Orientation Week - First couple of days...
Orientation week is now well underway. We have had the first few classes. Ethics and Time Management. Plus a class on effective teamwork.
Ethics has been a focus at Tuck long before the scandals in corporate America started hitting the newspapers. The focus has only become sharper now. The best thing about discussions on ethical dilemmas is that there are so many dimensions to them. They also highlight the responsibility each of us has to uphold moral standards and lead by example. But again, by definition, a dilemma has no single appropriate 'answer'. Toss into the mix cultural differences and you have a recipe for an engaging class. The fact that the faculty member handling the class has spent a really long time in corporate America and has been teaching ethics for ages only makes it more exciting.
Time Management was a bit scary and enlightening. The professor painted a picture of life 5 weeks from now - and it wasn't nice! Most of us would smell bad, dress bad, sleep little, have poor exercise and poor eating habits. A recipe for disaster. But such is the pressure of Fall A term. We were encouraged to prioritise, make an effort not to cut down on low hanging fruit like sleep/exercise. Let us see how many of us can actually implement these suggestions.
Earlier today, we were told about our study groups. The constant emphasis on teamwork was a key reason for me to choose Tuck. In my previous life, prima donnas were the rule rather than the exception and I was pretty much accustomed to running my pop corn stand. Now, that shall change and I am looking forward to working with a super diverse group. Among the 6 of us, we represent 4 countries, have work experiences ranging from 3 years to 20 years and are pretty much generalists. There is a White House intern, people who have worked on deals at marquee investment banks, founded non profits that are operating across the globe and have worn all hats from IT to operations to engineering. And I am still talking of my study group here. Fascinating! In order to ensure that the groups got off to a good start, we had a session on effective teamwork for the class of 2006 with members of the class of 2005 fielding questions and making suggestions on how best we could make teams work.
The socializing goes on uninterrupted. I probably know about 30% of the class (of 262) by name now. I will be happy if I can know 50% of people by name by end of orientation week. There is always 2 years of time to know everybody - afterall there are clubs, activities and electives!!
The resume is 50% done. It is due on Sept 20th. Am hoping to get it reviewed by a few second year folks by then. There is some tricky formatting to be done. Tomorrow I should be able to do that - after doing some work for Habitat For Humanity.
Registration & Welcome
1 hour after we returned from our sailing trip it was time for Registration and Welcome. The registration process went off super smoothly. I just walked up to the desk where they were giving out the bags. The personal touch of Tuck was apparent coz the person said 'Hi Tagad_Tale, here is your bag. How was your sailing trip?' It isn't just the scale of Tuck, but the awesome people that make up the school that defines the place.
Soon it was time for the Welcome Session. The auditorium was bustling with Tuckies, Tuck Partners and Tiny Tuckies. One of the attractions of Tuck is the quality of life and the way partners, Tiny Tuckies and dogs are an integral part of the community. There was this fabulous golden retriever dressed in a Tuck T Shirt. He so wanted to eat my burger. Pity he took commands only in Japanese!
We were addressed by the folks incharge of the MBA program administration and academics. There was also a talk by the Dean where he touched upon the need for good leaders in business. 'Annoying advocates of Tuck' is what we can expect to become (if we haven't already!!).
My takeaway from the session was that it is up to us to ensure that we make best use of what Tuck has to offer and leave our mark on the institution. Everybody at school is eager to ensure that we succeed in this objective.
Leadership appears to be an area of great emphasis. The amount of time devoted to talking about leadership development was almost as much as the time devoted to the MBA core. An interesting suggestion was that we need not look at leadership in the narrow confines of the world of business but should also go beyond and look at opportunities on how we can lead and make an impact in our communities.
The Tuck community was another area that got focus I wasn't expecting. It was emphasised that professional conduct should not be restricted to the confines of the building but it is imperative upon us to maintain those standards while interacting with anybody who is part of the Upper Valley community of which we are a part. I think this is very noble and will be pround in ensuring that I live up to these expectations.
