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.

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen goodbye

Music: Wait for You- Elliott Yamin
Mood: Reflecting

My honeymoon with this amazing city dubbed the city where the east meets the west ends tomorrow. The last few months of my life began with a long flight to Hong Kong on August 23rd and will come to a close when I board my flight to San Francisco at 12:50pm. I have had the time of my life here in Hong Kong and do not regret my decision and financial investment to study abroad. Never again will I have the luxury of packing three suitcases (though I’m returning with 4 suitcases, hehe) and moving to a foreign country for four and a half months.

While abroad, I’ve become a seasoned travel and kindled a passion for traveling and for experiencing new cultures—in fact, I had to add pages to my passport because I traveled so much. I’ve been blessed with the luxury to travel all across Asia and Southeast Asia. In the seven countries (The Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, Taiwan, and China) I visited, I sampled the various cuisines unique to the region and saw sites that some people twice my age haven’t seen. Traveling has humbled me and reaffirmed my life passion to help others less fortunate that me. In the Southeast Asian countries, specifically in The Philippines and Cambodia, seeing extreme poverty made me realize how lucky I am to be born into a well-off family in the US. In Manila, everywhere we went, children as young at 8 who should have been asleep in a warm bed were following us around downtown tapping on us on the shoulder, begging for money. As we sampled the various foods from street vendors, we could feel their small hands poke at our arms and pockets. In Cambodia, learning that some of the local fishermen who live on the lake make only $250 US a year was saddening, especially because our six day trip to the country cost so much more than that.

In Hong Kong, I’ve accomplished what I set out to do during this exchange: see the city, experience the culture (my culture), improve my Cantonese skills, visit my grandparents, make lots of new friends, and eat lots of Chinese food. One thing I do regret, however, is not staying in shape. I’ve let myself go and I can’t forgive myself for that. I tried going to the gym almost everyday during the first month here, but after I started traveling so much, I never fell into a routine and thus failed to go to the gym or jogging. I have a lot of work cut out for me when I return to the US, and it won’t be fun, but I supposed it will be worth it. This semester has been a whirlwind of an adventure, and I’m sad to see it come to an end. Returning back to Austin and reuniting with friends will be joyous, but it means going back to work. I got pretty good grades here in Hong Kong and managed to get a 4.0 here in Hong Kong (for the BHP/Plan II courses who’s grades transfer). In Austin, on top of studying hard, I’ll have to find a summer internship (the last two years, I’ve secured an internship in the fall semester, so this semester will be harder). I’m also going to be involved in BC, working as BHP recruiter and a research assistant, and getting back into shape. I have my work cut out for me, but I’m ready for it. Bring it on.


I’ve fallen in love with this city and know that this good-bye is not permanent. As The Terminator would say, “I’ll be back.”

Last Week of School + Parents Coming!

Music: Radioio Classical Favorites on iTunes Radio
Mood: Excited!

I'm excited, even though I have 4 finals left and am done on next Thursday because my parents are on their way to Hong Kong right now! =) According to flightview.com, they're 6hours and 10 minutes away from landing! I'm super excited.

That's where their plane is right now!

At first, at the beginning of the semester, I wasn't excited that they were going to come because I wanted to travel with other people after my finals were done, but now I'm really anticipating their arrival. It'll be so good to see my parents. We plan on traveling to the Yunan Province in Western China and also go to a wildlife preserve around Guilin. Tonight, I'm going to grab dinner with my grandparents and then go to the Central MTR station to meet my parents when they ride the Airport Express into the city. I plan on spending the next two nights with my parents at my grandparent's place and then returning back on Sunday night for exams this coming week. I have Audit on Monday, Finance on Wednesday, and Operations Management and China in Film on Thursday. I'm done after that!!!

Today, I picked up the Exchange T-shirt and Yearbook.. the shirt had all the names of everyone on the back and the yearbook had pictures of everyone's trips it. It was cool to see what everyone else has done. I can't believe I'm almost about to go back. I'm ready to see my friends and have the comforts of the US, but I really love Hong Kong. I'm really going to miss it. Live will totally be different when I go back. I'm not ready for the whole Business School rat race when I go back (though I never really was caught up in the rat race to begin with!)

