Gun free zone creates violence?

What a dumb ass. In the words of our OB classes, he is making statements with availability bias and egocentric bias.

Open and Honest

Hokies, be strong.

It's been a while since I last blogged about something serious. Wait... I'm never serious.

Oh but I am. I've always been a proponent of being as open and as honest as possible with people. In the cynical world that we live in, obviously this can't be true all the time. The topic of whether the benefits of telling the truth outweigh the costs of hurting people you love and care about came up between my friend and me. Fascinating debate really. Since I am a proponent of being open, I think for the most part the benefits do outweigh the costs. But I can see things going the other way as well.

Our little debate led to the establishment of a secret blog site. What if one has this secret blog to vent and put all his or her darkest secret on it. He or she will be able to let out some steam and whatever, maybe even live a better life. But our focus is whether this secret blog would ever be released in the very distant future... which would certainly hurt a lot of people... or would it hurt more if those people found out themselves?

Which brings me to a current situation in which I am a "victim." A good friend of mine is not open and honest with me. (Yup, and somehow I find out) I think I know the reason on why she isn't honest, and I think I understand where she is coming from. Ah, hell, I sympathize with her cause, really. But at the same time, I am quite hurt. I'd rather hear the truth and be hurt that way. Finding out through a backdoor channel is never pleasant.

Movie and then some

Saw 300 in an IMAX theater. Not recommended. Unless you want to see two hours of six packs. Or blood splattering all over (blood drops, really, but what do I know...). Or slow mo love making. Or slow mo anything. In fact, I think the movie is about 30 minutes long but they slow mo everything and it became a two hour movie. Visually stunning though. Still, not recommended.

Just thought I should share this... gotta love the media. Thanks to Koala Blogger for bringing this to my attention.

From WSJ: Thanks to Chicago offered a bid that hinges on building new facilities, mostly situated around the downtown lakefront and nearby parks. The centerpiece would be an 80,000-seat, $366 million temporary Olympic stadium that would be built in historic Washington Park. (This park is just by the University of Chicago's campus)

My comment: LOL... the HISTORIC WASHINGTON PARK! One park that we had a BSCIT event to clean the damn thing up... one park that I would never walk through... one park that when I walked through it, I found needles on the ground... and we're might have the Olympics there! Someone call Daley! Clean the city!

McKinsey is Evil

Man, the McKinsey "case challenge" was a fucking waste of my time. I hope they read this post.

So, a couple of weeks ago, McKinsey Business Technology (BTO) sent a very intriguing email:

Teams of 3-5 MBAs from Berkeley Haas, Chicago GSB, Kellogg, MIT Sloan, and Wharton will show how a breakthrough technology could transform one of the world's leading companies.

Note that HBS isn't on the list because I think they called the bluff from McKinsey. Anyway, our team was interested in "breakthrough technologies", so we signed up. Of course, the $10,000 school prize and $20,000 national prize didn't hurt either.

The night we got our question, it was the following: apply one of the four technologies to a Fortune 100 company and show improvement in revenue and productivity. The four technologies - user generated content, constant WIFI, virtual worlds, and smart networks - being four things that I've heard of and used already.

It was a fucking scam to generate great ideas and then use them to pitch to clients (it can't get any more obvious than that, really). Which is fine, I guess... kudos to the person who thought of this idea. Anyway, we goofed around the whole day and came up with some trashy presentation before calling it a day. Anyway, someone asked me how the case challenge was, which inspired an unintended poem:

it's just a place where McK generates pitches
that's why we call those consultant bitches

It also inspired the Lam Chart:

Vietnamese Food Review

After the Buffet trip and before the McKinsey debacle, I had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant, which PNGF called "the only Vietnamese restaurant in Chicago that I will ever dine at." Well then. Hai Yen, here I come.

Turns out that I had eaten at this restaurant before with SY. Except that last time I ordered the requisite Pho, which wasn't bad but not that great especially compared to the great Pho I had in Boston. This time around, PNGF was clearly in charge, as she browsed through the menu and told me what I should eat. I love these dining experiences - it's like me bringing Americans to a Chinese restaurant and saving them from the General Gao's Chicken, pu-pu platter, and moo shu dishes. Anyway, on to the food:

Vietnamese Grilled Beef (Thit Nuong)

Shrimp Balls on Sugar Cane Stick (Chao Tom)

Grilled Pork wrapped in Lot Leaves (Bo La Lot) - not the most flattering look, but they are damn good (I tried to fudge with the picture... they just are this way)

Yup, I wrapped my own spring roll - I'm an expert now

Visiting Omaha

Wow, I actually met Warren Buffet... the guy is quite a show man and loves to be in the center of attention. Surprising... I thought he'd be more reserved. Some highlights:

• The Dirty Canuck had an interesting morning (2nd post, I think)
  
• Responding to a question regarding giving to charities: he gives back to society because he has taken from society... and he should keep the wealth because society can't produce the returns he can.
• On how we should appreciate life: if 1000 random people on Earth were assigned to you and you have to pick one of them to become, you wouldn't play the game. That would mean you are in the top 0.01% of satisfied with your own life. Think about that.
  
• The requisite do what you like advice and don't do it for money.
• This is a low light actually: Gorat's, which was supposed to be WB's favorite restaurant, served me a very very very disappointing steak. The baked potato is good though... uh... yeah...
  
• The line to take a picture with Warren (yup, we on a first name basis now)... yours truly was #66...
  
• Monthly parking in downtown Omaha costs $45 (it's outdoors... indoors is more expensive, I was told. Apparently, a 3-star hotel right in the middle of downtown also costs $45.
  
• Blah blah blah

Overall, I enjoyed the trip. Once I got back, I had to attend a McKinsey case competition, which is a complete scam (Xie Xie A has this to say). Will get to this in my next post.

Time to procrastinate...

While in my pricing strategy class, I came across this funny travel route from NY to Paris, courtesy of the Sports Guy.

Here's a fascinating article on how greatness can go unnoticed when not in context, courtesy of both Freakenomics and Managing in Organizations class.

Speaking of Freakenomics, last weeks Brown Bag Series had Kevin "Genius Award" Murphy talking about the benefits of inequality and attacked some of the follies of proposed solutions such as progressive taxes. He was introduced by Steve Levitt. The prior Brown Bag Series was Nobel laureate Gary Becker talking about paid immigration. Fascinating topics. No articles though. Yet I digress.

Alright, back to Strategy and Structure. I can't wait to see how Saturn is going to fight the Hondas and Toyotas (and Hyundais!)... NOT.

Tomorrow, I go meet Warren Buffet. This will be fun!

清明

上一個禮拜四是清明節... 但我完全忘了.

暑假的時候, 雖然我七月二十三號會在歐洲某處, 但我不會忘記的.

Fogo Finally!

I cannot believe I have not been to Fogo de Chao. This place is freaking awesome. Last quarter when I worked on Orion's Mind, one of my teammates was a Brazilian. He said he would only go to Fogo de Chao for authentic Brazilian food.

The meat was of course great. Pictured here is the house special. I loved it. The lamp chops , fillet mignon, the sirloin, and rib eye were also very good. A bit fatty was the beef rib, which I had last. Good thing it didn't come first.

Dessert was a chocolate cake which was basically a molten chocolate cake... except that the whole cake felt like molten. Yummy.

But honestly, the best part of the meal was the bread. I couldn't decide which one was better, Fogo de Chao or De la Costa. At the end, I went with Fogo: it had the best bread I've had and I kept wanting more even after dessert.

