Around the world in an MBA

Doing a survey for SPSD

2008-02-18T04:02:00.001-06:00

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INSEAD event in Chicago - follow up

2007-06-27T09:16:00.000-05:00

So I ended up going to this event in Chicago for prospective INSEAD students that was held by Goldman Sachs at their building downtown. At first I felt kind of awkward, since I've already been admitted and this even was targetted at prospective students, but then I thought about it and decided to sacrifice my Friday night since I thought it would be a good opportunity to meet alumni and to start networking.

It was a good event, which was filled to capacity with prospective students. Talking to students it seemed to be a mixed bunch from all around the midwest. Some candidates even came from St. Louis (5 hours away), and Milwaulkee (2 hours away), just to attend the event. The INSEAD did a great job in selling the school as a top 10 school that has excellent diversity, and which opens doors to you in non-traditional markets in various different countries. This is important, since it something the US schools simply cannot do, since they do not have the diversity and are mainly targetting US recruiters. Also they were very good at selling the school as a fun school to attend, where not only do you get a great education, but you also come away with a lot more. The alumni seemed to have genuinely loved their INSEAD experience,and all pointed it to being their best year of their life to that date.

I met some alumni and they pointed out the days will be long, and there will be a lot of work, but the profs do understand that networking is important and they fully expect and understand that you'll be working on the beach in Thailand trying to finish up an assignment on a weekend. That was good to hear. Also the sense of community for INSEAD alumni is great perhaps than that of other alumni. INSEAD alumni are more likely to hang out, meet each other up for weddings, parties from all around the world. Most other schools use their alumni network in a more formal context. The INSEAD alumni network is a way to meet people in a new city to just hang out with etc...

Also interesting to note the group of prospective students was very diverse as well, and well accomplished. I have a sense of the demographic that INSEAD appeals to, and it seems to be bright forward thinking individuals from around the world that are interested in not only a good education but also a good life experience.

All this has me very excited to start soon and be part of this great alumni network soon.

D-Day at work

2007-06-27T08:56:00.000-05:00

Ugh..the Irony. After bragging about 2 posts in one day, I haven't blogged in over a week and a half. I'd like to thank the 3 people who keep reading my blog on a daily basis. You are my inspiration...apparently you have more faith in me then I have in myself.

So yesterday was d-day. Walked into boss' office slammed the door and yelled..." I QUIT". Well not quite...but in retrospect that would have been nice, dramatic and perhaps a more exciting way to leave. But hesitant to burn any bridges I decided to take the, it's not you, it's me approach (thank you Costanza). Actually turned out pretty good. They congratulated me on getting into INPEAD (yeah most Americans have never heard of INSEAD and were baffled when I told them I chose INSEAD over Chicago, NYU, Columbia, etc...). They thought perhaps my lack of a good GMAT, or good undergrad grades had led me to settle for an MBA education abroad, where I could pay my way in.

That night they went home and someone read up on INSEAD and came to me and said "Wow, you got into INSEAD??? That's a great school". So see now there are about 10 people in the Chicago area who know INSEAD and believe it's a top 10 school!!!

Anyways feels awkward leaving....you would think when I know I'm leaving I would walk into work at 10am and leave for a 2 hour lunch and then leave work at 4pm. For some reason though I feel compelled to work harder. I got in at 8:30 (which is super early for me), and am eager to finish all my work. This will probably die in a day or 2. Whatever...I just can't wait to be in Singapore! :)

INSEAD Event in Chicago??

2007-06-13T12:59:00.000-05:00

Checked my email the other day and something interesting showed up. It was an invite from INSEAD to an event in Chicago.

Needless to say I'm going. I have no clue what to expect or wear, but it will be nice to meet some fellow INSEADers that are in Chicago. I posted to see if there was any one else from around here on Insy hot/not (aka Netvestibule) a while ago but nobody responded. So I came to the logical conclusion that nobody from my class is in Chicago. But now I see we have a full event? I'm excited, maybe it'll just be me and the two people that interviewed me. Well...on the bright side, if that's the case, more Booze for me!!

I think it's geared towards prospective students. But I have no clue where/how they advertise it. I'll let you know how it turns out.

INSEAD Funding - Ugh

2007-06-13T12:51:00.000-05:00

Sitting, dreaming about being in Singapore I realized I had to find funding SOON. Really there are only 1 or 2 options if you are a Canadian living in the US. The first issue is that all the US federal loans require you to be an American Citizen or a Green Card holder to apply....so unfortuantely unless I marry an American within the next 15 days, I don't qualify, and even if that happens (as all you prospective ladies send your applications), it would probably take a month or two for all the paperwork to clear. Feel free to send applications anyways :)

So really you have only a couple of choices:
1) IEFC Loan through TERI
2) PARAS Foundation Loan
3) Private Bank Loan

Paras is an Indian foundation that provides loans, but their whole application system looks really sketchy. Also the amounts they may charge for your loan are not clear and may depend on millions of factors, which of course they choose not to disclose. I'm sure they are good and trustworthy, it's just there is not much information about them out there so it is hard to take that plunge. ALso their origination fees are high.

Getting a Private Bank loan is really not an option if you don't own property and have your own line-of-credit. I don't own a house, so I'm pretty much not eligible unless i can throw down some serious capital. I can't, so i'm SOL

Lastly there is the IEFC loan option. If you are an alien in the US (WTF????) then you can apply for a loan with an eligible co-signer (US Citizen). Three banks provide loans through IEFC and each has it's own pros and cons. 2 of the banks provide LIBOR + 2-3% rates, but they have high origination fees of around 6%. The other bank can give you 0% origination fees depending on your credit, but it's rate is Prime + 1%. So it's a bit of a toss up. Either way you lose.

Option F has you finding a rich relative that can sponsor your tuition :)
Option G = Sugar Momma

So far I'm still looking for Option F or G, so looks like I will have to go with the IEFC.