Finally we had the director of admissions talk about the process they went through in putting the class of 2006 together. Instead of the normal 240, there are 262 students - thanks to a yield bubble. The statistics make interesting reading
Average GMAT - 704
Average GPA - 3.4
Average Age - 28 years
Average Work Ex - 5 years
Female - 25%
Internationals - 30%
Countries Represented - 35
So, all you pple looking to apply to Tuck, you have some more information to lose your sleep over ;-)
Monday morning - 7 am, the bunch of us who had chosen to attend Outward Bound got to Tuck Circle to catch the bus. There were some Donuts and Coffee from Dunkin Donuts waiting for us. After quickly grabbing some stuff to eat, we were off on the 5 hour long trip to Maine.
The group was divided into 5 groups of 11 people each. Most of us didn't know each other and we would be spending the next 5 days in close quarters. (Make that really close!) After a lunch of bread and peanut butter, we were onto the boat, duffel bags etc in place.
Our boat had a very interesting mix of people. Consulting, high tech, IT and non profit were some of the backgrounds. And the 11 of us were drawn from 4 countries, but between us had lived in over 20 different countries!! As time passed, we got to know each other very well. The first couple of days was sailing (and rowing when there was no wind).
It was my first sailing trip. Everything (including answering calls of nature) happens on board the boat. Initially, pple had their inhibhitions in using the head, but by the end of day 3 we had become so close to each other we even had a boat song.
'We could have gone to Kellogg, We could have gone to Sloan
Instead we chose Tuck, as the source of our loans
They said we would be sailing
Little did we know
The wind would not be blowing
So we would have to row
We watched each other pee
And heard each other fart
Now we are ready
For classes to start!'
We spent a night making a camp out out of just a sheet of tarpaulin and some rope (nay line). The resultant camp was so small that people were in spooning position! (To preserve body warmth!)
Prior to bed time, we had a 90 minute standup routine, 'Dirty Spanish 101'. This had us rolling over in laughter. Some people contributed with their intimate knowledge of English also and I returned with my vocabulary a bit extended ;-).
An interesting thing one person stated was that business school is rather tough on long distance relationships. Apparently, a large number of break ups happen on Black Friday (the day following Thanksgiving when lots of pple reunite. The number of single people at school seems to be substantial, and the fact that most people are at that stage in life when they are actively looking to get into a long term relationship makes for an interesting dynamic. More on this as time passes. I like the prospect of being a ringside observer as the game plays out!
On the penultimate day of the camp, we did some rock climbing. That was quite exciting. One of the members of my boat was on the rock face for over an hour. Some tenacity! I found it very inspiring. Considering that Tuck consists of such a fabulous set of people, I wouldn't be surprised if I found many such instances at every turn.
It is very easy for conflicts to arise when people live 24 hours a day in such close quarters. Surprisingly, there was absolutely no conflict or ill will on the boat or off it. Any disagreement resulted in energy being channelized in a positive manner. Then the realization dawned on me that this was possible only because we didn't bring our ego's with us. Though all of us had different accomplishments in our Pre Tuck life, we brought our experiences but not our egos.
After we returned to the mainland from our sailing trip, we had this pizza and beer party. The pizza and beer were woefully inadequate. But there was enough money left in the pool for some pple to make a beer run as well as get some soda (for non beer folks like me). About half way through the night, while the party was in full force, somebody from my boat group got the idea that we (as a boat - 11 people consisting of 8 guys and 3 girls) should streak through the party. Since I had never streaked before I wasn't very enthusiastic about the idea initially. Then I changed my mind and we all went. The crowd was rather surprised when we did the first leg of the trip, but when we returned towards our tent to get our clothes, the path resembled a runway with people's headlamps and torchlights in full blast. I just hope no photographs make their way out. That would be embarassing!
After a good night's sleep, we returned this morning. I was tanned and tired but happy at having done something that I had never done before - Sailing!! I would like to do it again sometime. It is kind of fun. But next time, I shall use SPF 50 sun screen!!
