Harvard Bound

Graduation Week: Thursday

2010-06-08T23:19:00.000-04:00

Ok, so obviously it is not actually the Thursday of graduation week. And obviously I overestimated the amount of time that I would have to spend blogging during my actual graduation week. Nonetheless, I didn't want to move on from Harvard Bound without spending some time reflecting on THE big day, so here is my commencement festivities recap!

The morning began bright and early -- we had to meet our sections in full regalia at 6:30am. Naturally, I arrived on time only to find out that we weren't actually leaving the business school for our "procession" to Harvard Yard for about another hour, so we spent most of that time taking photos, which is always fun. Thankfully, we had really awesome weather -- overcast and cold! I know this sounds SO counterintuitive, but since all of the commencement activities were outdoors without cover, it was to our benefit to have cool weather.

After we finally started walking across the river, we wound up standing outside of Harvard Yard for another hour before they let us sit down. Truth be told, it wasn't the most well-organized, but I guess when you're trying to cater to 30,000 people there isn't much that can be done in the logistics realm. Nonetheless, the Harvard University ceremony was nice, although I still don't totally understand why they insist on a Latin address at the beginning (tradition, tradition) and nearly an hour introducing 15 honorary doctorates (I think they spent more time reading off the biographies of those folks than they did in conferring degrees to ALL of the Harvard University schools!). The best part? None other than MERYL STREEP was there! Unfortunately, no, she wasn't our keynote speaker -- there wasn't actually a keynote speaking at all -- she was there to receive an honorary doctorate for her involvement in the arts community. She didn't get to address the crowd or anything, which I think disappointed us all (what, no photo op?), so it makes me wonder if they really just gave her that doctorate so that they could say they honored a celebrity during graduation.

After the university exercises concluded, we rushed back to the business school for a quick luncheon before our afternoon ceremony on Baker Lawn (in front of the library). This ceremony had more significance because it was just for the business school and it was when we officially walked across the stage to receive our diplomas. To be honest, I don't even really remember walking across the stage because it happened so quickly, and I was mostly focusing on not tripping and simultaneously smiling for the photographer who I knew was there snapping my portrait. Once again, they managed to pronounce my first name incorrectly, but at this point, I'm so used to it that it didn't matter all that much. :)

The whole thing lasted two hours and that was it! One minute I was a student, the next an alumna clutching a beautiful Harvard University Master of Business Administration diploma.

I know I've said this countless times before, but I still cannot believe how fast my two years at HBS went. Looking back, I know I will always remember this experience fondly and will be proud to one day support the program financially. I wish the upcoming classes, and my classmates, all the best of luck moving forward. It's sad that we will no longer see one another everyday, and that our complaints about case work will soon transition to just complaints about work. All of this fighting for a job? Soon we'll be wishing we were back in the carefree bubble of a student. I know I already want to go back and do it all over again, but we have to keep moving forward, despite our nostalgic longings, and embrace the future. As for me, I still don't know exactly what that future holds, and I'm trying desperately to convince myself that this is EXCITING, not horrifying. I haven't succeeded at that last bit just yet.

To be honest, I think this might be the end of the journey for Harvard Bound. Believe it or not, this is my 99th entry, which balances out to just about one entry per week during my HBS adventure. Not bad, if I do say so myself, and in years to come I know I'll look back and be thankful that I chronicled my journey, despite the fact that my ramblings made it into skydecks more than once. Fear not! This does not mean I am disappearing from the blog-o-sphere for good (how could I when I love writing so much!). I have already begun a new blog, albeit this new one is purely for fun and is a stark contrast from what some might consider the stuffiness of a Harvard MBA blog. My new blog, which I invite you to visit if you so choose, focuses on a personal passion of mine: entertainment, beauty and style. The address is http://www.mybeautybabble.com/. If you choose to take a peek, let me know that you came over from Harvard Bound.

Thanks again to all of you for sticking with me through the last two years and for providing endless support. See you soon!

Graduation Week: Monday

2010-05-24T19:08:00.002-04:00

The festivities have officially begun! My family doesn't get into town until Wednesday, but in the meanwhile, everyone around me has started counting down the days. It's a bit hard to feel too excited right now because my future is so unknown, but I am definitely proud of my accomplishments and in making it to graduation (if you recall, I was very seriously concerned about failing out during my first semester). Naturally, it's a very nostalgic time, so I thought I would take a few moments this week to reflect on my HBS experiences and dig up some memories from each semester. I'm going to try to tackle a semester a day, although I may have to skip Thursday due to commencement/family. These will also likely serve as my last few entries to this blog. Since I started it with the sole purpose of chronicling my HBS adventures, it seems fitting to end it when my time at HBS is also coming to a close. Now, I certainly won't be deleting the blog altogether, so hopefully Harvard Bound can live on and provide inspiration to future HBS students. I'm also toying around with the idea of creating a new blog (likely something less personal since I don't want to publicly disclose exactly where I'm living and working), so I will let you all know once I've made up my mind about that. :)

Without further ado, here are some of my favorite memories from Term 1:

- Analytics: Two years later, I still remember my two-week stint in Analytics as my favorite two weeks of my HBS experience. There was something so magical about that time -- I still insist that it's because all of the "non-traditional" aka interesting students are there, so you've got a whole range of people who can converse about topics more broad than the financial markets or hotel rewards programs (no offense to the i-bankers and consultants out there...if nothing else, you made, and will continue to make, a heck of a lot more money than me!). The academic experience was intense, but everyone was so friendly, so we all bonded as we suffered through the late nights and first finance cases as a group. Even today, two of my closest friends -- Esha and Jun -- were my sectionmates in Analytics (and luckily, my sectionmates in Section G as well!). I will miss you both! Also a shout out to my Analytics learning team who will always have a special place in my heart!

- Bonding with my full-term Learning Team (#18!): We've somewhat lost touch this year since we're no longer meeting every morning, but boy oh boy did we manage to have some fun first semester. Whether we were laughing over our Subarctic Simulation results, Qiao and "Panda Porn," or Aneal and "Sleeper Cell," we always managed to add some fun into our 7am meetings. And even outside of the classroom we became good friends, meeting for dinner and drinks on several occasions. I learned SO very much from these people and hope that I was able to teach them a thing or two as well -- if nothing else, I hope I helped them learn tolerance when helping non-financiers build models. ;)

-My first "fall" and "winter": Seriously folks, people take seasons for granted! Growing up in Florida, it's always been year-round summer, and while some might think that's the ideal, I can tell you that it gets really old, really fast (or at least it does after 20 years of it!). Thus, my first fall and winter in Boston represented such beauty to me. Watching the leaves change and the first drops of snow hit the ground, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I remember one winter afternoon reaching out and touching the snow that covered the bushes when no one was looking so I could see what it felt like. Sadly, I never did get a chance to build a snowman or make a snow angel!

- Exploring Boston: The Duck Tour was a hoot, Boston Common is a beautiful place for an afternoon stroll, the Freedom Trail gives this city such depth and Newbury Street is a not-to-be-missed destination for any (aspiring) fashionista. Although I definitely am leaving without experiencing all that Boston has to offer (I never did make it to the science museum, a Red Sox game or to Cape Cod), I feel that, especially first semester, I got a good dose of what this city has to offer. Other favorites: dinner and drinks at Top of the Hub at the Prudential Center, going to see Coldplay in concert at the TD Bank North Garden, visiting the Boston Aquarium with Tausha and Lauren, cruising around Boston Harbor during orientation week...

- Getting my Term 1 grades! An odd memory for a "favorite," but I just have to pay homage to this fateful day in December (or was it January?) when I saw that I had successfully made it through my first semester. That day was a clear turning point in my HBS career as it marked the moment I was able to let go of a TON of my stress and really enjoy the rest of my RC year.

All right, I'm all tapped of creative juices for now. More memories soon!

Disappearance!

2010-05-08T18:35:00.002-04:00

Seeing as I have been gone from the blogosphere for several weeks now, I thought it was high time that I write an entry explaining my absence. Firstly, exams, papers and group projects took up a ton of my time during the last two weeks of April. I am so happy that everything is done and turned in -- I believe that I'll get my final set of grades next week. While I already feel a sort of sadness/nostalgia knowing that I'll never again read an HBS case and sit down to discuss it in Aldrich, I feel proud to have completed two years of intense education here. In a lot of ways, I'm ready for a break. I will look forward to coming home from work at the end of the day and not having to worry about a case analysis due the following morning. :)

On the 30th of April, I went in for surgery. I don't want to go into too much detail, since it's pretty personal, but I can tell you that everything went well, despite recovering in the hospital for about a week. My mom has been up in Boston with me since the surgery, and I am so thankful for her assistance and support. Also, the HBS Community has really come out in full force to help my mom and I in any and every way that we need it. I am so impressed by how thoughtful and gracious everyone has been.

As of two days ago, I am re-settled on the HBS campus and getting ready for graduation, which is in about 3 weeks. Then on May 29th, I've got a flight scheduled to Florida and who knows how long I'll be there living in my mom's living room on an air mattress. Eek!

Since I'm still in recovery from my surgery, I won't be doing anything too exciting over the next couple weeks, other than catching up with friends, reading some good books and continuing what is seemingly a never-ending job search. I probably won't be around blogging much, unless something exciting unexpectedly happens, although I will get back online the week of graduation so I can document all of our commencement activities (things happen over several days here and I will be taking lots of pictures to share!).

Until then, thanks for your patience and support! Also, if you're interested, Harvard Bound secured 5th place in the Clear Admit Best of Blogging Awards, yippee!

Harvard Bound Nominated for Clear Admit's Best of Blogging Award

2010-04-12T16:39:00.003-04:00

I'm so excited to announce that Harvard Bound has been nominated in the 2009-2010 Clear Admit Best of Blogging contest. Thanks so much to the Clear Admit team for all of their support over the last year in promoting Harvard Bound, and now for the nomination! Unfortunately, only nominated bloggers and Clear Admit staffers are eligible to vote in the awards, but I certainly welcome anyone who wants to help cheer me on via the Comments section! :)

You can check out all of the nominated blogs (20 current students and 20 applicants) by visiting this link: http://blog.clearadmit.com/2010/04/best-of-blogging-nominees-2009-2010/.

The winners will be announced on May 4th -- the top blogger receives either an iPod Touch or an Amazon gift certificate, and runners up are offered WSJ/Financial Times subscriptions!

Wish me luck (and good luck to the other nominees)!

A Modern Day Fairy Tale (thanks to my dad!)

2010-04-11T16:19:00.001-04:00

This is the fairy tale that we should have been reading as little girls!

Once upon a time, in a land far away, a beautiful, independent, self-assured princess happened upon a frog as she sat, contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle.

The frog hopped into the princess' lap and said: Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young prince that I am and then, my sweet, we can marry and setup housekeeping in your castle with my mother, where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel grateful and happy doing so.

That night, as the princess dined sumptuously on lightly sauteed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled and thought to herself:

I don't fucking think so!

Exploring Massachusetts: Salem and Plymouth

2010-04-06T09:11:00.004-04:00

As my time in Boston slowly edges to a close, I really wanted to take some time to explore all of the historical and/or touristy sites that this state has to offer. Despite living here for nearly two years, there's a ton that I haven't seen, either because time hasn't allowed, or because access to a motor vehicle has been scarce. This past weekend, though, my college friend and sorority sister Melissa came to town and since she is brave enough to drive in this crazy state, we rented a car for three days and spent some time in two of Massachusetts' most famous areas: Salem and Plymouth.

Our trip to Salem consisted of a visit to the Salem Witch Museum (apparently Salem's most visited museum), where they gave a 30-minute panorama-type retelling of the 1692 Witch Trials. Something like 19 innocent people were killed due mostly to false testimony and scapegoating -- one poor man was pressed to death.

We also spent a lot of time walking around the cute town where there are lots of witch-related and even normal shops. Of course, we both bought cute Salem t-shirts (mine says "Stop in For a Spell," so cute) and took lots of fun pictures, including this one memorializing Elizabeth Montgomery, an actress best known for her role as Samantha in Bewitched:

We also visited the earliest burial grounds in the town, although none of the convicted witches were buried here. There was a Pilgrim in this graveyard and the wife of one of the "witches." There was also a Witch Memorial with benches laid out for each of the people that were killed -- each bench had a name engraved with their death date and the way they were murdered. Lots of people laid flowers on top of the stones.

Also while in Salem, we ate lunch on the Pickering Wharf harbor and took photos in front of the Witch House, which is the oldest standing structure in Salem. Apparently it was once the home of the Judge that convicted the witches, and eerily enough, both Melissa and I had orbs/ghosts floating in our photos of the house (look near the sign on the right side)!

Our trip to Plymouth was also fun. We got to tour a replica of the Mayflower, which is docked at Plymouth Harbor and is actually still seaworthy. Man, it was a small ship for 100 people! I think we saw a total of like 6 "beds" on the whole ship, so I can't even imagine where they put everyone unless they were a whole lot shorter and thinner than people are today!

We also went and saw the actual rock, which truth be told, was just a rock with a big 1620 carved into it. I was even more disappointed when I found out that the rock wasn't even claimed as the landing place of the Pilgrims until 120 years later in 1741! I wonder then how anyone KNEW that this particular rock was THE rock considering all of the pilgrims would have been long dead by then...Is one of our country's historic sites thus a scam??

We also went and visited Plimoth Plantation, which was a site I had been wanting to see since arriving in Boston in the fall of 2008. Basically, there are several parts: A crafts center where modern-day artisans build clothes and household items that would have been used in the 17th century, a replica 1627 English village with role-players who try to convey what life was like for the Pilgrims when they first arrived and an Indian village where modern-day Native Americans wear traditional clothing and just talk with people about their culture.

The plantation itself was really cool as there were lots of farm animals roaming about and we got to watch "Pilgrims" baking bread, engaging in metalworking, farming and tending to the animals. It was also interesting again to note how small all of the quarters were!

Overall, it was a lot of fun taking a trip back in time over the weekend and I feel like I got to see a lot of the state while we took the scenic routes (aka got lost) several times! And here's a fun fact: apparently there are a million Dunkin' Donuts in Boston. We saw 15 of them on the 30-minute route from HBS to Salem....crazy!

'Til next time!

Ready or Not, Graduation Here I Come!

2010-04-02T07:52:00.002-04:00

I'm ready...

To no longer share a bathroom: Fighting for the toilet at 7:30am when you first wake up and really have to pee is not fun, nor is dealing with someone else's MESS!
To have a kitchen again: Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, your prepared foods sections have treated me well for the last two years, but I'm really to make somre real food of my own once more (or at least try not to poison myself).
To have a bi-weekly, regular paycheck! 'Nuff said.
To be living with my two chihuahuas again. Bella and Bailey, you are a source of endless, unconditional love and I miss you like crazy!
To come home in the evenings and be able to veg in front of the television/computer without having cases to read for the next morning. I'm tired of watching Dancing With the Stars, Grey's Anatomy and Glee on my 16" computer screen.

I'm not ready...

To say goodbye to all of my wonderful international friends who will be jetting back to their home countries half-way (or farther) around the world. I will miss you all, and I hope that someday I am rich enough to come visit you all. Jun, I will start saving NOW so that I can come to your wedding in Japan!
To leave behind the wonderful resources that exist at HBS: My amazing professors who are a hotbed of the most cutting-edge research and knowledge; my fantastic career coach Jana (and all of her colleagues at MBA Career & Professional Development) who always have a pep talk ready; the beautiful Baker Library with its endless tools to help you expand your mind; and of course my brilliant classmates, who have taught me that I am NOWHERE near as smart as I thought I was...and I'm all the better now because I learned so much from you.
To forfeit my student discount at movie theatres, museums, art galleries, etc. (Why, oh why, Harvard University do you so clearly mark the expiration date on these things? Ok, I know it's for safety reasons, but I do love me some discounts.)
To have to squeeze myself into formal business clothes every morning. Sweats and my Converse sneakers make for a wonderfully comfy day.
For all my memories to fade. I find that, much as we try to hold on to every little detail, our minds must move on and sacrifice memories of old moments to make room for the new. This, in part, is why I chose to write a blog. Thankfully, many of my favorite times at HBS have been chronicled here, where they will remain forever accessible.

Less than two months until graduation. I can't believe how fast two years has gone.

Spring Break Recap

2010-03-24T19:21:00.003-04:00

I need a vacation from my vacation. In all truth, there was very little "spring" or "break" in my spring break. The Florida weather was rainy, cloudy and cold, and I packed my schedule so tightly that I exhausted myself (but for good reason!). Now I'm back in Boston and anxiously awaiting the weekend so I can do nothing, except maybe treat myself to a mani/pedi and my new favorite drink, the Starbucks Dark Cherry Mocha (YUM!). In the meanwhile, I have had many requests for a spring break recap, so here it is!

With a few potential job-related things in the works, it's hard for me to go into too much detail about my break just yet. What I can say is that I had a really fun time meeting with all sorts of people throughout Walt Disney Parks & Resorts in Orlando (my old stomping grounds!), hoping to get a better sense for the variety of roles that exist within the marketing organization and the company at large. In the process, I met with people in brands, Yellow Shoes (advertising), PR, sports, WDPRO (online), operations, CMR (Disney's version or CRM), DCL (cruise line) and more. I also had more than 5 networking phone calls over the week with folks at Madison Square Garden, HBO, MTVN/Nickelodeon and more. Phew! I'm tired just writing it all.

On the positive side, everyone I met with at Disney really seemed to love their job. Most have stayed for many years and consistently reference the plusses of a Florida lifestyle and the ability to come to work everyday and market "magic" and "pixie dust." I also get such a wonderful, homey feeling every time I walk into one of Disney's buildings. I just resonate with so many of these folks because we're all so passionate about the Disney product, the family-friendly imagery and the idea of fantasy and escapism. There are so few brands that pull this sort of emotion out of people of all ages that it's hard not to see this company as a marketing goldmine!

On the negative side, most of my meetings were met with a similar response: "We love your resume and you're a strong candidate, but...there are no jobs." My favorite response was probably: "Well, things are going to be much better a year from now." That's great, buddy, but I'm graduating THIS MAY, not next May, not this fall, or next spring, but NOW. And since a massive car payment, two chihuahuas and a storage unit full of crap officially become mine again on June 1st, 2010, I need an income and FAST. Dear Economy, please recover soon. Thanks, Gabby. I digress.

As I hinted, I did leave Florida with a couple of "seeds planted" so to speak, so some interesting opportunities could very well present themselves in the next couple of weeks. I'm trying really hard not to get my hopes up, but as all of you who follow my blog know, at the end of the day, I'm a total and complete Disneyphile and would be thrilled to go back and work for the Mouse. Now, this is not to say AT ALL that I am giving up on my New York/DC/Atlanta job search, as talk is cheap and I will not stop searching until I have an offer letter in my hand; more so, I'm just excited at the possibility of maybe being employed sooner than I expected. We shall see!

For now, it's back to the grind, finishing up the last few weeks of classes and getting moving on all of my papers and projects. Talk to you all soon!

Reflections from the 6th Annual HBS Retail & Luxury Goods Conference (Featuring Christian Siriano!!!!)

2010-03-07T15:20:00.003-05:00

Thank you to Christina for sharing her papparazi-style photos!

Before I can write coherently, I need to get this out of my system: I met Christian Siriano!!!! Yes, the Project Runway winner himself has officially graced the HBS campus with all of his fierceness and I'm in love. Now, if I'm being totally honest, I did actually root for his competitor, Ramy, the whole season he was on PR, but totally admit that Christian (and his designs) deserved the win. And he is so fabulous in person! Ahhh, I'm starstruck! Hahaha...

Ok, now for real:

I was pleasantly surprised by this year's Luxury Goods conference and would actually rank it as my second favorite of the year (with Marketing & CPG first, but then again, I did help organize that one so I'm entirely biased). I actually stayed for the entire conference (shocking since I normally leave after lunch) and found both panels and both keynotes to be very interesting and insightful.

In summary, the first keynote was Terry Lundgren, the CEO of Macy's (and P-S, he looks like a movie star) who talked mostly about the growth in their department stores and their new model of customer-centric thinking. Some highlights:

There are currently 810 Macy's and 40 Bloomingdale's in the US, and last year, the company opened their first international store -- a Bloomie's in Dubai.
The company earned $23.5 billion in revenues last year, with 70% of transactions from women (no surprise there).
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is the third most watched television show in the US (next to the Superbowl and the Oscars).
In Feb. 2010, Macy's stock price was up 21.7% as compared to just 8.1% for Saks and 5.7% for Nordstrom.

So basically, they're doing well and hoping to continue that streak by playing to the individuality of consumers (through the My Macy's initiative) at multiple price points.

From there, I attended the "E-Commerce: Creating Compelling Online Shopping Experiences" panel that featured Rachel Shechtman, the Founder of Cube Ventures, Maria Renz, the VP of Endless.com, Darcy Penick, the Divisional Merchandising Managing at ShopBop.com and Mark Weinberg, the SVP of Strategic Planning at RueLaLa.com. The conversation focused mostly on the concept of "flash sales" (with Gilt and RueLaLa as examples) and how competitive shopping is transforming the design landscape. One fact that I found interesting was that even among men's products, women are still the primary purchaser. We also talked a lot about the difference between "low prices" and "great values" in the industry.

The second panel that I attended was called "Luxury for the Masses" and featured the one and only Christian Siriano, plus Luann Via, the President & CEO of Payless Shoes, Adrian Gill, the VP of International Footwear at Puma, Rob Deeming, the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Gilt Groupe and Daria Burke, the Manager of Consumer Insights and Customer Experience at Rent the Runway.

To be totally frank, I think I only fully listened when Christian was talking. I was too consumed by staring at him fuss with his hair, glasses or magenta blouse the rest of the time. My bad. But, alas, a few interesting tidbits about his new line at Payless!

It's currently selling in 400-500 of Payless' 4,000 stores (so only a 10% penetration, not sure why...) and a customer can purchase the entire collection of shoes and accessories for $400.
His inspiration to do the line was to reach a larger portion of his fan base who want a piece of his brand but can't afford his high-end couture designs.
Payless will soon be adding beauty products to their line (unrelated to Christian, but still interesting).

Finally, the day concluded with a very inspirational speech by the CEO of Gucci, Patrizio di Marco. Patrizio called the luxury goods industry "a world of selling dreams," and stated that when he first got into business, "I really couldn't stand all the math." Patrizio also recounted the story of his life and the intermingling of his career progression from moving to Japan at age 19, where he had to learn both Japanese and English, to rebuilding the Bottega Veneta brand in 2001 to now leading the largest and most recognized luxury brand in the world (Gucci). Apparently, the company amassed $900 million in profits last year (on $4.6 billion in revenues) and continue to debut seven new collections every year (a new collection approximately every 1.5 months).

Overall, I enjoyed myself, and although I'm not pursuing a career in the luxury goods/fashion industry, I appreciated the panelists' wisdom (and LOVED the goodie bag, which included four full-size perfumes, a Gucci coin purse, a Macy's gift card, a free subscription to Harper's Bazaar and more!).

Now it's time to prepare for tonight's EMC Oscar Party! See you later!

Mid-Semester Course Review

2010-03-06T11:37:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to write this post for a couple of weeks now, but am only now getting around to it, so my apologies for the delay! The past couple of weeks have been best characterized by the words "over scheduled" and "under slept." Thankfully, spring break is just a week away, so hopefully it will be a chance to get caught up on life/work/the job search.

Overall, I'm very ambivalent about my courses this semester. Part of this has to do with the fact that my mind is really just elsewhere -- focused on the job search, my papers/projects, my personal life, basically everywhere except the classroom. This is bad, really, because this is my last chance to learn and soak up the wisdom that oozes from the pores of Harvard Business School and yet, concentration seems to be alluding me. With that said, here are my course reviews for the spring semester thus far:

1) Strategic Marketing in Creative Industries: This course is by FAR my favorite this semester, but I admit that I am entirely biased, being an entertainment junkie and all. The cases? SO interesting (I'm talking Maria Sharapova, LeBron James, Marvel comics, Warner Bros Entertainment, The CW, etc.). The class discussions? SO enlightening! Almost all of the students in the class are REALLY passionate about the entertainment industry, so we're able to dive deeper than we would if people didn't know about/have experience with the inner workings. One of my favorite takeaways thus far: the difference between a "House of Brands" and a "Branded House." Example: Marvel Enterprises has always been a "House of Brands" -- you know Spiderman, The Fantastic Four and Iron Man, but (unless you're hardcore), probably wouldn't know that those were all Marvel properties (versus DC Comics). Thus, the company operates as a House of Brands. This differs from someone like Disney. You hear the name Disney and know that Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and the like are all brands underneath that umbrella. Thus, Disney is a "Branded House" and you have expectations about the specific brands within Disney based on your perception of the company. Final mention about this class: the professor, Anita Elberse, is awesome. SO knowledgable, funny and passionate. Love her. Course Grade: A

2) Competing With Social Networks: Misiek Piskorski's class on Social Networks and the digital world is a very close second this semester, and is perhaps the class that I am LEARNING the most in (big points for that considering I thought I knew all there was to know about social media/utilities before taking this class and have squarely been proved wrong!). Truth be told, I've been excited about this class since RC year when I met with Professor Piskorski and several other students for a faculty research lunch where he presented his findings regarding Facebook. An interesting point? People spend 75% of their time on Facebook stalking other people's profiles or viewing their own profile. Also, where do men in relationships spend most of their time? Viewing profiles of women they DON'T know!

I digress. The course is really structured well. We spend time talking about the sociology behind the advent of social networks -- what offline failures are these sites/programs seeking to address? -- and classify things according to products aimed at helping people "meet" friends versus become closer with current friends. We also spend a lot of time analyzing the divide between time spent "writing" or producing on these sites versus "reading" as a bystander. We've done cases on Friendster, Facebook, MySpace, Meetup, Mixi, LinkedIn, Zynga and more. Course Grade: A

3) Digital Marketing Strategy (half course): Sadly, I've been fairly disappointed in this course. It's not for a lack of interesting cases (we've read about the JK Wedding Dance and United Breaks Guitars YouTube videos, as well as the interesting business models behind Communispace and Backchannel Media), rather I think it's a combination of taking this course in conjunction with Competing with Social Networks (a lot of the learnings are the same) and the fact that this is the first time the class was taught (meaning we're the guinea pigs set to help iron out the kinks for next year). The professors, John Deighton and Sunil Gupta, are incredibly nice and obviously brilliant. The idea to "team teach" the course was an interesting one in my view, but I personally feel that it fragmented an already short course. What I mean by this is that I think the case method works best when a class is able to develop a rhythm with a professor and get comfortable in their teaching style and expectations. This ability is already compressed with a half course, so when you further segment it with two professors alternating teaching, the students' capability to gel is nearly entirely compromised. I think this affects the learning environment and makes case discussions feel shallower. The other thing I dislike is the fact that we were assigned TWO group projects for one half course. Definitely a lot more work that I expected for a short course. Course Grade: C

4) Managing Innovation: This course is schizophrenic in my opinion. The first module was fantastic. We did some really interesting cases on product design and development issues at BMW, Bang & Olufsen and in the "magic" industry. We also had a really interesting session with NASA, discussing the problems involved with sending astronauts on long-term missions to Mars. And then something happened in the second module where I feel like I am in a completely different course. The cases are boring (Medtronic pacemakers, telecommunications software by Siemens), the discussions lack energy entirely and I don't feel like I'm learning anything new. Granted, we still have roughly 8 classes left, so there is definitely time for things to do another 180 in the last module, but at the moment, I'm feeling very dissatisfied. Course Grade: C-/D+

Since I'm doing a Field Study this semester on Jordan's Furniture (love them!), those are all my current courses. I do start another half course called Retailing on Thursday, so will have to let you know my feelings on that as we approach the end of the semester. I truly cannot believe how fast it is going! That's all for now guys, catch ya later!