As for Scholarships...well:
a) I'm lazy and can't be bothered writing 20 essays
b) I don't know how to justify that I'm in a financial crisis when I have a good job, parents are doing fine as well, have some investments etc...

So we'll see how that goes, though I did find one for Canadians that is basically a loan given to students for X amount htat you are expected to pay back to the organization when complete. Also you must have the "intention" of returning to Canada. Now...hmmm...I do have the intention of coming back someday...just not in the next 5 years..lol. Does that count?

Ciudad de Mexico - Part II

2007-06-11T21:27:00.000-05:00

When it rains it pours my little bloggeroos. And I have a treat for you...2 blogs in ONE DAY...WOW! At this rate I might be only behind D.T.L.F by one or two blogs a day.

Anyhow Part I brought us Shakira and all her glory, part II will one up that....if possible.

So still in Mexico, we decide the next day to head to the Aztec pyramids of Teotihuacan (say that 10 times fast) which are about 40 miles outside of DF (District Federale). So it's 40$US for hotel bus...or if you are really frugal and looking forward to a 110000$ bill for your upcoming MBA education abroad you can spending a total of 27 pesos each way + 2 pesos for metro to ride with the locals and their chickens/goat/etc...hmm...so for me it boils down to 3$ vs 40$. And i get to spend time with wildlife? wow....option B it is. So turns out we have to take a one hour metro ride to the bus station, from where we need to find a local bus to the pyramids only to get dropped off on a road somewhere near the pyramids. (hopefully)

Soooo...during rush hour...SOMEHOW we board the train...somehow we reach the station, somehow we buy a ticket, and somehow we board a bus. The bus is really ghetto from the 70s and has NO tourists with nobody that speaks English. Also apparently it is not an express bus. It stops anywhere for anyone without hesitation. At this pont I'm thinking...what if it's not going to the pyramids....we are SCREWED. Also the rooster on the seat next to me is a bit vocal in his sensing of my fear. So I go ask the bus driver in my awesome spanish..."Este autobus viaje a las Pyramides?".
Driver - "Si"
Me - "Cuantos horas para ayer a los pyramides"
Driver - "una hora"

rooster on bus

great. So one hour to the pyramids. I can go to sleep (if the rooster shuts up).
So one hour later I get up and the driver is yelling in my ear..."PYRAMIDES...PYRAMIDES"...yes, finally we've arrived? I look outside the window and all I see is a corn field. Reluctantly I get off the bus, hoping worse comes to worse I show a little leg and hitchhike my way back to the Zona Rosa, but fortunately there was a little path leading towards the parking to the Pyramids.

The pyramids themselves were awesome. I wasn't expecting much after being the the Great Pyramids of Giza and as well as the Mayan Chichen Itza, but these were beautiful in their own right.
These pics are from top of Sun Temple towards the moon temple. After reaching the top of the sun temple, the sun gods provided us with bright sunshine the rest of the day!

Ok It's 30 stories high....

yet even the dogs can climb to the top with no issues.

A yes..the path to Human Sacrifice!

view of Sun temple from Moon temple...no moon from the moon gods....I think I like the sun god better. Sorry moon god. No wonder your temple is smaller!

sacrifice pit. Ouch.

And to top it off at the top of the sun temple we met these people that wanted us to take their pictures. We chat it up with them for a bit, and it turns out they are from Canada. We ask how come they are in Mexico City expecting a backpacking type answer, but the answer we got was surprising. They are friends with Ms. Canada and were there for Ms. Universe taking place that wknd! Can you believe it? Ms. Universe and Shakira same wknd? So turns out there was no way to get tickets to the event. But they invited us to an after party at the Hard Rock Cafe later that night.

So here are some pics from the Hard Rock Cafe:

Awesome times, I got to meet some of the girls and Invanka and Donald Trump. Was a great time. What can be better than spending an evening with 60+ of the most gorgeous women in the world? I doubt anything can top this. And no these girls are not high on themselves..which would be expected. The ones I talked to were down to earth. (which maybe explains why they talked to me in the first place!)

The next day there was a parade for the contestants

Next day at the airport I ran into some contestants and had a chat with some of them. I talked to Ms. Angola and Ms. Zambia for a bit, as well as Ms. Hungary. It was weird to see them in normal clothes with minimal makeup. They still looked gorgeous though, and are all super tall so they standout. Ms. Angola was really sweet and she said if I ever make it to Luanda she would chill with me and show me around. She gave me a business card, so now all that's left is for me to make a trip to Luanda. Any suckers (I means friends) want to go? I hear it's an awesome country! :)

Of course no Ms. Universe airport sightings would be complete without some nice stalker pics. Here is a pic of some Ms. Universe contestants boarding a plane at the airport.

Anyhow that's Mexico City, and to make things even better I got upgraded by Mexicana into business class on the way back! Damn right! What a trip. This is why I love travelling. The unexpected events, meeting new people, forming your own opinions on places that others may not see the same way....that's what travelling is about. In fact that's what life is about as well. It is experiences like this that make you want to live the extra day, make you want to earn the extra penny. I know it all sounds cliche, but it's true.

Ciudad de Mexico - Part I

2007-06-11T10:35:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned earlier, this blog is meant to be a travel blog as much as an INSEAD blog. The idea is that both go hand and hand, and that a student that pursues an INSEAD education is likely to be very much into travel and moving around as well.

As I prepare to leave North America, I thought it is high time that I visited the largest city in Latin America and in North America - Mexico City.

When you live in the US, everything you hear about Mexico City is negative.
1) It's dangerous
2) Nothing to do
3) Polluted
4) Unhealthy/Unhygenic
5) Poor

Of course people in the US have this impression of pretty much any non-European city, or one that is not in what they consider to be North America (they don't count Mexico).

I decided to go anywways as the fare was really low, it was a long weekend, and I found a sucker (I mean friend) to come along with me. Also I remember travelling somewhere and meeting some people from Mexico on the train and them raving about Mexico City and the nightlife/food/etc...

