Freezing Cold

Music: I Hate This Part- Pussy Cat Dolls
Mood: Cold

Every week feels extremely long, and this is only the 2nd week! I'm glad that I only have one class tomorrow from 2 to 3:30. By Wednesday, I know my week is done, and that's an amazing feeling! I have to suffer through my Mondays and Wednesdays but other than that, I'm golden.

Oh, I also officially got into my Ballroom Dancing class. It's from Tuesday from 6:45 to 9. It's a huge time commitment, and I'm afraid that when group projects start to accumulate, I won't have Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday nights to meet until after 9pm. It's going to be interesting.

Nothing much going on this week in terms of Recruiting. One of the banks called me today and had me chat with the director of their Global Markets-Equities department. It wasn't an official 2nd round interview nor was it a job offer. They said they'd have final decisions by the end of this week, so hopefully that means tomorrow and means it's a job offer. If so, I'm not DESPERATE yet but I'd have to weigh my options. I really like this bank (b/c it's very global and has a large presence in Asia), but I also want to try out my consulting options. My first choice consulting firm already said no, so I still want to try out the other 2.

Ok, I'm off to bed. I hope everyone stays warm! (thought it's only like 32ish outside, which isn't that cold compared to other places.. but still..!)

And totally random: I saw some guy at the gym with a tattoo that looked like my last name.. but it was different by one stroke, so I'm going to ask my mom what it means. Do you know what this means?

Happy Chinese New Year!

Music: Sober- Pink
Mood: Drained

Wow. Today has been a whirlwind of a day. I woke up at 7am because I have an 8am FAP (Financial Analyst Program) class. I have class from 8 to 12:30, gym-ed from 12:30 to 2, ate in the BC office from 2 to 3, then had my Plan II TC 357 (Junior class) on investments and philanthropy with Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. That's normally supposed to last till 6 (YES! a 3 hour class), but we got out at 5. I walked over to the business school, hung out in the BC office for a bit, then went over to the UTC for an infosession with an investment bank at 5:30. That lasted to about 6:30. I then had a group meeting from 6:30 to about 7:15. I promised my friends I'd watch How I Met Your Mother with them at 7:30, so I ran all the way back to my apartment, packed some chicken I planned to bake, and then drove over to their apartment only to find out that it was a re-run (probably because of the super bowl). Now I'm currently baking my chicken in my friend's apartment and they're watching a new episode of 24. It's been an EXTREMELY long day. I've got quite a bit of homework to do and lot's of activities planned for tomorrow.

I'm meeting with the professor I'm working with this semester to discuss my research assistance. Then I have Plan II Physics class from 2 to 3:30, followed by a discussion section from 4 to 5, an HBA meeting from 5 to 6; an investment banking info session from 5:30 to 6:30, then I have ballroom dancing from 6:45 to 9. What a crazy packed day.

In other news, today (or more like yesterday, in China-time) is Chinese New Year! It's now the year of the Ox! Suprisingly, Yahoo decorated their logo but Google didn't. I would have expected Google to decorate it. They did last year. Here's some more information about Chinese New Year, courtesy of yahoo.com: http://events.yahoo.com/chineseny09/ It's the 4,707th year of the lunar calendar this year. I'm a Dragon! What are you?

Anyways, I mention this because I called my grandma last night around 9pm (it was 11am Monday in Hong Kong.) It was great speaking with her, but it made me miss Hong Kong like crazy. She's doing great, and we talked about how I was looking for a summer job and how I really want to go back to visit Hong Kong and then eventually work in Hong Kong. I really miss the chinese food and speaking in Cantonese with some of the locals and with my grandparents. Usually, in China and in Hong Kong, everyone gets the WHOLE week off. It really is a big deal. The exchange students from Hong Kong who are now in Austin really miss HKG now, especially because of Chinese New Year. It's equivalent to my desire to celebrate Thanksgiving in HKG. I invited them to grab dim sum in Austin on Sunday, but they had prior commitments. Oh, also for chinese new year, typically, parents pass out red envelopes with money. This is for prosperity and good fortune for the new year.

Anyways, Happy Chinese New Year!

