Posts
‘If New Zealand invaded Australia, would the Australian government say, “Aww, that’s all right – let’s let the invisible hand take care of that one…?” – Professor Sam Wylie, discussing the reasons why the US government was trying to take positive action regarding the $700B bailout.
He’s a finance guy, and we’re lucky to have him on Tuesday mornings. The vast majority of our intake chose to take this ‘elective’ (our other choice was marketing), and it’s been an engaging course so far.
The beauty of it, though, is that we’re studying finance as the world economy seems to be on the brink of collapse… at least, it’s that way if you believe the media. Every week arrives with a new disaster, and we're routinely spend 30 minutes to discuss exactly why and how the very fabric of global business is unraveling.
This morning, the US Congress voted down a proposed $700B bailout package; it’s probably their way of getting back at George W for sending the troops to Iraq. They’ve lost faith in the president, and it’s hard to blame them. When exactly did he decide we were in a recession, anyway? Last I heard, he was spending all his effort to say that the mighty US economy was not in a recession… and now, suddenly, it’s the end of the world, and the big boys need $700B? Come on.
The problem is that he’s actually right, or at least, most of wiseheads seem to think so, as did the financial markets. Following the news of the package being rejected, the S&P posted the biggest single-day point loss ever (almost 7%!), and the world markets are following.
Here in Oz? Not so much. The world doesn’t really apply to us here.
What a saving grace; while so many friends are getting squeezed out of their prestigious jobs, Oz is still bountiful and wonderful; sunny and bright. Very fortuitous decision to come here. I'm trying to empathize with the chaos that must be going on back home... but I can't no matter how hard I try. Oz is still the land of sunshine.
Here’s the example; the first conversation this morning was with my buddy from Ireland…
“Dude, your country’s messed up.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. We need $700B to solve our issues.”
“No, they rejected it.”
“They rejected it?” I started, surprised. “They rejected the bailout?”
He nodded.
“What a bunch of idiots…” we shook our heads.
We were dry, and both of us were in disbelief that Congress could have stopped a bill we all thought was so fundamental. But that’s the extent of it. Life goes on here in Oz.
^_^
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Wk 4 day 1
Here is the start. The blog has become a Melbourne Business School blog.
Monday’s an interesting schedule; every weekday we have one class (and only one class!) that’s just over three hours long. That’s a lot of one class to have… but I like it because you can focus on one thing for the whole day, and you generally have some free time because the three hours of class means a five hour lack of class. It’s nice being a student :)
Today wasn’t that comfy, though – had a syndicate meeting at 10AM to bash out a Finance case. Bash is definitely the appropriate word to use here.
A ‘syndicate’ is the Aussie equivalent to a learning team, study group, etc. It’s assigned to us at the start of term… the same group for most of our classes, except we have another one for Finance, which is where we were today. Six people, six different countries, one common goal… which was where we ran into trouble today.
Question 1. So intimidating... :)
We spent about half an hour in question one… after about five minutes of arguing over how to value a mortgage loan, I started getting confrontational, the way I would have three months ago in the military. It wasn’t really that big of a deal, but it’s being brought up because I didn’t even realize the adrenaline was flowing until the event was over and the pulse rate started dropping to artificially low levels. It was like a run had just finished… an Event. Like a Naval boarding had just finished… taking off the guns means life is no longer in danger. Only it wasn’t life or death. It was the second Finance case study.
If this is how week 4 is…
Time to make an effort to spin down instead of up. Midterms are still three weeks away… there’s no pressure at all right now… it’s only going to get more stressful. That being said, being stubborn and passionate about finance might be a good thing, as long as you know what you’re talking about. If you don’t, then maybe you’ve changed a right answer into a wrong one. Because in finance, there is only one right answer. Our group got the right answer. Positive thinking.
Class today was, “MPHP,” or Managing People for High Performance. Organizational behavior, only with more words in the title. Good class. Being in Oz, we’re reading all sorts of cases from all sorts of different companies… today we learned about Semco, a Brazilian progressive happy cultured organization that apparently is kicking butt and having a good time doing it. Super exciting that we’re doing cases from all across the globe… and we’re aware enough to actually understand some of the cultural differences that Brazil has.
Anyway, MPHP is a funny class because it’s our only one where class participation actually counts; we have discussions where, at any one time, 10-15 hands are raised, waiting to contribute to whatever it is we happen to be talking about. Most people are pretty bright and say intelligent stuff; our class is only 40, so it’s ok to talk more than once or twice, unlike other schools where people get lynched after talking too much. But in MPHP, there is no wrong answer, so we keep contributing with all sorts of ideas, and after hearing everyone’s points of view, we’re left with a new appreciation for the structural, cultural, and political lenses when talking about organizational change.
Good times. Good night. :)
^_^
Monday’s an interesting schedule; every weekday we have one class (and only one class!) that’s just over three hours long. That’s a lot of one class to have… but I like it because you can focus on one thing for the whole day, and you generally have some free time because the three hours of class means a five hour lack of class. It’s nice being a student :)
Today wasn’t that comfy, though – had a syndicate meeting at 10AM to bash out a Finance case. Bash is definitely the appropriate word to use here.
A ‘syndicate’ is the Aussie equivalent to a learning team, study group, etc. It’s assigned to us at the start of term… the same group for most of our classes, except we have another one for Finance, which is where we were today. Six people, six different countries, one common goal… which was where we ran into trouble today.
Question 1. So intimidating... :)
We spent about half an hour in question one… after about five minutes of arguing over how to value a mortgage loan, I started getting confrontational, the way I would have three months ago in the military. It wasn’t really that big of a deal, but it’s being brought up because I didn’t even realize the adrenaline was flowing until the event was over and the pulse rate started dropping to artificially low levels. It was like a run had just finished… an Event. Like a Naval boarding had just finished… taking off the guns means life is no longer in danger. Only it wasn’t life or death. It was the second Finance case study.
If this is how week 4 is…
Time to make an effort to spin down instead of up. Midterms are still three weeks away… there’s no pressure at all right now… it’s only going to get more stressful. That being said, being stubborn and passionate about finance might be a good thing, as long as you know what you’re talking about. If you don’t, then maybe you’ve changed a right answer into a wrong one. Because in finance, there is only one right answer. Our group got the right answer. Positive thinking.
Class today was, “MPHP,” or Managing People for High Performance. Organizational behavior, only with more words in the title. Good class. Being in Oz, we’re reading all sorts of cases from all sorts of different companies… today we learned about Semco, a Brazilian progressive happy cultured organization that apparently is kicking butt and having a good time doing it. Super exciting that we’re doing cases from all across the globe… and we’re aware enough to actually understand some of the cultural differences that Brazil has.
Anyway, MPHP is a funny class because it’s our only one where class participation actually counts; we have discussions where, at any one time, 10-15 hands are raised, waiting to contribute to whatever it is we happen to be talking about. Most people are pretty bright and say intelligent stuff; our class is only 40, so it’s ok to talk more than once or twice, unlike other schools where people get lynched after talking too much. But in MPHP, there is no wrong answer, so we keep contributing with all sorts of ideas, and after hearing everyone’s points of view, we’re left with a new appreciation for the structural, cultural, and political lenses when talking about organizational change.
Good times. Good night. :)
^_^
Sunday, September 28, 2008
rededicating the blog
Was yesterday really the footie final? Seems like so long ago…
First things first – THANK YOU SO MUCH everyone who was part of Friday night (Vrinda, Shalaka, Akshay, Sid, Divi, Ashish, Samir, Mila, Sin, Steph, Florian, Arturo…if I am missing anyone I am sorry). Probably the best surprise birthday I ever had… and it was really a surprise because I didn’t tell anyone about my birthday. Except for Cynthia… maybe two weeks ago.
So, being a man, I assumed that everyone thinks like men do, forgetting things like birthdays and anniversaries and their car keys. You know. On the way down to Vrinda’s apartment, I think the following conversation took place… but I might be wrong because the particulars are already forgotten. But here’s how I think it went;
Me: “So it’s my birthday tomorrow.”
Cynthia: “I know!”
Me: “You know?” Surprised more than anything. Totally forgot we’d had an entire conversation about this a few weeks ago.
Cynthia: “Yaa! I’ve been counting down the days on my calendar.”
Me (bemused): “Whaaa…” (laughing)
Cynthia (realizing she might have given up the surprise): “Errr… ahh… ummm… gup!”
