It's hard to believe, but I just finished my first year of business school. Time really flew by -- it seems like yesterday that I was meeting new people, and having to tell the story of what I did before b-school 457 times every day (now it's a manageable once or twice a week when I meet someone new at a party or dinner).
Overall, it was a really good year. I had some ups and downs, with a few "what the hell am I doing here?" crises, that have since been resolved. I've met a lot of amazing people, learned quite a bit, about business and about myself, and had way more fun than I was expecting from the experience. It's still a bit weird, though, being back in school. As I left our end-of-the-year party on Friday (which was a little disappointing, save for the rockin' Haas band, JoJo and the Babymakers), the common phrase was "Have a nice summer!", which is something I haven't said in over 10 years.
While I've definitely enjoyed being in the bubble that is known as grad school, where life is cushy and reasonably free of real responsibilities, I have to admit that I am sort of looking forward to getting back to the "real world". Of course, the promise of a paycheck is enticing, but there's something more to it then that. It's a little hard to pin down, but I think it has to do with the idea of progress. I know that I have the rest of my life to get on with the rest of my life, and so I'm definitely enjoying these halcyonic days while I can, but business school does feel at times like I've put things on hold. I'm sure once my summer is over, I'll be glad to be back in school, safely cocooned away. But for now, I'm looking forward to the regularity of an internship, to the dream of 9-5 which was so elusive in Tokyo, to being "done" when the work day is over and not having to worry about homework, and yes, to the paycheck that for once sees my checking account go UP, instead of DOWN DOWN DOWN.
Of course, to do all of that, I need to FIND an internship, which is easier said than done. Actually, I'm sure I could have already had an internship, if I wasn't looking into such niche areas, solar energy and private spaceflight. There have been so many job postings from school about internet-related companies, it's ridiculous. But such is life. I'll just have to keep plugging away, hoping that I break through and find some company somewhere that actually has an internship, or is willing to create one for me. Worst case scenario, I always have a plan C (which will remain unreported for now....)
Showing posts with label B-School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label B-School. Show all posts
Monday, May 14, 2007
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Done!
As of 11:59 am on Thursday morning, I am done with my first semester of business school! Yeah!
I can't tell if it went by extremely qiuckly or lasted four lifetimes... Maybe somewhere in between? (which would be 1 and a third lifetimes??)
I now have a month of freedom -- One week here in Berkeley and then it's off to Japan for three weeks with my Panda chan!
I can't tell if it went by extremely qiuckly or lasted four lifetimes... Maybe somewhere in between? (which would be 1 and a third lifetimes??)
I now have a month of freedom -- One week here in Berkeley and then it's off to Japan for three weeks with my Panda chan!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Numbers
Number of classmates I have -- 241
Amount of money I lost in Vegas last weekend -- Don't Ask
Days since I started my MBA -- 107
Number of times my corporate finance professor said "Law of one price!" this semester -- 86
Finals taken so far this semester -- 3
Finals to go -- 1
Hours until I have to turn in my last paper -- 13
Motivation level -- 0
Amount of money I lost in Vegas last weekend -- Don't Ask
Days since I started my MBA -- 107
Number of times my corporate finance professor said "Law of one price!" this semester -- 86
Finals taken so far this semester -- 3
Finals to go -- 1
Hours until I have to turn in my last paper -- 13
Motivation level -- 0
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Week One
Well, week one has been over for a few days now. I had a rather busy weekend, which I'll conveniently use as my excuse for not posting earlier.
Here's my schedule:
Mondays & Wednesdays - Economics for Business Decision Making (Mircoeconomics), 2pm - 4pm
Tuesday & Thursdays - Data and Decisions (Statistics), 9am - 11am, Organizational Behavior, 2pm - 4pm
Starting next week
Tuesdays - Leadership Communications, 6pm - 9pm
Wednesdays - Life as an Entrepreneur, 4pm - 6pm
I know it might not seem like much, but you'd be surprised how busy I was last week. And that's before all of my classes started, and before club activities. Clubs are going to be a big part of life here, as they encompass everything from the "fun stuff" (Wine Club, Culinary Club, sports, etc.) to hard core career focused activities (Technology Club, Entrepreneur's Association). Then there are all of the speakers and conferences, the workshops and don't forget all of the summer internship prep, which believe it or not, is already starting (although it's much worse if you want to be a banker or consultant, because they've got company meetings THIS WEEK, whereas tech isn't until spring).
Classes were good. It's really nice being back in a learning environment. I feel like I'm soaking up so much information in the lectures -- something about being older, I definitely appreciate the atmosphere more. But, on the other hand, getting back into study mode is REALLY REALLY HARD (after all, I'm writing this post when I should be writing one of my assignments....)
We've already gotten a fair amount of work, from reading case studies, to team projects to problem sets. (If you don't know what case studies are, check out this Harvard Business School web page. They pretty much invented it.) And the pace is only going to quicken.
So this weekend I tried to get ahead as much as possible. I sort of succeeded. But I also had a bbq to go to on Saturday (hosted by second-year Japanese students. Five hours of Japanese-style bbq, and 90% in Japanese) and a party last night (hosted by my friend Yang-yang, at her new furniture-less apartment).
Today was a holiday, thankfully. I got some work done, and then fortunately was able to hook up with my brother and his fiancee in the City, for a little bit of sightseeing and dinner in Chinatown, before their redeye flight back to New York. Not only was it good seeing them, but I finally was able to give them the gifts I had bought in China for them (and got a bottle of sparkling wine and a half bottle of red they had picked up in their wedding locale search in return!)
Next up, week two (kinda hard to believe it's only week two! After all, I've been hanging out with a lot of my fellow students for over a month now...)
