Days of Whine and Neurosis

Money Well Spent

2005-10-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

Before starting school I completed the four-CD MBA Survival Kit by GMAC and McGraw Hill. It definitely helped, and I'd recommend the "kit" to any potential MBA candidate. You'll be happy that you put in the work when the first day of class hits you like a ton of bricks.

Who Spams Blogs?

2005-10-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

Has anyone noticed the glut of blog spammers lately? It seems like the "comments" section of every blog has been getting filled with nonsense. Every time I get an email about a comment it contains some gibberish with a few underlined links. It seems like some people are pretty hard-up for traffic. What a complete waste of time.

Here are a few words of advice for the spammers:

1) If you think that this blog is a major source of potential traffic, I have a bridge to sell you. Just ask Google Adsense -- they'll concur.

2) At least link to something coherent. These weird sites probably don't even make sense to YOU, and you wrote them.

Anyhow, thanks to those who come to read and actually post something MBA-related.

I'm studying like a madman for a Statistics test tomorrow. I have two unbelievably trying weeks ahead of me. They include the afore mentioned Stats test, a huge group marketing case analysis, an Accounting mid-term, Economics mid-term, an Economics group problem set, an Accounting case analysis, and just to wrap it all up...a Marketing final. Oh yeah, throw in a few evening employer meet & greets for good measure. Whoopee!

I'm off to review binomial and normal distributions. Good luck as the application season gets started! I know these are trying times for applicants, but just remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Wow: Week One Wonders

2005-10-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

So, week number one of my MBA experience is in the books. All of those rumors about how busy you’ll be? True.

This weekend is going to be crazy. I have a marketing case due on Monday morning, an accounting case due on Wednesday, and an Econ case due on Friday. Throw in two corporate presentations at night next week and it looks like another series of 14 hour days. It’s all manageable, but you have to stay on it. My classes are all fun and interesting, and my section and study-group are full of excellent, intelligent people.

The corporate presentations last week were great. You have to get suited-up and hang around school until 9 PM to meet with all of the finance companies, but it’s a small price to pay. The coolest part about the presentations and receptions is that you get to meet decision-makers. You literally get a chance to have a drink with the people who could hire you…on your second day of school. It’s like driving home one night and thinking, “I wish they’d fix the potholes on my street.” And then getting introduced to the Governor of your state the next day and asking for the pothole repair in person. It occurs to me that bschool is as much about access as it is education.

Back to the coal mine…

Math Camp

2005-09-15T12:57:00.000-07:00

Monday and Wednesday marked the optional “math camp” for incoming first-years at UCLA Anderson. For me, however, it was certainly mandatory as I hadn’t attended a math class in more than a decade. The Professor, David Ravetch, was flat-out hilarious. He had an auditorium of 220 people laughing from 9 AM until 4 PM for two days in a row. That’s some feat when calculus, statistics, and the mathematics of finance are the topics of discussion. I learned quite a bit and felt very good about spending part of the summer going over the GMAC’s “MBA Survival Kit-Quantitative Skills” CD. It’s funny that most of us spend our time worrying about calculus and stats, when they are, in fact, quite a bit easier than algebra. More often than not, the errors come not from the calculus, but from simplifying the answer using algebra.

After math camp a bunch of us went to a bar in West LA called “Cabo Cantina.” Everyone I’ve met has been very cool and very sharp. Most Anderson students are pretty laid-back and socially adept.

Leadership Foundations starts on Monday and lasts all week, followed by a week of orientation. I’ll bet my life-savings (all $62.59 of it) that Leadership Foundations features a day on a ropes-course. Who decided that the ropes-course = leadership training? Who didn’t blindly fall backwards off a picnic table into the arms of their waiting teammates at least twice during a childhood of summer camps and school field-trips? If you find this decision-maker, let me know. By the way, does anyone remember the episode of The Office (the British version) when the management consultant comes in and makes them solve the “Fox, Chicken, and a bag of seed” problem to build teamwork? One of the funniest 30-minutes of television I’ve ever seen.

It’s all happening! I’ll try to post some photos of the Anderson campus in the coming weeks (I just got a new digital camera and I’m looking for an excuse to use it).

Part II: The Essays and Interviews (For Future Applicants)

2005-08-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

Here’s part two of my re-cap on the business school application process. Sorry for the 2 ½ month delay between parts one and two…it’s been a fun-filled, crazy summer.

On this day, one year ago, I was sweating the MBA application process. I was studying for the GMAT, and simultaneously wondering what on earth I was going to write about for the required essays. So, for those in the same position, I feel your pain – but remember that anyone can get over the hump with the proper amount of dedication and well-directed effort. Also remember that if you plan to give a half-hearted effort during the process, save the $200 application fees.

Essays:

The essays were the most important part of my application process. I had a GMAT score right near the mean for all of the top schools, but it wasn’t going to distinguish me in any way. And, my personal opinion of the GMAT is that it’s just a hurdle – once you get over it, the admissions committees don’t give it a second thought. So, if you get a 670-740 you’re probably over the hurdle and then it’s on to your essays and resume for the adcoms. The only way your GMAT will kill for you is if you get a freakish score (like a 780) with a quantitative section score in the 98^th percentile. Know this: b-schools love the math geeks.

There are three basic types of essay questions, IMO.

1) The “describe your goals essay:” This essay always bugged. It’s the equivalent of the “where do you see yourself in five years” interview question, i.e., generic and boring but unavoidable. The fact is, you have to present a solid case for why you want to go to business school, and this is really the place to do it. Ultimately, this essay should really address why each individual school you’re applying to is the right school to fit your goals.

In other words, do your research and apply each school’s strengths in your area of concentration to your essay. If you want to be an entrepreneur, talk about school x’s center for entrepreneurship. Look into the course offerings, meet people, and look into unique pieces of the curriculum unique to each program that can help you get there. For instance, UCLA has an academic internship program whereby you can start interning at a local company during the school year to gain extra expertise. This is particularly useful for career switchers who want to make a fairly drastic career change. Adcoms love to see that you actually care about their school.

2) Some version of the “what makes you unique essay:” Sometimes this deals with a description of you, and sometimes it deals with your personal ethical and moral base, but it always requires introspection. I say, really pour it on thick here, but do so with real examples. As I wrote in an earlier post, make sure you give real-world examples to make your points. These have a way of staying with the reader. It’s not enough to simply make the reader feel like, “this is a nice person.” They need takeaways. Give them some meat. As with any essay, make it entertaining. Admissions committees read between 5,000 – 10,000 versions of the exact same essay each year. I think you’re really writing short stories, not term-papers.

Don’t be afraid to stand-out, so long as you stand out due to quality and not flash. Say you ran track in college. Instead of saying, “I ran track for four years,” try starting your essay with a present-tense account of climbing into the starting blocks as the sweat drips off your face and the butterflies in your stomach fly like moths to a light bulb. That’s the beginning of a story I want to keep reading.

3) The “optional essay:” This was a big one for me. I had a rather unsavory grade on my transcript that stuck out like a sore thumb. I used this essay to tackle it head-on. I also explained one of my favorite hobbies/passions in great detail in this essay. If you have anything in your past that you think might raise a red flag for admissions committees, address is here!

Interviews:

Accepted.com’s interview feedback database is a great resource. Review it for each interview at each school. If you're reading this because you have an interview coming up, congratulations! You've made it past the first-cut. Your scores and grades qualify you as an acceptable candidate -- now you just need to show that your goals are realistic, and that you will fit in with the school's culture.

