participation. He says that it is extremely frustrating to have some people in class not participate at all.

Fair point. Really. But, in our fabled (it might be of interest that one of the dictionary definitions of the term is 'to recount as if true') tradition of inquiry, i must ask: Is it just about the students? (I am not confident that it is even OK to mention that as a possibility to any professors here)

But.
Question Everything.

Classroom participation is a two-way street. At least to the extent that one of the judges of its effectiveness, or lack thereof, is the one doing the teaching. I sense, from the professor's attitude towards GND in one of my classes and articles written to the ChiBus, that they are willing to blame this policy for all that's wrong with the attitudes of students in class. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a very valid point. However, and my microecon professor is to blame for this new-found line of analysis :-), let us assume that the students come into day 1 of any class curious to learn about the subject. And let's also assume that there was no GND. And to make it interesting, let us - for a brief monet
momeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemmmmmmmmmmmmm'l;;;;;;;;;

Ok, that was me falling asleep in the middle of typing that sentence last night :-) it's a brand new fall day. and we continue.

Hmm, I forgot where I was going with that last one. However, the point I was trying to make is that, what are the factors that go into determining student participation as the quarter progresses? I would reckon interest in the subject matter is right up there. And maybe the desire to get a good grade.

As I look back at my quarter so far, I have to say I am extremely disappointed with one class, and thoroughly enjoy two others. The interesting thing is, the class I'm currently not liking is the one that the professor tries to get the most class participation. The second class is lecture based, and the third is a mix of case and lectures. I am really kicked by the second class. It's one of those where I walk out every class knowing more than when I walked in. It is lecture based, but a few students ask questions - and they are very thoughtful questions on the concepts he is talking about. The word I'm looking for is invigorating. And, I'm going to be a participant in a class like that - how can i not be? The third class is awesome because we do a lot of work before each class on the case and I go into class with an opinion and understanding that I can debate. I do sense that I get show down by the professor a few times, but it's awesome.

The first class, I don't know. The basic structure is that we read about all the concepts and do a bunch of homeworks before we get to class, and the professor picks a couple of problems and we work through them. As we do it, he introduces some of the concepts that chapter covers. It started out very interesting, I have to say, but then I find myself not learning much in class. I mean, if we are to read everything from the text book ourselves and do all the problems, then why are we in class? To do one more problem? It is, well, uninteresting.

Grades, or no grades, have nothing to do with it. The class isn't interesting enough for me. And it's part of a vicious circle - where I'm falling behind because I don't have the motivation to do the homeworks before class. Here, I have to admit that if they were graded (they're not) I might be more inclined to do them regularly. I might actually do them religiously if grades mattered. But, would that affect my 'class participation'? A bit (owing to my being better prepared), but not by much, I suspect.

I am not saying though, that GND is a total positive. I will readily admit that GND is one of the reasons why I'm slacking in said class. The professor hates it, I think he probably hates me too, but as far as i am concerned, my interest level in the class has been reduced by the structure of the class. I would much rather study enough to be confident that I understand the material, rather than push myself to get an A. In my other classes, I am at the top of my game in terms of how much I can do and learn. A grade doesn't even come into the equation.

That said, I have observed that, with recruiting taking top priority, a lot of people are using the 'thank god for GND' line. I suspect it's in jest, but I do think it has contributed to a certain lessening of interest in the classroom experience. It has led to a more than a few people wanting to work towards a 'Gentleman's B'.

Gentleman's B?

Yeah, it was new to me too. First, 'gentleman' because the women in b-school are, on average, more competitive and driven than the men, so they aren't anywhere close to this special group of people :) A Gentleman's B is that nether zone between a B and C where the professor decides to take pity on your plight and do the honorable thing and give you a B :-) Fun part is, a B's a B's a B. No different from the library-dweller's who missed an A by a whisker.

So, what's the verdict? I don't think there's one. I don't think there ever will be one. Because the opposing parties in this debate are evaluating this policy on completely different parameters. Professors care most about the academics and that's what they believe we should be here for primarily. We, on the other hand, are interested in learning, but also in building the foundation for a career, partaking in the activities of the community, networking, socializing ... never the twain shall meet?

A Word for Blogger re:Blogger for Word

2005-10-31T17:43:00.000-05:00

So, I just logged on to post and saw this link to a new plug-in called Blogger for Word that one can use to post to Blogger straight from Word. While it's probably natural evolution and nifty and expanding target audience reach and all that jazz, I find myself driving the other way of late (definitely has nothing to do with actually finding myself driving the wrong way on a road:)

I'm writing in Blogger and copying into Word.

Isn't that weird? Does anyone else do it? I started when I was writing my essays a few months ago, and again when I was trying to write up something for the newspaper, and now i'm doing it for school stuff. I've actually thought about why this is, and I dare say I kinda understand.

On the actual editing front, Blogger has font and size support, which means I can customize my interface to use Courier, which is what I'd do in Word. I also don't need any fancy formatting or anything, and I have bullets and lists and alignment etc. In short, this is an acceptable-feature editor. At another level, I like the Preview feature :-) I don't know, there is something about seeing what I'm writing without all the menu and drop-boxes around. It's like a little extra that I don't get in Word.

But, I think the real reason has nothing to do with the mechanics of editors. It's all about experiences. On Blogger, it's like I've found a comfortable space, a sort-of virtual neighborhood coffee-shop if you will, to write. This is where I've become accustomed to coming for the last two years to be creative, to write with abandon, to be myself. Word was where I did my work stuff - the documents, the reports, the memos. Today, when I need to write something that needs creative thinking, I find myself doing my best job going where these associations lead me - Blogger!

I think this is something for Google to consider as they think about their next steps in taking over the world. Along with investing in talent to work on OpenOffice, they should probably investigate editor usage behaviors.

Where do people find themselves most 'comfortable' writing? Is it in Word, Notes, Notepad? Is it in an IM chat window, Typepad, on a discussion board? Blogger? Their email client? Post-It notes?

And, leading from that, can they think of ways to take users back to those environments when they need to use editing software? Is there a set of users out there that could make this feasible? I suspect that, though it would be cool, I am not a market of one.

As an illustration, give me the option to 'Save to Disk' in addition to 'Save as Draft' and 'Publish Post' on Blogger. It'll codify what I'm doing by hand, and you've got yourself a customer. I may still want to save this thing as an MS Word file, but that's childsplay.

In stretching my imagination, I can see users being able to create a single(or a small set of connected) 'word processing environments' that they can use for all their - again, we're thinking out of the box here - needs. Make me something that I'll pull up whether it's having to IM or write a blogpost or a document.

What is Google/Blogger saying with this? They acknowledge that Word is where most people go today to write. That's their space. And they want to make sure that there is a link to Blogger from that environment. That's what I'm trying to say too. Except, I don't understand why someone needs to cede this to Word. The web is changing and so are (i don't know if i should say 'and along with it' or 'because of') usage patterns. I think it's time to take a look at this evolution and understand what the next generation of text editors may look like.

Am I making any sense, or am I just losing it?

there's always a first time

2005-10-27T00:47:00.000-05:00

Today was a day of many firsts.

First time conducting a (can you believe this?) info session for prospectives.
First time attending a corporate presentation at the GSB.
First time telling a kid to stop tearing up paper or else i'd go to the principal.
First time meeting Rose Martinelli.
First time realizing that she knew my name (i'd like to think she didn't peek at my name tag).
First time getting a job lead from a prospective student.
First time having wine and pretzels for dinner.

Let's start with the first (i was going to say first first time but that would be too many firsts on a line. and that would be a first).

It was an odd feeling this AM. So much so that I felt the need to look through my wardrobe, all of which is usually spread out on the floor or the chair, to find something nice to wear. I was going to conduct my first Info Session for prospective students as part of the Dean's Student Admissions Committee. wow. Isn't that something? It does feel like I've come a long way from the time i started this process.

I almost felt like a responsible person :-) :-) :-)

I also think it went really well. It was a small group today, and my friend K and I got interesting questions. We enjoyed answering them and it did seem like they had their concerns addressed. We also covered a lot of ground and spoke to what we each thought was interesting to us about the program and our experience thus far. We are doing one more together in a few weeks, which I'm really looking forward to.

A gentle note to prospectives: Please stop by and say something nice to your student hosts on your way out of these sessions, at whichever school you visit. It can make them feel really really good :-)

On my way out I was talking with one of the prospectives who was telling me about a friend who works at a company i am really interested in, when I hear a voice behind me tell him, in jest, - don't believe anything he says :) It was Rose Martinelli. I mis-spoke when I said earlier that it was the first time I'd met her. The first time really was two years ago when I went to the 10 School MBA forum in Boston. On that occasion I wrote:

Wharton was a little disappointing. The answers to my questions were of the 'of course we do so-and-so or you can do this-and-that, we are wharton' type. Wouldn't say the AD was cocky, maybe she had a long day ... but they are indeed wharton and people are going to apply irrespective :)

Well, I did. Twice, at that. I just think it is brilliantly ironic that a guy she rejected twice from the school she was running admissions for, is trying to convince people to apply to the school she's now running the admissions for.

Life is funnily good.

Spinning out of control. Literally.

2005-10-25T02:23:00.000-05:00

I could have died and gone to heaven 30 minutes ago. Finished a really long day after midnight with my study group preparing for a mid-term tomorrow AM and was driving back home when I had an accident. It's been raining all day and the roads are slick and I was taking a corner on Lake Shore Drive (I was driving within speed limits) when I see this car in the next lane speed by real fast and real close. I braked to slow down when I guess my tyres locked up and next thing I know I lost control and am spinning (hydroplaning?). There was really nothing I could do but hold on to the wheel and hope for the best. I came to halt - facing incoming traffic - when my car hit the railings along the side of the road. Lucky for me, there wasn't any traffic in the slow lane. It could have been pretty nasty if there were because it was a curve and anyone incoming would have missed seeing me until it was too late. It was a good thing I was going slow because it wasn't a bad hit to the railing at all, just a slow thud. Tried to drive, but the car wouldn't move. Tried starting again, and this time it did, and I did a U on the highway and pulled into the next exit. I was pretty amazed to see that there wasn't any big-time visible damage to the vehicle. Hooray for plastic panels !! And no out-of-place noises or anything either. Drove back home without any further incident. Phew.

OK, I think I need to get some sleep to sleep this off. Have to be in a decent mental shape for my mid-term tomorrow.

The Resume's done. Life can now Resume.

2005-10-24T00:06:00.000-05:00

Thursday morning at 9 was the deadline to get our resumes into the Resume Book that goes out to I don't know who but it does. Needless to say, I didn't make the deadline. Well, I uploaded mine about 9:30-ish and I suspect the StoryOfMyLife means this deadline's going to be a no-compromises one.

I'm so out of this whole resume thing man. We had a review as part of career services a few weeks ago and I made some initial changes based on feedback. That was it. Until like wednesday afternoon. There was a table setup by career services and I was there and, no surprises here :), they stopped seeing people right after me. Yup, last in line.

At least, I got some feedback.

And, I still don't get it. Does every resume at the school have to be fine-chiselled so that it ends up sounding like, i don't know, every other resume at the school? Let me just clarify that I don't mean to discount any of the awesome work that second years and the career services people have put in to help us first years. It has actually been remarkable. I saw some folks sit for hours in the Winter Garden reviewing resume after resume with my classmates. I don't know if I could do it. I guess I could, except nobody would want me to review their resume methinks :)

Anyways, back to my nutjob rant. There are folks who have been working for days, nay weeks, on this piece of paper. I understand it is an important piece of paper, but nobody ever got a job because of their resume. They did get interviews because of, but still. I was talking with someone who told me that they got a review from 5 people - and got 5 very different sets of to-do's. I just got one review done late wednesday evening. Then again, I'm not your average hard-charging career-oriented MBA-type guy.

And now, the one person who didn't need to know that knows it too. That is the one thing I wish I could change about my time here thus far. So, I walk into Dean Kole's Coffee Hour and start talking to a woman who was standing by the marshmallows. She asked me how my day was going, and i said that I had just come back from tutoring at the Ray School and that I had to get to my resume which was due next morning. 'so, you've been working hard on it', she asks. 'no, i'm just about getting started'. 'oh, are you really?'. That look was rough, barely concealing a certain amount of WTF. At that time, I didn't know why she had responded thus. A few minutes later, a classmate comes by and said woman introduces herself as the head of Career Services. Damn. I'm sorry, Julie. You and your team've been doing a great job this past month and didn't deserve to hear that.

OK, got to stop digressing so much. The one thing I got universal feedback on was to change my 'Additional' section. I had 3 lines there where I talked about my love of travel - how I had once bushwhacked through a jungle searching for a waterfall, and how - i quote, i once found myself lost without a map in the oh-so-narrow streets of Old Delhi. i end quote. I first showed it to Wakechick and she liked it. Then, I met the career advisor and later a 2y and I was told to prune it, and change the language because it wasn't very business-like. I was caught up in the whole resume-stress-out-vibe I guess and succumbed to the advice, and business-liked that section.

Friday morning, I went to meet our client for my consulting project. I had sent him a version of my previous resume a couple of weeks back, and this was our first meeting. I walk into his office, introduce myself, and he goes:

So, you're the traveller?

Not: So, you're the guy who increased production by 12% and decreased retention by 24% and squeezed 34% more ball bearings into a bigger ball bearing.

Not: So, you're the guy who managed $1billion in assets for a company with $1gazillion in assets.

Not: So, you led a team of 55 to successfully deliver a critical component key to the execution of the corporate strategy that you had spearheaded the strategizing, marketing, accouting, and financing of.

So, you're the traveller.

Say what you want, but I came back and re-Yogi-ed by resume. Of what use is that piece of paper if every word that is supposed to be 'me' has to be edited to fit some acceptable template. Will it not get me an interview? It will probably not get me an interview with someone who wants to only read a straight-jacket resume. And, that's totally fine. I wouldn't want to work with someone like that anyways.