But she had nothing to fear… I’d already been tipped off. I’d already told Vrinda I’d probably leave early, and she replied that I should ‘stay late’ at her place. Highly unusual. But way over my head. I am too dense to pick up these tipoffs.
Truly and utterly hopeless. I had no idea! Great surprise. :)
Anyway, Shalaka cooked some awesome food… and lo and behold, after a quadruple shot of Bacardi (courtesy of Divi… who will NEVER pour me a drink again! :), I was eating Indian food with one hand’s fingers effortlessly tearing up the chapatis. As if I were actually Indian!
Who knew?
We finished the night playing charades on crack; we made up movies for the other teams to act out. Some were funny (Shrek, Day of the Jackal), some were vicious (the sequel to Dr. Strangelove has 14 words and ends with 'Love the Bomb')... and some were even in Hindi. Just kidding. Finished off the night with a cake, and it was yum.
Thanks again to all involved. Good times. The reason there aren't any more specifics is that I have no idea who did what. Except for Vrinda, who hosted (thanks!), and Shalaka, who cooked (also thanks!) But besides that, I don’t think it's worth finding out more about what happened behind the scenes. Some things… are better kept as secrets :)
Thank you everyone who wished me a happy day on facebook also. It really was a good day…
Actually it was a pretty zombified day, b/c it was spent recovering from the ridiculously amazing Friday night. But that’s good enough, right?
Speaking of which… I have bad news… Very bad news, perhaps.
My life is about to get VERY uninteresting. Extremely so. In an absolutely boring, non-ridiculous way.
Kind of like the movie Paycheck, with Ben Affleck. Where he works for months straight on classified stuff, working such long hours he wipes his memories post-project. He records the important things (like the Red Sox games… this movie was made when the Curse of the Bambino was still alive and well), but he erases some of the other, less important memories… like dating Uma Thurman. Oh well.
Back to reality... grades actually do count here, so if I want an internship (I do), good grades are required, which usually means that studying is required too. I am studying, by the way… but even still, this is no time to take any chances, so I’m going on lockdown for the next two months. As my old buddy Kyu would say, it’s an extended workfest.
To be brutally honest, living in Starbucks surrounded by Koreans may be interesting for one day, but it sure won’t cut it for any substantial period of time. So, as a compromise, this blog will now be about the Melbourne Business School experience. You know, the classes, the syndicate groups, the cheap Chinese food right next to the Corkman… the random goings on in The Building.
Yes, because we’re so small (41 Full-timers!) we only have one building. But it’s actually a happy building. Trust me on that. Or don’t! You'll get enough inside info that you'll be able to see for yourself :)
^_^
First things first – THANK YOU SO MUCH everyone who was part of Friday night (Vrinda, Shalaka, Akshay, Sid, Divi, Ashish, Samir, Mila, Sin, Steph, Florian, Arturo…if I am missing anyone I am sorry). Probably the best surprise birthday I ever had… and it was really a surprise because I didn’t tell anyone about my birthday. Except for Cynthia… maybe two weeks ago.
So, being a man, I assumed that everyone thinks like men do, forgetting things like birthdays and anniversaries and their car keys. You know. On the way down to Vrinda’s apartment, I think the following conversation took place… but I might be wrong because the particulars are already forgotten. But here’s how I think it went;
Me: “So it’s my birthday tomorrow.”
Cynthia: “I know!”
Me: “You know?” Surprised more than anything. Totally forgot we’d had an entire conversation about this a few weeks ago.
Cynthia: “Yaa! I’ve been counting down the days on my calendar.”
Me (bemused): “Whaaa…” (laughing)
Cynthia (realizing she might have given up the surprise): “Errr… ahh… ummm… gup!”
But she had nothing to fear… I’d already been tipped off. I’d already told Vrinda I’d probably leave early, and she replied that I should ‘stay late’ at her place. Highly unusual. But way over my head. I am too dense to pick up these tipoffs.
Truly and utterly hopeless. I had no idea! Great surprise. :)
Anyway, Shalaka cooked some awesome food… and lo and behold, after a quadruple shot of Bacardi (courtesy of Divi… who will NEVER pour me a drink again! :), I was eating Indian food with one hand’s fingers effortlessly tearing up the chapatis. As if I were actually Indian!
Who knew?
We finished the night playing charades on crack; we made up movies for the other teams to act out. Some were funny (Shrek, Day of the Jackal), some were vicious (the sequel to Dr. Strangelove has 14 words and ends with 'Love the Bomb')... and some were even in Hindi. Just kidding. Finished off the night with a cake, and it was yum.
Thanks again to all involved. Good times. The reason there aren't any more specifics is that I have no idea who did what. Except for Vrinda, who hosted (thanks!), and Shalaka, who cooked (also thanks!) But besides that, I don’t think it's worth finding out more about what happened behind the scenes. Some things… are better kept as secrets :)
Thank you everyone who wished me a happy day on facebook also. It really was a good day…
Actually it was a pretty zombified day, b/c it was spent recovering from the ridiculously amazing Friday night. But that’s good enough, right?
Speaking of which… I have bad news… Very bad news, perhaps.
My life is about to get VERY uninteresting. Extremely so. In an absolutely boring, non-ridiculous way.
Kind of like the movie Paycheck, with Ben Affleck. Where he works for months straight on classified stuff, working such long hours he wipes his memories post-project. He records the important things (like the Red Sox games… this movie was made when the Curse of the Bambino was still alive and well), but he erases some of the other, less important memories… like dating Uma Thurman. Oh well.
Back to reality... grades actually do count here, so if I want an internship (I do), good grades are required, which usually means that studying is required too. I am studying, by the way… but even still, this is no time to take any chances, so I’m going on lockdown for the next two months. As my old buddy Kyu would say, it’s an extended workfest.
To be brutally honest, living in Starbucks surrounded by Koreans may be interesting for one day, but it sure won’t cut it for any substantial period of time. So, as a compromise, this blog will now be about the Melbourne Business School experience. You know, the classes, the syndicate groups, the cheap Chinese food right next to the Corkman… the random goings on in The Building.
Yes, because we’re so small (41 Full-timers!) we only have one building. But it’s actually a happy building. Trust me on that. Or don’t! You'll get enough inside info that you'll be able to see for yourself :)
^_^
Saturday, September 27, 2008
tradeoffs
Sleepy and fatigued.
Today was an awesome day though, as was last night’s surprise birthday party (proper thanks will have to wait till the morning). Got a chance to watch the grand-final of the AFL footie game in Federation Square… basically the grand final is the Aussie equivalent of the equally cornily-named Super Bowl in the states…
Seriously. Our NFL championship game is so important that it’s not just a bowl… it’s a Super bowl! Maybe the Superbowl’s mascot can be Superman, or a Super saver coupon pack. Or maybe a Super Mighty Mouse with an everpresent gob of cheese. Swiss cheese. Better yet, French cheese. That way we can always rename it Freedom Cheese. Super Freedom Cheese, that is.
And George W. is a Harvard MBA. Maybe the EIU was right to rank HBS below HKUST… :)
The footie game was mostly competitive; heavily favored Geelong dominated at times, but couldn’t take advantage of numerous scoring opportunities, and the game eventually was blown open by a scrappy defensive-minded Hawthorn squad. Sound familiar?
Maybe it’s the Pats… but it’s also Roger Federer’s Wimbledon. Even though he outplayed Nadal for the first two sets, he wasted so many break chances that he ended up losing them both, setting the stage for his almost miraculous comeback.
There’s a lesson somewhere in this; even though we might be qualified to succeed, if we don’t advantage of our opportunities, we will get passed by someone scrappier, and more determined.
Speaking of that, it’s bedtime… this comes full circle because of a four hour sleep night last night before an accounting review (thanks, Mejlina, it was good)… going to the session was a great opportunity to get up to speed on accounting, and I’m glad I took advantage of it… but now the lack of sleep is making me brain-dead and unable to take advantage of the free time that was meant for finishing the econ homework. :-p
Such is life. Always tradeoffs. :)
^_^
Today was an awesome day though, as was last night’s surprise birthday party (proper thanks will have to wait till the morning). Got a chance to watch the grand-final of the AFL footie game in Federation Square… basically the grand final is the Aussie equivalent of the equally cornily-named Super Bowl in the states…
Seriously. Our NFL championship game is so important that it’s not just a bowl… it’s a Super bowl! Maybe the Superbowl’s mascot can be Superman, or a Super saver coupon pack. Or maybe a Super Mighty Mouse with an everpresent gob of cheese. Swiss cheese. Better yet, French cheese. That way we can always rename it Freedom Cheese. Super Freedom Cheese, that is.
