Winter break...
It seems like Winter break started yesterday and it is almost over :-(. Time seems to fly faster when you are just relaxing and having a good time.
When the break started, I didn't have much planned for the break. In one corner of my mind, I was concerned that I would be bored. But it wasn't to be. A couple of days into the break, I went over to a friend's house. The 4 days I spent there was the most relaxing time I ever had. Absolute laziness. Great food. Awesome company.
On day 1, we went to Boston, watched Swades and had a nice meal at an Indian restaurant. I had a fine Mysore Masala Dosa. While I continue to hold that Vidyarthi Bhavan makes the best masala dosas in the world, this dosa tasted great coz it had been sometime since I ate a dosa.
On day 2, we went to New York City to check out the Christmas festivities. The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, the gazillion tourists all clicking away(is it because the marginal cost of a picture taken with a digital camera is zero?). New York City on Christmas day felt nice. I love the city coz it reminds me so much of Mumbai.
On day 3, we lazed around, did some shopping. I got access to a well stocked kitchen (few kitchens have mint chutney & tamarind extract in the fridge). So, I was able to try my hand at some cooking. I made Paneer Makhanwala using some readymade masala and tofu as a substitute for paneer. The end result tasted good - so I am enthusiastic about cooking when I move into a house off campus next year.
Day 4 saw me at my lazy best. I had breakfast and lunch with less than an hour's gap! As the day turned into night, we returned to Hanover. I showed my friend and his wife around the beautiful school and my shoddily kept dorm room. 4 days passed by without me noticing the passage of time :(.
For the last few days life has been routine. The day is arranged around 4 super-important components. Lunch, Dinner, Gym and Movie. The maximum mental strain is in deciding where we will go for lunch/dinner, what time we will hit the gym and which movie we will watch in our private theatre!
I just wish this break doesn't end.
Overdose of Bollywood!
Over the last 1 week, I have watched more Bollywood movies that in any other 7 day period in my life. The movies include Mumbai Matinee, Bollywood/Hollywood, Swades, Paisa Vasool, Chameli, Run. As you see, the quality of movies varied from mundane to magical to everything-in-between. One thing I realized after watching all these movies is that Bollywood dancing is distinct from western dance and I would love to learn how to do the jhatkas and the matkas. A friend on the west coast teaches Bollywood dance and she has graciously agreed to teach me too. Now, I either need to find an internship in San Francisco or hope she moves to the East Coast!
Swades starring Shah Rukh Khan and Gayatri Joshi, was by far the best movie of the lot I watched in the last week. It was an extremely inspiring story. If you haven't seen the movie, you probably have read a review somewhere. Like with most opinions, you will find reviews ranged across the spectrum.
I have had the fortune of interacting closely with a couple of individuals who have returned to India and succeeded in making an impact on the lives of people around them. In both cases, I found their enthusiasm very infectious. Seeing these instances first hand convinced me that it was possible to return to India after leading a successful life in the West. There remains so much to be done in the country and I am sure every person who returns can make a difference.
As I exchange thoughts with others who have similar aspirations, a common thread seems to be the lack of impact of most post MBA jobs. While the jobs are intellectually rigorous and financially rewarding, when you end your work day, you cannot convince yourself that the work you did has any impact on a poor family in drought stricken Rajasthan that lives way below the poverty line. A few years ago, when I did a volunteer stint and lived with some such familes and saw first hand the abject poverty, I was shocked for a few days. Someday, I hope to make a difference to their lives. Someday, I hope to return and light a bulb. In the process, if I find my Gayatri Joshi, it would make life totally filmi! Oops, I don't think I will ever work as Project Manager on a Global Precipitation Management project for NASA. So, it will not be completely filmi afterall. :-D
It is over!
I am delighted to be done with the Fall terms. The hardest part of the curriculum is behind us. Yesterday was the last exam. After the exam we had a farewell of sorts in the auditorium.
The sendoff started with a skit starring a wildly popular professor. The professor's performance compared favorably with any stand up comic. The humor through the skit had the whole class in splits. There was even a clip from Mohabbatein woven into the skit. The way faculty, administration, students and partners form one cohesive community amazes me. Never before have I seen faculty members so involved in activities outside of teaching/research.
Subsequently, we had a presentation that put together snippets of different social events through the two terms. When I looked at it, I realized we probably had some organized social event every week! No wonder school is so much fun :)
Today was the first day of winter break. After spending the first half of the day nursing a headache (after the celebrations of yesterday!), I got around to catching up on some email. spoke to some friends and before I knew it, I was bored! The intensity of life here had gotten into my blood in a way I did not realize. Hopefully, over the next 10 days, I will relax a bit. It takes some learning, but I hope to manage.