All the interviews I had were different. Some were very laid-back, others were unbelievably intense and probing, and some brought-up highly unexpected questions that made it really cool. One thing to remember: even if it’s one of those laid-back, we’re both getting to know each other types, it’s still an interview and they’re still forming opinions about your candidacy. Take it seriously. That doesn’t mean you should be stiff and overly formal for the situation, but it does mean that you should be interesting, on top of it, and forthcoming with examples, ideas, and personality. And by the same token, if you get grilled and pushed around, stay focused and realize it’s probably part of that interviewer’s approach to see if you’ll crack under the pressure. Never let ‘em see you sweat!

I found it very helpful to move one topic into another by myself. In other words, you know that they will always ask you, “why MBA, why now, why here, what do you plan to do with it,” in no particular order. It seems very logical that a social person can seamlessly blend those topics together from a jumping-off point anywhere along the line. I think you really need to show that you’re passionate about what you want to do and what you love to do. Who wants to sit in a room with a milquetoast personality? And, you can always ask them questions to keep the dialogue going or to find out about their experiences at school x.

At the end of the day, you need to be yourself and relax once the questions start coming. You’ve been in a job interview before, and these will be almost exactly the same. You know you can handle it because you’ve done it before, so don’t stress out too much.

That’s it for now. More later. Good luck!

Google Earth: Amazing!

2005-07-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

This program is incredible. It's like Google Maps to the 10th power. Check it out and watch it zoom around the globe to map any location with a satellite photo. Best of all, it's free.

Google Earth

Fade Into Bolivian

2005-06-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

That’s what “Iron” Mike Tyson said he might do after Lennox Lewis beat him down a few years ago. Mike, however, didn’t live up to his promise to morph into a South American citizen, and continued lining up fights with over-matched tomato cans to con people out of their hard-earned pay-per-view dollars. Now Tyson’s second underwhelming opponent in a row has exposed him for the fraud he is. Kevin McBride, one of the most non-contender-like heavyweights to ever show up on pay-per-view, forced Tyson to quit after the 6^th round. That’s right, quit!

When I was a kid, Tyson was the fiercest dude on earth. Now he’s an embarrassment to the sport and a shadow of his former self. Go away, please!

Just Bought Two New Books

2005-05-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

Has anyone read Freakonomics or Guns, Germs and Steel? My order from Amazon just arrived and I'm about to dive in. I read a few exerpts from Freakonomics in a magazine and it looked great. I'm also reading Theodore Rex right now, which is a biography covering Teddy Roosevelt's time as President. Too bad they don't make them like Teddy anymore.

Grandstanding at Stanford

2005-05-30T21:35:00.000-07:00

Main Entry: grandstand
Function: intransitive verb
: to play or act so as to impress onlookers

Stanford's GSB announced that they’re rejecting all of the 41 MBA applicants who accessed their admission decisions during the infamous Apply Yourself disaster. Here’s the article: Stanford Rejects 41 Hacker Applicants.

First things first, it bugs that they’re still calling this a “hack.” But, I digress (and please, no silly analogies or moral pontificating. We’ve read it all before on the BW forums).

The real problem is that Stanford positioned itself as the compassionate, sensible leader during the aftermath, only to become the most evil of them all when it came down to it. They asked everyone who accessed their decision to write a letter explaining their actions and motivations. And then they denied every single one of them.

Stanford acted like they were giving people a second chance, but were only interested in prolonging the agony and talking to hear the sound of their own voice. There is simply no possible way that every single one of the 41 explanations fell short. I believe this is what’s known as, “gettin’ feudal on that ass.”

In my opinion, they had no intention of letting any of the Palo Alto 41 get off the chopping block, but we’ll never know. So, in summary, Go Bears!

Spending Money Never Felt So Good

2005-05-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

It’s on! I just paid my UCLA Anderson deposit, securing my place in the Class of 2007!

Part I: Pre-Application and the GMAT (For Future Applicants)

2005-05-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

I started seriously committing to business school one year ago, almost to the day. I had applied for a job that I was overqualified for that would pay me too little, but it was a job that I wanted nonetheless. I interviewed twice, hit it off for everyone and impressed the decision makers, but ultimately they went with somebody else. I was really surprised that they passed on me, and I decided that I wasn’t ever going to put myself in that position again. I needed the leverage on my side, and some additional real-world skills to make it where I wanted to go.

I was, however, a little doubtful when I started looking into the process. I had been working as a professional and as an artist for years, but I wasn’t an I-Banker or a Consultant. When I picked up my first GMAT book I realized that I hadn’t seen geometry in well over a decade. I wasn’t the “typical” candidate, but I knew that if I could score well enough on the GMAT to merit consideration I could produce a compelling application. No matter where you come from, you have a chance!

First Things First:

1) Write down your “positioning statement.” Who are you, why are you unique, what have you done, what do you want to do, and how will you add to a business school community?

You will live this marketable image over the next 9-12-18-24 months, so start working on it ASAP. It won’t be perfect right away, but it’s better to get started sooner than later. All of your essays will touch on this message in some way. As my friend said, “It’s like the admissions committees are casting a play. You have to decide which roles you can audition for.”

2) Commit to making no excuses and giving it everything you have. I don’t want to make this sound like Rocky, but you’re going to have a million chances to give less than 100% or make excuses to rationalize failure. You simply have to stick your neck out and commit to this process until the fat lady sings or you’ll get eaten alive. It’s not easy, it goes on for a long time, and it’s very competitive, but the rewards are great and the satisfaction of getting into a great MBA program will make it all worth it!

Visits and Meetings:

I attended the World MBA Tour over the summer and found it to be very informative. It was my fist opportunity to meet admissions committee members and current students face to face. I didn’t make any relationships, but looking back on it, I definitely should have. I say that because I attended an info session at one of the schools I applied to and met an admissions consultant. We exchanged cards, I followed-up with an email, and we stayed in touch all the way through the process. Creating that business relationship helped my application and helped my chances. It really does matter. Getting to know the people who will read your applications is the easiest way to stand out from the thousands of applicants they will judge.

You’ll also hear some good info at these tours/info sessions, provided that you’re there to listen. I remember passing by the Tuck table at the World MBA Tour and listening to one of their adcom members. He was describing what makes a successful essay. He suggested using the STAR tactic, or Situation Task Action Result. In other words, when writing about accomplishments, describe the macro situation, talk about your specific role in helping the process, talk about what you did and show how it helped. Pretty basic stuff, but it was great to hear how they wanted the short essays arranged, and I applied that focused approach to all of the essays I wrote (even though I didn’t apply to Tuck).

You should also visit all of the schools you want to apply to, ideally at least a month before you start writing your essays. Take notes during any info sessions, write down people’s names (including those of professors whose classes you visit), jot down your general impressions, etc. All of these notes will make your essays more personal, and admissions committees want to see that you’ve researched THEIR program, not just a generic MBA.

GMAT:

If you haven’t already, start studying for the GMAT. Even if you’re only ½ sure that you’ll apply to bschool, start studying. It’s not a fun exam and it tests how willing you are to learn its style, so get on it. That said, everyone is capable of achieving a good score if they’re willing to work hard enough. For some it will come easier than for others, but it’s a challenge and you simply have to overcome it to get the ball rolling.

I didn’t start studying until August, and I took the test in November. I wish I’d had a few more months to study, but the R2 deadlines were approaching and I left myself just enough time to take the test once. Luckily, I got the score I needed on the first shot, but don’t put yourself in that position if you can avoid it.

If you’re not good at math and aren’t satisfied with your progress, find a class or a tutor. You can find plenty of test taking courses like Kaplan or Princeton Review, or you can find a private tutor. Check out Craigslist if you want to find an affordable tutor in your home town. The same goes for English and Reading Comprehension.