Right from the moment I shifted luggage into my room at Buchanan Hall yesterday evening, there hasn't been a dull moment. After unpacking and having a shower, a bunch of us went over to a local pub for dinner. The Bud Light added to the wine, vodka and cognac I had on the flight - and made my jetlag disappear rather soon.
I met so many future classmates that I can remember names and faces only of about 20 people now. Am sure over the next few days, I will get to know more.
Tuck'06 is made up of people from all over the world. Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, China, Chile, India, Mexico, Peru, Britain, Korea! Just learning about these cultures will be magnificent.
Last night, a classmate took me around the Tuck facilities. I came away very impressed. Am hoping that I make good use of the facilities here.
Today I got my laptop - an IBM T-41. The day was sunny and a friend took drove me over to the computer store. We then picked up some stuff at Walmart. A footlong at Subway put our growling stomachs to rest. I asked for a large cola - didn't know that a large cola is 1 litre - and then drank it without realizing it :).
Later in the afternoon, we landed up at Sachem village at another friend's house and spent the evening talking away - with topics ranging from the monetary threshold for retirement, the energy of the city of Mumbai (almost all of us had spent significant amounts of time working in Mumbai and liked the city). Of course, the fact that we got hot chai fuelled the conversation. Before we knew, it was evening and time to return to our dormitories.
The more I see of Tuck, Dartmouth and Hanover, the more I like the place. Hanover is a small college town - with almost everybody connected with Dartmouth in some way. For those of you who don't know, Dartmouth is a small Ivy League university that has a history dating back to 1769. It is home to the oldest graduate school of engineering.
Tomorrow morning, I leave for outward bound - a weeklong sailing trip in the Maine bay area. Am looking forward to it!
The trip to Hanover, NH
I left home @ Bangalore on the morning of 18th. For once, the sadness of leaving home was more than the excitement of going through a new experience. Our domestic help of many years gave a teary farewell. Uncle, aunty, dad, sister and grandmom had all come to see me off at the airport. A close friend also woke up really early to see me off. Thus, with a heavy heart I bade goodbye to good old Bangalore.
The trip to Mumbai was good. Like I had planned, the 90 minute trip gave me quality time with my mother - so we were able to review the tumult of the last few months.
Mumbai was warm and humid as usual. Thankfully, the work that I had planned for the day went out very smoothly. Was also able to meet up with somebody I had been speaking to for months - but had never met) for coffee. This after a confusion between the Barista @ Shivaji Park and the Coffee Day @ SiddhiVinayak. This was followed by a dinner and conversation with another longtime friend.
Friday was rather uneventful. Watched 'Kyon Ho Gaya Na...' with my cousin. After receiving blessings at SiddhiVinayak I was ready to cross the seas and the oceans!
The trip by itself went off very smoothly. We took the Dartmouth Coach from Logan Airport (Boston) to Hanover. The bus dropped us off about 500 metres from our dormitory and we were faced with the unenviable task of dragging 80 kilos of luggage. A resident who noticed us getting off the bus insisted that she drop us off and got her car. The people around here are so friendly!
By the look of it, I am going to enjoy living here and intend being an active member of the local community.
Friends, Farewells & Goodbyes...
'To meet and depart is the way of life. But to depart & meet is the hope of life. We meet to create memories, but we depart to preserve them. That's life!' - This was an SMS sent to me by one of my friends bidding me goodbye and wishing me a happy journey. I just stood back and reflected on this . The more I think about it, the more sense it makes.
The past few days have been really tough on me. Though I am not of the sentimental variety, I treasure my friends and friendships. So, a geographical displacement of the kind I am undertaking is especially daunting. However, I have tried my best to rein in my emotions. It is only now that the implications of going away to study is sinking into me. I tell myself that it is all for good.
There are different types of friends. Morbid though my analysis may sound, here goes - with malice towards none.
There are best friends - people who you can entrust your will to, with the assurance that they will execute it perfectly. They stand with you regardless of rain or sunshine and the faith in the relationship does not need to be articulated.
Then there are good friends. People with whom there is a great degree of comfort and trust. They are the kind who will attend your funeral inspite of the fact that you no longer exist.