I would like to believe that it wouldn't be that extreme. I definitely think there are recruiters who aren't drones and wouldn't ding someone just because their resume said ooh-la-la. I was talking over the weekend about the very same thing with another officer of the school and she told me a great story. There was this student who sometime ago had on his resume that he sold rubber chickens at a baseball game. She read his resume and was so intrigued that she had to meet him. Apparently, others were too. He ended up at BigName consulting firm, and she with a rubber chicken in her office.

I think resumes today, especially at business schools, are crying out for some creativity. I suspect that Career Services departments have so mastered the science of guiding write the perfect resume for an intended career that they have created a new monster. How is one to distinguish oneself in this sea of sameness? It can't be by saying that they did x% more of y than someone else. It can only be by being what brought them to the school in the first place - themselves.

Of course, all this means naught if the resume never makes it to a resume book :-)

How valuable is this blogging thing?

2005-10-21T21:28:00.000-05:00

Followed this link from Tom Peters to an interesting calculation of blog worth based on the link-to-dollar value computed of the AOL-Weblogs deal.

My blog is worth $37,824.18.
How much is your blog worth?

How's that for some coolness. If I can get it, my blog can pay for one year of my MBA tuition fees !! Maybe, just maybe, there's some justice in this world :-)

It feels good to feel good.

2005-10-16T23:20:00.000-05:00

Something's Changed.

And I hope for the irrevocable Better.

I don't exactly know what happened. Or how. But, I'm feeling good. So good, that I'm telling people that I'm feeling good. Yeah, That good.

Why so? If you're 12 hours from a mid-term that you haven't even started to study for, and feel the urge for a rambling long post about mostly nothing, read ahead :)

This whole MBA thing can, at first blush, be Incredibly overwhelming. I think I was caught up in it to the point of completing losing myself. This past week was the worst. For four days in a row, I didn't go to bed. I did get some sleep, but every single night it was falling asleep at my computer in the midst of doing something related to school. The work keeps piling up, and falling behind is a nightmare. I'd resorted to rereading Suzy's blog and asking myself why I wasn't having that much fun at school.

Then, Wednesday happened.

I was long overdue sending the film script to my cohort, and I felt painfully guilty that I might be letting them down. Especially those who were part of the effort. Woke up all groggy, decided to skip a presentation, and walked to school not really wanting to face the day. Then, I ran into a dazzling smile, we got lunch together, and my friend who's been helping with the script arrived. Far from being critical, he understood what was going on with the workload. We talked some, and made a plan of action. Walked over to meet Byron to work on a case, and walked away feeling that we were going to get this one done good.

It was time to go to an elementary school to tutor a 2nd grade kid with his homework after school. I think rewarding is the wrong word for my first time doing the after-school thing, but I do hope to be able to use it at the end of a year working with him. It was definitely relaxing. Got back to school, skipped yet another presentation - this time by a consultant from Bain - and headed to Dean Kole's coffee hour. Was hot-chocolate-with-marshmallows chilling with a fellow blogger, when I got an email from a prospective student who reads my blog and had visited campus and read my blog and it brought a big smile to my face.

Next up - the Late Night Gun Run.

One of the props for our cohort movie is a gun, and I set out to procure one. I've got to say, it's really hard to find a fake gun - even in the south side of Chicago! I was wishing many times that I was packing a real one as I drove, totally lost, through some dark and seemingly dangerous 'hoods. Two hours later, I found myself in the toys section of a Wal-Mart holding a machine-gun-looking Star Wars artefact. That's the best they could do. On a whim, i walked by the real guns section and there it was - a Piece I could use. It was some sort of pellet gun, but it looked workeable. Got it, and drove back with that dont-mess-with me satisfaction on my face.

Thursday got better. Class was great, followed by a really great lunch with one of my squadmates, then another class, a movie shoot (with said gun), hanging out at the Pub, an 8PM study group meeting, finding parking right outside a coffee place in Lincoln Park, hanging out at TNDC with a bunch of GSB people, and getting plugged into the juicy school hook-ups grapevine on the drive back. Sleep. Finally.

Friday was an absolute blast. 10AM meeting with my consulting group. Oh, i've got to write about this, deserves its own post. Short version is that I am doing a consulting project for a non-profit as part of one of the clubs with 5 other first years. Not sure how I'm managing to fit this in my schedule, but this is really great stuff. Meeting ended at 12. Then onto next study group at 12:30 to do my econ homework. I love these people. We are in our LEAD squad together too, and they are positively one of the best groups I have ever worked with in my life. This thing went on for about three hours, and it was time to LPF. I didn't drink, going that I was to drive.

There are a few people here at the GSB who I think are really awesome, and hanging out with two of them(ha, I should call them M&M, both their names start with M)later that evening did wonders to my happiness quotient. M(2) and I went to check out Second Fridays. There is a part of town called the Chicago Arts District filled with artist live-work lofts and they had around 12 gallery openings that night. Gratis wine in hand, we strolled around checking out some art, got invited to the opening day play at a brand-new alternative theater which was very interesting, did the art thing some more, and drove by Wakechick's place (which, btw, is a very cool neighborhood) to grab dinner in a backyard cabana at a winebar. Their steak tartare can be an almost perfect accompaniment to a heated debate. Good times.

Started Saturday on 3 hours sleep at 6:30 AM. Put on a suit for the first time since my last MBA interview to make an 8:30 presentation for the beforementioned nonprofit consulting project. It went really well, and until past noon. Zipped back to campus, and in all my formal finery, sat down for two hours to prepare for a study group meeting that ended oh around 8. Back home, and then to a piano bar downtown with a friend from the I-house, then to McDonald's for a greasy dinner, and then a 20-minute wait for the valet to bring me my car, and then to getting utterly and completely lost. I *gasp* stopped to ask for directions, and arrived, after spending over 30 minutes trying to find the place, at the GSB party. Was surrounded by familiar faces and yet felt very alone, so walked out in like 15. I was wondering when I'd get to that point with all the 'networking' going on.

So, you ask, what's the point of this blow-by-blow of the last few days of my life?
Well, it seems like I've been doing a lot-actually more than I've packed into a usual day, but I feel no stress at all anymore. I don't understand it. I still have the same amount of work, I haven't started working on my resume that's due in 3 days, my script needs finishing and shoots scheduling, and I have a homework and quiz in what's now 11 hours.

But it's almost like I'm back on a train with a backpack winging each day as it comes. Gotta say, it's a wonderful feeling. I'm beginning to see this experience as one that's still waiting to be discovered. And that I won't find it if I follow the motions of the appointments that already fill my calendar for the next month. It's the gun runs, the rooftop sake sipping, the going to concerts for the food, that I'm going to remember years from now, not the studying or schmoozing or midterm questions.

I may be stupid for thinking thus, but I'm feeling good.

This morning, I got a gift - a very nice laptop sleeve for my PowerBook! It's just the nicest thing that anyone's done for me in a long time.

Can this feeling good thing get any better?

on the way to my dorm room ...

2005-10-12T02:49:00.000-05:00

I ran into what must be the absolutely coolest party ever ! at least I've never seen anything so freaking ingenious.

so I get a call from a fellow resident at the International House asking me to meet him by the elevator as soon as I get to the dorms. OK, it was nearing midnight anyways and the mba building here closes at that time, so I head out for home. get to the elevator and there's nobody. look around in the lobby, and nada. so I press the UP button and wait for the elevator.

the doors open and guess what - the party's in the elevator !! jeehzus h. there were these two guys who had converted the elevator cab into a pirate-themed box. they had costumes complete with wigs, there were drapes pinned to the walls, a carpet, colored lighting, and they had set up a table with drinks ! there was even a bowl of sangria with a lobster in it ! and the elevator was packed with people going up and down just chilling :-) it was so much fun to see none of the residents be pissed of that their ride to their rooms was a little different tonight. i was looking at pictures someone took, and earlier this evening one of the residents was playing violin in this mobile party unit ! last i checked, having chugged down a huge bottle of sake, they had graduated to ice-cream with champage :)

rock on, boys. y'all are awesome.

Say my Name, Say my Name ...

2005-10-11T14:27:00.000-05:00

[background score courtesy of Destiny's Child]

I ran into the Hyde Park Center(oh, what a romantically non-corporate name !) soaked wet in the rain some evenings ago to attend Dean Kole's Coffee Hour. I'm standing in the middle of the winter garden, oops Rothman Winter Garden, not knowing where to really go. I walk up to a table of students and ask one of them if they knew where the Peter W. May Student Lounge was. He didn't, and asked his friend. They thought it was the lounge across from us, but turns out it was the Andrew M. and Sharon Sadow Alper Student Study. Ah, Study. My bad. I'm looking for Lounge. Right. One of them then said Oh it's the Student Lounge. huh? Turns out there's only one student lounge in the building, and there it was right behind me.

Is it just me, or is this whole trend towards selling naming rights to everything and anything at business schools a bit much? Now, I'm not complaining, just observing. I FULLY recognize and appreciate that we would not have this fantabulous facility without these donations from sponsors, corporate or otherwise. They help offset the increasing costs of providing world-class facilities to the student body and faculty. (unrelated note: do we really need these facilities? i'm a happy-camping-in-the-woods kinda guy, so ... :)

Last week, I read an interview with the Dean where she was asked about a rumor that the name of the school itself was for sale. She said: "If I could take the question and twist it a little bit, if you contrast the size of Chicago GSB's endowment with the endowments of our peer schools, we have one of the smallest endowments. And so, if someone wanted to come in and double our endowment, with a name, I think that for the institution as a whole we would need to entertain that."

Her answer makes perfect sense, from a businesswoman's point of view. However, at some level, I have a philosophical disagreement with the entire concept. Not that it matters a dime to anybody who matters. There used to be a time when streets, parks, public buildings etc were named, when they were, for people who had spent a lifetime doing something deserving of that recognition. I've always considered it one of the ways for us a society to recognize the deserving among us. It is this seeming loss of intent that I bemoan.

When somebody plunks down an insane amount of money to get the naming rights to a school, what are they really paying for? I'm in b-school now, so I'm allowed to say the b-word: Brand ! I can see how it could be cool to have the Chicago Yogi Graduate School of Business. (to make it hipper and increase applicant numbers, I might just shorten it to Yo GSB :) When you put up the money, you've got to get something for it, ya. In this case, it would be an association with (i'd maybe go with usurping of) what is really the work and achievements of generations of faculty and scholars who have come before me. I just think it's wrong for a single person to be able to lay claim to that. Can you imagine - Prof. Eugene Fama wins the Nobel Prize next year and they introduce him as the Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Yogi School of Business. A rose by any name ... ? Me no like this whole name business.

I was talking about this with a classmate during lunch last week, and this is what I'd do - IFF I someday had the money to burn, I would buy up the naming rights for the GSB. I most definitely would. And then I'd elect to retain the name of the school as the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business for posterity. I've never thought about it this way, but it is one of the last 'pure' names left of any b-school. I believe there is greater value in keeping it that way.

Then again, I don't call the shots, the Deans do (that is, until I get my fabulous education in this fabulous building and make boatloads of money). That makes me wonder, isn't the real question to ask: why is it that we send so many students to Wall Street, have hundreds of alums as CEO's and yet have the smallest endowment among our peer schools? But, I digress.

Coffee at 11

2005-10-11T01:35:00.000-05:00

That would be 11 as in AM & PM. No can do on my own anymore.

I'm so missing Blogging. It's kinda like that friend who you'd like to be more than a friend with, but try as you might, can't just find the time to make it happen. Damn.

I'm so not missing my job. And I'd just hope certain people would stop behaving like they were still at one. This is school people, chill some.

I'm so missing Happy Valley. I just wish I was camped out at Paternoville last week, rain and all, and rocking the Beav saturday night. You know what they say - God must be a Penn State fan, why else did he make the sky Blue and White !

I'm so not missing my car anymore. It got here this weekend from Boston, safe and sound.

I'm so missing the couch in my office. I could use them late afternoon power-naps I used to take at work. Heck, right now I'd settle for a late-night nap.

I'm so not missing baseball. Season ended with the Sox. It's a pity.

I'm so missing a paycheck. And no, loan refunds checks don't count.

I'm so not missing parking tickets. Wait. OK, at least until I get my first one in Chicago.

I'm so missing good food. Actually, make that food. I don't know how I'm surviving - all i've had to eat today was a slice of pizza, a few edamame, 3 mozarella sticks and a small salad. Oh, and coffee.

I'm so not missing writing essays. A friend of mine was at the GSB today as a prospective student, and he's trying to finish his Wharton esssays for thursday, and I was reminded of my first time ever in Chicago - to visit Kellogg on the day of the LBS deadline. Boy, I sure am glad those days are 'those' days now.

I'm so missing putting together a coherent post.

Take that back.

I'm so not missing putting together a coherent post. I suspect this blog will go back to its original motivations - to be a more personal journal, with all its associated imperfections, of my trials and tribulations as I navigate the hell-in-the-guise-of-heaven that's the MBA. If that has to mean titling a post with coffee when it has nothing to do with coffee, that's what this will mean.

I'm so missing not giving a fuck about things.

I should be studying, or partying, or sleeping ...

2005-10-06T01:44:00.000-05:00

but here i am sitting under the stars in a courtyard at 2:35 AM on one of the last warm nights of the year writing a script for a short film !

what gives?

I recently realized that it's been a while since I laughed. I mean, really really really laughed. Like the kind where you are loud, holding your belly, slapping your hands on the floor, with not a care for anyone around you. Well, not any more. The moxie's back, baby.

It happened last thursday [and it's saying something about the workload here that it takes Me until now to post - kinda like smoking that post-coital cigarette at breakfast :)] at a pub. I am the film chair for my cohort and what that means in non-GSB-speak is that I need to rally the troops to make a 6-minute movie and a 30-second commercial. So, I send out surveys, emails etc soliciting support, and I ask anyone interested in creative brainstorming, the Los Creativos as we'll call them henceforth, to stop by for a drink after class.