My favorite GMAT resources:

Official Guide to the GMAT, Volume 10 -- This book had the best, most realistic questions. The math sections at the end of the book were very tough and representative of the math you’ll face on the test.

Test Magic -- A great forum for questions, strategy, and test-taking community.

Recommendations:

Talk to your recommenders-to-be as early as possible and communicate your positioning statement to them. Obviously, they’re going to write the recommendations in their own words, but it can’t hurt to let them know which aspects of your character and accomplishments you want to highlight. They might not take your words into consideration when they write your recs, but if you never communicate you can be sure that your message won’t be heard.

I really thought that recs didn’t help all that much. I assumed that everyone had great recs and, therefore, unless you got a bad recommendation it really wasn’t a difference maker. Just recently I spoke to a former adcom member at a top-20 MBA program. They mentioned that the GMAT and the recommendations were their top two criteria! I was amazed! They said that if Bill Gates wrote a recommendation, they took it into consideration and gave the application more weight, no matter what. So, if you’re two degrees of separation or less from any famous business people or leaders, find a way to meet them face to face and try to impress them with great questions! Who knows, maybe they’ll be willing to write you recommendation if you ask.

…more to come in the next episode.

You See Elle Eh!

2005-05-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

I just got the “UCLA Anderson Congratulatory Letter” delivered to my inbox! Wow, how sweet it is!

I dropped my application into cyberspace on January 5th, and after four agonizing months, my first choice came to fruition. Well, truth be told, Harvard was also my first choice, but more like choice 1a because I knew that getting in would be like being struck by lightening and bit by a shark on the same day. And, I’m saving those odds for a massive lottery jackpot.

The last month and a half was particularly challenging, given that I was twisting in the wind on the wait-list flagpole. Last spring, when I officially decided to apply to business school, UCLA was my obvious first choice. Then I looked at the admitted students profile and prestigious rankings and thought, “well, maybe I need a backup plan.” So, I decided that USC would also make a great destination, and then I looked at the admitted students profile and prestigious rankings and thought, “well, maybe I need a backup plan.” If nothing else, the lofty GMAT, GPA, and Work Experience hurdles made me study harder, work more efficiently, and refine my positioning statement.

But through it all, I felt like Anderson was meant to be. Every time I walk out my front door and look across the street I see a bus stop for a line that runs from my neighborhood to UCLA. Literally. Door to door, y’all. Try wallowing in wait-list purgatory and seeing that friendly little reminder every morning. Good times.

I’m excited to post the obligatory, self-congratulatory, Shakespearian “how I did it” missive(s) in the coming days. I’ll probably break it down into three parts: I) Pre-Application and the GMAT, or “Self-Doubt” II) Applying and Waiting, or “Neurosis” III) Post-Acceptance, or “Debauchery.”

That’s it for now. Back soon, and to all of those on a wait-list somewhere, keep the faith.

Boom Goes the Dynamite!

2005-05-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! This guy needs a career change!

Click for Video

3 Things I Won't Do in Business School

2005-05-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

1. Wear blue button-down shirts. I like the way they look, and blue is one of my favorite colors, but they’re like slightly off-kilter Von Dutch hats in LA circa 2003, i.e., ubiquitous and played. I always feel like I’m headed to a Young Republicans meeting when I’m wearing one. I’m convinced that too much time in a blue shirt makes you clap on 1 & 3 when listening to music and drink white zinfandel.

2. Use stupid words like “synergy” or “mission-critical.” Buzz words, in my opinion, are little band-aids used to cover up people’s insecurities. Basically, when somebody isn’t quite sure that they know what their talking about, they reach into the buzz word bag and pull one out to make themself feel smarter. Remember how in that Communications class you took in college you had to memorize a bunch of definitions that were fancy, made-up words used to describe everyday ordinary events that happen when people, you know, talk to each other? Same thing.

Did I miss something in morning meeting, or are we suddenly on our way to the moon? No? Then don’t say “mission-critical” as plain old “important” will suffice.

Check this out for a buzz word laugh

3. Ever stop thinking that these posters are funny. Do yourself a favor and browse the entire collection.

Still Waiting

2005-04-27T21:56:00.000-07:00

UCLA sent me an email the other day asking me to re-confirm my interest in staying on the wait-list. The tone of the email made it sound like they’d much prefer it if I were to bail out now and make their lives easier, but they don’t know what they’ve gotten themselves into. In fact, I’ll be there until the bitter end, if only to feel like I gave it my best shot.

I’m attending USC’s admit weekend, which should be cool. I’m excited to meet some of my potential classmates. I just got back from a USC happy hour with some admitted students. It’s fun to see who’s going where and why. Plus, I’m always down for an excuse to drink a few beers.

Since my last post I met with a real estate investment bank about a potential internship next summer and came away with some good information and a promising lead. We’ll see what happens over the course of the next year, but if nothing else it could be a great opportunity to follow up on in nine months.

That said, my friend heard a great phrase the other day regarding the real estate market – “dot condo.” As a dot com refuge, I definitely don’t want to go down that road again. Yuck. I saw the rise and fall of San Francisco in the dot com heyday and crash. It went from a beautiful bohemian city with soul to a bastion of yuppie hell to a burnt-out husk that was neither nor. The best T-shirt I ever saw hung in the window of a SF clothing shop back in 2000. It read, “GetTheF!*kOutOfMyCity.com.”

But, RE is quite a bit different, given that it’s “real.” While companies like Enron flat-out disappear, buildings don’t. But, it does merit a pause for consideration. I think the coolest thing about going to Bschool is that I’m going to meet so many people who’ve done unique, interesting things. Who knows, maybe I’ll change my mind about my ultimate career once I start school.

That's about it. I'm going to New York for a quick trip next weekend for a friend's wedding and to hang out in the city. I'm stoked. NYC is the center of the known universe and always a great time. Maybe I'll take some pictures and post them when I return.

PS – I shook up the “Music I’m Listening To” section.

The Other Side of Rejection

2005-04-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

I just sent UC Irvine an email turning down their offer of admission. I waited as long as possible before sending it off, but I knew that I had to do it sooner than later in order to let some tortured soul off the wait-list. (UCLA Anderson admits, re-read that last sentence a few times). :>)

When I started getting my Bschool and GMAT plans together last summer I never thought I’d be turning schools down. Of course, I knew it was theoretically possible, but I was so wrapped up the application anxiety that I just wanted to think about receiving one offer and not getting greedy. Well, all of my peers in the same position now know that it’s better to be buying than selling. The MBA application process is truly a psychological journey. You go from total subservience and wanton-desire, to a frenzy of work and panic, to sitting on your throne and choosing who shall receive the pleasure of your presence. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I think you get the point.

From my limited experience, the admissions committee and student ambassadors at UCI are the coolest, nicest folks in the MBA game. Their genuine interest in each applicant is really special, and entirely unique. If you’re thinking of applying, do it. Not to mention the fact that they just pulled down $30MM and renamed their bschool after donor Paul Merage. Imagine having enough dough to give away $30MM!!! That would be sick! Someday, my ambitious friends, someday.

I decided to pass on their offer because of my acceptance at USC and possible acceptance to UCLA. Ultimately, both schools will allow me to attend Bschool without moving, and they offer stronger programs in my desired concentration.

On a darker note, my fantasy basketball team crumbled just in time for the playoffs. I lost Tim Duncan, Brad Miller, Richard Jefferson, Kenyon Martin, and Al Harrington during or well before the playoffs. That’s a friggin’ dream team lost to injuries. Now I’m fighting for 3^rd place and against the indignity of sending out a check to the winners.