Here's my schedule:
Mondays & Wednesdays - Economics for Business Decision Making (Mircoeconomics), 2pm - 4pm
Tuesday & Thursdays - Data and Decisions (Statistics), 9am - 11am, Organizational Behavior, 2pm - 4pm
Starting next week
Tuesdays - Leadership Communications, 6pm - 9pm
Wednesdays - Life as an Entrepreneur, 4pm - 6pm
I know it might not seem like much, but you'd be surprised how busy I was last week. And that's before all of my classes started, and before club activities. Clubs are going to be a big part of life here, as they encompass everything from the "fun stuff" (Wine Club, Culinary Club, sports, etc.) to hard core career focused activities (Technology Club, Entrepreneur's Association). Then there are all of the speakers and conferences, the workshops and don't forget all of the summer internship prep, which believe it or not, is already starting (although it's much worse if you want to be a banker or consultant, because they've got company meetings THIS WEEK, whereas tech isn't until spring).
Classes were good. It's really nice being back in a learning environment. I feel like I'm soaking up so much information in the lectures -- something about being older, I definitely appreciate the atmosphere more. But, on the other hand, getting back into study mode is REALLY REALLY HARD (after all, I'm writing this post when I should be writing one of my assignments....)
We've already gotten a fair amount of work, from reading case studies, to team projects to problem sets. (If you don't know what case studies are, check out this Harvard Business School web page. They pretty much invented it.) And the pace is only going to quicken.
So this weekend I tried to get ahead as much as possible. I sort of succeeded. But I also had a bbq to go to on Saturday (hosted by second-year Japanese students. Five hours of Japanese-style bbq, and 90% in Japanese) and a party last night (hosted by my friend Yang-yang, at her new furniture-less apartment).
Today was a holiday, thankfully. I got some work done, and then fortunately was able to hook up with my brother and his fiancee in the City, for a little bit of sightseeing and dinner in Chinatown, before their redeye flight back to New York. Not only was it good seeing them, but I finally was able to give them the gifts I had bought in China for them (and got a bottle of sparkling wine and a half bottle of red they had picked up in their wedding locale search in return!)
Next up, week two (kinda hard to believe it's only week two! After all, I've been hanging out with a lot of my fellow students for over a month now...)
Monday, August 28, 2006
In 10 minutes
I'm starting my first Business School class (we operate on "Berkeley Time", which means all classes actually start 10 minutes after their scheduled times).
Wish me luck!
Wish me luck!
Sunday, August 27, 2006
BBQ
Went to a bbq today. It was the last activity of Orientation Week.
I went expecting your typical burgers and dogs. So imagine my surprise when I got there and found out it was catered. With 10 different kinds of skewers (everything from beef to portabello mushrooms to lime chicken), awesome mashed potatoes and cous-cous!
It was a gorgeous day, too. The bbq was held at Pinole Point park, about half an hour north of Berkeley. We kind of got lost on the way, but eventually found it.
Ah, what a nice way to spend the afternoon!
I went expecting your typical burgers and dogs. So imagine my surprise when I got there and found out it was catered. With 10 different kinds of skewers (everything from beef to portabello mushrooms to lime chicken), awesome mashed potatoes and cous-cous!
It was a gorgeous day, too. The bbq was held at Pinole Point park, about half an hour north of Berkeley. We kind of got lost on the way, but eventually found it.
Ah, what a nice way to spend the afternoon!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
6
Today was the 3rd day of Orientation Week. On Monday, we had a good discussion on diversity, including a speech on diversity by the CEO of PG&E (a big California utility company). We also had some team-building exercises, important because I just found out who my "study group" is (a study group is a group of 4 people in the same class that have to work together on certain group projects).
Yesterday featured a pretty lame and uninspiring talk and workshop on innovation, as well as a much better look into and practice of what a typical case study will be like in our classes. Last night, the alumni association sponsored a business formal party at the faculty club, with a pretty cool alumni speaker, an announcement of the demographics of our new class (how many countries, average age, average GMAT score, etc.), and the usual finger food and copious amounts of alcohol.
It was one of my classmates' birthday, so I joined a big crowd celebrating afterwards at Club Med, aka another classmate's SWEET house up in the Berkeley Hills.
I left the party around 1, so I was a little dragging when I arrived at school at 8 this morning (only to find out that we didn't have to actually be there until 8:30...) We spent the first part of the morning talking about the opportunities for learning about and participating in socially responsible business at Haas (everything from non-profit to government to talking about how it just makes plain business sense for everyday businesses to be socially responsible). This is one of the topics that I'm interested, so I'm looking forward to delving into it more.
With that in the backs of our collective heads, we headed out to a local collaborative living establishment, where 200 different families that were either formerly homeless or close to becoming homeless live. It was a really great place, where they have formed their own community, helped out by on- and off-site workers, and where they do everything from tutor kids to grow their own vegetables. We were there to work, donating the labor of 240 vibrant and energetic people to do things like paint the houses, pull weeds, move mulch and build flower beds (which I did. My hammering skillz could use some work...). At the end, we went around the community picking up trash.
The division of labor was done across cohort lines. A cohort is a group of 60 students, all of whom take all first semester classes together (60 people x 4 cohorts = 240 people) As we were doing these various activities, we had kids from the houses walking around judging us on things like participation and enthusiasm. My team, Oski, won this part of the competition. But there was to be more. Much more.
From there, we headed out to a nearby park, where a bbq was waiting for us (along with cohort-specific t-shirts). After eating a quick lunch, the annual Cohort Olympia began.
With events like horseshoes, volleyball, twister and capture the flag, it sounds a little dorky, but keep in mind, all of these involved copious amounts of beer. As did "Sloshball", a take on the traditional kickball of days gone by. The whole thing kinda reminded me of my undergraduate days, in some good, and not-so-good ways. We ended with team-developed skits, poking fun at the personalities and foibles we had already seen in our still-short time here.
Alas, despite our best efforts, and my large amount of cheering, screaming and running around, Oski came in 2nd place, losing to Gold. This was a much better showing then last year, though, when Oski apparently came in 4th place in the competition, because they spent too much time just drinking beer.
Oh, and the number in this post's title? That's how many artificially-flavored strawberry cupcakes I ate in 3 minutes, as part of the speed-eating competition. My group came in 2nd, with 20 cupcakes eaten by the three of us, one short of the winning 21.
Yesterday featured a pretty lame and uninspiring talk and workshop on innovation, as well as a much better look into and practice of what a typical case study will be like in our classes. Last night, the alumni association sponsored a business formal party at the faculty club, with a pretty cool alumni speaker, an announcement of the demographics of our new class (how many countries, average age, average GMAT score, etc.), and the usual finger food and copious amounts of alcohol.