I went to a concert for BB King. That man is 81 and he is still commanding the stage like no other. Amazing time... though my legs got real sore towards the end.

I'm so sorry!

Weather Gods, forgive me for saying that Winter is over. Please don't snow on me. DOH! Freaking Chicago. It snowed on Wed, ten got very cold the last few days.

Watched Prison Break season 2 finale on Tuesday night. What a fucking disappointment. I'm boycotting the rest of the seasons, just like I did 24 after its season 2. The idea of a finale is to have a climax in which the protagonist achieves some level of victory and faces some level of (unexpected) difficulty so that viewers will be intrigued by the ending and hopefully beg for season 3. Prison Break fails to convert on either way.

Nonetheless, I have learned many valuable lessons from Prison Break:
10. If you are a pretty doctor, you should not work in a prison. This is not negotiable. Nor should you respond to some fat cop who just tried to hit on you. This is also not negotiable.
9. When your life is in danger, it might be a good idea to let people know where you will be. Or, of course, you could venture into danger yourself and then get killed. Why not.
8. Actually, it might be better to call the police; even though they are incompetent, on your own, you probably are more incompetent.
7. Trusting the mob boss and a child pedophile is a great idea if you need to escape from prison... NOT.
6. Handcuffing yourself to another person (especially the protagonist) and swallowing the key means there's only one way to get you off - say goodbye to your hand.
5. If you have a gun, don't just point it at someone; use it. The idea is to neutralize the other person, like shoot his calf or something, or force him to tie himself up, rather than wait for the other party to grab your gun.
4. When Blackmailed by others, don't just oblige. Use your phone to record the conversation. It's really just one button.
3. If you get arrested, ask to go to Fox River. I hear the security there is lax and the warden needs someone to help him build the Taj Mahal model for his anniversary.
2. When in doubt, work for "The Company"... the other jobs suck.
1. "You'll have to trust me" translates as "I'm going to screw you later"

How do you feel about the last quarter?

This is how I feel:

Anyway... last week's visit by the Hong Kong Commissioner got me thinking about comparing living in the US and HK again. One of the reason that companies prefer HK to Shanghai and Beijing, alleged by the HK Commissioner, is that of human capital. Specifically, ex-pats prefer to be in Hong Kong. Why? Because of quality of life: convenience, safety, international city, good entry point before being totally East Asian, and education. The last point, in my opinion, will be most significant. International schools in HK are far superior to those in China, so it you're an ex-pat and you have family, you would prefer HK.

Sadly, local schools can't really compare and aren't of consideration for any ex-pats. Hong Kong's education system is still as screwed up as it was fifteen years ago. They don't know which language to teach in (despite research that has shown the clear benefit of mother tongue education), they don't know what to teach, they force feed facts rather than facilitate thinking, they focus on memory rather than application, etc etc. Fundamentals are good for most students, but if they are thrown into the real world, it takes time to adjust.

Managing in Organizations, Managerial Decision Making, and Power and Influence are three organizational behavior classes that are very similar. In fact, I think I can go to one and learn all three! I'm only taking MiO and PaI right now, but I think I'm going to audit MDM just to finish the holy trinity.

Monday in P and I: with power, you can send short and spell-check-less emails; focusing on one thing only often gives you illusions about your lack of power or knowledge, asking is power, power acquired unintentionally seems more powerful than those collected intentionally, there are situational reasons for many things rather than dispositional reasons.

Tuesday in M in O: all of the above (I tell you, the similarities are scary) + negativity dominance, actor/observer bias, confirmation bias, and omission neglect. The combined conclusion? The most incompetent people are the most overconfident. (This statement, by the way, may suffer from both confirmation bias and omission neglect!) Well well... I guess I am sometimes quite incompetent.

Yup, and that last statement is a direct result of confirmation bias. haha!

Winter is over, but there's still ice...!

It's just ice in the United Center and AMC River East. (By the way, there are rumors that snow may appear on Wednesday. I'm going to ignore that.

PNGF and I went to a Blackhawks game because the tickets were free. Standard Microeconomics predict when the price goes to zero, the demand for the tickets should be very large. Well, reality is quite different (opportunity costs not considered obviously): the stadium was at best half full. But they did beat the Blue Jackets. Anyway, I find Hockey a fun game to watch live... it's fast and violent and there's lots of action.

Blades of Glory was much better. A 1045 showing didn't deter those who wanted a good time at the theaters. It was a full house. The movie was hysterical. Wedding Crasher-esque! The success of this movie is that the very premise of male pair skating is funny. Even at places where it wasn't funny at all, people still laughed. For example, at the beginning of the movie, we see a kid skating. And the theater just started to laugh. Good stuff. Highly recommended if you want to have a good laugh. Don't eat too much beforehand, your stomach might hurt.

Blog improvements...

A while ago, I've mentioned the map, which is very cool to have. I'm not sure which one surprises me more: Nigeria or Iceland.

I've tried to organize my posts through labels, as you can see at the bottom of selected posts as well as to the right of this post. Hopefully that can help you navigate some entries better.

I use Google Reader to read blogs. Instead of the sites of individual blogs, I've made them into list of posts that I find interesting, i.e. the "My Readings" link also on the right.

That's about it for now. I'm trying to change my own website a little bit. Right now, all the dots on the map look the same... but some dots are different. Most dots are travel logs, which is the reason I started the website in the first place. But Boston and Chicago are really places that I lived in, while Death Valley and Holland City have only pictures. I want them to look different. Any suggestions??

Spring Quarter, First Week

It's nice to see everybody back from abroad, including the elusive Meghaks and BSLW. Now Spring quarter begins. I can't even imagine how much slacking I can do...

After Power & Influence on Monday, I had Managing in Organizations on Tuesday morning. Epley is a high energy guy who will jump into the lecture seats and then back to behind his computer. Like other OB classes, I can't really pin point as to exactly what is being taught. haha. Just kidding... the class tries to bridge the difference between what one should do and what one actually does. Since there is a difference between the two, it is essential that one understands the reasons behind the difference and correct it if one can.

I audited Thaler's class at night. For non-GSBers, Dick Thaler's class is the most demanded class at the GSB. His first class was a disappointment... perhaps because I've heard most of the concepts before. I will give him one more chance.

Wednesday I don't have class, but I was still on campus to present to OMSA on how the Dim Sum Sake Tasting Festival went and prepare for Hong Kong Commissioner's visit to the GSB. Both went quite well.

Thursday was the killer day to end the week (no class on Friday).

Pricing's Dube drank WAY too much coffee before he came to class. He speaks too loud, too fast, and too much. Oh wait... that's not coffee. That's how he usually behaves. I'm pretty sure the class was lost at a few moments on insignificant points and we kept spinning in circles trying o answer a simple question. Anyway, I'm a firm believer that the professor makes all the difference. Dube is enthusiastic so I have hope.

Strategy and Structure promises to be a pretty good class. I have yet another semi-crazy professor in Bothner. The class is of course about strategy and how to determine strategy for a company given the situation (yup, sounds strangely like OB classes!). The contents of the class is pretty good, but the best part is when Bothner manages the case discussion. He snaps and he yaps at answers that aren't good, then may or may not insult you. Semi-correct answers and acknowledged and then dismissed. Correct answers allow the class to move on. No extra answers, no extra bullshit. My favorite.

Last GSB Quarter

It's sad to start the Spring quarter.