I just read that Hank Greenberg, the ex-CEO of AIG (read: Spitzer’s pin-cushion), gifted $2.2 billion in AIG stock to his wife before heading for the regulatory hills with the SEC nipping at his heels. That’s 2,200 million, folks. Glad to see that unconscionable, massive-scale corporate fraud is alive and well. Mr. and Mrs. Greenberg will surely join the likes of Fastow, Skilling, Lay, Ebbers, and Rigas in the innermost circle of hell, where they will toil in the coal mines and save their pennies for 40 years, only to have it stolen by some pasty, pudgy little worm. Remember Mrs. Lay crying on national TV a couple of years ago when the whole Enron thing went down? That was special. She must have had some bad caviar that afternoon.

So, to conclude this rambling mess: baseball is back, and all is right with the world! I can’t wait to take in a few day games this summer.

HBS Says "Um, no."

2005-03-31T21:00:00.000-08:00

I checked my email yesterday while flying out of town on business and saw that the official HBS rejection was waiting for me. Oh well, I expected it. The outcome was clear a few weeks ago when I still hadn’t heard about an interview. I had quite a bit going for me at Harvard: my brother went to HBS and wrote a letter to the Dean on my behalf, a high-level executive in the MBA program’s administration read my essays and recommended me to the admissions committee, and the CEO of a company I used to work for (and an HBS MBA) wrote the Dean to recommend me. So, with all of that supplementary information influencing their decision it’s abundantly clear that the HBS Adcom thinks I’m only fit to be a bus driver, pimp, or Assistant Manager at IHOP. I hear that bus drivers get good benefits, and pimpin’ ain’t easy, so I’m leaning towards mass transit.

That’s it. No more schools to hear from, except for UCLA’s waitlist decision. It feels sort of strange to know, but not know at the same time, and this journey has now been whittled down to a choice between USC and a big fat “maybe” at UCLA.

To re-cap for those who missed the last episode, I was accepted at USC and UC Irvine, wait-listed at UCLA, and rejected at Cal and Harvard. I’m stoked to choose between USC and UCLA (assuming they give me the opportunity to do so). UCLA has been my first choice since day one and still is, but USC has a terrific Real Estate program and that’s where I want to end up, so if it’s USC I’ll be in a great position to succeed.

I wasn’t upset to get rejected by Cal and Harvard. I think that Cal’s bschool is a lot like its football team: over-rated and unable to live up to the hype. Why do I say this? Because I can. And Harvard? Come on, who wants to leave California to freeze in Boston, surrounded by hockey haircuts and NYC-envy? Although, the right to speak in the third person would have been pretty awesome. “JDiddy’s in the Ivy League, sucka.” Yeah, that would have been cool. (Rant over. Both schools are great and I applied to get accepted because I would have been happy to attend. There is no factual evidence to support either of the nonsensical claims made above. And come on, who am I fooling – if Harvard says yes, you don’t say no. You just bared witness my catharsis. Back to the regularly scheduled self-indulgent witticisms).

The Final Four Is Set!

2005-03-27T21:04:00.000-08:00

The best time of the year keeps getting better. March Madness, Baby!

After a couple of thrilling games it comes down to UNC Vs. Michigan State and Illinois Vs. Louisville. Both will be great match-ups. My pool is completely shot. I had UNC, Syracuse, Oklahoma State, and Georgia Tech making up the fearsome foursome, with UNC taking out Ok. St. in the finals. Not to be. The only good call I made was West Virginia getting to the Elite Eight (and they were sssssoooooo close to beating Louisville, if not for a late collapse). And speaking of collapses, how about Arizona! Yikes! This will mark the first time in 4 years that I don’t finish in the money. This too shall pass.

I’m hoping for a UNC Vs. Illinois final. The game would be an awesome display of offensive firepower, and I think the final score would be something like 86-81. At this point I’m 50/50 on who I want to win the big dance, but I think I’ll root for Illinois if they get there. Both teams, however, will have a war on their hands to get to the finals. I think UNC will have a tougher match-up. Tom Izzo will have his boys ready to take care of business, and if UNC lets Mich. St. dictate the pace of the game it will be over before it starts. I think that Illinois can run Louisville out of the gym, unless Pitino’s nasty press can slow down the Illini. But, I just don’t see that happening because everyone on IL can handle the ball.

I was in Vegas once for March Madness. If you’re a college hoops fan, that’s an experience you must take advantage of at least once.

On the Bschool tip, there’s not much to do but wait. I’m strategizing on the “what ifs,” but that’s about it.

Hurry Up and Waitlist

2005-03-24T22:28:00.000-08:00

I got the waitlist email from UCLA Anderson today. By my calculations it’s 67% positive. It’s good to still be in the running, but the perpetual state of purgatory is agonizing. However, knowing that USC is a great option is very comforting.

In a related story, Haas said “thanks, but no thanks” last Friday. I expected it, given that I wasn’t invited to Super Saturday. Honestly speaking, I don’t know if I would have gone even if they had accepted me. I’ve never been fond of Berkeley, even though having an excuse to move back to the Bay would have been cool. That’s not a knock against the school, by any means. It’s one of the best in the world, without a doubt. Anyway, it’s a moot point.

So, at this point it’s about waiting out the waitlist. If you are weighing your Anderson acceptance Vs. another school, I recommend the other school. :>)

Want a Free Gmail Account?

2005-03-15T14:57:00.000-08:00

I switched over to Google's Gmail a few months ago. I find it to be the best web-mail/free-mail service out there. My favorite feature is the free POP access, which allows you to download your mail into a client like Outlook or Eudora. It's still in beta and the only way to sign-up for an account is through an invitation from an existing user.

If you want an invitation click the "Email Me" link in the sidebar to the right (just below "About") and send me a quick note, and I'll be happy to send you an invite. I have a limited number of invites, so first come, first served.

Not So Super Saturday

2005-03-13T20:26:00.000-08:00

So, Super Saturday has come and gone at Haas and I wasn’t invited. So it goes. Their decisions are released on the 18^th, and at this point I have to assume that they’ll say “thanks, but no thanks.” There is, however, the possibility of waitlist purgatory, which is still preferable to an outright rejection. After Haas’s decision date on 3/18 come UCLA’s on 3/25 and Harvard’s on 3/30. It’s amazing that this hurry-up-and-wait experience might be over in two weeks. It’s been such a massive part of my life for the past several months, but I’ll be very happy to finally know the outcome (and hopefully have a nice dilemma or two).

This past week was something else. On Friday my DSL decided to roll over and play dead. Of course, I had 20 MBs of information to email to a client by the end of the day. Damn you, Murphy’s Law. My DSL provider (which rhymes with “horizon,” as in, “terrible service, dropped connections, and buck-passing are on the horizon”) had been dodging my tech support calls for weeks while my service became progressively more sporadic. Finally, I called to cancel and switch to a cable modem. As soon as the “cancellation department” got on the line things started happening. They had a tech at my house two hours later (a total miracle, given their normal “sit around your house all day and we’ll get there when we feel like it” approach), and they gave me several months of free service. And now it works! I’m happy that it works, but jeez, just handle your business before you drive your customers away for life.

This coming week will see me fly out of town for a short tour. My band’s headlining a 1,000 person room next weekend, which is going to be great!

Motivation?

2005-03-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

Rumor has it that this is a picture of a giant inflatable balloon outside of a Japanese office building. I think they put the balloon there to cheer up their employees, but didn’t quite nail the English translation. Or perhaps they’re just honest.

