Applying to MBA while Living Single in the Bay!

The Village is kickin'

2005-10-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

Going to school in the middle of Greenwich Village is definitely an awesome experience. I spend Monday and Tuesday at Stern until midnight studying in the lounge area with all these other cool Sternies. On Wed we study but then around 10 me and my Stern girlz go to our lockers, get our goin' out clothez on, get our hair straighteners out, put on our makeup, and walk right out onto the street to all of these bars. Last night when we went out it was 11:30 and EVERYTHING was open! i'm not just talking about bars, but jewelry stores, clothing stores, everything! Thursdays are our beer blasts where MBA 1s and 2s talk, drink, and eat lotz of pizza together, which later leads to bar blasts, and for the last 3 weeks, has led to after-party blasts at the apts of those that were fortunate enough to find an apt. in the Village.

We have been having all the club kickoffs these past weeks. I won a couple leadership positions that i am extremely excited about. Last night one of the clubs had a mixer with the similar club at Columbia, so we got to meet some other b-school students who are in the same city. Today we had a business plan teammate hunt, where over 70 people--including students and external people--pitched their ideaz and tried to find a team to help develop their business plan with. Stern holds a business plan competition where the winners win $50,000, and if it is a socially beneficial idea, can win $100,000.

Things have really changed in the last month and a half. I started orientation on Aug. 17th and didn't know ANYTHING about NY, didn't know anyone, didn't know what to expect etc. now, I've met so many cool people, have explored so much already, and am really excited for the next 2 years (minus a month and a half).

Thanks for the comments, that is the thing that keeps me writing!

Business School is damn intense

2005-09-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

Wow. I cannot believe this. I have so much stuff going on here! The first week of real school after orientation was cool...what a fool we all were. By Monday of the second week we were all SLAMMED with work--accounting, finance, stats, etc. I have been studying until midnight mon-wed, then going out thurs, fri, sat, chillin on Sunday. Also, we have all the student clubs starting, so we go to the kickoff meetings and submit officer apps if we want. Getting an MBA is a LIFE CONSUMING event. But the thing is, it is soooooo fun! Everyone studies together, and helps each other out with questions, and goes out together. The more I am here the more I am liking it, b/c I am getting to know people better and the school can feel like home.
ok, i got a stats and an econ problem set due, so i'm out. . .lata!

Orientation over--Studying begin!

2005-09-04T03:51:00.000-07:00

This week was our second and final week of orientation. We learned about some more specializations, and I decided that I will probably specialize in finance and global business, because I want to stay in healthcare administration/planning, but possibly internationally, and finance is one of my skills that I would like to strenghten.

We had block talent shows this week, where each study group made up a skit or sang some kind of song, and performed in front of the rest of the block (my group of 70 students). It turned out to be a lot of fun, and I was really impressed at how Stern infuses fun into the business school culture, before getting too serious. We also had a panel on different community service opportunities in NY, and instead of it being optional to participate, they made it a competition between blocks, where each block will provide service for one organization, and the block that does the best will win. So this is another thing that I was impressed about, that they are trying to encourage the importance of community service. My block will be volunteering at the evening Leukemia Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.

On our final night of orientation the school took us out on a dinner cruise around Manhattan, otherwise known as the "Booze Cruise." Probably the best part for me, aside from the wild dancing, was when the ship cruised RIGHT in front of the Statue of Liberty, and we were outside, on the top deck of the ship. That was pretty amazing.

Today I had lunch in the West Village with a friend from the bay area, and tonight I went to Harlem to meet up with a friend from Stern and I went with her and a couple other girls to a barbecue in the Bronx. It was pretty interesting--they had speakers with music blaring sooo loud you could hear it from like 4 blocks away, but nobody complained. They were grillin' a LOT of chicken and having a lot of drinks.

On our way back, I took the subway back to my place, and this very nice guy came to talk to me and he ended up telling me he just got back from the bay area and he loved it, and we started talking about all this stuff. In the beginning I was very apprehensive to talk to him b/c there were all kinds of shady characters in the subway, but he was actually really cool. So it turned out that he lived one block away from me, so we walked home together, and then there was this dance place called in the Hudson Hotel open and we just went in and they were playing salsa music so we got our groove on for like 15 min. and then they closed. It was really fun!

I start school this week!

Orientation-Wk 2

2005-08-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

Today was the start of week 2 in orientation. This past weekend was a nice time to chill at home at my friend's studio apt. in midtown. I went to look at some apts with my future roomate--no luck in the apt. hunting but we were next to Union Square and I had a lot of luck in the huge Forever 21 they have in there!

Today our day started with alumni that had specialized in statistics or related management science fields. One alum went from the construction field into Goldman Sachs or a similar org. where he is now a vice-president. Then we then had a really great talk on diversity where we explored all the different elements of people from different cultures--from things like how people from different countries greet each other, to how some cultures are low context (US,UK, etc) and just say what's needed and can be very direct. Whereas other cultures are high context (India, Brazil, Mexico), so they will be more robust with their conversations, and not as direct. I thought it was great to understand all the different elements of culture, especially being a first-generation Indian-American. Elements of culture play an indescribably HUGE rule in my life.

The day passed quickly, before I know it it is time to come home! My roomie for now Mo and I met up and got a nice piece of NY pizza and then watched yesterday's Entourage on demand. DAMN, this was an AWESOME episode! Ari got fired, and Vince got dumped. Vince is a cutey!

Also, the MTV awards were cool last night, but damn, can Diddy call anymore attention to himself? I have to give props to Missy for her tight video, "Lose Control," that won at least 2 awards last night.

2nd day of orientation done. ..6 more hours until 3rd

2005-08-25T00:10:00.000-07:00

so it's after 3am and i just got back from some upper east side bars. . .our whole class went to the yankees game after our 2nd day of orientation. . .just when i was feeling exhausted from all the daily activities and didn't think I could go on, we all went to the yankees game, followed by after-game drinks. . .i had way too much fun at the bars and was convinced to sing Nelly's "It's getting hot in here" and "1-minute man" on karoake. . .

stern people are hella cool. or in NY style, I should say MAD cool. seriously, i am having a lot of fun here.

i have to get up in like 4 hours to get ready for day 3 oh my gosh can i do it?