Here's the schedule:
Monday afternoon - Power and Influence with Menon
Tuesday morning - Managing in Organizations with Epley
Thursday afternoon - Pricing with Dube
Thursday night - Strategy and Structure with Bothner

So it should be a very promising quarter. Today's P&I class was pretty good. There was a decent discussion on how to correctly measure and view power. Also, a particular interesting topic that came up is hard skills vs. soft skills. Despite GSB's reputation for being hardcore on the hard skills, I've always been a believer of the acquisition of both types of skills. GSB indeed gives us a very solid background in hard skills and has less respect for softer skills. However, hard skills can only get you so far... the higher up you go, the more people you will deal with, and the more soft skills you'll need.

So P&I will be a soft class. =) Good.

Cozumel in 5 days

More details and pictures here... though the time stamp approach is fun too!

3/18 5pm - departure
3/18 9pm - arrive in resort: this is why we chose Cozumel, nice and close!
3/18 930 - you can't beat buffet dinner
3/18 10 - it's impossible to beat free booze all night
3/19 10am - buffet breakfast... along with free booze
3/19 12pm - sail
3/19 130 - lunch buffet... along with free booze
3/19 3pm - beach, read, drink, sunbath
3/19 5pm - beach bar closes
3/19 501 - move to pool bar
3/19 6pm - after three Pinas and a tequila shot, pool bar closes
3/19 830 - wake up from "nap" and go to steak dinner
3/19 10pm - drink at reception bar
3/19 1130 - off to Senor Frogs, a club in downtown Cozumel
3/20 2am - back at the resort, somehow made it back to the room
3/20 8am - scuba diving class... with hangover
3/20 1pm - scuba diving in Cozumel reefs
3/20 5pm - beach
3/20 7pm - dinner buffet!
3/20 9pm - let the drinking begin
3/21 10am - beach
3/21 12pm - attempt to windsurf
3/21 1215 - admit defeat, try to swim back to shore
3/21 2pm - finally got back, damn it
3/21 330 - Sail
3/21 4pm - Beach
3/21 7pm - nap
3/21 830 - dinner at steakhouse
3/21 945 - Black Russian
3/21 10pm - 1st tequila shot
3/21 1001 - 3rd tequila shot
3/21 1030 - 4th tequila shot
3/22 800 - buffet breakfast, with lots of grapefruit to sober up
3/22 930 - depart for airport
3/22 7pm - back safely at home

Double Dipping Movies again

I love AMC River East. I don't even feel remotely bad by double dipping in this theater. There's no guard against whatsoever and people are just roaming along. I hope they don't read this blog. Or... you could make a pretty good business case that this would attract movie goers to this theater because of the possible double viewing. Since theaters make money on concessions and not the movie ticket itself, they don't really care at all. Theaters just want you there for as long as possible so you can buy stuff to eat and drink. In fact, I'm pretty sure this is the case and all theaters should relax restrictions. Have I ever mentioned that I have a perfect way of catching double dippers...? Yet I digress.

Zodiac: I walked out of the movie slightly unsatisfied because (spoiler alert!!!) the crime remained unsolved. It's like a 3 hour law and order episode that has one of those ambiguous endings. Anyway, performances were quite good, and I do miss Goose (Top Gun). I haven't decided if I can recommend this movie. I say it's pretty good if you have the right expectations going in. I expected a crime thriller with some dramatic climax that reveals the real killer. No such thing. Quite a mellow movie, really.

Namesake: I just wanted to say first that I can't really imagine Kumar being in any other character. And that was that. Uh, the theater was filled with Indian parents with their own teenagers. EK and I fit in nicely as minorities. Anyway, I hope the book was much better than the movie. The movie is about people finding their paths; but sadly, it fails completely in convincing me of anything. In fact, the movie left me hanging at many points where the characters just move on and there wasn't any substance that developed. Maybe this is because I can't relate...? Not recommended.

Back from Cozumel

Cozumel must be one of the first trips I took that was purely for leisure. Say no to hectic travel schedules. Say no to activities after activities. Say no to scouting good restaurants. Say no to historical Mayan sites. Say no to picture taking all the time. Say no to reading Lonely Planets beforehand.

Say yes to All-Inclusive Resort. More on this later...!

Here's a picture of us (right to left: PP, myself, and HR) scuba diving at the beautiful reefs of Cozumel. Which reminds me... diving may be the only circumstances where I enjoy taking pictures of people more than the scenery.

Post Final Syndrome

It's fitting that St. Patty's day fell right after finals. I watched them dye the Chicago river green at 11am on Saturday, very cool. From my apartment, I can also see everybody carrying a drink. 11am! Anyway, I ended the day at a salsa club with way too much alcohol in my system. Just in time for Cozumel, I say!

Reviews that are due:

The Last King of Scotland - great movie. Forest Whitaker won a best actor award in it. The Scot in the movie isn't bad either. Walking out of the theater, I struggled to find what was so good about the movie. Maybe it's the development of the Scottish kid. Starting as a brash, confident, naive kid, he left Africa as the complete opposite.

Coco Pazzo Cafe - great Italian food. I ordered a very salty meat dish... but the clam linguine smelled great (garlic always does the job) and was very tasty as well. Dessert, as usual, is my weakness and was very good.

Aria - this nice restaurant is tucked away right next to Columbus Plaza. The bar was really cool and I hope to visit it some time. Anyway, the food at Aria was okay. It's international fusion food, which should always raise some alarms. Oh well. The veal shank wasn't bad with masala. It wasn't great either. The atmosphere at the restaurant was great though, and the service was very good. Our waiter was quite lively and seemed ready to sing and dance. But... most important of all, I didn't bring my camera. Arg.

Goro-san - this man can cook.

Why not Hyde Park?

Here's why:

0800: just woke up... must finish both hand in finals before 4 today...
1000: two loops of ESPN, arg, time to head to campus to be efficient
1020: arrived safely in Hyde Park after following a slow Volvo for a frustrating long time (i.e. 5 seconds)
1030: settled into the Winter Garden, putting finishing touches on Mary Kay (Marketing channels)
1035: HB wanders over for a short chat
1050: CL wanders over for a short chat
1130: lunch at Noodles... their Singaporean noodles were okay and the Thai Ice Tea was pretty good
1230: back in HPC Winter Garden, continue Project Dial Tone case (Private Equity)
100: friend #1 comes over for a chat
110: friend #2 comes over for a chat
200: friend #3 comes over for a chat
215: Must study, move to student lounge
330: Done with case, print to hand in
520: Back in downtown
600: feeling empty and bored
601: nap
800: cook dinner... mmm... curry...
900: food coma
945: spotted friend on MSN, checked movie times, ask if she wants to see movie
955: agree on movie - The Last King of Scotland, showing at AMC River East at 10pm
1000: leave Columbus Plaza to head to the theaters
1008: arrive at theaters
1010: sit in comfy seats, previews just ended, movie starts (review later)

Yup, that's why I live downtown. It's close enough to Hyde Park (sounding scarily similar to 害怕k...). There are GSBers living around downtown. And... I could get a movie crew going in 15 minutes. We left Columbus Plaza at the movie start time and still made it in time! This would never happen in HP.

$12,880 well spent, especially the $880!

After a super relaxing finals week, I'm getting ready for Cozumel and Mexico. Yay!

Private Equity Finance with Zingales - this is a great class taught by a great professor. Definitely a class where I learned a lot of new material. It probably won't be useful in my next job just yet, but there are great takeaways from the class. One, for example, is that valuations don't matter that much. Relationships and all the qualitative stuff is what make or break a deal. Yup, very encouraging for the quant jock school GSB! But that's how I learned about entrepreneurs, angel funds, search funds, venture capital funds, stage funding, private equity funds, various buy-outs, etc etc. If it were all valuation, it would have been boring to me and I wouldn't have registered much. The approach Zingales takes is to breeze through the quant stuff and focus on relationships. Good idea, I say. He is very good at managing case discussions. Highly recommended for non-entrepreneurs (I hear entrepreneurs love Kaplan and Meadow for the more real world approach).