The Freshest Kicks of All Time

2005-03-04T10:50:00.000-08:00

To Peek or Not to Peek, That Was the Question

2005-03-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

I was online a couple of nights ago when I came across a post on the BW forums that contained instructions to view Harvard’s R2 adcom decisions. Coincidentally, I was also logged in to Harvard’s application in another window to see if any status updates had been noted (I know that they never update the information on the applicant log-in page, but it’s like mint chip ice cream – resistance is futile). As a R2 applicant I briefly considered checking my stats, but thought better of it for the following reasons:

1) I knew that it was a definite gray area and that the good folks at Harvard would not appreciate any nosy behavior. It just didn’t seem like the right thing to do.

2) I figured that there was absolutely no upside in discovering my decision. If it said some version of “dinged” I would just be more anxious than I am now until March 30^th. If it said “you won the lottery” I wouldn’t believe it until I got the official word on decision day – which would make me more anxious than I am now. So, bad + bad = worse

Luckily, I closed the windows and went to sleep. When I woke up yesterday the brouhaha had started. The admissions committee sent out an email yesterday afternoon that expressed their dismay. The BW boards were buzzing with comments from concerned applicants. Yikes!

On a lighter note, I received an email from a USC student a couple of days ago. I asked if he could put me in touch with a classmate who was concentrating on real estate, and he connected me with the head of their student R.E. club. I’m going to meet some of the USC R.E. students tomorrow night at a networking event. I think it will be a great way to get an honest, informal assessment of the program, and to see what Marshall students and alums are like. I’m looking forward to it.

I came across this article on lifehacker.com. It’s about “interviewing the interviewer.” There are some good tips here for business school and job interviews. Scroll down a bit (after chuckling once you see the picture).

Interviewing the Interviewer

Always Remember...

2005-02-22T10:24:00.000-08:00

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

- Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919)

PowerToys for XP

2005-02-18T15:04:00.000-08:00

I came across these cool add-ons for Windows XP. They’re advanced features for so-called “power users.” Of particular interest is the Power Calculator, which will come in very handy for any Bschool student. It replaces the basic 3^rd-grader Windows calculator with a graphing/scientific calculator that remembers your work. It’s like having a Texas Instruments Ti calculator on your desktop. Now you have a reason to look forward to all of that probability and statistics homework! Okay, maybe not.

Power Toys

Ever Heard of “The National Dean’s List?”

2005-02-17T19:30:00.000-08:00

I got an invitation in the mail yesterday to join “The National Dean’s List.” Does anyone know what this is? Is there any reason to join, even if it’s free? I looked it up online and it seems like a legitimate organization, but I’ve never heard of it. At first glance I thought it was some sort of scam or B.S. honor’s society. The return address, however, is not in Nigeria, so the scam possibilities are automatically cut in half.

Why they’re sending this to me now, years after I graduated from undergrad, is a bit of a mystery. I believe it’s because my undergrad institution (which shall remain nameless to protect their registrar’s office’s “diligence”) screwed up my degree when I graduated. I graduated with honors, but they never made the distinction on my degree or transcript. I only realized the mistake when, on a whim, I ordered a copy of my transcript to glance at before ordering copies for my Bschool apps. Of course, it necessitated a mad scramble to get the proper distinction made on the official docs. Fun, fun, fun, but it all worked out in the end.

So I Hear the Invites Are Out/To Negotiate?

2005-02-16T18:57:00.000-08:00

While reading the BW forums I noticed that R2 invites for Harvard and Cal have started to trickle out, and that UCLA has starting admitting some R2 candidates. These are always the worst of times. I haven’t received any invites or heard from UCLA, so naturally the disquiet starts to kick in. I went through the same thing with USC. I ultimately received an invite and admittance, so I just need to remember that dates mean nothing at this point. But still, it’s easier said than done. Anyone out there have any methods to ease their worried mind? Besides drinking at 11 AM and anything involving chicken feathers or goat’s blood, that is.

I expect to have the following dilemma at a few schools (I hope): School A offers me a fellowship, and school B doesn’t. School B is my first choice. Do I ask school B if they’ll award me a fellowship based upon school A’s offer? It’s a tough choice. On the one hand, I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth and I don’t want to come across as greedy. On the other, I always negotiate for everything, and this IS business school, after all. I mean, they have classes for negotiating built into their curriculum. I’m not sure if school B would think I’m crazy for asking. Your thoughts?

Taxes On Ice

2005-02-14T15:41:00.000-08:00

I started ramping-up to do my taxes this weekend. It's always such a pain, but particularly annoying when you work for yourself and have 10-times as much to do at tax time. At least the FAFSA deadline makes it somewhat rewarding this year, so I'll get going and crank them out this week. I saw a special on outsourcing a few months ago that showed all of these cube-farms in India where U.S. tax preparation firms would send their clients’ data. People would drop off their receipts, W-2s, etc. at the local branch, and all of that info was scanned and sent over the net. The outsourced labor would do all of the crunching, fill out the IRS forms and send them back over the net, and the U.S. branch would just print out the forms and hand them to the client. The people who paid for the tax preparation service never had a clue. Kind of cool, scary, amazing, and to-be-expected, all at the same time.

Remember all of the talk about outsourcing during the Presidential campaign? Boy, that sure fell off the radar quickly. I love how that happens. In November, everyone pitches a fit over issues that they won’t even remember come February. Thanks to sound bites and headlines, we now have the collective attention span of a gnat.

I heard today that the NHL season is officially cancelled. Yes! A sincere “sorry” to all of the hockey fans out there, but I just don’t like the sport. I didn’t grow up in hockey country, and to me it’s soccer-on-ice. It just gets in the way of the NBA, IMO. I think it’s safe to say that both sides of the NHL labor issue overestimated the value of their brand. Their arrogance is going to bite them in the rear. Most people couldn’t care less that hockey has been non-existent this year. The sport’s going to have a long uphill climb to regain its fan-base and credibility. It took baseball a long time to do just that, and baseball is the national pastime. Hockey is a sport that struggles for airtime on time-slots not locked down by the NFL and NBA. It’s kind of like Tito sitting out a few Jackson 5 concerts, hoping to convince his brothers to let him sing lead. Most would just say, “Tito was actually IN the Jackson 5? Wow, who knew?!?!” Re-print the shirts to read “Jackson 4” and kick Tito to the curb. Greed is not always good, Mr. Gecko.

Conan O'Brien's Commencement Speech, Harvard Class of 2000

2005-02-05T18:08:00.000-08:00

Here's a transcript of the funniest commencement speech of all time. Not HBS, but close enough to be apropos to the B-school crowd. It's long, but stick with it: you'll be glad you did.

I'd like to thank the Class Marshals for inviting me here today. The last time I was invited to Harvard it cost me $110,000, so you'll forgive me if I'm a bit suspicious. I'd like to announce up front that I have one goal this afternoon: to be half as funny as tomorrow's Commencement Speaker, Moral Philosopher and Economist, Amartya Sen. Must get more laughs than seminal wage/price theoretician.

Students of the Harvard Class of 2000, fifteen years ago I sat where you sit now and I thought exactly what you are now thinking: What's going to happen to me? Will I find my place in the world? Am I really graduating a virgin? I still have 24 hours and my roommate's Mom is hot. I swear she was checking me out. Being here today is very special for me. I miss this place. I especially miss Harvard Square - it's so unique. No where else in the world will you find a man with a turban wearing a Red Sox jacket and working in a lesbian bookstore. Hey, I'm just glad my dad's working.