1st Day of Orientation!

2005-08-23T22:37:00.001-07:00

Today was our first day of orientation at Stern. We registered at the main plaza and our day started by getting free laptop backpacks and a flash drive! I was so excited, b/c those were the two things that were only my list to buy for school! We all gathered in the main auditorium to start the day with a welcome lecture. It was pretty cool to finally see all of my classmates, roughly about 350-400 people, all sitting in an auditorium together. The welcome lecture lecture was nice, and the most memorable comments that the dean made was when he said, and I quote as correctly as I possibly can, "Some people think that the purpose of business school is to prepare them for their first job. But that is not what business school is for. Business school is not a vocational school. It will teach you how to think analytically and critically. It will also teach you how to think historically and ethically. Business school will help you learn to solve incredibly complex situations for your professional career." I thought his comments were well-aligned with my purpose for b-school.

So after our welcome lecture we separated in different rooms into our blocks. Blocks are about 60 people who we will go through most of our 1st term core classes with. We did introductions and all that. Then we all got together again for a discussion on "The art of Small Talk" which was a nice talk. After that we had a wine and appetizers reception. It was really cool, and they had seriously fancy appetizers coming around. Anyway, I only knew a few people, so in the beginning I was thinking, "How am I going to get to know anyone?" But then everyone was so friendly, and people came up and introduced themselves, and I ended up having a lot of fun meeting people. A few surprises happened as well: someone came up to me and it was an old friend from my undergrad days at Berkeley! I didn't even know he went here, so it was a really nice surprise. Then, this girl came up to me and she saw my nametag and she was like, "Oh my gosh! I have been looking for you everywhere!" It turns out that I left my cell phone in the bathroom stall, where I had been checking my messages because it was the only place where it was quiet at all!

Right afterwards, I took the subway to meet up with some of my friends from Oakland who are in town, and it is so weird because I still feel like a visitor, but they treat me like I'm from here now! But I don't feel like it! They wanted to see a Broadway show so we went to see "Rent" on Times Square. It was my first time seeing a Broadway musical and it was pretty cool. When I was watching it I was thinking, "Wow! I really AM in NY!" After we went to have some drinks at this revolving restaraunt which overlooks Times Square, and also charges $13.95 for a martini. DAMN!

I just got home and it is almost 2am, and I haven't been home since this morning! This NY lifestyle is BUSY!

Apollo Theatre

2005-08-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

My sister and I took a trip to Harlem the other day. The "trip" was very easy. . . we just took the subway and got off at 125th St.! I wanted to show her the Apollo Theater, where great perfomers like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Redd Foxx, and many many more have performed, along with the home of the famous show "Showtime at the Apollo" that I have been watching since I was a little girl.

So we walked over there, and they are doing so much renovation to it, which will last at least into next year. They are changing the outside face, and also changing all of the inside seating and decorum. My sis and I made friends with the security guard and the contractor. They usually don't let anyone in the actual theatre, but then we asked them if we could go in and they let us! The contractor was soooo funny, he said if we're going in, we have to do a show, so my sister conveniently volunteered that I would sing (which I do not do very well!). So my sister sat in the front row and the contractor went on stage and introduced me as "Madeline the Beautiful" (which nowhere resembles my name at all) and he made me rub the Tree of Hope which is this tree that performers rub for good luck and so they don't get boo'd off stage. So I went up on stage and I sang "I Believe I can Fly" as a joke and they started clapping and screaming. (If it were me I would have boo'd myself off.) Hahahahaha, it was really funny.

In New York!

2005-08-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

So I'm IN NEW YORK now! I moved here! I live here now! whoaa. . .life really changes big time! I just got here on Wed night at 1am--it's now Friday. My sister came with me and we flew from Sacramento airport into Chicago, had Chicago airport pizza that tasted like microwave pizza, and then into LaGuardia at 11:30pm. We took a cab to my friend Mohini's house in Manhattan! We stayed up for hours talking, and it was so nice! My girl Mohini, Mo for short, goes to Med school here and she was supposed to do her rotations the next day but had to call in sick b/c we stayed up sooo late!

Yesterday while Mo stayed in bed my sister Rachi and I explored the NYU area. First we walked up and down the Stern building b/c I wanted my sis to see my new school. we took all these pictures in empty classrooms and the bathroom--it was really big! after that mission was accomplished, we walked all around the east village, had a jamaican patty in washington square park, made our way to murray hill, and then found the cutest sushi restaraunt with outdoor seating and saki. It was soooo good! I love how we could eat such international foods so easily! There is this dosa cart right next to NYU. Dosas (long crepes filled with spicy potatoes, from S. India) are the bomb, and usually you have to go to a nice restaraunt that is never closeby to get one. But they were selling it out of a truck on the side of the street! Then Mo met up with us and we hit up happy hour at this place on West 3rd near NYU called Fat Black Pussycats and really made a good use of Happy Hour!

I met up with some NYU students yesterday evening. My fellow classmate Duke Kim was among the group, we chatted in front of stern. Then later my sis and me and my girl mo went to Jay-Z's Lounge where the summer NYU students were having an end of summer party. It was a really cool club, they have purple sheer curtainz everywhere and tvs with every step. It was cool. I have to say, though, NY drinks AIN'T nothin' cheap! wow! after that lounge we went to another party until like 3am and then went out for cheese fries where we met this guy who just got out of jail and he wanted to pay for our meal. why not? As we were driving around last night, it was amazing to see so much going on on a Thursday night-there were so many clubs with huge groups outside. It was awesome--i love life like that!

Today i woke up and it is POURING here! Really pouring! I don't have a car anymore, so to walk outside in this rain does not sound fun!

Before I left I went on a 1-week cruise with my family to Alaska which was really nice and relaxing, we got to eat a lot of good foods, and took tours of Juneau and 2 other cities in Alaska, as well as Victoria, Canada. Then I had a good-bye party which was themed "Back to School Bash" where everyone dressed up in school clothes--I was Honor Roll Onyx and there was also Teacher's Pet Tia and G-dog Graduate, among otherz. It was fun. then before I knew it I was here!