Business Policy with Davis - by far the most inspiring class I have ever taken at any level of school, although someone thinks the complete opposite. I knew it would be controversial. It's a very soft class with very little analytical thinking required (or so some thought). Anyway, the class teaches some business strategies, mostly from a leader's point of view. Davis then tries to push these strategies into your every day life. Sometimes he skips the business part and goes straight to how strategies would work for our personal lives. The final paper, 40% of our grade, is about our personal strategy looking into the future. It was one of the most difficult projects that I have undertaken. For business cases, you can reach an answer, right or wrong, and hand it in. When the case is about yourself, it'll never have the perfect answer. In fact, I finished the paper way ahead of time, read it the day before it was due, and decided that I would re-write the whole thing. This never happens with regular school work. I highly highly highly recommend this class for all those who have question marks about life. In fact, I think all MBAs should complete the final project regardless of whether they are taking this class.

Marketing Channels with Mitchell - this class bothers me quite a bit. The teacher is great and very enthusiastic about the subject. She manages case discussions very well. Yet there is something strangely unsatisfying about the class. Part of it is that the subject is the last P in the 4Ps, hence the least importance given by marketers. Another part of it is that channels is very foreign to most students (unlike advertising) and therefore is difficult to demonstrate the effects of it in real life. While case discussions were good, the actual tools taught in class (such as the elusive efficiency analysis) were rarely applied. Also, there were no international cases at all which would have been extremely interesting. The class has room for improvement as there is good material; more context must be given for students to appreciate it. Yes, we're very demanding. This class also features the gender bias exam. I'd recommend the class... the current format means that if you have to be really interested in marketing. With some changes, I think non marketers will enjoy the class as well.

New Venture Lab with Orion's Mind - it's not about the teacher, it's about the client. The only reason I would audit a lab class is because I liked the industry (education) and the client (Emily, she was great). The overall experience was very good and I learned A LOT about entrepreneurship, from their optimism and lack of scenario planning to understanding primitive financials. Just a phenomenal experience. If you are considering taking this class, I would say do it only if you find an industry that you are truly interested in. Highly recommended as well.

Photography I and II with Chicago Photography Center - level I in photography was eye-opening but not overly complicated. I knew some of the basic concepts and theories of photography, and the class helped me put everything in perspective and correct frameworks. Learning the actual effects of shutter speeds and apertures and experimenting on them was very helpful in my skills as a photographer. Did I get better from level I? Not really. What I did learn was that now I know how to experiment and anticipate what the pictures will look like even before taking the picture. We also learned about the relationship between the photographer and the subject: I bet this isn't taught in typical photo classes. Extremely helpful. Meanwhile, level II is a completely different animal. I'm learning dynamic ranges, gray cards, white balances... basic for pros but quite sophisticated techniques for me. Instead of photographic assignments, I get experimental assignments, which means I'm testing the camera instead of testing my skills. Great class. Highly recommended. No slight to the GSB, but I'm learning so much more from this class than my other classes! Best yet... it's only $440 per class!

Alas... the conclusion: take classes that you like... at least with those classes, you can take something away for yourself and feel that you have learned much more.

Marketing STP

Chicago State University is advertising during commercial breaks of South Park. What does this say about South Park viewers? Better yet, what does this say about potential Chicago State University?

I feel this will be a good HBS case that can illustrate how STP can go wrong (or right, who knows...?).

This whole week I've been able to work for one efficient hour, two inefficient hours, and three procrastinating hours every day. Good times. I love finals without exams.

Gender Bias Exams and Condoms

I have two finals both due on Thursday.

The first is for private equity and is a take home case exam on telemarketing acquisitions. I hate telemarketing. Why are my case finals all about products I don't like (frozen dog food, pharma, telecom, etc)? Anyway, I've mentioned that this class puts the fear in me; that sentiment has not changed. The qualitative analysis of the telemarketing industry was fairly straight forward, but the quantitative part of the case will be a challenge for me. Either way, the pain will go away soon.

The second is for the marketing channel class. This particular take home case is Mary Kay Inc., the direct sales beauty product company, and was written by Kellogg. I have to say the case sucks. The case writer didn't put a lot of information about Mary Kay; instead, there were data regarding the change of demographics in the US. I know nothing about beauty products. I can't even segment the market! AND the case doesn't even have that information! Nonetheless, I will BS my way through... and hope that the professor doesn't read student blogs.

Yup, hence my title: gender bias exams. If the case had sufficient information about the industry, I don't mind it. However, this MK case has very little information about the industry (most information is about the channel). Plus the exam instructions did not exclude information outside of the case, meaning that people familiar with MK are at a distinct advantage when it comes to this exam.

Anyway, I'm done bitching. In between taking breaks, which were in between brief spurts of studying, I bought a pair of shoes yesterday (for those who are keeping score, thats: study, break, shop, break, study), which led to this conversation:

Me: I bought shoes yesterday!
Nameless: Oh, how are they?
Me: Cole Haan, they are very comfy!
Nameless: How comfy?
Me: Fits like a condom, it's great.
Nameless: Condoms are comfy?

Despite finals, this is still a very relaxing week! Alright, back to beauty products. I can't wait to go to Cozumel. Hopefully can scuba dive a bit and also learn how to wind surf (again) and surf.

Eric also goes to White Castle

Hey, in my defense:
1. I have never been to White Castle
2. I just saw Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle
3. It was my first time watching Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle
4. It's finals week...
5. Did I mention it was also the first time I saw Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle?

Anyway, the burgers were disgusting. But the experience was good. And this might be the first time I've developed a craving while watching TV.

Also on the plate in the past few days were:

West Egg: can't beat greasy and oily brunch. Country Fried Steak and Grabowski are highly recommended. By the way, they have grapefruit juice too, so your entire sober up package is here.

Indian Garden: AS has been recommending this place since the start of the school year... uh... I mean start of LAST school year. I finally went with Shmoo, PP, IMa and his wife Elena. It was good. Rare in that it was Indian food that didn't put me to sleep. The Poori is highly recommended!

Sola: I'll let the pictures speak for themselves... this place beats Erwin's brunch. Plus there was plenty of light to take decent pictures. The waiters were freaking tall though.

French toast with marble sauce

White chocolate bread pudding

My dad called this morning and asked about my eating habits. I guess he's been seeing all these eating out pictures that he's getting worried. No worries, dad, I'm just not taking pictures of:
1. Instant noodles
2. Chuncky soup
3. 45 different forms of dumplings
4. Microwave dinner
5. BnJ pints

By the way, I just found out that Google Talk can be used to place pretty good calls to others who also use Google Talk. If you use Google's chat program within Gmail, you won't have this function. Anyway, fun stuff. Use it.

Back to finals. Arg. I had a very elaborate dream about going to Mexico and having my camera stolen. Not good times. I recovered it in my dreams, but still...

Finals!

Sake Dim Sum Party

One of the best experiences I had in business school is that of student group leadership. With the conclusion of the Sake Dim Sum Party last Saturday, my tenure as a Chicago Asia Pacific Group co-chair has officially ended. I still have a few loose ends to tie up next quarter (including a visit by the CEO of JWT China!), but I'm basically done.