Since I do not have much planned for the break, a couple of us decided to go down to New York for a few days. Initially, the plan was to spend a couple of days there next week. But we changed that and decided to spend the first few days of the next year in the city. With room reservations done, we just need to fix up meetings with some firms we want to network with. 2 days of fun and 2 days of business. Brilliant combination.
The next few days, I am looking forward to watching tons of movies. One of us got an idea that we should watch a movie on a big screen with good sound systems in an amphitheatre style classroom. We had hoped to get permission for watching one movie today, but ended up getting the keys for the period of the break. This evening we watched Mumbai Matinee. There are quite a few movies lined up for the next few days.
Last evening, I watched Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge at the second of the three celebrations during the evening. It is probably the 10th or 15th time I have watched the movie.
The next few days, I look forward to a much slower pace of life. I will rest, catch my breath and look at the beautiful snow covered world around me. Ah...
End of Fall B...
Finished one exam today. One more to go on Tuesday.
I will be done with Fall B. The toughest academic part of the program will be behind me. Next term there is a reshuffle of sections. So, we all get new bunch of people to attend class with. I don't know all of 9 people in my new section of 65 :)
I will miss my old section and study group though. We had some great times as a group and I hope my study group for next term is equally fun.
The courses next term are quite exciting. Marketing, Corporate Finance, Global Economics for Managers, Strategy are the core courses. I have taken on an extra course - Debt Markets. It is an elective and I am the only first year in the class. Given my love for Finance, I think I will enjoy the course.
Earlier this week, when I was wining and dining with a recruiter in Boston, I was talking about how the integrated core at Tuck seemed to be restricting me from pursuing courses in my area of interest. And, I come back and these options open up. Magical!
Talking of wining & dining, I have begun to enjoy these networking events. The range of discussions I have had in these are phenomenal. Like last week's dinner we talked about topics ranging from the challenges of getting your kid into a school in NYC to effects of shifting cities on a child's mind. The human side of the firm I guess :) .
A couple of weeks ago, I was chatting up with a banker who was complaining about how India is an over banked market (in investment banking terms). He handled a couple of PSU deals and was cribbing about the wafer thin margins! I thought people were in favor of free trade and open markets!
Meaning of life....
Why do I go about my life the way I do?
What do I want from life?
From time to time, each of us stops to think about this. I am not sure there is a definitive answer to these questions, but each person comes to an answer that s/he is comfortable with.
Last week, after our last class of Management Communications, the professor put up a quote from Oliver Holmes
"Not to share in the activity and passion of your time, is to count as not having lived."
Yesterday, after our last class of Statistics and before the longest ovation I have ever seen a professor get, the professor put up an excerpt from a passage by Robert Hastings
'Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are travelling by train. Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn, and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the Station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, daming the minutes for loitering - waiting, waiting, waiting for the Station.
"When we reach the Station, that will be it!" we cry. "When I'm eighteen." "When I buy a new 450 SL Mercedes Benz!" "When I put the last kid through college." "When I have paid off the mortgage!" "When I get a promotion!" "When I reach retirement, I shall live happily ever after!"
Sooner or later we must realize there is no Station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The Station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
So, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The Station will come soon enough.'
Both these questions took me back to the principle I have used to lead life. I stumbled upon this sometime in October 2000, watching the stars on a roof top in a remote village in Rajasthan where I did a volunteer stint. Since I love finance, and the friend who was with me was an Econ major from U Penn, the principle will make more sense for those who know their NPV's.
"Value your today, but be conscious of the present value of tomorrow."
I also have another long winded version that I call the Truck philosophy. I think both are essentially making the same point. If you liked mathematical induction, you will relate to this version better.
"If a truck hits me tomorrow morning and I die, I must die happy about the way I have lived my life.
If the truck does not hit me tomorrow, I must have the resources and the context to have a good time till the next morning.
Ad infinitum."
I have found that this method of thinking works for me.
So, what is the meaning of life that works for you?
Put it as a comment below and let me know.
Snow ball..
Saturday night was Snow Ball.
Guys and gals, all were dressed in their best. 9 out of 10 women were dressed in black. Looks like they all bought their dresses at Henry Ford's boutique - "You can have it any color, as long as it is black!". Needless to say, they all looked fantastic.