It was one of my classmates' birthday, so I joined a big crowd celebrating afterwards at Club Med, aka another classmate's SWEET house up in the Berkeley Hills.
I left the party around 1, so I was a little dragging when I arrived at school at 8 this morning (only to find out that we didn't have to actually be there until 8:30...) We spent the first part of the morning talking about the opportunities for learning about and participating in socially responsible business at Haas (everything from non-profit to government to talking about how it just makes plain business sense for everyday businesses to be socially responsible). This is one of the topics that I'm interested, so I'm looking forward to delving into it more.
With that in the backs of our collective heads, we headed out to a local collaborative living establishment, where 200 different families that were either formerly homeless or close to becoming homeless live. It was a really great place, where they have formed their own community, helped out by on- and off-site workers, and where they do everything from tutor kids to grow their own vegetables. We were there to work, donating the labor of 240 vibrant and energetic people to do things like paint the houses, pull weeds, move mulch and build flower beds (which I did. My hammering skillz could use some work...). At the end, we went around the community picking up trash.
The division of labor was done across cohort lines. A cohort is a group of 60 students, all of whom take all first semester classes together (60 people x 4 cohorts = 240 people) As we were doing these various activities, we had kids from the houses walking around judging us on things like participation and enthusiasm. My team, Oski, won this part of the competition. But there was to be more. Much more.
From there, we headed out to a nearby park, where a bbq was waiting for us (along with cohort-specific t-shirts). After eating a quick lunch, the annual Cohort Olympia began.
With events like horseshoes, volleyball, twister and capture the flag, it sounds a little dorky, but keep in mind, all of these involved copious amounts of beer. As did "Sloshball", a take on the traditional kickball of days gone by. The whole thing kinda reminded me of my undergraduate days, in some good, and not-so-good ways. We ended with team-developed skits, poking fun at the personalities and foibles we had already seen in our still-short time here.
Alas, despite our best efforts, and my large amount of cheering, screaming and running around, Oski came in 2nd place, losing to Gold. This was a much better showing then last year, though, when Oski apparently came in 4th place in the competition, because they spent too much time just drinking beer.
Oh, and the number in this post's title? That's how many artificially-flavored strawberry cupcakes I ate in 3 minutes, as part of the speed-eating competition. My group came in 2nd, with 20 cupcakes eaten by the three of us, one short of the winning 21.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Holy Crap.
Wow. Ropes Course. What can I say? Or, more appropriately, what can I say on my blog that doesn't involve four-letter words or other things that would give my parents a heart attack?
I never really thought I had a problem with heights. But I knew I had a problem with falling. That kinda sounds like a no-brainer (who doesn't have a problem with falling?), but it's not so much the going "Splat!" on the pavement below that bothers me (although, of course, that's an issue), so much as the actual sensation of falling that I don't like. The whole "My stomach is in my lungs, and my lungs are about to come out of my mouth" thing. Which is why I never really liked roller coasters.
The only roller coaster I've ever truly enjoyed, to the point of doing it again and again, has been Space Mountain. Because it's dark. So you can't see what's coming up. 'Cause it's the seeing, and the anticipation that really gets me. One of the main reasons I DON'T generally ride roller coasters, is because I start to get queasy just looking at them, and thinking about how sick it's going to make me feel were I actually ride it. All this without even getting in line.
So, imagine that queasiness, that trepidation, that knowing "wow, this is gonna rock when I'm done, but suck while I'm doing it" feeling, and imagine that times 10. No, times 100. And, now imagine that feeling while standing on an itsy bitsy platform on a tree, 100 feet or so off the ground. And then, imagine that you have to jump off said platform, into nothing-ness below. That would be a small approximation of what I felt earlier today, when I went on a "Zip line" at the ropes course.
I'm convinced that jumping off things into wide open space is not a natural concept for humans. Otherwise we'd have winged arms or something. Never mind that I was harnessed in, never mind that I had two different connections to the zip line. It wasn't really about the knowledge of what I was about to do being safe. No matter how much you tell yourself that nothing could go wrong (and for the most part, nothing really CAN go wrong), that doesn't make it any easier to make that leap off the platform (for me, at least).
In the end, it took me about 10 minutes of psyching myself up, including nervous butterfiles, a couple of bouts of pseud0-hyperventilation, and somebody skipping me in line, but I made it. I didn't get a running jump off the platform, like some of my classmates; in fact, I sat down, and kind of eased myself off. Not the most graceful or exciting or manly ways of going. But I made it.
As I told my "guide", it's a lot easier being macho from the BOTTOM of the tree. Things aren't quite so easy when you're standing at the top.
I'm definitely glad I did it, though. Not only the getting over my fear, challenging my limits part, but it was actually FUN! At least, the ride down was. What started as a "holy crap!" scream quickly turned into unstoppable laughter. When I got back down, my legs were still shaking a little bit, but the adrenaline rush was amazing.
Then, there was the buoy-jump. This one was only 40 feet or so, so the climbing up part was MUCH easier. But once you get up top, there's only a teeny tiny little platform (way smaller than the zip line platform), with a narrow plan attached that goes out 10 feet or so. A buoy is attached to an adjustable wire above you, with the goal being to touch the buoy. Meaning when the buoy is farther out, you have to literally JUMP off this tiny plank to grab it.
Like the zip line, I was one of the last people to go. So I KNEW it was safe. I saw people making fantastic leaps off the plank, limbs outstretched as they SMACKED the buoy. I KNEW I could do it. I visualized myself taking a running jump and easily sailing off the platform, grabbing the buoy and then slowly being lowered down to the ground by my teammates.
But, once again, things didn't go quite so well as I had envisioned them. It's really easy to talk about it, and really easy to watch other people do it, but once you get up there, DAMN! That's pretty high! And, as I said before, humankind just wasn't meant to jump off into nothingness.
But, while I didn't make the jump, I did manage to get to the end of the plank, which I was very happy about. They moved the buoy close, so I stepped up to it (more like siddled up to it), and gave it a good whack, before scooting back to the slightly larger platform, so I could be lowered down.