I must say that my experience with CAPG has been the most rewarding experience of all my business school endeavors. Yes, more than classes, TNDCs, poker games, ski trips, etc etc. Actually, the reason is quite simple: friends.

Some people in business school (such as p***y) think that student group co-chairs run the school and should do everything to enhance student life. Such motivation stems from love of power and also willingness to help respectively, which is great if it is the latter (I sincerely hope so!). Depending on your perspective, you could love the result or the process. I love the process.

So here's what I've learned from CAPG, all good for life:

1. Friendships. Not only did I make great friends with the co-chairs, I also made great friends with volunteers (thank you AW and TT, you guys are incredible). Having the chance to work closely with different people is great. And sometimes not so great, but hey... still got to know him or her!

2. Leadership. The best place to practice leadership is at a student organization. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You are dealing with different personalities, different type of events, different type of responsibilities, non-MBAs, the administration, budgets, etc. Yup, it's like a real business except that when you screw up, the administration comes to the rescue.

3. Network. Someone once commented that being a CAPG co-chair will limit your network in the Chinese population. Load of bull shit. Nothing will limit your network if you work for it. But being a co-chair does help the network with other co-chairs and also within your group.

4. Crisis management. I feel the rush when shit happens. Not that I want shit to happen, but those are times where everything is tested. And that is the essence of leadership: how can you turn crisis into opportunities? Either way, in such a protected environment as the GSB, it's the perfect place to practice crisis management!

5. Mentorship. I enjoy being mentored and mentoring. Giving something back to the community has been something that is missing from my resume because I prefer a more intimate form of mentorship.

Multiple Reviews on Everything!

So much to review... starting with all the work I faced, as discussed previously.

Personal Strategy: well, at least I kept my promise in doing some actual work. It's about 90% complete. I went through multiple versions and I think I have finally found the correct formula.

Marketing Channels: a mess to be cleaned up... and will be. I'm going to learn more about team dynamics and labor division than marketing channels from this project.

Orion's Mind: seems like the team is getting things together. Let's see how our audience will react to our proposals.

Private Equity Finance: yup, still open to a C... and it still puts the big fear (and hurt) in me.

Black Snake Moan: for those in the US, you may have seen those weird commercials with Sam L Jackson chains Christina Ricci. Well, I got to see the 2 hour version of it... with added bonus of watching Justin Timberlake act like a whimp... and uh... a very naked Christina Ricci. Anyway, I won't spoil the movie for you, but I liked it quite well. Not because of the nudity, but the simple premise of the movie.

PJ Clarke: it's just a sports bar. But the ribs were pretty good and, my god, the ice cream cookie was to die for.

Blue Water Grill: dinner on Sunday night was at the surprisingly tranquil Blue Water Grill. The Sea Bass was excellent. The Mahi Mahi was okay, though the Shiitake mushrooms more than made up for it. Dessert was a donut hole with molten chocolate inside and you dip it in vanilla sauce. Something called the lollipop... awesome.

Gibson's: this old school steakhouse never disappoints. I had the Chicago Cut and Pecan Pie for dessert. The Cut was a very juicy steak though there were sections of fat that was a bit disappointing. I guess you can't avoid those. One of the best done medium rares though, which I would argue as a lost art in steakhouses - too often than not they get too safe and over cook the meat.

Chinatown restaurant: why would I even credit them with a review. The new "Taiwanese" restaurant disappointed badly. I'm going to stick with Joy Yee's and Keung Kee.

Current Mood

Well, here's a good picture that described my current mood. I've been typing up my personal strategy paper (fascinating project from the Business Policy class) which is supposed to utilize strategies we learn from business and apply it to out own personal lives.

The picture is taken in Scotland, and you can see a couple in the lower right hand corner enjoying the sunset.

Apologies for the pictures from De La Costa

You can't see them because they are not jpg format. They are raw files. I wonder why Blogger cannot show raw files.

Oh well.

Marketing = Cult

So right now, I'm sitting in my marketing channel class, and it's showing a DVD clip about how marketing has changed... into a cult. It's no longer just an ad or a product. It's a life style and experience.

They then showed "cult members". Started with Falun Gong member and ended with Mac users. They were talking in the same wavelength though. Scary.

Okay, back to class.

Food vs. Work

Regardless of the work that I was facing, I went to De La Costa for some fine dining with a friend (Here's a prior review). Excellent stuff.

The restaurant has a very good ambiance and the food was great. Last time I went was limited to appetizers and tapas. This time we had the steakentre which was a good surprise. The dessert (some strawberry soufflé + chocolate mousse + avocado ice cream) was good and each separate item complimented each other very well. Too bad my pictures were very good.

Naturally, I have made no progress in any of my homework. Oh well. This entire week is going to be food dominated, ending with (hopefully) Gibson's on Monday night. Can't wait. Yup, and on the work front, I hope to get started on my personal strategy paper. I have a good idea on what exactly I want to write... so I guess that means I have no excuse to not make progress this week! Had a really rough class in photography - it felt like Corp Fin.

Anyway, here are some pictures to tickle your palate.

Hamachi Cerviche

Uruguarian Steak with Tempura Green Beans

Looking Ahead

Here are some of the latest comments I've received on my blog:
"Your blog has become a food blog...!"
"WHO GOT ARRESTED!?"
"Who are your dates? Send me a picture!"
"Are you still studying at Chicago?"

The answer to the last is "yes". And I'm looking ahead for the next few weeks and feeling the big hurt: 14-pager of personal strategy (don't ask, I don't know) that counts for 40% of my grade, a take home final that's worth 50%, two marketing projects together worth 40%, and the new venture lab class that I am auditing, of which I hold a responsibility to my teammates.

Not good times. I don't know what exactly happened this quarter; I've been very busy all the time but not very stressed out. Perhaps the stress will come in a few days.

I like most of my classes this quarter. The audit New Venture Lab has been very rewarding, albeit a little discouraging when I learn more about our entrepreneur's business. The marketing channel class has potential if the class time was halved and more advance issues are discussed. The private equity class has opened new windows for me... and also opened windows for a potential C.

I have mixed feelings for the Business Policy class: for the most part, this is the most inspiring class I've taken at the GSB; at times, I feel that the class is a drag. It's inspiring because Professor Davis seeks to provoke thought. His methods are a bit unconventional (including listening to a Jazz band perform improv to teach creativity) but entertaining. If you listen carefully and keep linking his lectures to your life experiences, you will find more meaning in your life and hopefully help you be more aware of your own adventures.

GSB Rumor Mills

GSB rumor mills are always fun. Obviously there's the Big V rumor since the start of the school year. I was probably one of the last to know so there was no guessing involved. The latest rumor of a person getting arrested after the Winter Formal, however, has taken a life of its own. In our marketing channel study group, we started to list clues of who the person might be. So much for studying. Today at DimSum, we were discussing the various stories that happened. So far, I've heard consistent descriptions of the person and different versions of what happened. As a result, we've commissioned BlogSat to investigate. I expect a SOAR analysis.

Anyway, some random thoughts:

Heat is an awesome movie and Robert De Niro is really good. Oh, and the federal agent in Prison Break and President Palmer in 24 is also in Heat. It's on TNT, I can't help it. Good stuff. I've posted about 24 before here and here. Prison Break will deserve its own post soon.

Shmoo's comments on me having TWO smoking hot dates solicited a comment from one of the two smoking hot dates. Either she's oblivious to the fact that she's smoking hot or she's oblivious to the fact that she was hanging out with me for a long time... or she's silly. Actually, the more I think about it, she's just oblivious in general. haha.