So off we go, and bang 5 hours later i'm in the heart of Latin America....by myself...speaking really really bad spanish....with 20$US and a bankcard. Somehow I find my way to the hotel, after being conned into spending 250 pesos from the airport, even though I realized I didnt need to be in an SUV that seats 7 people. Could have probably got the same ticket for 150 pesos, but hey at least I made it to my hotel in the Zona Rosa, and that by all accounts was a miracle. The area around the airport was dodgy to say the least. At the time i was thinking I might have to spend all day in the hotel and get a tank to go places. As I got closer to my hotel the area got better and actually looked very safe.

Area Around Airport

We stayed in an area called Zona Rosa. It used to be the posh area of the city with all the embassies, but that has now shifted to Polanco once the metro started running to the Zona Rosa. Now Zona Rosa is home to some cool boutiques and cafes. It is also home to the gay district of the city. Now personally that's not why i was staying there, but I'm sure that goes along with the place being very clean and colourful!
Zona Rosa Pics

independence monument - was right outside our hotel.

Polanco - Posh district of DF. This is where the posh restaurants, clubs, stores are located. Most embassies are also located in this area of the city.

friday night at awesome bar...voted one of top 20 in world. The bar is at the Hotel Habita, which is a great Art Deco hotel in Polanco.

While Mexico City is known as the most polluted city in the world, it sure didn't feel like it. High altitude is tough to deal with but the pollution isn't that bad compaired to other places I've been to. They must have instituted some tough laws to get rid of the pollution. I wouldn't even put it in my top 5 most polluted cities. Here is my list:
1) Cairo
2) Athens
3) Beijing
4) Shanghai
5) Delhi

Here is a pic of Mexico City Skyline and the "horrible" Smog...LA is much worse believe me.

While in Mexico City they tell you not to use normal taxis since they rip you off or better yet may or may not kidnap you. We decided not to take this risk, so we were left with either taking ridiculously priced hotel taxis or taking the metro. The metro is safe clean and efficient. Unfortuantely it is not air conditioned....so it STINKS. Anyhow it costs 2 pesos per trip (so like 20 cents). I dont know how they can operate such an efficient and clean system on so little, but whatever it is the CTA in Chicago needs to learn from these guys.
Mexico City Metro Runs on Wheels like Montreal

notice wheels are not on the track

Another cool thing about the Metro is that all stations are identified by symbols. The station near where we are staying:

A list of stations on the line we used:

Some interesting pictures there. There are so many stations, and each has a symbol related to the area in which the station is located. The toughest neighbourhood called Tepito has a boxing glove as it's symbol! Maybe they need to change that to a gun?

Here are some pics of the famous plaza called Zocalo in central Mexico City. It is the largest plaza in Latin America and the 4th largest in the world. We arrived and there was a stage in the middle. I was just telling my friend jokingly that maybe it's Shakira or Ricky Martin or someone like that performing. Later while sitting and having a drink with some people we met we find out that indeed Shakira is performing that night. Free concert in the biggest plaza in Latin America???? How could we not oblige. We stayed and had the time of our lives. I have never seen so many people in one place ever in my life. It was RAMMED. We tried to bribe our way to a roof, but apparently the American Dollar doesn't carry the weight it used to. Next time I'll bring Euros. Anyways here are some pics of the Zocalo, surrounding areas and finally the Shakira concert!

lineup leading into the Zocalo Plaza for the free concert. It's day and the concert starts at 9pm.

Will Rain Damper the celebration?

These Aztech Ruins were part of a much bigger plaza that resided where the Zocalo is now back in the day when Motazuma was king!

Market to the North of Zocalo. If you keep going North about 5-6 blocks you will hit an infamous area of the city known as Tepito. It is a black market where anything goes. The police takes a laissez-faire approach to the area. It is one of the most dangerous areas in the world.

Rooftop view of the crowd at 4pm.

People filing in.

View towards the other side from the Holliday Inn cafe on top of the Zocalo plaza.

About 3000 of the 210000 people trying to enter the concert.

7:30pm and the place is packed.

View of Stage

That's what 210000 people looks like!

Ok so in Mexico we are tall compared to the locals, so we thought we would be able to see the stage clearly, until we discovered the mexican telescope. It's basically a device made from cardboard that costs 2$ that is raised up in the air and acts as a telescope. Great idea, except when 200000+ people raise it, it's impossible to see anything for ANYBODY. They have to restrict sales of this thing for it to be of any use.

AND IT WAS ALL WORTHWHILE :)...wow Shakira!!!

And so ended the first couple of nights. We thought we had already had a great trip. I mean we were having a blast, had a free Shakira concert in the main plaza. We had met some locals, and had drinks with them....what could be better? Well the best was yet to come...stay tuned for part 2!

Byoost and Rohit go to Taco John's

2007-05-21T23:09:00.000-05:00

Ok, so it's not as catchy as Harold and Kumar go to White Castle.....but was interesting enough nevertheless....

So we are heading to Paducah to my friend's engagement. I have been hearing for years how this place called Taco John's is wonderful and a must to visit. It has been on my things to do in my life list for years. So we decided we would eat it for lunch on the way to Paducah, Kentucky. For those of you that don't know, Paducah is a 6 hour drive from Chicago through cornfields. Along the way you pass wonderful towns such as Effinville (man did they get the shaft with that name, why not just call if F-U-ville), Paris, Patuka (which probably gets confused for Paducah by any Indian looking for Paducah), and finally Metropolis (which smartly has taken advantage of the name by building a big superman in the middle of the city).

Well lunchtime was approaching as well and we decide we need to find Taco John's...so we google it and find Taco John's HQ number. Here was the convo:
Rohit: we are on highway 57 at mileage marker 212 and NEED to have Taco John, what is the closest?
Mr. Taco John: we have one in Marion, Illinoism but its not on 57...its a few miles off.
Rohit: Where is that? We HAVE TO HAVE TACO JOHNS.
Mr Taco John: In Marion, Illinois
R: How do I get there?
TJ: you go to Marion and it's on Court Street.
R: How do I get to Marion?
TJ: You'll see a sign..."welcome to Marion"
R: Thanks...do you have a number for them?
TJ: Yeah 555-5555
R: Thanks, and please open a Taco John in Chicago
TJ: we'll try...want to open a franchise? we have some wonderful opportunities available.
R: uh...yeah maybe next time. thanks.
TJ: let us know

SO we call them and the nice lady helps us with directions and we are on our way to TJs.