I actually got responses!, and there we were, the motley few. And boy, did we get creative ! We were shown the previous year's movies during our LOE trips earlier this month, and we didn't want to do what people usually did - make a spoof of a movie or a TV show. The one chance we get with this movie, we want to do our own thing. We started with a very original idea (kinda my idea *wink* *wink*). The Los Creativos vetted it, broke it down, added to it, and we now have a better very original idea. At least we think so.

Then, we started to talk about the situations we can put in there and the jokes and it was like wow. Picture these MBA types in a basement pub suddenly acting out the parts, walking, hand-waving, laughing. It was a trip. I took some back-of-the-book notes and filed the rest of the things in my head. Bounced the idea off my cohort peeps at parties thursday night and friday and got a good response. Sat down yesterday at lunch with a fellow Creativo and in like an hour we had the script written down. No kisses in our story, though, only KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid. The outline of the script fits on one handwritten page.

Had a concept review session today with some of last year's stud-muffin film chairs and I got to say it was a great response. They loved our 2-minute spiel ! It was pretty cool to hear, made me really glad that I ran for film chair. I don't know, I think it's the satisfaction of seeing the work we're putting in amount to something interesting. I had a chance to talk with some more cohort-mates about the movie this evening and they are excited too, which is doubly awesomely awesome.

Next step, which is what I'm engaged in right now, is to actually break it down scene-by-scene and write a real 'script'. This stuff's taking time. I actually feel like a movie director though :-) I'm seeing what I want the movie to look like, and putting down stuff like: Against a white background with thick black lines ...

The not-so-fun-but-well-maybe-i-dunno part of this role is that it's a management exercise of incredible proportions. The first week or so, there weren't many signs of visible enthusiasm towards the movie. It recognize it was my fault at some levels because I didn't jump on the thing right away and get cracking and rounding up people to do different things- I'm not used to working like that. It was also because we got hit with classes and the time demands on everyone are just too much. There was this one day when I was walking home thinking if I had gotten into something way over my head. But, I thought back to how/why I had been successful in similar situations in the past, and I realized that people will buy in and come along for two reasons - they need to feel that they are part of something good, and I'd need to establish some credibility for my role as the one directing the effort. I guess we are farther along on the former than the latter, but I'm working on it.

I have to say I can't wait for the school to see our movie. That would be something wow.

OK, I'm outta here folks. Tomorrow at 9 AM, my life may just be about to change. I signed up for Procrastination Workgroup run by University Health Services :-) Now, if only I can get to that meeting on time.

'noches.

PS: about that post-coital cigarette thing - i recently read it someplace and had to use it :-)

Power Nap in the Library !

2005-10-03T02:27:00.000-05:00

It's 2:28 AM and my Monday has already begun with a whimper. Just dozed off for what I thought was a few minutes but in fact was almost a half-hour in a sofa at the library.

I find myself here starting to work on a homework that is due tuesday morning, but needs to be ready for review with my study group at 9 PM tonight. That meeting will be right after a 6-9PM class which would have followed a 1:30-4:30 class which would have been preceded by a 12PM-1PM study group meeting. The latter class I am hopelessly behind on already, but next week is a 'catch-up' class and that's what I hope to do by then. All said, when I finally find myself a bed monday night I would have gone close to 40 hours straight without sleep. Not counting the aforementioned power nap of a few minutes ago.

It's not all work though. If it were, I'd be dead by now. Woke up this morning at 8 AM to a call from a credit card company, showered, and headed out to prepare for a study group meeting for a case for tomorrow's Commercializing Innovation class. The meeting lasted over 2.5 hours but it was very productive and we have what I think is a pretty solid report to hand in for class tomorrow and good talking points for the class discussion.

Stopped by to get some coffee on the way back to the I-House and got a call from my ex-roommate in Boston. Ended up talking for almost a half-hour and it was good. Also made me realize that I've reached that point in this experience where I am starting to miss Beantown. We talked about - we had to, really - baseball and I was getting an update on the final game of the season. Well, for a few days at least, Boston's coming to Chicago. The match-up of the Sox-es in the AL playoffs should be interesting.

Then I spent 3 hours of travel time to-and-from a dinner that lasted an hour-and-a-half ! Columbia College in downtown Chicago has an M.A. class where the students go out with their professor in groups to various ethnic restaurants to learn more about the food/culture/arts of the place and review them ! And, me being me, I just have to know someone in said class :) I had managed to finagle an invite to tonight's dinner as the 'date' of a friend, and it was a much-needed break. We went to a restaurant called Ethiopean Diamond and there were two highlights of the evening - one being the owner of the restaurant stopping by the table to talk about the history and settings of the art on the walls, said to have been painted by one of Ethiopia's greatest living artists. The second was being given, on arrival, a printed special menu for the meal personalized with my name on it ! how cool is that.

Long journey back via train and bus to the I-house around 11-ish and I walked over to the dining hall to see what was going on there. The dining hall at the I-house is a great place to meet other residents and also has a (i think) 60" projection TV. There was one guy watching the World Series of Poker and I started talking with him about it, and pretty soon the conversation had covered MIT's blackjack team, places to play chess in Hyde Park, and in Harvard Square, and ended with thoughts on kick-ing off a regular Poker Night. On my way out, I ran into 3 students of International Relations. There was this Irish lad whose mastery of trivia is fantabulous. Over games of foosball, I spent the next hour trying to answer his trivia questions ranging from capitals of the world(totally stumped at moldova) to which state other than W.Va had the name of another state in its name. This is one of the reasons why I decided to stay at the I-house - you get to meet so many interesting people with varied interests.

But, now, the fun is done and it's study time. I'm the only one in the library we have at the I-house and though there is no coffee around, the vending machines have been thoughtfully been stocked with Starbucks Double Shots and Amp energy drinks, and I have a bunch of dollar bills to destock the supplies.

Off I go now. Microeconomics beckons. Y'all have a nice Monday.

Bringin' out the firehose

2005-09-26T10:15:00.000-05:00

drinking champagne from a firehose ? i can see the firehose connection but champagne - methinks not. I am going to class today needing more sleep - all because of the pre-first-class homework I had (make that Still Have) to do before class starts. and I have two classes that need over 100 pages of reading each as well as homeworks or case writeups before we even step into the classroom. today. wow. how bad is it? i have freakin' writer's block as i write this. no time to do anything to overcome that. so off i go to begin a brutal day.

Grade Non-Disclosure

2005-09-23T16:00:00.000-05:00

Simple title for a post on what is really a very complex issue. The student body at Chicago GSB hasn't yet started to discuss this issue and vote on it, but it seems to be a hot-button topic at Wharton, as indicated by posts from Linda and JP, among others, in response to the article that started it all on BW.

Chicago is one of the four 'top' schools that has this student-initiated policy in place. Reading the various sides of the issue, I can appreciate the concerns of the various parties involved. Especially, the professors at Wharton who seem to be observing "lackluster academic performance and student disengagement".

The BW article doesn't quote any Chicago professors, and I haven't heard their opinions on the issue, but anecdotal evidence suggest (to me, at least) that they mayn't be so critical of the policy. That's what I think. I wrote about Prof. Rayo's approach to his class, which I think is pretty cool. Also, I was talking with Prof. Meadow who advised me to approach his class with the intent to learn as much as I can over getting caught up in trying to get an A. Sage advice. I have heard the argument that grades are meant to reflect how much you've learnt in a class. I think that's not entirely true. An 'A' means that you know how to concentrate on what's required to get an 'A'.

The biggest argument in favor of grade disclosure seems to be the recruiter angle. You know, I don't know about that one. There are MANY classmates of mine who are taking advanced level classes first quarter to prepare them for their chosen career internships. If grades by themselves were a factor, I suspect many more of us would just stick to the foundation courses to better our chances of meeting the GPA cut-off for an interview list. I also suspect this is unique to Chicago because we don't have a first-year Core. I've been told that a student's choice of classes is, in itself, a strong indicator of motivation when it comes to recruiting. Please don't read this as laziness - take some cool-sounding classes, coast through them, and get jobs over the A-ers. Classes here at Chicago are tough. I should actually not be blogging right now - i have a problem set to solve PRIOR to my FIRST accounting class that has people asking questions like: How would one treat an unsettled law suit amount (payable by my firm at the time of preparing the balance sheet)? Would I treat it as a current liability? And this is a basic accounting class. God help me if I decide to walk into an advanced class just for the heck of it.

Linda makes the statement "Accountability is a great motivator. It is absent at the schools with the non-disclosure policy." This I don't understand. Just because I don't have to tell my recruiter a grade makes me somehow unaccountable? [wrong grammar?] I think we are as accountable to our classmates as to our professors. And, in an intensely competitive environment, if a policy such as GND can facilitate greater co-operation, I am all for it.

Finally, she also asks: "Do Wharton, HBS, Stanford, and Chicago have cooperation and collegiality, or laziness?"

A few hours ago, I was in a kick-off meeting with the film chairs of all our cohorts. This is a competition where each cohort comes up with a 6-minute film that is then shown to the school and awards handed out a ceremony called Golden Gargoyles. Now, a bunch of us have never done film, but one of the cohort chairs has something like 7 years of experience in the film industry ! I didn't even know what the questions she were asking meant :-) Towards the end of the meeting, she gave us tips on what she thought was a great short film to watch to see how it's done, and offered to sit down sometime next week and give us all some of the incredible knowledge she has regarding how to approach this thing!

Now, I think that she didn't really have to. The rest of us could have stumbled throught the process while she went off and made a great movie. She still will kick our collective ass come awards night, but I for one would be the better for what I learn from her.

Co-operation? Collegiality? Laziness?
You decide.

'Twas the Night before Classes ...

2005-09-22T12:03:00.000-05:00

and i got back to my dorm around 11:30 after a very nice dinner over at Byron's and as I was headed to my room to catch some sleep when I met some people who talked me into watching Oprah get a million bucks from Jon Bon Jovi. I didn't even know Oprah was on that late. Maybe 'cuz its Chicago?

Anyways, midnight came around and just ad I was about to call it day, this other guy comes by and tells us that there's a movie playing next door. Movie? In super-quiet Hyde Park. Yup, Ida Noyes Hall (in between the GSB building and the I-house where I stay) has a 450-seat theater and Doc Films, supposed to be the oldest campus film club, had a free midnight screening of The Life Aquatic. Now, I saw Seu Jorge perform the songs he sang for that movie live two nights ago, so I just had to go watch the movie ya.

Watch I did. For like an hour I think before I fell asleep in my seat :-) woke up sometime later and decided to head to a bed. It was finally around 2 when I fell asleep. Set two alarms so I wouldn't miss my first class.

Slept through both. But, a phone call woke me up! And it was from a recruiter :-) Well, not that kind of recruiter exactly. I was called last week to provide a reference for a VP they want to hire for a startup, and she woke me up this AM to ask if I could recommend any senior engineers. Kinda networking without really networking. I'm going to ask her if I could come intern there next summer :)

And, I did make it to class. I've read the Wharton bloggers post about their Concert Rules, and decided to ask the professor if he had any such rules we should follow. This is pretty freaking cool. You can eat, drink, use your laptop whatever as long as it doesn't offend anyone else. If you are bored in class, feel free to leave. On top of that, you don't even need to show up in class ! yup, he was like if you think you know the material well enough, just make sure you submit the homeworks and show up for the mid-term and finals. Wowza !

Class was good. The prof announced a prize of a super-expensive bottle of tequila for the most creative cheat sheet on the mid-term. Oh, and there's no need for a textbook or course materials. I'm lovin' it :-)

Finally, two more of my classmates are blogging. That's two more perspectives: Hugo and Mandar. Check 'em out.

Off I go now to study. I have some really scary reading for my two monday classes.

Now we're Coursing

2005-09-21T17:27:00.000-05:00

The bid results are out. I went for broke and had bid ALL the points I had to try to get into Prof. Meadow's class. Guess what? I got in, and the course didn't close ! Which means I get it for free. Even better: to get into this class, I dropped another class that hadn't closed the first time around - and it closed for 1000 points in this round. Which means I get those 1000 points. So, I actually get the schedule I want (with wednesdays and fridays off) and 1000 points back !

Kinda sweet how these things seem to work themselves out.

Where do little birds go when they die?

2005-09-21T14:32:00.000-05:00

I saw something very sad just now. I was walking back to the GSB building after collecting my Chicago student ID and right outside the doors, on the concrete balcony-type thing we have, was a bird. It was on its back but I saw one of its wings fluttering. I went to see if I could help, but alas, it was just the wind ruffling the little one's feathers. Tried to shake it but it didn't move :-( Sat there for a little bit not knowing what to do. I mean, I couldn't just leave it lying there. There were people walking around, and someone could step on it. I felt much worse when I thought of those who would walk away ignoring it. Such a beautiful creature doesn't deserve that. But, what does one do with a dead bird? I didn't know, i mean it's the first time I have actually seen one I think. So, I just picked it up off the floor and put it in a flowerbed that was nearby. I hope that was not a bad thing to do.

Go in peace, pretty bird.

Bathroom Conversation

2005-09-21T11:33:00.000-05:00

4th Floor Men's Room at the I-house last saturday. I'm shaving (very carefully, lest the one I want to impress at the GSB Semi-Formal is left unimpressed :-) Another guy walks up to the next sink.

Me: Hey
He: Hi

Me: Are you new here?
He: Yes, just got here. And you.

Me: Me too. What are you studing?
He: I'll be at the GSB.

Me: No Kidding. Me too. First year?
He: Cool. No, actually I am an exchange student. Where are you from?

Me: Bangalore originally.
He: I'm from IIM Bangalore.

Me: Awesome. Is Kima your classmate?
He: Wow, yeah, do you know Kima?

Me: No, but I read his blog.

Got to love this blogging thing man.

To Thine Own Self Be True.

2005-09-20T18:04:00.000-05:00

Why did I not listen to the inner voice that urged me not to get out of bed this morning?

That monumental mistake has me sitting here tearing my hair out. If you guys thought our bidding system was rough, welcome to the world of dropping/adding/swapping courses. It's actually simple dropping, simple adding, add one of-ing, swap/drop only if i can add one of-ing ... Jim H. Cavizel !