Week One: At Least I Don't Wear Pleated Pants

Music: Kellie Pickler- Best Days of Your Life
Mood: Needing a Job

This week has been the worst week ever. I've had way to many interviews, too little sleep, and am having trouble adjusting to life back in Austin. Perhaps it's a bit of being "homesick" and missing Hong Kong; or because I can't travel so leisurely any more; or because I'm not use to living off campus; or because I'm trying to fit the gym in my schedule after 4 months of skipping the gym; or because this first week has started so abruptly, classes on top of interviews on top of meetings.

I had a dinner on Monday with a bank at Eddie V's.. (and I thought we were in a recession....), I had one interview on Tuesday, four interviews on Wednesday, one today and one on Friday. I've heard from most of the companies I interviewed with and I haven't gotten any offers or 2nd rounds from any of the companies. It's been a tireless process that hasn't been pleasant. I guess i never got the memo before I dropped for these interviews that they can be technical interviews. Going in, I only prepared for the case interview rather than the technical finance interview too. Oh well, I'm holding on hope for the last of the companies I've interviewed with, but I'm not optimistic. I think I'm going to start studying for the LSAT and the GMAT. Maybe I'm better at studying for tests and for classes than interviews. Haha. C'ste la vie. There are still a lot of postings on OCR so I'll drop some more and then see what happens.

Okay, I'm allowed one fashion rant in my blog. Okay. If you're working in New York as an investment banker on Wall Street, have the decency to NOT wear pleated pants. I may not have gotten a call back or a second round, but at least I don't wear pleated pants. Haha. Sorry. I'm allowed to make myself feel a bit better. =p

Well, I have one more interview tomorrow and then this week is OVER. YES. In other news, I've gone to the gym every day this week. I even watched the inauguration at the gym. haha. Oh, and check out the new pictures on the left side of the blog I posted. You've probably seen most of these photos from my abroad experience, but now the pictures are permanently there!




Update: Still Jobless, most of the companies said no.. makes me wanna listen Taylor Swift's Love Song-

You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story baby just say yes.

In a horrible metaphor that I probably shouldn't use.. I'm waiting for a company (the prince) to just say YES to me. HAHAHA! Sorry for extreme amount of corniness. I'll make it up in my next post.

AUSTIN, Spring 2009

Music: Circus- Britney Spears (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zeR3NSYcHk)
Mood: Stressed, already!?

I'm so addicted to Circus, by Britney Spears. It's simply an amazing song. Watch the music video; you'll be addicted! Wow. I'm back in the States after being abroad for 4.5 months. It's been a great part of my life that I'll truly cherish forever.

I flew back to the US on Jan 1, was in Houston till Jan 6, then move into my apartment in Austin on Jan 15th. Now, school is about to start and interviews are in full swing this week for summer internships. Being here in Austin, I really miss Hong Kong. My background is a picture of the Hong Kong skyline, and I truly miss it. I know when in Hong Kong, I said I missed Austin and was ready to be back-- I take that back. I want to be in Hong Kong again. The city is so vibrant and I really felt comfortable there. Surprisingly, I feel out of place here in the States. It's a familiar place with familiar people, but it's foreign to me at the same time. I can't really explain the feeling. I really wish I were back in Hong Kong, soaking in the city, enjoying the nightlife and the food.

Unfortunately, I've been running around like crazy these last few days preparing for the countless interviews I have this week. I've got interviews for several investment banks and a consulting firm. I really want to land the consulting gig more than anything. It's really where my passion lies. If they gave me an offer right now, I'd accept it in a heartbeat. I had a night-prior dinner with a bank tonight, and the conversations we were having and the topics were interesting, but my heart wasn' t there. I'm afraid I'm not going to shine through on these interviews because I really want consulting instead but am recruiting with the banks for backups. (I know some people are the direct opposite-- their goals are the banks but are interviewing with consultants for "back up". Haha. How ironic!

In any case, I'm already stressed and on top of that, I'm sick. So don't pity me, but wish me luck on everything I have going on this week. Wow. I haven't written a rant post in a long time complaining about school or stress. Haha. It was about time.

Oh, Hong Kong, how I miss thee. Oh well, ready or not, here begins Austin, Spring 2009.