So anyhow along the way we pass all these wonderful places and i'm crusin down the street smokin endo...sippin on jin and ...ok no...im just cruisin...but i we were all rapping to snoop's song when ugh a speed trap showed up....damnit ...busted...so being the genius i am, i took off my seatbelt and turned off the car...then somebody told me in the US you don't do that or you get a ticket for no seatbelt, and they shoot you cuz they think you mihgt be trying to attack them. So while cop wasn't looking I quickly put the belt back on and somehow got away with a 75$ ticket going 84 miles an hour in a 65 zone. Apparently I was lucky. Had I been going 85 I would have to go to court in this town 5 hours from Chicago just to get my license back. So anyhow we were really tempted to ask the policeman to just hand the freakin ticket and tell us where the nearest Taco John's was...but...not unfortunately it was evident he had to get back to his job, and would not be able to lead us to the promise land.

On resumption we saw a gigantic cross in the middle of a corn field where I made a little prayer to find Taco Johns soon. So going at 65 miles an hour..which feels like a glacial pace after going 90 the whole way...it's 3pm and we are HUNGRY...countless Taco Bells on the way and we almost cave in....no signs for Marion in site...must eat...just as we were thinking of just stopping we finally hit a welcome to Marion sign...having no idea where to go we stumble into a couple of places to ask for directions...and then finally....finally TACO JOHNS

WOW!!!! We tell the lady at the counter our whole story and she says "ya'll know where to find a good taco, this is the right place, it's worth it". So we go in and pretty much order everything on the menu. Was it good? Yes....better than Taco Bell for sure...was it as good as advertised? Probably not, but for all we went through, it was the best damn taco I've ever had. Next week I'm in Mexico City, and i'll be hard pressed to find a better Taco.

So now I can finally cross Taco John's off my list of things to do in my life. One step closer to being complete.

Random Thoughts...

2007-05-17T13:55:00.000-05:00

Ugh....I'm sitting at work, scraping everywhere for any ounce of motivation to get things done. So of course, now I have a new distraction...my BLOG.

So let's see...what can I blog about?

SENS

one win away from a finals appearence and they lose at home....ugh...this better just be a blip along the way. But since most of you reading this probably don't care about my Sens or hockey at all, I will not bore you more. They better win though so i can stop ranting about them and watch them in the finals!!!

INSEAD

a) booked my tickets to Singapore. Since I'm officially a student again, I am eligible for student rates!! Just realized that and got an awesome deal. 400$ one way to Singapore in the summer. All you need is an ISIC card.
b) Update on where I'm living. I just realized my last blog update regarding my housing in Singapore was that I'm living in a two bedroom place in Dover. Well unforutnately that didn't work out since the two bedroom was taken right before we put our deposit down. The fortunate part is that we got a 3 bedroom and found another roommate. So now there are 3 of us at Dover in a 3 bdrm. Bharath (who's blog I've linked to) is one of my roommates. He's really lucky and travelling around Europe for a few months before starting at INSEAD. I'm travelling vicariously through him.
c) Student Meets in Fonty, SIngapore, NYC, Boston, SF, Toronto, MExico, Lima, Tokyo, HK, Shanghai, Delhi, Mumbai, Cairo, Beirut, London...HOW ABOUT FREAKING CHICAGO?????? Is nobody at INSEAD currently living in the midwest? Am I the only one who will not have met someone from class of 08 before starting? NOT FAIR.

LAPTOP

So for those of you that don't know, I've been debating what kind of laptop to get for INSEAD next year. I'm a bit of a gadget "freak", so I enjoy having all the latest toys. So really I wanted a cool new box that I could take out to the bar and pick up with...(not really)...seriously though I wanted something cool and practical that could replace my desktop(s).

So i was going through Netvestibule (INSEAD's hot or not), and came across postings where people were interested in getting a MAC...a mac? why? so it can look cool and they can pay twice as much and not run ANYTHING ON IT? speaking of which let me rant about those STUPID mac ads. Who are they really targetting? I mean PCs can be whatever you want them to be. Can a mac do that? Don't you want something that can be customized (hardware and software), run different applications not created or necessarily endorsed by an evil company? Wait..you can't do that on a mac, cuz nobody cares and nobody ever builds anything for them. Try finding a quality game made for the mac...goood luck. And for those that argue back saying you can run windows on a mac? If you are doing that then why are you paying twice as much? lol

Anyways, to each his/her own. For me after all the research I decided I wanted a tablet. A tablet is perfect for class, you can take notes using a "pen", you can use it as a computer. They are thin and light like regular laptops, and they run either Vista or XP. The only problem is they are bit expensive. Fortunately I found a great Lenovo deal where the Tablet ended up being 50% off. So I got the following system for 1400$:
X60 Tablet
12" SXGA+ screen (1400X1024)
Core 2 Duo 1.6
Windows Vista Business
2 GB RAM
120 GB HD
8 cell battery (8 hour battery life)
3.7 lbs

I'm pretty happy with the deal I got, as I was expecting to spend around that much for a non-tablet notebook.

RANT OF THE DAY
I hate People Energy. They are the local gas company in Chicago. So here is my story. Back in December I signed up for automatic billing. This means they should charge me automatically for the month's bill and deduct it from my credit card. Fine, everything taken care of right? Not exactly...

So the other day I decide I want to cook, so I attempt to turn on the stove...NO GAS...ugh..what happened? So I go downstairs and go through the general pile of letters with wrong addresses and what do I find? A letter from people's gas warning me that they will shut off the gas if I dont pay. Curious I check my emails from December, and sure enough they sent me confirmation that I've been signed up for auto-payment. So I call them up and ask what's going on.