And the reason I find myself at this point of jump-or-else-we'll-push-you was attending and, the extravert that i am supposed to be, asking a question. I was talking with a finalist from a previous year's New Venture Challenge who now has his own ice-cream company, and he told me that the best prep for the competition was taking Prof. Scott Meadow's Commercializing Innovation class. This class has like 6 recommended pre-reqs and so I decided to walk over to Prof. Meadow's office.

You've got to meet him, this guy is awesome. He told me that I should take it this quarter. When I asked him about the pre-reqs he said I'd be alright. He also made a point that, in his opinion, no coursework at the GSB can prepare anyone to take his class. So, it would be the same now or later in terms of prep. Also, that the sequence of Commercializing Innovation, venture finance, and the New Venture Challenge was one of the best entrepreneurship streams at any b-school.

It's going to be really, really, really hard but I am going to do it. The reason I came here is to study entrepreneurship, in as much as it can be learnt. If this is going to be the path that will best prepare me - to steal a line from my admit letter :)- for my life's work, bring it on.

That's one part of it. I've now actually got to bid for, and get into, the class. That's a whole different ballgame. Especially because I may have to drop/swap/whatever-the-fuck TWO classes. I won't even go into the crapshoot this process has become. Suffice to say my bracket-busting strategy is out of the window :-) The end-case scenarios are NOT looking good.

Oh, did I alreadly say I was elected un-opposed as the film chair for my cohort. Can I drop/add/swap/beg out of that one. No, just kidding. We'll make a great movie. Or so I keep telling myself :-)

what the F am i doing here?

2005-09-19T16:42:00.000-05:00

I've said this to more than one classmate, but i've been really bothered by the question of whether I belong here at the GSB. Or at any business school for that matter. I know, it's crazy, but it pops up in my mind, what can I do. I've been told that it's a big place and you'll find your niche of people and all will be good. I understand that, but I don't think it's about my classmates.

We had a session on the MBTI today and I thought it was pretty revealing. If I were to believe the results, it is actually about me and certain characteristics that are probably innate.

It was a surprise to me to see that I was adjudged to be an EN-F-P. I always thought I was EN-T-P. That's what those free tests I did on the web told me. But, according to this more detailed one, I'm slightly skewed towards being an 'F'.

What does this mean? According to the book:

For people with ENFP preferences, life is a creative adventure full of exciting possibilities. ENFP's are keenly perceptive about people and insightful about the present and future. They experience a wide range of feelings and intense emotions. They need affirmation from others and readily give appreciation and support. ENFP's are good at understanding how people and groups work and are persuasive and compelling in pursuing what is important to them. They are adaptable, blooming where there are planted. Their energy and enthusiasm encourage others to bloom as well.

Got to say, all that blooming stuff sounds pretty kick-ass-go-yogi-go. But, when I ask the 'what-if' questions, things are a tad different. For e.g., What if an ENFP doesn't get the 'affirmation' they need from others. Again, for lack of an alternate, we turn to the book:

If ENFP's do not find a place where they can use their gifts and be appreciated for their contributions, they usually feel frustrated and may:
* become scattered, have trouble focusing, be easily distracted
* fail to follow through on decisions
* become rebellious, excessively nonconforming
* ignore deadlines and procedures

See, this is scary stuff. This was EXACTLY what my job got to be at one point. And it was because it was a stifling situation for me personally. We did another test today where we had to, in groups sorted by type, complete a few statements. The NF's responses ?

Q. Work is a reflection of ..
A. what I care about.

Q. The most important contribution I can make in my work situation is ..
A. use my talents.

Q. The worst thing I can be asked to do in a job is ...
A. routine stuff, or be asked to fire someone.

I quote these because it seemed from the other responses that we as a group were so off the charts when compared to my other cohort-mates in their group responses. Some of them:

Q. Work is a reflection of ...
A. Personal goals, passions and abilities, responsibility etc.

Q. The most important contribution I can make in my work situation is ...
A. Impact on society, increasing production, accomplishment of goals, creative solutions.

Q. The worst thing I can be asked to do in a job is ...
A. Artistic skills, work in a changing environment, unethical, non-challenging work.

Don't the other responses sound more MBA-like ? No wonder NF's are also characterized as Idealists, with a motto: To Thine Own Self Be True. Pretty freaking hard to do if you're an MBA student, I tell ya.

ENFP's hate routine, schedules, and structure and usually manage to avoid them.

Seems to me almost all the jobs an MBA can expect to do post-graduation actually involve a lot of routine, schedules, and structure. I say *almost* all because I'm an optimist and still believe there's got to be a career for me that will allow me to be myself. After all, Dr. Seuss was an ENFP. Wait. OK, bad choice. But, they didn't give us any other ENFP examples :-)

What is also interesting is looking at the percentages of these various types as compared to the general population. ENTP's are 10%(working MBAs) as compared to 3.2%(national sample), ENTJ's are 8.9% vs 1.8% (whoa!),ISTJ's 17.1% vs 11.6%, ESTJ's 17.4% vs 8.7%, and INTJ's 7.1% vs 2.1%. Looks like the TJ's self-select into b-school.

The NF's in b-school, on the other hand, are lower than the national averages. For ENFP's it is 5.9% vs 8.1%. In our cohort we divided the class of 52 into 4 groups - NF, NT, SP, SJ. There were 3 NF's.

I don't know. Maybe I'm not making sense and over-reacting to this little test thing. Then again, the book may be right:

ENFP's find meaning and significance readily and see connections that others don't.

Ah well, screw it. My brain's fried and the World Music Festival is in town and there's a free concert at Millenium Park that I want to check out. Off I go now.

Autumn Classes: No Gain, No Pain.

2005-09-17T15:00:00.000-05:00

I got my top schedule, and also got a pre-req go-ahead from a professor and I need to drop a class, so I'm kinda not really all scheduled yet.

But it's pretty cool. There were two cardinal rules that I wanted unbroken when it came to my schedule:

* no going to class at 8:30. i think it is against every law of nature.
* i'm not sitting through a 3-hour class unless there is some form of compensation.

glad to report that both have been met among the courses i've got. my schedule of the 3 sure classes looks like this:

Financial Accounting - Monday 1:30 - 4:30 PM. It is taught by Professor Weil, who wrote the book. I've been told there is very little lecturing in the classroom (a lot of self-study) but he tells a lot of stories and it is supposed to be an entertaining class. I think I can sit through it, no problemo.

MicroEconomics - Tue & Thu 10:10 - 11:50 AM. I should be able to manage waking up by 10. And it's twice at week at hour and half each. Oh, and they tell me all the girls in the GSB are in Il Professori Rayo's class. Not that it means anything to me. Just saying what I heard.

The Practice of Leadership in Business - Thu 6:00 - 9:00 PM at our downtown campus. This is an intersting class, taught by a professor who was a CEO for 19 years. Course programming is more case-based and there are 3 guest lecturers who are business leaders, and we have to meet senior executives of chicago-area companies for a research project et cetera. OK, *real* reason is thursday night is TNDC - thursday night drinking club - and we go to bars downtown or norther (and i live south) and i figured might as well head to class on the way to the drinking. it's just more convenient that way :-)

I'm thinking of dropping my 4th class and signing up for a friday afternoon class from 1:30 to 4:30. So I can end up at LPF(this is free drinks and conversation on the House, in the House) right after class :)

There you have it fellas - an insight into the frameworks a 'future business leader' employs to determines his class strategy that will be the foundation of a sustained ... no can do any more buzzwords.

On a more serious note, i actually chose my classes based on what I want to do the next two quarters. Our bidding system encourages strategic course selection. You assign a bid value for a schedule you want, and after all the bids are sorted, course prices are set and then you are charged for the classes you got. In my case, I bid 3001 points for my schedule (which, in true yogi fashion, was the Least Successful Bid for one of my classes. In plain english, it means that i was the last guy to get in before it closed) Now, if my course A has a price of 1000 determined for it, B has 500 and C has 300 - I end up actually paying a total of 1800 for my schedule. If, on the other hand, the sum of the prices of the classes is more that what you bid, you end up only paying the bid amount and get a 'subsidy' from the school. Kinda complicated.

My plan is to take 3 courses next semester, each of which is very expensive, around 5000 points each. I can get away by bidding and paying only say 5001 which will get me into each class. It is highly inefficient to bid on a schedule where your most expensive course is 2x or more your next expensive course. Of course, the exception being if you have a class that you HAVE to take. It happened with me this quarter with Prof. Rayo's class, but the amounts aren't too big. I think I'll be in good shape come Winter with around 13000 points on me.

Spring I *hope* to take the Free Ride Train. There are a few courses you don't bid on - you can only get in if selected. I want to do the New Venture Challenge, PE/VC Lab and LEAD. I think (not entirely sure) that these courses also give you back 2000 points on successful completeion. *If* this pans out, i'll enter next year with a kitty big enough to go out and bust everyone's brackets (that sound you hear is the evil capitalist-in-the-making in me laughing :)

But, I know these plans never work out and I'm cool with what I have for now. Classes start Thursday.

You know you're all settled in ...

2005-09-15T10:11:00.000-05:00

when you skip your first class :-)

yes, it has happened. and i realized that the GSB is a strange, strange place when the halls and winter garden are empty. there are buildings where I enjoy the one-on-one's but the hyde park center seems pretty cold to the single suitor. anyways.

spent last evening trying to bid for classes. and boy, it's a trip. we have a complicated bidding system (one that was soundly rebuked by an economist i was trying to explain it to at dinner later) that starts us off with 8000 bid points each. we have to pick 3-4 courses we want to bid on to form a primary schedule, and upto 3 alternates, and assign a bid for the *schedule*, not individual courses. more complicated magic happens and you are assigned a schedule only if you can be accepted into all of your courses in that schedule. if none of the schedules can be met, then we are herded into the next phase where one can drop/add courses but this time bid on individual courses.

i understand the procedure, but i am not sure i like it. what made it really tricky for me is that i couldn't find out in time if i could get waived out of a pre-req for a course i want to take NEXT quarter. yeah, i make things hard for myself. so, i've bid on a course that, most likely, i will drop out of. in doing so, i had to adjust the schedule so that i could actually add a meaningful course without conflict. but it's all in and i find out tomorrow.

yesterday was also moving day. i was staying in temp dorms until the International House renovations were complete. so had to deal with packing and unpacking again.

this after a night of some really vigorous debate. i was sitting in the dorm lounge tuesday night around midnight reading something when this economics student visiting from france came in after a tour of chicago and said something about how he had only seen african-american beggars on the streets of chicago. a motley crew of said economist, a russian girl, a confessed left-wing mathematician and yours truly sat up until 3:30 am talking about everything from working at mcdonalds to immigrants to third-world work ethics to, finally, the caste system in India ! it was pretty cool.

at which point i proceeded to stay up for another hour writing a Candidate Platform. we have cohort elections on monday and i am running for the position of Film Chair. i can't do sitting on student councils and networking with the deans man. the platforms were due yesterday and i did submit one that referenced my almost non-existant experience with film - well, there's tapping cable for scrambled porn, but i'll have to see how people take that reference. elections are monday following a 2-minute speecheroo. i need to find some props for that one.

after 5 days of rest, my liver should be all toned for another bout of action. the weekend's approaching and that means the social life is kicking back into gear. tonight is our first TNDC - thursday night drinking club. bunch of things tomorrow - a classmate's birthday, bars, i've heard bowling mentioned. and saturday we're supposed to all dress up and go see some fish. there's a foo-fie do at the shedd aquarium which reminds me that i need to get my suit altered. don't want to look anything but my sharpest best now, do i :)

ok, i'm hungry. personally i think the whole lack of sleep thing at bschool is over-rated. i mean, you'll get up in time for class whatever time you go to bed. or if you're like me, you'll just skip the class. it's the lack of food in time as i'm running around that's getting to me. it's 10:51 now and i haven't had breakfast and there's a long day ahead of me. so off i go now. cheers.

Outed by the GSB - but they think I'm beautiful !

2005-09-12T09:22:00.000-05:00

Just checked my email and saw a note from someone at the GSB Administration asking to link my blog to something they are working on (wait for it - i think it is going to be interesting).

Only one problem (oh, but not really a problem). They think I'm wakechick :-) :-) :-) I'm looking forward to walking into their office and seeing that look of utter disappointment as the vision they expected evaporates :-)

But this is cool. I'm so really freaking glad that the GSB is *getting* blogging and reaching out to prospective students. It can only only be a good thing.

So, this is what being an AdCom feels like.

2005-09-12T00:51:00.000-05:00

After four successive nights of getting to bed past 3 AM, I decided to take it a little easy today. I hope to get to bed by 2.

No, I'm not out partying like the previous week. I am, in fact, reading application essays. One of the privileges that has stemmed from my blogging is being considered worthy enough by some applicants to review or comment on their essays. I must apologize that I have slightly disabused that privilege this past week, caught up as I was in the heady, albeit boozy-headed, beginning to my b-school experience. I have spent a good part of today correcting it. I should be all backlog-cleaned-up by tomorrow.

This is the first time that I have read back-to-back-to-back sets of essays and I'm sitting here with a renewed appreciation for the AdComs at the various schools. Partly for the work they have to do, and partly for the work they have to *NOT* do. I mean, it is REALLY hard to read each application *un-influenced* by what you just read previously. At least for an untrained person like me.

Harder yet must be the ability to listen to each application as an equal music. What I mean is, moods matter a lot in influencing opinions formed from reading the essays. I'm now pretty convinced the one person in the b-school-world who said "yes, let's admit this guy" must have had the best sex (or chocolate) of their life right before [no implications implied about the sex lives (or access to chocolate) of AdComs who rejected me ;-)].

I also have a few other observations, but take it with the requisite amount of salt. You're listening to a wannabe pilot who's put on his first uniform and already thinks he's going to make TopGun.
Surprises are good things - a different opening, an unexpected twist to a story.
Humor can be a good thing - 'can be' being the operative word.
A good story is a very powerful thing.
Being Yourself is the most important thing.