Does it ever end?

2005-07-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

well, since my last blog entry i have still been packing. honestly, i hate this. it is so tedious and frustrating and i have to think WAY TOO MUCH for being on vacation! this ain't no vacation right now, it is hard work! for the last week i have woken up (at least i have got to wake up at whatever time i want to), i pack all day, go to eat, pack more, maybe go to the gym, then come back and pack. my friend's sis is staying with me for awhile b/c she has an intership in berkeley and that has been nice, she has helped a lot. a lot of other really good friends have come by to help too (you got to be a good friend to want to help someone pack and move!) then my sister came and we loaded our family's minivan up and she drove it home, and today i loaded my little car up and drove almost everything else home to Sacramento.

seriously, moving out of a 1-bdrm is intense! i can only imagine families moving with kids, or moving while i am working. i do appreciate that my moving could have been under much more difficult circumstances. my friend's sis is subletting my apt. for the whole month of august so i can still go back and get a few more things. it is helpful that i haven't had a dropdead date to move out by, b/c i can do things in phases.

next week i am going on a week-loong cruise with my family to alaska! i am excited, and our family is going on this vacation b/c we (with a push from our mom) want to go on vacation together and after this, so many things are changing, my little bro is going to college, my older bro is out on his own, i am leaving. My sis is back from med school in the caribbean so she will be holding the fort down.

Even though I had originally planned to have 6 weeks off b4 school, i am thinking the week on the cruise will be my true vacation, with no responsibilities and truly time to get away. I have a couple books that i plan to read, and my sis and i are going to work out, and overall just chill i hope. I hope I don't eat too many of those buffets.

Packing it up

2005-07-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

Packing is crazy! I have a whole apt. full of stuff I have to decide what the heck I am going to do with. I hate being stressed, so I am packing over the course of a couple weeks. I posted some of my furniture on Craigslist 2 days ago, and within minutes people were calling! I already made $90 off of furniture that had been donated to me over the years, not to mention they came and moved it out of here!

More than just moving stuff though, I have to also move all of these files--my bills, records, etc., which is causing me to go thru a straight organization mode these days! I have always TRIED to stay organized b/c I knew a move would be coming eventually, but there is always more to do!

While I was packing I even decided to try to sell some of my clothes, so I took pics and posted that on Craigs list. So far the only call I have got about those though, is my sister who saw my ad and saw that I was selling a shirt she had gave me and said i better give it back to her!

Real Estate-To Bubble or Not?

2005-07-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

During my time in Sac, I also had to finish getting my
house ready--my dad & I had some landscapers give us
estimates to complete my backyard, since it is a new
house and there is only dirt in there. then i had to
deal with getting a fridge into the house which should
be delivered today. . My tenant is this 55-year old
man who is a computer consultant and makes hella money
but moved from Florida where real estate is much
cheaper. He says he rents in CA b/c he doesn't believe in real estate here, where
a 2,000 sf house now goes for between $450-500,000.

I believe in CA real estate myself, but right now prices
are almost the highest they are going to for awhile.
In the last 2 years, prices have risen over 30% per
year, and it is now slowing to around 18% (source: Sac Bee),
but the "bubble bursting" effect, in my opinion, is
not going to heavily take place in the area. I
believe that price APPRECIATION will slow, but prices
will not drop dramatically. However, people who buy
now or in the next year, at the tail end of the
appreciation, may experience hardly any increase or
even a slight decrease, b/c prices are almost too high now.

But if prices did dramatically drop, that would cause
a serious depression in the area because SO MANY
people would lose money and cause the economy to go
down, which is the opposite of what needs to happen
right now to improve our economy.

just my thoughts on all the real estate talk. . .

2005-07-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

Rock climbing on my bday

On Vacation?

2005-07-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

so i have been off of work for 2 weeks, it has been BEAUTIFUL, but BUSY. wow, I have finally had time to catch up with my life! Though I thought I would have a relaxing time between my last day of work on July 1st and my first day of school on Aug. 23rd, and I have had some, it has also been a whirlwind!

I was in Oakland last week really relaxing and recovering from my 5 years of working. Digital Cable and on-demand showz like Curb your Enthusiasm, Sex and the City and Fitness workouts are awesome when you have nothin' else to do! There is also such a cute movie theatre right down the street that I went to where you sit on a couch and they serve you pizza and beer/wine while watching the movie! I also found a tenant for my house in Sac, and they guy was from the bay area so we met at a coffee shop in walking distance from my Oakland apt. and signed the lease there! It was very convenient.

After a week of chillin' in Oaktown I came home to Sac where my whole family is, my sis who is studying for the medical school boards, my bro who just graduated from Stanford, and my little bro who just graduated from high school and will go to Stanford in the fall, and my parents. It is rare that we are all home at the same time with everyone's crazy schedules. We have a great time together. One day my youngest brother and I were play fighting on these stairs and he pushed me and I fell down the stairs and hit my foot! I couldn't even walk at all for like 8 hours so I had to go to the ER for 3 hours with my mom and my bro, and they gave me a wheelchair! I had an x-ray and luckily my foot had only been badly bruised and nothing more serious than that, so they gave me crutches to use for 3 days. I guess no more play fighting with my bro!

Sac has been cool, but apparently NYU decides to set MANY of their deadlines at July 15th, which also happens to be my birthday! This week I had to apply for student loans to go to NYU, fill out which classes I am taking, see if i got approved for other financial aid, and then to top it off, they send pre-work to all students and I have had to take 1 test per week in dry dry subjects like accounting. this test takes like 10 hours to study for, and it is sooooo boring! But I made the deadlines and I officially submitted my schedule and payment info!

On my birthday my brothers and sis went rock climbing. . .it was sooo cool. Awesome experience and work out. Then my family and I went out to this vibrant Caribbean restaraunt and this guy with a guitar and sunglasses sang me the Caribbean rendition of Happy Birthday. . it was fun.

Soon-to-be Godmama!