Harvard Bound Internet Mentions

2010-02-26T16:52:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to take a few moments to shout out to those in the MBA blogosphere who are linking to and/or mentioning Harvard Bound on their sites. Thanks to:

-Clear Admit's Fridays From the Frontline for featuring a round-up of Harvard Bound's latest posts every Friday (http://blog.clearadmit.com/category/fridays-from-the-frontline/) and for featuring us on their list of Harvard Blogs.

-The Online Graduate Programs Blog for featuring Harvard Bound as one of the "100 Best Blogs for MBA Students" (http://www.onlinegraduateprograms.com/blog/2009/03/100-best-blogs-for-mba-students/)

-A Student from Columbia Business School who linked to HB: http://max4mba.blogspot.com/

-Life With Lindsay, who also linked to HB: http://lindsaymeyer.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/silicon-valley-vs-san-francisco-a-reflection-furtively-composed-on-a-blackberry-while-riding-the-30x-home-from-work/

Thanks for the support!

Stay tuned for a mid-semester course review coming soon!

NYC in Pictures

2010-02-23T22:26:00.003-05:00

Enjoy!

Live from New York It's...Friday Night?

2010-02-19T21:50:00.002-05:00

I'm typing from my very comfortable king-size bed at the Omni Berkshire hotel in New York where I am sufficiently exhausted after a very long day of networking on the HBS Entertainment & Media Club's New York Trek. I'm highly looking forward to getting an early night tonight and sleeping in tomorrow morning so that I can gear up for four more days in the city (and they will be just as jam-packed as today was!).

To recap:

This morning we started at The Food Network, which is in the Chelsea Market area of New York. The building was very nondescript from the outside, but the workspace was perhaps one of the cheeriest I've seen (and coming from a former Disney gal that says a lot!). The walls were all sorts of sunny yellow and orange shades and the lights were modern and warm (not fluorescent!). We started with a panel featuring Brooke Johnson (Food Network President), Amanda Melnick (Director of Marketing) and Kim Williamson (Director of Programming). From there we were given a tour of the testing kitchen and the set of a new show called "Cooking for Real." The visit was interesting, especially considering HBS had never visited the network before, but it was a bit disconcerting to hear the President say that they were only TWO MBA's in the entire company. Now, I know entertainment tends to be light on the business degrees, but only two in the whole company? I'm hoping perhaps she was thinking two hundred and just left off the "hundred," but that's probably wishful thinking! Before leaving we did get some cool "swag" including a Food Network cap and copies of their magazine's latest issues.

Second on the agenda was a trip to HBO where we had a panel featuring Henry McGee (President of HBO and HBS grad), Jamyn Edis (Emerging Technologies, also an HBS grad), Courteney Monroe (EVP Consumer Marketing and...a Wharton grad, but she's pretty cool so we'll forgive her for that) and Andrew Goldman (Cinemax VP). I really loved the "feel" of this company -- very "we know we're cool cats but we won't be cocky about it." Plus, everyone seems SO smart, innovative and willing to take risks in their roles -- three qualities that are really appealing in my job search! Excitedly, I'll be returning to HBO, not once, twice, or thrice, but FOUR times in the next four days to meet with three separate folks in marketing and a rep in HR. Wish me luck!

Around lunchtime we went to Time Warner where we were served cold pizza and some boring spiel about mergers, acquisitions and investing. Yeah, that's all I'm going to say about that visit (wait, I lied, I need to say one more thing: the building is beautiful!).

Fourth on the agenda was MTVN, which is also a place where I get really good vibes. Here we had a panel with six different HBS alums, including my WSA Mentor Anne who I totally admire because she not only has a JD AND an MBA, but she has the coolest job on the planet and she's an amazing person as well. Was also excited to meet a woman I had been referred to that works in the digital retail group for Nickelodeon and a guy who now does Ad Sales for MTVN but used to work at my old stomping grounds in Orlando!

The final destination for the afternoon was NBCU. We met with Lisa Shaw, the SVP of Digital Marketing for Bravo, a really nice guy named Tony Loney (love the rhyming name) from HR and another HBS grad from business development at iVillage. By this point, we were all pretty tired and you could tell by the fact that the rigor of our questions totally fell flat. Nonetheless, I saw Tausha on the way out and grabbed two cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery, which is right next door, and that totally lifted my spirits.

And now that I'm back in my wonderful, comfy hotel room with feet that have finally calmed after a day full of walking in heels, I plan to get a good night's sleep. Will write more (and post photos) soon (I didn't bring the cord to NYC, but will upload a NYC photo gallery once I get back). Good night!

Reflections from the 2010 Dynamic Women in Business Conference

2010-02-08T21:30:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday I attended the 19th annual Dynamic Women in Business Conference at HBS, which is hosted by the Women's Student Association on campus. I have to admit that last year, although I went to the keynote speech by the founder of Bare Escentuals, I was so bored at the first panel that I promptly left. This year, I had a bit of a different strategy (only go to what sounded truly interesting and spend time doing job search/school stuff in a separate space during the less interesting bits) and found that overall I had a much more enjoyable time.

Perhaps what surprised me most was how much I enjoyed the morning keynote speech by Ann Simonds, the President of the Baking Division at General Mills. Originally, the CEO of Product (RED) was supposed to speak, but she fell ill and had to cancel at the last minute. I was really disappointed and expected a completely boring speech about marketing Betty Crocker, but instead I found myself really engaged and inspired.

Ann's speech was mostly centered around the role that women play in business today and how we can work together to shape expectations for the future. Some interesting statistics that she pointed out:

45% of people report not liking their job. Those that do like their job are 12% more productive (so it pays to do what you are passionate about).
Women still earn just 77 cents to every dollar that men earn, but companies that have women in their senior ranks deliver 34% more shareholder value than companies that are run solely by men (so why are they buying us so cheaply?).

What I appreciated most from Ann's speech was how she ended it. She said that she actually gets annoyed when people approach her and ask her how she "has it all," because she says that having it all is a flawed idea -- she certainly doesn't have it all and she doesn't believe that's what the goal should be. Rather she said the goal is to give and be a productive, useful person, whether that be through giving to yourself, family, co-workers or friends.

The afternoon keynote, Linda Easley, the CEO of Limited Stores, was less interesting (she talked entirely about the private ownership of the brand, which split off from Limited Brands a couple of years ago and wasn't nearly as inspirational), so I'm going to skip over her speech and go straight to the third panel session where I attended the Technology, Entertainment and Media panel.

The panel featured a really diverse group of women: Anna Collins, the General Manager of Entertainment and Devices Support, Customer Service and Support at Microsoft moderated, and the panelists included HBS alums Meredith Barnett (Editorial Director, The Inside Source), Patricia Burh (VP of Strategy, Programming and New Product Development, Time Warner Cable), Sara Clarke (SVP Corporate Strategy, Analysis and Communication, Showtime), Jessica Schell (SVP Digital Strategy and Business Development) and a lone non-HBS alum Tai Beauchamp (CEO, The Blueprint Group).

Here are some highlights from the conversation:

Jessica Schell commenting on how much value technology has destroyed with DVRs, piracy issues, the delivering of content without cable subscriptions and other disruptive technologies. Anna Collins then trying to defend technology (since she works at Microsoft).
Tai Beauchamp talking about finding a comfort level tooting your own horn, which women find more difficult than men (and which leads to women less often getting the promotions and raises that they desire/deserve).
Sara Clarke reiterating that it's okay not to know everything and to admit that. She was once assigned a project regarding HD technologies and had no idea what it was all about, but by networking and utilizing internal resources, she quickly became the expert and "go-to" woman in the company.

Overall, I thought the conference was well done -- and I enjoyed the lululemon goody bag (we got Unilever toiletries, 150 calorie warm delights desserts, a candle, a clutch from The Limited and more!). One day I hope that I'm successful enough to be invited back to campus as a speaker for this event!

Next up is this Thursday's Entertainment & Media Conference for which I spearheaded the marketing (along with my awesome partner, Minal!). Will blog about that one soon!

Sundance Film Festival 2010 Part 2

2010-02-05T21:20:00.005-05:00

Wow, tomorrow will be a whole week since I was in Utah for the Festival. The past seven days went so fast! Before I forget, here's the rest of my review of Sundance 2010.

On Saturday morning, I woke up at the crack of dawn so we could get to the box office by 7:30am. Even then there were people there (about 75 in front of us). Luckily, I was able to snag tickets to three additional films for the day.

1) The first program I went to was a shorts program and it was the worst 2 hours of my life. To be honest, it was so bad that I blacked out almost all memories of what I saw. Of what I can remember: a cartoon short about two stick figures, one of which spends 10 minutes pulling a bloody stitch out of the other stick figure's mouth; a short called "Renegades" that involved a bare-breasted stripper, Euro-techno music, shooting an old man's ear off his head and two gay men getting it down in the woods; a short called the Armoire about a little boy who dares his friend to stick a fork in an electrical socket and then covers up his death; and perhaps what was the only decent one, a story about an army mom shipping off to war. My grade: F-

2) My second screening of the day may have been my favorite of the festival. It was a documentary called "Bhutto" that chronicled the life and trials of the first female Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. I honestly knew nothing about Benazir before the film, but I always enjoy highlights of powerful women around the world, so my interest was piqued nonetheless. The story wound up being incredibly emotional and done in a way that it could work in a commercial setting. The only issue I took with the film was that it was hard to tell how objective of a stance it took -- the filmmaker had mentioned in a Q&A after the screening that he had the full cooperation of the Bhutto family, and while I'm sure you couldn't make a good film without their support, it makes me wonder if his work was thus influenced by the positioning that the family would be happy to see on the screen versus what the unbiased perspective would project. Again, there's no way of knowing, so I just plan on doing some research in my free time to get a better sense for the impact she had on the Pakistanis and what her legacy really stands for. Regardless, she was a courageous, strong woman and her persistence and devotion to her country seem quite admirable. My Grade: A

3) Number three was the most artsy of the films that I saw. "All My Friends Are Funeral Singers" was the story of a psychic woman who lives with a multitude of spirits in her home. The spirits have all sorts of zany personalities (a bride who hung herself with her "something blue," a band of four blind musicians who don't speak, just play instruments, a little girl who wears a Kentucky Derby-style hat and has a knack for picking winning horses at the betting track, etc.) and they provide much of the comic relief in the film. The interesting piece was that the film was created with an intense score -- the music tracked the emotion in the film and was thus loud and clangy and cacophonous during intense moments and melodic and harmonic during more calm moments. The filmmaker commented that this was a deliberate choice so that the film could be shown in a real theater and scored "live" with actual musicians, which would make for an interesting experience. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the film has enough widespread appeal to seek a commercial run, but nonetheless, I definitely enjoyed the story and its underlying message of learning to love and let go. My Grade: B

4) My fourth and final film of Sundance was hysterical. "Bran Nue Dae" was an Australian musical starring Geoffrey Rush that highlighted life as an Aborigine. The main character, a teenage boy named Willie, is sent off by his mother to become a priest, but Willie can't stop pining over his sweetheart Rosie whom he must leave behind. One night, Willie decides to escape and he meets a crazy cast of characters as he attempts to hitchhike his way home to Broome and back into Rosie's heart. As the only comedy that I saw, this film was a nice way to end the festival...plus I was singing the main song, "There is nothing I would rather be, than to be an Aborigine" the whole night long, lol. My Grade: A-

So there you have it folks! After my last screening (after which I took this last glorious picture of the beautiful Utah mountains), I grabbed some Mexican food for dinner, watched Keeping Up With the Kardashians in front of the fireplace at the condos and got an early night. The following day, I just explored Main Street one more time, bought a Sundance tote bag (I needed some sort of souvenir) and headed back to the airport for a long flight into Boston (by the time we got back it was 1am!). Despite the heavy traveling and the ridiculous amount of money that I spent for four days, I am SO happy that I went. The vibe and energy of the festival is so fulfilling for a film lover like me. I would DEFINITELY go back in the future!

In other news, I'm going to be posting some really interesting blogs over the next few days. Yesterday I attended a marketing workshop with brand guru Douglas Atkins and think you all might be interested to hear what he had to say. Then I plan to do a review of tomorrow's Women's Student Association Conference and then later in the week, a round-up of my early-term course reviews. Stay tuned!

Sundance Film Festival 2010 Part 1

2010-02-03T13:35:00.004-05:00

I have to admit, being at HBS has afforded me some really cool experiences that I probably wouldn't have had the chance to be a part of otherwise. Going to this year's Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, was one of these experiences and arguably one of my favorites!

Thanks to a partnership between the Entertainment & Media Club and the Art Society, nearly 40 of us trekked across the country together for a long weekend of film screenings, fluffy snow and lots of good food!

For me, the weekend began Thursday afternoon with a mid-afternoon flight out to Salt Lake City. The EC group stayed at the Snow Flower Condominiums, which are less than a mile from the main drag, Park Avenue. I was in a condo that sleeps 14 (one of the biggest the place offers), yet it felt surprisingly cozy with the old-fashioned slanted ceilings and warm living room fireplace. After getting an early-ish night (by the time we got in and got to the condo it was nearly 1am), I got up super early (7am) to head out to the Sundance box office. Since most of the films I wanted to see were sold out during my original registration window, I had to vie for a limited number of "day-of" tickets that they open up each morning of the festival. The box office opens at 8 daily, and by the time I got there, a line of at least 150 people had formed. Thankfully though, I was able to secure tickets to two additional films for Friday.

1) The first film I saw was called "Skateland," (it screened in a 1,250 seat theater called the Eccles Theater) and it starred Ashley Greene from the Twilight movies (and no other "names"). The film was a throwback to growing up in the 80s and had a very loose, wandering plot about a teenager dealing with the consequences of maturing and moving on from his home town in light of his childhood hangout and current workplace, a roller skating rink called Skateland, closing to make way for a more popular establishment. In the midst of discovering himself and where he wants to go in life, Richie (the main character) must deal with love, loss, betrayal and fear from friends, family and foes. Overall, I really enjoyed the film -- the 80s music was INCREDIBLE, the funny moments made you laugh out loud and the intense moments really poured out from the screen. My only criticism is that the screenplay could have been tightened up a bit to better define some of the secondary characters and the back story. My grade: B+

2) My next film was ALL the way across the festival site at a much smaller theater called The Egyptian. The theater was actually really neat in its decor and had King Tut masks on the walls and a big temple-like shroud over the screen -- even the lobby was themed! The film that I saw here was a documentary about Holocaust propaganda called "A Film Unfinished." The premise was that as Jews suffered from overcrowding, malnourishment and struggle during their lives in the Warsaw ghetto, the Nazis staged scenes of luxury and enjoyment to create war propaganda that would convince the outside world that they were doing no harm. Apparently more than 60 minutes of film was shot, but the footage was never actually edited into a full-fledged film as the Nazis had intended. Rather, as the title suggests, the film was left unfinished and hidden in the massive German Film Archive to be forgotten. Since that time, portions of the film had been used in other documentaries about the Holocaust, but the full 60 minutes had never been shown together. This idea was the filmmaker's inspiration. She added emotional and dramatic affect to the already haunting footage by bringing in actual Holocaust survivors to watch the reels while their emotions were recorded.

Obviously, it's hard to say that you "like" a film about such a horrific time, but I can say that I thought the film provoked great emotion in me (and the rest of the theater if the number of hands I saw wiping away tears speaks for itself). The one thing that I did NOT like about the film was that it, too, seemed unfinished in a sense. I thought that the filmmaker could have pushed a little bit farther in using the footage to make a clear statement. Instead, it just felt as though it were an exhibition. Perhaps that was her purpose, to allow us to make all of the decisions on our own. My grade: B

3) The third and final film I saw on Friday was "Sympathy for Delicious," a film directed by Mark Ruffalo (that is him speaking into the microphone in the above photo, I swear!). I chose this film knowing nothing about it except that it starred an all-star cast including Orlando Bloom, Laura Linney, Juliette Lewis and Ruffalo himself. Plus, I heard a rumor that Ruffalo would be at the screening to do a Q&A and I just HAD to see at least one celebrity during my trip! ;)

Unfortunately, the hype didn't live up to my expectations and I have to say that this was my least favorite film of the day, and one of my least favorite from the festival as a whole. I actually really liked the plot -- the story was about a crippled homeless DJ who discovers that he has the power to spontaneously heal the ill (like you see those evangelists do on those crazy TV shows where people fall all over the place and claim to be cured). At first people don't believe him, but then as he begins to cure other homeless folks, the press takes note, as does a grunge rock band quite conveniently looking for a new DJ. DJ Delicious, as he's thus called, joins the band and together they create an enterprise where Delicious "heals" people at concerts, causing ticket sales to explode. I don't want to spoil the film in case anyone happens to see it, but let's just say from there things don't go exactly as planned.

My problem with the film was that it was just TOO rough around the edges for me. I understand that sometimes expletives are the perfect word to express particularly extreme emotion, but come on, the "F" word must have been used more than 1,000 times in 2 hours. Literally, it felt like every other word was f***. Not only that, but the film had strong drug use, sexual innuendo, dark, dirty characters and not a single ray of happy sunshine. I felt down and dreary after watching the film -- like I needed a bath and a soundsoother with beach noises. My grade: D+/C-

After Sympathy for Delicious ended around 10:30, I headed back to the condo, hung out with friends for a bit and then hit the sack, since I was planning to get up on Saturday even earlier (at 6am!) to try to beat the inevitable box office rush (since most of the great films were screening that day). Since this entry is already really long and I want to give the four films I saw on Saturday the time they deserve, I'm going to finish up my review of Sundance later today or tomorrow. Adios for now!

Forecast for my weekend in Park City, Utah

2010-01-26T09:01:00.001-05:00

Courtesy of weather.com

Highs in the upper 20s? Yikes, that's a good 10 degrees colder than it is here in Boston. Long underwear, it's time for you to come out of hibernation.

The Beginning of the End, Cases Purging and a Cowardly Commentor

2010-01-25T16:12:00.002-05:00

So here I am, blogging on my very last first day of classes ever (or at least for the foreseeable future!). It is SO hard to believe that my HBS experience is almost over. It feels like just yesterday I was on my second Disney cruise with my mom reading my acceptance e-mail and now there's just five months and 11 weeks of class in between me and graduation. Weird. The good news is that I have an AMAZING last semester of courses that I can't wait to really dig into. I think I might have mentioned them before, but for good measure here they are again (drumroll, please):

1) Managing Innovation
2) Strategic Marketing in Creative Industries (basically the course that made me want to come to HBS)
3) Half Course in Digital Marketing Strategy
4) Half Course in Retailing
5) Competing With Social Networks (another class I've been looking forward to taking since I started here)
6) Field Study on Jordan's Furniture / Norwalk Furniture

Basically, I have class daily from 10am to 1pm, which may very well be the easiest school schedule I've had to date. I temper this statement with the realization that much of my free time will likely be devoted to what will most definitely be a challenging job search (and the rest of it I plan to fill with lots of fun activities like the upcoming Entertainment & Media Club conference, my trip to Sundance Film Festival this weekend [can't wait!] and maybe even a spot on the spring break IXP to Costa Rica [to make up for missing Peru]). I'll be sure to keep you updated as we go along!

In other news, when I got back to Boston this past weekend and started organizing myself for the semester, I started to move all of my case binders from last fall to their final resting place under my bed (where they would join the rest of my cases from RC year) and I almost gave myself a heart attack. I never realized how much space 15, 6" binders can really take up under one's bed. Immediately, I felt the need to purge because the clutter (despite it being under my bed where no one ever sees it) was driving me crazy (not to mention the fact that I never once referred to one of my Finance cases last semester).

Thus, I spent about 3 hours on Sunday evening sifting through every single class binder and consolidating. If I couldn't remember ever having done a particular case? Recycled! If I had negative memories of a particularly difficult cold call? Recycled! If I just plain hated the subject (i.e. Finance)? Recycled! I did keep any cases that I remembered enjoying and nearly every "Course Note" that had teaching materials in it that could be of use in the future. I also kept my ENTIRE Consumer Marketing binder and notebook because, well, Youngme Moon is a marketing goddess and her class will forever remain at the top of my HBS experience. In the end, it felt so good to throw out the old, make room for the new and have a little extra storage space. :)

Now, before I depart for the moment, I have one more item to address. If you are a regular blog reader, you may have noticed that my "Comments" section has recently changed to a Moderated format that no longer accepts comments from Anonymous readers. Although when I started this blog, the intention was to allow anyone to post, even if they felt uncomfortable signing their name, I've recently had to deal with one particularly virulent reader who feels the need to make personal attacks on me featuring multiple expletives and slanderous insults...all while hiding behind the veil of the "Anonymous" feature. Personally, I think that anyone who takes time out of their day to repeatedly post insulting, negative comments on the blog of someone that don't know is only proving that they have no life of their own; however, I also don't want these horrible remarks hanging around the pages of my blog. So for now, comments will remain moderated and you'll have to log in to your gmail or blogger account in order to post. I apologize to those readers that will be inconvenienced by this!

Anywho, that's all for now. Have a great week everyone!

2010 Entertainment & Media Club Conference: IMAGINE!

2010-01-19T16:28:00.004-05:00

If you live in the Boston area (or are looking for a place to visit in the next few weeks), register for the 2010 Entertainment & Media Club conference at HBS! The conference is being held on campus on Feb. 12 and features keynote speaker Michael Ovitz (he founded Creative Artists Agency, which represents all the top talent in Hollywood, and he was a former President at The Walt Disney Company). There's also four panels on TV, film, New Media and music -- something for everyone! Registration links can be found on the conference blog: http://hbs2010emc.blogspot.com -- early registration ticket discounts last through 1/29/10.

Term 3 Grades and Quick Winter Break Overview

2010-01-12T10:36:00.003-05:00

Yesterday our Term 3 grades (aka EC year Fall Semester) were released and let's just say I was shaking in my boots...again. You would have thought that with nary a finance course in my schedule I'd finally relax about grades, but this time I was more worried that I had gotten my hopes up for GOOD grades and would find myself disappointed. You see, as I've explained before, HBS courses are graded on a forced curve and students receive a 1, 2 or 3, denoting their status within that curve. Only the top 20% of the class can receive a one and the bottom 10% of the class MUST receive a three (with the middle 70% of the class receiving a two). In my RC year, I received 2s in every class except finance, and although it felt good at the time to be average among some of the smartest people I've ever met, I have to admit that I've secretly been pining for at least one 1. This pining got even stronger this year when I was taking classes that I actually liked and felt like I could relate to. I mean, what better confirmation of your skills/career path is there than to excel in one of your favorite courses? Ok, tangent over.

So there I was, 2pm on the dot, logging onto MyHBS and holding my breath. I clicked into the Grades Web site and BANG! The first thing I see is a beautiful, shiny (well not so much) number ONE next to not one but TWO classes. Holy hell, I got TWO ONES!!!! Ahhhhhh!

In the end, I got a one in the two classes for which I wrote final papers versus taking a dreaded HBS exam (at which I admittedly suck) -- Competing Through Business Models (wrote a paper on the competition between Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando theme parks) and Authentic Leadership Development (a fluffier course where your final paper was basically a creative writing assignment...hello journalism degree!). I got a 2 in Consumer Marketing (figured as much) and happily got a 2 in Managing Service Operations (I didn't participate as much in this class so was worried I might get a 3). Most surprisingly though, I was given a 3 in Manging Human Capital which shocked me beyond belief. I spoke nearly 20 times in that class (and thought I made good comments, otherwise why would he have continued to call on me?) and thought the exam was pretty easy. Apparently I screwed something up there, but am not sure what, so I plan to meet with the professor when I get back to school so I can understand where I went wrong. Overall though, I'm SO happy. Can I repeat this in my last semester? We'll see!

And before I leave you all, I really do need to blog about my winter break considering it's 5.5 weeks long (although unfortunately most of those weeks have been spent doing absolutely nothing).

When I left Boston, I first headed to Pennsylvania to see family for a few days and while there I met my estranged father whom I hadn't seen in 20 years. I also toured Amish country with my cousins, went to a WaWa for the first time (yum, their coffee really WAS good!) and played LOTS of Scrabble (and lost every time!). I flew home to Florida on the 17th (barely escaping a ridiculous ice/snow storm) and my mom and I left for our third Disney cruise on the morning of the 19th.

I know, you're probably wondering why my mom and I continue to go on Disney cruises when neither of us have young children, but seriously, I can promise you that Disney does everything better than other cruise lines. The cabins are spacious and well decorated, the dining is spectacular, the ship is pristine and because it's a family atmosphere, you're not walking around in a cloud of smoke or watching drunk people fall all over the place for a week. It's refreshing!

This cruise was particularly special because it was a Christmas cruise so the ship was all decorated for the holidays and we had two special holiday meals on board. We also received some "gifts" from Santa, like a 2010 calendar, a box of delicious chocolates, LOTS of Christmas cookies and a limited edition lithograph signed by the artist (Don "Ducky" Williams is one of the best Disney character illustrators ever!).

One of the best parts of the cruise was dining with another mother and daughter around the same ages from Kentucky. We wound up having so much in common! I think we had the most fun at the character breakfast on Christmas Eve. We all dressed in red to be festive and the waiters had some fun making Disney "hats" for us with napkins. Do you like our "Mickey Ears" in this photo? Yes, those are meal covers on our heads connected with napkins!

Truth be told, we were sort of ready to debark at the end of the week (my mom started feeling ill about halfway through the cruise and wound up being admitted to the hospital for 3 days once we returned...crazy, I know, and also the reason I am not on the Peru IXP right now), but we're already talking about trying to save up for the Alaskan cruise in the summer of 2011. A long way off, but two gals can dream, right?

That's all for now guys! I'll try to blog again before returning to Boston (that is if anything exciting happens). If not, I'll see you back in the freezing northeast!

Harvard Bound receives "Best MBA Student Blog" Award from MBA Programs Online!

2010-01-07T19:13:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone!

I'm so sorry that it has been so long since I've last blogged. A lot has happened in my personal life in the last few weeks, plus I was on a week long Disney cruise with my mom for Christmas (I'll blog about that in the next few days). In the meanwhile though, I wanted to let you all know that Harvard Bound was chosen for an award (our first award, yay!). A big thank you to MBAProgramsOnline.org for recognizing this blog as one of the Best MBA Student Blogs! Check out our blog profile at [http://www.mbaprogramsonline.org/blogger.html?id=4] and grab a peek at our award below. :)

MBAProgramsOnline.org

'Aint Nothing Like a Dorm Fire to Shake Things Up

2009-12-04T21:23:00.004-05:00

I'm currently blogging from the comfort of my temporary residence in Mellon Hall -- a building usually reserved for HBS Executive Education participants. The good news? I have my own bathroom for the next week! The bad news? I'm here because yesterday McCulloch Hall (my dorm) caught on fire.