And George W. is a Harvard MBA. Maybe the EIU was right to rank HBS below HKUST… :)
The footie game was mostly competitive; heavily favored Geelong dominated at times, but couldn’t take advantage of numerous scoring opportunities, and the game eventually was blown open by a scrappy defensive-minded Hawthorn squad. Sound familiar?
Maybe it’s the Pats… but it’s also Roger Federer’s Wimbledon. Even though he outplayed Nadal for the first two sets, he wasted so many break chances that he ended up losing them both, setting the stage for his almost miraculous comeback.
There’s a lesson somewhere in this; even though we might be qualified to succeed, if we don’t advantage of our opportunities, we will get passed by someone scrappier, and more determined.
Speaking of that, it’s bedtime… this comes full circle because of a four hour sleep night last night before an accounting review (thanks, Mejlina, it was good)… going to the session was a great opportunity to get up to speed on accounting, and I’m glad I took advantage of it… but now the lack of sleep is making me brain-dead and unable to take advantage of the free time that was meant for finishing the econ homework. :-p
Such is life. Always tradeoffs. :)
^_^
Friday, September 26, 2008
EIU
Early blog today; I fear the night will be long, so it’s best to prioritize and knock this out early.
A couple of important things happened today… they’ll go in reverse order.
First, Melbourne Business School’s FT program was ranked #26 in the world by the Wall Street Journal’s EIU. While I maintain that MBS should be ranked somewhere around the bottom of the top twenty in ‘global consensus rankings’, I still believe that this set of rankings (like most others) is fundamentally flawed. Any rank that puts Harvard at #12 (below such schools as IESE, Cal, and HKUST) is obviously wrong. The school’s reputations should play a major factor in these rankings, because it definitely does for both students and employers when deciding where to study. In that sense, MBS’s regional name around Australia and Southeast Asia is ridiculously good, whether or not the economist ranks it #26 or #126. And there is still no way Nanyang is a better school than NUS. Sorry.
Second, following a quick champagne celebration, had a chance to talk to Jan the brand head about this craaazy idea we had about filming the students over two years of MBA studies. I suppose the idea was born from our interaction, so I’m partly to blame for this…
The thought process went like this. If Melbourne Business School’s biggest strength is its small size and communal atmosphere (it is), then somehow we have to get that aspect of the school to show itself as best as we can. Taking a video and uploading it to a website would be one potentially successful way to do that. This is a major operation, which includes, among other things, taping our classes (!), following the students around with video cameras, and then splicing and editing our footage for the faceless masses who might be interested in applying. The advantage of having a small school like this is that even if we make 50 additional applicants, we’ve made an impact. We’ll see what happens here.
And now it’s time to do some research on consulting firms… :)
^_^
A couple of important things happened today… they’ll go in reverse order.
First, Melbourne Business School’s FT program was ranked #26 in the world by the Wall Street Journal’s EIU. While I maintain that MBS should be ranked somewhere around the bottom of the top twenty in ‘global consensus rankings’, I still believe that this set of rankings (like most others) is fundamentally flawed. Any rank that puts Harvard at #12 (below such schools as IESE, Cal, and HKUST) is obviously wrong. The school’s reputations should play a major factor in these rankings, because it definitely does for both students and employers when deciding where to study. In that sense, MBS’s regional name around Australia and Southeast Asia is ridiculously good, whether or not the economist ranks it #26 or #126. And there is still no way Nanyang is a better school than NUS. Sorry.
Second, following a quick champagne celebration, had a chance to talk to Jan the brand head about this craaazy idea we had about filming the students over two years of MBA studies. I suppose the idea was born from our interaction, so I’m partly to blame for this…
The thought process went like this. If Melbourne Business School’s biggest strength is its small size and communal atmosphere (it is), then somehow we have to get that aspect of the school to show itself as best as we can. Taking a video and uploading it to a website would be one potentially successful way to do that. This is a major operation, which includes, among other things, taping our classes (!), following the students around with video cameras, and then splicing and editing our footage for the faceless masses who might be interested in applying. The advantage of having a small school like this is that even if we make 50 additional applicants, we’ve made an impact. We’ll see what happens here.
And now it’s time to do some research on consulting firms… :)
^_^
Thursday, September 25, 2008
postmasters, postmasters, give us a toast...
Crazy day yesterday. Too much drinking to write :)
So on Wednesday nights, the second years have put together a ‘Wednesday Night Drinking Club.' We start somewhat late and end somewhat later, which means there’s little time to do anything before getting the sleep required to understand Accounting on Thursday morning.
So, I may never blog again on Wednesdays. Ha ha. But since it’s a sign of actually living life instead of just writing about it, it's almost definitely a good thing.
The second years are awesome. AND they go out. My intake is awesome too… but we don't really hang out much together... yet. :-( Oh well. That being said, we’re a pretty studious bunch… myself included. Really.
:)
Met with Marc from the consulting firm; he’s got a couple of projects he’d like me to take a look at… unfortunately they’re all confidential (!), but both of them are companies that have billions of dollars of revenue. Billions. Billions!
Aussie dollars, of course. But still… billions!!
Once upon a time, the Navy taught us that our level of responsibility was higher there than anywhere else, and there may be some truth to that; US international relations are extremely important, and impossible to quantify. No… they would never go on the accounting balance sheet :) But sitting in board meetings with billion dollar companies? Will find out more next Friday during the first official office afternoon.
This is pretty heady stuff.
Not nearly as heady as Toastmasters… decided to keep hunting around for TM clubs, saw my fourth club in Australia this afternoon. ‘Postmasters’ Toastmasters (what a name) is loosely affiliated with Australia Post… and it is the highest quality club I've ever seen. Great speakers and evaluators… supportive yet critical and insightful. Tons of opportunities to grow… 15 members are CCs (!), which definitely showed in the quality of the meeting and the various parts of it. Of course I'm joining, and am super excited to be part of a group like that. Can’t wait for another two weeks.
Amazing what you wish for, right? A few days ago, I was hoping against hope to find a challenging club, and that’s exactly what happened here. Ask and you shall receive?
Perhaps. Might be worth asking more often.
^_^
So on Wednesday nights, the second years have put together a ‘Wednesday Night Drinking Club.' We start somewhat late and end somewhat later, which means there’s little time to do anything before getting the sleep required to understand Accounting on Thursday morning.
So, I may never blog again on Wednesdays. Ha ha. But since it’s a sign of actually living life instead of just writing about it, it's almost definitely a good thing.
The second years are awesome. AND they go out. My intake is awesome too… but we don't really hang out much together... yet. :-( Oh well. That being said, we’re a pretty studious bunch… myself included. Really.
:)
Met with Marc from the consulting firm; he’s got a couple of projects he’d like me to take a look at… unfortunately they’re all confidential (!), but both of them are companies that have billions of dollars of revenue. Billions. Billions!
Aussie dollars, of course. But still… billions!!
Once upon a time, the Navy taught us that our level of responsibility was higher there than anywhere else, and there may be some truth to that; US international relations are extremely important, and impossible to quantify. No… they would never go on the accounting balance sheet :) But sitting in board meetings with billion dollar companies? Will find out more next Friday during the first official office afternoon.
This is pretty heady stuff.
Not nearly as heady as Toastmasters… decided to keep hunting around for TM clubs, saw my fourth club in Australia this afternoon. ‘Postmasters’ Toastmasters (what a name) is loosely affiliated with Australia Post… and it is the highest quality club I've ever seen. Great speakers and evaluators… supportive yet critical and insightful. Tons of opportunities to grow… 15 members are CCs (!), which definitely showed in the quality of the meeting and the various parts of it. Of course I'm joining, and am super excited to be part of a group like that. Can’t wait for another two weeks.
Amazing what you wish for, right? A few days ago, I was hoping against hope to find a challenging club, and that’s exactly what happened here. Ask and you shall receive?
Perhaps. Might be worth asking more often.
^_^
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Good to be alive
So the solutions manual came in for the Finance text; picked it up and am entirely too excited to have it. :) For whatever reason, my learning style includes doing lots, and lots, and lots of practice questions; MBS doesn’t tend to provide too many, so using a solutions manual / textbook combo is a good thing and I am really anxious to open it up…
Yikes! Just read that last passage. Since when have I become… an ubernerd?