I mean, it is pretty incredible how some applications seem to have a person jump out from the words. No, I'm not exaggerating [any ex-AdCom's :) want to comment on this?] And I realize I wasn't doing much jumping myself when I looked back at some of my old essays (which is what i wasted some time doing today, along with writing this blog entry). I'll repeat the cliche that you should write what you want to write and not what you *think* you're expected to write. I don't know, it just makes for more interesting reading.

Now, let me clarify that I'm not trying to do an AdCom here, but just giving some feedback by taking a critical eye to the essays. But, in the process, couldn't help myself thinking about what it would be like to sit in one of those chairs. Hence this post.

1:56 AM says the clock. Class starts at 8:30. Alarm set for 8:10. Yeah, I'm that lucky. My commute, door-to-door, is 3 minutes. G'night.

[Disclosure: I am NOT on the Chicago GSB Admissions Committee. I am more likely what they call an Admissions Mistake. Which means I most likely won't ever be on any such committee :-)]

Some comments on some Comments

2005-09-09T12:30:00.000-05:00

whoa ! i just got off the bus from our outdoor thing and check the blog and see that there are 12 comments. kinda threw me off because i thought there was nothing in there of that much interest. i guess i was wrong.

c'mon people, the title was totally meant to be humorous. it was actually, if you could see it thus, mocking - the school was the one that called us the 'smartest' or whatever [smiley added for emphasis ;-)] by talking about gmat/gpa scores, but none of us even care about that. i hope you noticed that I had also, in a similar vein, modified the header on this blog.

and as does happen, a comment on the title led to one about validating stereotypes about indians and gre/gmat/numbers. well, stereotypes are funny things. they only exist in the minds of those who believe in them. actually, those who *want* to believe in them. let go, man or woman. not worth sweating over.

would you believe i've actually been sitting at this terminal for two hours writing this. Wrote a long post, deleted most of it, rewrote, and for symmetry, re-deleted. i'd say it was time not entirely wasted, as I also got to briefly chat(oops, my bad. 'network') with a classmate. in a more innocent time, i.e. before seemingly every second person here knew my blogdentity, i'd have mentioned that the classmate in question was actually quite pretty :-)

We the best. And we've got the numbers to prove it.

2005-09-06T22:09:00.000-05:00

So, the Chicago GSB Class of 2007 has arrived. Today was the first day of CORE and boy was it a drag. Not all of it, but the first half for sure. I think the schedule is to blame, or maybe it's just me, but it's not fun to put people in a room and have them listen to speakers non-stop for hours on end. I wish there were at least some breaks. I found myself unable to really concentrate on the stuff being said, and I do feel badly for the faculty and staff up there who put all the effort into their presentations.

The one part I did hear though was being told that we are the smartest bunch of people to ever walk these hallowed halls. Average GMAT of the incoming class has crossed 700 for the first time ever (it's 701). The undergrad GPA average has also hit an all-time high at 3.5. But I didn't hear any of the 1y's talk about their GMAT score. Which is a good thing.

The last session was an introduction to LEAD and Leadership Outdoor Experience(LOE) which starts tomorrow with a roll-call at 6 AM. Yup, 6 AM. I hope I can wake up in time, for if I don't not only will I possibly fail the course but will also have to pay the school for organizing it. It's a three-day adventure/retreat/thingy in Wisconsin. I'm really looking forward to it - should be a great intro to my cohort-mates.

Many props to the 40 2y's in black T-shirts - the LEAD facilitators. These are the guys and gals who will run the LEAD program for us. I talked to some of them today and I get the sense that it is a really great opportunity. I want to do it next year.

The evening ended, as should every evening, with free drinks and food. Lots of it. I ended up talking to some of my fellow classmates and they are a very cool bunch. It was also great to see fellow bloggers wakechick and jeremy again, didn't find any of the other bloggers among the 550 people there (which, btw, is a lot of people), but was talking to a fellow cohort-mate about my visa/passport/flight issues and he goes - i like your blog - or some such. turns out he's also read my blog. it's the first time it's happened to me and kinda wierd to react to. But it's all cool. He's offered to share his bug spray with me.

Is this post even making sense? I'm really tired and it's past bed time. I should stop.

[Thoughts for Applicants:] The Pizza Pilgrimage

2005-09-05T23:42:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to post about something for a really long time, but it's never come together. It probably won't now either, but anyways.

Earlier this year, sometime soon after my Chicago admit, I went to Sugarbush resort in Vermont for a snowboarding weekend. Sugarbush is close to Waitsfield, among whose claims to fame is a converted horse barn where they are reputed to make some of the best pizza in the land at a restaurant called American Flatbread.

So we get there and turns out they don't take reservations. We put our names on the list and try to find a place to stand inside. Yeah, it was so crowded that they had a campfire for those standing outside. We eventually found a wall to lean against and the wait began. Minutes turned to half-hours which turned to hours. Serious. Two hours later, we were still not seated (well, we did manage to find a chair at the bar) and ran out of the energy to even talk. That was when a thought came to mind. This whole pizza thing was similar to my application saga.

Nothing I had ever done had prepared me for how long it would take.

I took my GMAT in August 2003. Was going to apply R1. Work got in the way. Applied to R2. Bad news flowed in. I went R3. Interview calls ! Ding. Then, a waitlist. Which turned into an agonizing summer waitlist. Which became a ding a few days before the next R1. Reapplied. R1. Interviews again. Sent in R2 apps just in case. Finally, I got the call. And in less than 8 hours I will be an MBA student.

If you are an applicant, this is something to ponder. All of you are successful people with a 'plan', but this entire process can be very, well, funny. Things usually, at least for me, have always had expiry dates. But, if you really want this degree, it can be a difficult beast. Please make sure you are prepared to deal with the uncertainities. Either with a better 'plan' or the right attitude.

The day after our pizza experience, I took the shuttle that goes in a long, slow loop around town. It was flagged down by a woman, and she asked for her destination. The driver told her that he could take her there but it would take a while. She got in. The same thing happened at the next stop. For some reason, I thought his 'line' was very interesting - it's gonna take a while. Not I can't go there. Or wait for the next bus. Nope. Just, It's gonna take a while. I think it is true of this process too. You just need to have faith and stick with it when the shit hits the fan. It'll all work out.

Just remember that It's gonna take a while.

But there is something else to consider too. We finally got a seat 2 hrs 15 min after we got there, waited another 15 minutes for a waiter and 30 mins for the pizza to be delivered. Was it really worth it? At that time, if you had given me a three day old pizza - cold - I would have told you that it was the best pizza I had ever had. One has to wonder if the reputation of the pizza has more to do with the starving partrons finally getting a meal rather than the pie itself.

Think about it. As you consider programs, and even the MBA itself, who do you get your inputs from ? I will, at the risk of heresy, suggest that current students are probably not a good source of opinion. They have recently been through a competitive application process and in some sense will justify both the degree and their school. Not exactly an unbiased opinion, in my biased opinion. I can't recall a single student at any school who told me this wasn't the best thing s/he's ever done. Or that it was the right step for his/her/my career.

Alumni, on the other hand, are a required source of perspective. I have found their advice to be reflective of the value of the MBA as relates to their more recent experiences back in the workforce. And, I have been told some pretty honest stuff too. My LBS interviewer told me straight up that he could have done his current job even before he went to school - except he couldn't have gotten the job without the degree. That was its main value for him. A Chicago alum I met had quit her job - and she was considering becoming a school teacher ! A Stanford alum I met had just joined a position in my company that one usually gets by doing the company sponsored part-time MBA. The point simply being, talk to as many alums as you can in your desired career field to get a more 'real' picture of what the degree you seek can do for you.

The best to both the applicants and the recently-applicants who are newly-students. Cool Runnings.

Day 2 in Chicago

2005-09-05T21:45:00.000-05:00

The weather here is awesome right now and I've had a really relaxing day today. I've got to say, I'm really digging the Hyde Park area around Blackstone Hall where I am temporarily staying. Of course, there's the crime - a girl who's also in my dorm had her car windows smashed last night - but it is really quite neat. It also has the feel of a small place. Went to get some breakfast and ran into a person I'd met last night at the party - and he introduced me to his Lebanese friend, who showed up at a BBQ a few hours later!

Had a lazy start to the day, checked email for a while, and offered to help setup for the International House (which is where I will eventually be moving to, a week or so from now) barbeque, which ended up having a good turnout. And I'm really really glad I decided to stay at the I-house. My fellow I-housers are an impressively diverse, eclectic, and very nice, bunch. I must have met a score or so and they hail from: Korea, Japan, China, Mexico, Portugal, India, Germany, Lebanon, France, Colombia, and the US. The range of things they are here to do is also pretty diverse: Chemistry, Economics, Statistics, Public Policy, Social-something, Business, and even Dance, at last count.

Later that evening, I watched some canadian football on the TV in one of the lounges in Breckinridge House, played foosball, and had dinner with another I-houser I met today. This guy just graduated with a degree in Financial Math and works at one of the big-name firms and educated me in the workings of the buy-side. It was a very interesting conversation over some not-so-interesting food and a nice way to end what might be the last day I can spend doing nothing.

To Business School or Not to Business School

2005-09-05T02:37:00.000-05:00

That is the question that was at the top of the cover of the inflight magazine on the American Airlines flight I boarded to Chicago. Pretty fuckin' apt for the moment, ya. It's here finally, the end (the real beginning?) of a journey begun on 25 august 2003 when I walked into the testing center to take the GMAT. Funny thing though is that I don't seem to feel like the 'moment' has arrived. Is one supposed to? I don't know.

But I've had a ROCKING introduction to student life, and it doesn't involve the GSB crowd. yet. except for two cool people. Flew into O'hare earlier this evening, and took a shuttle to a dorm where I am staying temporarily. As I was waiting to finish some paperwork to get the keys to my room, I said Hi to a bloke standing behind me in line, and we started chatting. Turns out he's a GSB alum, and he invited me to go out to dinner with some people. Dumped my stuff in my room and headed out to meet up with the folks. Turns out all of them are staying at the I-House. And it was an eclectic bunch - a German student, a web professional who's also writing a novel, the GSB alum who's starting something on his own, and a political sciene Ph.D student. It was a fun dinner, no *networking* involved, just talking to some very cool, and seriously smart, people. I also got invited to a bbq tomorrow afternoon for I-house residents.

Walked back to the dorm and was sitting in the lounge leafing through a magazine listening to another student playing on the piano when another european-looking bunch walked in. Initiated a conversation and got myself invited to a house party. It was a nice party at the home of two law school students, and most of the crowd was also going-to-be lawyers. The other most of the crowd was Ph.D students in Economics, who are quite a fun bunch. I was holding the fort for the GSB for a while before being joined by a fellow GSB classmate who's also going to stay at the I-house. Met some nice people and got back home around 2:30.

My eyes are really closing shut now, so i'm going to sign off. Core starts tuesday promtly at 8;30

oops, i've got to pay for this mba thing ya.

2005-08-31T06:17:00.000-05:00

over dinner a couple of days ago, my dad asks me almost casually if everything is now in place for me to get on a bunch of planes and start school at chicago. which is when i remembered that i didn't have my loan approved yet. see, in usual fashion, i mailed in the paperwork for the loan just about 2 weeks ago. this freaked out my dad who couldn't believe that i would leave such an important matter as financing this monster upto the last minute. he then asked me if i was sure if my paperwork had reached chicago. i said, sure, i mean i did send it by fedex. they don't screw up. tracking number? dunno, i must have lost it in the whole travelling all over the place deal.

well, just checked my inbox to find an email from the fin aid office that my loan will be approved.

so, i'm all set to go now. through 5 airports in 4 countries in 2 days. and then drive from boston to chicago with my stuff. arrive in Chicago the night before start of school. which also happens to be a soon-to-be classmate's birthday. Happy Birthday in advance, Wakechick.

My Gandhi Moment, and other random travels.

2005-08-27T05:46:00.000-05:00

In 1893, Gandhi was thrown off a train in South Africa for sitting in a first-class compartment with a valid first class ticket because it was prohibited for 'coolies' and non-white people to travel in first-class. That experience was the start of a life-long struggle that ultimately led to India's independance from Colonial rule.

Two days ago, I was thrown out of a gym in Dubai - even though I was working out on the proper day reserved for 'males' because a British woman wanted to use the treadmill !! So, what earth-shattering event happened next ? All I'll say is that India sure is lucky not to have to depend on sons like me to earn its freedom :-)

I tried to talk to the guard (who, ironically was Indian :) as he led me down to the lobby but he wouldn't budge. So, as soon as he turned the corner I snuck back upstairs, struck up a conversation with the treadmiller, and broke some local law by exercising in the same room as a woman :-)

Local, as in the United Arab Emirates. Which is where I find myself now. Within a few hours of my writing my previous post last week my passport arrived in the mail, even as the authorities concerned assured me that it had not yet left the American Consulate. That issue resolved, I got on a plane soon after for my first visit to India's capital city, New Delhi. Got to say, I really like Delhi. Actually, it seemed to me like there were many Delhi's, each different from each other.

I stayed at the apartment of friends of my dad's in Lutyens' Delhi. This is the part of the capital where the elected representatives of the people and top bureaucrats live a lifestyle completely and totally removed from the rest of the country. Wide boulevards, proper roads, mansions with immaculate gardens, official servants to do their every bidding, and so forth. Fascinating, actually. The British designed this part of New Delhi as a fit capital for the Jewel of their colonial crown and the Indian political class eagerly moved in after independance.