Yes, folks, Mother Nature was mad at us for some reason and thought that the week before finals was a fine time to call upon her flickering friend to stir up some adventure.

It all started yesterday around 2pm. I was getting ready to leave my room for a doctor's appointment when the fire alarm went off for about 5 seconds and then stopped. A few seconds later, it went off for another 5 seconds and then stopped again. After this happened a third time, a bunch of the girls on my floor convened in our common area to see what was going on. We all assumed it was probably either a false alarm or another case of burnt popcorn, so we weren't freaking out. A few of the girls decided to just stay in their rooms! Since I was on my way out anyway, I locked my door and headed outside only to see smoke BILLOWING out of the roof of the dorm on the opposite wing. This was no case of popcorn!

After a swift call to reschedule my doctor's appointment, I headed to the lawn to watch the action unfold. Within minutes, five fire trucks, three police cars and a plethora of ambulances had surrounded the dorm. The firefighters pulled out one of those crazy long ladders that you only ever see them using in the movies and started hacking away at the roof of the building (with what appeared to be axes) unraveling the water hoses and checking to make sure everyone had left the building. Shortly thereafter, the police had roped off the area...and I was yelling at myself for not having grabbed my laptop, passport or a variety of other important items that I left in my room.

From there, the details become fuzzy. All 85 residents were shuffled off to a neighboring dorm common area for "more information" and several hours later we were informed that the building was not habitable for the evening and we'd be given temporary housing until they had figured things out. Several rooms on the east wing (I live in the west wing) were completely destroyed. Most were largely unaffected but were still being examined for smoke, water and/or fire damage. The Environmental Healthy & Safety team had been called out to test the air for toxic fumes. While we'd be able to grab a few necessities from our rooms, all electricity had been turned off in the building, and wouldn't be able to be restored immediately.

Today the update was that we're all going to be displaced at least until the middle of next week, and depending on the pace of the construction work, it could be longer. Many of the residents of the east wing are being displaced for the entire remainder of the semester. Thankfully, no one was hurt, except for one firefighter who suffered some shoulder injuries.

All in all, I give kudos to HBS for handling the situation swiftly, without drama and as compassionately as possible. In addition to all of the McCulloch residents being given a room to stay in, we were given American Red Cross emergency kits with basic toiletries, towels/sheets, meal vouchers and loaner laptops (for those that needed them). I'm SO thankful that my room was only minimally affected, but now my sympathies go out to my colleagues who will have to deal with the loss of a greater proportion of their personal belongings.

The worst for me was the $75 in groceries that I had delivered the night before the fire. Most of that had to be thrown out today since we don't have mini-fridges in Mellon and the electric will be off in the building until further notice.

That's the news for now, folks. Hopefully it'll be a calm weekend in light of all the excitement!

EKTA 2009

2009-11-22T08:55:00.005-05:00

This entry is a bit overdue, but I couldn't skip blogging about the EKTA 2009 show that I am so proud to have been a part of!!

EKTA is the annual cultural showcase put on by the HBS South Asian Business Association (aka SABA) featuring a mix of Asian dances, skits, musical performances and a fashion show. Last year I was blown away as I watched from the audience's perspective: all of the numbers were so high energy and the movements were beautiful, not to mention the fun Indian rhythms. As soon as I found out that people of non-south Asian descent were welcome to participate I said sign me up! And thus, I became a member of the awesome EC BHANGRA 2009 team!

Our group of 20+ students and partners rehearsed for about a month prior to the show and put on a rocking 10 minute number featuring a mix of four Indian tunes. We competed against a group of 20 RCs who also did a bhangra number and we won according to audience applause! Doing the actual dance was SUCH an adrenaline rush. The crowd was on their feet, the music was loud and they energy in the room was ridiculous! Even aside from the dancing, it was an awesome experience to "try on" a different culture. As you can see from the photos, I got to dress up in a traditional Indian costume, complete with a bindi (the dot in the middle of the eyes)! Best of all was the appreciation I got from countless people who thanked me for adding some "color" (or, should I say lack of color with my pale skin) to the show. Case in point:

Hahaha, this text made me laugh when I first received it, and it still makes me chuckle now. I hope that I inspired other white girls to get out there and show what they've got!

In addition to the bhangra, the show featured two Bollywood numbers, including a tribute to actress Madhuri Dixit, two types of classical dance called Dheem and Bharatanatyam, an Indo-Western Fusion number, a poetry reading, a musical performance, and as I mentioned, a fashion show. And in keeping with tradition, the show sold out all 600+ seats in the massive Burden Auditorium.

Right now, there isn't a video record of our actual performance (shame on us in this high-tech world!), but some RC posted a video of our first dress rehearsal that you can view here on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlAgtzRf-Nk. Keep in mind that this does little justice to our actual performance. People aren't fully in costume, are still unsure of the steps AND we didn't perform any of the awesome stunts that got people on their feet during the actual performance. However, it should give you a tiny glimpse into the magic that is EKTA!

2009 Marketing & CPG Conference: Breaking Through the Clutter

2009-11-11T09:43:00.005-05:00

For those of you who didn't know, I am a Co-Vice President of Marketing/Social for the HBS Marketing & CPG Club, and this year, I got to spearhead the collateral creation and design process for the club's annual conference. Our theme: the ever relevant idea of "breaking through the clutter." The date: November 8, 2009. The result: success!

The day began with a keynote address by Russ Klein, the president of global marketing, strategy and innovation for Burger King. I have to admit, I wasn't initially thrilled at the prospect of hearing Russ speak. The only marketing campaign that came to mind when I thought of Burger King was the "burger King" with his cheesy grin and plastic face (not one of my favorite marketing tactics, I must admit). But Russ was surprisingly compelling and he outlined some BK initiatives that I actually thought were quite creative. For example, he told us about how BK changed around the Kid's Meal to make it more healthy by cutting apple slices into the shape of french fries and serving them in a french fry container. That's a pretty original way to make eating healthier fun for kids. He also highlighted the "Whopper Freakout" campaign, which was pretty funny (it involved BK declaring that the Whopper was discontinued in one town and taping people's insane reactions), although it definitely highlighted the less-than-classy clientele that tend to support this type of establishment. Russ also threw out a few "gems of wisdom" that he says BK staff live by:

Sometimes it's more important to be provocative than pleasant (nothing tugs like tension).
Speed matters: fail fast, succeed fast.
Turning your brand over to the consumer is taking control.
Formulas are for scientists: shedding your skin frequently can be rejuvenating

Interestingly enough, Russ stepped down from his position at Burger King today: http://adage.com/article?article_id=140426.

In the afternoon, the conference featured four panels, of which I attended Innovation in the Lifecycle of a Brand and Reaching Consumers Through New Channels (the other offerings were Power of International Marketing and Connecting Meaningfully with Different Consumer Segments). Breaking up the panels was a networking lunch, in which I got to sit with our second keynote speaker, Porter Gale, who is the vice president of marketing for Virgin America airlines.

Porter was a very interesting woman to sit down with -- she really knows how to sell the Virgin America brand. It was especially enlightening for me, as I'm currently a loyal JetBlue customer, and VA considers JB to be one of their biggest competitors. I promised Porter that I would give Virgin a try, since they're launching Ft Lauderdale Intl Airport next week, but as long as they continue charging for checked bags and snacks (JetBlue gives first checked bag free and unlimited free snacks and beverages), I'm not sure my loyalty will be switching.

Some highlights from Porter's talk:

Those who are brave may not live that long, but those who are timid don't live at all.
Connect, don't market.
Think like a marketer. Act like a CFO.
Look for avenues to get the word out that don't cost money. Virgin America benefitted highly from generating PR buzz, participating in reality shows and leveraging social networks. Their marketing budget is a measly $12mm in comparison to Southwest's $200mm, but that doesn't mean you can't get good coverage.

Overall, I feel like I learned a lot at the conference. Now it's on to planning for the spring HBS Entertainment & Media Club conference. I never stop! Stay tuned for another blog post this weekend as I'll be posting tons of photos from the EKTA show that I'm participating in!

Time Flies

2009-11-01T09:44:00.003-05:00

There are only 24 days of class left in the fall semester. That's less than 5 weeks. How did this semester go by so quickly?

I know it's been a while since I've written a full entry. I'm lacking inspiration right now! Stay tuned, though, because I'll definitely be blogging after the 2009 Marketing & CPG Conference that takes place on campus next Sunday (I helped with the marketing/goody bag orders!). And then the week after that, I'll be sure to blog about the South Asian Business Association's EKTA show, in which I'm dancing the bhangra! Lots to come soon!

How would you brand Harvard Business School?

2009-10-09T20:11:00.010-04:00

This was the question we were posed last week in my Consumer Marketing class, and what a challenging assignment it turned out to be! In addition to designing a "tagline" or slogan that would completely sum up the special qualitites of our program, we had to develop an elevator pitch that would explain why our tagline was the perfect fit. I practically tore my hair out until I came up with something I liked, but in the end I'm pretty proud of the result. Turns out it's WAY more difficult to brand something than you would think, especially when you are close to the product/service. Read my paper below and post your comments: How well do you think my brand identity fits the school?

HARVARD | BUSINESS | SCHOOL

what managers do in real life

Consumer Marketing Reflection Paper #6

2. Tell me about the branding phrase you came up with for the branding exercise assignment. You may not have had an opportunity to share your phrase with the rest of the class; this is your opportunity to explain to me in more detail why you think your phrase captures the HBS brand essence.

The branding phrase that I came up with for HBS was “What Managers Do in Real Life.” It’s a very simple idea, but I think it encapsulates the special nature of our school and stands apart enough to avoid a copy-cat attempt from a competing institution.

Before I jump to explaining and defending my slogan, I need to give credit to Professor Jan Hammond who was my inspiration. You see, I was having an incredibly hard time with this assignment and had tried “wordsmithing” to no avail. Sure, the words transformative, discovery, growth, home, and teamwork all describe the HBS experience, but much to my disappointment, nothing quite fit when I tried to form an expression.

I felt that I needed to step outside of myself for a moment and glean insight from how others see HBS, so I spent some time talking to a friend who is a prospective student, and then surfed the internet and read a few articles about the program. Finally, I clicked over to the HBS homepage to watch (for the hundredth time) the short videos the school uses for promotional purposes.

In one of the last videos, entitled “Inside the HBS Case Method,” Jan addresses the efficacy of the teaching style and says, “To me the reason this method is so effective is that it really mirrors what managers do in real life.” I knew at that moment that I had found the perfect phrase for the assignment, but it wasn’t until I gave it deeper thought that I realized just how well it summarized the 360 degrees of the Harvard Business School experience.

Firstly, let’s take the lifeblood of the program: the case method. As Jan so eloquently mentioned, this teaching technique forces students to become managers from day one and make the choices executives make in even the most difficult of business conundrums. And there’s little tolerance for the wishy-washy. In the working world, managers are often challenged to think “on the spot,” and HBS is one of the few institutions that prepares students for dealing with the simultaneous adrenaline rush and sheer horror of making a high-impact choice without time for reflection.

But the idea of doing “what managers do in real life” extends beyond the case method. As students, we must manage small-group dynamics in our learning teams, and quickly understand how to work effectively with 5-6 people that are vastly different from you. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we must learn to manage large-group dynamics in our sections and rapidly recognize each individual’s strengths, weaknesses and “hot buttons.” We do what managers do in real life when we take on a leadership role in a student club. We manage our career trajectories through networked job searches. We even manage our daily calendars to ensure a reasonable balance between education and social activities.

Thinking beyond the MBA experience, this phrase also fits within the executive education program as we see high-level managers flocking back to the school to enhance their business acumen. Moving to the faculty, HBS is one of the few institutions that forces professors to take an entire semester off each school year to research and write cases that, again, aim to highlight exactly what managers do in real life. Whether it’s understanding the purpose of the entrepreneurship initiative, summarizing the role of the alumni network or explaining why so many case protagonists relish attending class to share their experiences, you can see that the institution is grounded in the day to day experience of the manager.

At other schools, you hear, see and learn, but an HBS education transforms. And that, my friend, is something that will stick with you long after traditional book knowledge has faded into oblivion.

Peru Immersion Experience

2009-09-25T20:28:00.003-04:00

Hello faithful readers! It has been a crazy couple of weeks here at HBS, hence the reason I've been slacking on the blogging. This week, EC company presentations began so I've been bopping around to those (and their accompanying dessert receptions...can I say yum?), taking care of the duties that go along with being an officer in two clubs, managing school work and trying to have a bit of a social life now and then. But all complaining aside, I have some very exciting news to announce:

I am going to Peru for two weeks in January!

Background Info on my Peru Trip: HBS hosts a series of programs called IXPs, short for Immersion Experience Programs, and every winter term they offer student trips to a variety of countries where you are intended to both learn and have fun. The trips are lead by a member of the faculty and are designed around a specific subject matter. The educational component comes into play through company site visits, panels with executives, alumni events and usually some sort of capstone project. So in the end, it's less of a vacation and more of an educational opportunity, but they do include several cultural activities, some free time and gorgeous, picturesque accommodations. This year they offered IXPs in really exotic destinations: Rwanda, UAE/Bahrain, Vietnam, India, China and Peru. I went to the info sessions for each of the desintations and, in the end, fell in love with Peru, despite the fact that it's probably the least "out of the ordinary" among the countries.

The Peru trip is called "Escaping the Natural Resource Curse" and the business education side is focused on a combination of economics (i.e. building up an economy that has become entirely reliant on the benefits of abundant natural resources, and therefore suffers in most other industrial sectors) and ecotourism (which is totally my thing!). We're visiting some really interesting companies (Brescia, Inkaterra [a rainforest lodge...and we're staying there!], Inca group, Ingrid y Gaston [a 5-star restaurant that we'll also get to eat at!]), visiting the Caral-Supe archeological site, touring Machu Picchu, touring the Sacred Valley of the Incas, AND going ziplining through the Amazon rainforest (how amazingly amazing is that???)!

It's a 13-day trip, and get this, with nearly everything included, costs less than $2K.

Now if I could only figure out how I'm spending the other 4 weeks of winter break, I'd be set!

Hire Me!

2009-09-19T12:09:00.002-04:00

Gabrielle Bill \ga-bree-el b-ill\ n : A creative blogger/HBS MBA candidate who is currently seeking an awesome job in marketing. Company must be highly innovative, company-culture oriented and well structured.

First Week in Review plus Add/Drop Results

2009-09-04T15:16:00.004-04:00

Interestingly enough, my first week of EC classes turned out to be way more stressful, and also more surprising, than I imagined. Courses I thought I'd love, I hated, and courses I thought would be way outside of my comfort zone turned out to be neat fits.

Firstly, let me say that after just two sessions, I can proclaim that Consumer Marketing may just be the very best course I've ever had in my life and most definitely the best course at HBS. Youngme Moon is an amazing professor -- funny, down-to-earth, observational, extraordinarily intelligent and able to pull the most delightful lessons out of a case. I absolutely love the class.

Authentic Leadership Development is another course that I knew I'd fall in love with. One of my friends recommended the professor (Peter Olson, she had him for RC Strategy last semester) and although we only had one session this week, I immediately recognized a caring professor, an engaged class and a trusting environment to discuss difficult leadership challenges.

A surprise keeper was Managing Service Operations. This course I had added on a whim last semester -- it was literally the very last course that I had ranked on my Lottery sheet, and I had selected it at the last minute. In the end, it turned out to be a good gut instinct as the professor is energized, the cases are interesting and challenging, and the section had good conversational chemistry right from the start. So although I mentioned wanting to drop this one in an earlier entry, I decided to stick with it.

Commerce and Society did not meet my expectations for several reasons. Firstly, the professor, although a sweet man, was less than charismatic and lacked the commanding nature necessary to successfully lead a class. Secondly, the initial case discussion felt very flat -- I could sense an entire semester of arguments about whether or not businesses should engage in corporate social responsibility or not, and I find little learning in that. Most importantly though, through some self reflection I realized that after an entire summer working in the social enterprise arena, and after learning a lot about the industry and charitable giving through that experience, I would probably benefit more in the long run from a course on another topic.

Most disappointing, perhaps, was Building & Sustaining a Successful Enterprise, which I had with a less popular professor than celebrity teacher Clay Christensen. The first day's reading was incredibly dry -- a theory paper written by Christensen (I found it funny that Christensen referred to himself and the theories he discovered, in the third person nonetheless, in this paper) and a case on Level 5 Leadership. The second reading wasn't bad, but the first was very academic and esoteric...and sleep inducing. Then in class, the professor I had was very stale, showed little personality, and despite having served as a CEO for many years, didn't appear to know how to lead an engaging class. I was hoping this would be a wonderful course since it's so popular (and famous), but I left feeling a bit empty and wanting more.

To make a long story short, I began to scramble to find two interesting courses led by two exciting professors to take the place of what I did not enjoy and I was lucky enough to find and get into two such courses.

Replacing Commerce & Society is Managing Human Capital, a course led by the famed Professor Boris Groysberg, and loosely related to human resources, performance management, and managing one's own career trajectory. I sat in on his class on Wednesday, and not only enjoyed his teaching style, but the syllabus of cases for the semester, and the line-up of in-class protagonists and guest lecturers.

Replacing BSSE was a last-minute choice with Competing Through Business Models -- I made the Add/Drop request before sitting in on the class and just crossed my fingers that I'd be satisfied. Turns out, the professor is a bit of a "wild" one -- he bounced from one end of the room to the other, running up and down the steps, gesticulating like crazy and even getting down on his knees in a "ducking" position. I'm not sure exactly why he is so high energy, but it makes an 8:30 class eye-opening (literally). I also shouldn't fail to mention the interesting course material that focuses on the strategies businesses employ in their models to compete with one another and retaliate from attacks by industry intruders.

And thus my new and improved fall schedule is this:

X Days:
Managing Human Capital
Managing Service Operations

Y Days:
Competing Through Business Models
Consumer Marketing

T/W: Authentic Leadership Development

So happy!

(P-S: I also swapped out Leading Innovative Ventures in the Winter for Leading Teams. Perfection!)

EC Lesson #1

2009-09-02T07:24:00.002-04:00

It is not advisable to drink two diet cokes and a delicious cup of white peony tea (even if it is marked low caffeine) between 6 and 8:30pm the night before your first day of EC classes. Do not be surprised if the combination of caffeine, anxiety and excitement keeps you up until 3am. The elements do not care that you have an alarm set for 7am or a "shopping" schedule that includes four back-to-back classes in the morning. In fact, the elements prefer that you get no sleep because it means they'll receive all that much more attention in the morning when you feel like a zombie (enjoying first cup of joe (of many, I'm sure) at the moment).

Here's to a fun day and a lesson learned!

Officially Back In Boston!

2009-08-30T14:11:00.002-04:00

Ok, so technically I've been back in Boston for nearly 2 days, BUT today was the first day that I actually got up, put on real clothes and makeup, and crawled out of the cave that is my dorm room, so I feel like I'm justified in saying that I'm officially back in Beantown as of today. This morning's adventures involved picking up my course material for the first two weeks (exciting!), checking my mail after a whole summer (depressing loan statements) and saying hello to Harvard Square (where I had mundane errands to run). Thankfully what looked like it was going to be a cold, wet, gloomy day (as it was yesterday) has turned into warm blue skies with only the tiniest bit of nip in the air --- a signal that fall is on its way already.

For now, I'm off to Target and then Lauren and I are having a belated birthday dinner at Grotto (yay for extended Restaurant Week menus!). Classes officially begin next Wednesday, although we have a "Welcome" from the Dean on Tuesday and then Section reuinions afterward. I'll be sure to keep on top of my postings as things get going!

My Institutional Memory Video is Finally Up!

2009-08-29T16:40:00.003-04:00

Last fall I participated in the HBS Institutional Memory project, that I believe was tied to the school's 100 year anniversary. Regardless, it was an opportunity to sit down in front of the camera and talk about my experience at HBS, which at that point had only been 6 weeks long, but already significant! I've been checking the site for months to see when the Class of 2010 videos would be posted and today I noticed that they were! So take a few minutes (or 7, that's how long my video runs) and check out what some real HBS students have to say about their experiences applying to and attending HBS!

http://institutionalmemory.hbs.edu/memories/gabrielle_bill_story.html

EC Courses!

2009-08-11T20:27:00.002-04:00

I have so much to blog about -- my reflections on my time in DC, my brief trip to Disney, what's in store for my life in the next few weeks/months, but right now I'm too excited about my EC Courses to think about much else! Course Selections (which were delivered via lottery) came out today and I'm SO thrilled to have received almost all of my top picks. There are a few classes that overlap a bit in coursework, so I may try to swap out one or two during add/drop, but overall, I'm totally satisfied.

Fall Schedule:

Consumer Marketing (My #1 pick)
Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise (My #2 pick)
Authentic Leadership Development (My #3 pick)
Commerce & Society
Managing Service Operations

Winter Schedule:

Strategic Marketing in Creative Industries (My #1 pick)
Competing with Social Networks (My #2 pick)
Half-Course in Digital Marketing Strategy (My #3 pick)
Half-Course in Retailing (Also a #3 pick)
Managing Innovation
Leading Innovative Ventures (this is the one I'm most likely to swap out since it's so similar to Managing Innovation).

Woohoo!

The Global Fund for Children

2009-08-06T07:52:00.004-04:00

Hi folks! I'm blogging from my apartment in DC for the very last time. Tomorrow morning at 4:45a.m. I'll be hopping on a shuttle to the airport and flying out to Disney. And while I'm super excited to see all my old co-workers and go back to the parks after a whole year away, I'm definitely sad to be leaving DC and the friends I made here. Since my last day at GFC was yesterday, I got to thinking and realized that I never truly gave the organization it's due on my blog. And since yesterday was a particularly poignant day in my internship (I did my final presentation, said my goodbyes and hopefully left having made an impact), I wanted to devote today's entry to them. I'll blog more about my reflections on my DC summer in a later post.

So, what is The Global Fund for Children? I wouldn't be surprised if many of you hadn't heard of them, as I definitely hadn't until I applied for my internship last March. Now, perhaps that's because I was entirely tuned out to the non-profit community, but that's another story in itself. In a nutshell, The Global Fund for Children is a grant-making organization that supports innovative, grassroots groups around the world that in turn help the most "vulnerable" (aka impoverished, those without access to education or proper health care, etc.) children in their communities. They are structured with Program Officers that cover different regions of the world, and these officers go out and scout for the groups that will eventually be funded. One of my favorite grantee partners is the original: the train platform schools in India.

The organization's founder, Maya Ajmera, discovered this group before she started GFC -- in fact, it was her inspiration to begin the non-profit. Basically, children in India who work/sleep/eat/live on/near the train platforms weren't getting an education, but instead of trying to change the culture and get those kids sent to school instead of being sent to the platforms, one innovative teacher decided to bring the school to the kids. He/She (?) started coming by and giving lessons to the children. Maya found out that it took something like $400USD a YEAR to support this school and keep things running, and that's when she decided to start GFC and give small, but incredibly meaningful, grants to people that are trying to make a difference at the COMMUNITY level. Through my summer, I've learned that all too often it's these small, grassroots-level groups that are missed -- they fly under the radar with all of the huge, more national-in-scope non-profits that steal the spotlight. Yet often, it's these small groups that truly understand the needs and culture of the community THE BEST -- they can make the most difference, and they don't need a million dollars to do it.

So that's how GFC's grant-making mission came about, but then there's also a book publishing program, and that's where I spent my summer. The Global Fund for Children Books brand is spectacular -- at present they have roughly 25 photo-illustrated titles that are all about multiculturalism and promoting global citizenship among children. A few of my favorites are Global Babies, a board book for infants/toddlers that shows the faces of babies around the world, Faith, a book for elementary-school children that depicts kids of all different religions engaging in prayer, celebrations and rituals, and Children from Australia to Zimbabwe, which was actually GFC's first book -- it's an A-Z tour of the globe featuring children from 26 different countries. What I like best about these books is the fact that they introduce children to diversity at a very early age and in a way that's subtle, but again, can make a great impact. It teaches children to recognize the different cultures of the world, but also helps them look beyond the differences to find how similar they actually are to all different races, religions, socioeconomic statuses, etc. It really does promote global citizenship, which I hope helps foster a more tolerant, accepting and peaceful generation!

During my internship, I was essentially in charge of revamping GFC's books marketing program and creating a strategic partnership outreach platform. I worked up an Integrated Marketing Communications Plan template for the organization and filled it out for three of their books, and then I did research surrounding strategic partnerships in both the corporate and non-profit sectors and hopefully got GFC's foot in the door with several different organizations. I also made some great friends while I was there, and will miss seeing everyone's smiling, PASSIONATE faces every day (Hi Tamar, Jerry, Cynthia, Maya, Victoria, Amy, EVERYONE!).

If you are interested in learning more about The Global Fund for Children, I HIGHLY suggest that you visit their Web site -- www.globalfundforchildren.org and check out the ONLINE BOOKSTORE (See the SHOP ONLINE link at the top right). If you purchase your children's books (for your children, as a gift, for a friend who is having a baby shower) directly from GFC's Web site than all of the proceeds from the sale go right back into funding GFC book development and/or grantmaking (i.e. purchasing from a mass retailer deliver only a small royalty to GFC, so if you really want to help the organization, buy direct)! And of course, if you have any questions about my experience, you can feel free to ask me directly. :)

That's a wrap folks, see you real soon (i.e. after my Disney trip!).

Almost My Last DC Entry

2009-07-27T10:19:00.004-04:00

This past weekend I hosted the last of my many guests, and completed my second to last weekend in DC. Looking back, it has been a wonderful summer in a wonderful city and I feel like I have had the chance to see so many beautiful sites and spend time with so many great people. I will definitely be sad to leave, but I'm looking forward to spending time with family and my puppies and diving into my second year of coursework!

As a weekend recap, here goes!:

We started off Friday night with dinner at the Newseum's signature Wolfgang Puck restaurant called The Source (do you get the play on journalism?). The dinner was lovely -- I had a wild king salmon hand-rubbed with Asian seasonings and served on a bed of bok choy and vegetables accompanied with a delicious Riesling and followed with a warm vahlrona chocolate truffle cake -- until Tausha lost her camera. We're still not entirely sure how "Cameragate," as she calls it, began, and we've yet to get clues from anyone calling themselves "Deep Throat," but somehow her camera went missing after we ate. Although she didn't notice it until we were leaving the movie theater after seeing "The Hangover" (funny, with some vulgar/unnecessary dialogue, but worth seeing for a good laugh), it put a bit of a damper on the evening.

