Long Weekend. Summer. At Last.

Memorial Day long weekend. What should a GSB student do for the weekend?

a. Study hard for finals. Afterall, starting early will ease the pressure later on. Since finals usually count for a huge chunk of grades, studying early would serve the GSB student right.

b. Movie marathon. One can watch X-Men 3, Da Vinci Code, AND Mission Impossible 3 on the same movie ticket! This will propel the GSB student to unchartered territories: knowledgeable about contemporary entertainment.

c. Party. TNDC, the void left from yet another botched LPF, Saturday night, Sunday night, Monday all day. The possibilities are endless. While it might be detrimental to grades, the GSB student needs to consider GND as well. Plus there was a memo that everybody was going to get a B.

d. Do nothing. So, the GSB student has been doing "stuff" every week for the past... oh... year. It wouldn't hurt to take a weekend off right before finals, right? The GSB student can catch up on the baseball season, reply to dad and mom's emails, watch the playoffs, go shopping, hang out. You know, all the normal human activities.

Well, some of you may already know how my weekend turned out. Shmoo and I organized a BBQ party on Sunday. I spent Saturday learning about option strategies and then set out to buy and prepare food. The party was great as both food and people were plentiful. Summer has obviously arrived as it was really hot out. Hopefully this weather will persist.

I spent Monday updating my website. Since I can't do flash, I've decided to stick with html for now. My website will still start with a flash world map... but I will change that when I have a chance this summer.

And suddenly, it is Tuesday morning. I have chosen c and d. Way to be a student, way to be a student.

But how!?

I just noticed this on TV although it's been around for a long time. Cialas' commercial claims that its erectile dysfunction drug "has been clinically tested to be effective for up to 36 hours..."

So, my simple question is how was this test administered? Are you measuring hormones? Or is it a live subject? Now I'm beaming with questions... how would you conduct this experiment?

Apparently, weird thoughts venture around when you are watching TV while preparing for a BBQ party. I blame all the meat.

Evolution of Facial Hair

This was a picture from LOE. Good times. Clean shaven:












Picture from St Patrick's Day. Obviously, recruiting was over. Out of control facial hair:



















Picture during Greater China Conference. Conforming to summer internship. Goatee only:

Which one will you be?

Among the best flowers? Or one that is different and laying low?


 

The Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts

That's what I meant in my previous post! Anyway, somehow, my marketing study groups all have similar attributes in that the team is better than the sum of individuals. Last quarter, our six member monster marketing team bounced back from a poor first assignemtn (poor results, good process, not sure that counts though!) to ace our second assignment. The current data-driven marketing team is demolishing problem set by problem set. Although I'm pretty sure our answer is not what the professor is looking for, I decided to keep my mouth shut because I thought we had a better answer. Will pay the price, perhaps... oh well.

The weekend was quite eventful, starting, unfortunately, with yet another sub-par Japanese restaurant. Only this time it cost me $50. Recommended by a Japanese classmate; that was the only reason that I even considered it. I will now boycott Japanese restaurants in Chicago unless it's recommended by Japanese and Yuri. Expensive and not-very-good food was followed by me being violated by a young lady looking for her wallet. And then followed by some quality Karaoke.

Saturday was meeting up with Vivian from Toronto. Long time no see! The night kicked off with CAP Korean BBQ Party, then a bar event at Jin Ju, and then some poker action.

Sunday was paying for all my sins. Study and writing papers. And then the weekend is finished. haha! Way too fast!

Picking a Job

General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, came to the GSB to speak. Basically he gave us some cliche advice in life and then took questions for the audience. I'll be honest, I went to listen to the Q&A to pick up something spicy. Turns out the cliche advice was a bit more profound (Q&A wasn't bad either, but it didn't stick in my mind). Others seems to have gotten much more? My first impression is that this man, one of the most powerful in the world, is articulate, reasonable, and very thoughtful. Quite the contrary to his superiors (which is ironic after you read the next paragraph) - i.e. Rumsfeld and Bush.

Anyway, the last piece of advice was on how to pick a job. Basically, General Pace told us something that I have been telling my friends for a long time, especially those who are struggling with their current jobs. Pick a company where your values resonate with your CEOs. If they don't, pick another organization. The reason is simple: one's success depends on one's immediate managers. They have more experience and, if correctly matched and teamed together, will be a tandem (you and them) where the parts exceed the sum. If you cannot agree with the leaderships and managements, you will not be happy with yourself.

I think that made sense. I've always told my friends that if you don't like the job, quit. It's that simple. We are fortunate that we will never find ourselves unemployed for too long since our skills are highly valued. We have choices. Use them.

Almost Summer...

