Update on life

I haven't been very good at writing my blog. It's so busy that most of the time, I'm doing some type of work right up until I fall asleep. Either that or I'm out with friends or at a party.

A quick update on life:

- I've been super stressed about finding a job. I hope I find one on the west coast. Ideally, I'd like to find a role at my old company, but I'm still looking at other places too. I have interviews coming up in Seattle so I have to fly out there in a few weeks.

- Finals is in three weeks as well so all of my group projects and final papers are due.

- This will be the first thanksgiving where I will not be home with my family. Instead, I'm going to my classmate's apartment. I'm looking forward to it actually. There'll be around 15 of us there. I'm making cranberry sauce, mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows, and cinnamon rolls. I  might buy an apple pie from Trader Joe's.

- I'm going to South Africa in December with classmates. It should be fun! We're going ostrich-riding (yes, ostrich-riding) and penguin watching and spending some time at a safari. There'll also be some R&R as we soak up some sun at the beaches.

- I find out next week if I got into the school trip to Israel. There are 40 slots for the spring break trip next March. It's a lottery and I hope I get it. I think this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I don't think I'd ever feel safe or comfortable going to Israel if I wasn't going with 40+ people and with school. We're visiting tech companies in Tel Aviv and we'll meet a few of the Israeli government officials. We're also going to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. If I don't get picked for the lottery, I put South Korea as my 2nd choice. On the South Korea trip, we'll visit companies such as Samsung and go to the demilitarized zone. A CBS alum owns a 5-star hotel in Korea and is so gracious that he gives all of the students FREE hotel rooms so the trip is super cheap.

That's about it!

My 5 seconds of fame in Businessweek

Earlier in September, two of my classmates and I were interviewed by Businessweek. They were going across the country and doing short vidoes on all of the top MBA programs. The video just came out along with rankings and, for the first time ever, CBS dropped from 9th place to 14th. It's a blow to our school but it's one ranking and one point of time (as Braxton stated). To be honest, I contributed to the drop in ranking. I was honest in my survey about the school. I love CBS and it's a great school, but because it's a top MBA program, it needs to improve its academic program. Once we have a better core curriculum with better professors than the rankings will go up again.

In any case, here's the video from businessweek. Our interview starts at 46 seconds. We're always critical of ourselves, but I definitely don't like what I said. I feel like I sound stupid. LOL. I really liked what Matt said about being able to catch the subway downtown for an interview or coffee chat and then coming back to campus for class. It made me wish that I had said it instead. Haha.

Speed dating

I went speed dating today with my friends for the very first time.  We had a Google Offer from last year that we had never used. The location was Crema Restaurant in Chelsea. As a side note, I won't go back there. They tried to charge us a two drink minimum for being part of the event (which was not stated on the Google Offer).  When we asked the event planners, they said that there's no minimum. The restaurant was just trying to swindle us.

I went with 5 of my girlfriends, all who are classmates and Asians.  There were three tables set up so we all sat at one table together.  We were the "asian table from columbia business school".  Vi was at the head of the table so she gave the guys a heads up.  They all thought we were from the bay area too.  It's interesting how we've become such good friends and that most of us are from the west coast.  Perhaps that's why we're friends...commonality.  Just to clarify, Vi and I both have boyfriends and Becky, Sue and Kathryn are single.

It was over an hour and there were probably 15 guys.  The men had to rotate while the girls sat in the same spot.  All I can say is that I will never do speed dating again.  It is exhausting and I felt like the age range was too broad. Moreover, I've heard MANY times that the attractiveness and quality of the men aren't that great.  However, the women are usually very pretty.  Not to boast about my friends, but in general, I thought that all of the females at the event were quite pretty.  I think a good-looking guy should speed date because all of the girls will pick him.  In order for you to be matched with someone after the speed date, both the male and female participants have to list each other as one of their top 5 picks.  If one person lists someone and there's no reciprocation, then there's no match. It was funny because all of my girlfriends and I thought the same two guys were the best. If I wasn't in a relationship, then I may have picked one person. Then again, he reminds me of all the guys that I tend to date, which are incredibly social guys that all the girls like.  I'm still looking for an ugly, anti-social boyfriend. I'm curious to see if I would have better luck in relationships if I dated someone wasn't so social or well-liked by women.