Saturday morning, we began our day with a tour of the Library of Congress, which really is stunning with its gothic arches and Italian-influenced interior decor. As we walked around reading the quotes about literature and pouring over the domed ceiling and ethereal artwork, we seriously thought we were touring some ancient European church, and not a library. From there we had lunch at the American Indian museum cafe (I had chicken mole, which was good, but I think they are lying when they say it has chocolate in it) and then stopped to tour the Hirshhorn, which was a bit of a let down since one of the floors was temporarily closed and some of the exhibits were just totally strange. Nevertheless, we had some fun with my camera's color accent feature as evidenced below with our trippy tribute to the 60s and "Across the Universe":

Since we were able to complete the museum so quickly, we took an hour to explore the US Botanical Gardens, just off the Capitol. Talk about B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! We took more than 40 photos of the gorgeous flowers, although this one, courtesy of Tausha's mad photography skills, takes the cake:

After getting flowered out, we hit up a Thai restaurant for dinner and then took the train out to West Falls Church to see the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap. They were playing a night of movie music by John Williams and covered the themes from Jaws, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Superman and more. The best part was perhaps seeing my good old friends from the 501st, a group of die-hard Star Wars fans that deck out in costumes every chance they get (Jedis, stormtroopers, Jawas and Darth Vader himself made appearances). I met some of the members back when I worked at Disney and covered Star Wars Weekends for the PR team.

Sunday was Tausha's last day, so we began with a leisurely brunch in Georgetown at the cutest little French restaurant called Cafe Bonaparte. I completely blew my diet with a Nutella Cappucchino, a "Rembrandt" omelette filled with brie and sundried tomatoes and half of a chocolate croissant. After that, it was a relaxing stroll through Georgetown to Tudor Place, a magnificent home originally owned by Martha Washington's granddaughter Martha Custis Peter and later passed through the family for more than 100 years.

The weekend didn't end as well as it started unfortunately, as I discovered 6 pesky mosquito bites on my legs (who knew moquitos could bite through jeans?) and a broken air conditioner in my apartment (thank you for rescuing me from my 81 degree sweatbox Amy!). Alas, today I am exhausted and feel ready for my next espresso-filled beverage (already downed a Venti from Starbucks). Toodaloo!

A quarter of a century...

2009-07-21T11:02:00.004-04:00

I can't believe I'm 25 years old -- and 25 FEELS old. I'm officially in my mid-twenties and can longer associate myself with the "check here if you are 18-24" box. But I can look forward to cheaper car insurance and no longer having to pay extra fees when I rent a vehicle. Yes, it's that exciting to be a quarter of a century old.

I used to have benchmarks of where I thought I'd be at 25. Surely, I thought I'd be married by now. And goodness knows I NEVER envisioned that I'd be less than a year away from a Harvard MBA. It just goes to show you how life continues to throw hurdles at you, and sometimes it's useless to plan.

In happier news, I did have a very fun birthday weekend filled with friends, food, and lots of siteseeing. My friend Melissa, a sorority sister from UF, came into town and together we conquered the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, Georgetown for dinner and a movie, Ford's Theatre and the Peterson House, and finally Lincoln's Cottage at The Soldier's Home. Of all the things we saw, the Lincoln Memorial probably takes the cake for the weekend. The views, both as you approach the memorial, and as you look back at the Washington Monument through it's majestic columns, are truly breathtaking. It makes me wish I had been here on July 4th to sit on the memorial's steps and watch the fireworks going off behind the monument (although I wouldn't have missed Lauren's wedding for the world, of course!).

And then, thrown in there of course, was my birthday dinner. I have to say I was a little disappointed to see the guest list collapse in half, with almost everyone canceling at the last minute (a pet peeve, but you can't change the world just because something annoys you!), but the people I most wanted to be there showed up, so it turned out to be great nonetheless. The table shared a bottle of the most delicious Riesling and we prompted devoured it along with two delicious desserts (a white chocolate mousse cake with raspberry syrup and a banana split creme brulee with caramel sauce and fresh fruit). The restaurant itself, Sequoia, turned out to be a beautiful pick (I sort of chose it randomly based on the menu having never been there myself). The restaurant sits on the Potomac and is decorated in glistening hanging crystals and tiny lights. And once it's dark, the lights both inside, and outside covering all of the trees, turn on to give it a sort of winter wonderland whimsical feel. If I have the time, I'd love to go back at least once more before I depart from DC.

Speaking of departing, I have only 18 days left before I head out to Florida. This summer has gone so quickly and I've enjoyed my time here very much. I will definitely have to make a repeat trip back at some point, as there is so much that I have yet to see. I've got one more guest on the docket, too -- Tausha comes into town Thursday night and departs on Sunday. We're going to hit up The Source restaurant (a fancy Wolfgang Puck joint at The Newseum), the National Symphony Orchestra, The Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum of Contemporary and Modern Art, and a French-inspired Georgetown brunch. I love playing hostess, so I can't wait until she gets here! That's all for now, see you again in a week or so!

Best Friends Forever! Another weekend in DC...

2009-07-12T20:12:00.005-04:00

My best friend Aynsley left for Florida a few hours ago and I miss her already! Along with her fiance, Mike, Ayns stayed with me for the weekend and it was great to catch up and spend time together since we hadn't seen one another since our Israel trip back in Dec/Jan. She just set her wedding date (Congratulations, can't wait for 10/10/10!!), so we spent a decent amount of time discussing wedding plans while in transit to our many weekend tourist destinations. A recap:

Friday evening, Aynsley's plane was delayed, so when she finally arrived, we scurried off for dinner at Clyde's in Georgetown. Unfortunately, we were seated next to an extremely noisy, rowdy group, but despite their hooting and hollering we had a lovely meal (a crap and artichoke dip appetizer, linguine with shaved parmesan and fresh tomato, and a scoop of strawberry cheesecake ice cream for dessert). Since we didn't make it to dinner until 8:45pm, we finished just after 10pm and called it a night.

Saturday morning, the journey began with a trip to the National Archives (the first photo in this entry is the exterior of the building), where the original Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights are on display. We had to wait in quite a few lines to get into the main rotunda (it was remniscient of Disney World), but it was worth it to see these amazing documents. The Declaration of Independence is incredibly faded, so much so that you can barely see that there was any writing on there at all. They've got a few reprints that show what the document looked like when it was originally crafted, but it's weird to me that they weren't able to preserve it better (both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are in substantially better condition, as was the Magna Carta which is much older!). The rest of the Archives was a bit of a disappointment, so we walked through the public vault exhibits quickly and headed to our next destination: the Hotel Tabard Inn!

I'd heard the brunch at the Tabard Inn was remarkable and we happily agreed! Aynsley and I shared the blueberry buttermilk pancakes and a scrambled eggs and cream cheese dish with home fries, and delicious, fresh-baked doughnuts on the side. They also served a bread/pastry basket filled with mini-muffins (carrot flavored and amazing) and soft, warm raisin bread. And it wasn't that expensive either! From there we headed to Madame Tussauds, a museum that I've wanted to go to for years!

The museum was lots of fun, and between the three of us, we took more than 50 pictures with the wax figures. It was a great time coming up with unique poses and trying on the costume pieces, like the faux fur coats in the picture above. I was sad that the Johnny Depp figure was out for "renovation" as that was the one I wanted to pose with the most (it would perhaps have been the closest I'd ever get to the real thing!). Overall, the museum only took 30 minutes to walk through (thus I was happy to have used my buy one, get one free pass to secure $10 admission), but I'm happy that I finally got to go!

After taking a brief shopping/browsing break and walking past the White House for the requisite DC pictures, we headed into the Court House area for dinner at Ray's The Steaks, a Virginia eating establishment known for having the best steaks in DC at the best prices. It was another great meal -- I had a fillet mignon (6 oz) with foie gras and porcini mushrooms, plus a glass of red wine, side orders of mashed potatoes and creamed spinach, a bread basket and a serving of cocktail nuts for less than $50 including tax and tip. Pretty amazing if you ask me and it all tasted great as well!

After dinner, it was back to Georgetown for an ice cream break at Hershey's and a viewing of The Proposal (amazingly funny and features the cutest fluffy white puppy you will ever see -- go see it if you haven't already!!).

Sunday was the final day of their visit and we spent the majority of it at the US Holocaust Museum. There were definitely some moments that hit home -- like seeing a replica of the Auschwitz entrance sign, the pile of shoes taken from Holocaust victims and an actual train car that 100 people were stuffed into during the ghetto/concentration camp phase of the war. The Holocaust will forever be close to my heart, and although sometimes it's difficult to view the videos and see the remnants of this tragic event, it is SO important that we all remember how one evil man was able to bring on the deaths of 6 million Jews.

We ended the visit on a high note by visiting the museum shop and getting the chance to speak to the husband of a Holocaust survivor. He was there doing a book signing for his wife's memoirs -- she died before her writings were found and her husband had them published for her posthumously. He signed my book and talked to us briefly about how she had always dreamed of being a writer and would be so happy to know that even after her death, she was able to share her story with the world and remind us that we must never let something like this happen again.

We concluded our fun filled weekend with a reunion with an old friend at Starbucks and then an hour of quality time chatting before it was time for her to leave. I miss her already and can't wait to see her for her engagement party in October (or maybe even sooner than that!). Next up is my friend Melissa from UF. More then!!

A July 4th Weekend Wedding

2009-07-07T09:42:00.003-04:00

I'm back from a whirlwind trip to Boston and embarking on another DC work week. Thankfully, I had yesterday (Monday) off, tomorrow I'm at the National Conference all day, Thursday is a full day work retreat with the Communications team and then it's Friday again and my bestest Aynsley and her fiance Mike are coming into town! The rest of my stay is going to go so quickly that I need to try extra hard to enjoy every last minute of it!

Now, I know you're all dying to hear about the news of the moment: Lauren's wedding (Congratulations and Mazel Tov to Mr. and Mrs. Farber!!). From the very beginning...

I arrived in Boston really early Saturday morning for the rehearsal, which literally lasted about 15 minutes. The rest of the afternoon we all spent by the pool, eating and chatting, and getting sunburned -- well, at least, I got sunburned on my shoulders and it hurt the rest of the weekend! Saturday night we just relaxed around the house, chatting and looking over schedules for Sunday. I practiced my Maid of Honor toast and we all had some good girl talk before heading to bed. Sunday morning we got up at the crack of dawn to shower and prepare for the photographers to arrive for "getting ready" shots. Several hours later after we all did our best to look beautiful, we began professional photos both inside and outside the house. The ceremony started around 2:45pm and was pretty short (or at least it seemed short as I was standing there next to the chuppah!). After the ceremony was the cocktail hour and then we all headed to the tent to start the reception. There was LOTS and LOTS of dancing (including a hora that lasted for like 20 minutes), Lauren sang a romantic song to Jordan, we all toasted the bride and groom and ate some delicious strawberry shortcake. Before I knew it, the night was coming to a close, so we all changed and headed over for the "after party," which was more like a we're-all-exhausted-so-lets-eat-and-chat kind of affair. By 10:30, I was ready for bed, so we decorated the bride and groom's hotel room and swiftly returned to the house for some shut eye.

And then it was over! The next morning we all packed and headed to our various travel destinations with lots of great photos and memories at hand. It was SO great to spend some quality time with some of my best friends (Lauren, Tausha and Christine) and make some new friends too! Now we're all waiting patiently to see the professional photographer's proofs and the wedding video so we can reminisce.

This was a short entry, but I promise there's lots more to come in the next few weeks. Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Weekend #3!

2009-06-29T12:22:00.005-04:00

I hope I'm not boring anyone, what with basically no HBS-related blogging as of late, but truth be told, I'm doing all I can to forget that I have 500 cases ahead of me this fall -- I want to truly enjoy my DC summer. I can assure you that come August there will be plenty of school blogs as EC year rolls out.

This Saturday I began the weekend by meeting up with an old friend from high school (Hi Tara!) with a visit to the Hillwood Museum Estate and Gardens. The estate belonged to Marjorie Merriweather Post (of the Post cereal fortune) in the early 1900s, and when she died, she left her home and antique collection as a museum for the public to enjoy. Although she lived in the 20s and 30s, she was fascinated with old French art and thus decorated her home in the gilded, gold, pastel, ornate style typical of 15-18th century France. Her antiques collection spans multiple regions, though, and features gold and diamond chalices, a wealth of ornate, hand-painted china and some beautiful, richly fabricked costumes. After exploring the 2 story mansion, there are 13 (I think, or was it 17...?) acres of gardens out back exploring different styles -- my favorite was the Japanese garden, although the rose garden was beautiful (but filled with bees and since I am terrified of bees, I couldn't enjoy the experience as much). And then there is a cute little cafe where Tara and I enjoyed lunch and a cappuccino before heading out.

Second in the lineup, I met Amy at the Capitol for a tour, but have to say I was a bit disappointed. Although I knew beforehand that we wouldn't have access to the chambers where the House and Senate meet, I did think we'd get a more substantial tour of the massive building. Instead, we watched a 13-minute video that essentially made the US Congress look perfect (and as much as I love the inspirational music and gorgeous views of the Capitol at sunset, truth be told, our government is far from perfect) and were then shown just 3 rooms -- the rotunda directly under the large dome at the top of the building, the statuary room and the crypt.

The main rotunda truly is spectacular, with a gorgeous painting called "The Glorification of George Washington" at the very top. The surrounding walls feature huge paintings representing different important events in the history of the US (everything from Columbus' voyage to the signing of the Declaration of Independence) flanked by statues of famous historical figures. The statuary room appears to have some French influence -- it was painted a pastel pink with gold adornments -- and it was here that I took a photo with a statue of a man representing the state of Florida. It's terrible that I've already forgotten his name (I was already made fun of once during the tour for having never heard of the guy) as he was the inventor of air conditioning and therefore I owe him lifelong thanks! The final room was called the Crypt, despite the fact that no one is actually buried there, and the only item of real interest in the room was a star shape painted on the floor that represented the exact center of the city.

After our tour, Amy and I met one of the other interns, Megan, for sushi in Rosslyn before heading out to West Falls Church, VA for a showing of Riverdance at the Wolf Trap theater. Although it was a bit far out, it was definitely worth the travel time, as the show was lovely and the theater, just as nice (it's a covered, open-air amphitheater in a wooden area). Unfortunately, photos weren't allowed, so it will be one of the few memories I will have to keep sharp on brain power alone.

The final part of my weekend involved meeting several other HBSers for brunch in Georgetown. We went to a cute little restaurant called the Peacock Cafe...and unfortunately, I don't have anything else exciting to report about the outing.

Next weekend, I depart for Boston to celebrate Lauren's wedding and I couldn't be more excited. More updates and photos will arrive after I'm back in DC on Monday evening! Ciao!

RIP King of Pop

2009-06-25T20:31:00.002-04:00

It is a sad day for the world. RIP Michael Jackson. You are and will always be my King of Pop.

The "News Effect" of DC

2009-06-23T09:24:00.005-04:00

I've never been one to enjoy reading the newspaper in the morning and my bookmarks online have always been more of the People Magazine variety, but somehow living in DC is turning me into a newsie. Perhaps its the fact that GFC gets the Times, the Wall St. Journal, the Washington Post and a plethora of other news sources each morning, or maybe it's just that I'm living at the "source" of many of the stories. Whatever the reason, I've taken to checking out the headlining news stories on NYT.com and WSJ.com in the mornings and, although WSJ annoys me by siphoning off subscriber-only stories (I could avoid this annoyance by picking up the actual paper GFC gets but I have an aversion to newsprint-stained fingers and hence work clothes), I'm enjoying feeling well read and educated about current events. Taking it a step further, I feel inspired this morning to blog about some of the hottest topics in the news...

1) Obama signs an anti-smoking bill: My first thought was yippee! Even though the restrictions are far from monumental, I have an incredible aversion to all things cigarette-related and feel thrilled when our government takes steps toward eliminating this repulsive habit from society. My grandfather smoked for more than 60 years (and my grandmother smoked for 40), so I've seen first hand the detriments it brings. My grandfather contracted emphysema and it got so bad that he lost 90% of his lung capacity, was out of breath simply from leaning over and tying his shoes, and had to be on numerous medications just to breathe. It's no fun suffocating to death.

I always wonder why young people today even choose to start smoking. I mean, back in the 20s and 30s, at least you could blame it on ignorance and the fact that no one knew it was bad for you, but nowadays kids are thrown into D.A.R.E. and Just Say No programs in elementary school where they are clearly taught the consequences and health risks associated with tobacco. It's obviously not cool to have your hair, breath, and clothes smell of smoke, there's nothing attractive about yellow teeth and hairline wrinkles around the mouth, and goodness knows it's an expensive habit to maintain. So what's the appeal? I'd love it if someone could give me one good reason to start smoking.

With that said, I think it's amazing that, even as a smoker himself, Obama could stand up and take steps toward keeping children away from this disgusting deed. Now if only he could kick the habit himself and make an example out of his struggle and success in quitting!

2) DC Metro Train Crash: Firstly, I need to thank all of my friends and family for reaching out yesterday to make sure I was safe after news hit that two DC Metro trains had collided near Maryland. Thankfully, I do not take the red line home, so I was nowhere near the crash, but it's definitely scary to see the damage that was caused. Apparently the death toll is up to 9 now and more than 75 people were injured. Authorities still seem unsure of exactly how the crash happened, and unfortunately the train operator was one of those killed, so I don't think they'll ever really know, but it definitely brings into stark relief how much you are really putting your life in someone else's hands just by riding the subway to and from work every day.

3) Neda and the Iranian Revolution: This is the most heartwrenching news story that I've seen in a while. For those of you who haven't heard of Neda, she was a 27 year old woman living in Iran and attending a "peaceful" protest with her father over the Iranian election when she was shot in the chest. Her death on the streets of Iran was captured via cell phone video and quickly disseminated through social networks to people around the world. The video is definitely graphic and shows her first lying in a pool of blood and then bleeding profusely from her nose and mouth and she slips into unconsciousness. It's difficult to watch, but at the same time, so important to know about because it helps you understand the nature of the conflict in Iran and how volatile the situation is. It's also interesting how quickly this unknown woman who was neither a political figure nor a celebrity so quickly rose to the status of martyr simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the days since her death on Saturday, people have written poems about her, branded her an angel and in a sense, sensationalized her death to the point that she has become a symbol of the revolution.

Regardless, it's so shocking and terrible to watch someone die -- naturally, my curiousity got the best of me and I had to watch the minute-long video -- and it just makes you wish for peace that much harder.

That's the news for today according to me, ciao!

Jun Visits DC!

2009-06-22T09:52:00.005-04:00

This past weekend Jun, one of my friends and sectionmates from HBS, came to visit DC and we had a packed weekend filled with lots of sightseeing and good food. Saturday morning we started our adventure off at the Arlington National Cemetery, despite the torrential rain (can't let a little water stop us!).

The cemetery offers a tour of some of the most prominent sites, so we boarded the bus and headed to the Kennedy gravesite where Jackie Kennedy, JFK and his brother Robert Kennedy are all buried.

This photo shows JFK's tomb and the eternal flame that is lit behind it. Jackie's grave sits right next to JFK's and Robert's grave is a little ways away up a separate pathway. Behind the graves is a beautiful memorial with some of JFK's most famous quotes carved into stone ("Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country..." among others). A similar memorial with quotes and a waterfall is near RFK's grave.

The second stop on the cemetery tour was at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a memorial that is guarded by high-ranking military 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I tried to ask the park rangers why of all the tombs it was felt that this one should be guarded and unfortunately, I couldn't get an answer from anyone, so I still need to research this. Nonetheless, there is a very solemn and official ceremony that takes place every half an hour to change the guards. There's lots of "barking" by the man in charge of the ceremony, followed by interesting rifle maneuvers, lots of heel clicking and pacing back and forth. I'm not sure I entirely understood the significance of the ceremony, but it was nice to see anyway. Nearby the Tomb is a beautiful marble amphitheater where speeches are held, and not far away are the memorials to the astronauts on the Space Shuttles Challenger and Columbia.

The third and final stop on the tour was Arlington House, which overlooks the entire graveyard and was once the home to confederate General Robert E. Lee. Nearly 90% of the original structure of the house is intact and you can tour the main home, the slave quarters, the kitchens, the rose garden and a small bookstore. Although it was a cloudy, rainy day, the view from the top of the hill really is amazing. You can see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the White House among other DC sites.

Next up on our whirlwind tour was a visit to the West building of the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art. I have noticed that I am so incredibly impressed with the architecture of the buildings in the city and this Gallery was among the most beautiful structures yet. The photo of the museum rotunda above does not accurately portray the beauty of the entryway with its majestic arches, marble columns and calming fountain with rich sunlight streaming in from two sides. Jun and I began our visit with a lovely lunch in the museum's Garden Cafe. The cuisine changes frequently, representing different regions of the world, and currently is focused on Spanish cuisine. We tried lots of Spanish cheeses (goat, sheep and cow's milk) with crispy bread, a chilled gazpacho soup, a lentil dish, an eggplant dish, delicious spiced meatballs, chicken baked with bacon and lentils and finally blueberries and flan for dessert. Amazing (and less than $20!).

From there it was time to explore the galleries, which are split into regions and time periods, mostly featuring 15th-18th century art. Among my favorite sections were the Monets and Van Goghs, the Dutch and Flemish art (they had a few Vermeers, but not Girl with a Pearl Earring) and the 15th and 16th century French art. They had one Da Vinci painting (apparently it is the only Da Vinci in North America), but I honestly wasn't very impressed!

After several hours of touring the Gallery, we made a brief stop at the East building, but had just 10 minutes to explore as the museum was getting ready to close. To kill time, we walked over to the White House so Jun could take some photos and then we grabbed a cab to Georgetown and walked around a bit exploring the shops. Shortly thereafter we met our sectionmate William for an Italian dinner at Papa Razzi followed by a showing of the Disney-Pixar film "Up" in Disney Digital 3D (it was an awesome movie, so go see it if you haven't!). At midnight, we finally hit the sack and prepared for the fun to come on Sunday.

Sunday morning we departed for the Jefferson Memorial, which is a good 15-20 minute walk from the National Mall. The memorial itself is more breathtaking than I imagined it would be, complete with a gigantic statue of Jefferson in the center of a rotunda on which his most famous quotes are carved into each of four walls. The remainder of the rotunda is filled with pillars overlooking the Potomac on one side and gardens on the others. Underneath the memorial is an exhibit on Jefferson's life (with a very interesting film) and a couple of gift shops.

After touring the memorial we walked all the way to the other end of the mall to have lunch at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. Although Jun wasn't interested in touring the museum (I'll have to save that for another weekend!), the cafe there is supposed to be the best among the Smithsonians as they feature Native American offerings from different regions of the US (Jun had a buffalo sandwich that she was less than thrilled with, but I enjoyed my meal of papuchas (sort of like a potato pancake stuffed with either cheese or beans and covered with cabbage and a special sauce), yucca fries and a lima bean and avocado salad). From there we walked to the Freer Gallery of Asian Art and took a docent tour of the museum highlights, including Whistler's Peacock room, a green and gold room with peacock "feather" designs floor to ceiling.

With that, we grabbed some ice cream, took a quick tour of the Hirshorn Museum sculpture garden (and tied a wish to Yoko Ono's wish tree) and parted ways so Jun could explore the Lincoln Memorial (I'm seeing it with another guest later this summer) and I could give my aching feet and back a rest.

And so another awesome week of touring comes to a close. Next weekend I've got a tour of the Capitol, the Hillwood museum, a concert and brunch with HBS folks on deck. More then!

First Week in DC!

2009-06-15T18:57:00.005-04:00

One week in and my summer in DC is off to a good start. As you know from my previous post, I'm enjoying my apartment and work is starting to shape up as well. All of my colleagues are very nice, and the interns are especially friendly and good lunch company. I've also crafted this matrix (dork alert!) of all the things I want to see and do while I'm here. There are nearly 50 items on there, so I imagine it will take the whole summer to check them all off, if I can even accomplish that.

GFC interns at a Thai restaurant in downtown DC

I've been spending a good deal of time with one of the Fellows at work, a woman from Nigeria named Amy. We're both first timers in DC so are enjoying siteseeing together. On Saturday we covered the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, took a break for an awesome Mexican tapas lunch, and then got through about 1/3 of the Smithsonian Museum of American History (people weren't kidding when they said these museums were huge!). We were so pooped by 3pm, that we had to sit in the cafeteria for 30 minutes just to rest our aching backs and feet!

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Museum of American History

Oyamel, an excellent Mexican tapas restaurant

To cap off the day we saw the Night at the Museum sequel in IMAX back at the Natural History museum and then dragged our tired bodies home. Since we didn't see much of the American History museum, it's definitely a destination I'll have to hit again soon. I think it's an early favorite what with the Lincoln exhibit (featuring one of his stovepipe hats!), one of the original American flags and an original Kermit the Frog puppet!

This weekend my friend Jun from HBS is coming to visit and we've got a packed itinerary including the Arlington National Cemetery, Iwo Jima Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, National Gallery, and Freer and Sackler Galleries (Smithsonian galleries of Asian art). Leading up to the weekend I've got dinner plans tomorrow, Weds. and Thurs., and lunch plans with a sorority sister from UF on Thurs., so it's going to be a busy week and weekend. More soon!

Kendra Wilkinson (Hugh Hefner's former girlfriend) is pregnant...

2009-06-10T17:07:00.001-04:00

...God help us...

...More about first day of work later!

Welcome to the Nation's Capital!

2009-06-09T16:24:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I arrived in DC thanks to my very generous aunt and uncle who drove me down from Pennsylvania. I was up in PA for my cousin Aven's wedding (Congratulations Aven!) and spent a few days just relaxing with family and eating way too many cookies (Aven's aunt brought homemade almond butter cookies and they were delish!), pieces of cake and scoops of ice cream. I think I'll be entirely sugared out for weeks!

My first afternoon in DC was quite the adventure. After getting my keys, I did an initial shopping trip, unpacked, said goodbye to my aunt and uncle and proceeded to cook myself a sesame ginger chicken and mushrooms dinner, which was delicious at the time. I spent the evening watching TV and relaxing after being exhausted from traveling and planned to go to bed early only to witness the power go out in the entire apartment. New to the apartment, I had no idea where to find a flashlight, if the tenants even left one, so I'm walking around with my iPhone as light searching for matches to light the few candles in the bathroom. After a few minutes without the power turning back on, I start to get a little freaked out hanging out alone in this pitch black apartment, so I use my iPhone to call the office and they tell me the power is out on the entire block! I tried to fall asleep, but without AC it's awful tough to get comfortable. The power finally came back on at 2am, at which point I nodded off only to be woken up by the loudest thunderstorm I've ever heard at 6am. To make things worse, my chicken and mushroom dinner turned out to be poison to my stomach and I have felt sick all day with a churning stomach ache. What a welcome!

In more positive news, I did go exploring a bit today and found my office for work, wandered through Franklin Square and went to Columbia Heights to Bed, Bath & Beyond and Target. I experimented with the Metro and discovered the two stops within walking distance of my apartment. And the apartment is beautiful! The furniture is simple -- just my taste -- and the place is stocked with practically everything I will need for the summer (minus a flashlight). I definitely think I got a good deal with the sublet as it's also in a great area and is super secure (you need a card to get in the building and one to get the elevator to take you to the floor you live on). I was hoping to get back in the gym today (there is one in the building), but thought it might be a better idea to take it easy considering my stomach ache. Hopefully I can start working out again mid-week.

The living/dining room and view of the balcony from the front door.

The view of the living/dining room area from the balcony.