2005-06-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

So, I helped plan my very close friend's baby shower this past weekend, and i'm going to be a godmama! I have talked about her on my blog before, but my girl Mizza and I used to be out-on-da-town girlfriends, and we knew about everything going on and how to get in for free without standing in any line. She's having a baby in about 1 month from now. So I put together her 'Pinktastic Baby Celebration!' It was co-ed, and I told ladiez to wear pink, and they all did, including some of the guyz too (b/c it's a girl)! It was a beautiful day, and it was held at mizza's mama's house in walnut creek. her sister and i decorated the house with pink streamers and pink balloons, and also hung pink baby dresses and clothes with clothespins from clotheslines that we strung around the house. IT WAS SOOOO CUTE! There was LOTS of nice food and drinks, including cheese, crackers, sushi, pasta salad, wine, and beer.

We had planned some group games, like a relay race to dress a stuffed animal, where each person on a team dressed it with with a diaper, bib, blanket, then someone had to rock it and someone had to sing it a lullaby, and then the team that finished first won a prize. We also had a crossword puzzle that my girl tia found an internet site for where you enter questions and then it makes a crossword. so we printed it out on pink paper and the first person to complete it won a nice prize from the $ store.

then we had a little entertainment session where i did a power point presentation with all of these pictures of our adventures out on the town and on vacations, and showing how mizza was about to enter a new chapter of life--mama mizza! i got quotes from her mom, sis, her man, and put them in also, and it had all this animation and stuff. my girl from work hooked me up with the very tighly guarded lcd projector by saying that i had a "late friday afternoon meeting," so it was projected on the wall. my little brother sang a song from his guitar and it was so sweet, and someone else had composed a song especially for mizza and the new baby and recorded it on a cd, so we listened to that.

Overall it was a fantastic baby celebration! Lotz o' fun, games & drinks.

I'm in my last week of work now, but I took today (monday) off b/c it's my mom's birthday (Happy b-day moms!) so my family & i have all of these events planned for her and we rented a hotel room in downtown sacramento and we are going to surprise her and stay in it tonight.

This month has been incredibly busy, with my bro's graduations, the baby celebration, family holidays like father's day, my mom's b-day today, closing up work, trying to rent out my sac house, etc. After this friday so much will be done, i wonder if i'll be bored then! i wouldn't mind that for awhile!

Top 5 to survive in B-school, oh, i mean high school

2005-06-22T13:24:00.000-07:00

In the last month, my little brother graduated from high school, and will attend Stanford! I am so proud of him! He made the graduation speech, and it was so funny. Here are his top 5 lessons of being in high school (remember those days?). . . do you think some of us can apply this to our soon-to-be starting b-school life?

5) Saying, 'Don't tell anyone I said this' means absolutely nothing to
anyone at any time..

4)Always take tough classes later in the day so that you can get pop quiz
hints from friends.

3)Hall monitors never question you if you walk fast and pretend to have a
purpose.

2)For you nerds, girls don't think that either Mario games or math jokes
are cool.

1)When a teacher says something has to be done, it is rarely true. As my
friend Obi Wan Kenobi once said,

"Only the Sith deal in absolutes."

I love it!

Changes abound

2005-06-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

Wow. i can't believe that so much will be changing. I am just barely starting to realize it. I have had so much going on in the past couple of months that i haven't had the chance to actually think about how things are going to be different. I feel like i need to know what is at the other end of the tunnel!

My last day at work is next Friday, July 1st. I have been working in 2 different jobs in the same company over the course of 5 years. Honestly, I love the job I'm at. Every day when I leave I am totally fulfilled. I didn't always feel this way about work but I do now. Sometimes I feel like,am I making the right decision, and is it possible for life to change so much? But it is. I have been thinking about business school since i graduated from undergrad, and the time has now come!

At work I am very busy transitioning my work to others who already have their plate totally full. There is no one to fill my position for a few months so I have to give my work to others who are so busy already, it makes me feel a little bad b/c others are working so hard now. I have been planning new services at our hospital, specifically infertility services and cosmetic surgery services, so i have been working with managers, doctors, architects, staff, to figure out where the new doctors, nurses, and other support will be located, where they will do their procedures and what kind of equipment they will need, how we need to engineer the rooms differently, how we will make their services run efficiently, etc. These services will be starting right after I leave, so I have to make sure everything is ready and transitioned clearly. Also, I have been working on planning a new medical center to start in 2009, and all of the final planning and configuration of the different floors of the med center and what goes where is taking place right now. Someone else is starting to pick up this work now, but it is a lot to take on.

I feel like, what if I quit my job and then something with admissions happens and i don't go? i feel like i am making a big risk by quitting. But i have to, i know.

ok, i'll write lata

Next Phase of Life Decided

2005-05-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

I have been contemplating Duke vs. NYU for the longest time, and was going both ways about both choices. After talking to a lot of people and doing a lot of research, I chose NYU!

I realized that both schools are very similar, though on the west coast Duke carries a stronger name, probably b/c of its undergrad program. Also, Duke has a healthcare program. However, I have always wanted to go to NY and I fit much better in that city-like, busy environment as compared to North Carolina. I also know that I have a lot of experience in healthcare already, so if I don't take too many classes on that topic in b-school it will be ok. And regardless, the industry of healthcare service delivery does not alwasys recruit based on b-schools, but much more heavily based on someone's experience, reputation, and the fact that they have a graduate education. So I am off to New York, and I can't believe it! Also, I got a result from Kellogg, and I am officially not going there, which had to be meant to be that I would go to NY.

This morning I went to a new medical center groundbreaking for my organization, a med center that I have worked on planning, sizing, figuring out what services go there, etc. There was an official groundbreaking to start building the 60-provider clinic, 166-bed hospital & ambulatory surgery center to open in 2009. It was so cool, they had all the community officials there like the mayor of the city, the police chief, etc. and then of course all the med center administration and doctors who I work with and who have all helped to plan the med center. It felt so good to be part of something that will result in providing additional health care to the community, and something that is part of the future.

Last week I closed on my second house in Sacramento, and I am looking for a renter now. I went to AZ last weekend to check out the real estate with my girl Sandy from high school, and the housing market out there is SO hot. Every house that is on the market sells within MINUTES of being placed there. And the prices are so low, around $200k for a 1300-1500 sf home. It is very exciting to look at all of this stuff!