Anyway. The fact of the matter is… it has Happened. Or maybe it already had, but it was stuffed under an anti-ubernerdish personality that includes energetic eyeballs and grunts with meaning…
Now, after being stifled for too long in a militaristic uniform, it’s trying to break free.
Should I let it? Is this a good thing? Is it really ok to be excited about learning? Is it really ok to read about Craig Parks and think, “Wow! He’s the man!” Is it really ok to be excited by cash flows and time periods, by the realization that Bayes’ theorem is just another way of thinking about a probability distribution set? Is it ok to be shocked, horrified, and personally offended that Disney apparently follows a militaristic way of indoctrinating its theme park workers?
This stuff is engaging. The books, the people, the knowledge… the fact that the accounting ideas of equity and liabilities happened to pop their head in today’s Finance lecture during a conversation about debt restructuring… it’s all cool and exciting, no doubt partly because it’s still so new.
Finished with the Navy just over two months ago… meaning two months ago, I was a proud member of the armed forces, responsible for maintaining a clean-shaven spit-shined appearance even while grocery shopping. Saluting people and getting saluted… being known by my last name only…
Times have changed. Still hasn’t quite hit home. Whereever home is... :)
^_^
Yikes! Just read that last passage. Since when have I become… an ubernerd?
Anyway. The fact of the matter is… it has Happened. Or maybe it already had, but it was stuffed under an anti-ubernerdish personality that includes energetic eyeballs and grunts with meaning…
Now, after being stifled for too long in a militaristic uniform, it’s trying to break free.
Should I let it? Is this a good thing? Is it really ok to be excited about learning? Is it really ok to read about Craig Parks and think, “Wow! He’s the man!” Is it really ok to be excited by cash flows and time periods, by the realization that Bayes’ theorem is just another way of thinking about a probability distribution set? Is it ok to be shocked, horrified, and personally offended that Disney apparently follows a militaristic way of indoctrinating its theme park workers?
This stuff is engaging. The books, the people, the knowledge… the fact that the accounting ideas of equity and liabilities happened to pop their head in today’s Finance lecture during a conversation about debt restructuring… it’s all cool and exciting, no doubt partly because it’s still so new.
Finished with the Navy just over two months ago… meaning two months ago, I was a proud member of the armed forces, responsible for maintaining a clean-shaven spit-shined appearance even while grocery shopping. Saluting people and getting saluted… being known by my last name only…
Times have changed. Still hasn’t quite hit home. Whereever home is... :)
^_^
Monday, September 22, 2008
wrestling with a question...
Should this blog be plugged into the various worldwide business school blog networks?
Just heard from MBS’ branding person; after spending some time reading, she said she’d feel ‘very comfortable’ with this going the next step up.
My major issue is that if it’s plugged into the rest of the world, then maybe readership changes drastically, and the writing itself becomes more impersonal, which completely defeats the purpose of keeping a blog for your friends. But if this truly provides good publicity, it might help place MBS higher on the world's B-school stage, which is absolutely wonderful for the school.
The entire argument assumes people still read MBA blogs… I know I did because, well… that’s part of program research, right? Of course, maybe no one else does research by blog...
But if someone’s thinking of coming to Oz? Where else would he or she turn? Not too much information available regarding Aussie schools.
...
Not sure there’s much of a choice here, but will sleep on it before formally deciding to take the plunge. In the meantime, if you feel strongly either way, please let me know via comment or e-mail.
^_^
Just heard from MBS’ branding person; after spending some time reading, she said she’d feel ‘very comfortable’ with this going the next step up.
My major issue is that if it’s plugged into the rest of the world, then maybe readership changes drastically, and the writing itself becomes more impersonal, which completely defeats the purpose of keeping a blog for your friends. But if this truly provides good publicity, it might help place MBS higher on the world's B-school stage, which is absolutely wonderful for the school.
The entire argument assumes people still read MBA blogs… I know I did because, well… that’s part of program research, right? Of course, maybe no one else does research by blog...
But if someone’s thinking of coming to Oz? Where else would he or she turn? Not too much information available regarding Aussie schools.
...
Not sure there’s much of a choice here, but will sleep on it before formally deciding to take the plunge. In the meantime, if you feel strongly either way, please let me know via comment or e-mail.
^_^
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Eureka!
It’s actually Sunday morning; didn’t have time to write yesterday because it was one of those ridiculously busy days.
One note of clarification; the consulting job I’ve been raving about is actually a part-time position during the school year. Will find out more details later this week on what the job actually entails, but so far I think it’s more of a data-analysis type of position than the originally posted research analysis position. That being said, the firm’s small, so I think there’ll be lots of overlap between job responsibilities.
Anyway, yesterday was nuts.
Started off with the World of Management final; won’t post questions or answers, but suffice it to say the questions were so open ended that we basically had to spit out and apply every model we learned during our 7 days of 8 hour classes.
Yikes! The memory of that much class should have stayed buried. Ha ha.
Anyway, took the studying seriously, so I definitely passed. But did I do well? No idea, am curious. Would definitely be worth taking notes and making adjustments for the next time there’s an open-ended exam like that. Can you say MPHP?
Ha ha. Followed the exam with a full MBS / AGSM competition day where we were thoroughly whooped… except for the drinking games, where apparently we won every single one. Maybe that says something about the emphasis of our respective programs… ;-)
For those who may not know, AGSM and MBS are the two power schools in Oz; we have a rivalry, but it’s one of those rivalries that no one cares about except for us. Kind of like the Penn-Princeton rivalry. I mean, a real rivalry has the power to bring in the outside world… but does anyone outside of Oz even know that there are two strong business schools here?
Sad, but true…at least coming from the States. But maybe that’s a commentary on the lack of scope of US worldliness... or maybe that’s a commentary that distance is still a major player in world awareness. After all, does anyone outside of America know that Americans would never refer to their country as, “America?” And does anyone outside the States know any place inside the states other than NY, LA, Boston, DC, Miami, California, and now, “the OC?” Gotta love TV.
Anyway. Evening ended with massive alcohol (of course) consumed at a ridiculously ritzy place at the top of Eureka tower, which is 89 floors and actually the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. :)
Good times. Many thanks go out, especially to Nadia and Dave… and to the so many others who were involved… if only I wasn’t so drunk enough I could remember who Dave mentioned during his acceptance speech! But thanks, everyone. From one of the faceless consumers, the evening was AWESOME.
^_^
P.S. Those of you who might be wondering about the battle injury sustained on the Frisbee field, I feel totally ok, but am getting checked out on Monday just in case. To those you reading from afar, it’s not a big deal and not really worth noting. I hope. :)
One note of clarification; the consulting job I’ve been raving about is actually a part-time position during the school year. Will find out more details later this week on what the job actually entails, but so far I think it’s more of a data-analysis type of position than the originally posted research analysis position. That being said, the firm’s small, so I think there’ll be lots of overlap between job responsibilities.
Anyway, yesterday was nuts.
Started off with the World of Management final; won’t post questions or answers, but suffice it to say the questions were so open ended that we basically had to spit out and apply every model we learned during our 7 days of 8 hour classes.
Yikes! The memory of that much class should have stayed buried. Ha ha.
Anyway, took the studying seriously, so I definitely passed. But did I do well? No idea, am curious. Would definitely be worth taking notes and making adjustments for the next time there’s an open-ended exam like that. Can you say MPHP?
Ha ha. Followed the exam with a full MBS / AGSM competition day where we were thoroughly whooped… except for the drinking games, where apparently we won every single one. Maybe that says something about the emphasis of our respective programs… ;-)
For those who may not know, AGSM and MBS are the two power schools in Oz; we have a rivalry, but it’s one of those rivalries that no one cares about except for us. Kind of like the Penn-Princeton rivalry. I mean, a real rivalry has the power to bring in the outside world… but does anyone outside of Oz even know that there are two strong business schools here?
Sad, but true…at least coming from the States. But maybe that’s a commentary on the lack of scope of US worldliness... or maybe that’s a commentary that distance is still a major player in world awareness. After all, does anyone outside of America know that Americans would never refer to their country as, “America?” And does anyone outside the States know any place inside the states other than NY, LA, Boston, DC, Miami, California, and now, “the OC?” Gotta love TV.
Anyway. Evening ended with massive alcohol (of course) consumed at a ridiculously ritzy place at the top of Eureka tower, which is 89 floors and actually the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. :)
Good times. Many thanks go out, especially to Nadia and Dave… and to the so many others who were involved… if only I wasn’t so drunk enough I could remember who Dave mentioned during his acceptance speech! But thanks, everyone. From one of the faceless consumers, the evening was AWESOME.