Finally, there are friends. You could put in this category people with whom you hang out - because you have something in common. It could be a workplace, an activity or an education that you have shared. Friends are happy to be with you when you are around. So, you will find them in your birthday parties, but not at your funeral :).
Then there are acquaintances. Essentially, just like rest of the world - except that unlike John Doe, the two of you actually know each other!
I consider myself very fortunate when it comes to friendships. I happen to have more than my fair share of good friends and best friends. I pray to God that distance and time not impact these relationships and may they only strengthen over time.
This evening, I visited my mentor. It has been over 8 years since I last saw him. Felt good. If not for him, I wouldn't have gone to BITS, Pilani for my undergrad. Also, I wouldn't be writing this blog!
Coming to think of it, everytime I have been faced by a dilemma, be it professional or personal, I have ended up discussing them with people I trust. Subsequently, I have never regretted the decisions I have taken.
But again, everybody is not so fortunate as to be in the company of awesome friends!!
Coffee & Cafes...
The last few years has seen a proliferation of coffee pubs - Cafe Coffee Day(CCD), Barista, Quicky's and recently Javagreen. I just love these places - especially coz they provide such a convenient location to meet people.
Over the last few years, I must have been to these places like a hundred times - different cities, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi. Each time, cafe's have been the place where I have interacted with people. Ranging from a pitch a software vendor gave me in Barista on Linking Road (with 3 hours to go for my flight) to leisurely sipping coffee at the CCD at Ispahani Center in Chennai to umpteen meetings with friends - they have become an integral part of life.
The familiar ambience, standardized menu & service reinforce the fact that these are places you would be comfortable hanging out. In fact, earlier when you had to meet somebody, it was so difficult to identify a mutually convenient (neutral?) place. No longer. Be it somebody you are meeting just randomly, a future classmate, a friend you are catching up with after ages or just as an aggregation point before a movie - cafe's have become the first choice - and coffee is NOT the lure for the masses who throng these cafes. It is the guarantee of having a good time, without anybody peering over your shoulders/waiting for you to haul ass.
Espresso anybody ?
Memories...
As I go about cleaning my room - I chance upon lots of legacy stuff. Greeting cards wishing me my 25th birthday, greetings cards wishing me a farewell at my workplace of 4 years. They join the bag that holds memories :)
"Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Step by step you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. But you build discipline by preparing for fast spurts... Slug it out one inch at a time, day by day. At the end of the day -- if you live long enough -- most people get what they deserve." - Charlie Munger
For almost 2 years, a printout of this was on my cubicle, inspiring me. Then it disappeared for over a year till I found it this morning. I read it a few times. Now I am ready to slug it out, one inch at a time, day by day by day. And I am actually looking forward to it!!
Each day is becoming busier than the previous. The to-do list grows longer. My schedule becomes more inflexible. The pace is turning from frenetic to frantic! The last time I had a dinner at home was almost a week ago! I am looking forward to the 90 minute flight from Bangalore to Mumbai becoz it will give me some time with my mother.
My seniors tell me to catch up on sleep before coming to Tuck because the first two terms are really hectic. And here I am, averaging 6 hours of sleep for the last 1 week!!
How I wish there are 48 hours in each day!!
Don't date too many girls..
I would have expected my mom or somebody older than her to give me this advice. But, coming from my 8 year old 'twin', it was a surprising commentary on the kids of today. More about the family farewell to me later in the post!
Today was an awesome day. As the countdown to Tuck has begun, each day is turning out to be more memorable than the other. It started off with me crossing the mass of humanity, concrete and greenery called City of Bangalore to land up at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B). A friend from work showed me around the beautiful green campus. He is attending B-school after 5 years of work and seemed to be managing the transition very well. Met up with a couple of friends with whom I had been interacting only on the net. Was nice to put a face to their names, but time pressures ensured that it was just that!