Anyway, I am feeling pretty good these days, b/c I just got a promotion, I am leaving on good terms to go to B-school, I am moving to my dream city of NY, I just closed on my house, and I have been able to see my family a lot lately and have a lot of great friends. I also have worked out a lot this year and feel good about that too.

Life is going to move quickly in the next few months, I have to close up my work, move out of my apt, and say a temporary goodbye to my life here. I am really going to miss my cute apt. in Oakland and my free lifestyle here.

I know there's a lot ahead of me, but I haven't even thought about that yet-- I can't believe it yet!

2005-05-04T23:43:00.000-07:00

CUUTTTE kidz!

Facilitatin' Foot Massage

2005-04-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't written for awhile, because I have been heavily contemplating what to do with my b-school career, day and night, in my dreams and awake--just kidding! Well, I have been thinking about it, b/c the date for NYU and Duke is this Friday and Monday, so I have to make a choice now!

Meanwhile, some friendz that are away at med school came into town, and i got to get together with my girlz, who all haven't gotten together for a looong time! One my my road dogs who I used to go out with ALL the time and have the craziest times with is having a baby now! Let me tell you, it is definitely a new phase in life to see one of my closest friends, who I used to be getting doooown on the dance floor with, going to Vegas with, and going out all night with, now 6 months pregnant! I am so happy for her, and the baby is going to be GORGEOUS, just like her.

I also had the LUXURY of getting a foot massage with some of my other girlfriends, and it was 75 minutes for only $28! Apparently there are "massage clubs" now where if you are a member, you get really great rates for paying for a lot of massages ahead of time. Well, I didn't have to do that, I was a guest so for 1-time I got the rate just to try it out. . .very cool!

I was also in Palo Alto this weekend visiting my bro, who is completing undergrad/co-term at Stanford this year, so I also walked around the business school while I was there. My dad keeps saying that I should have applied there, but even though it is a fabulous program, I wanted to leave the bay area for a short time, since I have been here so long and plan to come back.

Another eventful weekend, I went out in SF with some girlfriends, and sometimes going out with girlfriends can be the best time of my life, and other times can be STRAIGHT DRAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Let's just say there was some major drama that i was right in the middle of, i felt like i was a facilitatin' fool in a controversial meeting trying to reconcile two opposing sides. it turned out all good tho. . .

Anyway, I met a guy on the freeway today! He waived at me when he was passing and we ended up exchanging phone #'s! hahahaha, that was a fun commute home!

How to save an extra $50-$500 per month

2005-04-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

I have a very practical and easy strategy to save a lot of money, a strategy that i personally attest to. It is very easy, and usually consists or builds on only 5 words and you will receive money off that you could have never imagined! Here we go, say these five magic words, with confidence. . . "Can I get a discount?" (or other similar forms of this sentence)

It is a big surprise to some people, but if you just ask for a discount, often you will get it! Sales people usually know of some deal or coupon that you could apply towards your purchase. But it just takes someone to ASK for it. Hardly anything costs what is written on the price tag, anywhere! For example, at Starbucks, the employees who work there are ALLOWED to give away a certain amount of free coffees to regulars, friends or family. Sometimes if you just ask for a deal that day, they will give it to you.

When I attended a NYU B-school class on influencing and persuading, I realized that I had been doing a lot of principles that they were teaching in my everyday life. One great way to influence someone to do something you would like is to give them a reason to feel like they have to give something back to you, any reason. When it comes to big business, the example used was that if you give people EXCELLENT service, customers will feel like they don't want to leave you, because they feel they owe their patronage to you because of your excellent service to them. Well, it is the same in everyday purchases. For example, if you go to Starbucks and ask for a discount, they may give it to you. However, you can really increase your chances if you say, “I’ve been coming in here every day and ordering lattes, is there a way you can give me a free latte or a discount today?” (Saying this WITH CONFIDENCE and FRIENDLINESS is the key).

When I was in Boston and needed to get a phone charger, I was so tired from walking around all day, and I asked the guy, "Do you guys have a discount for out-of-towners who are really exhausted from walking around all day?" After laughing at me first, the salesman looked in his computer and found a way to give me a 25% discount! Also, when I wanted to purchase this GORGEOUS purse from Sausalito a couple years ago that was on the "more-than-i-need-to-be-spending-on-a-purse-but-i-can't-resist-it" end, I had noticed that a lot of other stores in the area gave discounts to people that were local, b/c there were so many out-of-towners there. So I asked them if I could have a local discount, and the woman straight gave me 40% off!!!!!!!! Beyond that discount, I asked her if I could make it lower if I pay in cash, and she said ok, I wouldn't have to pay the sales tax on it (I think if you pay on credit card they have to report it a different way), so I got even more money off! The key was giving them a reason to give me the discount. . .

Another strategy is to ask for MORE than you think you can get, so the person that is selling the good/service that you want will feel like they are not giving you too much. Like if you are getting your car washed or you need your brakes fixed, if you say, "Is there a way I can get $X off?” they might say, "well, I can give you $X-10 dollars off..." DISCOUNT! Another way to say ask for money off, especially when you need some kind of service, say, “All I have is $Y, can I just get it for that?” and ta-da, you might get a great discount! These discounts DEFINITELY add up, and in addition to that, it makes every purchase fun and exciting!

DISCLAIMER: You do NOT need to be a girl to do this! Some of my guy friends and family members are the best bargainers ever!

So basically, the five magic words can really get you far, and it is just a matter of someone ASKING, in the right way. It doesn't always work, but it is SURPRISING how often it works. Sometimes the salesperson /waitress /cashier /car dealer /auto shop owner just needs to know what they are getting something for the discount they are giving you. And sometimes all they need is to see that you really wanted/needed the discount and it has made you happy!

Quick-and-Dirty Analysis

2005-04-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

So the bay area weather is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL today. . . sunny, clear blue skies. . .unfortunately outside of my window at work they are tearing down part of the hospital where I work because we are doing a hospital replacement that meets stringent CA seismic regulations, so there are tractors and dirt everywhere. It is amazing how fast a building can be torn down, but how come the new grocery store that they have been promising my neighborhood in Oakland for 2 years has taken such an EXORBITANT amount of time to build!!!!!!! I need my gum and diet pepsi and rum within walking distance, don't they understand??