I also went to the narrow, crowded streets of Old Delhi, to see the Jama Masjid. I got there around 1 PM and was told that non-muslims aren't allowed in until 2. So I decided to explore the area. It was a sunday and Crowded (like with a capital C). Turns out there are two special sidewalk bazaars on sundays - a book bazaar and a kabadi(junk) bazaar. I spent a couple of hours walking around these, and it was so cool. (the weather was was incredibly hot, though). People were selling stuff like an almost empty bottle of Tommy Girl, dusty circuit boards, rusty cycle chains, pirated VCDs of a movie that had just released. I was told that there is a local restaurant-type place called Karim's that was the place to go for traditional meat dishes. Tried searching for it but got lost in the bylanes of the area. Stopped to get a drink at a vendor selling coconuts on a pushcart. As I was sipping the coconut water, a cop came by and started beating the vendor with a stick !!! turns out he wasn't allowed to sell there or something, but man was it a shock to see the guy get beat up like that.

Thirst quenched, I made my way back to the Jama Masjid. And this place is something else. Huge was the first impression. Beautiful followed soon after. It was built by Shah Jahan, and I overheard this loosely translated snippet of a conversation between two young boys: "Shah Jahan sure had some great artisans. Everything he did is still so amazing today." So very true. The highlight of the visit was a climb up a long spiral staircase to one of the minarets of the mosque. They must be one of the best views of the city around. I also fell asleep for a while on the cool marble flooring alongside others who were also trying to beat the heat.

From there, a 20-rupee autorickshaw ride took me to what I'd call Next Delhi - The Metro. Now, I've travelled in subways in many cities and I have to say Delhi's metro is one of the very best. It is especially impressive considering the environs immediately outside. The stations are completely air-conditioned, very clean, good signage (rare for india, IMO), and with very clean trains that run on time. There seemed to be a lot of folks (like me) going for a sunday joy ride. Good thing, if you ask me. I saw many people trying to get on an escalator for the first time, and the kids seemed pretty excited all around asking questions of their parents about things like how the doors open automatically and what the symbol for the handicapped meant.

As a tourist of three days, the thing I loved about Delhi - new, old, next, whatever - is that all of these seemingly different worlds somehow make sense next to each other. Kinda like this stall I saw in the Book Bazaar where a kid had laid out his wares on the street. Lined up on the right side were these kitschly romance books and in one column, one below the other, were the titles:

Linda's Baby, Father Found!, and The World's Greatest Dad.

Homeless in my Hometown

2005-08-17T12:45:00.000-05:00

There was a plan. Like Always.

And, it's all gone haywire. Like Always :-)

The US Consulate, having issued the Visa in less than a minute, has decided to take its own sweet time in sending me back my passport. I was supposed to be in Mumbai tomorrow along with my mom and we were going to go onwards to Dubai to hook up with dad-man and do some desert-chillin' before I head off to school. My parents are going to be away from Bangalore for the rest of the year so we have rented out our home and a tenant is moving in tomorrow.

So, I have spent all of today running around cancelling tickets and making new reservations. Here you have to deal with travel agents, and tickets are not only to be picked up in person, but cancelled tickets have to be returned to get refunds etcetera. Not so fun. Modified plan is that mom now goes to Hyderabad, and I find myself homeless here. I'll probably bunk at a friend's place until my passport comes in, and depending on when that happens, somehow meet up with my mom in Delhi and fly out from there. I might have to detour through Hyderabad for all I know ! Then, there's a flight from Delhi to Mumbai on my way back. Fun times, only I'm coming to realize that not too many people think of it that way. Definitely not my mom :-) and she's got ample backers in random friends and aunts :-)

The news (conveyed by a voice behind a phone obviously irriated at hearing my voice so many times) is that my passport is still sitting at the consulate. Damn. Drop it in the mail people. Please.

I've hardly done anything else since I've gotten here but Run. First to get all my documents in order, then to Chennai to the consulate and back, and now with all the travel planning stuff. No meeting friends. No making phone calls to people I was supposed to. Sorry guys. Will hopefully catch up before I leave. This evening, I found some time to go to a bookstore. In keeping with the general mood, I picked up a couple of books - From Heaven Lake Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet by Vikram Seth; and Falling off the Map: Some Lonely Places of the World by Pico Iyer.

I was also tempted to get a copy of What they don't teach you at Harvard Business School, when I realized that if I won't know what they'll teach me at HBS, this might be moot.

[Thoughts for Applicants:] Entrepreneurship Coursework at Chicago

2005-08-15T00:57:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the year when applicants are probably considering schools and narrowing down who gets their undivided attention, sometimes love, and 200 bucks. From my own experience, one of the things I underpaid attention to was the school curricula. Partly because school reputation, alumni, recruiters etc got much more public attention as the key factors, and also because of the sort-of perception that you can't really go wrong if you go to a top school. Both true. But, the result of this thinking was that the first time around I didn't even consider Chicago because it was a 'finance' school. Re-application time, I looked closer and realized that obscured by that reputation was a very strong entrepreneurship program. I say strong based on the quality of faculty, infrastructure, and yes, coursework.

All the information is available on the website, but I thought I'd just collate it here in one place for those of you who might be interested. The pre-requisites required are usually a subset of those listed, depending on the professor.

34101 : Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity / Kaplan S., Meadow S., Weisbach M.
prereq: 35200, Corporation Finance/35201, Cases in Financial Management/35902, Theories of Financial Decisions II/33001, Microeconomics

"The chief objective of the course is to provide an understanding of the criteria for a successful entrepreneurial endeavor and the methods of analysis to make the proper judgment. The casework will consider ventures representing broad sectors of the economy, including telecommunications, healthcare and consumer services. These sectors will be used to examine entrepreneurial activity and analysis. The impact of the Internet as an enhancement to these sectors will be interwoven throughout."
- Prof. Meadow.

34102 : New Venture Strategy / Hapak S., Lowitz J., Schrager J.
prereq: 6 GSB courses completed.

"Emphasis is placed on producing a framework to analyze business opportunities of all sizes. The centerpiece is a series of models abstracted from the cases prepared during the course. These models allow the class to categorize ideas quickly, discuss benefits, note problems, and ideally, predict performance.
The class is not a series of "nuts and bolts" lectures about running small businesses, nor is it a guest lecture series. Students must be willing to become involved with the material and approach the topic with analytic rigor. From that, an organized way of thinking should evolve."
- Prof. Schrager.

34103 : Building the New Venture / Deutsch. W
prereq: 30000, Financial Accounting/37000, Marketing Strategy

"This course is intended for students who are interested in starting new businesses with a lesser emphasis on investing in start-up companies or buying existing firms. The course focuses on small company management and the development of new enterprises from both a strategic and a tactical, action-oriented, hands-on perspective. Students learn how to raise initial seed funding, compensate for limited human and financial resources, establish initial brand values and positioning, leverage a strong niche position, determine appropriate sourcing and sales channels, and develop execution plans in sales, marketing, product development and operations."

She just received the Innovative Method of Teaching Entrepreneurship Award for this course.

Personal Note - I was in her session during Admit Weekend and I blogged then: "My biggest take-away - the amount of passion she had for what she did. I must say I have not seen that in many of the professors I have had the chance to observe at various b-schools. It was motivating, to say the least." I am really looking forward to taking her class.

34104 : Special Topics: Developing a New Venture / Kaplan S., Rudnick E.
prereq: Advance to second round of New Venture Challenge.

"This course is designed to allow students who have advanced to the second round of the New Venture Challenge to develop their ideas into full business plans. Student teams will work largely on their own to develop their business plans. The class meetings consist primarily of plan presentations. Venture capitalists, private investors, and entrepreneurs will help critique and improve the plans during the presentations. The class meetings also will include presentations by a lawyer on the legal considerations of a new venture."
- Prof. Kaplan.

34105 : Entrepreneurship Internship Seminar / Rudnick E.
prereq: selection as a Polsky Center Entrepreneur Intern or other approved internship.

"This course provides students who were selected to participate in the Polsky Center Entrepreneur Intern Program or Social Entrepreneur program a forum to strengthen their entrepreneurial network and insight skills. This is achieved through the development of unique case studies and analysis presented by the faculty, by outside entrepreneurs and by the students themselves. The students will also interact with the other interns through presentations and sharing of experiences in order to broaden their perspective on entrepreneurial/private equity career opportunities. Outside guest lecturers on entrepreneurship and leadership will be included as part of the classroom session. In addition to the forum sessions the students will have one-on-one meetings with the faculty advisor in the development of their own cases. The best cases developed in the class are entered into a national entrepreneurship case competition."

34106 : Commercializing Innovation / Meadow, S.
prereq: None.

"Using the case method, this course will focus on the strategy and tactics of forming, acquiring and growing new ventures i.e., increasing shareholder value for business ventures funded with private equity. The exit goal for these enterprises will follow an initial public offering or a sale in approximately 3 to 5 years. This course is meant to aid those students who are considering being part of an entrepreneurial project or evaluating such enterprises from the position of a public investor, private investor, or any stakeholder serving these emerging companies.
In order to familiarize the students with the strategy to approach success with these fragile companies, the course has been designed to consider the unique constraints upon the functional areas of marketing, operations, finance and strategic planning in entrepreneurial endeavors."

34110 : Social Entrepreneurship / Gertner R.
prereq: None listed.

"This course is about social entrepreneurship and non-profit management. There has been significant growth and attention given to borrowing ideas and institutions from the world of entrepreneurship and for-profits to social enterprises. We will study the theory and practice of this phenomenon.
We will study cases from a broad set of industries including the arts, community banking, microfinance, health care, the environment, and education. The course will largely be case discussions with occasional guest speakers and lectures."

34701 : New Venture and Small Enterprise Lab / Darragh L.
prereq: 2 full quarters of GSB coursework.

"This one-quarter course is intended for students who are interested in starting or working for a new venture and/or smaller business or are interested in consulting to such entities. This course is designed to apply the GSB's strong base of theoretical knowledge to the problems and opportunities of new ventures and smaller enterprises. Teams of three or four students work on specific strategic and operational projects for early-stage companies in the Chicago area. The students work with the venture's management under the guidance of the instructor. The clients represent diverse industries including technology, biotech, industrial and consumer based firms. Not-for-profit organizations and inner-city businesses may also be included."

34702 : Private Equity/Venture Capital Lab / Rudnick E.
prereq: 6 GSB courses.

"This course is intended for students who are interested in learning more about what it is like to work in or with private equity investors or a venture capital firm. The course is designed to complement the student's academic courses through hands-on experience in the analysis and understanding of investment decisions of venture capitalists/private investment firms.
Students will work as interns on specific assignments for venture capital/private equity firms. These assignments can range from evaluating new market or business opportunities for investment to working on specific issues/opportunities for portfolio companies. While the course is scheduled for the spring quarter, the internships may begin earlier and possibly continue beyond the spring quarter."

34703: International Entrepreneurship Lab - China / Kooser W. & Zmijewski M.
prereq: Need to apply and be selected, not available for bidding.

"This course is designed to provide MBA students with the frameworks and practical experience necessary to understand the nuances of starting or growing a business internationally. In particular, it will focus on the critical aspects of building a business in China. Given China's accession to the WTO and growing attention on business development there, there are increasing opportunities for entrepreneurial ventures of all sizes and types. However, success in this market requires both a solid mastery of business fundamentals and a deep understanding of China's unique cultural, regulatory and institutional frameworks.

The course will be run much like a GSB laboratory course. Many class meetings will consist of the project teams working on their analyses. And, in most cases, the direction of each project and the key issues that need to be addressed will be determined by the students themselves. The faculty coach will provide an overview of an analytic framework and general guidance on developing the projects."

Not a huge list, but I think a nice breadth that covers many aspects of preparing to start or finance new ventures. It is also worth keeping in mind that Chicago is one of very few schools where every course you choose is an elective. Even the *required* courses can be chosen from a basket of courses, and can be taken at the student's convenience. The full import of this flexibility is not inconsequential. Consider, for instance, that one wanted to take all of the above courses. There is the freedom to plan a course of action spread over two years rather than just one (in the case where Y1 is to be spent in Core). I am not saying one is better than the other, just different. I have not yet thought too much about my course selections but i suspect i am going to work backwards - pick the courses I really want to take, figure out what pre-reqs i need to get done, and spead them out over the two years in a smart fashion. One of the things I want to do is take Building New Ventures in my first year so that I have the option to spend the summer working on the idea as part of the Entrepreneurial Internship Seminar course. I have the freedom to make other choices along those lines.

I hope this was a useful listing. Good luck to all applicants as you take those GMATs and start to work on applications. Feel free to ping me on any questions relating to Chicago GSB or if you come to visit the campus. I will be happy to offer any assistance I can.

It's official: I'm Easy

2005-08-12T07:21:00.000-05:00

I just got out of the US Consulate after spending an increasingly apprehensive two and a half hours waiting for my turn to speak with an officer. I don't know if today was typical, but it seemed like almost everybody's F1 visa applications were rejected. The most common cause was that the candidate is a potential immigrant. The other one, and this surprised me, was that the consular officer thought that the student wouldn't do well in their graduate studies. If you failed a subject in undergrad, or you had low test scores, you didn't get a visa. A couple of people were asked to retake GRE's and TOEFL's before their next appointment !

So, I finally get up in front of this stern-looking lady who asks me "you went to the US to study, ended up working there, and now you want to go back and study. why?". Two years of writing application essays had prepared me for a 30-second pitch, ending with "that why I need an MBA, and not just any MBA but a good MBA". She goes "i see you've chosen one of the best". and before I could respond:

You're easy. Visa Granted.

:-)

It's all about Trust.

2005-08-07T23:51:00.000-05:00

I thought of my mate bskewl last week. One might suggest that if that was to happen then it must have been the direst of situations :-) Well, it could have turned out to be. I was getting a haircut when I suddenly remembered his experience with a disobedient barber in the boonies of Ohio.

I, on the other hand, had asked for it. Was walking around Milan, having been refused (well, they were actually full) access to The Last Supper, when I spotted a funky hair salon. I figured if I can't afford any of the designer duds, I might as well walk around with some Milan style on my head. And, so I walked in, and they spoke English, and pretty soon I was decked out in what seemed like three layers of color-coordinated gowns. Only problem was that only the receptionist spoke English. So, I'm sitting there and I 'think' i told my 'stylista' what I wanted done - something along the lines of you're the artist, show me your art - but was pretty sure it didn't translate at all. I vaguely remember making some hand movements at the back of my head etc which was all she probably noticed. I've also been told that some of our more primitive body language like yes or no mean the opposites in different cultures.