It's particularly sweet for me to be here today because when I graduated, I wanted very badly to be a Class Day Speaker. Unfortunately, my speech was rejected. So, if you'll indulge me, I'd like to read a portion of that speech from fifteen years ago: "Fellow students, as we sit here today listening to that classic Ah-ha tune which will definitely stand the test of time, I would like to make several predictions about what the future will hold: "I believe that one day a simple Governor from a small Southern state will rise to the highest office in the land. He will lack political skill, but will lead on the sheer strength of his moral authority." "I believe that Justice will prevail and, one day, the Berlin Wall will crumble, uniting East and West Berlin forever under Communist rule." "I believe that one day, a high speed network of interconnected computers will spring up world-wide, so enriching people that they will lose their interest in idle chit chat and pornography." "And finally, I believe that one day I will have a television show on a major network, seen by millions of people a night, which I will use to re-enact crimes and help catch at-large criminals." And then there's some stuff about the death of Wall Street which I don't think we need to get into....

The point is that, although you see me as a celebrity, a member of the cultural elite, a kind of demigod, I was actually a student here once much like you. I came here in the fall of 1981 and lived in Holworthy. I was, without exaggeration, the ugliest picture in the Freshman Face book. When Harvard asked me for a picture the previous summer, I thought it was just for their records, so I literally jogged in the August heat to a passport photo office and sat for a morgue photo. To make matters worse, when the Face Book came out they put my picture next to Catherine Oxenberg, a stunning blonde actress who was accepted to the class of '85 but decided to defer admission so she could join the cast of "Dynasty." My photo would have looked bad on any page, but next to Catherine Oxenberg, I looked like a mackerel that had been in a car accident. You see, in those days I was six feet four inches tall and I weighed 150 pounds. Recently, I had some structural engineers run those numbers into a computer model and, according to the computer, I collapsed in 1987, killing hundreds in Taiwan.

After freshman year I moved to Mather House. Mather House, incidentally, was designed by the same firm that built Hitler's bunker. In fact, if Hitler had conducted the war from Mather House, he'd have shot himself a year earlier. 1985 seems like a long time ago now. When I had my Class Day, you students would have been seven years old. Seven years old. Do you know what that means? Back then I could have beaten any of you in a fight. And I mean bad. It would be no contest. If any one here has a time machine, seriously, let's get it on, I will whip your seven year old butt. When I was here, they sold diapers at the Coop that said "Harvard Class of 2000." At the time, it was kind of a joke, but now I realize you wore those diapers. How embarrassing for you. A lot has happened in fifteen years. When you think about it, we come from completely different worlds. When I graduated, we watched movies starring Tom Cruise and listened to music by Madonna. I come from a time when we huddled around our TV sets and watched "The Cosby Show" on NBC, never imagining that there would one day be a show called "Cosby" on CBS. In 1985 we drove cars with driver's side airbags, but if you told us that one day there'd be passenger side airbags, we'd have burned you for witchcraft.

But of course, I think there is some common ground between us. I remember well the great uncertainty of this day. Many of you are justifiably nervous about leaving the safe, comfortable world of Harvard Yard and hurling yourself headlong into the cold, harsh world of Harvard Grad School, a plum job at your father's firm, or a year abroad with a gold Amex card and then a plum job in your father's firm. But let me assure you that the knowledge you've gained here at Harvard is a precious gift that will never leave you. Take it from me, your education is yours to keep forever. Why, many of you have read the Merchant of Florence, and that will inspire you when you travel to the island of Spain. Your knowledge of that problem they had with those people in Russia, or that guy in South America-you know, that guy-will enrich you for the rest of your life.

There is also sadness today, a feeling of loss that you're leaving Harvard forever. Well, let me assure you that you never really leave Harvard. The Harvard Fundraising Committee will be on your ass until the day you die. Right now, a member of the Alumni Association is at the Mt. Auburn Cemetery shaking down the corpse of Henry Adams. They heard he had a brass toe ring and they aims to get it. Imagine: These people just raised 2.5 billion dollars and they only got through the B's in the alumni directory. Here's how it works. Your phone rings, usually after a big meal when you're tired and most vulnerable. A voice asks you for money. Knowing they just raised 2.5 billion dollars you ask, "What do you need it for?" Then there's a long pause and the voice on the other end of the line says, "We don't need it, we just want it." It's chilling.

What else can you expect? Let me see, by your applause, who here wrote a thesis. (APPLAUSE) A lot of hard work, a lot of your blood went into that thesis... and no one is ever going to care. I wrote a thesis: Literary Progeria in the works of Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner. Let's just say that, during my discussions with Pauly Shore, it doesn't come up much. For three years after graduation I kept my thesis in the glove compartment of my car so I could show it to a policeman in case I was pulled over. (ACT OUT) License, registration, cultural exploration of the Man Child in the Sound and the Fury...

So what can you expect out there in the real world? Let me tell you. As you leave these gates and re-enter society, one thing is certain: Everyone out there is going to hate you. Never tell anyone in a roadside diner that you went to Harvard. In most situations the correct response to where did you to school is, "School? Why, I never had much in the way of book larnin' and such." Then, get in your BMW and get the hell out of there.

You see, you're in for a lifetime of "And you went to Harvard?" Accidentally give the wrong amount of change in a transaction and it's, "And you went to Harvard?" Ask the guy at the hardware store how these jumper cables work and hear, "And you went to Harvard?" Forget just once that your underwear goes inside your pants and it's "and you went to Harvard." Get your head stuck in your niece's dollhouse because you wanted to see what it was like to be a giant and it's "Uncle Conan, you went to Harvard!?"

But to really know what's in store for you after Harvard, I have to tell you what happened to me after graduation. I'm going to tell you my story because, first of all, my perspective may give many of you hope, and, secondly, it's an amazing rush to stand in front of six thousand people and talk about yourself.

After graduating in May, I moved to Los Angeles and got a three week contract at a small cable show. I got a $380 a month apartment and bought a 1977 Isuzu Opel, a car Isuzu only manufactured for a year because they found out that, technically, it's not a car. Here's a quick tip, graduates: no four cylinder vehicle should have a racing stripe. I worked at that show for over a year, feeling pretty good about myself, when one day they told me they were letting me go. I was fired and, I hadn't saved a lot of money. I tried to get another job in television but I couldn't find one.

So, with nowhere else to turn, I went to a temp agency and filled out a questionnaire. I made damn sure they knew I had been to Harvard and that I expected the very best treatment. And so, the next day, I was sent to the Santa Monica branch of Wilson's House of Suede and Leather. When you have a Harvard degree and you're working at Wilson's House of Suede and Leather, you are haunted by the ghostly images of your classmates who chose Graduate School. You see their faces everywhere: in coffee cups, in fish tanks, and they're always laughing at you as you stack suede shirts no man, in good conscience, would ever wear. I tried a lot of things during this period: acting in corporate infomercials, serving drinks in a non-equity theatre, I even took a job entertaining at a seven year olds' birthday party. In desperate need of work, I put together some sketches and scored a job at the fledgling Fox Network as a writer and performer for a new show called "The Wilton North Report." I was finally on a network and really excited. The producer told me the show was going to revolutionize television. And, in a way, it did. The show was so hated and did so badly that when, four weeks later, news of its cancellation was announced to the Fox affiliates, they burst into applause.