What orientation is like at Columbia Business School

One thing that I had always wanted to be while at CBS was a Peer Advisor (“PA”).  Although there are over 100+ clubs on-campus, I really wanted to be a part of the Peer Advising club. I was nervous because it was an application/interview process.  In general, it’s a highly selective program with a lot of interest from students.  Luckily, I was accepted!  Over 120 people applied and they took ~60 of us.  Being a peer advisor meant that you helped  lead orientation week for new students and you answer questions/give advice throughout the semester.  About 3 weeks ago, we had orientation week and it was THE best experience that I have ever had at school.  I cannot stress how much fun I had during that one week and how close that I got to my PA team. 

As a Peer Advisor, we’re assigned to a team of 7-8 people. Our PA team then gets a cluster and we get to come up with a cluster theme (ours was bandits), flare, room decorations, ice breakers, etc.  My team  consisted of “Hold-em up” Hayley, Sara “the Aggressor”,  Zach “Sneaky Keats”, “Under the radar” Niv, Magnus “the Magnum Menace”, ”Risky Business” Rahul,  “Room Raider” Rishita, and Matt “Mean Mug Jennings”.  We were assigned cluster B and came up with bandit names .  The picture below is our team.  

PA week starts with a weekend training (Fri-Sun). On Sunday, we decorated our “homeroom” which is essentially a classroom where our cluster met for 2 hours a day.  We each got to present to them a topic on academics, clubs, honor code, etc.  Rahul and I presented clubs. 

I think what I really enjoyed was meeting new people and bonding with Cluster B and my PA team.  One of my goals this year was to be more social and meet new people. During my first year, I kept hanging out with the same girls, who are my besties at school.  At the same time, I realized that I needed to meet more people.  Our cluster is amazing. Everyone is super nice. During orientation week, we played ice breakers so the cluster could get to know each other such as speed dating, never have I ever, etc.

Also, my PA team was SO MUCH FUN. We had the most inside jokes compared to all of the other PA teams. We’re all on groupme and we just joke back and forth on it.  Also, everyone is just crazy and ridiculous as you can see from our pictures below. 

The best event though had taken place on a Wednesday.  We had a very nice dinner at the Light House at Chelsea Piers and went bowling afterwards. Although it’s just not any ordinary bowling alley. Hardly anyone bowled and we just turned it into a dance party instead.  All of the clusters were there: Cluster A-H. If you add all the clusters, their respective PA teams and significant others, we  probably had ~500+ people. Needless to say, everyone was exhausted and hung over on Thursday morning. Yet, despite how tired we were, we were still cheering and smiling. Now, one thing about orientation week…every morning, students are greeted by PAs dressed in costumes.  We stand on the steps in front of Uris Hall (our business school building) yelling, screaming and dancing.  This was us on Thursday morning (check out YouTube video below) even after a night of partying and  drinking. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUp5iMKne7Q&feature=g-upl

Last day of work!!!!!!

I can't believe it. Today was my last day of work! Woohoo!!!!!  I was so excited last night that I couldn't fall asleep. It felt like Christmas.  Even though it was my last day, I was still fairly busy. It was tough to catch up with people and say good-bye because I was working right up until 6pm before our intern farewell event.

It's funny, at the beginning of the internship, everyone is gung ho and excited. Now, everyone is over it and wants the program to end.  Haha.  During happy hour, the other interns were asking each other if we would do this F/T. I personally thought that this was inappropriate to ask at this time since HR was at the event as well. I'm sure they would love to hear people hesitate or say no as they're going to be spending next week deciding who gets an offer or not. With that said, we're supposed to find out by Aug. 31 if we get an offer. The most likely feedback time will be early next week though. With the recent downturn in the banking industry and layoffs at work, they're cutting the number of offers this year.  It's going to be tough. I'm very curious to see the numbers and who gets an offer, who accepts and declines. Barclay just announced their numbers and it's 1/3 offers, 1/3 hold and 1/3 no offers.