I think I've had enough of high places for a while.
I never really thought I had a problem with heights. But I knew I had a problem with falling. That kinda sounds like a no-brainer (who doesn't have a problem with falling?), but it's not so much the going "Splat!" on the pavement below that bothers me (although, of course, that's an issue), so much as the actual sensation of falling that I don't like. The whole "My stomach is in my lungs, and my lungs are about to come out of my mouth" thing. Which is why I never really liked roller coasters.
The only roller coaster I've ever truly enjoyed, to the point of doing it again and again, has been Space Mountain. Because it's dark. So you can't see what's coming up. 'Cause it's the seeing, and the anticipation that really gets me. One of the main reasons I DON'T generally ride roller coasters, is because I start to get queasy just looking at them, and thinking about how sick it's going to make me feel were I actually ride it. All this without even getting in line.
So, imagine that queasiness, that trepidation, that knowing "wow, this is gonna rock when I'm done, but suck while I'm doing it" feeling, and imagine that times 10. No, times 100. And, now imagine that feeling while standing on an itsy bitsy platform on a tree, 100 feet or so off the ground. And then, imagine that you have to jump off said platform, into nothing-ness below. That would be a small approximation of what I felt earlier today, when I went on a "Zip line" at the ropes course.
I'm convinced that jumping off things into wide open space is not a natural concept for humans. Otherwise we'd have winged arms or something. Never mind that I was harnessed in, never mind that I had two different connections to the zip line. It wasn't really about the knowledge of what I was about to do being safe. No matter how much you tell yourself that nothing could go wrong (and for the most part, nothing really CAN go wrong), that doesn't make it any easier to make that leap off the platform (for me, at least).
In the end, it took me about 10 minutes of psyching myself up, including nervous butterfiles, a couple of bouts of pseud0-hyperventilation, and somebody skipping me in line, but I made it. I didn't get a running jump off the platform, like some of my classmates; in fact, I sat down, and kind of eased myself off. Not the most graceful or exciting or manly ways of going. But I made it.
As I told my "guide", it's a lot easier being macho from the BOTTOM of the tree. Things aren't quite so easy when you're standing at the top.
I'm definitely glad I did it, though. Not only the getting over my fear, challenging my limits part, but it was actually FUN! At least, the ride down was. What started as a "holy crap!" scream quickly turned into unstoppable laughter. When I got back down, my legs were still shaking a little bit, but the adrenaline rush was amazing.
Then, there was the buoy-jump. This one was only 40 feet or so, so the climbing up part was MUCH easier. But once you get up top, there's only a teeny tiny little platform (way smaller than the zip line platform), with a narrow plan attached that goes out 10 feet or so. A buoy is attached to an adjustable wire above you, with the goal being to touch the buoy. Meaning when the buoy is farther out, you have to literally JUMP off this tiny plank to grab it.
Like the zip line, I was one of the last people to go. So I KNEW it was safe. I saw people making fantastic leaps off the plank, limbs outstretched as they SMACKED the buoy. I KNEW I could do it. I visualized myself taking a running jump and easily sailing off the platform, grabbing the buoy and then slowly being lowered down to the ground by my teammates.
But, once again, things didn't go quite so well as I had envisioned them. It's really easy to talk about it, and really easy to watch other people do it, but once you get up there, DAMN! That's pretty high! And, as I said before, humankind just wasn't meant to jump off into nothingness.
But, while I didn't make the jump, I did manage to get to the end of the plank, which I was very happy about. They moved the buoy close, so I stepped up to it (more like siddled up to it), and gave it a good whack, before scooting back to the slightly larger platform, so I could be lowered down.
I think I've had enough of high places for a while.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Math Camp
A friend and fellow blogger reminded me today in no uncertain terms that I've been crap about updating. Were this a competition, I'd be losing the update battle. Thus the double-posting today.
So far, I'm 3/4 of the way through Math Camp (alternatively known as "Nerd Camp", "Geek Camp", "Math Review", "Summer Camp", "Get used to being back in a classroom for hours on end Camp", "Try not to fall asleep Camp", "Don't worry about the homework Camp" or "Just another excuse to meet a bunch of your future classmates before actual classes start Camp". For the most part, it's been pretty good, and I'm definitely glad that I signed up for it.
Last week was kind of a waste, in terms of actual instruction. We didn't really cover that much material, and a lot of what we did I had already gone over in studying for the GMAT. But as you can see from my "alternate names" list above, it was good for both getting back in to the groove of things, re- school, as well as for hanging out and getting to know a lot of my new classmates.
It's strange how quickly you can get to know somebody in this situation. Even though I've only known most people for a week, a week and a half at most, I already consider many of them my friends. I guess it's a combination of attitude and commonalities that brings us close so quickly.
Yesterday, we found out what "cohort" we're in. A cohort is a 60-person group that you end up taking all of your core classes (like accounting, finance and the other required first-year classes) together with, so they end up being a big part of your experience, because you spend so much time together during the first semester. Despite the fact that I've already met a lot of people through Math Camp, it seems like I don't know that many people in my cohort. Which is sort of a bad thing, in that it means a lot of the people I've been hanging out with and that I like I won't be able to spend as much time with, but I guess it's also sort of a good thing, because it will expose me to new people, which is definitely part of what business school is all about.
Anyway, the past three days of Math Camp have been a lot more helpful in terms of material covered. We went over some of the basics of finance (bonds, discount rate, the time value of money, etc.), which I knew nothing about. Plus, the professor was extremely dynamic, and did a great job of keeping 150 people in a cavernous auditorium engaged, despite the fact that all we wanted to do was either a) sleep off our hangovers or b) hurry up into the production of new hangovers. Tomorrow, yet another professor takes over, for two days of instruction on accounting. Despite the unofficial "don't do your homework" policy that's not-so-quietly handed down from the second years (and probably tacitly endorsed by the professors), like with finance, I got nuthin' when it comes to accounting, so I'm going to try to struggle through some of the reading for tomorrow's session.
Wish me luck.