All of those thoughts, and some more, came to mind as soon as a snip of the scissors dropped the length of my hair from i-can-chew-it to above-the-eyebrows in one fell swoop. Not quite the buzz-cut that the barbers of ohio acquainted bskewl with, but nonetheless. Of course I really couldn't tell her anything, which I suspect had less to do with my inability to speak Italian than with an unwillingness to see her oh-so-cute smile turn to a frown :-) So, I decided to chill and see what turns out.

I don't know. I don't even think I check in the mirror anymore. Probably because I don't really like it, but I feel like the fact that I have a 'Milan' haircut over-rides what it looks like. They've got to know what they're doing right. They're the gurus of style.

Come to think of it, it's kinda fucked up. Not unlike going to business school. Will I show up at Chicago and expect it not to be what I wished for? Or worse, be not what I want. And, will I, then resort to walking around feeling summarily good about being associated with Chicago?

I'll have to wait and see. For now, am busy with getting paperwork ready for my Visa interview this friday. I had a kinda nervous moment last night - what if my visa is rejected? All this work of two years applying etcetera ... Good thoughts, Good thoughts.

Caught up on the blogs today and I see that the folks at the other schools have started to arrive on campuses and some have started pre-term and others are pre-pre-term partying. Here's wishing all of y'all a good time for the next two years.

Off I go to fill out the DS-157.

arrivederci, boston. next stop: well, um, ...

2005-08-01T09:40:00.000-05:00

So, I´m done doing Boston. For once, I made my plane with plenty time. This was after actually managing to get my bank statements and other paperwork squared up, packing and moving most of the stuff I needed to, getting auto insurance issues taken care of, and - here i outdo myself - finishing all the required pre-MBA tests et al a full two weeks before the deadline! just when i was beginning to think that this whole MBA thing was probably getting me to fall in line, I walk into the terminal at Boston and realize that I had left my phone in the car and my brother who had dropped me off had driven away :)

ah well. these things have to happen right. i was compensated by an empty seat next to mine so the journey was pretty comfortable. Get off in Milan, make certain clarifications with regard to my checked-in luggage, read my book, and walk up to my gate, again with plenty time, for my connecting flight. And, what do you know -

Cancelled.

Yup :-) The rains in Mumbai have apparently shut down the airport for another 2 days and so today´s as well as tomorrow´s flight have been cancelled ! the alternatives are to either fly back to where you came from, or wait it out for a few days. Oh, and this being a weather-related emergency, they are under no obligation to put people up in hotels and such. it´s a pretty bad scene at the airport. people have to pretty much stay for 24 hours in the terminal, most likely 48 or more if they want to go into Mumbai. The only other flights are to Delhi, and they are packed.

Aah, my adventures continue. I decided to jump the status-of-tomorrow´s-flight line of questioning and got myself the next available confirmed ticket out on thursday. and my visa from last month´s travels gets me into Italia ! So, here I am, in a small hostelaria a few blocks from the train station.

Next 3 days: Milano. After that ... :)

next week this time ...

2005-07-25T22:33:00.000-05:00

I'll be officially unemployed ! - My last day at work is thursday ! It's just starting to sink in, barely so actually, since I'm still pretty busy at work, my office is as cluttered as ever, the daily flow of emails hasn't abated; but i've been scheduled for an exit interview, have had to call all sorts of departments to take care of 401(k), stock purchase plans, laptop return, group insurance etcetera. And the farewells. Had a going-away lunch with colleagues on friday who are on vacation this week, going-away drinks with a few others later that evening, a dinner with a good friend from work today, a dinner scheduled for tomorrow with some guys I used to work with, and the 'official' good-bye lunch thursday.

I'll be in India ! - I leave for India this sunday, if I make the flight on time, that is. This still hasn't sunk in, have been too busy dealing with all the crap with the move. The busy-ness at work means that my apartment is still untouched. yeah. Plan is to throw out a bunch of crap and donate stuff to goodwill this friday, pack up things I'll need and drop 'em off at my brother's this saturday. I got a good break with moving the big stuff 'coz I'm just going to leave most of them in place for my friend who's moving into my room. It would be hell to try to move the couches and dismantle shelves etc.

I'll be missing my friends - Boston's kinda the closest I can really call home now, I guess. I've lived here for almost 5 years now and have a bunch of people I'm close to, and many more I'm friends with. I'm sure I'll miss all of them a ton. I had a kinda birthday/going-away/thingy last weekend and had almost 50 people show up and it was a blast. Was out with another bunch on saturday and a few more of us did a bbq thing last night. thursday night my ex-roomie is throwing another going-away party at Sonsie, and i'm going to hang out at a apartment-crawl-party (yeah, we have those here :) for a bit saturday to say my good-byes to my sometimes-squash-partner and alltime-good-friend. good memories. I'm sure to be flying back to Boston ever so often the next two years, though.

I'll be missing Trivia - Wednesday nights have been Trivia nights at a local pub for a while now, work permitting. I go with my roommate and have made a really great set of friends there. In fact, I'm going to Argentina over winter break for one of my trivia buddies' wedding. This past week was my last, and was it a fittingly-cool ending. So, we're tied for first place at 96 points with another team and a few other teams not too far behind, with the last question to go. At this place, the last question is kinda all that matters. You can bid anywhere from 2 to 20 points, with half the points deducted if you get it wrong. The question - in which state is the geographical center of north america? i knew i had to know the answer - i had googled for it when I was trying to center the bloggers google map a few weeks ago :-) but all i could remember was that it was in one of the dakotas(the geographical center of the lower 48 is in kansas). one of our teammates was from South Dakota and didn't remember having heard about it ever. so, we decide to go with the north and bid 20 points. turns out it was the right answer !! but the other team got it right too - except they only bid 2 points. 50 bucks for free beer - nice way to end my Trivia days :-)

I'll be playing with my friend's son - My best friend, if one is still allowed to have them at 29, had a baby boy last year and I'm stopping in Mumbai for half-a-day to see them en route to Bangalore. I met this guy my first week as a freshman in college. That's going back 12 years. wow. I've probably seen him and his lovely wife once every two years for a couple of days since we left college, and we don't really do emails, but everytime we meet up it's just like the good old days. There was this one time when we were in our hostel on a sunday evening. We were hungry and we were totally broke. There was this unbelievably dirty restaurant in a seedy part of our small town which sold a 'delicacy' called Chicken 65 - a piece of chicken deep fried in what had to be straight-up crude oil. It was 15 rupees a piece - 35 cents - and we had maybe 3 or 4 rupees between us. That's when we decided to do some breaking-and-entering :-) Literally kicked the door to another friend's room open, ransacked it, overturned the mattress and everything but only found a few more rupees in coins. We were almost done when this guy walked in - and we unleashed a barrage of choicest curses upon him for not having any money in his room :-) I can't wait to see how much of a brat Junior is.

I'll be thinking Startup - So, I've been talking (not as much as I'd like to) with a Freaky-Friend-Faraway (as Tom Peters puts it) about a venture idea to explore once I get to b-school. Once the madness of quitting my job and moving abates, I'm definitely going to start putting more thought and effort into it. I find airplanes to be pretty therapeutic when it comes to organizing my thoughts, and the flight over should be a good start. Grand Plan is to have a Grand Plan before the start of school. I'm pretty excited by the simplicity of what we want to do, and I think regardless of where it goes, doing it would be definitely a great addition to the entire b-school experience. Definitely kicked about this.

I'll be meeting old friends - I think ! Most of my friends have left Bangalore, and those who are still there are busy with their wives and kids. It kinda makes me feel old sometimes that the guys I grew up with are fathers ! The last three times I visited there was a friend's wedding and it was an occasion for a reunion and I got to meet everyone too. Alas, my last bachelor friend decided to leave the brotherhood and get married a few months ago. So, no more weddings = no more reunions. Maybe I should throw a party or something.

I'll be trying not to be married off - Just kidding! Got to say though, b-school's a blessing in disguise. I've used the 'i can't feed myself for 2 years, how ll'i feed a wife' line to its fullest in keeping those who cast the evil eye at bay :-)

Mom - It's been a really long time since I've had any mom-made-food. I've got a month of make-up time.

Dad - This guy is amazing. I'm going to tap into his reservoir of wisdom about work, life, struggles and successes before I start the next phase of my in-comparison-ordinary life. And, I get to do the 'hey dad, can i have some pocket money' routine all over again :-)

Mom - OK, it's not just the food.

Ladies, Gentlemen & Andy: mba podcasts have arrived !

2005-07-15T00:51:00.000-05:00

So, I come home after a really long day to this post by Andy where he makes an excellent observation about the usefulness, and lack, of mba-application related podcasts. Hmm. That got me thinking.

And very restless.

See, I've been playing around with a few cool apps this past week and I thought maybe I could put them all together. The idea was to create a podcast channel dedicated to mba-related information that anyone can subscribe to. And, that bloggers(or anyone for that matter) can easily post podcasts to. After spending just under two hours, and mixing really cool stuff from odeo, talkr, del.icio.us, blogger and feedburner, we're ready to rock and roll !

The coolest thing about this - you can automatically turn any blog post into a podcast that is automatically downloaded to a subscriber's mp3 player ! no need for recording anything.
The even more coolest thing - when i say 'you' i mean anyone with a blog.
The coolest coolest thing - ALL of these different podcasts can be part of a SINGLE mba-related channel that can be subscribed to.

Here is the channel, published on ODEO:
http://odeo.com/channel/5667/view.

To subscribe, create an account which is a snap. They're still in beta but just went from invite-only to everyone-else-is-people-too last week. And, it's really something. Currently, there is one test post of a recent entry from my blog.

I'm going to post instructions for getting it setup so that everyone can start to podcast their blogs, but they are a bit detailed/technical and it's really late, so will do it tomorrow. But, before I go to bed, a couple of acknowledgements are in order.

If you ain't reading Richard MacManus, you ain't reading nothin' :-) I think I'm overloading this blog of late with Web 2.0 stuff but i believe it's here to stay and make a difference(not unlike podcasting mba application related stuff straight from blogs!), and Richard covers it like no one else I read. That's where I found out about the 'talking blog'.

Joshua at del.icio.us for coming up with the system:media:audio autotag, which i'm coming to realize is bloody brilliant.

Anabasis for his deceptively simple method of automatically creating an odeo channel from a del.icio.us rss feed.

And, while I am still in my geek-suit, i've got to say that i was kicked to receive an email from Evan Williams this week. Evan who? Evan as in the guy who's started Odeo. And his gig before that - he was the guy who created Blogger ! Of course the 'email' in question was really a 'thank you' reply to a suggestion I had made for adding a feature to Odeo. But, whatever.

OK, i really need to get some sleep.

a birthday gift to myself

2005-07-13T16:36:00.000-05:00

i'm a year older today, and hopefully a year wiser. and it's KV's birthday too! Cumpleaños Feliz, Amigo.

so, i went to the Apple store yesterday to get meself a birthday gift of a laptop for school. after looking at the models, checking out tiger, holding them up for weight, playing around with the applications ... decided on a 12" PowerBook. it is a great combo of price/perf/weight/style, except that the screen is a tad small. that's where the genius of steve jobs comes in. whoever said jobs was crazy to open stores backwhen was the crazy one. the guy at the store helping me goes: oh i use a 12" all the time but the screen can be a drag if this is going to be your only computer so why not get a monitor for your home?

he then proceeded to show me the site for tigerdirect.com where you can get nice monitors for decent prices. they actually looked pretty good. except, the monitor we were checking out this website on rocked :-) it was a super sweet 20" Apple Cinema Display. to really complicate matters, the one next to it was connected to (drumroll) a 12" PowerBook. oh jesus. have you checked out that setup. drag windows from one screen to the next. bluetooth keyboards and mice. just when i thought this couldn't get any better, the dude jumps up and down. no, he literally did. and goes: you've GOT to get this. and we head over to see a TV tuner with DVR that does HDTV.

of course, i've also GOT to get office:mac, applecare, a printer/scanner/copier, virtualPC. all, of course, with discounts. not to mention the free iPod. before i got totally hopeless sucked in, i asked for the damage this would cause my wallet. upwards of 2700. plus tax. ok, so i had the good sense to walk out. all that'll have to wait another day.

so, I wake up this AM and decide to give myself the next-best gift.

I quit my job.

well, gave notice is more like it. but i thought it's pretty apt. a new beginning to a new year of my life. i have been thinking about this for a week or so, and did it today. i still have to talk to the big Man and 'officially' give notice tomorrow morning.

people at work kinda know now and a couple have told me that quitting this way was the stupidest thing to do. basically because of the visa issue. see, i'm on an H1B visa and as i see it have maybe 3 options to change my visa:
1. apply for a change of visa from the US, which is probably the simplest way to go.
2. take a vacation or go work from our India offices, and appear for a visa interview there. quit, if i get it, else still have a job and come back.
3. quit, off to India, and appear in person for a visa.

i chose to go with (3) which now has the case that IF i don't get a visa for whatever reason, i'm going to be back in India without a job. risky, but i had to really ask myself the question: would i want to continue doing what i do if for some reason i can't attend b-school. answer is a big resounding NO. that's a good enough reason for me. and i wanted to hang out with my parents too, has been a while since i've seen them and dunno how much time i'll having during school. if things turn out bad - heck, tough luck.

so, that's my birthday. a year older - definitely. a year wiser? maybe not, methinks :-)

del.icio.us blocks "for:bschoolapps"-type tag sharing ???

2005-07-08T18:49:00.000-05:00

start:rant

this blows.

i have been playing around with the for:bschoolapps tag that I had created a few days - also noticed that Andy and ClearAdmit had tagged links with it. Subscribed to the RSS feed and things seemed to be pretty cool. I was going to post on BW and s2s, as suggested by Andy, to spread the word for those interested. And, now, all of a sudden I can't access the page for the tag ! it's the same with any tags, like 'for:joshua'.

the cool (not so much anymore, i guess) thing about del.icio.us is that tags have their own pages. which means that you can go see every site that's been tagged with that word, in addition to your own. Take, for instance, the tag 'podcasting'.