All I know is that I'm looking forward to going back to school and doing orientation next week! We start Peer Advising training tomorrow so no rest for me, but I don't mind. The welcome reception for the incoming first years will be on Sunday night.  It's going to be a crazy week but a lot of fun to relive orientation week. I'm already losing my voice though! I can't believe that! I think my second year is going to be awesome.  Hopefully I figure out my full-time job and can relax about that.  I plan on doing a lot of travelling and enjoying time with friends in this last year.

Rooftop Luau

This past Saturday, Rahul (our classmate), Braxton and Morgan (one of Braxton's roommates) had a rooftop luau at Braxton's apartment. They have been looking forward to this for several weeks, but have also been very nervous. No one is actually allowed on the rooftop and 120+ people RSVP'd. They were afraid that the roof was going to collapse. Patrick, one of Braxton's roommates, was so worried that he decided to not be a part of it and actually left for his gf's place that day. I was pretty worried too. I had a feeling that they were going to get into a lot of trouble.

Well, first thing is that I got the night off from work! When I walked into their apt, they had leis all over the couches. It was cute! I picked up a lei and headed up to the rooftop. I must say, Rahul goes ALL OUT. Any party of his is going to be pure awesomeness. He gets really into it. He put a lot of time, effort and money into this. Not only did Rahul buy the leis, he also bought 4 feet tiki torches and taped them along the rooftop. He then had a ceremonial lighting and lit the torches, which provided very nice mood lighting for the event. The boys borrowed blow-up life rafts from friends to hold the beer and ice. Brilliant idea. I'll have to remember that because it's easy to deflate and store away when you're done with it. I, myself, have been wanting to be more social and found a ledge to sit on and was catching up with people.

The party was going really well...until the cops came. The luau started at 7pm and at 9:30pm on a Saturday night, the cops came because some people complained. I could not believe it. I did expect cops or the super around 11:30ish or midnight, but not at 9:30pm on a saturday night.  On top of that, we actually weren't loud at all. The music was so low that you didn't need to talk over it. No one was screaming or yelling. People were just talking. I was surprised that it was so tame actually. In any case, all ~70 people tried to cram into the guys' apartment, which definitely was too small.  We lost a lot of poeple because of that.  We tried to move the party to another rooftop that was 20 blocks away. I went with Braxton and a few other people to scope it out and it turned out that no one wanted to leave the apt and move to a new place.  So we went back to Braxton's apartment. I enjoyed the luau the most. I wish they didn't shut us down so early. Rahul also planned a hula dance too with his friends. He got to do it, but it was inside a cramped living room rather than on the roof. Oh well, at least the roof didn't collapse, which was everyone's biggest fear.

Here's a picture of Rahul in the life raft next to the beers. Even though it was such a short party, I felt really good afterwards. One of the shortest, but best parties that I've been to.

Last week of my internship!

It's my last week of the internship. I can't believe the end is near. I'm looking forward to starting Peer Advising and orientation. One good thing is that I will be ready for long hours at school after this summer.  My last day is on Thursday, August 16.  I do have to say that I'm bummed that I won't get to finish this project that I'm working on. It's a sell-side deal and I'll be uploading files to the data room. It's funny how I'm on the other side of the team now. In the end, I prefer the buy-side. But it's still cool to see how management presentations and data rooms get created. I wonder what I will do with all of my free time now...CLEAN. I'm never home, yet my apartment somehow turns into a disaster by the time the week ends. I will also catch up on sleep and see friends. The other interns are ready for this to end too. It makes you question why people take the job though when they're so desperately waiting until our last day. As a F/T employee, there is no end date until you quit.

In any case, my mood has improved a lot. I'm working less hours and actually got out early on Friday around ~9pm. I also didn't have to work super late this weekend. I'm glad the work load has gotten lighter. It's been a tough summer.

I start PA training on Friday and go through the weekend. Then orientation begins Monday. It's going to be great to re-live orientation. I remember how I felt last year when I started school. I was so nervous! I hope that I can be helpful for these 1st years. My second year is going to be GREAT. I'm really going to enjoy every moment of it. After orientation, I'm taking a block week class on Personal Leadership. It has incredible reviews, although I'm not really sure what the class is about. I think it'll be good for me. I did read in the syllabus that there is a lot of self reflection and learning about how to manage stress in the workplace, which I need.

Anyways, 4 days and counting!