So far, I'm 3/4 of the way through Math Camp (alternatively known as "Nerd Camp", "Geek Camp", "Math Review", "Summer Camp", "Get used to being back in a classroom for hours on end Camp", "Try not to fall asleep Camp", "Don't worry about the homework Camp" or "Just another excuse to meet a bunch of your future classmates before actual classes start Camp". For the most part, it's been pretty good, and I'm definitely glad that I signed up for it.
Last week was kind of a waste, in terms of actual instruction. We didn't really cover that much material, and a lot of what we did I had already gone over in studying for the GMAT. But as you can see from my "alternate names" list above, it was good for both getting back in to the groove of things, re- school, as well as for hanging out and getting to know a lot of my new classmates.
It's strange how quickly you can get to know somebody in this situation. Even though I've only known most people for a week, a week and a half at most, I already consider many of them my friends. I guess it's a combination of attitude and commonalities that brings us close so quickly.
Yesterday, we found out what "cohort" we're in. A cohort is a 60-person group that you end up taking all of your core classes (like accounting, finance and the other required first-year classes) together with, so they end up being a big part of your experience, because you spend so much time together during the first semester. Despite the fact that I've already met a lot of people through Math Camp, it seems like I don't know that many people in my cohort. Which is sort of a bad thing, in that it means a lot of the people I've been hanging out with and that I like I won't be able to spend as much time with, but I guess it's also sort of a good thing, because it will expose me to new people, which is definitely part of what business school is all about.
Anyway, the past three days of Math Camp have been a lot more helpful in terms of material covered. We went over some of the basics of finance (bonds, discount rate, the time value of money, etc.), which I knew nothing about. Plus, the professor was extremely dynamic, and did a great job of keeping 150 people in a cavernous auditorium engaged, despite the fact that all we wanted to do was either a) sleep off our hangovers or b) hurry up into the production of new hangovers. Tomorrow, yet another professor takes over, for two days of instruction on accounting. Despite the unofficial "don't do your homework" policy that's not-so-quietly handed down from the second years (and probably tacitly endorsed by the professors), like with finance, I got nuthin' when it comes to accounting, so I'm going to try to struggle through some of the reading for tomorrow's session.
Wish me luck.
So tiiiiiiiirrred
I just woke up from a two-hour nap. While some of my (still?) faithful readers might be jealous of my current situation which allows me to go to sleep for two hours in the middle of the day... wait a second. Sorry, no real counter-point to this one. You'd be right to feel jealous. I'M jealous (whatever that means).
But don't worry, it won't last for long. Next week is the start of "O-Week", or Orientation Week, with classes starting the week after. Something tells me that the balance of LNS to LNP (late-night studying/late-night partying) is going to shift dramatically from the current near (but not complete) 0 to 100 to a near-opposite 100 to 0. And with the addition of a full-class schedule (or at least what passes for one in business school), study groups, problem sets and massive amounts of reading, my ability to nap is going to drop dramatically. So I don't feel too bad about one moment of weakness today.
But don't worry, it won't last for long. Next week is the start of "O-Week", or Orientation Week, with classes starting the week after. Something tells me that the balance of LNS to LNP (late-night studying/late-night partying) is going to shift dramatically from the current near (but not complete) 0 to 100 to a near-opposite 100 to 0. And with the addition of a full-class schedule (or at least what passes for one in business school), study groups, problem sets and massive amounts of reading, my ability to nap is going to drop dramatically. So I don't feel too bad about one moment of weakness today.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Well, tomorrow's the day (Part 1)
Tomorrow, school finally starts. Sort of. Tomorrow is the first day of "Math Camp" (also known as 'Nerd Camp'). It's a two week review session, covering all the math new students should know, but probably forgot since they haven't taken any math since high school (unless you count that freshman year of college calculus course I slept through...)
Anyway, the next two weeks should be a good way to EASE myself into the whole school thing. And the whole regular schedule thing, 'cause for the past 7 months, I've pretty much woken up whenever the hell I wanted, and done whatever the hell I wanted.
Yeah, not really looking forward to getting up at 8am tomorrow....
Anyway, the next two weeks should be a good way to EASE myself into the whole school thing. And the whole regular schedule thing, 'cause for the past 7 months, I've pretty much woken up whenever the hell I wanted, and done whatever the hell I wanted.
Yeah, not really looking forward to getting up at 8am tomorrow....
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Days at Haas -- Friday
Friday morning started early -- a little too early, actually. Having been out till past 1 the night before, getting up and over to campus for the 8am breakfast just wasn't gonna happen. Things officially started at 8:30, but I was even a few minutes late for that. I got up on time (sort of), but couldn't find a cab to take me to campus. Fortunately, I found a bus stop, but I had to wait 15 minutes for it to come pick me up.
Friday was full of information sessions about the school, on different topics. They had a faculty panel, discussed the various "centers" (entrepreneurial, real estate, etc.) over lunch, held a career panel and talked about life at Haas. Overall, it was a good view into what things would be like over the next two years, but I would have liked some more interaction with professors.
We also had a "scavenger hunt". It was supposed to be a way for us to get to know the Berkeley campus better, all the while getting to know our future classmates better, but it was raining, so they had to do most of it indoors. It was still fun, though, if a bit embarrassing at times (we had to to group karaoke to boy band songs...).
Friday night was the Consumption Function, a monthly social gettogether they have, which is usually sponsored by a different group or club every month. It's a chance for all students (and even their partners) to come together and socialize. Because of the UN conference that was going on at the same time (Bridging the Divide), they had people from the conference join the event, which was cool. Basically, just a lot of food and drink, and more socializing time.
I was tired and skipped the house party that some students had afterwards. But I heard it was fun, until somebody cracked their head on a coat rack. Isn't that a famous saying? "It's all fun and games until somebody cracks their head on a coat rack."
Maybe not.
Friday was full of information sessions about the school, on different topics. They had a faculty panel, discussed the various "centers" (entrepreneurial, real estate, etc.) over lunch, held a career panel and talked about life at Haas. Overall, it was a good view into what things would be like over the next two years, but I would have liked some more interaction with professors.