People gas lady: How y'all doin'? Can i elp u?
Me: YOU SHUT OFF MY GAS WTF???
Lady: yi know ya shoulda paid ur billz
Me: I had automatica payment.
Lady: you HAD automatic payment, but we cancelled it back in January.
Me: Thanks for the notice.
Lady: We sent you mail advising you of the change.
Me: You've been sending mail to the wrong address. I live on a UNIT on floor 4, I dont just live on the whole floor.
Lady: That's not our problem
Me: So you send me a notification by email when i sign up, but you dont let me know by email when for some reason you decide to randomly opt me out.
Lady: uh-huh...that's our policy. in fairness though we sent you a notice by regular mail
me: yeah to the wrong address
lady: unfortunately...but I have it changed now.
Me: TURN ON MY GAS
Lady: Not until you pay 250$
Me: Fine charge me
Lady: ok..(she takes credit card info and puts through)...its on hold dont look like it goin thru...u have another card
me: (puzzled)...ok take this
lady: didn't go through either
me: fine I'll pay online ( go and pay online)
lady: call me back when you have paid so we can reconnect

So I pay online. 2 days later I check and 3 payments have gone through for 250$ each. ANGRY, and wanting my gas back I call them

lady: can I help u?
me: probably not, but you charged me 3 times and disconnected my gas without notice.
lady: ill try my best to help
me: try harder
lady: sorry about the triple charge...look on the brightside, now you dont have to pay for a while...(laughs)
me: not funny
lady: so the next appointment we have for reconnecting your gas is on Monday from 11-5pm
me: first of all it's TUESDAY. You didnt have to come in my unit to disconnect, why do you have to come to reconnect? Secondly, 11-5pm??? What is that? I have a job, I have a life, am I supposed to sit at home all day waiting for you to show up? Can't you give me a more specific time.
lady: no sir we need to get into your apartment to reconnect but dont need to get in to disconnect. Also we dont have specific time slots. So we'll see you on Monday. Thanks for doing business with People's Gas. Have a nice day
me: cancel my gas. Its summer anyways and I dont use my stove. Screw you and your stupid monopolistic company. Cick.

So now i have no gas. Whatever, It's not like I've been cooking. But these people are idiots. What unit were they billing me for anyways if they had the wrong address? How can they have such stupid policies? Ugh.... Eventually I did cave in and schedule the appointment for Monday. I wish I had time to sue them, just on principle. But really I dont think it would impact them or their policies.

Anyways thats my rant and why i HATE people's gas.

INSEAD - A Blogger's Paradise

2007-05-10T10:54:00.000-05:00

Well I was just thinking about blogging an MBA, and how boring it would be if I went to a school in the US. Blog would be something like this:

Day 1
Today I woke up, and went to class, prof taught XXX, did work, partied, slept.
Day 2
Today I woke up, and went to class, prof taught XXX, did work, partied, slept.
Day 3
Today I woke up, and went to class, prof taught XXX, did work, partied, slept.
Day 4
Today I woke up late, almost missed class and went to class, prof taught XXX, did work, partied, slept.
Day 5
Partied with MBA students
Day 6
BBQ, John got drunk, passed out. We went out afterwards. blah blah blah.
Day 7
Today I woke up, and went to class, prof taught XXX, did work, partied, slept.

How crappy is that? Since INSEAD is not only a MBA program but also apparently a travel program it leads to some interesting blogs. Also most people at INSEAD are out of their normal element, so they have lots to write about.

So anyhow, I have added a bunch of bloggers on my page. Some of these blogs have been the inspiration behind starting my own. Hallonman and Domodomo I'm not sure who you are, but your blogs have inspired me. I hope we can live up to your grand standards. I have also listed all the class of 08 bloggers I know of. If you know of any others, let me know and I will add them as well.

Bharath is one of my roommates for next year and thus his blog is at the top of the list. Also, I'm extremely jealous of him as he is travelling around Europe for 2 months before starting at INSEAD. Wish I could do that....3 trips around the world and numerous smaller trips later, I'm STILL jealous of someone travelling when I'm not...go figure. Enjoy Bharath, I'm sure you'll have a blast. Save some travel energy for INSEAD though.

A bit about my blog though....it will never be a step by step daily account of the MBA program at INSEAD. What it will be is diffrerent experience I have at INSEAD, some sharing of pictures, random thoughts as well as a travel log for all the wonderful places I will no doubt visit :)

a day in May

2007-05-10T10:24:00.000-05:00

So I haven't posted in ages. My blog is getting stale...:( Honestly I meant to post earlier. Lots of things going on. Here is a brief rundown:

a) Varun's Wedding - Just got back from an awesome wedding. It was my friend Varun's wedding in Toronto. Varun I have known since second year in college and he is like my brother and his family is part of my extended family. It was a great wedding, everyone from back in the day was down, music was great. The girl is from Bangalore so we thought it would be appropriate to crash the Mehndi in Dhotis. It was pretty funny actually. Have some pics that I will post when they become available. Was really tiring though. I left last Thursday and got back on Sunday, and during that period I must have slept a total of 7 hours. Well worth it though, as it was a great time and a great wedding.

b) My Sens - we made it to the conference finals. Playing Buffalo. Series starts tonight. Couldn't be prouder of the team disposing of the Pens and Devils in 5 games each. Could this be the year? Not like I can watch them next year anyways. Would be a nice sendoff. I have had a kill other team avatar for the past 2 rounds, so it is time to reveal the one for this round (FYI I found it on a sportsnet forum):

c) My Raptors - very dissapointing to lose in 6 games to the hated Nets. Just went to a wedding and we were all around a friend's blackjack refreshing the game every 2 seconds until we finally found out that the Raps lost by 1 in game 6 and their season was over. Sad, but this team is young and will have many good things to come.