The bathroom...

The kitchen...

And the bedroom!

Tomorrow is my first day of work at GFC, so I'll be sure to blog and let everyone know how that goes. And then hopefully I'll get a chance to start exploring all of the touristy stuff this week and weekend!

Year in Review: Last Day of RC Classes

2009-05-15T16:24:00.013-04:00

Today was the last day of RC classes, and as such, I'm in a particularly nostalgic mood. It's truly funny how things cement in your mind once they come to an end, and even if you didn't always realize it in the moment, you come to understand the gravity of it all, and how much fun you really had, when it drifts from reality into memory.

With that in mind, I wanted to count down some of my favorite experiences, professors, classes and moments from RC year. In no particular order...

My Learning Teams

(The Analytics Crew: Sonia, me, Matt, Jesus, Nowshad, David and Charlotte [not pictured])

(The RC Team: Phil, Reji, Qiao, me, Craig, Aneal)

I think I laughed the most in the time I spent with my learning teams. Whether we were arguing over Gantt charts or frustrating finance that none of us understood during Analytics, or discussing the merits of an axe in surviving the subarctic in the fall, we had a great time learning from, and with, each other. It's a little sad, because as always, the friendships inevitably fade a bit as you see, and rely on, each other less -- don't you sometimes wish you could stop time and just stay in the moment? Thankfully, I'll always remember and cherish the times we shared (why does it sound like I am writing a greeting card here?) and be ever grateful for the knowledge these people passed on and the good times we created.

Treks and Travels

(Entertainment and Media Club Hollywood Trek - Jan. 2009)

(Vermont, Section G Retreat, Fall 2008)

(Birthright Israel Dec. 2008-Jan. 2009)

(New York City -- numerous times 2008-2009)

(Dillsburg, PA, Thanksgiving 2008)

Although many of my sectionmates had far more exciting weekend jaunts than I did ("Nothing to do this weekend? Let's go to Iceland!"), I've traveled more this year than ever before. Whether it was side trips to Vermont or Pennsylvania, trips home to Florida to see family, weekends in New York City or my first overseas experience in Israel, I've come to really enjoy traveling. I'm hoping to make it to Europe this winter and maybe save up to go on the China or Japan trek next spring!

The Section Experience

(Queensday, Spring 2009)

(Holidazzle, Fall 2008)

I've said quite a few times that I was disappointed in the section experience -- most notably around the holidays when I still felt like I didn't know diddly squat about the majority of my sectionmates -- and I can't say that I've entirely changed my mind. However, there are days such as today, when we play our section song ("Love Generation by Bob Sinclair (I think?)), dance on the desks (a G tradition), sit in our first semester seats and have the chance to look around the room and really feel the bond that's been created. I can't say that I've really made 89 close friends, but I can't say that I've ever really been the social butterfly -- what I can say is that I've made 89 connections deep enough that should I ever be in a pickle, I know these people would be there for me. And don't get me wrong, I have made some great friendships. I looked around the room today and envisioned the world travels I'll have to make to visit my friends in India, China and Japan, to name a few. I'll definitely miss these people.

(Section G, Class of 2010)

And then there are the random things I've enjoyed:

Professors: I've truly been blown away by how engaged the professors are at this school and how much they care about the learning experience of their students. Overall, I've enjoyed most of my professors, although the favorites (Michel Anteby from Fall, Rawi Abdelal and Joshua Margolis from Spring) will always stick out.
My dorm and hallmates: I've made some of my closest friends simply by living side by side. Tanya and Qiao, I'm so happy we'll be neighbors again next year!
Seasons! Seriously, guys, seasons rock. I don't think I can ever go back to year round summer after I've seen how beautiful the flower blossoms are in spring, how mesmerizing the fall colors can be, and how soft and inviting fresh fallen snow appears. Next year I swear I am making a snowman and having a picnic in the Boston gardens in the fall/spring.
Dessert at Top of the Hub, sweet potato sushi in Harvard Square, movies, malls, lots of Starbucks, foie gras with the marketing club, asking Bob Iger a question thanks to EMC, playing a consultant in a video, dressing as a gypsy for festive friends, presenting the first skydeck of the year, being skydecked numerous times for having this very blog, sitting next to an eye surgeon, sitting next to a Malaysian banker, commiserating over finance woes, dominating negotiations, L-O-V-I-N-G strategy ;), buying a section fleece, dancing on the desks, being terrified of a cold call, praying for a cold call, fro-yo at the Grille, lunches with professors, and realizing I've learned more in a year at HBS than in all the rest of my school experience.

Here's to the conclusion of a great year, the start of an awesome summer and looking forward to the good times ahead as the big man on campus....an EC!

Spring in Boston...

2009-05-02T19:58:00.001-04:00

...is beautiful! I love seasons!

And I finally got to ride in the swan boat downtown! :)

3 weeks left of RC!

Hiatus Over - One Month Left of RC Year

2009-04-20T15:05:00.002-04:00

If anyone is still faithfully checking this blog, you have my thanks! Sorry for the month-long hiatus. Dealing with my grandfather's death and catching up with real life took more time than I imagined and blogging wasn't exactly high on my priority list. A lot has happenend in the last month, though. Firstly, I secured my summer internship, which is exciting and such a relief. Although I'm still disappointed that I wasn't able to secure the entertainment internships that I was hoping for, the internship I accepted should be a great learning experience with a very nice group of people.

I'll be working for an organization in Washington, D.C., called The Global Fund for Children. I'll be their MBA Summer Associate working on their books division (they publish children's books and have just begun dabbling in documentary film and photography) doing online/direct marketing, strategic partnerships and alliances. The pros are that it's a small organization with a mostly young, entrepreneurial staff, so I should have the opportunity to really dig into my projects and take on a lot of responsibility. Furthermore, I've always wanted to go to D.C. (and still have latent anger that my mom wouldn't let me go on my 5th grade safety patrol trip), so now I will have two months to explore the city! I'm most looking forward to the Smithsonian Holocaust Museum, the Lincoln Memorial and hopefully taking a tour of the White House (if it's open to the public by then).

In other news, we've started the preregistration process for our EC year, which is exciting. There are like 80 courses available to choose from, although their selections in marketing are fairly limited. Some of the courses I know I want to take include Consumer Marketing, Strategic Marketing in Creative Industries, Competing Through Social Networks and Digital Marketing. There are also some cool leadership courses like Authentic Leadership Development, The Moral Leader and Leading Teams that are high on my list. And then there's general business courses like Executing Strategy, Building a Business in the Context of a Life, Managing Human Capital and Entrepreneurial Leadership that look interesting. We also have the opportunity to work on Field Study or Independent Study projects, so I'll be brainstorming about potential project ideas over the next couple of months.

Last week we had our first final exam (strategy), and we've got 5 more scattered throughout the remaining 5 weeks of the semester. It's hard to believe that my first year of business school is practically over! This summer is going to be crazy busy for me, although I won't be doing any grand traveling like a lot of my classmates (there are treks to China, Japan, Israel and Eastern Europe among other destinations, but the trips are like $4,000+, which is far out of reach of my budget!). I'm leaving Boston May 22nd to go home to Florida for two weeks, jetting to PA for my cousin's wedding the first weekend of June, working in D.C. for 8-10 weeks with a side trip to Boston for my other friend's wedding, and then heading back to Florida for 3 weeks before school starts again in August. I'm excited because I'm finally going to hit my TrueBlue target and get a free JetBlue flight at the end of the summer. Now I just have to find a destination to use it for (I'm thinking Hawaii, Cali or Las Vegas).

Got to get back to my case-reading, final exam studying routine. Take care!

RIP Irwin Fisch 2/19/27-3/17/09

2009-03-17T20:56:00.002-04:00

I have been missing from the blog scene for several weeks as my grandfather turned ill the second week of February and passed this morning. He was 82 years old.

Fraught with emphysema for years, we were convinced that it was his breathing condition that would eventually kill him. We never foresaw his rapid diagnosis with Stage 4 colon cancer, emergency surgery to remove a tumor the size of a grapefruit, and the endless complications (pneumonia, MRSA, fluid in the lungs, edema, malfunctioning chew/swallow response) that would keep him in the surgical ICU for 15 days.

Last night my mother and grandmother made the decision to move him to hospice after he began running a fever. He passed away this morning around 11am.

Rest in peace, my darling grandfather...You were the only dad I ever knew and I will love and miss you forever.

I'm going to be a Maid of Honor!!!

2009-02-15T23:08:00.002-05:00

I apologize, for this has absolutely nothing to do with HBS, but I am so excited that I have to shout it to the world. Today, one of my newly-engaged best friends from high school, Lauren, asked me to be her Maid of Honor at brunch (we went to a really cute restaurant on Newbury St. called Sonsie and I had perhaps the best french toast of my life -- it came with rum bananas and caramel and 2,000 calories, but it was so worth it!). She's getting married this summer at her sister's property in Sudbury, which she says is amazingly beautiful. Her sister is also acting as her Matron of Honor, so I will have a partner in crime, as well as four other bridesmaids (two of whom are also best friends from high school) to help make her special day that much more amazing. Today, Lauren and I went to Priscilla bridal boutique for her first round of dress exploration and then we went to Borders and bought her this massive bridal planning bible. I can't wait to start brainstorming about Bridal Showers and Bachelorette party themes (and I even bought a "How to be a Bridesmaid" book at Borders!)~!

I promise I'll blog soon with some actual MBA news. Things are pretty blah right now as we just chug through the semester and continue the very long, very exhausting internship search. I'm heading to NYC next weekend for the Entertainment & Media Club's NY Trek, so I'll have stuff to add once I return. Also, Admitted Students Weekend is in two weeks and I've volunteered to host one of the lunches, so if any of you readers will be up in Boston, give me a shout!

The Most Disgusting Day in Boston

2009-01-28T16:17:00.003-05:00

Permit me a rant, if you will, for I have just drudged through icy, wet, sloshy, disgusting, half snow, half water all the way from Harvard Square back to campus. My so-called waterproof boots -- soaked. My jeans and socks -- as wet as if I just removed them from the wash machine. My hair? Stuck to my head, stuck in my lip gloss and full of knots. I am a mess. It is a mess outside. And for that reason, I plan to stay in my warm dorm room until mother nature takes care of this sloppy, disgustingness. That is all.

Second Semester in Full Swing and I'm Feeling Fine

2009-01-26T21:03:00.003-05:00

It's amazing how much more relaxed I am this semester. And I think my good attitude and the fact that I keep repeating this mantra to everyone who asks is helping perpetuate it. I could very easily stress out this semester what with six intense courses, an internship search in progress...okay, I'm stopping here because I am feeling my heart race and this goes against my relaxed state so it's time for a subject change.

Classes are so good so far. I do definitely miss certain professors and aspects of last semester, but I also feel really stimulated by these new courses. Right now we have Business, Government and the International Economy (aka BGIE -- pronounced Big E); Leadership and Corporate Accountability; Finance 2; and Strategy. I absolutely L-O-V-E strategy. It's like marketing on steroids. Seriously though, we talk about all aspects of a company's strategic moves and how they impact production, marketing, operations, finance, etc. BGIE is also really interesting (plus we have a great professor who is the course head for the subject -- he seems so incredibly smart!) although the 20+ page cases are killing me. Finance is hard (as usual) and LCA is pretty good so far, although we haven't had too many classes yet so it's hard to tell where we will go in that course. In two weeks we pick up a fifth class, The Entrepreneurial Manager and then later in the semester we get Negotiation.

Outside of classes, I am busy as ever. I'm auditioning for the HBS Show (a student written and run musical comedy) on Thursday and I'm also in the process of planning the Entertainment & Media Club Conference, which is March 19 (and to any Bostonians reading this, the conference is open to the public, so message me for more information!). I'm also trying to squeeze in extra personal training sessions, physical therapy and chiropractics for my neck, my remaining anti-stress massage therapy appointments, traveling here, there and everywhere...

Speaking of traveling, I am leaving this Friday to spend a week and a day in sunny south Florida with my family. Next week is what RCs call Hell Week, aka on-campus internship recruiting dedicated week. We are off from classes the whole week to accommodate interview scheduling. Since I am doing a completely networked search, I am not interviewing on campus at all (a little risky, I must say, but life wouldn't be fun without risk, right?) and I thought rather than lay around all day feeling stressed out by a million suits walking around, I should spend it in the warm Florida sun with my puppies and loved ones. I'm so excited because I plan to totally relax -- something I didn't actually get to do much of during winter break.

I'll try to blog some more while I'm home, since there is so much exciting news to share, but for now I need to read tomorrow's finance case -- something about the WACC of Marriott hotels...blech!

L.A. adventures (for Tausha)

2009-01-14T15:04:00.007-05:00

So in my previous posts, I forgot to mention details about my trip to LA on the HBS Entertainment and Media Club's Hollywood Trek. I headed out there a day after I got back from Israel and was there for 3.5 days. In those three days, the Trek met with eight different entertainment companies (Paramount, Fox, Mandate Pictures, Film Department, Activision, Disney, CAA and Sony). Unfortunately, due to an unforeseen medical condition, I would up missing the activities during the day Mandate Pictures, Film Dept and Activision were visited, but wasn't too upset since they are smaller companies that don't currently pique my interest anyhow.

We stayed at the Best Western Sunset Plaza on Sunset Boulevard and I was lucky enough to get a huge, gorgeous room for a super cheap price! The beds had the softest pillows and a so-cushy-you-sink-right-in mattress. The bathroom had marble countertops and amazing amenities, our room had a separate sitting area with a couch, desk and flat screen TV, and there was a second flat screen TV in the bedroom portion. I was amazed since you don't think of the most amazing accommodations when you hear Best Western.

On the first full day of the trek we visited Paramount and Fox, had lot tours at each and met with representatives from different divisions of the company. The Paramount lot tour was really cool and our tour guide pointed out places where Spiderman 3 was filmed, and where Breakfast at Tiffany's was filmed, in addition to other memorable movies. I was also fairly impressed with the presentations as they had a marketing SVP speak to us and he mentioned how he made a career for himself combining creative and business, which is exactly my goal. Paramount also has an internship program, but it's not specific to MBAs, so I'm still unclear as to how the responsibilities (and compensation!) would differ between an undergrad and MBA intern. They do have a few marketing positions posted already though, so I definitely plan to apply. Fox I was less impressed with, although their facilities are huge and truly gorgeous. My attitude may be partially due to the fact that we had presentations from the Business Development and Digital Media groups, both of whom made it clear that creativity plays almost no part in their roles (at that I checked out, and then I checked out again when the BizDev guy started insulting my precious Disney. Personally, I think that if you have to resort to knocking down other businesses to make yourself look good, it's not the best of signs!).

At Fox

The next day was my "sick," day so I'll fast forward to that evening when we went to an HBS alumni panel with five entertainment big-wigs (two from Disney, two from Fox, one from Summit, the production company that did Twilight). It was a little boring, I have to admit, but I did get to meet one of the Disney folk that I was attempting to network with. Face to face meets are always helpful!

The following (and final) day was my favorite day. We began the morning with a visit to Disney. I swear, I felt so at home! The campus is gorgeous -- one of the main buildings has the seven dwarfs "holding up" the roof, signifying how the success of Disney's first full-length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs held up the foundation for the company's future success. After a quick tour of the lot, we had a presentation and panel, both of which were really interesting (but again, I think I'm biased due to my true passion for the company). We had some time for networking before leaving for Sony, which also had a beautiful lot. The lobby was filled with props and costumes from many of their films -- it was cool to see the dress Natalie Portman wore in The Other Boleyn Girl and some of the props from The Producers (I'm a junkie for all of this stuff). Unfortunately, their internship program is essentially non-existent. The recruiter told me that they generally take just two interns a summer, and almost exclusively in the BizDev dept (which is highly quantitative and not my cup of tea). What was cool was the fact that they brought the company's CEO out to speak to us (he was an HBS grad, but still!).

Our final stop of the trek was to CAA, Creative Artists Agency. They represent a lot of the big-wigs in Hollywood -- Tom Cruise, Salma Hayek, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, etc. They talked to us both about opportunities to become an agent, and more business-y opportunities in their corporate marketing division and finance areas. I definitely plan to follow up on the corporate marketing opportunities, although I think this is something I'll keep more in my back pocket when it comes to full-time job searching next year.

Overall, the trek was worth the time and money, if for nothing else than to experience the gorgeous LA weather and get a sense for what companies I could see myself working at. I can't say that I made as much progress on securing an internship as I had hoped (I'm still putting all my eggs in the proverbial "Disney basket") but I do feel like I have a better idea of the LA scene and how to focus my full-time search when that time comes.

(P-S: I thought I'd mention why we didn't visit the other two big studios in LA, Warner Bros and Universal -- WB is recruiting on campus and we're visiting NBC Universal on our NYC trek next month!)

Term 1 Grades

2009-01-12T15:48:00.001-05:00

I am proud to announce that I did NOT flunk out of HBS!

Term 1 grades were released today and I got a 2 in everything except Finance (got a 3 there, as expected). And for the final exam grades, I got a 1 for LEAD (yay!), a 2 in Marketing and FRC and a 4 (lowest grade possible) in Finance and TOM. The only thing that surprises me is the 4 final exam grade for TOM because I thought I did really well! I must have messed something up big time that I didn't realize!

Anyhow I am completely ecstatic because this means I am not on academic probation as I feared I might be and it should be MUCH smoother sailing this term. Yippeee!

Winter Break: Florida, New York, Israel, California and back!

2009-01-11T13:12:00.005-05:00

It feels so weird being back in Boston -- it almost seems like I've been gone a year, not just 23 days. I returned to a snow-covered landscape and with suitcases much heavier than when I left. My brain is full of glorious memories and my body is ready for another vacation to recover from my vacation (why is it always the case that relaxation eludes you on most vacations and you come back to reality just as, if not more, exhausted than when you left?).

It is hard to put into words just how great this break has been. It began with a (too short) stint in Florida where I got to see my mom and grandparents, spend time with my adorable puppies and see some friends. Then it was off to NYC for a couple of days with my friend Amanda before departing for Israel.

I don't have the time to delve into complete detail about my trip to Israel (nor do I think I'd be able to sustain your interest with 10-days worth of rambling), so I thought instead I'd cover the highlights and lowlights of the trip:

Favorite city we visited: Tzfat

Tzfat is the city in which Jewish mysticism, known as Kabbalah, was founded. It's a tiny city on top of a mountain characterized by light-colored cobblestone walkways where colorful street vendors mix seamlessly with quaint synagogues. In Tzfat we met an Israeli artist named Avraham who introduced us to Kabbalah and the paintings he creates surrounding its teachings. We also had time in the market to shop, and I purchased a beautiful Star of David with cubic zirconia on a long silver chain for 100 shekels (about $25) and a handmade pink scarf with gold thread accents (20 shekels of $5). I also bought a piece of Avraham's artwork (it is the multi-colored circle shown in the right column, on the top, in the picture below -- in English, it translates to "There is Only G-d.").

Least favorite moment: Alitalia losing the entire flight's luggage

When we landed in Tel Aviv we were greeted by Oranim staff with a hearty "Welcome Home," and boy we were excited to finally be off the plane and get out of our dirty clothes. Unfortuntately, this thought proved to be impossible as we soon noticed that none of our luggage was coming off the baggage carousel. A warning to all travelers: If you care about your luggage, do not fly Alitalia! It turns out that no luggage was put onto our plane that flew from Rome to Tel Aviv. I am not sure exactly how this happened as I know there must be a person or two responsible for this, but needless to say we were without luggage for several days, which put a damper on our initial time in Israel.

Most emotional moment: Praying at the Wailing Wall
(aka the Kotel aka the Western Wall)

Prior to coming to Israel, I was barely hanging onto the strings of my Judaism. Having not been raised with any religion, I know nothing about the holidays, prayers or teachings of the Torah. It surprised me so much then, that I felt a huge surge of emotion the day we visited the Old City of Jerusalem and the Wailing Wall. As I approached the wall arm-in-arm with my best friend Aynsley, my entire body was tingling and even after I said my prayers and placed my notes in the wall's cracks, something kept drawing me to the spot in which I was standing. I just could not stop staring and I felt like a force was commanding me to stay and reflect. If they would have let me, I could have stayed all day. It was one of the first times in my life that I felt I was Jewish down to the core.

Best weight loss strategy: Eating the same exact food over 10 days

Halfway through the trip we were informed by the Israeli soldiers that joined our group that the food we were eating was not typical of an Israeli family, and thank goodness, because what we were served for 10 days straight became repulsive after a while. Initially it wasn't bad, but when you are served cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs and some cereal masquerading as corn flakes every single morning, followed by friend chicken cutlets, hummus, white bread, fish filled with bones, etc. every night for dinner you soon swear off these foods forever. Luckily, Israel has some great chocolate and candy, so I was able to counteract the weight loss with sugar intake (like a visit to the original Max Brenner in Tel Aviv -- delicious chocolate concoctions!). :)

Other exciting moments...Riding camels at the Mamshit (in Hebrew is it pronounced Mom-sheet, so not as dirty) Camel Ranch, climbing a mountain in the desert to watch the sun set, hiking through the En Gedi nature preserve, floating in the Dead Sea, strolling through a craft festival in Tel Aviv, visiting the military cemetery at Mt. Herzl, getting to know six amazing Israeli soldiers (shout outs to Idit, Micky, Idan, Tom, Or and Matan!) and finding my love for Israel. Prior to visiting the country I was ashamed to admit I was Jewish -- I wouldn't dear wear my Star of David and would only admit my upbringing when asked directly. After this trip, I have made a vow never to be ashamed again. I am who I am and I have been welcomed by the Israelis into the Jewish community as family. I cannot turn my back on them ever again.

That's it for now! Classes at HBS start up again on Tuesday and I've got a lot to do before then. I'll update soon!

Final Exams and Festive Friends

2008-12-12T16:51:00.004-05:00

Esha and I at Holidazzle, last weekend's black tie holiday ball

Today was our first HBS final exam and I feel drained, wiped, burnt out...any and all forms of the word exhausted now apply. I have a to-do list miles long, yet somehow I can't find the motivation right now to get out of bed and do a single one of them. I will regret this tomorrow when I realize how much precious time I've wasted, but for now I am content to blog, check e-mails and remember a more pleasant time where my muscles weren't so tense that it takes effort to physically hold up my head. Sigh. 4 exams to go and then...freedom!

If you can't already tell from my dramatics (that are scarily more reality and less drama), the exam was hard. It was this extraordinarily complicated case that I just couldn't wrap my head around. My essay was bad. Thankfully, everyone else says their essays were bad too, but I distrust them. These people are so smart that I'm sure they did fine. And I bet they are saying exactly that about me. Only time will tell (results for all exams, and the final semester grades, are released Jan. 11, which means I must find a way to not stress out about whether or not I've flunked out of HBS during what is supposed to be a fun winter break).

Back to the exam. The worst part is that often you think you did bad, and then you go back and re-read your essay and the more you read it, the more you come to think that maybe you didn't actually do that bad. Yeah, I did that bad.

Okay, my friend just came into the room and slapped me around a bit (figuratively, don't let your imaginations run) and told me to stop dwelling. I can't change my exam and I did relatively okay on the other aspects of the course, so I need to stop worrying. She's right. Worrying done. We're having pizza in the dorm at 6 and then going into Harvard Square for dessert. Mmmm chocolate is exactly what I need right now!

A really quick aside: This week Section G held one of our long-standing traditions called Festive Friends. Every year, Gs do Secret Santa with a twist: in order to receive your gift you must complete a dare chosen by your Secret Santa. Mine was to dress up as a fortune teller and walk around asking strangers if they wanted their fortunes told. See picture below -- it was fun! Some of the other dares included selling water from the water fountain for $1 a cup (the girl sold 5 cups!), walking through the halls with a bell reminding people to get to class on time, serenading strangers with a love song, etc. It was a fun way to finish out our last week of classes.

Speaking of last week of classes (my final topic before heading off to said pizza party), this week we found out our new seats for next semester, our new professors, and said goodbye to our current profs, who we will all miss greatly. It's amazing how much they have all grown on me as the semester has gone on. Initially, I must admit I was a bit skeptical, but now I look back and wonder if I would have wanted any other professors. I especially will miss my favorite of the group, our LEAD teacher Michel Anteby. I can't put my finger on why, but I just loved everything about this guy: his sweet, shy demeanor, his French accent (especially the way he pronounced my name), his teaching style and the way he related to the class...it was all just great. Next semester's professors have huge shoes to fill!

All right I'm off -- I will try to update once more before I leave for winter break next Thursday, but after that I will be gone without computer access until roughly Jan. 10. Spring semester starts Jan. 13, so I'll definitely get back into the swing of things by then. Take care and have a great holiday season everyone!

Just had to...

2008-12-10T17:08:00.002-05:00

The Slacker Returns

2008-12-02T21:16:00.004-05:00

Wow, I can't believe I've neglected my blog almost a whole month. Please forgive me, life has been beyond crazy. Believe it or not, there are actually only 2.5 weeks left of my first semester. It's so weird because although I feel like I've been in Boston for a long, long time, it's still hard to think that I'm already half way done with my first year. Hard to believe AND incredibly scary! Finals are perhaps the scariest thing yet because 50% depends on what you can do in one 4-5 hour timespan (the other 50% of your grade for most classes is dependent on class participation, but that is something you have time to craft over 14 weeks!). From here until Dec. 18, I will be spending most of my afternoons and evenings studying for said finals (and throwing in a few exciting events like this Friday's black-tie holiday party, Holidazzle and a Section G tradition the "Ugly Sweater Party" the following week - anyone know where I can find an ugly sweater to wear?)

As a quick recap from the last month:

I've felt a bit like a hotel concierge as I hosted two of my closest friends from back home over two consecutive weekends in November. The second weekend of Nov., my friend Melissa from college came and we bopped around Boston shopping on Newbury St., dining in the North End and battling some horrible rainy weather and a terrible cold I was getting over (but we made the best of it!). The following weekend, my high school friend Tausha came into town (see her blog, Random Ish, linked at left!). Together with my other high school friend Lauren we went to the New England Aquarium (awesome!), a charity gala (photo bel0w), and the HBS marketing conference.
Last week/weekend was our Thanksgiving break and I traveled to Pennsylvania to visit my uncle, aunt and cousins (photo below). Aside from a wonderful dinner, my cousin and I visited Hershey Park and Chocolate World (the actual factory where Hershey's chocolate is produced), and the group of us visited Gettysburg, the famous Civil War battlesite and the accompanying museum. I also had some time for Black Friday shopping, lots of "family game night" time and two movie viewing parties ("Elf" and "The Piano" -- both greats!).

Also in November: HBS company presentations (I went to Sony and Warner Bros. -- Disney was supposed to come next week, but canceled :( boo), the HBS SABA (South Asian Business Association) EKTA show (Indian/South Asian dance, fashion show, skits, etc.), Section G Flag Ceremony (we now have 30+ flags hanging around our classroom representing all the different countries our sectionmates are from), the HBS International Food Festival (two words: delicious and stuffing!), the Section G Fall Dinner (i.e. a mock Thanksgiving dinner) and more!