We also had a "scavenger hunt". It was supposed to be a way for us to get to know the Berkeley campus better, all the while getting to know our future classmates better, but it was raining, so they had to do most of it indoors. It was still fun, though, if a bit embarrassing at times (we had to to group karaoke to boy band songs...).
Friday night was the Consumption Function, a monthly social gettogether they have, which is usually sponsored by a different group or club every month. It's a chance for all students (and even their partners) to come together and socialize. Because of the UN conference that was going on at the same time (Bridging the Divide), they had people from the conference join the event, which was cool. Basically, just a lot of food and drink, and more socializing time.
I was tired and skipped the house party that some students had afterwards. But I heard it was fun, until somebody cracked their head on a coat rack. Isn't that a famous saying? "It's all fun and games until somebody cracks their head on a coat rack."
Maybe not.
Days at Haas -- Thursday
The Days at Haas weekend was jam-packed. The current students that put it together did a good job of making sure we were always busy during the two and a half days.
Thursday nigiht started with a reception, which included a brief speech by the new dean. He used to be a California representative in Congress (I think). He seemed really cool and was pretty funny. And more importantly, he seemed to have a solid idea of where he wanted to take the school.
After the reception, we broke up into small groups and had dinner at first-year students' houses. I thought this was a great idea, and was really impressed by the personal touch and the ability to speak in depth with students, in an informal setting.
The night ended at a bar called Raleigh's, a short ways away from campus, where all of the admitted students and a bunch of first-years gathered for drinks. It was a good time, although I probably could have done without the slice of pizza I picked up on the way home. At least I was able to find a cab, so I didn't have to take the super-long walk back to my motel....
Thursday nigiht started with a reception, which included a brief speech by the new dean. He used to be a California representative in Congress (I think). He seemed really cool and was pretty funny. And more importantly, he seemed to have a solid idea of where he wanted to take the school.
After the reception, we broke up into small groups and had dinner at first-year students' houses. I thought this was a great idea, and was really impressed by the personal touch and the ability to speak in depth with students, in an informal setting.
The night ended at a bar called Raleigh's, a short ways away from campus, where all of the admitted students and a bunch of first-years gathered for drinks. It was a good time, although I probably could have done without the slice of pizza I picked up on the way home. At least I was able to find a cab, so I didn't have to take the super-long walk back to my motel....
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Berkeley
I woke up at 6:15 on Thursday morning, in order to make my way from Atlanta to Oakland, for the Days at Haas weekend for students admitted to Berkeley's business school. My friend Dustin was kind enough to roll out of bed before 7 am to give me a lift to the MARTA (Atlanta's public transportation), so I wouldn't have to leave my mom's car at the airport.
It was a long flight -- over five hours. Kinda strange, actually. I guess being away from the States so long, you forget about how big this place is (especially given the fact that a flight from Tokyo to Shanghai is only two or three hours. Of course, that doesn't take in to account the hour and a half trip to Narita airport...). While I didn't get to sleep as much as I would have liked, the flight in general was a good one; I was pleasantly surprised with the condition of the Delta plane.
Arriving in Oakland, I made my way to Berkeley (once again using public transportation). I had made a reservation at the Berkeley Travel Inn, a few blocks from the North Berkeley BART train station, and only seven blocks from the UC campus. Alarm bells started ringing in my head when I first saw the hotel (motel, really), as they had a huge sign with scripture from the Bible next to their name.
Apparently, they're under "new management" and are working on rennovating a lot of the rooms. Well, they had better get their asses in gear with the rennovations, let me tell you. I guess it was relatively clean, which was a relief, and they had cable (sort of), but luxury it was not (my first night I didn't have shampoo, you have to ASK to have your phone turned on, and I was a little worried I was going to get electrocuted by the bedside lamp). But cheap it was, and kinda close to campus. Or so I thought.
The first organized activity for the weekend was a welcome reception on campus. The Haas buildings are at the "top" of the Berkeley campus (the western end, but since everything is on a hill, it ends up being at the top). It was a good 25 minute hike just to get to the BOTTOM of campus, so it was a good thing I had left plenty early, as I had planned on stopping in a cafe and reading a bit before I hit the reception. It was another 20 minutes to get to Haas, so it was with some relief that the following day I found a bus stop across the street from my motel.
I'm heading out to dinner in the City (SF) now, so I'll hopefully finish my weekend report tomorrow.
It was a long flight -- over five hours. Kinda strange, actually. I guess being away from the States so long, you forget about how big this place is (especially given the fact that a flight from Tokyo to Shanghai is only two or three hours. Of course, that doesn't take in to account the hour and a half trip to Narita airport...). While I didn't get to sleep as much as I would have liked, the flight in general was a good one; I was pleasantly surprised with the condition of the Delta plane.
Arriving in Oakland, I made my way to Berkeley (once again using public transportation). I had made a reservation at the Berkeley Travel Inn, a few blocks from the North Berkeley BART train station, and only seven blocks from the UC campus. Alarm bells started ringing in my head when I first saw the hotel (motel, really), as they had a huge sign with scripture from the Bible next to their name.
Apparently, they're under "new management" and are working on rennovating a lot of the rooms. Well, they had better get their asses in gear with the rennovations, let me tell you. I guess it was relatively clean, which was a relief, and they had cable (sort of), but luxury it was not (my first night I didn't have shampoo, you have to ASK to have your phone turned on, and I was a little worried I was going to get electrocuted by the bedside lamp). But cheap it was, and kinda close to campus. Or so I thought.
The first organized activity for the weekend was a welcome reception on campus. The Haas buildings are at the "top" of the Berkeley campus (the western end, but since everything is on a hill, it ends up being at the top). It was a good 25 minute hike just to get to the BOTTOM of campus, so it was a good thing I had left plenty early, as I had planned on stopping in a cafe and reading a bit before I hit the reception. It was another 20 minutes to get to Haas, so it was with some relief that the following day I found a bus stop across the street from my motel.
I'm heading out to dinner in the City (SF) now, so I'll hopefully finish my weekend report tomorrow.
Monday, April 03, 2006
3 out of 4
Bad news. I just got officially "dinged" from MIT. Oh well. I had kind of seen it comning, given the fact that I hadn't heard a peep from them since I turned my application in. And I guess 3 out of 4 schools isn't half bad!