I feel like since i have come back from my trip, i have had the post-vacation blues. Even though the vacation, and also the whole application process, was stressful when I was in it, I really feel a sense of accomplishment that I completed both of those things! Now that I am back the excitement of traveling everyday is gone. . .Right now I am really struggling to figure out what I should do, as I have 5 main criteria that I am using to decide on where I go, but of course one school has one thing and another school has another, with my choices right now. these are the 5 areas:

-Healthcare focus (Duke has a separate program)
-International focus(I think NYU, which I am checking into more right now)
-Location (I really love big cities, but this might be something i have to compromise if the program is really strong)
-Current student qualities (i.e. down-to-earth, collaborative & fun)
-Alumni network (stong overall and especially in the West Coast)

The dates for me to send my check in is coming up! To complicate things further, a few people at my work have been telling me I don't have to get my MBA, b/c the healthcare/service delivery industry is not tied to the degree as much, and contining to have more opportunities comes mainly from relationships you make and the work you do. For example, the administrator of my hospital and the controller do not have graduate degrees, and they are very successful and smart (and women also i might add). But then I did a quick soul search and remembered that i am not only going to school to keep moving within my career, but also to be back in the student environment again, which i love, and also to open my options to what else is possible by meeting a lot of people who are doing the same thing. Also, it will be great to get out of my comfort zone and live somewhere else for awhile while having a great network of people to do that with.

So that is my quick and dirty analysis of what i want and why i want it!

Berkeley stroll and UCLA admissions weekend

2005-04-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

So I still want to write about my trip to visit UCLA-Anderson. After I came back from my E.Coast “tour,” my girl Mia from DC came to stay with me in Oaktown. She was here as a Med Student rep helping UC Berkeley students decide their post-graduation options and answer questions about med school. So I went to this “Career Café” which was very chill and relaxed and there were people from all different careers at round tables to help discuss options for undergrad students. Being my girl’s sidekick for awhile was nice, but I decided to explore a little, and I walked over to the “MBA Admissions” table.

The woman that was there was an admissions rep from an local university, and she helped me soooooo much. I told her that I have had some changes happen in my work since my application (i.e. got a promotion) so how do I communicate this well to the universities that I am still waiting for? She was so helpful, she looked at the first draft of my letter I had written and I could almost hear the laugh in her head. She gave me some good advice, she said, “when you are doing this stuff, act like a man, and be concrete and concise, don’t get wrapped up in the words and discussions and stuff.” She helped me realize how to show my changes in my career were unique and stood out and how to explain it well with numbers. She was great, I promised to call her and let her know what happens.

Then we wandered around beautiful Berkeley, had some Berkeley Truffles (also come in brownies), Blake’s Rum and Diet Cokes and Bloody Maries and La Burrita Burritos, MMMMMMmmm! It was nice to not be at work and just strolling around!

The next day I flew to LA where my very good friend Shaily came to get me and came to the UCLA-Anderson weekend with me—she was considered my “significant other, or Sig-O!” HAHAHAHAHAHA This is so funny, because I put her as a "friend", but I guess people only bring partners with them, so she was called my sig-o....what about good friends? Have good friends gone out of style?

Here is the letter they sent us. .
You are registered to come to Anderson Days together just two weeks from
now, and it is sure to be a fun-filled weekend for both of you! This note
is just to give you a heads-up on what to expect here then as an admitted
student and a significant other (Sig-O).

hahahahahaha
So she had to wear this name tag and hang out in this lounge with all the other Sig-O’s, where they had all of this wine and cheese to nibble on, actually not turning out to be a bad day.

So the Anderson weekend was great, the weather was beautiful, they had all of these breakout sessions where I met a whole bunch of people. Whenever I asked a question in one of the breakout sessions, I was shocked to hear my voice in front of all of those people actually sounding somewhat knowledgeable. Gosh, before I started this process I had no idea if I would even be admitted to 1 school, so I was surprised that my questions were fitting and no one looked at me weirdly or anything! On Sunday they had this lunch with all of the clubs out on their plaza, and I had so much fun talking to all of the different clubs, and I met some people that I used to go to undergrad with. Being out there with all of the energy and people reinforced why I want to go back to school, which is only partly for the academics.

I had a nice night in Hollywood that night too, we went to this nice club out there, and I had soooo much fun dancing, meeting people, and being wiiiilldd! I will not post the pics that resulted from that night, unless I am paid enough!

So my overall UCLA analysis: It is a solid school, in a very fun area, which I like, and the people were pretty cool. I realized though, that there is very very little focus on my industry of healthcare. It is important to me to get to know people from all industries, but also have a good group of people specifically in my area. Duke has a specific healthcare program, with about 22% of students involved in something revolving around the healthcare industry. I will have to explore the importance of this a little more. . .especially since now I got into NYU and I have seriously always wanted to live there, and I have also wanted to transition into international work which they are good at, but they don’t have the more focused healthcare program that Duke has.

Gosh, I feel like I am in a MBA storm, I hope it will be the perfect storm and everything will work out!!

NYU decision!

2005-04-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

Congratulations! We are very pleased to offer you admission to the NYU Stern MBA Class of 2007. The Stern admissions process is a competitive one, and we congratulate you on your achievement. On behalf of the admissions committee and NYU Stern, I welcome you to our community. . . .
Wow, I got into NYU Stern! My dream has always been to live in New York, so now I have the choice to do so! I have a few hard decisions ahead of me!

Life in the Fast Lane

2005-04-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

So, in the last 10 days, I have gone to 6 cities, visited 4 schools, saw and/or stayed with 5 great friends, took 2 round trip plane rides, had 1 interview, went to 2 admissions weekends, rented 1 car and drove in the south where I have never been by myself, took 1 china town bus, 1 train, and had 1 date. Whew I am tired!