The rest of this week, all of the RC's are participating in a new simulation called The Manager as Integrator where we work in teams of 7-8 to manage a company over 6 years (i.e. 2.5 days!), incorporating basically everything we've learned in our courses this semester. It should be a fun, although intense, few days since we have schedules packed from 8am - 11pm most days. But as I alluded to earlier, this Friday is capped with Holidazzle, which should be an amazing way to end the week (the formal event begins with Section dinners and a section video/audio presentation and then dancing the night away at a fancy hotel). I promise I will write more before I leave HBS for winter break (I will be gone from Dec. 18-Jan. 10 and doubt I will have much time to write then). For now, enjoy some November pics!

Friends from Florida: Tausha, Lauren and myself at the Forgotten Dreams Fundraiser Gala

Section G 2010

My cousin Whitney and I at the movie theater in Pennsylvania

Jack Welch visits HBS

2008-11-06T11:59:00.003-05:00

One of the most extraordinary things about HBS is its ability to attract and bring some of the most brilliant business leaders to campus to interact with and guide students toward success in their careers. A prime example: Jack Welch visiting the RC classrooms yesterday morning.

If you don't know who Jack Welch is, you need to look him up. For ~20 years, Jack was the CEO of General Electric, and he completely revolutionized the company through innovative, radical management changes. He grew the company to extraordinary heights and it is the successful conglomerate that it is today partly due to his leadership.

I actually met Jack and his wife Suzy briefly 3 years ago when I was an intern at Motorola. His wife was speaking at the marketing division's annual management seminar, and because I had helped organize part of the event, I was invited to attend. I don't remember much from the speech, except that Suzy Welch had perhaps the largest, most sparkly diamond ring that I've ever seen, but I do remember not knowing much about Jack at that time, and therefore not truly being able to appreciate his presence. I received a signed copy of his book, Winning, and read it at the time, but think I may need to crack it open again now that my knowledge of the business world is broader.

Apparently Jack makes an appearance on the HBS campus once every five years on the day his case (a Leadership & Organizational Behavior case on his tenure at General Electric) is taught. I feel so fortunate to have hit the jackpot and have been an RC during one of the years he made an appearance. After our typical case discussion, Jack spoke for about 35 minutes on everything from managerial lessons learned from the election to what he would have done differently if he could have reprised his time at GE. Let me tell you, he is one inspirational guy and although I may never be as great a change agent as he was, hearing his story sure makes you want to reach for the stars.

Q&A from Prospective HBS Students

2008-11-06T11:17:00.002-05:00

As the 2011 admissions process ramps up, I've been getting a lot of questions from prospective students either looking for an insider's perspective to HBS or just general answers to lingering questions. I am more than happy to answer any reader's questions and encourage you to post a comment to an entry if it sparks any queries. I make sure to respond to every question individually, although as my schedule gets busier as recruiting season begins here in Boston, it make take about a week for me to reply.

With the abundance of recent questions, I thought I'd take some of the more common queries I receive and post my answers here so that I can share my thoughts on a broader basis. Enjoy!

1) You use a lot of acronyms in your blogs. What's the difference between "RC" and "EC," and who the heck is this TOM guy you talk about?

RC stands for "required curriculum" and is the term used to identify first year students. Likewise, EC stands for "elective curriculum" and identifies the second years. In our first year we have 10 required courses over the two semesters, with small half courses thrown in throughout the term (this semseter we had a 6-week course called "Learning at HBS," later in the semester we have a 1-week intensive workshop called "The Manager as Integrator" and there may be similar courses second semester). First semester courses are Finance 1, Financial Reporting & Control (i.e. accounting), Leadership & Organizational Behavior, Marketing, and Technology & Operations Management (this is TOM). Second semester we take Finance 2, Strategy, Leadership & Corporate Accountability, The Entrepreneurial Manager, and Business, Government & The International Environment (I think that's the exact name, basically it's an economics course).

2) You really confused me in your midterm entry when you gave your course grades of A, B, C, etc. I thought HBS grades on a 1, 2, 3 scale.

You are 100% correct in that the HBS grading scale is unlike most schools in that the class is divided into 1s (top 10% of class), 2s (middle 80% o class) and 3s (bottom 10% of class). The grades I talked about in that entry were my personal opinions of the course as a whole, and the grade I would give the school if I had the chance to rate the class (based on my individual learnings). We did get percentage grades for our midterm exams, as well as participation feedback for each class, but other than that we have not been given any specific marks.

3) You never updated us on your leadership roles!

Whoops, sorry about that! I actually did get two of the three roles that I applied for, so I can proudly say that I am one of the Assistant Vice Presidents of Marketing and Social for the Marketing & CPG club and one of the CO-VPs of Marketing and Communication for the Entertainment and Media Club. Currently, I'm helping plan an officer kick-off event at a pottery painting place called Made by Me for the Marketing Club, and I'm spreading the word about the Entertainment & Media Club through some marketing efforst on that end. It's fun!

Another person asked how I got elected to these positions so quickly since I'm a first year. It's actually a very simple process without campaiging or ballots. Basically the first years fill out a poll explaining why they'd be best for the position and the EC officers select the RCs based on that information (so really it's more of an appointed role than an elected one). I believe that sometime in the spring actual elections are held to determine the officers for the next year.

4) How effective is the case method for quantitative courses such as accounting and finance?

This question will be answered very differently depending on your personal background, work experience and level of quantitative skills. If you've kept up with my blog at all, you'll see that I'm not the strongest in the quant area, nor do I particularly love dealing with numbers (I'm much more of a creative, people person). While this does put me at a disadvantage immediately in these courses, I've learned very quickly to take it all with a grain of salt. What I mean by this is two things: firstly, I have no intent of going into banking or accounting, so for me, a general foundation in the subject will likely suffice, and any additional quant training could be learned on the job or through additional outside coursework. Secondly, while the HBS grading system tends to compare students to one another, I had to take a step back to keep my sanity and remind myself that I am truly incomparable to many of my sectionmates in this area. Without a quantitative work background, I will never be as good in accounting as the two CPAs in my class, and I will never be able to model as quickly or effectively as the former I-bankers. But that's okay! Really. It's hard to come to grips with at first, but you start to recognize your personal competitive advantages quite quickly here and it's best to run with them and take the other courses for what their worth.

Now I realize I have not at all answered the question yet, but I felt like that was important to say. Personally, I don't find the case method as conducive to truly learning the techniques and concepts of accounting and finance. For me, a combination of case learning and lecture/small workshop courses would be more effective in helping me get a grip on the basics. The good news is that there are tons of resources on campus (whether it be second year tutors, sectionmates, people from your learning team, textbooks in the library, meeting with professors, etc.) that you can employ to help yourself understand these concepts. It's without a doubt more work, but that doesn't mean you can get there. On the upside, the case method is a great way to teach you how to think about business problems in an environment where information is ambiguous and often incomplete. You truly learn a ton in class every day.

I would highly, highly suggest that you take the time (if possible) to come visit HBS and see the case method in action. It's a truly different classroom experience from anything I've seen, and watching a course will give you the best idea of whether or not you can see yourself thriving in an environment like it.

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That's it for questions for now. Another post from this week is on its way shortly!

Coldplay is the Coolest Band Ever (and other fun HBS happenings)

2008-11-01T10:37:00.005-04:00

I decided to post two entries today, one more academically oriented and the other focusing on some of the fun things I've gotten to do in the last few weeks (plus I figured while I have the time to actually devote to blogging, I should get an extra entry in there).

Some of the Section G ladies at Friday's dinner party -- I'm on the far right

Let's start with our Section G Retreat to Stratton, Vermont. Two weeks ago, about 100 of us (probably 80 of our 90 sectionmates and 15-20 partners and children) traveled in a caravan of cars up to Stratton, a ski lodge in the boondocks of Vermont. We arrived late at night, so it was hard to appreciate the beauty of the Vermont countryside, and went straight away to a dinner and dance party in one of the resort's restaurants. Outside there was a "bonfire" (more like a fire in a pot, but it kept us warm nonetheless) where we roasted marshmallows and stuffed ourselves with delicious s'mores. I hit the hay "early" at 2:30 a.m., while the rest of the crew stayed up until 5 a.m. and beyond doing G-d knows what (I do know at some point approximately 10 people were in the hot tub blaring rap music at 5 a.m. since it woke me up out of a dead sleep. Why anyone wants to be out in 30 degree weather in a hot tub at 5 a.m. bewilders me, but to each his own...).

The view of Stratton on Sunday, the day we left, so we didn't get to enjoy this beautiful weather.

The next morning, a huge group of us headed into the resort's "town" (a series of small shops and restaurants, see photo above) for lunch and unfortunately were greeted with lots of rain and clouds, which put a damper on the day. I was originally supposed to play paintball, and many people had planned to go hiking, but the weather was so crummy that I think a large majority of us opted to stay in, which actually turned out to be quite fun. A group of us played Taboo and watched Superbad, and then I spent the evening playing Trivial Pursuit with about 15 people (and my team, the Pink Ladies, won!). Sunday morning we got back into our car caravan to drive back to Boston, and this time I was able to see how gorgeous Vermont really is. The mountainsides are covered with autumn-colored trees and the towns are incredibly quaint and old-fashioned. We stopped at a dive restaurant off the side of the street and had some of the best onion rings, curly fries and sandwiches that we've had in a good long time. A great conclusion to the weekend!

Lauren and I warming up at Starbucks after lunch at the Union Oyster House

Last Tuesday, I joined my friend Lauren (one of my best friends from high school) at a launch party for Boston Magazine at a trendy restaurant called Banq in the south end of Boston. There were free drinks (I had an amazing Shiraz) and appetizers, and after the event we stopped at another cute restaurant for dessert and garlic french fries. Previously (I think like a week earlier), the two of us visited the oldest restaurant in America, which just so happens to be in Boston. It's called Union Oyster House (http://www.unionoysterhouse.com/) and it has a room dedicated to the history of Boston with tableaus from the historical landmarks of the city. One of my favorite things about Boston is the history -- you may recall that I walked the Freedom Trail a month ago -- so it was exciting to dine within this incredibly old structure. And the food was good too!

The wonder that was the Coldplay concert

Finally, last Wednesday was the pinnacle of my week: I went to the Coldplay concert at the TD Banknorth Garden, Boston's auditorium and home of the Boston Celtics. It was one of the greatest concerts I've seen and I didn't stand still for the whole two hours they played. Not only was the music so loud that you could feel the floor vibrating, but the energy of Chris Martin and the band was beyond belief. Chris Martin was rolling around the staging, running, jumping and sweating a ton. He looked exhausted after the first song, but somehow managed to keep his energy up throughout the whole show, which included an acoustic set on a side stage in the middle of the auditorium and a cool remix of some of their older songs. They played their entire Viva La Vida album and most of their hits from their other albums (including Clocks, my favorite song of their's, Speed of Sound, Fix You, Yellow, The Hardest Part, God Put a Smile on Your Face, Politik, etc.). It was hugely worth the money I paid for the ticket, and I haven't stopped wearing my $35 Viva La Vida tour t-shirt since. :) Amar (the guy I went to the concert with) and I have already decided that if they come back to Boston next year on a new tour, we'll be one of the first in line for tickets. A highly recommended concert to see if they are coming to your area!

This weekend I'm taking it easy, trying to catch up on schoolwork, errands and general life to-do's, although tomorrow night I'm going to a potluck dinner at a sectionmate's house, which should be fun and today I've got a personal training appointment at 1:30. Then it's back to busy next week (although it's a three-day week due to company information days on Thursday and Friday) so I'll write more then. Ciao!

Halfway through Semester 1

2008-11-01T09:59:00.004-04:00

I was talking to my best friend last night about how life here at HBS is a conundrum. In one sense, I feel like I have been here for years, and in another sense I can't believe I'm already halfway through my first semester. Somehow the individual weeks go by so quickly because I'm so busy, but as a whole I feel like I've been in Boston much longer than 2.5 months.

As I'm sure you can infer from the introduction, 2 weeks ago was our midterm week. We had three exams (Accounting, TOM and LEAD), although only Accounting and TOM actually count toward our final grade (the reason they give us a 3-hour, ungraded essay exam in LEAD perplexes me...am I irrational in thinking that if I'm going to spend 3 hours on something, I should at least receive a mark for it?). With that in mind, I thought I'd go through and do a brief review of each of my classes and professors now that we're at the midway point so you can get a sense for what I'm learning every day.

1) LEAD (i.e. Leadership and Organizational Behavior): This is actually my favorite class. Our teacher, Michel Anteby, is a little bald Frenchman whom I find so cute. The class is structured so that we not only do cases, but also interactive projects that help us learn about our individual leadership style, and how we would handle difficult managerial situations when we're actually in the business world. One of the more interesting simulations we did was called the Lingua Franca Iceberg Simulation. It involved a computer program that garbled the typed text of two people in a group of four to mimic language barriers. We had to work together in a limited time frame to develop a project while fighting through not being able to understand each other. It's amazing how frustrating it was, but also a good lesson as companies become ever more global. When we're not doing simulations, we're often reading cases about specific people and their challenges in creating successful groups, developing successful one-on-one work relationships and in aligning business incentives to create cohesive organizations. My overall course grade: A.

2) Marketing: I'm actually surprised that this hasn't turned out to be my favorite class, but I think it's because the casework blows hot and cold. We've had some incredibly interesting cases on "sexy" brands like Coca Cola, Snapple, the New VW Beetle and Starbucks, and then we've had perhaps the most boring cases ever on companies like Sealed Air (they produce inflated packing material for shipping), KONE (an elevator manufacturer) and some company I can't even remember who manufactures metalworking fluid. Metalworking fluid?! Come on people. When we're not dealing with these less than exciting companies, the class is really fun and I do feel that I'm learning a lot about developing marketing campaigns and dealing with challenges in each of the marketing sectors (i.e. the Four P's or promotion, place, price and product). My overall course grade: B

3) Financial Reporting and Control (aka Accounting): Of all the quantitative subjects, I'm surprised at how much I actually like accounting. The subject matter doesn't have the best reputation throughout the world for being incredibly stimulating, but somehow I feel it's like a puzzle with the debits and credits, and making sure both sides of the balance sheet, well, balance! I can't say it's not hard, because we've had a few classes where I've had absolutely NO idea what is going on, but overall we've tackled a huge range of accounting concepts and truly gotten a glimpse at how subjective accounting can be (and therefore how easy it is for companies to "hide" information in their financial statements, whether intentional or by accident). We've currently just finished our module on Financial Accounting, and starting next week we're diving into Managerial Accounting, which I've had no prior exposure to, so that should be interesting to see how I do. Overall course grade: B-

4) TOM (Technology and Operations Management): This course was my enemy for the first half of the semester, and I think many of my classmates would agree. Basically, the coursework looked at many different kinds of factories and the processes by which products are made. This doesn't sound so hard, but when you start throwing in metrics like cycle time, throughput time, added value time, idle time, machine utilization, etc., it becomes mind boggling. There are so many numbers and so few indications of what to do with those numbers, and help is hard to find because this is the one subject area that almost no one has encountered before in their work experience. The good news? We were allowed a "cheat sheet" for the midterm exam -- one 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper filled with as much information as you could fit (thank you computer and small font!). This cheat sheet is what helped me score an 86% on the exam, which I am extremely happy with. The even better news? The class is now shifting into a more qualitative module on supply chain management and improving operations from a less technical standpoint. Right up my alley! Overall course grade: Was a D, but I'll give it a B- going forward.

5) Finance: Now that TOM is no longer my enemy, I can shift my anger toward our Finance class. We happen to have an excellent professor for this course (his name is Andre Perold, he has a great South African accent and he just so happens to be the course head so he knows his stuff), but I just find it all so confusing and non-intuitive. I've been working with a tutor almost since the start of the course, AND I am a regular at the weekly review sessions, but I still struggle to keep up and truly understand what we are doing. We started the semester analyzing financial statements and doing discounted cash flow analysis, which I actually got with a lot of hard work, but now we're on a risk and return module working with CAPM, beta, the sharpe ratio, etc., and while I have a basic idea of the concepts, I find them incredibly hard to apply, especially in a case setting. If I could give one suggestion to the MBA program, it would be to split this class in two -- put those students with Finance backgrounds in a more advanced, perhaps case based course, and stick us dummies in a lecture class so we can actually be taught theconcepts, rather than struggle through cases night after night not knowing what to do. Overall Course Grade: C-

Faith, Hope and Love

2008-10-18T20:59:00.006-04:00

It's midterm time here at Harvard Business School, which means that many of my days over the past week have been spent at review sessions preparing for my accounting, TOM and LEAD exams. It's tough to fight distractions when you're studying debits and credits for hours on end, and the beautiful fall leaves and cool weather keep beckoning from my 3rd story window. I've managed to keep my concentration (mostly), save for three things that have managed to pull me away from my studies: faith, hope and love -- in the form of a movie, a book and a political campaign.

Faith: As I was waiting in the Boston airport last weekend for my flight home to Florida, I stopped into the bookstore to find a good read to occupy my time. Initially, I went for the new Phillipa Gregory book, that is until I saw the $30 price tag (it's a new release in hardcover) and was starting to feel discouraged when "Eat, Pray, Love" caught my eye from the bottom corner of the bookshelf. I remembered hearing a colleague tell me about the book when I first started HBS and although the tagline didn't grab my attention necessarily (I truly am on a historical fiction kick. The last four books I've read have been about Katherine of Aragon, Johannes Vermeer, Anne Boleyn and Josephine Boneparte), I decided to trust her judgment and I picked up the book. I'm so glad I did! The story follows a woman on a year-long journey of self discovery through Italy, India and Indonesia. It's written in a way that is so humorous you find yourself laughing out loud, but the humor doesn't detract from the life lessons she dispenses throughout. Much of the book is about faith and finding G-d, but the author doesn't ever preach or suggest a religious right to the reader. Rather she explains how she found inner peace through G-d and how it changed her life. A great read that I'd definitely recommend!

Hope: Two days ago I mailed in my absentee ballot, proudly voting for John McCain. I've literally been called three times in the last four days by the McCain campaign asking if I'm still voting for him and did I mail my ballot. Boy are these folks worried, and with good reason. Although I become more and more of a staunch Republican as I get older (and a person who is unafraid to admit her conservative beliefs despite unpopularity among most peers), I'm not sure McCain will be able to pull this one off. I've watched each of the three debates, and even though I think McCain won the third and final one, he just can't compare to Obama when it comes to command and presence. Next to this robust, well-spoken younger man McCain looks old, fragile and weak -- and this reminds the American people too much of Bush, who is universally disliked. However, I must continue to hope that some miracle comes along in the next two and a half weeks that propels him to the forefront of people's minds -- and ballots.

Love: This afternoon I took a study break and jetted over to the movie theater to see "The Duchess" a historical drama based on the life of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and starring Keira Knightley. It was a fanstasic film that made me cry -- it's those darn swelling orchestral refrains that get me every time! The story (without revealing too much detail for those who might still go see it) is about her loveless marriage to the Duke of Devonshire, her love affair with a commoner and the sacrifices she had to make in life -- one of which is giving up her greatest love. It struck such a chord in me because I can't imagine every living in a loveless marriage and feeling a passion outside of my marriage that I knew I could never tap into. What a horrible, imprisoning life that would be! Regardless, I found her story very captivating -- a great reprieve from accounting and a chance to let out some pent-up stress through the tears the movie brought out. Seriously folks, this is why I love entertainment. How often do you have the chance to absorb yourself in another world and allow yourself to emotionally connect without real life causality or effect. Brilliant!

With that said, I must get back to studying (unfortunately I'll be doing this all day tomorrow as well). Next weekend is my section's retreat (we're going to Stratton, VT for two nights) so I'll have lots of exciting stuff to blog about (plus some fun pictures!) when I return from that trip. Have a great week!

Clubs at HBS

2008-10-08T20:17:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago HBS hosted its annual club fair where all of the campus organizations get together to recruit members. There were tens of clubs there representing every possible social, academic or career-oriented interest that one might have. My problem was that I wanted to join 8 clubs -- way too many for a schedule as busy as mine -- and I knew I'd need to narrow it down somehow. In the end I wound up officially joining 6, with plans to only be super involved in two.

Entertainment & Media Club: This is by far my number one priority when it comes to extracurriculars because the opportunities are endless. I know for sure that I want to work in the entertainment industry, and this club not only takes yearly treks to Hollywood and New York to meet with big shot business execs, but also brings in entertainment-related speakers and hosts an Entertainment and Media conference in the spring. I've applied to be one of the organization's Co-VPs of Marketing & Communications and will probably hear shortly if I've been selected for the role. It's truly perfect for me: entertainment and marketing combined equals golden opportunity!
Marketing & CPG Club: For non-business folks, CPG stands for consumer packaged goods, a segment that offers a majority of the marketing jobs (think Procter & Gamble, FritoLay, Coca-Cola, Loreal, etc). For the first time this year, the previously separate Marketing and CPG clubs combined since their memberships overlapped by 80%. So although my interest in learning about the CPG industry is minimal, I'm still excited to get involved and see what marketing networking and skills I can gain. Here I've applied to be the Assistant Vice President in charge of Marketing & Social.
Women's Student Association: The best part of the WSA is that it's one of the only clubs on campus that a) doesn't charge dues and b) makes you an automatic member as a woman of the Harvard community. I don't plan to take on any leadership roles within this organization, but I have already attended several of their events including the RC Duck Tour and the Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business conference (where I volunteered last weekend). They also have a lot of great women-focused, empowering workshops, like one coming up called "What They Don't Teach You at HBS" hosted by women alumnae.
HBS Show: I am SO SO SO excited about this club. Basically, every year a group of students get together to write, produce, direct and star in a two-act musical comedy that plays for four nights at the end of the spring semester. Although I only plan to act, sing or dance in the musical (which limits my involvement to the spring term once the show is written and ready to be cast), I'm thrilled to have the chance to reconnect with my theater roots. I miss showtunes and tap shoes!
Jewish Student Association: Even though I'm basically Jewish only by heritage (it's been years since I've actually celebrated a holiday), I thought it would be good to join this organization since I do plan to go on a Birthright Israel trip this winter and would like to learn more about my religion. Tomorrow night I'm going to a break-the-fast Yom Kippur dinner on campus (although I'm still deciding whether or not I should actually fast, so it may just be a dinner with friends rather than a break of the fast).
Dance Club: I will probably be least involved in this, my final club, but I figured that the dues were so cheap, why not? Students in the club put on dance classes throughout the year and members can get involved in some dance shows throughout the semester.

I originally had intended to try out for the SHE-E-O's, a female a cappella group, and had wanted to join the Republican Club, but had to draw the line somewhere. Overall, it's very exciting and will certainly keep my ever-busy schedule as hopping as its been!

Crazy Antics of the Week

2008-10-04T20:57:00.002-04:00

This has been a truly zany week. Case in point:

1) On Wednesday I finally ventured to Shad (the gym) for a Personal Fitness Assessment. I walk into the weight room, go up to the desk and ask for Darlene (my trainer) and the guy responds, "Sorry ma'am but emergencies come first." Puzzled, I look to my right and see a young man keeled over with a blood-soaked towel pressed against his head -- whoa! Turns out this guy was doing a reverse crunch exercise on a reclining chair with a 25 pound dumbbell balancing between his feet. The story continues as the dumbbell slips from his feet and falls on his head caushing two huge gashes (and can you imagine how much that must have hurt? A 25 pound weight is damn heavy)! At first I'm like, okay this is just like real life Grey's Anatomy -- lots of blood and an outrageously unbelievable emergency. But then I start to feel faint. Faint as in the room is blacking out, my hearing is going fuzzy and I feel like I may pass out. I sit down on the floor and the woman behind the desk says to tell her if I start to feel the cold sweats. Lo and behold, I'm sweaty and cold so she runs to get a cold compress for my head so I don't faint. So here's this guy bleeding waiting for the EMTs and here I am sitting on the floor 3 feet from him almost passing out. I guess it's a good thing I didn't go into medicine! (Postscript: Luckily, I did not pass out and the gentleman was taken to the hospital under non-life threatening conditions).

2) Also on Wednesday night, I joined my sectionmates for a night of karaoke at a local Irish Pub called Tommy Doyle's. The night was a ton of fun and I decided to open a bar tab around 11, so I handed the bartender my debit card and went along my merry way. About an hour later, I left with a bunch of friends to walk home and forgot to close out my tab and get my credit card. By the time I realized I had forgotten it, I was in bed, it was 1 a.m. and there was no way I was heading back for it alone that evening. I didn't think twice about it when I went to the bar the next afternoon to pick up my card, but my heart started to pound a little when the card could not be found. According to the bartender, when he realized I had forgotten my card, he closed out my tab, wrapped the receipt around it and left it in a plastic cup behind the bar. Now the cup was gone and the card was nowhere to be found. The manager assured me that they would continue looking, that perhaps it had fallen somewhere and he would get back to me later that afternoon. About an hour later I get an e-mail from Bank of America alerting me to the irregular credit card activity on my debit card and asking me to verify the charges or call the bank immediately. Now I got freaking scared. I checked my account and someone had fraudulently charged $600 on my card that day. To make a long story short, that evening was ruined as I now had to file a fraud report with the bank, file a police report with the Cambridge police, have my account closed down and re-opened and contact the owner of the bar to alert him to the situation. What makes things worse is the fact that the card was likely stolen by an employee of the bar since it was in an area that customers don't have access to. The case is not yet closed -- both the police and the owner of the bar are conducting investigations to find out who made these charges -- and because they charged more than $500 on my card, it's considered a felony and the person will be arrested when they're caught!

Crazy, just plain crazy.

On a positive note, the first signs of fall are starting to appear around Boston. Check out the first red tree of the season on the HBS campus:

Also stay tuned for several blog posts over the next few days. I plan to do a summary and review of my classes so far, an introduction to the clubs I've joined and a summary of some of the awesome events I've participated in during the last two weeks. For now I'm off to a local dive to celebrate a friend's birthday! Gnite!

The Wonders of a Shopping Mall and other Ramblings

2008-09-20T22:28:00.004-04:00

It's amazing the things you take for granted living in a suburb: driving your car wherever you want to go, parking said car in a free lot, and spending days at a full-fledged shopping mall. Today I spent five glorious hours doing the latter: shopping at the CambridgeSide Galleria Mall. Bells rang when I walked through the glass doors and saw three floors of nothing but clothing, shoes and accessories stores. It was truly a beautiful thing. Needless to say I now have an ample fall/winter wardrobe complete with close-toed shoes for both walking and going out, knee-high socks, wool and knit dresses, thin shirts for layering, a trenchcoat, cute hats and more (thank you financial aid!). I will likely still have to supplement as the weather gets colder, but for now I'm set!

Next week at HBS is a busy one. I've got the Club Fair on Tuesday (and I already want to join 8 clubs, which is a bad, bad thing considering how packed my schedule is now) and registration with Career Services (meaning I'll finally have access to the 65,000 person alumni database so the networking can begin)! Socially, I'm going out for dinner/drinks with my new learning team on Wednesday night and I'm putting together a Grey's Anatomy premiere viewing potluck/party with some of the ladies from my section for Thursday night. A fun week to look forward to, for sure!

And now I shall leave you with a few pictures from this week...enjoy!