California, here I come!
California, here I come!
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Impressions of UC Berkeley/Haas
I visited the Haas campus yesterday. Had to wake up RIDICULOUSLY early (6am) to get there in time for the 8am class I wanted to sit in on. Took the bus downtown with my friend Josh (who regularly wakes up that early) from his place (he's graciously letting me crash there), then switched to the BART, then hopped on a bus. Ended up arrivng at 7:30, 20 minutes before the requested "10 minutes before class" time. So I waited for my student escort to come pick me up and take me to class. And waited. And waited. And waited. Nobody that passed me said a word, until finally someone from admissions came and said the escort would be along shortly, as classes usually started at ten past. So I waited some more. At this point, my first impression of Haas was starting to take a nosedive. Finally, somebody came (though it wasn't the person that had been assigned the task) and I made it to class on time.
The class was "Introduction to Management of Technology", and since that program is one of the main reasons I'm currently considering Berkeley over UCLA, I wanted to make sure I sat in on a session. It was a pretty interesting class, and I liked the mix of Biz school students with Engineering students, although it meant the average age of the class was REALLY young. This worried me at first, until I later wandered over to the school cafe and found a bunch of Haas students milling about. Much closer to my age.
I had lunch with a few current students (joined by other prospective students), then sat in on an informational session run by two other students. Everyone I met was really cool, and something about the vibe of the Haas student body seemed a slightly better match than UCLA. Plus, as Josh's mother rightly pointed out the other night when I dinner with him and his family, Berkeley's campus is much more like a New England school's campus, compared with the California-style campus of UCLA. I guess it's because it's what I'm used to, but I liked the Berkeley campus better -- it reminded me a bit of Amherst (though much much bigger, of course).
I'm still waiting until Haas' admitted students' weekend in two weeks to reserve final judgement between the two schools, but currently Haas has the edge over UCLA Anderson. Of course, even with the relatively bad weather in LA last weekend, it's still MUCH MUCH better than SF weather (which, admittedly, is also suffering from a bit of freakish, colder-and-wetter-than-usual weather). But I'm not sure if that can be a big enough factor to push things one way or the other.
Then, of course, there's still the wild card, MIT Sloan, which has remained disturbingly silent. We shall see what we shall see.
The class was "Introduction to Management of Technology", and since that program is one of the main reasons I'm currently considering Berkeley over UCLA, I wanted to make sure I sat in on a session. It was a pretty interesting class, and I liked the mix of Biz school students with Engineering students, although it meant the average age of the class was REALLY young. This worried me at first, until I later wandered over to the school cafe and found a bunch of Haas students milling about. Much closer to my age.
I had lunch with a few current students (joined by other prospective students), then sat in on an informational session run by two other students. Everyone I met was really cool, and something about the vibe of the Haas student body seemed a slightly better match than UCLA. Plus, as Josh's mother rightly pointed out the other night when I dinner with him and his family, Berkeley's campus is much more like a New England school's campus, compared with the California-style campus of UCLA. I guess it's because it's what I'm used to, but I liked the Berkeley campus better -- it reminded me a bit of Amherst (though much much bigger, of course).
I'm still waiting until Haas' admitted students' weekend in two weeks to reserve final judgement between the two schools, but currently Haas has the edge over UCLA Anderson. Of course, even with the relatively bad weather in LA last weekend, it's still MUCH MUCH better than SF weather (which, admittedly, is also suffering from a bit of freakish, colder-and-wetter-than-usual weather). But I'm not sure if that can be a big enough factor to push things one way or the other.
Then, of course, there's still the wild card, MIT Sloan, which has remained disturbingly silent. We shall see what we shall see.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
My return to SoCal
I realize I haven't yet written about my impressions on UCLA Anderson, nor have I detailed what I've been doing during the past week since I got back from Japan.
First off, I was pleasantly surprised about Anderson. It's not that I wasn't expecting much -- I was, and if I didn't think that it was a really good school, I wouldn't have applied (USC being the exception -- brutal, but honest. Frankly, they're not in the same league as UCLA or UCBerkeley, but I didn't realize how different they were at first, and thought I needed a "safety school". But I digress). But over the 3 days of the ADays weekend, they really did a great job of selling the school and all of the benefits that accompany it. Everything from the depth of the professors, to their contacts in the field (especially regarding entrepreneurial opportunities), to current, future and past students seemed really first-rate. So while Berkelely still has the lead in terms of priority, UCLA set a really high bar that Berkeley has to clear before I pull the trigger.
Anyway, other than spending 3 full days at Anderson, I also briefly visited the USC Marshall campus for an interview. Classes weren't in session because of Spring Break, but it really wouldn't have mattered. Especially since I got into Anderson (see comment above).
I had dinner with my old boss from Tokyo on Tuesday night, which was nice. She helped me a lot during the MBA application process, writing recommendations for me and just being extremely supportive, in general. It was good talking about the "Good Ole' Days", as well as catching up on what she's been up to since.
Wednesday I had lunch with my friend Lela (whom I had ran into at the airport) and her husband Ken. Lela is doing extremely well with work (she's a cartoonist and actress), which is really exciting. I always enjoy catching up with her and Ken, and it's nice to see friends that are succeeding at what they want to do. Plus, they're generally really really really nice people.
After lunch I drove down to Long Beach to spend the night with my friend Dave, from Amherst, and his girlfriend Monica, who I first met last year when I was in town. The traffic was pretty bad, but fortunately I managed to miss most of it, although it still took me an hour and a half to go 30-some miles.... Gotta love LA traffic.
I had a great time with Dave and Monica. They took me to an excellent Lebanese restaurant for dinner, where I stuffed myself silly on hummus, grape leaves and the like. One thing I quickly realized is I'm having to overcome the "vacation mode" that typically has hit me on my trips to the States in the past 6 years. Usually, I would come back for a week or two, and in that time feel like I had to do a year's worth of shopping and eating, to get all of those things I couldn't get in Tokyo (like good Lebanese food). That's not the case anymore, though, and I have to keep reminding myself of the fact. Of course, the huge portions in restaurants means that I end up eating more anyway.... The chocolate brownie I had after dinner didn't help...