Full speed ahead (Thanks to Dina for the picture)... I can't wait till my internship (and the paycheck).




















Meanwhile, I'm making a "Evolution of the Facial Hair" blog for my first year at the GSB. Good times. Good times.

Reviews

Red Sox DVD: The curse of the womanly slap.

Now I Can Finally Die in Peace: Well... since I've read most of the book before in SG's columns, it's not a fair review. I did LOL a few times alone at home though.

Mission Impossible 3: Better than 2, worse than 1. Hollywood has gotten this franchise completely wrong. Big explosions are nice and all, but MI was about a team of professionals using gadgets and brains to beat the bad guys, not guns and jumping around buildings in Shanghai.

Lucky Number Slevin: One of the best turn around films I've seen in years. What's a turn around film? The first three quarters of the movie was rather confusing and at times boring. But the last quarter was well worth the ticket price. Good movie.

Waiting for Da Vinci Code and X-Men 3. Also on my list is Thank You for Smoking. A good start to the summer movie season. In other news, I caught the beginning of The Core, an absolutely ridiculous movie about the Earth's core stop spinning and scientists plant nuclear bombs to start it again. Anyway, by catching the beginning, I found out that the geologist (or whatever) teaches at the U of Chicago! Anyway, I have no point. Please shoot me.

Top 10 at HPC

Top 10 - GSB News

heh heh

In other news...:

Cast party on Saturday night was fun. I whooped out my Chinese accent English - maybe do a skit next year.

I played tennis for the first time in 5/6 years. Form is okay, timing is way off. Need a lot of practice. Blisters suck.

Watched the Cubs get two-hitted by the Padres from the rooftop seats. Odd experience since you don't really know what's going on in the stadium (scoreboard faces homeplate).

Sucked into watching Da Vinci pieces on the Discovery Channel. They had three: one on Da Vinci's Code (the book), one on the Holy Blood and Holy Grail (the book), and one on a piece of painting that is suspected to be Da Vinci's. Fascinating programming. I love conspiracy theory.

Weekend

Picture (thanks to Davidson) from our Michigan fishing trip last week. So, midterms are over, and life is back to normal. Last night it was Follies for the GSB. Nice production. Loved the outsourced interview feedback. And the percussion of company names. Too much serious singing, though. We're there to have fun, man!

So far, it's been a rather boring weekend. Feeling a bit blue too.

Watching the Cubs game from a rooftop tomorrow. Should be interesting.

Oh, and I keep wondering who the GSB blogs belong too. Some I've been able to find out. Other's I'm completely in the dark.

Pick one already!

I was staring at my package (no, you sicko, the USPS packages I mentioned yesterday) and had a hard time deciding which one I should start with.

There's Freakenomics: Steve Levitt's masterpiece on putting economics behind all types of events. I've been meaning to buy this book for a long long time and just never got around to do it.

Guns, Germs, and Steel: Jared Diamond's book, which received rave reviews from my mom. It seems like a good book to read, so I picked it up...

Lonely Planet Ireland: Just need this to prepare myself for the trip to Ireland this summer right after exams.

Now I Can Die in Peace: Bill Simmon's (Boston Sports Guy, or Sports Guy, or SG) book on his journey with the Red Sox. While I've read most of SG's articles, even those from the very old times, I'm interested in the book. If only I can get it autographed.

Red Sox Collectors DVD: 38 hours of Red Sox action, baby! I get to experience the exhilarating victories all over again. I can even pretend that we're in October and we just came back from a 0-3 deficit against the Yankees. DAMN RIGHT.

So... naturally, I went with the DVD. There were 12 discs (7 vs. Yanks, 4 vs. Cards, and 1 Championship DVD which I already have). I spent about an hour watching games 4, 5, and 6. The moment I enjoyed the most? Not the Roberts steal or Ortiz walk-off homer in game 4; not the Roberts steal or Ortiz walk-off single in game 5; not the Shilling bloody sock in game 6. The winner is... A-Rod slapping the ball out of Arroyo's glove. It's awesome to watch (after the fact, of course, I was so pissed at the moment and scared shitless for the inevitable letdown umps have shown Red Sox fans for years) and even better to rewatch. Gay-Rod, I hope your slap makes top 10 on the "Cheating in Sports", together with Maradona's Hand of God. What a dispicable act.

I read some of "Now I Can Die in Peace" last night, and will start Freakonomics when I finish. Hopefully I will have time to read the Gun book before cramming in Ireland during finals!

Gone fishing

Yes, yes, the Bulls have gone fishing. Twas a good fight. Couple of very good 2nd round matchups, including the ridiculous Spurs-Mavs. I'm also looking forward to how the Pistons will completely shut down LeBron. In other relevant news:

Went fishing at Michigan (the State) with a bunch of GSBers. Good times. A nice and relaxing weekend far far away from school. Unfortunately, wireless internet was also available at the vacation home. Anyway, we caught a 14 pound King Salmon that tasted really good at night!