My new learning team: Phil, Reji, Qiao, Me, Craig and Aneal

Some Section G'ers at Vinalia for the RC/EC Mixer: Monica, Vesso, Ashlyn and Me!

The Section G Ladies at our first Wine & Cheese Party

First sickness of the season and other events of the week

2008-09-14T11:32:00.002-04:00

The inevitable finally happened about a week ago: I got my very first cold of the season. I knew it was coming since my sleep, eating and working patterns had all changed very drastically in a very short period of time, not to mention the fact that everyone around me started coming down with something, therefore it was only a matter of time before my decreased immune system picked up the bug.

Hence, for the last week I've been feeling pretty darn crappy. It started as a throat ache, swollen glands, swallowing knives illness, progressed into a stuffy nose, I-can't-breathe-at-all, burning eyes, low-grade fever illness and finally a phlegm in the chest, deep cough, complete and total laryngitis illness. And that last stage, folks, is where I'm presently at. Yesterday morning I woke up with one of those sexy phone operator raspy voices, which slowly faded throughout the day so that by the evening my vocal cords were completely and utterly worn out. But who says you can't be social without a voice?

Yesterday was the Women's Student Association's first event - one of Boston's famous duck tours for the RC women. The "duck" is a World War II-style amphibious vehicle that can both be driven on land and propelled in water. The tour takes you around many of the famous and/or interesting sites near downtown Boston including the Boston Public Library, the tallest building in the city, historical sites from the Freedom Trail, John Kerry's apartment, the Boston Public Gardens and more.

The best part is definitely the excursion around the Charles River, though! The water part of our tour took place close to sunset so the views were incredible. It's not often that your tour operator drives your truck into a river and takes you on a 15-minute boat cruise!

After the Duck Tour, I changed and got ready for the last event of HBS' Orientation Weeks: Casino Night. I have to say I was expecting more from the event considering it came with a semi-formal dress code, but really all it was was blackjack, roulette and poker tables with some cheese and crackers for snacks. They could have done a lot more with the event as far as decor and theming goes, but it was still fun.

My analytics learning team members at Casino Night: Me, David, Jesus, Jesus' wife Barbara and Sonia

Since I still had no voice, I walked around all night with a pad and pen in my hand writing notes to people when I wanted to join in on the conversation. A bit of a buzzkill if you ask me, and something I'm certain I'll be made fun of for a while, but hey it worked!

This afternoon I'm taking it easy, trying to relax while I do my cases so that my system can recover and give me my voice back (you don't know how hard it is to get things done without being able to talk!). This evening I'm supposed to join 5 of my section-mates for Mexican food, so I'm crossing my fingers that I can talk by then!

Boston Harbor Boat Cruise, Sleep Deprivation, Snapple and Benihana

2008-09-08T17:22:00.005-04:00

First things first: Last night the first year students went on a boat cruise around Boston Harbor, which was beautiful and lots of fun. The sunsets were gorgeous (see evidence below!) and the cool night air was so refreshing.

Unfortunately, balancing social activites, school work and other daily tasks is becoming more and more of a challenge, and we've just begun! Already my throat is scratchy and I feel a cold coming on, which leads me to my second topic: sleep deprivation. Seriously guys, I got way spoiled in the six months before I moved here and never really slept less than 8.5 hours. Now, a good night is 7 and a normal night is 6.5. You won't think a difference of an hour or two would make such a mark on my day -- thankfully I don't feel it as much with my morning coffee -- but I think my body is sending me signals that it's getting worn down. My allergies have been acting up in a big way, and now I'm getting that swollen glands, phlegmy throat, overall icky feeling that always precedes the first cold of the season. Just what I need!

Before I dive into my cases for tomorrow, let me just say that I have new appreciation for Snapple and Benihana. These are just two of the companies that we've studied in our first few days of class. It's amazing the things you can learn about a company from 80 minutes of class discussion, but I now have a firm grasp on Hibachi operations and branding of juice/tea -- so much so that I grabbed a bottle of Snapple Diet Raspberry Ice Tea after our marketing class to show my loyalty (and I want to plan a trip to the closest Benihana). Tomorrow we're studying contact lenses for chickens, which somehow doesn't sound nearly as compelling.

...and I'm off, more soon!

My Dorm Room

2008-09-05T18:36:00.003-04:00

I don't have time to post much, but here are the long awaited pictures of my dorm room! It is still an on-going project (i.e. still pictures to hang, things to organize, etc.), but you can get a feel for how it looks now. :)

HBS Documentary on CNBC this winter!

2008-09-03T20:33:00.002-04:00

For nine of the ten HBS RC sections, today's schedule was the same: meeting your sectionmates, having your first case discussion and learning about your professors for the semester. But Section G (my section) had another little surprise: CNBC is doing a documentary on Harvard Business School and has chosen my section to film! Even more exciting is that they are featuring two pre-selected students and following their journeys...and I sit next to them both, which means chances are good that a sliver of me will make it into the documentary! Having come from a journalism background, this is especially thrilling -- plus I always love watching those documentaries and investigative stories, so I can't wait to see how they position the school. The anchors and producers that talked to my section said the documentary is scheduled to air this December, but that a firm date has not yet been set. When they do pick a date, I'll be sure to pass it on so you can look for my profile in one of the classroom shots and get an outsider's view of my adventures over the first semester!

New Learning Teams, Sections and more!

2008-09-02T21:53:00.002-04:00

Today was the official start of the MBA program, and in many ways it felt like a reunion with old friends. Even though our break between Analytics and now was only 5 days, I think there was a lot of excitement about reuniting for the RC, especially with more than 600 new students roaming around the campus looking confused. We also got our section assignments for the full term this evening: I'm in Section G (for Gabby!) and some of my closest friends from Analytics are in the same section, which is awesome (they say you build the deepest bonds with those in your section since you spend so much time together). I'm also seated in what they call the skydeck -- it's basically the top row of the stadium-style seating in the classroom, but it comes with a special honor. It's an HBS tradition to do weekly "Skydeck Awards" presented by the students that sit in this row. Essentially it's a humorous roast of the other students in the section -- poking fun at comments made, or my favorite, giving out the "Statue of Liberty" award to the student whose hand was in the air for the entire week of sessions.

Finally, today I met my learning team, and while I do desperately miss my Analytics group, I think a good dynamic will build with this new group as well. In addition to myself, there's another Floridian who worked in real estate, a Chinese woman who worked in Investment Banking, someone from the army who was recently deployed in Iraq, a consultant from London and a man who did Private Equity. I'm definitely excited to get to know them all better over the next few months.

And with that I'm off -- I finally got some shelving installed in my room today so I've got a ton of cleaning and organizing to do before bed. I should have pics of my dorm in the next few days so stay tuned!

Week 2 in Review

2008-08-31T20:46:00.004-04:00

I find it fascinating that although I've been in Boston less than a month, I already feel equipped to tell people how to get around Cambridge, where to eat in Harvard Square and how to get to some of Boston's coolest weekend sites. Who knew someone could become accustomed so quickly?

As I'm sure you can imagine, the Analytics program has ended and we're all gearing up to start regular classes on Tuesday (although they ease us in and we don't have a full 3 case day until Friday). Overall, I'm so incredibly happy that I came to Analytics because I feel completely comfortable with the campus, have some great friends and feel way more prepared to tackle classes and the case method. It was most definitely a tough two weeks (and by no means do I think I'm now an expert in finance, accounting or statistics), but I feel like I'm ahead of the game diving into the RC curriculum.

Socially, it's also been a really great experience. I've eaten so many dinners out and have had way too much wine for my own good (and for my budget!). Last weekend a group of us went to a bowling alley/billiard's hall and stayed out playing until 1:30 a.m. I have to say it was the best night I've had in Boston yet. And there's still so much to see! A few days ago a group of us walked the Freedom Trail (see picture above -- and saw such historic sites as the Old State House, Paul Revere's gravesite and the location of the Boston Massacre) and we're already formulating plans to go whale watching, do a duck tour (a land and water tour of the city) and go to Plimouth Plantation and Cape Cod. I can already tell it's going to be a busy, busy semester.

This weekend I scooted over to New York City to escape the "HBS Bubble" for a while and visit with my many friends who live there. I saw Legally Blonde: The Musical with my friend Tausha on Friday night and on Saturday we visited The Met and Central Park (I fell in love with the magnificence of the art at The Met...seriously, this could be one of my favorite places ever). We also met up with a group for cupcakes at Buttercup Bakery and had some delicious food at Max Brenner (known for their delectable dessert concoctions). Despite some major delays in the buses I took in and out of the city, I had a fabulous time and was so glad I had the chance to catch up with friends that I don't get to see very often.

Tomorrow (Labor Day) is an errands and laundry day (boring but so necessary since everything goes into high gear tomorrow night). Oh! And I'm officially moved into my beautiful, fabulous, spacious, amazing permanent dorm room in McCulloch Hall (can you tell I'm happy here?), but pictures of that are still to come because it's taking longer to settle in and decorate than I thought it would.

Also, just a note: I'm going to try to squeeze in some more short posts this week so I can go into more detail about the fun events I'm attending and the awesome people I'm meeting. When I can only post every couple of weeks I wind up leaving out so much of the detail that I will want to remember looking back on this experience two years from now. See you later!

Time

2008-08-19T14:29:00.003-04:00

Time. It's something that seems to come in short supply these days. Time to blog, time to read, time to sleep, time to relax...they've all been reduced since beginning this adventure that we call Analytics. And I doubt things will improve once the RC (i.e. required curriculum, aka regular term) begins in a couple of weeks. If anything, adding club meetings, company presentations, sessions with career advisors and 3 additional classes will only further complicate the situation and force me to manage my time even better. On the bright side, despite losing myself in the so-called "HBS Bubble," I must admit that I'm really enjoying it here. The saying goes that if you're going to devote so much time to one particular thing that you better enjoy it, and the people you are doing it with. Suffice it to say I find myself enjoying both, despite my increased daily coffee intake and phone calls to my family reduced to five minute intervals in which I'm either walking to or from class, a study session, learning team meeting, etc.

So while I have some time (I have a group meeting from 3-9 p.m., which gives me exactly 20 minutes to write and publish this post before I'm accounted for, for the rest of the evening), I wanted to catch up on my blog writing (let me count this toward the one hour of personal time that we're encouraged to take each day). I previously promised some photos of my room and of the campus, and I remembered to take my camera with me yesterday so I snapped several shots to share:

View of my room from the door facing the window.

The bathroom is directly to the right and closet directly to the left (the width is so small that both doors cannot be open at the same time).

View of the slanted ceilings that I was so *lucky* to receive as a member of the fourth floor gang :)

View of my desk from on top of my bed (I'm not kidding, there was no other angle at which I could stand and get the entire desk in the shot)

This was perhaps the most interesting shot to get as I am crouched under the slanted ceilings attempting to get a shot facing the door (to give you a sense of the width of the entrance way). I hit my head several times, all in the name of interesting blogging.

Now every time you read an entry, you can picture me typing away at my little pink laptop in my storage closet of a dorm room - or at least you can until August 27th when I move to my permanent room (which is twice as large, yippee!).

I have some additional pictures and stories to share, but it's time for me to head out to my group meeting, so hopefully I wil have a few minutes later this week to update some more. Tomorrow is a 3-case day (which means tonight we have to work a case for our accounting, finance and quantitative methods courses) and we are expected to spend 2 hours on each (which takes us to 9 p.m.), after which we meet with our learning teams for 2 hours to discuss what we've found and prepare for class discussion the following day. I know this whole process may seem really confusing, so if you're interested in something I mention and want to know more, feel free to post your query in the comments section and I'll address it in my next post.

I Survived My First Day as a Harvard MBA (rhyme unintended)

2008-08-13T23:03:00.002-04:00

It's 11 p.m. and I just got back from my learning team meeting where we discussed our first two cases (one in accounting, one in QM aka statistics). Although I want to try to get to sleep shortly (since the excitement continues tomorrow with our first actual classes), I wanted to get a quick update in since so many things have happened in the last couple of days.

Most importantly, I've been so pleasently surprised so far at the friendliness of the students. It doesn't seem like anyone has come in with a clique or large group of friends so each individual seems really eager to get to know one another. And, as I expected, everyone has an interesting story to tell. Adding to my growing list of extraordinary people: a girl who majored in nueroscience for undergrad and now wants to pursue marketing, a female airforce pilot, people from Lebanon, India, Spain, Germany, Latvia and Russia -- and many more, the list could go on forever. And to think there are only 200 of the 900 students in our class here right now!

I'm also already seeing the advantages to the Analytics program, both socially and academically. I definitely think I will feel more comfortable with the case method by the time the real school year starts, and I'll have enough friends and familiar faces to eliminate the awkwardness that always haunts the first few days of class. Plus, I should have the lay of the land here in Boston by then, although I already seem to have a good handle on the T system (now I just have to tackle getting used to all the walking, which is currently exhausting me by the end of the day).

On the social front, I joined about 19 other students two nights ago for dinner in Harvard Square followed by a get together at a local restaurant/bar called Daedalus. I think the next few nights will be devoted mostly to studying and sleeping, but this Saturday they are setting up small group dinners and there is an Analytics social Friday after classes end. Sunday night they have an Analytics BBQ on the Spangler Lawn (aka the student union), which also should be a good way to meet anyone I haven't yet introduced myself to.

I still have yet to take pictures of the campus and/or this storage closet that I currently call home, but I promise to do so soon so you can all get a better idea of where I am. More in the coming days!

I'm here!

2008-08-11T11:46:00.003-04:00

Well, everyone, I have safely arrived in Boston and have checked into my temporary room in Chase Hall -- a process that was surprisingly less stressful than I imagined (thank goodness!). The room is small, and by small I mean it is not much larger than the average walk-in closet. I'll take some pictures and post them later since right now I'm actually getting ready to fly the coop and visit Northeastern University with Aynsley, who kindly helped me move in this morning. Later tonight there is a group dinner and drinks get together at a bar called Daedalus -- hopefully a good way to meet some people before we jump into the Analytics program on Wednesday. Hopefully I can find some time to brush up on my finance before then! More later...

Counting down the days

2008-08-07T14:02:00.003-04:00

It's only a few days until I leave for Boston and my emotions are running wild. I honestly don't think I've ever been this terrified in my life, and although I know that's silly, I can't seem to move my thoughts away from my fear about this experience. It's so ironic seeing that at this time last year I was only dreaming about being lucky enough to join the Class of 2010 and now that I'm here my feelings are begging me to stay where things are comfortable and routine (which I know is neither what I will do, nor what is best for my future). Just today on the bulletin boards a fellow student posted a link to a book written by a recent HBS graduate about his experience with the MBA program. I'm trying to convince myself this author was just jaded, seeing as every student I've talked to has had a positive experience for the most part, but his harsh critiques got to me nonetheless. He talks of a "frat boy" attitude with "stress-fueled partying," extremely cocky and competitive classmates, and hopelessly challenging quantitative lessons -- all things I want to avoid. I just keep praying that this won't be a repeat of UF: an uncomfortable, lonely environment where I felt different and unwanted. Since dwelling on this is obviously not making things any better, I'm going to get back to packing and trying to focus on the positive things in hopes that when I arrive in Boston on Sunday, everything will turn out to be the opposite of my fears.

Salutations, Disney!

2008-07-25T22:41:00.005-04:00

Today was my last day at work and, as such, was filled with bittersweet moments. When I got in this afternoon, I was immediately ushered to a goodbye party filled with a Coldstone ice cream cake and signs posted all around the common area saying, "Good Luck at Haavaard!" Along with the cake, I was ceremoniously given some chocolate pudding in honor of the Hasty Pudding, which I need to research more to completely understand, and a going away card signed by our team. I felt very loved and was honored that so many members of the team seemed truly interested in hearing about my upcoming journeys.

At the end of the day, it was definitely sad saying goodbye and giving out those hugs that to me, so often convey a desire to hold on to the time and place that you're at forever, and at the same time, a prayer that the future doesn't change the way that person remembers you (as it always inevitably does...details are blurred, experiences are jumbled and you slowly become a generalization instead of a specification). So before my memories become generalized, I wanted to look back and recount 10 of my favorite moments in my 21 months as a member of the amazing public relations team at Walt Disney World:

10) The very first time I spoke to my future boss Gary, he was calling from Hong Kong and thus dialed my home number at 10 p.m. my time. And while that phone call elicited many memorable moments, perhaps my favorite is when he told me, "You know, I'm going to decide if I like you based on who wins this weekend's football game," (he was a Tennessee Volunteer alum and I a Florida Gator) to which I laughed and he replied, "No, seriously." The Gators did in fact win that weekend, but I think slowly Gary came to like me anyhow. :)

9) Traveling to Disneyland for a publishing project. I got to stay for four nights and five days at the Disneyland Hotel for free so I could experience the theme parks, dining and night life and use that information to help edit and review the Birnbaum Guides (official Disney guidebook brand) for 2009. I had always wanted to go to Disneyland, but never thought I'd be able to swing it on my own dime, and here I was park hopping, dining in the finest restaurants and enjoying the southern California atmosphere at no cost. A true gift!

8) Shadowing my predecessor Sarah Benson at the (then) Disney-MGM Studios and meeting John Tartaglia (of Avenue Q original Broadway cast fame). Granted this memory happened before I was hired, but I felt like a kid in a candy story the whole day: getting taken in backstage at the Studios and entering the park before it was open to day guests; meeting a real-life photographer (David Roark -- whom I later worked with many-a-day); and watching a celebrity whose vocals I had revered for months and whose show I had LOVED on Broadway participate in a photo shoot in front of the hat. And then to have said celebrity shake my hand! I was in heaven (and little did I know I'd meet so many celebrities and come in backstage so many times that it would become commonplace and comfortable by the time I left).

7) Spending a day with the Jonas Brothers before they were the "it" group they are today. During the 2007 Disney Channel Games, the brothers were performing at the concert since they had recently been signed to Hollywood Records, a Disney-owned label. One of the publications attending the games, the teeny-bopper magazine Popstar! asked Disney to arrange for a half-day photo shoot with the boys at Disney's Polynesian Resort. I coordinated the shoot from soup to nuts and spent several hours with Kevin, Joe and Nick in a relaxed setting where they seemed to be just normal guys (normal guys with makeup artists, straightened hair and some of the funkiest clothes I've seen on three teenage guys, but hey, they are rock stars, right?).

6) Having my boss Gary throw random small items at me from Dianne's neighboring cubicle (sometimes it was Hershey's kisses, occassionally M 'n' M's -- it all depended on Dianne's candy of choice for the week) and attempting to fight it off with a fly swatter so kindly passed down to me by said predecessor Sarah (she knew it would come in handy!). Let's just say I passed that same green fly swatter onto my successor Betsy, and I think she made use of it several times as well!

5) Speaking of my successor Betsy, I never thought I'd say this, but passing the torch onto her makes my top 10 list of favorite moments because I gained a great friend out of it. I originally told her that I hoped I wouldn't like her because then I'd have a good reason to begrudge her for "stealing my job." But in the end she was just too sweet to hate and we've become very close friends in the last year. I'm so thankful that she of all people was able to experience when I experienced -- we understand each other and the demands of the job like no one else can!

4) Having the privilege of being with the Dream Squad when the Cinderella Castle Suite was awarded to a family for the very first night. The event coincided with our PR Press Event and I was on reporter duty for the day with the task of sending information back to home base where a press release could be drafted and sent out asap. For this reason I was with the Dream Squad from the beginning of the day when they found the selected family, to the photo shoots with Cinderella on the castle ramps, to the evening when the family was dressed up in royal garb and presented to the entire press event population in a regal stage show. Although I wasn't the one getting the prize, seeing the joy that it brought to this family made me feel the magic as well.

3) Meeting Brad Garrett at the Magic Kingdom. I had worked really hard planning his photo shoot and was thrilled when he offered to take a photo with me. Seriously, this guy was one walking joke -- perhaps one of the most innately funny people I've met -- and so kind, too! It's not often that you meet a celebrity who actually wants to stop, sign autographs and take photos with fans and he did just that. I was truly impressed by his lack of pretense and always secretly prayed for good ratings on his show, 'Til Death, since then.

2) All of the amazing restaurants I got to eat in (California Grill, 'Ohana, Narcoossee's, Flying Fish, Le Cellier, etc.), hotels I got to stay in (Contemporary, Polynesian, Boardwalk, Yacht Club, Saratoga Springs, etc.) and all the amazing extra events I was able to attend (Party for the Senses, Pirate & Princess Party, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, etc.) that I never would have been able to afford had I not been in the position I was. My life was so enriched by working in the roles I had.

1) Attempting to "leave" Disney five times before I successfully made it out alive this afternoon ;) Now don't get me wrong, I never wanted to quit, but I was originally signed on a 9-month contract with an end date of July 27, 2007. This was extended for six weeks while a replacement was found, which was then further extended for an additional 4 days so I could assist on "one last project." Lo and behold, after my third "last day" I was hired on a three-week contract to assist with the Mom's Panel search and after my fourth last day I was subsequently hired three weeks later to work as a publishing consultant in the same office, one desk over. This time though, there's no turning back (for two years at least!). The funny part is that I never once wanted to leave my job and it seems to me as though whatever higher power is out there was keeping me at Disney for a reason -- and the reason seems to be showing itself now (my acceptance to Harvard was probably due in large part to my two years work experience at Disney and my two recommendation letters from Disney co-workers who probably couldn't have provided the same insight had I stayed only the first 9 months).

And now it's time to say goodbye to all my company (I'm exhausted and have a weekend full of packing and errands ahead). See you real soon!

Will you be my penpal?

2008-07-22T10:16:00.008-04:00

Ever since I was little, I've loved having penpals. I used to tear out the Penpal matching sheets from BOP and Teen Beat, mail in my $2.00 and anxiously await receiving a penpal (do you remember those?). Nowadays with the advent of the internet, people don't write letters so much, but I still love receiving mail that's not a bill or a Victoria's Secret catalog (I get one every 3 days, don't ask why). With that said, I've received my HBS mailing address and would like to ask that you write me real mail so I can feel special and not pathetic when I check my mailbox daily. Please write to:

1112 HBS Student Mail Center
Boston, MA 02163

Cute stationary and/or cards that I can proudly display on my dresser are preferred, but care packages, plain old postcards and other correspondence will also be accepted. :) I can start receiving mail there as soon as I arrive (Aug. 11) so this gives you plenty of time to get that first letter, detailing how much you miss me of course, in the mail. Seriously though, when I was at UF it meant the world to me to get cards and letters -- a little slice of home in an unfamiliar place -- so please do take a few minutes to keep me up to date on your lives. I'll love you for it!

Birthday Festivities, part two

2008-07-22T08:29:00.005-04:00

As our move draws closer, things are really picking up -- yesterday I went practically non-stop from the time I woke up to the time I hit the pillow at 11:30 p.m. With movers coming by to give quotes, countless "last minute" errands, my last few days at work and all the packing that has to be done around the apartment, I feel like my body is just getting more and more exhausted by the day. Thank goodness I'll have a little over a week to unwind before kicking it into high gear again once Analytics starts on the 13th.

But for now, let's continue to focus on the remainder of my fabulous 24th birthday extravaganza!

On Saturday morning my best friend from high school Aynsley (see her blog, linked at left for more on her life) came into town from Gainesville and we got our nails and toes done at a cute, chic salon called Magic Nails, complete with a smoothie and the endless girly gab that I miss so much when she's not around. Later that afternoon my closest friend from college Melissa came in from Tampa and the three of us, along with my closest friend from work Betsy, met up for a four-course feature dinner at none other than The Melting Pot.

I swear, this has to be one of my favorite restaurants, especially for a group setting. It took us nearly 2 1/2 hours to dine, which makes for plenty of conversation -- something you don't always have time to do say, at Chilis, where they rush you out faster than you can finish your appetizer. The four of us shared the Wisconsin cheese and the Smores chocolate fondue (heavenly, especially when paired with the brownie chunks and the chocolate covered marshmallows). We each got a side salad and then paired off for the entrees. Melissa and I shared a portion of chicken, shrimp, salmon, beef tenderloin and teriyaki marinated steak, and Ayns and Betsy shared a portion of shrimp, duck, teriyaki steak, dumplings and something I'm forgetting. No matter we were all busting out of our clothing by the time we left, which just so happened to be the time everyone wanted to take pictures (seriously girls, couldn't we have posed before we ate so I didn't look like a whale in my when-I-put-it-on-it-was-loose but now-I'm-busting-out-of-it Michael Kors number?). Overall though, it was great to spend time with my closest friends since moving to Boston means I probably won't get to see them as often as I'd like.

My weekend concluded with a day of snacking and shopping with Melissa at the Milenia Mall. We literally walked the entire mall (and for those of you not in Orlando it is a HUGE mall with more than 300 stores), a feat I don't think I've done before in one shopathon. We didn't wind up buying too much, but I was blown away by the sales at The Limited. A case in point: Last fall I bought a gorgeous, warm, turtleneck sweater in burgundy for ~$40. I wound up wearing it to the Admitted Students Weekend in Boston in Feb. and was so warm in it that I regretted not buying it in every color they had. Well, lo and behold, somehow these fabulous sweaters didn't get eaten up in the tropical Florida climate and now they had them on sale for $4.98. I'm not kidding! You should have seen how quickly I snatched up a sweater in brown, black and off-white. Adding to my purchases I snagged a cute pair of dark-wash jeans for $13.99 (down from $70!) and a pair of white cargo bermuda shorts also for $13.99 (down from $50). My grand total came to $45 -- perhaps the most bang I've ever gotten for my buck at the mall.

And so my weekend came to a close and I actually felt really sad when Melissa left and I was again alone at home with the pups. I think some chord finally struck in me as I realized how imminent this life-changing event is. And as much as I want this, and know it's right, it gets so hard sometimes to push yourself out of your comfort zone to enter the unknown. In the end, whether or not I'm ready, my flight to Boston is booked for Aug. 10 and there's no backing out now!

Birthday Festivities Part 1

2008-07-20T18:07:00.011-04:00

Well folks, I'm officially 24 and boy do I feel old. But despite my paranoia over the fact that 24 is close to 25, which is close to 30, I had a great birthday weekend filled with great food, great friends and great fun. I'll be chronicling my activities over a few entries since I have so much to share. I'll also be updating my blog more frequently now that my HBS adventures are drawing near, so stay tuned!

On Friday night, my mom and I dined at Victoria & Albert's, the most elegant and upscale restaurant on Disney property, which is on the second floor of the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (Disney's flagship resort). V&A's, as it's affectionately known, is the only AAA Five Diamond restaurant in central Florida and due to its exclusivity and price tag (the 7-course prix fixe menu demands $125 per person), I never thought I'd get there, but thanks to some Disney magic and a lot of hard work, we were able to make it happen for the night of my birthday.