After my weekend in North Carolina visiting Fuqua, I rented a car on my own and drove up the 85-North to spend the night in Washington, DC, on my way to NY for my NYU interview. I stayed with my friend Mia and she had a little dinner party with her boyfriend, me and another friend of theirs. Fortunately, her boyfriend goes to NYU, so the next day he and I attempted to take the $10 Chinatown bus to NY, missed it, ended up paying $76 for the Amtrak, and had a great 4 ½ hour trip to New York, with plenty of place to stretch out and even a nice beverage / café car! After I got to NYU, I linked up with a friend of a friend who I had never met before but who was the bomb and let me stay on her couch in her very centrally located apt. in the meatpacking district of Manhattan.

I took the subway to my interview the next morning, dressed in a suit, and had what I thought was a very good interview. I really liked the person who interviewed me, and she told me of great opportunities available at NYU, a lot of them simply because the school is located smack dab in the middle of the city! I then went to this thing they call “lunch with a student” which is an informal way to ask questions of a current student. The student also gives a short feedback on if they would want to work with you on a team and if they generally recommend that you could do well at NYU. Then I met up with my old friend Baljeet Singh who goes there, and took me to a great class called, “Power in Politics,” specifically on Influencing and Persuasion in the class I attended. We watched a clip on the different elements of these skills, and I realized that what business school helps do is bring management to a science—it helps analyze the elements of management. In this way a student can understand what he/she may have to individually do in a specific area to do better, instead of having everything jumbled up.

That evening I took a Chinatown bus to Boston, which was only $15, another 4.5 hour ride. My old colleague and good friend Karen picked me up so that I could visit Harvard Public Health school. She had set up all of these appointments for me so that I could explore more whether I wanted my MBA, or a Public Health degree in Health Policy and Management like I would receive if I went to Harvard School of Public Health. I also took a bus to the Harvard Business School to check it out, and I absolutely fell in love with the campus. Where most schools have about 1 building for their business school, Harvard has like 20. And they have these huge grassy fields where it looks like horses might come for games of polo on the weekend! I went on a tour and asked some questions. It is definitely beautiful.

That night I went on a blind date with a friend of the family, and it was fun to go to a restaurant in Boston that I had never seen before. And the guy was nice!

So I came home the next day, early in the morning. It was good to be home, but I barely had time to catch my breath before getting ready to be on the move again! Stay tuned, my next post will be UCLA Anderson admissions weekend!

Fuqua Blue Devil Weekend Recap

2005-04-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

I went to the admissions weekend to visit Duke (the business school is called Fuqua (few-qua))this past weekend, it was cool. . . it is very rural but the business school is really nice and has great facilities, and everyone that has been admitted is EXTREMELY cool and down to earth. there were about 500 people here for admissions weekend, most people still deciding on where they are going.

Saturday started at 8am with breakfast which is actually 5am CA time--meaning i was very tired but at least conscious-- and after breakfast we had this introduction by the dean which was really cool, he said he wanted every business school student to be successful but also contribute to the community, that was his goal, which i liked, also i liked the fact that they had food like breakfast bars, oreos, chips ahoy, and doritos EVERYWHERE so i totally stashed my bag with like 2 of each thing to make sure i wouldn't starve, i mean in DURHAM, NC, who knows where I will be able to find food?

so, we went to some mock classes on business communication, strategy and marketing, and it made me realize that i am really excited to learn again! We studied this one case where Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin Records, is planning on private rocket trips for anyone to go to space, at $100,000 per trip for a 4 min. glimpse of the earth, and we had to decide that with a $100 million investment, is that a good business? we concluded that it would only take a relatively small amunt of trips for the business to break even, and the idea of traveling to space would be revolutionary, generating a great reputation for the Virgin brand. But we discussed that the trip had to have a reputation of being safe or else the busines would go under. Also, if successful, more companies would get into this business, & b/c of competition, these trips would then become more affordable over time. it was a good discussion.

then we had all these other activities, more food, i went to this health management and social entrepreneurship focus sessions which are the areas i probably want to go to. it is interesting that about 80% of the people are career-switchers and want to get into something different and are using the MBA to do that. Also, there are several international exchange programs offered here, where you can go to South Africa or India or Hong Kong or wherever someone may want to go, and study at their business school for 6 to 12 weeks. I would definitely do this, b/c i didn't in undergrad. Also, it is so weird but there are 70% males, only 30% females. It is VERY apparent how women are a minority in the business field, something i have not realized in working in healthcare, where women are the majority.

so i liked it b/c of the collaborative team spirit, the down-to-earth people, and the programs, but it is big time rural, as in there is not much to do, and the other thing is that everyone has a car and i have been used to school where you walk everywhere.

so anyway, tomorrow i am off to DC to stay with a friend, then NY to interview with NYU, then Boston to visit Harvard Public Health, then LA for UCLA admissions weekend.

What will I do?

2005-03-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

So I got my notice from Wharton. . .I got dinged. . .I was disappointed, but life has to go on. So now I have to make some big decisions; my choices now are Duke and UCLA MBA, Harvard Public Health, and I have an interview at NYU. SO I just planned this massive trip to visit all the campuses. . .this is what I'm doing:

-Friday flying from Oakland to North Carolina for Duke Blue Devil Weekend, staying Fri. and Sat. night (I still have to find a hotel and/or roomate!).
-After BDW at Duke, on Sunday taking a train to Georgetown to stay with my friend Mia who goes to Med school there, on Monday taking a train to NY for my interview with NYU on Tuesday
-After my interview with NYU and a little visit there, on Tuesday night taking a Chinatown bus to Boston (only $15!) to visit Harvard Public Health and stay with my girl Karen who goes there and who is my old co-worker from my first job out of college.
-On Thursday I am flying home with Jet Blue which i absolutely love! I can get my fill of cable reality shows, oh and I alwayz ask for 2 snacks. My friend Mia is coming to visit me on Thurs and Fri so I will just stay on vacation from work to hang out
-On Sat flying to UCLA to go to the Anderson Admit weekend, staying with my girl Shaily who will be coming with me!

Whew! I am so tired after thinking about all of that. Well, I have some work to do before I go, I want to know what questions to ask at each school and what will help distinguish each for me. This will be a little adventurous trip!