My main page is here:
http://del.icio.us/poweryogi
My page for all my links tagged as podcasting is:
http://del.icio.us/poweryogi/podcasting
Now you can go and check out 'all' links tagged as podcasting here:
http://del.icio.us/tag/podcasting

Ingeniously simple way of finding things. The new tag that I created had, obviously, the page:
http://del.icio.us/tag/for:bschoolapps
It was working fine, I had an RSS feed, the entire 4thofjuly fireworks.
If you click on the page for the tag now, it redirects to:
http://del.icio.us/for/bschoolapps with the message:
You have to be logged in as bschoolapps to view this page.

i 'think' I know what's going on here. in his latest post on their blog, joshua talked about how del.icio.us is now automatically starting to assign system tags to certain filetypes. The interesting thing is what the tags look like. For eg, an mp3 file is going to be tagged system:filetype:mp3.

this suggests to me that the colon(:) is starting to assume some special meaning in del.icio.us' tag nomenclature. the error warning also suggests that 'for:bschoolapps' can no longer be considered a tag per se. the 'for:' is more likely a redirector to a page for the user 'bschoolapps'. pretty big change, and one that isn't really documented anywhere.

now, i understand i wasn't trying to do anything that a simple tag called 'for_bschoolapps' wouldn't do. and i do understand it's a pre-alpha-alpha version subject to continuous change. and i also read their note that they can expel anyone who misbehaves. even at that risk, i must complain that what seems like a new model of tagging shouldn't be implemented without some kind of warning/info for those already using the tags in a particular way - there's the about page, and a blog to talk about impending changes. I mean, we're pre-alpha-alpha users too and could use a little heads-up.

of course, you'll have to pardon me if this was just a bug. i am not very generous with my bug reports :-)

end:rant

EDIT: just got an email from joshua that they are actually rolling out the support for the enhanced for: tag TODAY and that he didn't have the time to formulate the blog post yet. I guess I caught it just at the wrong time. The blog post is here. Sorry if I jumped the gun. Got to love that they are so responsive and listening to customers. Pretty awesome.

Click for Small Change™ supports the London Bombings Relief Fund

2005-07-08T13:23:00.000-05:00

[file under: Sensible Adsense]

Eariler today, Mayor Ken Livingstone announced the London Bombings Relief Fund, a joint initiative with the Red Cross. The Adsense revenues on this blog currently stand at $25.08. The last contribution, to idealist.org, was made at $4.72. I have just made an online donation in the amount of the $20-and-change that we've accrued since to the LBRF.

I know this is really small change for expensive London, but it could mean some more bandages to treat the wounded, or a few flowers to a grieving relative.

"awful what they did to my city"

2005-07-07T16:15:00.000-05:00

that was the email i received from my good friend in london who i managed to finally get in touch with. it was almost deja vu when i woke up this morning and checked the news. once-before-experienced feelings of outrage and sadness. the economist has what i thought was a pretty powerful cover today:

i hope Londoners bounce back from this tragedy stronger. i'm not the praying type, but this tragedy has been in my thoughts all day.

Bloggers get on the Map !

2005-07-05T19:21:00.000-05:00

Do you like Google Maps ? They released their API's towards the end of last week, and I decided to take it for a spin over the weekend. Here is the result. May interest some of you.

I basically took a partial list of Bloggers from the MBA league website and plotted them onto the US map. If you want to zoom in, i would recommend you click on the icon and leave the box that pops up in place. That way it always remains in the frame - doesn't auto center as yet.

You might also notice certain schools with active bloggers missing. It's quite funny actually - they are not there because I can't find a map-able address for them ! Here are the contact pages for the missing schools:

http://www.hbs.edu/about/contact.html
http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/admin/site/contacts
www.johnson.cornell.edu/directory
mba.ncsu.edu/contact.html
www.dartmouth.edu/tuck/contact.htm

All of them have a mailing address with PO Boxes, or building names. I realized as I was trying to find their latitude/longitude co-ordinates that the geocoding website I was using can only map US street addresses !

I find it quite instructive actually. It is, albeit on an insignificant scale, a demonstration of why new/disruptive technologies can be so disconcerting. They force you to think different. Who, at one of these schools, would have thunk of providing a street address so that one could map it on an online map? How long before websites start publishing the lat/lng co-ords of, say, their physical presence so that hackers everywhere can easily integrate these into their google maps projects?

PS: Of special interest to Chicago bloggers - our beloved Hyde Park Center is missing ! Looks like the picture Google's using is from sometime between demolition of the older building and construction of the new one. Unless they know something we don't :-)

some del.icio.us add-ons, and a request.

2005-07-05T11:20:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, Improbulus updated an earlier post with instructions on how to allow readers of your blog to bookmark the entire blog or an individual post to either del.icio.us or Furl. I have added the feature to my template both for individual posts and the entire blog(in the sidebar). This post on Improbulus' blog has the instructions for blogger and movable type if you'd like to give it a spin.

Found a very cool del.icio.us tagapp over at Feld's. It's being called the 'for:' tag. I think we can put it to an interesting use. The really really really slick thing about del.icio.us is that ANYONE can subscribe to ANY tag with RSS. And you get updated whenever ANY page is tagged thus by ANYONE else.

Confused?

Well, I just created a tag called 'for:bschoolapps'. If you are an mba applicant, and use an RSS reader, you can go here to subscribe. The next time you, or I, come across what we think might be an interesting read for MBA applicants (and you have a del.icio.us account - c'mon who doesn't right :), just save it as a bookmark with the above tag. And voila, everyone who has subscribed to the feed for the tag gets it ! Another addition to the increasing number of ways in which any-to-any information dissemination is being enabled. The first page to be tagged with this - Dave's blog. I think it's appropriate.

This also brought up an interesting thought for the folks over at del.icio.us. (of course, they may already have it and I've been too lazy to check, in which case I would be grateful if someone could provide me some links to it). I would really like for a directory-style-structure for tags. I'm finding that I need some tools to manage my growing number of tags. It would also be very cool if these directories can be subscribed. There are 'bundles' available, but they are messy to use, and I couldn't find a way to subsribe to an entire bundle. Again, I may not be looking in the right places.

What I'm thinking of is, let's say a bunch of people subscribe to the above tag, and start tagging information. There can be overload pretty soon - not necessarily because of the content itself, but the context. Say, A is a subscriber and has already taken the GMAT. She may not be interested in checking out the n links a weeks that refer the GMAT. On the other hand, B may only be interested in this information because she's preparing for the test. A structure like:
for:bschoolapps/gmat
for:bschoolapps/essays
for:bschoolapps/deadlines
would mean that a single subscription to the tag 'for:bschoolapps' gets you all the links that are tagged under it. Would be nice, methinks.

I do suspect a lot of thought is going into creating better tag management systems. This might prove to be a substantial differentiator among the various Web 2.0 ventures that are operating in this space. After all, in this era of exploding access to quality content, Context is King.

and i thought i had forgotten all about them essays.

2005-06-30T21:49:00.000-05:00

A funny thing happened on the drive to work today. As I was making my way to Cambridge one of my favorite songs came on the radio. As soon as I heard it, memories of writing one of my essays came rushing in. It was strange because I wasn't even remotely thinking about anything bschool related.

I don't remember what school it was for, but it was deadline time (no surprises here!) and I was working on the describe-a-failure-blah-di-dah essay. I was going to write about an experience in grad school where I came up with an idea, tried to start a venture around it with a few friends, worked really hard, eventually failed, but I realized that this is what I was cut out to do, and that entrepreneurship was my career goal, etcetera. But I was really struggling to find an interesting way to start my essay.

That day back then, on my way to work, I heard the very same song on the radio. And I had found my opening:

I got my first real six-string
Bought it at the five-and-dime
Played it till my fingers bled
It was the summer of '69

Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard
Jimmy quit and Jody got married
I shoulda known we'd never get far

Oh when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Ya - I'd always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life

Stupid move perhaps, quoting Bryan Adams in an essay, but I thought it was pretty cool. The school didn't. Ah well, at least I'll remember those essay writing days everytime I hear a certain song.

LinkedIn: Spam 2.0 ?

2005-06-29T12:52:00.000-05:00

I use, as in I have a list of contacts, on LinkedIn. One of the things they promise you when you signup is that there won't be bogus contacts etcetera because it is referral-based, and you get to approve/introduce people to your contacts, blah-di-dah.

So, I was more than a little surprised when I got this email from them a few minutes ago, from an email address that said: firstname_lastname_@mail.vresp.com. It says:

" I understand that {COMPANY} is growing, as a colleague of yours recently advertised an open position on a Boston job board. We'd like to offer you a free credit to post a job on LinkedIn and discover the power of referral-based hiring.

Your company's success will be shaped by the people you hire to work there. I would therefore like to introduce you to LinkedIn Jobs - the new way to hire. LinkedIn Jobs combines the power of referrals with the ease and convenience of online job listings.

Try it - there is no charge and we're sure you'll be happy with the results! If you would like to take advantage of this offer and post a job on LinkedIn, then simply click on the link below to instantly receive your free job credit."

It actually says (COMPANY} - not the name of my, or any, company !! My first thought was that this was bogus, but did click on the attached link anyways to check it out - and it did take me to the LinkedIn site. So, maybe it's not spam per se in the strict sense of the word. But it's scary.

Let me get this straight: the dudes over at LinkedIn were trolling a random job board in Boston, saw a posting for a job from a company, came home and looked through the LinkedIn database, found that I worked for said company, and decided to email me to get me to post a job on their own new job board.

Or: they just decided to send me a random email with a made-up story, without even caring to at least put a company name in there.

C'mon guys, this is NOT cool. You can NOT pull crap like this and expect that no one will notice or care.

Two days, Two mails.

2005-06-28T13:18:00.000-05:00

[file under: Are We There Yet?]

Sometimes I think Chicago is a lot like me. They seem to be very laid-back about 'important' things such as visa documentation, financial aid etcetera. While admits to other schools were getting their I20's a month earlier, our budget wasn't ever finalized. I am reading about others submitting their loan applications, while our office didn't even have the paperwork printed to be mailed. Not that it bothers me much, kinda suits my pace actually :-)

Finally, things have taken a few steps forward. Yesterday, I got the loan application for internationals. And this morning, my I-20. Now, more forms to fill. Documents prepared. Visas gotten. Fun stuff.

Blogger Images

2005-06-24T20:30:00.000-05:00

So, Blogger's launched an 'easier' way to upload images to blogs.

Checking it out ... took this pic in Berlin. And, no, it's not the Indian Embassy :-)

I got you a gift, but ..., it was a matter of life or death.

2005-06-24T15:37:00.000-05:00

[file under: Back to The Real World]

So, it's done. The Travels of Thousand5, Part One.

I'm sitting at my desk back at the job, and I can't get the trip out of my mind. There are drinks lined up with friends so that I can regale them with the stories ... and feel ever more depressed that I am back. Ah, but such is Life.

A colleague of mine asked me not to return without bring her back some chocolates. And, the gentleman that (I think :) I am, I obliged. I picked up a pack of six of these things called Dreamers they had at the Australian Chocolate and Ice Cream place in Berlin. The last leg of my trip I was in Madrid and I had read about this tiny place called La Violetta that sells candy that supposed to 'look, smell, and taste' like violets. Found the place and picked up a few boxes of those, just in case I needed to, you know, i don't know. One of them was a little glass box package with a nice bow knot tied on it. One of those can't not come into use someday, ya.

One of the reasons I hate planning is that things usually don't go according to plan. But I did want that my last train ride be a chill, best-of kind of thing. Say Au Revoir to the Old Continent in style. Got myself a first-class seat in a train bound for Frankfurt, (just barely made the train again), and settled in. It was a really hot and humid day in Paris and I was so looking forward to the air-conditioned ride.

The train starts, and pretty soon I get very hungry, and ask the conductor for directions to the Cafe Car. And what do you know ? there was none on the train. excuse me, i thought I had misunderstood. Nope. Wow. A 6-odd hour train ride without any food or water. No vending machines either.

I figured I could sleep my way through the journey and dream about things other than hunger and thirst. The only thing I could dream about? The Dreamers :-) Didn't help that the group across the aisle were having a little picnic. A 3-course picnic, it seemed like. So, I check my pack again to see if there were any leftover chips or peanuts or anything else at all. Finding none, I reluctantly opened up the bag of chocolates. And was on a strict ration. One piece of chocolate every 15 minutes past the hour. That way, I could maybe survive the ride without passing out.

I did, with one solitary piece of chocolate left. And I gave that to my friend when I got back :-) We had an awesome laugh about the entire episode, and I think that made that much more memorable than just me bringing back a box. And, of course, to make up for eating all her chocolate, I pulled out the fancy-shmancy box of violets. See, told you they would be useful. Rico Suave, she now calls me :-)

This will definitely rank among the best trips I have ever taken. 8 countries in 19 days. It was a wonderful mix of periods of solo travel interspersed with meeting interesting people; half the places I explored myself, others I had amazing local guides. It was awesome to hang out with Suzy, Farbe, and 3app. Thanks for all the hospitality folks, and you know you are always welcome at Casa Yogi.

So, was it an adventure? Well, Viljhalmur Stefansson has an interesting perspective.

"Having an adventure shows that someone is incompetent, that something has gone wrong. An adventure is interesting enough in retrospect, especially to the person who didn't have it; at the time it happens it usually constitutes an exceedingly disagreeable experience'.

I will not disagree that most of the 'adventures' I've had on this trip were due to things going wrong, maybe even incompetency in planning or some such, but I will have to disagree about one thing. I found all the mess-ups to actually be exceedingly agreeable experiences. Then again, that's just me.

I'd love to go do it again. With some extra food, maybe. Or, maybe not :-)