^_^
P.S. Those of you who might be wondering about the battle injury sustained on the Frisbee field, I feel totally ok, but am getting checked out on Monday just in case. To those you reading from afar, it’s not a big deal and not really worth noting. I hope. :)
Friday, September 19, 2008
too excited to study...
Got the job!
YAHOOO!!!!
That’s not exactly true. I didn’t get the job, but I got a different job; one that they actually made especially for me post-interview.
(!)
Almost unbelievable… more ‘almost unbelievable’ than the other ‘almost unbelievable’ thing that happened two days ago. Yes, it might be good to learn more sliding-scale words to describe the continuous shock I’ve felt in the last few days… either that, or become less ‘Mr. Superlative,’ as described by Mike Pickart almost a decade ago during our acapella time at Penn.
Yes, Mike, some things never change. :)
Anyway. Turns out the consulting firm made up a new job because they wanted to take advantage of my strategic mindset; that, and they realized I wasn’t the best fit for the job they’d originally posted with MBS Careers. This position they’ve hired me for is a strategic data analysis type of position -- a big picture strategy guy who’s more involved with the recommendation part of consulting rather than the data gathering research position I’d originally interviewed for.
It sounds… absolutely awesome. Absolutely awesome. I could not be more pumped.
Yay!
So now there’s a WOM final to study for, but it’s time to work out… waaay too excited to sit still right now.
But first…
THANK YOU KI MOON for whatever it is you said in the recommendation letter. The company director was duly impressed and specifically mentioned it during the hiring phone call. Which means whatever you said made an impact… which means I might try to tag you the next time I try to get hired! :) A lesson to the wise… be very careful when going above and beyond the call of duty… you never know how many more times you’ll be called upon! Ha ha. Sincerest thanks; I am here because of you.
And Bernard. Of course.
And all of you… and everyone else who isn’t reading this…
Ha ha. Yeah.
Anyway, time to work out.
Good luck, my fellow Full-timer… pulling for you from this side of the city. Fingers crossed…
^_^
YAHOOO!!!!
That’s not exactly true. I didn’t get the job, but I got a different job; one that they actually made especially for me post-interview.
(!)
Almost unbelievable… more ‘almost unbelievable’ than the other ‘almost unbelievable’ thing that happened two days ago. Yes, it might be good to learn more sliding-scale words to describe the continuous shock I’ve felt in the last few days… either that, or become less ‘Mr. Superlative,’ as described by Mike Pickart almost a decade ago during our acapella time at Penn.
Yes, Mike, some things never change. :)
Anyway. Turns out the consulting firm made up a new job because they wanted to take advantage of my strategic mindset; that, and they realized I wasn’t the best fit for the job they’d originally posted with MBS Careers. This position they’ve hired me for is a strategic data analysis type of position -- a big picture strategy guy who’s more involved with the recommendation part of consulting rather than the data gathering research position I’d originally interviewed for.
It sounds… absolutely awesome. Absolutely awesome. I could not be more pumped.
Yay!
So now there’s a WOM final to study for, but it’s time to work out… waaay too excited to sit still right now.
But first…
THANK YOU KI MOON for whatever it is you said in the recommendation letter. The company director was duly impressed and specifically mentioned it during the hiring phone call. Which means whatever you said made an impact… which means I might try to tag you the next time I try to get hired! :) A lesson to the wise… be very careful when going above and beyond the call of duty… you never know how many more times you’ll be called upon! Ha ha. Sincerest thanks; I am here because of you.
And Bernard. Of course.
And all of you… and everyone else who isn’t reading this…
Ha ha. Yeah.
Anyway, time to work out.
Good luck, my fellow Full-timer… pulling for you from this side of the city. Fingers crossed…
^_^
Thursday, September 18, 2008
the blog is here to stay
Today the blog comes before dinner; studying for the World of Management final is a somewhat interesting way to spend time. On the one hand, it was an interesting class, and the test is a graded assessment… on the other hand, it’s a pass / fail essay based test. Enough said. I’ll take the test seriously and do the best I can, but it’s nice because the test itself is almost like a practice before the real ones begin in earnest roughly a month from now.
So the takeaway from MBS Careers regarding the blog was pretty solid; it seems that writing a blog, by itself, is not harmful. What’s harmful might be the stuff inside the blog. For instance, would a company want to hire an irate or disrespectful person? Perhaps not. But what about a person open-minded enough to put aside his previous judgment of a particular coffeeshop in the never-ending quest for increased efficiency? :)
The point is that getting to know someone in cyberspace might give an inkling as to a person's manner or motivations, which is exactly what companies are trying to find with an interview anyway. So a blog definitely has potential to add value. It's just a matter of adding the some of the same values that employers are looking for... which, to be honest, are probably the same ones friends are looking for anyway... which is the whole reason this thing started in the first place. Keeping in touch with those half a world away...
Regardless, time to get back to work. Test is on Saturday…
Saturday, at 9 AM.
:-(
^_^
So the takeaway from MBS Careers regarding the blog was pretty solid; it seems that writing a blog, by itself, is not harmful. What’s harmful might be the stuff inside the blog. For instance, would a company want to hire an irate or disrespectful person? Perhaps not. But what about a person open-minded enough to put aside his previous judgment of a particular coffeeshop in the never-ending quest for increased efficiency? :)
The point is that getting to know someone in cyberspace might give an inkling as to a person's manner or motivations, which is exactly what companies are trying to find with an interview anyway. So a blog definitely has potential to add value. It's just a matter of adding the some of the same values that employers are looking for... which, to be honest, are probably the same ones friends are looking for anyway... which is the whole reason this thing started in the first place. Keeping in touch with those half a world away...
Regardless, time to get back to work. Test is on Saturday…
Saturday, at 9 AM.
:-(
^_^
What a day
What a day. Almost unbelievable.
First up, had the job interview with the consulting firm. Trying to keep it low key because… I really liked them. Got a really good vibe… not only that, I was totally myself in the interview, complete with all the hand-waving and passionate storytelling and excitement oozing from my eyeballs. Should they decide to hire me, they know EXACTLY what they’re getting into. Definitely cool. Sometimes during interviews, the walls come up, but they never really did today, which is the way it should be. But there’s another reason I’m trying to stay low-key about the interview process...
My potential employers found my blog before the interview, and are probably reading this right now.
!
He he. It’s finally happened; there’s enough traffic on this site that it comes up after googling my name. This was NOT the case two weeks ago, when I last googled my name (not that I do this often, you understand).
So now the reality is this; not only is this blog for my friends, it’s also for visitors; a fair number who may be stopping by on the way to… Australia? MBS? Maybe this could be PR for the best school in Oz? :)
Regardless, the question is whether to continue sharing thoughts with the much bigger world than simply the friends from undergrad and Korea. The question is… do I really want to show the world my thoughts, on a daily basis, while going through business school completely on the other side of the world from my hometown?
I think so. Isn’t that something?
First of all… one of the first lectures we got at MBS was from Careers representative Ed Cook, standing on his soapbox, waxing eloquent about the benefits and dangers of online connectors like Linkedn, facebook, and myspace. His points were well intentioned, well taken, and can quickly be summarized; if you don’t want potentially the entire world to see you on the internet, you should probably try to minimize your online presence.
However, what Ed didn’t mention is the power of a good brand.
I think we could go a step further from what Ed was saying… if a company does view these before a potential hiring decision, I would argue that the company would better understand their hires and what they bring to the table. If this leads to a better fit for both employee and company, then I would argue that blogs, in general, might actually HELP career prospects by better matching up talent with employers.
I’ll run that last one by Ed tomorrow, and will let you know if he laughs in my face :)
Regardless, the hiring decision will come out Monday; I’m secretly (ok, not so secretly) hoping that they hire both of the FT MBAs who interviewed; we have very different strengths, would work well together, and would both add value to the organization. More than that, having two of us there would provide extra flexibility in case one of us gets hit by the flu (or a dysfunctional syndicate group).
There it is; persuasion by weblog. Sure beats leaving a message on an answering machine in the middle of the night… :)
Ha ha. Wish me luck!