Thursday, Dave joined me and my friend Kate, who's studying at UC Irvine, for lunch. I hadn't seen Kate in almost 2 years, back when I crashed at her place in Detroit. After lunch, we caught up over coffee, until she had to leave to head back to school and I had to get on the road to San Diego, in order to make sure I beat all of the afternoon rush-hour traffic.
San Diego was great. I got to catch up with Peter (another friend from college) and Bonnie, and talk about everything that's happened to them since their wedding last summer. We traded travel stories (their honeymoon in S. Africa, my adventure in India) and talked about work, past and future. For dinner, they took me to one of their favorite restaurants, a delicious Russian place fairly nearly their house. And we ended the night with a bottle of wine and Scrabble. Does it get any better? :)
Friday, I got the phone call from Berkeley, so I was on a high pretty much all day. Back at Robb's place, we all went to an Irish pub to celebrate St. Patty's day. But, for some reason all of us were pretty wiped, so it was an early night. And Saturday was an even earlier morning, as I had to wake up at 6am to head to the airport. Next up, NoCal....
First off, I was pleasantly surprised about Anderson. It's not that I wasn't expecting much -- I was, and if I didn't think that it was a really good school, I wouldn't have applied (USC being the exception -- brutal, but honest. Frankly, they're not in the same league as UCLA or UCBerkeley, but I didn't realize how different they were at first, and thought I needed a "safety school". But I digress). But over the 3 days of the ADays weekend, they really did a great job of selling the school and all of the benefits that accompany it. Everything from the depth of the professors, to their contacts in the field (especially regarding entrepreneurial opportunities), to current, future and past students seemed really first-rate. So while Berkelely still has the lead in terms of priority, UCLA set a really high bar that Berkeley has to clear before I pull the trigger.
Anyway, other than spending 3 full days at Anderson, I also briefly visited the USC Marshall campus for an interview. Classes weren't in session because of Spring Break, but it really wouldn't have mattered. Especially since I got into Anderson (see comment above).
I had dinner with my old boss from Tokyo on Tuesday night, which was nice. She helped me a lot during the MBA application process, writing recommendations for me and just being extremely supportive, in general. It was good talking about the "Good Ole' Days", as well as catching up on what she's been up to since.
Wednesday I had lunch with my friend Lela (whom I had ran into at the airport) and her husband Ken. Lela is doing extremely well with work (she's a cartoonist and actress), which is really exciting. I always enjoy catching up with her and Ken, and it's nice to see friends that are succeeding at what they want to do. Plus, they're generally really really really nice people.
After lunch I drove down to Long Beach to spend the night with my friend Dave, from Amherst, and his girlfriend Monica, who I first met last year when I was in town. The traffic was pretty bad, but fortunately I managed to miss most of it, although it still took me an hour and a half to go 30-some miles.... Gotta love LA traffic.
I had a great time with Dave and Monica. They took me to an excellent Lebanese restaurant for dinner, where I stuffed myself silly on hummus, grape leaves and the like. One thing I quickly realized is I'm having to overcome the "vacation mode" that typically has hit me on my trips to the States in the past 6 years. Usually, I would come back for a week or two, and in that time feel like I had to do a year's worth of shopping and eating, to get all of those things I couldn't get in Tokyo (like good Lebanese food). That's not the case anymore, though, and I have to keep reminding myself of the fact. Of course, the huge portions in restaurants means that I end up eating more anyway.... The chocolate brownie I had after dinner didn't help...
Thursday, Dave joined me and my friend Kate, who's studying at UC Irvine, for lunch. I hadn't seen Kate in almost 2 years, back when I crashed at her place in Detroit. After lunch, we caught up over coffee, until she had to leave to head back to school and I had to get on the road to San Diego, in order to make sure I beat all of the afternoon rush-hour traffic.
San Diego was great. I got to catch up with Peter (another friend from college) and Bonnie, and talk about everything that's happened to them since their wedding last summer. We traded travel stories (their honeymoon in S. Africa, my adventure in India) and talked about work, past and future. For dinner, they took me to one of their favorite restaurants, a delicious Russian place fairly nearly their house. And we ended the night with a bottle of wine and Scrabble. Does it get any better? :)
Friday, I got the phone call from Berkeley, so I was on a high pretty much all day. Back at Robb's place, we all went to an Irish pub to celebrate St. Patty's day. But, for some reason all of us were pretty wiped, so it was an early night. And Saturday was an even earlier morning, as I had to wake up at 6am to head to the airport. Next up, NoCal....
I'm in!!!!, Part 2
Thursday night I was chatting online with a friend of my girlfriend, who is also applying to business schools in California. While chatting, she got a message from one of her friends saying he had received a phone call from UCBerkeley's school, congratulating him on his acceptance. Hearing this, I checked an online business school forum, and sure enough, people had started receiving acceptances, by phone, not via e-mail.
Then it hit me -- I had recently updated my contact information (at Berkeley's request), but hadn't given them my new US-based cell phone number (see previous "PDS" entry). So first thing Friday morning, I called up Berkeley's admissions office, and sounding as "innocent" as I possibly could, informed them of my new number.
Sure enough, an hour later I got a call from the head of admissions. I got into Berkeley!!!! Yeah!!!
I decided I'm still going to visit the campus tomorrow (Monday), especially because I want to sit in on the Management of Technology class. But it looks like I'll be back in the area in two or three weeks, to attend their admitted students' weekend.
Here's hoping I get some kind of news (any news!) from MIT....
Then it hit me -- I had recently updated my contact information (at Berkeley's request), but hadn't given them my new US-based cell phone number (see previous "PDS" entry). So first thing Friday morning, I called up Berkeley's admissions office, and sounding as "innocent" as I possibly could, informed them of my new number.
Sure enough, an hour later I got a call from the head of admissions. I got into Berkeley!!!! Yeah!!!
I decided I'm still going to visit the campus tomorrow (Monday), especially because I want to sit in on the Management of Technology class. But it looks like I'll be back in the area in two or three weeks, to attend their admitted students' weekend.
Here's hoping I get some kind of news (any news!) from MIT....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