We seek advice from all sorts of friends all the time. Questions on career, academic, relationships, family, friends, etc etc. How serious should one take advice from other people? I'm thinking this because, one, I give advice all the time and I find myself wondering whether people take my advice seriously, and, two, I have been the subject of advice lately and I find those advices sometimes questionable and hurtful. Which circles back to the advice I give people: maybe I give advice that hurts others too.

Or... I just think too much.

Chinese New Year

Sadly, this picture is the only thing Chinese about my Chinese New Year this year. Chinese New Year coincided with the GSB Winter Formal. Being a member of the Greater China Club, I got a $30 discount off the $80 ticket price. Also, I didn't have to rent a tux because traditional Chinese outfits would qualify as formal. All hail being cheap! I'm in.

Turns out I wasn't the only cheap Chinese. haha. Just kidding. We had a great time. This picture obviously was the most fun with myself, CI, CC, and CM. Otherwise, not many highlights from the night: the facilities were great, date was smoking hot, music was okay, it was crowded, the booze was good, the food was half bad, and the sushi was downright scary - they came in three to four colors, including blue, yellow, purple, and white. Scary.

Rumor has it that someone got arrested after the Formal and someone was sent to the hospital. Who said Chicago MBAs are boring!?

The rest of Chinese New Year did not involve any Chinese food, which is highly unusual. I especially miss 年糕 (year cake). Sigh. Finally had some 餃子 (dumplings) on 年初五 (fifth day), which 2R told me was customary. Oh well, I guess this is, sadly, my best efforts. Double sigh.

By the way, I was told by some of my Asian friends at the GSB that it should be lunar new year, not Chinese New Year. I say for me, it's still Chinese New Year. But I'll try and call it lunar new year if the context is with other people.

I hate

When Tim Hardaway said he hates gay people, I was waiting for my car to arrive in the valet. I was shocked and, frankly, mortified. I'm more shocked at his stupidity than his views. Here's a former NBA player, fairly popular in his days (man, I miss the TMC), has been around media for a while, etc etc. How could he just go on radio and say such things!? Is he out of his mind?

Anyway, regardless of what you think of Tim Hardaway or his views, here's a great interview of Hardaway. I now have a bit more sympathy for him.

She who makes dessert

is the greatest classmate. And I apologize (please keep inviting me for the next dessert tasting) for forgetting to put that in the food review:

Rose shaped chocolate cake

Dessert platter with the above, banana sponge cake, and strawberry shortcake

Dessert platter again with creme brulee (my favorite), apple pie, and chocolate mousse cake

Someone asked me what is the most important take away from school. I say people, especially she who makes dessert. =)

Another restaurant I left out was Heaven on Seven. If you go with a party of six or more, you should definitely try the Slices of Heaven, consisting of eight different desserts from the restaurant, including pecan pie (another Josekin favorite), chocolate pecan pie, peanut butter pie, creme brulee, mud pie, some coconut thingy (not a big fan), and others I have now forgotten about.

This week I'm heading to Gibson's... their desserts are HUGE. Last time we had the turtle pie (one of my all time favorites, right behind Shula's creme brulee) and the six of us couldn't finish the dish.

Anyway... she who makes dessert is the best classmate. I will not return to private equity homework... with a very empty stomach.

Indulge

Somehow, this has become a week of indulgence. Good times all around, though my mid section won't agree. To hell with the mid section (especially for you, MZ)... I'm gonna eat first and worry later.

Bandera - lunch on Capitalist Trap Day was excellent. I had a steak sandwich with hand cut freedom fries (oh, how easy we forget about the follies in our government). The steak sandwich was one of the best I've ever had. Having the radish on the side was a good idea too. However, the star of the meal is the Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich. A full stomach didn't stop me from devour that thing. Next time I go I will try some chicken - the rotisserie that we could see from the door looked very inviting. Verdict: can do a lot more times since it's so close to home.

The Tasting Room - I skipped dinner on Capitalist Trap Day (sorry, I can't resist; I'm not bitter; I just find it funny that we need one special day to proclaim our love for someone else; nope, I'm not bitter.) and went to The Tasting Room instead. Had a champagne flight - three glasses of reserve champagne - that was too good for me to recognize how good it was. There was also a couple making out on the sofa behind me that kept distracting our table. haha. The final damage was damaging though. Verdict: come with a real date instead of three other single people.

Erwin - after reading La Voyageur's blog, I've had this restaurant on my hit list. They only serve brunch on Sundays, so I've waited my fair share of time before finally being able to go. The place surprised me a little with the ambiance - just feels comfortable and happening, yet I can't really pinpoint what it is. It wasn't packed, which was surprising, but certainly welcoming for a cold Sunday morning. Anyway, the food was of course very good. La Voyageur talked about poached eggs, which I remembered wrongly as eggs benedict, so I ordered one. It was pretty good and the salmon on it was excellent. It got a bit cold towards the end of the meal though. Dessert was yet another ice cream sandwich. Good... but not Oreo. Verdict: I like the place more than the food, and the food was also pretty damn good. Oh, here are some pictures... the eggs benedict, crab cake, and ice cream sandwich. I should take more pictures of food.

Vermilion - 2R's birthday was at this Indian-Latin American fusion place. There were little stalls that they used red curtains to create some privacy. I didn't like them. To the food: the Indian style tapas was an excellent fusion dish. While fusion is generally good, it is not always great. Often the dish ends up in the middle of the two cuisines and some of the original tastes are lost. After ordering a lobster for entree, I said "I usually don't order lobsters outside of Boston because the standards are so high, but this is an award winning dish, so..." I can't remember which award it won, and I should really dig that list out, because I want to be a bit weary of it. The lobster was cooked too much and wasn't really tender. It didn't feel like seafood. The Indian sauce and Latin American condiments were pretty good, but the lobster and the coconut rice didn't really cut it. PP made a blueberry cheesecake that was pretty good. Vermilion's chocolate cake was a bit to much after the meal. Verdict: overrated by a bit, but a tapas based meal could be surprisingly good.

Dig

If you are using Google Reader, you won't see the map on the right of this post. Very interesting... someone from India, Vietnam, and middle of China is reading my blog.

Anyway, I wanted to bitch about the weather. All you in Chicago know it's cold, but yesterday really reminded me of Boston. Last winter I don't think I've used the shovel to dig. Yesterday, unfortunately, I did. It was quite a work out, damn it. Yup, I was digging a parking space for myself and then digging the car back out of that spot. In all honesty, it wasn't bad: only about 5 minutes of digging. It's just that I haven't done that in a while and it's frustrating to smell rubber burning.

Interestingly, our marketing channel class just went through the Goodyear Tire case. Mmmm... burning rubber.

V Day Special: Thoughts from Classes

I'm not sure if my recent deep thought mode is a function of free time or of inspirations from classes. I would like to believe that it's the latter. After all, I did spend $4,000 per class at the GSB, damn it. Anyway, here's my fake proof (to myself, really) that it's worth the ticket price.

A couple of days ago, I had an epiphany on why I will be single on Valentines Day (don't fall into the Capitalist trap!): funny Eric is what people come to like... but intense Eric is a bit much given the contrast. Just keep this in mind for a while...

Tuesday night was photography class on portraits. The assignment was to pick a picture that most represented the subject, who was a stranger to the photographer, and one that least represented the subject. Everybody in class would see the photo and answer the question "What does this picture say about this person?". Apparently, the three pictures of me represent many different characters and emotions. The enthusiastic and passionate Eric was the one I liked the most. The relaxed and easy going one was the one my photographer liked the best. In as simple a thing as a photograph, the different sides of me are actually quite evident.