^_^
First up, had the job interview with the consulting firm. Trying to keep it low key because… I really liked them. Got a really good vibe… not only that, I was totally myself in the interview, complete with all the hand-waving and passionate storytelling and excitement oozing from my eyeballs. Should they decide to hire me, they know EXACTLY what they’re getting into. Definitely cool. Sometimes during interviews, the walls come up, but they never really did today, which is the way it should be. But there’s another reason I’m trying to stay low-key about the interview process...
My potential employers found my blog before the interview, and are probably reading this right now.
!
He he. It’s finally happened; there’s enough traffic on this site that it comes up after googling my name. This was NOT the case two weeks ago, when I last googled my name (not that I do this often, you understand).
So now the reality is this; not only is this blog for my friends, it’s also for visitors; a fair number who may be stopping by on the way to… Australia? MBS? Maybe this could be PR for the best school in Oz? :)
Regardless, the question is whether to continue sharing thoughts with the much bigger world than simply the friends from undergrad and Korea. The question is… do I really want to show the world my thoughts, on a daily basis, while going through business school completely on the other side of the world from my hometown?
I think so. Isn’t that something?
First of all… one of the first lectures we got at MBS was from Careers representative Ed Cook, standing on his soapbox, waxing eloquent about the benefits and dangers of online connectors like Linkedn, facebook, and myspace. His points were well intentioned, well taken, and can quickly be summarized; if you don’t want potentially the entire world to see you on the internet, you should probably try to minimize your online presence.
However, what Ed didn’t mention is the power of a good brand.
I think we could go a step further from what Ed was saying… if a company does view these before a potential hiring decision, I would argue that the company would better understand their hires and what they bring to the table. If this leads to a better fit for both employee and company, then I would argue that blogs, in general, might actually HELP career prospects by better matching up talent with employers.
I’ll run that last one by Ed tomorrow, and will let you know if he laughs in my face :)
Regardless, the hiring decision will come out Monday; I’m secretly (ok, not so secretly) hoping that they hire both of the FT MBAs who interviewed; we have very different strengths, would work well together, and would both add value to the organization. More than that, having two of us there would provide extra flexibility in case one of us gets hit by the flu (or a dysfunctional syndicate group).
There it is; persuasion by weblog. Sure beats leaving a message on an answering machine in the middle of the night… :)
Ha ha. Wish me luck!
^_^
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Blogging from Starbux...
Here’s a first.
So I live in the north end of Melbourne’s Central Business District; the two bedroom apartment’s not the biggest in the world, but it’s not too expensive, and it’s close to all the city stuff you’d expect to find in a small town like Melbourne (albeit, a small town of 3.6 million or so). Right across the street is the Victoria state library, and within a couple of blocks, there are three full-sized shopping malls, tons of $8-10 fast food places, a gym, Vic Market (a farmer’s market that’s about three times the size of Reading Terminal in Philadelphia). School’s about 15 minutes away, which is the ideal time to spend walking to class.
My studying during the week has taken me numerous places… bookstores, the library, even the local Hamburger joint (Grilled… it’s so good!!) – taking the backpack out in public is a very Hanni Batzel thing to do, but it’s something that wasn't too uncommon during undergrad in the States. Here, not quite the same situation… but to be perfectly honest, there haven't really been too many strange looks. Asians everywhere work their brains out, and being brown, I must have of course come from India... and Indians are, as you know, extremely studious. Even the ones from the US, whose American accents are waaaay too strong. :)
Anyway, this last weekend I decided to bite the pretension bullet and take my books into the Starbucks that’s about a block and a half from the apt. Yes, I hear you groan from halfway across the world… if Melbourne’s famous for coffee, why in the world would I not pick a better coffee joint as a study hangout? Moreover, why is the Melbourne CBD Starbucks packed on a Tuesday night? At 10:30 PM? That’s the question we should REALLY be asking.
Aside: Starbucks here is not nearly as common as Starbucks in the US, or even Starbucks in Korea; there are a few around, but they’re not spewed all over the place like they are in the US. It looks like about half their customers are internationals… one side of me has two Japanese guys (speaking Japanese); two very Korean girls have been right by the door for the last hour… been picking up every other word they’re saying without meaning to. So strange. Aside over :)
This Starbucks is really a good place to work; people here are happy, mingling with friends, chilling out on a Tuesday night with nothing better to do than sit and drink Coffee. Plus, the décor’s nice; for whatever reason, this particular Starbucks feels classy and chill. The waitstaff isn’t rushed, the place isn’t commercial. It doesn’t have that much spacy individual character, but it’s definitely got a good vibe. More importantly, I got a lot of work done this past hour; probably about twice as much as the last 90 minutes spent in the MBS library.
And one of John Mayer’s unreleased songs is now playing on the radio! If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is.
So... I might... become a regular.
(!)
^_^
So I live in the north end of Melbourne’s Central Business District; the two bedroom apartment’s not the biggest in the world, but it’s not too expensive, and it’s close to all the city stuff you’d expect to find in a small town like Melbourne (albeit, a small town of 3.6 million or so). Right across the street is the Victoria state library, and within a couple of blocks, there are three full-sized shopping malls, tons of $8-10 fast food places, a gym, Vic Market (a farmer’s market that’s about three times the size of Reading Terminal in Philadelphia). School’s about 15 minutes away, which is the ideal time to spend walking to class.
My studying during the week has taken me numerous places… bookstores, the library, even the local Hamburger joint (Grilled… it’s so good!!) – taking the backpack out in public is a very Hanni Batzel thing to do, but it’s something that wasn't too uncommon during undergrad in the States. Here, not quite the same situation… but to be perfectly honest, there haven't really been too many strange looks. Asians everywhere work their brains out, and being brown, I must have of course come from India... and Indians are, as you know, extremely studious. Even the ones from the US, whose American accents are waaaay too strong. :)
Anyway, this last weekend I decided to bite the pretension bullet and take my books into the Starbucks that’s about a block and a half from the apt. Yes, I hear you groan from halfway across the world… if Melbourne’s famous for coffee, why in the world would I not pick a better coffee joint as a study hangout? Moreover, why is the Melbourne CBD Starbucks packed on a Tuesday night? At 10:30 PM? That’s the question we should REALLY be asking.
Aside: Starbucks here is not nearly as common as Starbucks in the US, or even Starbucks in Korea; there are a few around, but they’re not spewed all over the place like they are in the US. It looks like about half their customers are internationals… one side of me has two Japanese guys (speaking Japanese); two very Korean girls have been right by the door for the last hour… been picking up every other word they’re saying without meaning to. So strange. Aside over :)
This Starbucks is really a good place to work; people here are happy, mingling with friends, chilling out on a Tuesday night with nothing better to do than sit and drink Coffee. Plus, the décor’s nice; for whatever reason, this particular Starbucks feels classy and chill. The waitstaff isn’t rushed, the place isn’t commercial. It doesn’t have that much spacy individual character, but it’s definitely got a good vibe. More importantly, I got a lot of work done this past hour; probably about twice as much as the last 90 minutes spent in the MBS library.
And one of John Mayer’s unreleased songs is now playing on the radio! If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is.
So... I might... become a regular.
(!)
^_^
Monday, September 15, 2008
My friend is back!
A while ago, I wrote about a friend who had to leave Oz to take some personal time. Well, she's now back with our MBS intake!! :) Her first class is tomorrow even though we all started last week. No rest for the weary… her classes have gone on without her. All of us have gotten coursepacks and some have spent considerable time already making sure we have the basics down… at least, I hope we have the basics down because otherwise, we’ll be completely lost in the weeks to come ;-)
I’m a little anxious for her because… emotions don’t work like consulting projects. You can’t just finish with them and leave them behind… or at least, I can’t. Not that that's always the best point of comparison, but still. :) That being said, I have a lot of faith in that girl (a lot of us do), and if anyone can still succeed academically after missing a week of classes, it’s her.
Best of luck, we’re all pulling for you. And I, for one, am very happy to wish you well in person.
In much sadder news, the Delhi bomb blasts and the Russian plane that crashed have forcibly displaced CNN's constant stream of political and economic chatter. Probably good that the news has some inkling about stuff other then McCain and Obama… the rest of the world exists too, and things are pretty messed up… by saying that, I’m also referring to the Thailand situation, the Taiwan typhoon, and anything else my American brain is too ignorant to know about. A friend once told me to never follow the news (he thought it was too depressing), but it’s still important to know what’s going on, and to take a few moments to send support to those in pain whenever we can.
Thought about writing something about me, but it’s too emotionally charged. Maybe later, but maybe not… right now there’s so many worldly disasters that self-indulgence isn’t appropriate. Not tonight.