d) Serb's Engagement - Next weekend I'm attending Serb and Komal's engagement in Paducah Kentucky. Now that should be a blast. I've never been in small town USA before and this is as small as it gets. Apparently we'll be hitting a local establishment and turning it dry.

e) Mexico City - So as if I didnt have enough things going on, I decided that it would be fun to spend the long weekend in Mexico City with an old friend from back at Microsoft. We'll be going for Memorial Day. Should be fun. I've never been there but I've heard its crazy. Any INSEADers in Mexico who want to meet? Give me a shout. I really want to go to this place called Tepico market...but apparently it's a bit dangerous :) You see, I have this thing, when I go to a big city I want to check out the Ghettos.
eg:
DC - Anacostia - DONE
Chicago - Cabrini Green - DONE
Atlanta - College Park - DONE
Toronto - Jane and Finch - DONE
New York City - The Bronx - DONE
Paris - Montmarte - DONE
Johannesburg - Hillsboro - DONE
Nairboi - ANYWHERE - DONE

So that's what is going on on this day in May....

Friday the 13th

2007-04-14T12:14:00.000-05:00

So do you have tricadecaphobia (sp?). If you do, you should be freaked out when Friday the 13th rolls around. For me it always seems to be the opposite. I always have a good time on Friday the 13th, and yesterday was no exception. A few things were working into my favor rolling in including a great game 1 by the Ottawa Senators against the Pittsburgh Penguins to take a 1-0 lead in a best of 7 series. Wow Scotiabank Place looked to be rocking...so much for sleepy government town...love to see that, and Go Sens Go! They used to have that kind of support back in the early 90s when it was known as the loudest arena in hockey....guess those people were in hiding for the last 9 years.

Back to my tricadecaawesomeness....part 2, things going well at work, everything smooth...

part 3, place booked at INSEAD. Will be living in a 2 bedroom at Dover. I've sent my deposit and everything is taken care of.

part 4, Raptors...playing the Pistons should mean a guarenteed loss, right? nope, somehow Raptors down 10 come back and win with some ballsy shots down the strech. good job...wish the sens played tonight :)

part 5, Amit's bday dinner. Went to this awesome restaurant called 160 Blue. Food was amazing, atmosphere was great..definately a must eat restaurant in Chicago

part 6, going out. Went to great new place called Underground. We had tried to go there a couple of times earlier, but it was impossible (and for us this is unheard of). But tonight we had a contact so we were able to get in. Wow, the place is bumpin. The girl to guy ration at least 3-1 with hotness definitely being a pre-req to get in. Music great, women great....what else you want? lol...best thing about the club it has zero advertising. In fact you wouldnt even know its a club if you were walking by in the day. There is no signage whatsoever. INside it looks like a bunker, withi all these war maps all around. Really cool.

All-in-all great night....looking forward to the next Friday the 13th!

Peace out hommies.

Finally, Closure...Merci

2007-04-04T17:18:00.000-05:00

An update on my INSEAD deposit payment problems....

After about 3 faxes, 3 emails, and 1 phone call I have finally received confirmation that my payment has been received and I am on target to start in August 2007. This morning I got an email confirmation that everything is in order!!! yay!

Seems like everything so far hsa been geared to give me a heart attack....last minute interview selection, last minute notification of acceptance, last minute confirmation of acceptance. They say everything in life teaches you a lesson....maybe the lesson here is that I should procastinate more??? hmmmmmmm....

That shouldnt have been that difficult...but I must say I'm relieved that it is done. Now to move on to more important things....like....resuming my apartment search.

An INSEAD Phone Angel???

2007-04-03T11:32:00.000-05:00

So I got a call yesterday from an INSEAD representitive. I must admit it was a very nice gesture. The lady congratulated me for being accepted and asked if there were any questions that I may have and if she could assist me in any way. I quickly pointed out my tuition deposit dilemna, and she said she would get in contact with them and ensure things are taken care of. Great right? Well not really...see the lady called from France, and my deposit is due in Singapore. Hopefully all is really taken care and I dont get an email tomorrow saying, "since you haven't paid your deposit by the deadline, we have taken the liberty to hand your seat to someone else".

ARghhh...

Back to work....as a zombie.

Vegas...ouch...

2007-04-03T11:13:00.000-05:00

So I'm back from Vegas...

I'm dying...I'm a zombie. I slept a total of 7 hours in 4 days, and I somehow managed to spend a total of 2200$ for the weekend. So that basically means I can't afford to go out until about July or so. Fabulous....

Will have pics up soon. What did we do? Here is a list of some highlights:
8) Taking limos instead of cabs everywhere cuz they are "cheaper"
7) Huevos Rancheros (4 times and Grand Cafe and DAMN good)
6) 1 year anniversary at Jet (4000 people in line, we walk in with VIP ahead of everyone...)
5) Tryst (my vote for best club in the world. Hottest girls, awesome setting)...limo ride there in a streched TRUCK!!!
4) various other after hours establishments (hint hint)
3) Drunken gambling (as if I hadn't lost enough money already)
2) Figuring out who owes what on Sunday afternoon (giant spreadsheet by Anshul by hand)
1) Teaching Varun to play blackjack on the plane (on the way BACK from Vegas..lol)

Varun sent out a list when we get back and handed out some awards. Here are the ones I can share. I will try to match them with some pics when I get them:
1. Anoop: Miscellaneous king awards: For picking up every possible miscellaneous expense
2. Aman : Mr. Money bags award: Record for most expensive dance
3. Amit : Breakfast of champions pimpin style and Blinged out award : for err.. and maxing out the most cards in one weekend.
4. Milap : Mr. Homeless Award: for being on clothes charity all weekend long
5. Vicky : Rip van Winkle award: First time in his life, not sleeping 10 hrs a day ( Quite a feat for vicky, I am proud)
6. Raman: Cashed out Award : Spending a month and a halfs paycheck in 2.5 days..(impressive and that’s without the conversion factor)
7. me: No Site Seeing Award: For not going to see any sights this weekend. Which has got to be difficult for the world traveler.