Wednesday morning was Business Policy, which I talked about a lot in prior posts. The class was about creativity and how to harness it. But the part I liked the most is the theater of characters. Basically, you have five different sets of personalities: one that you show to the audience, one that you are uncomfortable showing to the audience, one that you don't show to the audience, one that the audience sees but you don't, and one that nobody knows about, not even yourself. Very inspiring for me. Perhaps by thinking about this more, I can "solve" my epiphany.

Anyway, that's about it for classes. I had a nice V-day get together with single people at the GSB. I sat there and thought that this is what business school is all about. Know your friends better and have a good time. We went through many interesting topics, including whom from our current class would you want to have dinner with in 20 years, whom you buy stock in, the new marketing campaign at the GSB, is love a feeling or experience, are student leaders self serving, would you rather have Bush (he went to HBS by the way) as a classmate or someone who is a true business school student, among others...

Was this a function of being single on Valentines Day? Or was it just a natural step in my maturation as a person? I don't know. But I do know this: the coincidental collision between my epiphany, two subsequent classes, and one night of conversation has helped me grow in the last 48 hours.

Oh well, while I'm on the virtue and worth of classes: The New Venture Lab class that I am auditing has three entrepreneur speakers... rather than describing my feelings, I thought two pictures would tell the whole story of entrepreneurs. (yes, I'm lazy)

Animal Planet and MBA

Well, it's come to my attention that Animal Planet is finally showing Massive Planet this Friday (Feb 16th) at 1:00 pm. I highly recommend it, as you can see from my previous posts here and here. There are lessons to be learned by MBAs there, I think, for better or worse... and of course this relates to my business policy class.

Anyway, just wanted to give that friendly reminder. I doubt I would be able to see it myself since I have group meetings then... arg.

Oh, this picture is from in front of the Art Institute. Da Bears. Post-SuperBore. Sadly, it gets more attention than the artwork inside the Art Institute. =)

Fun Picture

Now here's a picture that's fun, taken in 2Y's apartment. It's a little over-exposed, but it was fun to try different settings to get the best effect. This one was it, after 5 to 6 tries.

I was looking at this picture, and suddenly felt that it most represented my feelings in some of my classes, that I was sometimes there and sometimes not... but in general relaxed and happy while I was there. =)

Speed Dating

I'm sorry to tell you that I met neither Ms. Perfect nor Ms. Psycho-Bitch at speed dating. So unlike my counterpart CL, I don't have any crazy stories from the speed dating event at the GSB. Nonetheless, I can share some thoughts with you.

Here's how the whole deal works: there were 180 of us, half men and half women. I sit across from a gal for three minutes, and then I move five spots (more on this later) down and repeat the process with another gal. It's that simple.

Obviously, three minutes is a very short time and not enough to talk about anything significant. Hence when I get asked which year of business school I am in, or what concentration I am on track to get, or where I will be working, I get quite restless. Can we talk about food and traveling instead? Or music? Or movies? Or books? Anything but school and class, please.

And how many people asked me about class and school? All but three. Two were GSB gals whom I knew from before so we weren't limited to three minutes. One was a cool gal who liked to travel so we talked about that. I tell you, U of C does weird things to non-MBAs.

Since there were 90 pairs of men and women, one can't really meet everybody. Hence the "plus five spot" rule. It's a good way to get people moving around and tour the entire room... but, uh, there were certainly a few times when I wish it was a "plus four/six rule" instead.

Anyway, it's time for a top ten list: if I could do this again, I would...
10. ask the first question: what is your favorite food (courtesy of CS)... or if food isn't your thing, ask about the last movie she watched
9. not talk about Chicago weather
8. put some simple notes on the back of the sheet - by the end, I couldn't remember any names... not even the numbers, actually
7. let her talk... if this doesn't work, she's a keeper. heh heh.
6. write down all the numbers of everybody I met (save the psycho bitch). Since three minutes is too short, if you didn't feel like fleeing, it's probably okay. You need two sides to agree anyway.

If I were the organizer, I would...
5. offer some of the above advice to participants
4. organize a smaller event with pre-screening, so all dudes gets to meet all gals, and save those "I wish I was a plus four this time" feelings and help the guys focus on the task at hand rather than the lost opportunity next seat.
3. allow one "skip card"... I didn't need it, but I'm sure some did. You may have one guy whom all the gals uses the skip card on. He can then at least get a refund.
2. have multiple breaks that allow for more alcohol, and maybe some catch up time. Have an after party at a real bar / club.
1. allow one "change seat card" to be used - yeah, it would be controversial, but it'll also be hilarious...!

Interacting Parties Assignment

This is an exercise when we take pictures of no more than three people interacting. I guess the point of the exercise was to have the photographer get close to the subject and interact with the subject before taking pictures. I asked everybody whether I could take their picture before I did take their picture. Frustrating because a lot of them become very aware of my camera's existence. very difficult assignment.

Hamza was talking to Akshay when I took this picture. I go enough of a background to get a story told. I'm willing to sell this for him to put on match.com. I think it will generate some traffic, as well as rebut some anonymous comment about GSB boys. haha. How about it, Hamza?

Two first years (I think) in the Winter Garden. I really liked this picture because it was very sharp and the background was compelling. It's a classic Winter Garden shot during recruiting. You can also see shmoo in the background. Ops, did I blow your cover?

Helen and Sean discussing something with Sharron. I don't particularly like this picture. But I needed a picture that had three people interacting, and this was the closest one I could present. The contrast between Sean's jacket and Helen's sweater is nice. Helen's hands are funny and make a good story. The back shot of Sean also gives a sense of seriousness that also contrasts Helen... and it also shows that he is listening intently despite not seeing his face. The third person, Sharron, is not in the picture, but she is clearly involved in the picture, so I like that irony as well. The background was a little too soft for my tastes and it wasn't entirely clear where they were discussing.

Depth of Field Assignment

Depth of field is basically how much area near your subject remains in focus. This assignment is for us to understand the use of f-stops. I didn't really understand the assignment until after I submitted it. At least I knew afterwards. I did this exercise in HPC. There's much more to the the HPC than the Winter Garden, as I found out.

This is a picture with shallow depth of field. Only the first ball is in focus. As you can see, the focus was not on the number, due to my lack of experience. I used auto focus, which finds the contrast points; in this case, it was the edge of the first ball and the darker table. Should have used manual. Other feedback included using a larger f-stop and probably better arrangement of the balls. The background on top was distracting.

Lonely student walking across the deserted Winter Garden. I snapped this picture quickly without much thought since the person was going to get out of the center soon. Hence the composition was a little odd. The GSB flag was cut off and the reflection (I like not having the whole body reflected) was unintentional. Feedback included the nice symmetry of the furniture that led the eyes to the subject. This picture, however, missed the assignment objective. I wanted to show deep depth of field, but could only think of taking pictures at a distant to create it.

The sofa shot is my favorite. I like the contours created within the picture from the sofa and the staircase behind it. I actually knelt there for a while to try and get a good angle. I think this one is pretty good. Good contrast with the wood and sofa. Feedback was quite positive... mostly on the subtle lines that run through the picture. There was some overexposure on the sun reflection.

Shutter Speed Assignment

This is from our first photo assignment, which was to freeze motion and allow motion.

This is a picture from Cultural LPF at the GSB. Japanese students took lead in cultural LPF and did mochi pounding, traditionally done during new year celebrations.