But welcoming my friend back is appropriate. Welcome back! All the best. Of course.
^_^
I’m a little anxious for her because… emotions don’t work like consulting projects. You can’t just finish with them and leave them behind… or at least, I can’t. Not that that's always the best point of comparison, but still. :) That being said, I have a lot of faith in that girl (a lot of us do), and if anyone can still succeed academically after missing a week of classes, it’s her.
Best of luck, we’re all pulling for you. And I, for one, am very happy to wish you well in person.
In much sadder news, the Delhi bomb blasts and the Russian plane that crashed have forcibly displaced CNN's constant stream of political and economic chatter. Probably good that the news has some inkling about stuff other then McCain and Obama… the rest of the world exists too, and things are pretty messed up… by saying that, I’m also referring to the Thailand situation, the Taiwan typhoon, and anything else my American brain is too ignorant to know about. A friend once told me to never follow the news (he thought it was too depressing), but it’s still important to know what’s going on, and to take a few moments to send support to those in pain whenever we can.
Thought about writing something about me, but it’s too emotionally charged. Maybe later, but maybe not… right now there’s so many worldly disasters that self-indulgence isn’t appropriate. Not tonight.
But welcoming my friend back is appropriate. Welcome back! All the best. Of course.
^_^
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Busyness
Quiet day; highlighted by doing homework and seeing Vrinda for dinner. Seems like there are too few days like this – there’s actually time! To study? So maybe there is no time. Today was spent furiously catching up from the first week of classes… which I did surprisingly well for the most part. :)
Yes, the term started, and the work volume is high. Higher than it should be, perhaps. The thing is that getting behind will almost be impossible to recover from; each class meets once a week; if we fall behind, we’re toast. Not Stephanie-made Bruschetta toast… actual toast. Because being Bruschetta toast wouldn’t be so bad. That stuff was yum.
Again, thanks for cooking. The bread was awesome. :)
In other news, I talked today with the Aussie Penn alumni interview co-ordinator; he’s based out of Sydney, though, and, this being Oz, he didn’t know any Penn alums in Melbourne. So he did what any normal person would do… he asked me to head it up (!). It may seem like a bad idea for me, what with there being a full-time MBA going on, and to be honest, it very well may be. But, Penn has only about 20 interviews per year from Australia, and about half are from Melbourne. To put that in perspective, I did 14 interviews last year by myself in Korea because we had so many applicants. So even if I were to interview every single Melbournian who applies to Penn, I’d still cut my interview workload down from last year by almost 30%. Aussies don’t know about American schools… :)
Even still, is heading up a Secondary School committee a good idea? Is continuing to blog a good idea? Maybe it’s not, but at the end of the day, I do think I’ll be ok, as long as I work efficiently and study my brains out, which is what I’m doing now. And I really would like to do the interview thing… just like I’d really like to keep blogging… just like I’d really love to continue Toastmasters… just like I’d love this Right Lane Consulting job. At the end of the day, you have to make time for the important stuff.
What about the non-important stuff, like a social life, or following hockey and tennis? If all goes according to this crazy harebrained plan, maybe there’s no time for it. But maybe those sacrifices are the only ones I’m actually willing to make. Wish me luck.
^_^
Yes, the term started, and the work volume is high. Higher than it should be, perhaps. The thing is that getting behind will almost be impossible to recover from; each class meets once a week; if we fall behind, we’re toast. Not Stephanie-made Bruschetta toast… actual toast. Because being Bruschetta toast wouldn’t be so bad. That stuff was yum.
Again, thanks for cooking. The bread was awesome. :)
In other news, I talked today with the Aussie Penn alumni interview co-ordinator; he’s based out of Sydney, though, and, this being Oz, he didn’t know any Penn alums in Melbourne. So he did what any normal person would do… he asked me to head it up (!). It may seem like a bad idea for me, what with there being a full-time MBA going on, and to be honest, it very well may be. But, Penn has only about 20 interviews per year from Australia, and about half are from Melbourne. To put that in perspective, I did 14 interviews last year by myself in Korea because we had so many applicants. So even if I were to interview every single Melbournian who applies to Penn, I’d still cut my interview workload down from last year by almost 30%. Aussies don’t know about American schools… :)
Even still, is heading up a Secondary School committee a good idea? Is continuing to blog a good idea? Maybe it’s not, but at the end of the day, I do think I’ll be ok, as long as I work efficiently and study my brains out, which is what I’m doing now. And I really would like to do the interview thing… just like I’d really like to keep blogging… just like I’d really love to continue Toastmasters… just like I’d love this Right Lane Consulting job. At the end of the day, you have to make time for the important stuff.
What about the non-important stuff, like a social life, or following hockey and tennis? If all goes according to this crazy harebrained plan, maybe there’s no time for it. But maybe those sacrifices are the only ones I’m actually willing to make. Wish me luck.
^_^
ZZZZZZzzzzzzzz
This entry will be short; it’s four in the morning, and definitely time for bed.
One qualifier; yesterday’s entry left out one important point; in my drunkenness, I was doing the homework due for next Tuesday (not today). That’s what baffles the mind; even in an alcohol stupor, I still did some of the homework for… five days into the future? That’s something that would never have happened atPenn.
One qualifier; yesterday’s entry left out one important point; in my drunkenness, I was doing the homework due for next Tuesday (not today). That’s what baffles the mind; even in an alcohol stupor, I still did some of the homework for… five days into the future? That’s something that would never have happened at
Friday, September 12, 2008
My dad reads my blog!
I was going to start this entry very differently, but the title has changed my topic of conversation. Not that it's all that surprising, I suppose, but I hadn't really thought it possible. I mean, the guy lives in the US! So far away! Crazy. But not really farther away than most of you live...? It's funny how the mind ceases to work in the most obvious ways :)
Before I start, thank you all for reading. Since I started the blog, there has been some good feedback (more than I thought, to be perfectly honest); so far, I definitely appreciate the readership and the personal e-mails. To be honest, though, I think I’ll keep this up even if you decide to go away (though I would, of course, be very sad); at the very least, looking back, this will be a pretty comprehensive account of my time here in Oz. Great place so far. That being said, it is nice to know that, even in a different hemisphere, halfway across the world, your lives are going on, just as mine is.
In the meantime, good night!
:)
Before I start, thank you all for reading. Since I started the blog, there has been some good feedback (more than I thought, to be perfectly honest); so far, I definitely appreciate the readership and the personal e-mails. To be honest, though, I think I’ll keep this up even if you decide to go away (though I would, of course, be very sad); at the very least, looking back, this will be a pretty comprehensive account of my time here in Oz. Great place so far. That being said, it is nice to know that, even in a different hemisphere, halfway across the world, your lives are going on, just as mine is.
In the meantime, good night!
:)
Monday, September 8, 2008
Toastmasters, Toastmasters, give us a toast...
Ask and you shall receive.
Today was pretty much a perfect day; highlights included a spirited discussion in Managing People in High Performance, followed by our main syndicate assignment for the class.
Get this. It’s real. How real, you ask? Real enough that we had to sign a confidentiality agreement protecting the company we’re working with. So I can’t offer any more details about the project other than to say that I’m getting chills because we’re presenting to an exceptional company – one that I’ve heard of before and would definitely say is an industry leader. I imagine some of us might even get job offers out of this syndicate assignment. Who would’ve thought?
Follow that with a spirited toastmasters meeting (followed with coffee), and I’m pinching myself realizing that, even if academic work might take up the day, there’s still time to do the things I’m passionate about. Such as public speaking and meeting new people (not necessarily in that order).
^_^
Today was pretty much a perfect day; highlights included a spirited discussion in Managing People in High Performance, followed by our main syndicate assignment for the class.
Get this. It’s real. How real, you ask? Real enough that we had to sign a confidentiality agreement protecting the company we’re working with. So I can’t offer any more details about the project other than to say that I’m getting chills because we’re presenting to an exceptional company – one that I’ve heard of before and would definitely say is an industry leader. I imagine some of us might even get job offers out of this syndicate assignment. Who would’ve thought?
Follow that with a spirited toastmasters meeting (followed with coffee), and I’m pinching myself realizing that, even if academic work might take up the day, there’s still time to do the things I’m passionate about. Such as public speaking and meeting new people (not necessarily in that order).
^_^
Sunday, September 7, 2008
craving galbitang
I miss Korea
I suppose it had to happen sometime – life there was a dream for the past year (though it was ‘pretty good’ the year before that). I always thought the newness of living inKorea
Seoul
Ha ha. This one’s for you guys back home.