I got raped by my investment midterm. I suspect most people in the class got raped as well, so I should be okay.

I will have my first all-Chinese study group. I wonder what is going to happen...

I submitted a bottom ten for the Hyde Park Center building. Concluded with bathroom faucets not working.

The over-under on how many times I will watch Red Sox vs. Yankee 2004 ALCS Game 4 is 10.

My order from Barnes and Noble arrived: Freakenomics, Lonley Planet Ireland, Now I Can Die in Peace, and Guns, Germs, and Steel. Can't wait to read them all.

I spent the afternoon trying to figure out how I spent about $300 just cus I felt a strain in my hip. Apparently they charged me for hospital fee, x-ray fee, doctor's fee, and medicine fee. Why I bought $2000 worth of insurance if I'm charged all that crap is way beyond my comprehension. Even after speaking with Mary from the insurance (she's great), I still have no clue.

I really want the summer to come.

GSB - Results from Google Blog Search

http://ykgsb.exblog.jp/

I don't understand it at all. But the heading is funny.

Procrastination...

I'm studying for my investments midterm right now in the GSB quiet study room. There are quite a few oxymorons there, such as "I am studying," "studying... investments," "studying... right now," and, worst of all, "quiet study room." There's a reason they named this the quiet study room! Don't talk on your phone as if we don't exist!

Anyway, some random thoughts on the NBA playoffs (I hope Bill Simmons publishes my mail):

Go Bulls! They were down 2-0 and came back to tie it only to loose game 5. Good effort nonetheless. I was at game 3 and the game was awesome despite the blow out.

These ridiculous suspensions have got to go. Here's a solution: fine players the game check and let them play in the game. I'm interested in how much effort they put in if they aren't getting paid. Oh, and having all the players on the court, of course.

Spurs-Kings: The Spurs don't look like Champions. Shareef Abdul-Rahim is in the playoffs finally. Since then, he's showed up for one game and also managed to turn Mike Bibby into a non factor for the other games.

Suns-Lakers: I still don't like Kobe Bryant. Steve Nash is scary when he is angry. I can't tell the difference between Shawn Marion and Bin Laden - both have disappeared.

Nuggets-Clippers: I can't tell the difference between Camelo Anthony and Bin Laden either. Is he on the Nuggets? I don't care what Reggie Evan's excuse was. The Clippers have a chance to the CONFERENCE FINALS! Do I need to repeat that?

Mavs-Grizzlies: Don't mess with Dirk. Don't mess with Germans. Chucky Atkins singlehandedly destroyed Memphis' chance of winning 1 game. Trade him to the Knicks. Isiah will need some scoring point guards who can't pass.

Pistons-Bucks: Pistons are going to win it all. And they are going to do it in a very boring way. A white starting center in the low post! Ladies and gentlemen, Andrew Bogut.

Heat-Bulls: Gordon is no Jordon. Wade is damn good. You have to see it in person. Shaq needs to retire soon. Don't throw mouth pieces. Basketball is not hockey... but I can see how it can be more fun if it were.

Nets-Pacers: Please throw Vince down on the floor. He will never come to your neighborhood again. J Kidd, thy time has come, thy time has gone. Jermaine O'neal, thy time has come, thy time has gone. If your fate is in Anthony Johnson's hand, you have no chance.

Cavs-Wizards: Apparently Big Z, Larry Hughes, Damon Jones, and Drew Gooden have decided to see how much LeBron James can do on his own. So far, they are doing a pretty good job. Gilbert Arenas will never win a championship.

Back to investments.

Vote for Professor X

It's award time! The GSB has asked us the students to vote our favorite professor. As such, I voted for Ann McGill, my marketing teacher, whose wit and humor made marketing an interesting subject. Anyway, this blog is not about who to vote for...

I received an email a while ago from a student group that urged me to vote for a certain professor. Since I did not take this particular professor's class, I had no such intent and promptly deleted the email. Then I got another. Same group, same email, same professor. And another. And another.

And then... same group, same email, different professor! This time, the writer of the email indicates that you can vote for two different professors for two different awards. So you can split your votes between the two awards.

Now I'm just annoyed. I have no doubt that these two professors are good. But the student group email is not a place for rallying votes or spliting votes. I signed up for that student group for specific purposes, not for junk mail. Especially not for junk mail that games the voting system.

But... you can do it on a blog. I'm not going to ask you to vote for Ann McGill... but do take her marketing class if you have a chance. It's a fun time and you do learn some useful tools.