Anyways this was a trip to remember.

INSEAD Deposit Troubles

2007-03-28T23:40:00.000-05:00

Just a brief rant here. Not happy with the INSEAD billing department. I sent them an email with records of my transfer in order to meet the April 2nd deadline. The first time I sent it to them, I got an email saying the person responsible was out for a week, and to contact someone else. I contact that person, and no response. A couple of days later I send an email asking about the status and I get an email saying they are both out of town for a week!! What's going on? Anyways the day back day has passed and still no word from INSEAD whether or not they have received my deposit. I need to get this sorted out! ARGHHHHH....I wonder if others are having this problem, or are just assuming that INSEAD has received their deposit.

I dont get it. They are asking to have the deposit by the 2nd of April, and they are unavailable to accept it or to notify people about it. Does that make any sense? I hope this is not an indication of efficiancy at INSEAD. Maybe this is the global business education that I need. Maybe I'm already in training.

All I need is a "we have received your deposit, thanks" email. Please send it INSEAD!!!!

Acapulco Pics

2007-03-28T22:21:00.000-05:00

I just posted our pics from Acapulco up on Picasa. This was a trip we did back in Feb for Varun's bday. We went for 4 days and it was a great time. Click on the picture above to see all the pics.

Vegas Baby!!!

2007-03-28T17:17:00.000-05:00

So tomorrow I'm heading to Vegas for one of my best friends bachelor party. Awesome!! I'm affraid though of my to be state on Monday morning after a weekend of debauchary....oh and not to mention being 1500$ poorer.

Let's just put it this way...my friends love to party...and they love to do it in extravagent style....not the backpacker way.

There will be 12 of us, and we all staying at the MGM Grand. It is gonna be 3 nights of craziness. In fact I dont even know why we booked a hotel room. I don't see us spending any time there at all.

So here's to lots of women, bottles and bottles of crystale, and some hardcore gambling....

If you don't see a post in the next week or so, it means:
a) I'm lost in a dumpster in an alley next to the MGM...please rescue me
b) My hands have been cut off due to running up a huge gambling debt hence i can't type
c) My great looks and personality have landed me a lead role in a Hollywood or even Bollywood movie and i'm too cool to blog
d) Struck the jackpot...and now I'm rich BITCH! screw INSEAD, screw MBA, screw JOB, and screw BLOG.

Singapore vs Fonty

2007-03-28T11:06:00.000-05:00

Fonty

Singapore

People have been asking me why Singapore over starting at Fonty? Well I have my reasons, but they are basically summed up in this table I found on the INSEAD wiki. A lot of this applies to most US MBA schools too:

	Singapore	Fontainebleau
Where to live	Heritage or Dover: 4 pools each (including Jacuzzi and live fountains, with underwater music), BBQ pits, tennis courts, jogging paths, fantastic exotic gardens, saunas, 10 minute walk to INSEAD.	Rent a 300 year old house downtown fontainebleau with cable TV.
Nickname	'Club Med'	'Construction Yard'
Weather	25-30oC year round, mostly sunny	Over 25oC only in summer, when Insead is closed. Mostly cloudy and rainy.
VAT	5%	20%
To go downtown	20 min by bus or MRT, or 10 min taxi (2 S$ when split 3 ways).	50 min SNCF train, if direct and no strikes. Cab is 40+ EUR.
To go to the main airport	40 min MRT or 30 min taxi (5 S$ split 3 ways)	Don't try to go to Roissy using public transportation. Cab is 60+ EUR.
Diving	Malaysia, Bali and Thailand have plenty of paradisiacal island. During opening week 30+ Insead participants take the Open Water course.	In the Channel or in the Seine?
Surfing	Bali: sunshine and perfect waves.	Lacanau. Have you ever surfed in Lacanau in February?
Trekking	Borneo and Bali volcanoes have gorgeous views and fantastic vegetation.	Alps.
Wake-boarding	Plenty of places within Singapore.	Seine?
Sunbathing and beaches	Bali, Phuket, Koh Samui, Pulau Tioman and many more are withing reach for the week-ends.	Bretagne and 'la plage a Paris'. Oops, this last one is only during the summer.
Construction	Not even one class was disturbed by the construction of new facilities. Most of the work is done at night and on week-ends.	Have you ever tried having a French worker work only on week-ends?
Strikes	What is a strike?	SNCF, RATP, Controleurs aeriens, Air France, EDF, ...
Drinking	Tiger Beer and fresh mango, guava, passion fruit or dragonfruit juices for S$2.	Champagne for 30 EUR.
Own birthday	If it's a bbq night, you can just dive in the Heritage pool with your clothes on.	?
Electives	No need to bid for electives	Will you have enough points?

Oh, and if that wasn't enough, check out this Deck that previous INSEAD students have prepared outlining 100 reasons why an MBA in Singapore rocks. How can you not be convinced? Try doing these things in Boston, Chicago, or Fonty.
Link to Deck
I'm definately convinced. And with a tax rate of only 15%, I might even consider living in Singapore after my MBA. Anybody want to offer me a job?

Big Problem

2007-03-28T00:37:00.000-05:00

As the Stanley Cup playoffs approach, I keep thinking of a major issue I will encounter next year. HOW AM I GOING TO WATCH MY SENS?

Two problems:
a) Most games are at 7:30pm EST. That translates directly to 7:30AM Singapore time. Hopefully classes will start at 11 so I can watch my games :)
b) Apparently (god knows why) hockey that is played on ice is not very popular in Singapore, and thus not available on network television. So to watch my games I need to subscribe my parents to NHL Center ICE AND need to get a slingbox to stream those games on the internet, so I can watch them in a tiny window on my laptop in the comfort of my apartment in Singapore. oh and did i mention they can't change the channel to watch anything else while the game is on? lol... Sens better just win the cup this year, so I can forget about next year and not worry about having to watch them! GO SENS GO!
pffffffffffffft...as I write this, they just lost to Boston today...talk about a BAD OMEN!

