MBA Cutie...

Life on the road to Ross School of Business at U of M... GO BLUE!

Saturday, December 31, 2005

Madness

I don't like New Year's. It's the most overrated holiday. I agree with Hef "I don't go out on New Years, it's for amateurs." I have to go out tonight, but I don't really feel like making the 1+ hour drive to San Francisco. I want to see my friend. But that's really about it. I'm perfectly happy just being at home. Being so close to New York City, I get to go out so much anyway. Speaking of that, I don't really feel like going out that much even there. I'm just sick of going out, drinking, hanging out, coming home, waking up the next day and trying to function with too little sleep.
I just turned twenty four, and I already feel like I'm too old for the going out scene. Or maybe between applications, work, and other interests, going out just doesn't excite me as much anymore.

Well to all those out there that are excited for New Years, good for you! I hope you have a great time! And for those of you like me, I hope that when we all actually get out there and the alcohol starts flowing, we end up enjoying ourselves anyway.....

Happy New Year!

Friday, December 30, 2005

Procrastination

The last minute scram. I never do this. Ever. And now, I am trying to write 4 essays for Harvard in one day. I should have been more of a procrastinator in school. I don't know how to deal with this kind of pressure when it comes to writing. I was always that annoying kid that had her paper done weeks in advance and was reviewing it with the prof at office hours two weeks before it was due.

I don't know why I procrastinated. Well actually, I do know why. I was reading this great book "The Perfect Manhattan" and it was all about summer in the Hamptons. Considering in just two days, I'll be freezing my buns off again in the New Jersey cold, I figured I ought to enjoy myself with a few daydreams of the celebrity life in the Hamptons. Other than that, I managed to go to Elephant Bar twice in one day yesterday. Oh, the joys of living in Fremont.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Emeril Live

I want tickets to see Emeril Live. Since my time in New York may soon end, I feel I should at least try to do the things I always thought that I would do if I ever lived on the east coast:

(1) Attend a taping of Emeril Live.
(2) Go to London for a weekend.
(3) Go to Maine / Cape Cod/ Montreal/ Halifax/ Vermont.
(4) Obtain membership with the New York Public Library.
(5) Have dinner at Bolo.

Last night I had the opportunity to meet Marina and Sorebrek at Dosa restaurant in San Francisco. It was such a pleasure to meet other native SF MBA bloggers. Dosa wasn't half bad either.

For the rest of my time here in the bay, I will continue to work on essays, see old friends, and go out in SF for new years. I just can't even think about going back to New Jersey right now. The thought just shakes me. I miss California. And I especially miss some people here, more than I would ever think possible.

Monday, December 26, 2005

Santa Cruz

Home has been good. I have managed to eat more than I could ever imagine. I need to really get further along with my essays. I have a few plans for the week. Today we are going to go to Santa Cruz as a family... just to check it out. My sister is applying there for their graduate program in Nutrition.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do for New Years.. if anything at all...

Friday, December 23, 2005

Home!

I'm back home in the bay area.. and it feels great!

The second I got off the plane and had access to a computer, I checked my Kellogg application. Still nothing. No rejection, no waitlist, no acceptance. I guess I'm part of that lucky group that has to wait until January to find out. This means I need to really concentrate on my Harvard and Wharton applications, both of which I was going to blow off if I was accepted into Kellogg before the holidays.

Home is nice. As usual, I have managed to eat too much, sleep too much and not unpack yet.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

DUFF



Golden Pavilion in Kyoto.


I was driving to work this morning wondering WHY it seems like everyone on BW message boards have heard from Kellogg except me! They haven't even had the decency to send a "don't worry, we're still considering you" message. I went to the Kellogg Coffee Chat on Monday night and met with a current first year student. It was really interesting, especially to learn more about her experiences socially with the Kellogg Community. She is such a lovely girl, and she's planning on going to Japan with her fellow MBA's, so I just had to fill her in on all the great lingerie out there! I'm not kidding! I bought the CUTEST bra and panty sets when I was there, and so, so cheap!


But anyway, while I was driving to work, I was listening to some radio morning shows. Today's topic was that good looking girls like to go out with less attractive friends because they would be able to attract more guys attention than if they went out with their friends that were better looking than them. Some girls even called in and said that they have a DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) that they regularly call up when it is time to go out. Wow. I have just always had the opposite mentality (but maybe I'm just lucky to have great looking friends and be a good looking girl myself), but I sometimes try to not go out with people I find considerably less attractive than myself. This is not because I don't want them to come or I dislike them, but more that I am over the whole college need to spend 3 hours after each night out trying to figure out why some of us met guys and why some didn't. The harsh reality of the nightlife scene, in most major cities, is that it is survival of the hottest. The most outgoing and good looking girls usually find the most guys (I'm not saying that they are quality or anything comes of it, but for that moment, the hottest will be center of attention.). And I just don’t want to have my good time ruined when I'm really going out on the town because I feel guilty or bad that my friend isn't really having a good time or is insecure because she has repeatedly had bad experiences. It’s an intimidating scene out there…

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Neurotic

I'm finding it really fascinating how I have been able to pick up so many weird neuroses as it gets closer and closer to decisions day. These include but are not limited to:

(1) Rampant Caller ID Verification - Every time my phone rings I jump up and grab it hoping to see a long distance area code. Then when I see it is my mom, my best friend, or some other person whom I already know, I can't help but sigh and think "Why do they have to call right now and stop the admissions office from getting through?" Last week, a random area code did appear on my phone. But it turns out that it wasn't an admissions office. Rather it was from some guy I met at a bar in New York a few weeks ago and he finally got the guts to call. I should have been excited, but instead I was annoyed. Why is he calling during the witching hour?