Here we are at our table enjoying our first glass of Heidsieck Monople "Blue Top" Brut Champagne NV (we had two) before our dining experience began. Actually, this picture doesn't do the restaurant, or the experience, justice. The room was absolutely gorgeous -- there are two dining rooms, one with about 15 tables, and a second, more cozy room with a fireplace that has 5 tables (we were in the second room, which I had requested). The main dining room has a gorgeous domed ceiling painted ethereally with tables both surrounding and underneath the dome. When you arrive, each table is set with splendid china emblazoned with the Victoria & Albert's logo, along with red roses and a candlelit lamp. The lighting is dim (which means when taking a picture with a flash the ambiance doesn't read in the photo) and there is a harpist playing. And although it's a formal restaurant (women must wear dresses and men must wear jackets), it's not stuffy as I worried it might be. Rather, the staff was extremely warm, joking jovially with us throughout the evening and offering every courtesy.

As each guest enters the restaurant, they are greeted by the Maitre d'Hotel who knows who you are and what you are celebrating (one of my co-workers passed along the word that I was accepted at HBS, so in addition to the normal happy birthday I was congratulated for that as well).

Upon being seated, the waiter and assistant waiter greet you promptly, pour that first glass of champagne and present your personalized menus for the evening (those are the small black "books" on the table in the first photo). These are personalized with your name, the date and the reason for your dinner (if it's a special occasion). Once you make your selections from the menu, the 3+ hour adventure begins.

After the champagne we were served a quartet of bite-size appetizers sent over by the chef -- unfortunately these aren't printed on my personalized menu so all I remember was a pineapple square with balsamic drizzle, a chilled melon soup and pickled watermelon, which was actually very tasty (from here on out I have the official, hard-to-understand-what-you-are-eating real names of the dishes and wines we enjoyed).

Our first appetizer was the Jumbo Lump and Dungeness Crab with California Asparagus Salad. The crab was wrapped in radish and served on top of the baby asparagus -- delicious! I also chose to do the wine pairings for the night, so I enjoyed this with a Pascal Jolivet, Sancerre 2006. For our second appetizer, we tried the Poached South Carolina Quail with Black Mission Figs and Fuji Apples, paired with a Dr. Zenzen Valwiger Herrenbery Riesling Auslese, Mossel 2001, which was by far my favorite wine of the night. My mom and I were both a little nervous at ordering quail, but it was surprisingly good, not gamey at all and very tender. And before I begin to sound like a lush here with the wine, each was a 2-3 oz. pour (although I did get a little tipsy when I attempted to maneuver my way to the restroom mid-evening!).

For our first entree, we ordered the Florida Pompano Amandine with Bean Ragout and Marcona Almonds paired with a Rosenthal "The Malibu Estate" Chardonnay, San Luis Obispo 2006. The fish was very light, flaky and buttery and with the crunch of the almonds, absolutely amazing. I could have eaten two of these (see below for the visual magnificence of this dish)!

Before receiving our second entree, the chef sent over a half portion of Pan Roasted Foie Gras with Georgia Peach Tart and Mostarda di Cremona paired with an unknown, very sweet wine. I was in heaven as I tried -- for the first time -- this buttery, melt-in-your-mouth meat (I later found out that not only had I enjoyed duck liver, but that it's also a controversial dish. At the time, however, I was literally in love.)

At this point, my mom and I started to get full, but had to brace ourselves because we still had our second entree, two dessert courses and an after-dinner treat sent over by the chef. This was our one and only complaint about the restaurant -- there was way too much food (perhaps they can do smaller portions on the two entrees or maybe it was just my mom and I's lack of control since we loved the beginning courses so much). Unfortunately, the pleasure of eating started to creep into the displeasure zone as our clothes tightened and our bellies stretched, but we made room to enjoy the rest to at least some degree.

Our second entree was the Marcho Farms Veal Tenderloin with Braised Veal Cheeks and Burgundy Poached Sweet Breads paired with a Prior d'Scala Dei, Priorat 2003 (this wine I didn't care for much and only sipped).

For our first dessert course, my mom and I ordered both of the options and shared them. The first was a cheese plate with three kinds of cheeses, baby champagne grapes, a piece of date bread, etc., which we only nibbled on. We gobbled up the White Chocolate Gelato with Fuchsia Petals and Lindt chocolate shavings (they placed an edible flower on top of the gelato, which I ate upon a dare from my mom and actually found to taste much like you'd think a flower would. It was very fragrant and sweet, but a little grassy!). This course was paired with a Quinta do Crasto Late Bottled Vintage Porto 2001, which I could not drink since it was so strong (I expected this of a port wine, but tried it anyhow). We concluded our meal (or so we thought) with the most amazing chocolate trio of desserts (a sampling of each): Tanzanian Chocolate Pyramid, Hawaiian Kona Chocolate Souffle and Peruvian Chocolate Ice Cream and Puff Pastry paired with coffee.

As our food settled (and our heads sobered up), the chef sent over what they call a "kiss goodnight": a trio of very small desserts to send you off with a sweet taste in your mouth. Unfortunately I was so uncomfortably full at this point that I couldn't enjoy them, but my mom praised the small butter cookies and bite-size chocolate candies.

Before we left, we were brought back into the kitchen to meet and compliment Chef Scott Hunnel, the Chef de Cuisine and mastermind behind this extravagant dinner. I had met him twice before on public relations photo shoots, but was happy to finally be able to congratulate him on his culinary wonders. My mom was also excited to tour the kitchens and say she met the chef (this was a special treat since I work for Disney, unfortunately not every guest is allowed this privilege).

After we paid, we were presented with our personalized menus, a small loaf of orange date bread (baked fresh in the Grand Floridian Bakery every morning and said to be a treat so you don't "go to bed hungry" as if that were possible after this meal!) and two long-stemmed red roses all in a beautiful gift bag. It was a lovely evening and despite being stuffed, we were sad to go, yet anxious to return in the future.

We had arrived at 5:45 and left the restaurant at 9:15 -- a 3.5 hour dinner (definitely the longest I've ever had), but well worth the cost and time spent. I would definitely recommend it to anyone celebrating a special occasion. And if you go, don't be afraid to try the more exotic offerings -- you may never have the chance to order quail or foie gras or caviar again!

Tomorrow I'll continue with the second day of my birthday weekend...see you then!

Small Miracles

2008-06-25T21:33:00.002-04:00

I'm currently re-reading the book "Small Miracles" by Yitta Halberstam & Judith Leventhal -- it's a collection of stories similar to what you might read in "Chicken Soup for the Soul," but all of these stories explore the coincidences of life and whether or not they might actually be divine intervention. And while it has a slightly spiritual tone to it, it's not centered on one religion or another -- rather some stories have Jewish slants, others Christian and most secular. It's a fantastic read, especially for someone like me who is currently at odds with the idea of religion, and something I'd recommend to anyone needing some inspiration.

On the note of inspiration, there was one particular story that really touched me this evening and I wanted to share it with you. This excerpt is from pages 81-83 of the book:

"In the 1930s, Rabbi Samuel Shapira, the distinguished chief rabbi of the Polish village of Prochnik, was in the habit of taking long, invigorating walks into the countryside. The rabbi, who was known for his warm, loving and compassionate ways, always made a point of greeting everyone whose path he crossed -- Jew and non-Jew alike -- and, adhering to a Talmudic dictum, always tried to greet them first.

One of the people he regularly greeted on his daily walks was a peasant by the name of Herr Mueller, whose farm lay on the outskirts of the town. Every morning, Rabbi Shapira would pass the farmer as he diligently worked in his fields. The rabbi would nod his head and expansively boom in a hearty voice, 'Good morning, Herr Mueller!'

When the rabbi had first embarked on his morning constitutional and had begun greeting Herr Mueller, the farmer had turned away in stony silence. Relations between Jews and gentiles in this village were not particularly good, and friendships were rare. But Rabbi Shapira was not deterred or discouraged. Day after day, he would greet the silent Herr Mueller with a hearty hello, until, finally convinced of the rabbi's sincerity, the farmer began returning the greeting with a tip of his hat and a hint of a smile.

This routine went on for many years. Every morning Rabbi Shapira would call out, 'Good Morning, Herr Mueller!' And every morning Herr Mueller would tip his hat and yell back, 'Good Morning, Herr Rabiner!' This scenario stopped when the Nazis came.

Rabbi Shapira and his family, together with all the other Jewish residents of the village, were shipped to a concentration camp. Rabbi Shapira was transferred from one concentration camp to the next until he reached his final destination point: Auschwitz.

As he disembarked from the train, he was ordered to join the line where selection was taking place. Standing in the back of the line, he saw from a distance the camp commandant's baton swing left, swing right. He knew that left signified certain death, but right bought time and possible survival.

His heart palpitating, he drew closer to the commandant as the line surged forward. Soon it would be his turn. What would be the decree? Left or right?

He was one person away from the man in charge of the selection, the man whose arbitrary decision could send him into the flames. What kind of man was this commandant, a man who could so easily send thousands of people a day to their deaths?

Despite his own fear, he looked curiously, almost boldly into the face of the commandant as his turn was called. At that moment, the man turned to glance at him, and their eyes locked.

Rabbi Shapira approached the commandant and said quietly, 'Good morning, Herr Mueller!' Herr Mueller's eyes, cold and unfathomable, twitched for a fraction of a second. 'Good morning, Herr Rabiner!' he answered, also very quietly.

And then he swung his baton forward. "Recht!" he shouted with a barely perceptible nod. "Right!" To...life!

Who would have thought a simple "Hello" could save a life? Yet sometimes the smallest of actions (or at least actions that we perceive to be small) can result in the greatest -- and gravest -- of consequences. The rabbi sowed the seeds of his redemption for years by engaging in polite pleasantries with a person whom others might have deemed an inconsequential peasant. Could he ever have envisioned that one day this man would quite literally hold his fate in his hands?"

When I read this, I couldn't help but be touched by the message and the extraordinary miracle of the story. And although I'm distilling it's meaning quite a bit, I feel like this story has spoken to me. I think a lot about HBS and how nervous I am about the social aspect. I so badly want to make a great group of friends and meet people that I fit with, but my poor college experience always holds me back and reminds me of how difficult things can be. Then I read stories like this and think about my experience at Admit Weekend: I said "Hello!" with a smile to any eyes that met mine and I struck up a conversation with a different person at every event. It was just a small time that I spent with each person, but perhaps that small act of kindness will come back in greater ways in the fall when I'm looking for others to project that friendliness with me!

What are your thoughts?

T-minus...

2008-06-13T15:18:00.003-04:00

I just realized in talking to a co-worker that I have exactly six weeks left of work. That's six weeks left of work and then two weeks till I move. Wow, this summer is flying by! The reality of all of this is so totally starting to sink in...

Orientation Schedule!

2008-06-11T12:13:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe that I'm less than two months away from moving to Boston and starting my HBS adventure. With each passing day it becomes more and more real that my life is about to change in a big way!

A prime example: A few days ago the Orientation schedule was posted and I was expecting to find a boring list of classes, registration and perhaps some cheesy team building activities. Instead I found an overwhelmingly exciting list of cruises around Boston Harbor, Casino Nights, movies on the lawn and more! What is this, summer camp? Now of course I know that the boring things are there too, but wow, what a difference from my UF experience. There (with 52,000 students, mind you), we were all numbers left to fend for ourselves. Here (albeit with a much more manageable 900 students), we're encouraged to make friends right from the start, and in small groups nonetheless, so you can get past the annoying pleasentries phase and actually make conversation. Check out some of the activities for the first two weeks:

HBS Residence Hall Reception: The HBS Department of Operations hosts a reception for all students living in the HBS residence halls.
Buses to Local Stores (is it sad that a shopping trip to Target makes me so excited?): The Student Association has organized bus trips to shuttle students from HBS to local stores (Target, Best Buy and the Arsenal Mall). Take advantage of this great service and get all of your apartment and back-to-school shopping done!
Small Group Dinners at Various Restaurants in Harvard Square: Do you want to get past the "where are you from and where did you work" stage? If so, come to a small group dinner and get to know some of your classmates. The Student Association will email all dinner attendees their assigned restaurant and group.
Student Association Welcome Reception outside on Spangler Lawn: The Student Association invites you to a reception with the Class of 2010.
Dean's Welcome to the Class of 2010: Gather with the entire Class of 2010 for the first time.
Learning Team Activities: Immediately following the Dean's Welcome, you will meet your Learning Team. The activities will run all day and all of the activities will be held outdoors.
Learning Teams Dinner: Following the day of team building activities, your Learning Team will enjoy a dinner together on campus. Your EC learning Team mentor will join you.
Baker Library Tour: Come see how Baker Library can contribute to your success in the MBA Program as Library staff introduce you to the resources the library has to offer.
The Leadership Challenges of Global Competition: In this session, four HBS senior faculty members with extensive international experience will briefly present their views of the critical leadership challenges created by global competition.
Thank Goodness It's Friday! (TGIF): TGIF is a Friday tradition at HBS. Unwind after your first week of classes at HBS and relive those nasty cold-calls over a cold beer.
Club Night: It's time to show your classmates the real story behind how you got into HBS - and it wasn't your 780 GMAT score. Admission is free for students all night.
Boat Cruise on Boston Harbor: Enjoy an evening cruising around Boston Harbor. Dance to the DJ's beats on the deck and enjoy drinks and snacks from the cash bar.
Movie on the Lawn: Bring your new friends, find a blanket to sit on, and join us for a big-screen, on the lawn - movie title coming soon.
Casino Night: Put on your best duds, and place your bets! Who knows, you could win enough to pay your RC tuition - that is, if Harvard University will take play money. Who cares? A fitting closing event for a wonderful Orientation 2008. Dress code is semi-formal (jacket and tie for men, cocktail dress or equivalent for women).
The Dean's Office sponsors the annual Fall Community Party. All are welcome for an afternoon of food and games.

How I'm supposed to squeeze classes, eating and sleeping in with all of this fun I have no clue! Guess I better invest in a REALLY good planner!!

Off Topic: I don't suffer from bystander apathy

2008-05-20T13:06:00.002-04:00

Ok, so in my 12th grade AP Psych course, we did a module on bystander apathy -- aka the tedency of humans to ignore a fellow human's cries for help in an emergency situation, instead assuming someone else will call 911. But last night I proved that I am no apathetic bystander (although a bystander nonetheless).

At around 6 p.m. I was dutifully checking Facebook for the 172nd time that day when I heard my neighbor scream, "Chuck! Oh my God, someone call 911!" I look out my 3rd story window and all I can see is my neighbor bent over being attacked by something. At first I thought he was being attacked by a dog because my neighbor's wife and another neighbor were trying to pull whatever this was off of Chuck...and then I notice it's no dog but another one of our neighbors! And he's strangling Chuck!

The adrenaline is pumping as I call for my mom to come look and we call 911. Finally the wives are able to separate Chuck from this man (leave it to the wives to make peace) and next thing I know Chuck launches a right hook into the guy's face and then kicks him in the nose as he falls to the ground. There's blood in the street, on the men, all over their clothes...the second neighbor keeps trying to come back at Chuck and the wife is doing everything she can to get him to stop. First she kicked him where the sun don't shine (no effect), then she rammed her head into his stomach to try and push him (he pushed her back) and finally she attempted to use her body weight to push him up the stairs to their apartment. Meanwhile I'm watching all of this unfold from my bedroom window praying for the cops to arrive.

Fifteen minutes later (a person could be dead by then) and many a heavy heartbeat in tow (on my part, not the actual victims of the assault) the cops, a firetruck and an ambulance finally come roaring into our normally quiet neighborhood. And they stayed for more than 2 hours, talking to everyone, assessing the injuries and finally arresting the nameless neighbor (not Chuck, it turns out he wasn't the one who started the fight). After everything calmed down my mom and I went down to make sure Chuck was okay (which he was) and to let him know we called the cops.

What a night!

Musical Dorms

2008-05-08T15:15:00.005-04:00

This afternoon I was searching the HBS Bulletin Boards while eating my Chinese take out (chicken lo-mein, delicious!) and noticed someone had posted about re-arranged floor plans on McCulloch Hall (my hall). I went online and lo and behold, my room had not only swapped places with another room, but it is now a one-room large single and NOT a 2-room suite. Are you confused yet? I know I am.

I called the Housing Office and the floor plans were apparently outdated on the Web site prior to yesterday. The deets (as of today) on my room are that it is for sure a one-room large single, it has a full-size bed (not a twin bed, which means all that bedding I bought is going back to Linens N Things), a built-in desk with bookshelf, one closet and one sink. Other than that, things seem to be the same. Here's the new (and hopefully final floor plan):

As you can see, the dimensions are about 16" X 12" -- definitely a nice size, although the futon idea is out. In other good news, the update means that I can in fact bring all of my linens, decorations, knick-knacks, etc. up from my current bedroom, so the decor that I'll need to purchase is essentially nilch (aside from a few bath towels and a pair of shower shoes). Hopefully with this update, the game of musical dorms has come to an end!

More Dorm News...

2008-05-05T19:13:00.004-04:00

Today I found out the most miraculous dorm news yet...my two-room suite is all mine. No roommate, no suitemate, just two huge rooms all to myself! I was actually really surprised to hear that I wouldn't have a suitemate -- I guess I just misunderstood the meaning of a 2-room suite from my sorority house days where you not only shared your room with one person, but also had two suitemates next door. Nevertheless I'm thrilled! It does mean more decor will be necessary ;) and I think I'm going to make one room the typical bedroom and the second room a living area, with perhaps a futon for guests and my study area. We'll see how much money I have left over for decorating once the semester starts. I know they have IKEA in the Northeast and their stuff is pretty stylish and cheap, so I'll have to do some scavenging and dig out the deals.

This afternoon I also picked out my bedspread and matching pillows so I have a theme going for the room (I know I'm such a planner, I can't wait until closer to the actual moving date to get started on this stuff). I wanted to stick to similar colors to what I have in my bedroom right now (which is more subdued blues, greens and yellows) so many of my accessories and knick-knacks could transfer to the dorm room (no sense in buying a million vases, lamps, picture frames, etc.). What I chose is far from subdued, but it sticks to the green and blue theme. Take a look:

Now this isn't exactly what I got, but I did get the green comforter, which comes with a matching sham, and three decorative pillows that aren't shown here -- two are large (one green, one the color blue shown in the photo) and one is a small accent pillow (blue). I haven't decided yet if the green striped sheets as shown here might make for a tad too much green, so I may go with white and blue, but I wanted to hold off on purchasing those until I got more Linens N Things coupons in the mail. I purposely went for the bright colors when I saw them because, hey, I know Boston winters can be a tad bit long and gloomy, and there's nothing that can brighten your day better than a bold bedroom to come home to. What do you all think?

My Home for the Next Year

2008-04-29T11:05:00.010-04:00

Sorry for the delay in blogging -- it's been quite a month! Not too much has been happening on the HBS front, but my day-to-day life has been consumed with an increased work load (happily!), family pet emergencies and an overall busy schedule. But I'm back and with good news: Yesterday the HBS Residence Hall Lottery was drawn and I received a room assignment in Round 1! Readers, I present McCulloch Hall!

It doesn't look like much from this photo, but it's in a great location on campus, has four floors and tunnel access to all classrooms, the library, the gym and the student center (and it's air conditioned, thank goodness). My room is on the third floor with a view of one of the other dorms. According to the floor plans available on the HBS Web site, I was placed in a two-room suite, which although I've never seen one, is supposed to be nice.

The rooms come with an extra-long twin bed, a desk, bookshelf, dresser, closet and private sink. I'll have a shared bathroom with approximately 4 others. The building itself has 10 kitchen "areas" (no full kitchens, so it'll be dining hall life for me) with a fridge and microwave. I'll probably rent a mini-fridge for the room, but we're not allowed coffee makers (THE HORROR!) so I'm thinking maybe I'll buy and donate one to the kitchen "area" so I don't have to purchase my java each and every morning. The common area is beautiful and has a 52" flat screen TV and a grand piano incase I ever decide to learn Mozart in my free time. Take a look:

And finally, here are a few of the HBS-supplied sample photos of what a McCulloch standard room could look like (the dimensions are a little different for each room, plus I have a two-room suite, which they didn't have any photos of).

My room (the suite) has three windows, so hopefully it'll be a little brighter than what these pictures show (the room looks a little drab here).

Now the exciting part starts: searching for a bedspread, looking through design magazines to come up with my "theme" and getting ready to decorate! I'm going to try to stick to a blue/green and/or yellow theme so I can use as much of the decor that I already have from my current bedroom (less to buy new and try to get rid of after two years). The best news is that should I like this room, I can leave all of my stuff in it over the summer and not have to worry about shipping anything back and forth.

Analytics move-in is August 11th, so I'll fly up to Boston on the 10th. I can't believe it's already less than 4 months away! More news as it comes...

New Look For "Harvard Bound"

2008-04-04T11:49:00.002-04:00

If you've visited my blog at any point over the last few days you may have noticed one of several new layouts I've been trying out. I was starting to feel constrained by what Blogspot offers in the realm of templates so I went searching in the World Wide Web and tried everything from a city scape to a subdued modern look, finally settling on this one. Since I'm a Florida gal, I figured what better to represent myself than a sunny beach (let's put aside the fact that I have a horrible fear of putting anything more than my pinky toe in ocean water...I do love the sand and sun though!).

I'm also going to try including more photos in my blogs, and if I can figure out how to edit the HTML, I want to add a counter so I can see how many of you are actually checking out my entries. I already added a Link List on the left sidebar where I'll link to some of my favorite blogs and Web sites in general. That list should grow past the current two links over the next few days.

So...what do you think of the new look? :)

I sold my couches!!

2008-03-31T15:14:00.009-04:00

For those of you unaware of my couch saga, I purchased a couch and love seat when I moved to Orlando in Oct. 2006 to furnish my bare apartment. At that time I never thought I'd be moving back in with my mom, nor did I think I'd ever be moving back into a dorm. Needless to say both of those are now realities and after moving in with my mother in Oct. 2007, her 2 bedroom apartment suddenly became crammed with two apartments worth of furniture. You see, she already had a completely furnished apartment (what became my bedroom was a den) so now in addition to finding space for the furniture that formerly occupied the 2nd bedroom, we had to find space for my couch, love seat, kitchen table with four chairs and all of my random belongings. To accommodate this clutter, we turned the dining room into a storage room, pushed all the extra furniture in there, covered it with a sheet and pretended it wasn't there (which was tough). When I finally realized it would be more hassle than it's worth to move to Boston with all of my furniture (and pay to store it for 2 years), I decided to sell my like new couches the cheap way -- through CraigsList. It took more than two months of posting and re-posting my CraigsList ad (and subsequently lowering my price twice), until I was able to successfully sell my couches last night after a spur-of-the-moment call from a man in Titusville.

Around 7 p.m. last night he called asking when this week he might be able to come see the couches and before I knew it, we arranged for him to come right then and there. By 9 p.m. I had $600 cash in my hands (too bad it went straight to my credit card bill) and a lot more space in our dining room/storage place. Next up I've got to try to sell my mom's extra couch, our extra kitchen table and my mom's butcher-block sideboard. And then we plan to have a garage sale later this month -- currently 1/2 of our garage is packed with all the items we want to sell. There's so much stuff that I can barely fit my car in there!

Somehow I find de-cluttering so....well...cathartic! Plus, my mom always says that when you clear your life of all the things you no longer need, you make room for wonderful new things to enter. Too cheesy? Maybe, but I secretly hope she's right!

In HBS news, the Round 2 Admits received their admissions decisions the other day and the bulletin boards are back to being flooded with congratulatory remarks and get together invites. So far I haven't seen anyone respond to my original "Florida" posting. It would be nice to find a few more Florida folks at HBS so we can commiserate during the winter! Maybe Round Three!

In other news, I'm finally close to finishing my third HBS tutorial -- the one on Technology and the Internet. I've got to say it's the most boring one I've done yet -- no funny animation or cohesive storyline -- and sometimes I feel like I'm trying to learn a new language with all of the vocabulary thrown at me. I've already "failed" the tutorial (for this one there were 6 mini-quizzes and you needed a 60% on each to "pass" the tutorial) -- I got a 50% on the first quiz because I could not calculate something to do with bits, bytes, megablips, megahertz...well you get the point. Thankfully this was our "optional" tutorial, so failing doesn't have any repercussions and hopefully we won't have any cases on technology this detailed -- I never thought being an executive meant you also have to be an expert in computer science!

This weekend I am heading down to Boca to visit my grandparents and hopefully see one of my best friends, Tausha, who lives in New York but will be down the same weekend (Hi Tausha!). I can't wait to give my grandparents the HBS merchandise that I bought during Admit Weekend -- my grandfather has dutifully worn his Gator cap for the last five years so I think it's high time he replace it with a new crimson HBS one! I got a calendar for my grandmother -- she likes sentimental things like that and since she won't be able to come visit me in Boston, she can at least look at pictures of the buildings I'll be in every day and envision me there (sounds "out there" but it keeps her from feeling so lonely).

Back to the daily grind...!

This I Know...

2008-03-26T11:08:00.003-04:00

Lately this blog seems to be veering slightly from the Harvard-bound topic, but seeing as HBS-related events have slowed (and will probably continue to slow for several months), I figure that dabbling in the philosophical and introspective every once in a while can't hurt.

Today I am inspired by a section in O The Oprah Magazine called "This I Know..." In the section, Oprah makes blanket statements about the things she knows about herself and her life. Personally, I find that in this ever-changing, twisting world, the things we truly know about ourselves can feel few and far between. But this I know:

1) Proud as I am to be a strong woman, I struggle with the "supposed to's" that are associated with my gender. I feel extremely lucky to have been born into the generation that I was, for today more than ever, women are given choices about the paths in their lives, and are (starting to be) respected for making what are sometimes unconventional decisions. But even with these strides toward equality, the world still makes decisions about the place a woman should have in society. She is to be the homemaker, the mother, the nurterer. Watch any cleaning supply commercial and I guarantee you'll never see a man bending down to scrub the toilet -- and if he is, it's only because he's eyeing a sexy female next door. When it comes to children, it's assumed that women not only want to be mothers, but that when the child arrives, she is to quit her job and put her life on hold to care for the home and the baby.

Why, despite the strides we've made toward equality in the workplace and in the political arena (we're not there yet, but almost!), does the equality not transfer to relationships and the home life? Which leads me to the second thing I know...

2) I want a family. I want the adoring husband who challenges me mentally and intellectually and who is my forever partner. I want the 2.5 children and a dog and the family dinners and the first steps and the trips to Disney World. I can see myself sitting down to dinner after a long day of work and feeling complete.

What I don't see is life as a housewife. I've come this far intellectually -- I'll be a Harvard MBA in 2 years -- so how could I ever throw away all mental stimulation to take care of a child, stay in a home day after day and relegate myself to watching soap operas and ironing my husband's shirts? It's just not in my future. I want to be the President of a company, have a great big corner office with a window overlooking a bustling city. I want to feel productive, intelligent, and successful in my day to day work. And then I want to pick my children up from school, read them bedtime stories and fall asleep in my husband's arms. But can both exist?

The answer to that question is something I don't know. I don't know if I can be the excellent mother I'd want to be and be a successful career woman and a loving wife. I don't know if I'll find a man who isn't intimidated by my ambition or career aspirations and who doesn't try to put me in a box and expect me to act like a possession. I don't even know if I'll change my mind ten years down the road and all of a sudden want nothing more than to have a baby and nurture it. And I guess that's part of the adventure of life -- knowing who you are and who you want to be, and wondering exact how, and if, you'll get there.