Hmmmm Travel.....

2007-03-28T00:29:00.000-05:00

Well it seems fellow INSEADers from previous years have been using the Singapore base to explore the wonders of South-East Asia. Therefore I thought it would only be appropriate for me to make a list of must-visit places during my Singapore stay.

Here is the list. Let's see how many I accomplish.
In no particular order:
1) Bali
2) Boracay (Phillipines)
3) Vietnam
4) Bangkok (OFTEN)
5) Koh Phi Phi
6) Koh Samui (full moon party)
7) Borneo
8) Cambodia (Angkor and PP)
9) Chiang Mai
10) Laos
11) Shanghai
12) HK
13) Xi'ian
14) KL (often)
15) Papua New Guinea (not likely)

Let me know if you think any other must sees are missing?

Singapoura

2007-03-27T23:53:00.000-05:00

Looks like I have been admitted to the Singapore branch of INSEAD. For those that don't know, INSEAD has two locations: Fountainbleau (France), and Singapore. I selected Singapore since I prefer living in a city over a forrest. INSEAD students are encouraged to spend time on both campuses during the 1 year program.

The program is divided into 5 periods of 2 months each. You must spend the first 2 months in your home campus, but you can spend the other months wherever you want. I plan on spending P3 or P4 in France. P3 is usually when the major swap occurs.

So now that I know I'm starting in Singapore, I proceeded to look for roomates. Most reasonably priced acoms are 3 bedrooms. Through NetVestibule I found two people that seem quite cool. We decided we'll be getting a place together.

Doing lots of research, seems like acom near INSEAD is a mess. They are building a huge research park there, and there is limited acom available within walking distance. Two complexes make up all the housing in the area: Dover and Heritage View. Both used to be expensive, but now are super expensive due to high demand from expats and INSEAD students. So an apartment that used to cost 3000$S furnished just over a year ago has skyrocketed to 4900$S. AWESOME. Good news is though that the places looks amazing. They are basically resorts that include large pools, tennis courts, etc... Can't wait to live there. Here are some pics I found on the web:

Netvestibule

2007-03-27T20:37:00.000-05:00

So when you get admitted, after a couple of days they send you a login for the online area where students and former alumni can get each other's contact information, and share information. First time you login you enter all your contact information as well as info about your job, etc...

Lastly they want you to post a picture. They recommend a passport picture, but while browsing through the site you can see all kinds of pictures. Seems a bit of an indicator of the person's personality. I must admit, I'm somewhat guilty of going through my class and playing the who's hot and who's not game...lol. First observation...not too many women. Its like Eng all over again.. Seems like all the Americans look like the frat type. Western Europeans seem to have entertaining pictures. Most of the Asians seem to have the standard asian pose...you know..the suit, looking straight at the camera...no smile. The Latin Americans all look super happy and stylish. Anyways after wasting a few hours going through the liost of students it seems my class is a good mix of nationalities, with a good mix of picture types. Should be a fun year.

Anyhow I seem to have found a picture that fits all stereotypes. Its a straightshot (asian), smile (latin american), having fun/fun plcae (western european)..and well since I'm Canadian, I guess it fits that group as well.

INSEAD - A new Journey

2007-03-27T16:39:00.000-05:00

Well the letter has come, and good news! I got into INSEAD. This was my first choice MBA school, over other schools I applied to including Columbia, LBS, Kellog, and Chicago. People may wonder why I chose INSEAD instead of some of the more reputable schools in the United States. Well it comes down to a few things. INSEAD is globally recognized, whereas most US schools are not. The only ones that are in my opinion are: LBS, Columbia, Chicago GSB, Harvard, Wharton, Stanford. In fact in the FT rankings this year, those are the only schools that finished ahead of INSEAD. INSEAD also ranks well in topmba rankings, which break out MBA programs by specialty.
The US rankings are all in my opinion useless, since they hold information based on US centric recruiters and do not take into account biases by recruiters based in the US that may have gone to US schools. Anyways enough about that, and my rant about ratings. In my opinion, and in the opinion of most recruiters (which is indicated by salary out of MBA) INSEAD is a top 10 school in the world. Where it ranks in the top 10 is subject to your location and your employer.

Anyways back to the main reason for choosing INSEAD.
1) Name
2) ROI
3) International -> Contacts and Students

Why ROI? You say you can make more money coming out of Harvard, Wharton, Stanford? Well first of all that's debatable, as INSEAD's starting salary of 120,000$ is close to the others. The second point you have to consider is the opportunity cost lost due to a 2 year program as well as the additional tuition fees associated with a 2 year program.

Let's compare:
INSEAD
Tuition - 60000$/year
Living Expenses - 40000$/year
Lost salary - 90000$/year
Total cost - 190000$

Harvard
Tuition - 40000$/year * 2 - 80000$
Living Expenses - 40k/year * 2 = 80000$
Lost Salary - 90k/year + 120k/year (after MBA) = 210000$ - 20k internship = 190000$
Total Cost - 350000$

The difference is about 160000$ or more than one year of your new salary. Lets analyze this a bit further. Even if you were making 30000$ less per year than a Harvard grad (and you won't), you would require over 5 years to make up the difference. And that's assuming the INSEAD grad doesn't get a promotion before you do, because he/she has a 1 year head start on you.

So really the decision becomes a no brainer. And they tell me smart MBAs go to Harvard. Well apparently they are not THAT smart. Also INSEAD's GMAT average above 705 is one of the highest entrance MBA GMAT score required.

Insead is also the most globally diverse school with students from over 70 countries, with no country representing more than 14% of the overall student body. No other school matches that, or even comes close. Oh and INSEAD requires you to know 2 languages well enough for doing business, and requires you to learn a third by the end of your period at INSEAD.

btw did I mention it is in beautiful Singapore? Oh and I can do time in France as well. And 2 months at Wharton if I really want through an exchange program.

Anyways I'm really excited!