I can't remember who was pounding it, but I do remember I deliberately avoided the person and focused on the real action.

Feedback (my favorite part of photo class, only because there are so many subtleties that I as the photographer don't even notice. But the critic's eye is much sharper): a bit far from the action since the hammer draws the attention yet it is small in the picture, or a bit too close for the audience cannot see the context of the action or the subject making the action, difficult to understand the story behind the photograph unless explained. Water bucket on the left a bit distracting.

This is the picture that freezes motion. Personally, I didn't like this picture very much. Too much space, especially at the bottom. If I could get close the lower to take the picture, I would have. Feedback: the columns on the side compliment the picture a lot; I honestly cannot remember whether that was intentional, but it's gotta be since it fills the frame nicely. With everything straight in the background, the subject being tilted helps it stand out. Contrast is nice.

Classes

Someone asked me how my quarter was going... I gave it some thought, and this is all I could come up with: busy, but not stressful.

Some food for thought, from quotes from my Business Policy class (which, by the way, I described to a friend to day as "having flashes of brilliance, and then moments of boredom"):

"I have always found that if I could create an environment around me in which everyone felt that they were learning, I would have a hot group. I have always tried to include people in what I was doing, to encourage them..."

"What I am interested in doing is helping to create a kind of musical space. And I enter this space with my ideas, and all of my colleagues... with their ideas... in this space we find one another"

Being (very / too) involved in student activities, I see a lot of my colleagues in action in their respective leadership positions. Since the above quotes illustrate the golden standards for a leader (along with desire and vision) for me, I did a quick mental survey of my colleagues. I think a lot of them have a I-can-do-it-all mentality and lead by example. Not many lead through motivating others. Obviously it's difficult when you put together a bunch of alpha dogs together. But still... anyway, I strive to be that.

Meanwhile, I'm doing a case on Pizza Hut on their channel strategy. SO HUNGWY.

Doing a very interesting photography project now. Will share results. Also, I've had some favorite pictures from my class. They are all on my CDs, so it will take some time before I get them here. Meanwhile, here's picture I took from a one-year olds birthday party. Who said GSB doesn't have cute girls!?

SuperBore

SuperBowl was boring. You can never guarantee the quality of the game, but the American advertising world usually makes sure you have a good time with the ads. Unfortunately, not this year. (BSLW, you didn't miss much) I have two suggestions:

1. Segment the ads into offends a stereotype and PC / doesn't offend a stereotype; pick half from each segment.
2. Ban car ads... and ban exclusive advertising rights to one beer.

The game itself was alright with a thrilling first quarter and somewhat thrilling second quarter. The second half I could have slept through.

But the ultimate highlight is of course the first time Wing Squad did their work outside of Boston. Three of them flew in from Boston and one from San Francisco, plus spectators. You know all those college debacles which forever gets discussed whenever you and your buddies meet up? Except that the first few minutes you feel kind of awkward bringing it up because it was so embarrassing and you haven't seen your buddies for a while? Well, it took all of 10 minutes to make the first "he peed on your bag" joke (don't ask). And then all the good (and bad) times started to pour out. I love college.

Wings were from House of Wing (singular...) and were quite small, contrary to the Wing Work Wings which feature mutated chicken, tumorous wings, and hair. I miss Wing Works. Anyway, we each ate 30 and accomplished the mission. No struggle though, which usually becomes the highlight of the SuperBowl when the game slows down.

Next year, I will be in Hong Kong during SuperBowl... maybe I should fly to Boston for the game.

By the way, Chicago is below zero degrees (-18 Celsius) today. It's been like this for a solid week. Outside my apartment on the bridge? Probably -15 degrees windchill (-25 Celsius). I need a beach for Spring Break.

The Fortune Cookie says...

"An intriguing new romantic interest cheers you up."

Amen. Just in time for speed dating, Valentines Day, and Winter Formal. Yay!

And since first years are turning the Winter Garden into the hub of stress, I recall one of my favorite posts. And if you are a first year reading this, it's all true.

Photography and life

This is the 812th time that I'm mentioning my photography class outside of my regular course work. Let me recount the week:

Monday: Lab from 7 to 10. We printed out work (contact sheets and favorite pictures from the depth of field exercise) from the previous week. After that, we took out our first assignment (shutter speed exercise) for critique. Basically how this works is that you show your photo to a small group of students and ask three questions: what do you like about my picture, what do you not like about my picture, what would you change about it.

I guess you could apply those three questions to anything in life! For example, this past week, I liked efforts in class (staying awake...), I did not like my efforts in my study group, and I would change my schedule to do the lab on Sunday night instead. Yet I digress...

The feedback I got was very good. There are many subtle things that I would not notice myself. This doesn't just cover the bad things, but also the good things as well. One person commented that I framed the picture with the surrounding structures - I didn't notice it... but I will next time.

Tuesday: Class from 7 to 10. Today, the lesson was to review the depth of field exercise and also talk about the psychological impact between the photographer and the subject. This is when I realized that I didn't really understand the depth of field exercise fully. I was supposed to play with F-stops to adjust the depth of field, which I did... but not really playing it to the full extent. Instead, I used the distance between me and the subject as the primary tool to create depth of field.

In the second half of class, we talked about when we can take pictures of people and when we can't. It was a very interesting discussion. What gives me the right to take pictures of strangers while they are enjoying the scenery? That's why I rarely take portraits... I enjoy buildings and wild life - I don't have to ask them for permission.

Our instructor claims that, as a photographer, he has never paid for or provided favors for a picture to be taken. Fascinating. I think I will follow his lead. So far, I have not violated it. Denise, on the other hand, has been coerced into paying after taking pictures of local people at Kathmandu and Tibet.

Friday: Me being photographer from 9 to 11. This was an exercise to create connection between the photographer and the subject - I'm the subject today. Now, I 've never modeled before, but my partner Y-san took the approach that I was thinking about. Ask questions and then take pictures. After an hour of conversation that covered mostly traveling, the project was done. Phew. Very interesting though, as when we talked about photography, I actually found myself smarter (in photography anyway) than before.

Tomorrow: I'll be doing the aforementioned exercise, but with me being the photographer. My subject is a fellow consultant who has been at it for years. Should be interesting.


In other news... the Wing Squad is revived... they are coming to Chicago for this years Superbowl.

Provoking thoughts

First years are finally starting their recruiting and have managed to transform the Winter Garden into a hub of stress. Back to the post.

People in Business Policy have mixed feelings about the class. On one hand, you have me who loved The Alchemist.... and these people who left comments; on the other hand, you have the others who left different comment.

A bit more on The Alchemist. I've gotten quite a few emails and responses about it... mostly on how the book doesn't tell you how to identify a dream. I might be repeating myself here, but I don't think anyone can teach you what your dream is. You are the sole owner of the dream even if it's not apparent to you. And even if you don't know (yet), your decisions in life (presumably to maximize your utility) are implicitly directing you towards a dream. The Alchemist would argue that sooner or later the dream will become apparent.

Anyway, back to the class. Today's topic was twofold: first is how theories and stories are related and second is some stories of leaderships. I don't want to give the class away, but Davis' class has really provoked thoughts. Today, for example, I felt a rush when he started talking about showing vulnerability during a story to convey genuineness. I felt another rush when I watch the film clip on how a conductor gets the choir to work as one team.

Sort of like how I reacted when I read this Poweryogi post.

Sort of like how I reacted when my photography class started critiques of pictures I took.

Life, after all, is more than just classes and student organizations and rankings and recruiting.