I reached IIM-B 30 mins behind schedule - and that delay carried on across the day to my last gathering! Time management is a skill I need to learn - and quickly :)
My former boss bid farewell to me with a lunch at Little Italy, a nice Italian (what else!) place at Indiranagar. Got to understand the difference between tagliatelle, macaroni, penne, cannelloni, fusilli. While I know the difference in forms now - I am not sure how they impact the food. Eg - How is dish B-15 (coz I don't remember the name of the dish!) with tagliatelle different from B-15 with penne? If you know, or can direct me to some gyaan on this, pls drop me an email/write it in the comments below.
Next stop was a BITSian friends house. A couple of other friends who are applying to B school next year had also come. Didn't know how the 2 hours passed! Would have loved to stay on for longer, but I was already running late for my next meeting!! Another B school applicant, more shop talk and I was off for the family farewell at a club.
We were one huge bunch of first and second cousins, uncles and aunties from the paternal side of the family. The evening was fun. I was presented a nice picture book on the families with a photo of me as a 1 year old kid on the cover! Then everybody present gave me advice for my upcoming trip. Advice ranged from - " Don't date too many girls " to "Come back and serve the country" to "If you want good food - Get married". There were gems like "Don't take too much advice" and "Do what you want to do". Dinner followed by a round of ice cream - and we returned home.
Last night's was the trek group farewell. Went to the lovely Eden Park. I am sad that this particular group of us got together just a couple of weeks ago to trek as a group. We could have done a few more treks if we realized all of us enjoy each other's company and temperaments. I hope there will be such times in the future again!
It is just past midnight. Happy Independance Day!
The tide turns...
Last evening I got out of the rut! Went to my ex-office to meet up with old friends. It felt good. I learnt so much during the four years I worked there. Had a shot of caffeine at office with my former boss. And another with a couple of friends at Barista on MG Road. Catching up felt good - the more things change, the more they remain the same :)
Then I went over and got my suit fitted. The tailor seems to have done a good job. I kind of liked the way I look in the suit. The suit cost me an arm and a leg - but I think I deserve it!
Then the scene shifted to Sue's Food Place - a nice Caribbean restaurant in Indiranagar. Had dinner with a couple of good friends. It was just over 6 months ago the three of us started a dance workshop in Bangalore. The dinner was part farewell to me, part commemoration of the dance workshop and part welcome to the member of the trio who had just returned from the US.
Once I was home, I saw this mail about Outward Bound II in my mailbox. Almost 60 fellow Tuckies will be part of this! That is 25% of the class :). My second year link mailed in to say choosing to go on Outward Bound was a good decision. As a totally outdoorsy person, I am looking forward to a wonderful week of sailing in the Maine bay.
I need to whip my resumé into shape. A hedge fund internship is what I want to do next summer. Of the Tuck'05's I am in contact with, a surprisingly large portion are in private equity, private investment and investment banking. While these are all very fancied and difficult to land internships, hedge funds are supposed to be even tougher to get in and will probably require me to do a search outside of normal campus recruitment. There is a '05 who is with a quantitative arbitrage hedge fund. Once he is back on campus, I plan to get some guidance from him.
Leaving Bangalore - the blues.....
It is slowly sinking in. The thought that I will be leaving Bangalore soon. It is not the first time I am leaving my city. But, this time it is different. When I left home to study at BITS, Pilani 8 years ago, I was just out of high school. I was going there with a few of my best friends. And it was very much in India.
Will I be back here in 2 years time, 5 years time, 10 years time ? I don't know. All I know is that this city is my home and this is where I want to come back. The city will be different a few years later. I will be different then. The people who matter to me will be different. But, that is life!
Yesterday I bade goodbye to people at office. I was there for just 3 months. But, it felt like I was working there from a long time.
The morning was spent listening to John Denver's 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' in a loop :). Till a fellow Tuckie cropped up and told me NOT to listen to it. He was feeling totally sentimental about leaving home too. It helps to know I am not the only person feeling this way.
The next few days, I plan to savor every moment I spend here. Will be meeting tons of good friends. A vain effort to clutch on to time. There is some shopping left. But, I don't feel upto it.