We had a small pre-party. Fruit punch mixed with Everclear?. If Absinthe is bad, Everclear is worse ;-). After some conversation, the preparties converged at the main hall. The decorations were fabulous. The oil paintings were replaced with pictures of professors making faces (I appreciate the holiday spirit in which they posed for these pictures!). There was an enchanted forest with love seats and consumables ;-). Good music, nice lighting effects and the party rocked.
In each party, I am exposed to something new. This time it was the ice luge. A christmas tree shaped ice sculpture with ridges along the top. Shots are poured along the top and you stick your mouth to the ice and drink off it. Jagermeister and peppermint schnapps were the choices. I went with the peppermint schnapps since I was told it was less potent! I very much enjoyed the experience.
This was followed by lots of dancing. The night was still young when I left at 1:00 am. I had had my share of fun and called it a day!
Winds of change....
I have been thinking hard. Very hard. About life. About me. About where my life is going. An idle mind is a devil's workshop :)
I have been speaking to people, getting their perspectives on life, on stuff that matters and stuff that doesn't. A process of self discovery has set in. I am encouraged to think more. Think harder. Push the limits of my mind. And now, it looks like some of the barricades I had set for myself do not exist any longer. They are antiquated. They remain there because there has been no wind to blow them away. It doesn't need a forceful gale but a slight breeze will be sufficient. What better time for the wind of change to blow than now!
The past week was great. We won a case competition that had a sweet cash prize. We were the only two member team in a field full of four member teams. We came in second but weren't a bit disappointed.
The networking process for recruiting continues in full force. I have realized I am super flexible in terms of what I want to do for the summer. Anytime a firm makes a pitch for a job, I want to know more about it. So, when somebody at the top of the totem pole thinks you will do well as part of his team, I am inclined to explore that option more. As I head into recruiting, I think these occasions will occur more frequently.
The best part about business school is the kind of options that come at you. This is also the worst part about school because making choices is difficult. Choices come at you in all spheres of your life - personal and professional. And, in most cases, you would not have been exposed to these areas. How does one decide between consulting and trading?
On the school front, I have decided to let my super short hair down a bit (No - I am not going to grow a mullet!). There are so many things to do, so many parties to attend, such a lot of good times to be had. "20 years from now, what will I remember ?" I will apply this test when faced with school activity choices! This test seems to have worked for most alumni I have spoken to :)
The direction of the US economy and the dollar exchange rate are areas that I have been following keenly. I have been bearish on the dollar for sometime now, and even more so currently. A few information sources that add weight to my view are
http://www.morganstanley.com/GEFdata/digests/latest-digest.html
http://www.roubiniglobal.com/
http://www.roubiniglobal.com/setser/
Catching up with friends I haven't spoken to in ages continues. Just finished an hour long talk with a friend I haven't seen in five years. I am constantly amazed by the number of my friends who are in this part of the globe. I could visit each of them for a day and spend a year!!
Tuck admissions for the class of 2007 are in progress. I look forward to interacting with people of the class and sharing with them the great time I have been having here!
Breast implants!
No. I am not getting them. But, they were the centerpiece (sic) in a crisis communications case we did this morning. The professor took a medium profile implant (so said the packaging!) from a box and thrust it into my hand. I had no clue what was happening. And then, I got cold called!! So, here I was, red-faced, fiddling around with this bag of silicone gel trying to rack my brains to enumerate the problems Dow Corning faced.
The discussion was extremely funny (though the topic was a serious one!). The funniest part of class was when the professor wanted to identify customers for the product. 'Women' said somebody. Peals of laughter followed. Cancer patients. Silence. People who work in certain industries. Roar of laughter. Subsequently, midway through the discussion, the professor said "People who got impants had a huge problem". I am not sure it was intentional - but for the class, there were no two thoughts about it and everybody was rolling in laughter again.
Along the way, we learnt a thing or two about crisis management!
Snow fall..
Last week it snowed at Hanover. I woke up to see the world outside my window under a carpet of white. I have been dreading the cold here, but the snow looks quite benign. Pretty infact.
The week has been pretty ho hum. We had a presentation on cross cultural communication that needed intense group activity. I think we did a good job.
Then a group member had her birthday. So, we all regressed into 8 year olds and had a celebration at Ben & Jerry's. I sometimes wonder what my actual age is. After coming to Tuck, I think a part of me has become younger and child like and another part has become older and mature. :)
Last night we had a Christmas Tree trimming party. So, we decorated a Christmas tree. The first time I was decorating a tree. Neat stuff.
The week forward promises to be colder. The temperature outside is -9C. (15F). But like every day here, regardless of the schedule, I look forward to having a good time.
Now, that was a ho-hum blog post!