Why do I missKorea
North Korea
It seems that the Brittanica is now officially obsolete; Microsoft Word is underlining it as a spelling mistake. Wikipedia? That’s a spelling mistake too. Interesting… what about my name? Nope. I’ve written my name sufficient times in my own word processor that it recognizes me. We go back, Microsoft Word and I. Waaaay back. Probably all the way back since I bought this computer, in… 2003, perhaps? Five years. Not bad.
You know what I miss aboutKorea
I need to be more like you, Pete. For sure.
:)
I suppose it had to happen sometime – life there was a dream for the past year (though it was ‘pretty good’ the year before that). I always thought the newness of living in
Ha ha. This one’s for you guys back home.
Why do I miss
It seems that the Brittanica is now officially obsolete; Microsoft Word is underlining it as a spelling mistake. Wikipedia? That’s a spelling mistake too. Interesting… what about my name? Nope. I’ve written my name sufficient times in my own word processor that it recognizes me. We go back, Microsoft Word and I. Waaaay back. Probably all the way back since I bought this computer, in… 2003, perhaps? Five years. Not bad.
You know what I miss about
I need to be more like you, Pete. For sure.
:)
sleepy saturday
Today was pretty much spent cuddling with textbooks, which is an unfortunate side effect of studying an MBA. That being said, the material is really interesting.
I’m not going to go too in depth about it, but today I spent some time analyzing an article that basically did some research on proving that taking care of your people with HR systems generates substantially higher sales and profit per employee (on the order of a 16% increased return per employee). It’s a good read, and it’s something I would’ve lapped up five years ago if I were straight out of college. Do I believe it now? Sure, with hesitation. It definitely depends on the job and the people. If you trust some people, they’ll reward your trust, and if you trust others, they’ll steal your money. It all depends.
The article (whose name is, “Putting people first for organizational success,” by Preffer and Veiga) goes further and states that hiring the right people is also extremely important. I think I’ll go with that; if you get the right people, they’ll definitely do the right thing and work their hearts out, whether or not they have a boss. Of course!
In other news, this morning I sent in my very first cover letter (!) requesting a job. Nervously anxious. The interview would hypothetically be September 17th. Wish me luck! :)
I’m not going to go too in depth about it, but today I spent some time analyzing an article that basically did some research on proving that taking care of your people with HR systems generates substantially higher sales and profit per employee (on the order of a 16% increased return per employee). It’s a good read, and it’s something I would’ve lapped up five years ago if I were straight out of college. Do I believe it now? Sure, with hesitation. It definitely depends on the job and the people. If you trust some people, they’ll reward your trust, and if you trust others, they’ll steal your money. It all depends.
The article (whose name is, “Putting people first for organizational success,” by Preffer and Veiga) goes further and states that hiring the right people is also extremely important. I think I’ll go with that; if you get the right people, they’ll definitely do the right thing and work their hearts out, whether or not they have a boss. Of course!
In other news, this morning I sent in my very first cover letter (!) requesting a job. Nervously anxious. The interview would hypothetically be September 17th. Wish me luck! :)
Friday, September 5, 2008
mortality
A few days ago, a friend had to leave Australia
Thoughts are with you.
Thoughts are with you.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
busy day
All right!! Finished the resume and cover letter.
It was kind of an up and down day – everything went well (I even gave the best presentation out of my presentation group), but for whatever reason, I wasn’t really engaged today until after dinner. Maybe it was the weather or something. I know, I know… successful people bring their weather with them, right? Well, this isMelbourne
The presentation was titled, ‘learn to play guitar,’ and was originally given as a CC3 in KH Toastmasters – I have now officially given enough speeches that I can take them out, dust them off, and reuse them in different occasions (!) It’s very, very odd. This time, the presentation was ten minutes, so I used the extra three minutes to get audience participation; Sonja strummed while I played, and there was even time to play a verse and intro to ‘Better than This,’ but for whatever reason, I wasn’t really as engaged as I have been in the past. The audience, however, complimented me on my enthusiasm and passion for guitar. Maybe I actually am getting better at this presentation stuff.
One note; our speech assignment included giving feedback, so I gave feedback Toastmasters style… and I think my group totally tuned me out because I might have been too harsh. Harsh in MBS = normal in Toastmasters… what a wonderful place Toastmasters is. Seems like Toastmasters members have higher tolerance for personal development than MBS students, and that is in no way a knock on MBS students. Toastmasters is simply that amazing. I cannot WAIT to see more clubs here.
Ha ha. One other item of note; decided to apply to the part-time consulting gig at Right Lane Consulting. We’ll see what happens there; five hours a week during the school year working at a three-person firm would be an absolutely awesome learning experience, given that the firm’s founder and director is ex-McK and the two firms supposedly still work together on projects. At the very least, I should learn wicked powerpoint skills. That’s the hope, anyway. :)
It was kind of an up and down day – everything went well (I even gave the best presentation out of my presentation group), but for whatever reason, I wasn’t really engaged today until after dinner. Maybe it was the weather or something. I know, I know… successful people bring their weather with them, right? Well, this is
The presentation was titled, ‘learn to play guitar,’ and was originally given as a CC3 in KH Toastmasters – I have now officially given enough speeches that I can take them out, dust them off, and reuse them in different occasions (!) It’s very, very odd. This time, the presentation was ten minutes, so I used the extra three minutes to get audience participation; Sonja strummed while I played, and there was even time to play a verse and intro to ‘Better than This,’ but for whatever reason, I wasn’t really as engaged as I have been in the past. The audience, however, complimented me on my enthusiasm and passion for guitar. Maybe I actually am getting better at this presentation stuff.
One note; our speech assignment included giving feedback, so I gave feedback Toastmasters style… and I think my group totally tuned me out because I might have been too harsh. Harsh in MBS = normal in Toastmasters… what a wonderful place Toastmasters is. Seems like Toastmasters members have higher tolerance for personal development than MBS students, and that is in no way a knock on MBS students. Toastmasters is simply that amazing. I cannot WAIT to see more clubs here.
Ha ha. One other item of note; decided to apply to the part-time consulting gig at Right Lane Consulting. We’ll see what happens there; five hours a week during the school year working at a three-person firm would be an absolutely awesome learning experience, given that the firm’s founder and director is ex-McK and the two firms supposedly still work together on projects. At the very least, I should learn wicked powerpoint skills. That’s the hope, anyway. :)
Monday, September 1, 2008
Golden Monkey
Great day.
A 1:00 MBS ASEAN Yumcha turned into a coffee afternoon, which turned into (eventually) a nice dinner at a place called Von’s (right next to Golden Monkey). Von’s was great; the pasta was completely ‘al dente,’ and the special of an entrée, a main, and a glass of wine for $25 was enough to get me to drink a glass of wine with dinner (!). Followed that with karaoke at the Golden Monkey (http://www.goldenmonkey.com.au/), where new buddy CJ was somehow friends with the entire bar staff and the owner. There are stranger things, perhaps – one of the stranger things would be if Dean had actually come to the bar dressed in his pajamas (I tried to convince him, but to no avail). The biggest takeaways are that 1) Golden Monkey has the biggest variety of mixed drinks I’ve ever seen, 2) I probably should’ve taken a picture because you’ll never believe me, and 3) Inner Circle rum is some strong stuff.
A 1:00 MBS ASEAN Yumcha turned into a coffee afternoon, which turned into (eventually) a nice dinner at a place called Von’s (right next to Golden Monkey). Von’s was great; the pasta was completely ‘al dente,’ and the special of an entrée, a main, and a glass of wine for $25 was enough to get me to drink a glass of wine with dinner (!). Followed that with karaoke at the Golden Monkey (http://www.goldenmonkey.com.au/), where new buddy CJ was somehow friends with the entire bar staff and the owner. There are stranger things, perhaps – one of the stranger things would be if Dean had actually come to the bar dressed in his pajamas (I tried to convince him, but to no avail). The biggest takeaways are that 1) Golden Monkey has the biggest variety of mixed drinks I’ve ever seen, 2) I probably should’ve taken a picture because you’ll never believe me, and 3) Inner Circle rum is some strong stuff.
Great bar, totally cosy. If you’re in
And the best part? It’s now around 12:30. Meeting Cynthia tomorrow at 9AM, which means I’ll get just about 8 hours of sleep tonight. Gotta love these non-military hours. :)
Good night!
^_^
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