Eventually, though, I got a huge break. I had submitted, along with my writing partner, a batch of sketches to Saturday Night Live and, after a year and a half, they read it and gave us a two week tryout. The two weeks turned into two seasons and I felt successful. Successful enough to write a TV pilot for an original sitcom and, when the network decided to make it, I left Saturday Night Live. This TV show was going to be groundbreaking. It was going to resurrect the career of TV's Batman, Adam West. It was going to be a comedy without a laugh track or a studio audience. It was going to change all the rules. And here's what happened: When the pilot aired it was the second lowest-rated television show of all time. It's tied with a test pattern they show in Nova Scotia.

So, I was 28 and, once again, I had no job. I had good writing credits in New York, but I was filled with disappointment and didn't know what to do next. I started smelling suede on my fingertips. And that's when The Simpsons saved me. I got a job there and started writing episodes about Springfield getting a Monorail and Homer going to College. I was finally putting my Harvard education to good use, writing dialogue for a man who's so stupid that in one episode he forgot to make his own heart beat. Life was good.

And then, an insane, inexplicable opportunity came my way . A chance to audition for host of the new Late Night Show. I took the opportunity seriously but, at the same time, I had the relaxed confidence of someone who knew he had no real shot. I couldn't fear losing a great job I had never had. And, I think that attitude made the difference. I'll never forget being in the Simpson's recording basement that morning when the phone rang. It was for me. My car was blocking a fire lane. But a week later I got another call: I got the job.

So, this was undeniably the it: the truly life-altering break I had always dreamed of. And, I went to work. I gathered all my funny friends and poured all my years of comedy experience into building that show over the summer, gathering the talent and figuring out the sensibility. We debuted on September 13, 1993 and I was happy with our effort. I felt like I had seized the moment and put my very best foot forward. And this is what the most respected and widely read television critic, Tom Shales, wrote in the Washington Post: "O'Brien is a living collage of annoying nervous habits. He giggles and titters, jiggles about and fiddles with his cuffs. He had dark, beady little eyes like a rabbit. He's one of the whitest white men ever. O'Brien is a switch on the guest who won't leave: he's the host who should never have come. Let the Late show with Conan O'Brien become the late, Late Show and may the host return to Conan O'Blivion whence he came." There's more but it gets kind of mean.

Needless to say, I took a lot of criticism, some of it deserved, some of it excessive. And it hurt like you wouldn't believe. But I'm telling you all this for a reason. I've had a lot of success and I've had a lot of failure. I've looked good and I've looked bad. I've been praised and I've been criticized. But my mistakes have been necessary. Except for Wilson's House of Suede and Leather. That was just stupid.

I've dwelled on my failures today because, as graduates of Harvard, your biggest liability is your need to succeed. Your need to always find yourself on the sweet side of the bell curve. Because success is a lot like a bright, white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you get it, but then you're desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it in any way.

I left the cocoon of Harvard, I left the cocoon of Saturday Night Live, I left the cocoon of The Simpsons. And each time it was bruising and tumultuous. And yet, every failure was freeing, and today I'm as nostalgic for the bad as I am for the good.

So, that's what I wish for all of you: the bad as well as the good. Fall down, make a mess, break something occasionally. And remember that the story is never over. If it's all right, I'd like to read a little something from just this year: "Somehow, Conan O'Brien has transformed himself into the brightest star in the Late Night firmament. His comedy is the gold standard and Conan himself is not only the quickest and most inventive wit of his generation, but quite possible the greatest host ever."

Ladies and Gentlemen, Class of 2000, I wrote that this morning, as proof that, when all else fails, there's always delusion.

I'll go now, to make bigger mistakes and to embarrass this fine institution even more. But let me leave you with one last thought: If you can laugh at yourself loud and hard every time you fall, people will think you're drunk.

Thank you.

Firefox Rocks!

2005-02-04T10:22:00.000-08:00

I've been using Mozilla's Firefox web browser for a couple of months now, and I love it. It's so far superior to IE. You can customize the browser with a bunch of free extensions that add cool functionality to the browser. For instance, from my browser I can control iTunes, look at a week of up to the minute weather forecasts from weather.com in my toolbar, check my broadband speed, and read incoming streams of news with a RSS reader...all from free, light extensions that don't distract me from the main window. And, the tabbed browsing is the only way to go.

My newest, and current favorite extension is BugMeNot. Once installed it allows you to fill-in registration forms on web sites with anonymous info, all with a simple right-click. Say you want to read the New York Times online or look at the Business Week Top 30 MBA rankings without giving up your email address and watching your spam folder fill-up. Just right click and the registration form will be filled in with some random info that gets your past the gate-keeper. As Napoleon Dynamite would say, “Yeeesssssssss!”

Check it out here: Firefox

USC!

2005-02-01T10:54:00.000-08:00

I just got the "congratulations" call from the USC Marshall School of Business! I'm really excited. I knew that decisions were going to be released today, but I didn't want to get my hopes up because I heard they'd be rolling out their "welcome to USC" calls over the first two weeks of February. Phew, now the waiting game is over! I'm glad to have started the season two-for-two. Thanks for all of the well-wishes and support, fellow bloggers. It feels great to have this one under my belt because the next decision deadlines for the schools I applied to are at the end of March, and that is a looooooooong way away.

My band played the Viper Room on Sunday at 11 PM and rocked the joint. It was a great gig. Does anyone have a job in LA? I ask because every time I have a late gig on a school night the place is packed. The Viper Room was as crowded at 11 on a Sunday as it would have been on a Saturday.

I'm off to the mountains this weekend for some snowboarding. We haven't had a storm in the past few weeks, so there won't be any powder, but it will still be nice to get on the hill. Hopefully we'll get a rogue storm on Friday to dump 2 feet. I'm so glad that they've consistently pushed back the start of the Super Bowl over the years so that now I can board in the morning and still make it back for the afternoon kick-off. I remember missing almost all of the 88/89--Joe Montana is a god--Super Bowl because I was skiing with one of my friends from school. That was quite a sacrifice, given our status as 49er faithful.

The Eagles are 7.5 point dogs this weekend. Hmmmm...

Class Visit and Rooms of Serpents

2005-01-28T11:39:00.000-08:00

I went to UC Irvine this week to sit-in on an Organizational Behavior class and have lunch with a current First Year. Lunch was nice and fairly standard – we talked about the school’s personal touch, the strengths of the program, etc. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I was impressed by the level of the student body in the OB class I sat in on. There were some great questions asked and some smart cookies in the seats. I attended the class with another FY student (not the FY I went to lunch with), and he came from a real estate fund before starting Bschool, which is exactly where I want to end up. It was nice to meet with someone that had been where I want to be – it’s rare to meet Bschool students angling for real estate as it’s something of a niche in MBA-land. All in all, the visit bumped up UCI in my book.

In the meantime I’ve been trying to lay the foundation for a real estate capital investment firm internship while in Bschool. A little early, I know, but it’s maddening to sit and think about the Bschool experience without being able to DO anything about it. Even though the application process was grueling, there was at least a feeling that every day was getting me closer to a better future through blood, sweat, and tears. The moment I submitted that last app, I was forced into a period of unwanted Zen. I think 95% of MBA applicants are “doers” who need to have direct control of their own destiny. I know I am. There was something about studying for the GMAT, ordering transcripts, lining up recommendations, writing essays, and filling out applications that was reassuring. The little baby steps leading up to the ultimate goal were a drag and fulfilling at the same time. Now, there’s little to do but continue life as usual and wait. And, oh yeah, read blogs and the BW forum religiously.