(2) Witching Hour Anxiety - Between 5pm and 9pm EST every day for the past few weeks I cannot concentrate on anything but watching my cell phone and obsessively checking my email. The largest number of acceptance phone calls surface during this time. Also, the largest number of "ding" emails appear during this time as well.

(3) Email Paranoia - I cannot decide if I want to receive a "status change" email or not. Sometimes they are good, sometimes they are bad. Of course I would prefer a phone call. No one is going to call you and tell you that you didn't get in. It's like when you had a so-so date but are not interested enough to really answer the phone when the guy calls, but you know you have to say something. So you just send an email.

(4) Message Board Mania - I suddenly have this compulsive need to check the BW message boards every hour, on the hour, to see if any of my fellow applicants have received notification or even any other SHRED of information coming out of an admissions office. While not guilty of asking "when are you going to release the decisions?", I am incredibly thankful for the souls out there with the audacity to do it. If it weren't for you all, I would have probably eaten an entire box of Lindt truffles just to calm myself. Oh wait. I did that anyways.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Decisions, Decisions

According to the BW Boards, it looks like Kellogg has indeed started releasing decisions as of yesterday. Sometimes it's really had to believe that within the course of one month, I will know whether or not I will get the opportunity to go to my dream school or if I will have to brave the re-applicant pool next year.

I decided that I just cannot recycle my goals essay for Harvard and Wharton. It reads like I have written it 1200 times, and I have! I need to think of a new angle, so I can bring some freshness and insight into the essay.

On a personal note, my dad is coming to visit me! And we are going to Virginia for the weekend to see my cousin. I'm excited to get out of New Jersey for a while. Although, his visit coincides with my company office party… at the Waldorf. I haven't decided if I will leave him at home for the evening or not…

Monday, December 12, 2005

It's MY BLOG

*To Anonymous #2... I don't think your comment was really all that bad. My entry today is much more directed to Anonymous #1. And to answer your question, I'm South Indian.

I never realized it was necessary to do research in order to post something on my own blog. I mean, it's MY BLOG, and no one is forced to read it. My entry about the "nor-easter" was really meant to be more humorous than anything else. And everything I posted in there was true based on what other native tri-staters have told me. Maybe, instead of telling a native Californian that she needs to better research the origins of a Nor-Easter, you should tell your fellow north east natives to find out what their own colloquialisms really mean. Or just find some humor in the musings of someone not from the area experiencing culture shock. I am well aware that the state of emergency is related to the road conditions during a storm. What I was told (by native New Jersey-ans) is that true nor-easters really do originate from some where cold, usually Canada, and then they bring the cold air and snow to our area. If this is such a sensitive issue for so many people, then post a correction about it on your blog instead of leaving anonymous rude comments on mine. I thought it was clear that my entry was meant to be humorous, not particularly academic, but then again, I often forget how "stick up the you-know-what" so many people on the east coast seem to be compared to the people where I'm from.

All I can really say is this is my blog, and I do not think my posting was abrasive, and it was meant to be humorous. And, more importantly, I'm not forcing anyone to read my blog, so do so only if you want to. And if you want to leave rude anonymous rude commentary, then fine. That's your prerogative. I'm not embarrassed of what I wrote, so I don’t really see the point in removing my entry or the commentary that followed.

Good luck to everyone expecting decisions from Kellogg this week! I'm praying for you all! (And me too!!!)

Sunday, December 11, 2005

South Asian International Film Festival

New York is hosting the South Asian International Film Festival (www.saiff.org) this week. It's been amazing so far. Yesterday, I saw Naked in Ashes (2005), and I highly recommend it to anyone that has been curious or interested in the yogic traddition in India. The film followed the lives of three ascetics and their adventures and experiences over the course of about a year.

But most importantly, I went to support the efforts of South Asians who are following non-tradditional paths.

Kellogg is supposed to start releasing decisions tomorrow! I am so nervous!

Friday, December 09, 2005

Nor-Easter

It's only people in the North East that are pretentious enough to go name a natural occurance that doesn't even originate in the North East after themselves. I had the opportunity to experience my first "Nor-Easter" last winter. For those of you, like me, who have grown up somewhere outside of the North East, a "Nor-Easter" is not an early Easter or upstate New York's answer to the ambominable snow man. Rather, it's strong blizzard, usually making its way down from Canada, carrying lots of cold air and snow. This makes me wonder, if such a blizzard is called a "Nor-Easter", then why wasn't Hurricane Katrina a South-Easter? The El Nino affect should be a South Wester. A tornado in Oklahoma? That's a Mid-Wester.