On another note, on Sat I went to a fabulous daytime wine and cheese party where we tried seven 90+ wines (the rating system for wines, if a wine is rated over 90 points, it is considered to be a pretty good wine)and had all of these great cheeses and breads and everything, and basically got tossed all afternoon. . it was a very creative party that was a lot of fun.

2005-03-23T01:30:00.000-08:00

the beautiful golden gate bridge

2005-03-23T01:07:00.000-08:00

me & my girl having too much fun at the oakland art & soul festival-we're in the back!

Fuqua Happy Hour & late-night at Kinko's

2005-03-22T23:31:00.000-08:00

I attended Duke's happy hour in San Francisco last Friday, which was my first chance to meet admitted and current students and alumni. It was great to hear the experiences of graduates who knew they would go to the bay area after, because they were from there or b/c they graduated in 2000, the time of the dot-com boom. They had a great group of people who they said get together regularly and have quite a good community, which I think is great. One really important thing to me after b-school is that i have a community of alumni in the area around me. I have always found that for me, the best friends I find are usually from school, and all of my friends here in the bay are mainly from my undergrad years at UC Berkeley.

So it turn out that A LOT of people there were in the HSM (health sector management) program for quite a lot of different reasons--some wanted to find out more about the healthcare industry, someone wanted to get into biotech, someone was a director of corporate employee wellness programs, someone had pharm. sales experience, etc. I talked to an alumni who did healthcare marketing, and she said that she was in the program, but she thinks it is more for people who want to get INTO healthcare. so that makes me think a little bit more about one of my criteria for DUKE, which was the healthcare program, but I already have that experience. so i will see.

anyway, last night i worked until 2am!!!!!This is a huge thing at my workplace, where life/work balance is really encouraged. Anyway, I had to make a presentation at this 8am meeting this morning about how to improve customer service in our medical centers, so after leaving the office at 11am, i went to kinko's to make copies of the presentation. Needless to say, kinko's at midnight can be a very interesting place . . . while i was there 2 guys out asked me out on a date, including the kinko's employee who in addition to giving me MUCH NEEDED help with the copier that I always seem to jam up., gave me $160 of Kinko's copies FOR FREE! Wow! that was a great ending to a VERY LONG DAY of work.

i actually made it to my meeting this morning. It went well, but no one would have any idea how much work a 30-min. presentation takes!

Also, I found yesterday that I got into UCLA - Anderson! My very close friend Shaily who works in Brand Management at Disney and gets hella free disney hookups, including trips to orlando, definitely wants me to go there. . .I told my work right after i found out and they think it's great--ever since I got into Harvard Public Health School my bosses say I remind them of a dark-haired "Legally Blonde" b/c of the crazy clothes, especially SHOES!!!!!!! (oh my heart fluttered for a second) that I wear. . .

Wharton Interview

2005-03-03T18:20:00.000-08:00

So I had my Wharton interview yesterday, in the bay area. I "worked from home" that day, and went to his work to have the interview that we had arranged over email. I had tried to prepare the night before but i ended up falling asleep, so i got there a little early.... i tried to find a broken parking meter but i couldn't (a hot commodity in the bay area). . . and sat in my car and went over potential questions in my head.

So I went to his office. He told me that i didn't have to wear a suit, so i wore a light blue turtleneck, a long black skirt and high heeled shoes. The interview was pretty casual, and my earlier reservations about having preferred a woman to interview with were forgotten, I just concentrated on the interview at hand. He said that he used to be on the Admissions Committee at Wharton and he was known as pretty laid back. He asked me the following q's:

Tell me about your experience starting from when you graduated
Why do you want an MBA now?
Why do you want to go to Wharton?
What would you do in a case of a difficult learning team situation (he gave me a specific example).?
What do you think the Admissions committee might be concerned about?

He cracked a few pretty funny jokes, and I had a good feeling. Then I left, went to work out, and had to go to work for this hospital planning meeting.

When I got to work I checked my email and I found out that I got into Harvard Public Health School! This was pretty cool, b/c the program is a public health degree but the classes are very business oriented, and you learn within a healthcare context if you are interested in that. So I will see what's up with that.

The thing is, when I got home, I had a message on my answering machine, and it was my interviewer! He said that I had forgotten to go on the site and mark that i was interviewing with him, b/c that would have generated an email to him that would allow him to do my review and link to my file. I did it right away and called him to let him know. but i felt SOOOOOOOo bad! i was wondering, is he going to look at this as an example of me and how i am? I really just made an honest mistake. I am really hoping things will be ok.

aight, i'll keep you posted!

A Cosmopolitan Twist--of life

2005-02-23T17:49:00.000-08:00

So, I was invited to interview at Wharton. This is no small thing, i was EXTREMELY ECSTATIC, IN ECSTACY, AND FEELING EXOTIC when i got the email that i was invited to interview with Wharton. I scheduled it today with an alumni who lives in my area. I wanted to interview with a woman because really, i feel more comfortable and can often connect better with other women. But there were no women in my vicinity that were available.

About 1 month ago I was feeling good that I had no more essayz to write, but now i am kind of in the middle of wondering WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN! My work all knows that I am applying, because a few people did my recommendations for me, including my boss and my boss's boss, but I still don't like to talk about it too much, because I don't want my news to influence any of their decisions on !potential! raises or promotions.

I got a Duke-Fuqua letter by email the other day that i said i got a merit scholarship, not for all of it, by no means, but some, so i guess that's cool.

ok see ya

Jewellsnake arrivz

2005-02-23T16:25:00.000-08:00

How iz life? Well, this is my first blog, and I am inspired by all the other descriptive bloggers out there. I have already been accepted to Duke-Fuqua, which is quite exciting. However, I have my sights set on a couple of other schools, including Wharton, Columbia, and Kellogg.

I also have a lot of other things occurring in my life, things that I am thankful to have since I have finished my MBA apps. I actually have time to have a life! Whew Hew!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I applied to:

Harvard School of Public Health
Duke-Fuqua
UCLA
Wharton
Kellogg
Columbia
NYU

The weeks of Jan 2nd and Jan 15th - when most of the apps were due--were the busiest and most stressful that I have had in a looooooooong time, even though i started apps in the beginning of november.

seee ya!