So, I contacted a friend who used to work for a real estate capital investment firm in Boston to inquire about a possible internship if I wind up back east. And, I’ve done the same thing with a friend at a west coast capital partners firm. It’s all preliminary at this point, but I’d love to have something set before I even start. Furthermore, it can help my interview process. There have been a few instances when, during interviews, my interviewer will look at me like a dog who’s been shown a card trick when I speak of my future career plans. (Thanks to Bill Hicks for that line – the greatest comedian of all time. If you don’t know, you better ask somebody. Buy this CD to laugh. It would be great to have some summer-internship-ammo to diffuse any future interviewer doubts.

USC is due to start notifying R1 applicants on Feb. 1, and I sure hope they give me a “yes.” I had a great interview there and really liked the school. I’m hoping to have a terribly difficult decision choosing between five great programs. After all, none of us worked on our applications for our health, right!

In the meantime I have a gig at the Viper Room on Sunset Strip in Hollywood on Sunday night. Playing the Viper Room is always cool because it’s such a scene. It’s not a very big room, even though its reputation would suggest otherwise, but it’s soaked in the Sunset Strip attitude. Every time I play there I’m amazed at how many people cruise by just to take a photo of the marquee and try to figure out where on the sidewalk River Phoenix succumbed to a speedball. All in all, I could do without the Strip in its entirety. It’s a bridge-and-tunnel crowd destination and little else, but these last few months of gigging will be fun since I’ll be winding it down come August.

E-A-G-L-E-S!

Bill Gates: Sexy Beast!

2005-01-24T15:24:00.000-08:00

Rumor has it that these are either from a Tiger Beat photo shoot or a Microsoft publicity photo shoot in 1983.

Note to future CEOs: NEVER, EVER let yourself fall prey to this sort of public humiliation, no matter how good the photographer says you look.

New Sidebars, the NFL, The Village

2005-01-24T12:20:00.000-08:00

Well, I decided that my blog needed a little personalizing. So, I added new sidebar additions after looking at all the cool Bschool blogs out there. If the ads on the right-side really bug anyone, please let me know in the comments. I figured I’d try them out: after all, the 11 cents they generate between now and September might come in handy when I’m on a student’s budget.

I was rooting for the Dirty Birds this weekend, but the A-T-L just couldn’t hang with the Eagles. They were bullied by a bigger, badder team. And the Patriots are just great. Tom Brady is the second coming of Joe Montana, and that’s coming from someone who grew up idolizing Joe Cool. I think it will be a great Super Bowl. Philly’s DBs can hang with NE’s WRs, and Tom Terrific isn’t going to be able to pick apart the secondary the way he did on Sunday. I’m a NFC fan, so I’m pulling for the Eagles. Philadelphia deserves this one.

I saw The Village this weekend on DVD after waiting months for it to come out. I missed it in the theaters, but I love Shyamalan, so I figured it would be great. Boy, was I wrong. What a dog. A blind girl walks through a forest by herself? Give me a break. I think M. Night is a little too in love with himself.

Effect/Affect

2005-01-22T11:14:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about the MBA process the other day, and what it's like before/after graduate school. I think it comes down to the difference between "effect" and "affect." Two words with which an essay auteur is intimately familiar.

From Merriam-Webster:

Effect
Function: transitive verb
1 : to cause to come into being
2 a : to bring about often by surmounting obstacles : ACCOMPLISH b : to put into operation

Affect
1 : to produce an effect upon: as a : to produce a material influence upon or alteration in b : to act upon (as a person or a person's mind or feelings) so as to effect a response

Before earning an MBA most of us will have effected change. We've spent our post-undergrad years "doing" -- we're the men and women on the ground, analyzing, writing, getting our hands dirty, so to speak. Most of us have managed at some level before, but truth be told, we haven't invented policy and direction.

After earning an MBA we will affect change. We'll delegate, for lack of a better word. We'll manage strategy and purpose, and affect the effect. At least, that's the theory. There will likely be some struggle ahead of all of us after graduation, but eventually, we'll get there.

I, for one, have never been so excited about anything in my life. I feel like this is my shot, and I'm going to make something happen.

TV Shows

2005-01-16T21:18:00.000-08:00

There are only a few TV shows that I can sit through on a regular basis, other than Sportscenter or NBA/NFL/MLB games. Those typically include CSI and Law & Order, but they're basically mindless entertainment.

However, there are two shows that transcend the general crapiness of all things TV. The first being BBC's "The Office," which is the funniest, smartest, and most awkward show I've ever watched. It's flat out brilliant. I figured that American TV would never be able to drop something as witty as The Office.

Recently, I started watching "Arrested Development" on Fox. This show is hilarious! If you haven't seen it, check it out. The cast and writing are so funny. My faith in network TV is restored!

USC Interview

2005-01-14T15:04:00.000-08:00

I interviewed this morning at USC, and it was a great experience. My interviewer was extremely nice and made a concerted effort to make the conversation comfortable. We talked for about 45 minutes and she was genuinely engaged in our conversation and interested in my life and goals.

I came away with a great impression of USC/Marshall. I spent about 30 minutes cruising around the campus after my interview. It's a really nice campus, and it helped that it was a beautiful day in LA. It was one of those 10 or so days a year when I can get on the 10 freeway headed east from Santa Monica and see the snow-covered mountains east of LA in detail.

Then I got home and saw that Matt Leinart was staying at USC for his senior season. Irony? I don't know. I sure as heck wouldn't pass up a $20 million signing bonus if I were Leinart, but hey, it's his decision. As a 49er fan it's kind of bittersweet. We have the #1 pick this year and we need a QB...in fact, we need an entire team. Come to think of it though, the cheap dog who owns the niners will probably trade the pick for a handful of 2nd and 3rd rounders anyway.

Invited to Interview With USC :>) RJeff Goes Down :>(

2005-01-12T18:39:00.000-08:00

Yes! I've been thinking about this for a month. I attended an information session back in November with Marshall's Admin Director, and I remember him saying that interviewable R1 candidates would be contacted by the 2nd week of December. Well, that week came and went, as did the next, and the next, and the next...

I was thinking that they wouldn't be in touch, but I got a nice surprise in my email inbox this morning. Now I have to show them that I'm not a complete social retard. I will do my best not to drool or scratch myself. USC would be great for me, and I hope the feeling is mutual.

Richard Jefferson, the super-star-in-the-making Small Forward on the New Jersey Nets, went out for the season yesterday with a wrist injury. RJeff had been killing it this year as a member of The Funkonauts -- my fantasy hoops team. Dang! I was rolling. I'm in first place by 8.5 games and playing my arch-nemesis this week. I was hoping to drop a Funky beat-down on that a** this week, but RJeff's loss will make that impossible. Toughest to replace are his 3s. Not that he drained a ton of them, but he did so as a nice bonus to his pts/bds/%s. Most 3-point guys are total idiot-savants. You get 3s and absolutely nothing else.

Well, all is not lost. Andrei Kirlilenko comes off the IL for me next week (making him the funkiest Russian alive), and Stephen "Sucka Punch" Jackson will rejoin my squad by the end of the month. It's time for my role players to step-up. Morris Peterson just dropped 37 points and 7 treys for me tonight. That's what I'm talking about!

Now I Know This Posting Thing Works...

2005-01-07T18:37:00.000-08:00

I'm still waiting to hear from USC/Marshall regarding an interview invite. I think I'm a good candidate for an interview, but we'll see what they think.

Come on SC, holla at your boy!

The First Post

2005-01-07T18:30:00.000-08:00

Here's my first-ever post, people. Just what the world needs...another self-indulgent blog! Celebrate, go crazy!

I am a candidate for 5 MBA programs: Harvard, UCLA Anderson, UC Berkeley Haas, USC Marshall, and UC Irvine GSM.

So far I've been admitted to Irvine and awarded a fellowship. Nice of them, that was.