Regardless of what you call it, the Nor-Easter sweeps down on the tri-state area, causing snow days, early dismissals, and traffic nightmares wherever you go. Last year, the governor of New Jersey actually proclaimed that we were in a "state of emergency." Oddly enough, despite this announcement, my office didn't release us until three hours later. According to my manager, any time there is snow in New Jersey, there is a state of emergency, "That's to keep all the wackos off the road." But, who keeps them off the road when there isn't snow?

In the excitement of my first snowfall ever, I rushed out the door to make a snow angel. Okay, so it was on the corporate lawn, but I don't think anyone but my Banana Republic pants really minded. I came home, cuddled up with my blanket, made hot cocoa, and watched the snow fall. It was just like what I remembered from the Christmas specials on TV. I woke up the next morning to go outside and see yellow spots all over the snow. So much for a "white" winter.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

White Flight

Just because Stanford hasn’t sent me an interview invite yet doesn’t mean that me or anyone else that hasn’t received one is totally out of the running. When I said I’m out of the running, I really meant it more as a “prep step” for getting rejection from Stanford.

My mom sent me this interesting article today about “white flight” and Montavista High School in Cupertino. Considering I grew up in Fremont and attended a high school with a very similar “ethnic mix”, I really related to the article. I also have to say that departure from California really was a big surprise. Out on the east coast, there are definitely a lot of Asians, but its not nearly what it was like growing up in Fremont, or even attending classes at UCLA. It’s crazy when you are not Chinese but know what Chinese school is, the most common last name at your school is Chen, and everyone struggles to get their verbal scores up on their SATs but no one spends even two minutes worrying about their math scores. When you’re cruising the freeway, the person in front of you is probably Indian; the person behind you is probably Indian. Oh, and of course, places like Chat Café actually have a decent chance of survival, if they don’t “Americanize” their food too much.

The main comment I have on this phenomena is that the high schools really need to do something to broaden their curriculum and emphasize areas outside of math and science. Of course many of us were trained in ethnic dance and classical music, but simultaneously devoid of any pop culture or social understanding that existed outside the realm of our academically charged high school campus. What happened to classes like high school broadcast journalism? Why was woodshop cut? Of course, no one signs up for Home-Ec… and most importantly… since when did you become dumb because all your math and science courses didn’t start with Honors? (I really feel weird saying this, especially because I fit fairly well into the stereo typed academically over-achieving Indian student.) It took me years after high school to really come to realize the importance of skills outside of academia… or even non-traditional studies within academia. What good is a doctor that is so socially inept that he cannot provide satisfactory customer service skills to his patients? Or a finance executive that cannot make a presentation without looking down and stuttering? These are incredibly intelligent individuals, but there is something lacking. Don’t even ask me what it’s like to date someone that grew up and excelled in this environment… socially inept suddenly takes on a new meaning!

I think the current situation in the high schools is not only diminishing social and ethnic diversity within the school, but diversity within the educational process of these highly Asian/South Asian populated regions. Why should it only be the Caucasian population that pushes for an academically varied education? “White Flight” or not, if this continues, it will dangerously reinforce the current societal stereotypes of Asians as the “model” minority. Maybe those of you out there studying education can help us out.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Snowflakes

This is what the Kellogg Admissions office said about releasing decisions.....

"We will release some Round 1 decisions beginning next week; however, the vast majority of Round 1 decisions will be released in January. We will start releasing all types of decisions at that time (admit, wait list, deny), which will be available using our online status check feature.

Again, let me reiterate that files are read in random order within deadlines--there is no direct correlation between application date/interview date/quality of file and decision date. So please do not assume that a decision will be received by any particular date other than the decision notification deadline of January 16th, regardless of application or interview date."

Yes, I'm freaking out. The likelihood that I'll be one of the lucky ones to know early is .. well slim.. so I will have to wait it out until January. Still no word from Stanford, so I guess I can cross that one off my list.

On a side note, it seems that the cold weather brings all the cute boys out into the streets of NYC. Either that, or they can't help but try to talk to rosy cheeked girls with snowflakes in their hair. :)

Saturday, December 03, 2005

FUN-due!
















My friend was visiting from Boston last night so all of the girls... well actually, all of the girls that went to college with her and me the random.... went out in NYC. We went to Dip Cafe (www.dipcafe.com) and had some yummy, yummy, yummy fondue!! And then on to a night of dancing at Crobar. I actually wore these new open toed high heeled shoes and by the end of the evening, not only were my feet hurting, they wre also FREEZING. At least I picked up the latest replacement vernacular for "sketch"... from now on things will be "bootleg". (ie.. the guy that grabbed my cell phone from me and called himself to get my number and then proceeded to text message me a yucky message was in fact not "sketch" but "majorly bootleg".)

Now I'm back home and trying to work on my Harvard Application. The essays are much harder than I thought. It's really hard to say everything I want to say about why I need an MBA in just 400 words. Do I really want to go to Harvard that bad anyways? I've been dreaming about Chicago too much lately.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Ice Hotel






There is this gorgeous hotel in Canada, just outside Quebec City.












http://www.icehotel-canada.com/en/images/index.en.php