Speaking of business, I'm currently recruiting with the big three strategic consulting firms. I really hope I can land a summer internship with one of them. It seems like most (if not all) of the internships will be in the Dallas office. I'm okay with this but I really want to eventually get out of Texas. I don't really like Dallas all that much. But I guess the first task has to be to land the internship before I can be picky about which office I want. I'm currently communicating with recruiters at the three major firms, which is exciting, but time consuming because I still need to study for finals!

Seriously, studying for finals is a HUGE distraction and results in low productivity. The Ellen Show, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, and now Gossip Girl (yes, Gossip Girl. I watched the Pilot yesterday and was quite entertained. haha). That on top of planning with my parents about our travels after finals and saying good-bye to other people who are done with finals as resulted in me barely getting any work done. Well, next week will be crunch time. I really want to get all As in the classes where my grades transfer, and there should be NO excuse why I don't pull it off. The classes are not difficult at all. So here's to studying! =)

This is supposed to be my last post of the year (but trust me, loyal readers, it won't be!). There's so much that will be going on between now and when I move into my dorm back in Austin. And since pictures are always fun, I'll end with some from December.

X-Mas Decorations in the Mall

Hot Pot at the University Restaurant!

The Red Sundial in front of the school

Oh., and PS. Finals is also a time to gain weight. Haha. I've been eating so much! In fact, I finished a 16oz box of Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal in two days. OMG! No Joke. It was horrible when I realized what I did. When I get back, it's time to get back in shape. I'm going to start training for the Capital 10k run on March 28, 2009!

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (aka. DAB)

Music: Whatever You Like- TI
Mood: Tired, about to go to bed

Shyam: This post is for you.

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (aka. DAB)
DAB Headquarters:
15/F., SUP Tower, 83 King's Road, North Point
http://www.dab.org.hk/en/index.jsp


Sorry for the randomness of this video. I was walking through the city , running on 5 hrs of sleep, so I totally forgot what DAB stood for.

So my friend Shyam is obsessed with the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB). I promised I would visit the offices while I was here in Hong Kong. After going to the US embassy to get extra pages in my passport in Central, I took the subway to Fortress Hill and went up to the 15th floor of the DAB to find out more information about the DAB and to get a membership form for Shyam. I had to tell a while lie and say that I was a student researching about the political party for them to let me take a picture of their logo. Haha.

Ok, so today, I went to Shenzhen again to get my 2nd fitting for my 2nd suit, and I also picked up my peacoat and 6 more tailored, monogrammed shirts. (the monogram is on the tail of the shirt, so it's not visible.) Then I was going to go to the alumni dinner but decided against it because I was too tired. Now I'm about to go to bed. I need to start studying for finals.. yikes.. And my parents are coming this FRIDAY!!!! Soo excited! =)

This is the best drink in the world (only 2nd to Diet Dr. Pepper) Can someone check to see if they sell Schweppes Golden Apple Zero in the States?

They got mad when i took this picture outside of the US Consulate.

Inside the offices of the DAB!

15th floor.. DAB

A huge brochure and membership form! Hehe!

I Have the BEST friends in the world

Music: Light's On- David Cook

Music: Crazy Tired, but Estatic

Yesterday was a GREAT day. I woke up around 9am, caught a great picture from my room of the sun rising between the clouds overlooking the sea, and I knew it was going to be a great day! I went to my boring 10:30am Chinese Literature course, then sat through Operations Management (where the professor who reads right off the ppt for all his lectures claimed that he doesn't like to do "powerpoint karaoke".. haha, yes, that's the word he used...), gave a presentation in my chinese film course about Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet, and then I went back to my dorm room and was pleasantly surprised to receive a great birthday care package from my best friends back home.

In this care package, they made a DVD with a lot of my close friends wishing me happy birthday and just being themselves. They also included a copy of the Holiday 2008 edition of Details magazine, an I Voted Sticker (because I never got one for the election), a Mrs. Field's cookie, letters from my friends, a Mixed CD of all the latest hits in the States, this season of How I Met Your Mother, a stack of my BHP business cards, and lots and lots of LOVE. 

This video Shyam and Ishanee made for me really meant a lot to me. They called a bunch of my friends over and did like a video documentary mixed with music and a slideshow of pictures from this past summer and the past 2 years at UT. I keep watching it (this is like the 5th or 6th time) and the jokes and the love never get old. I can't believe I have such amazing friends to come back to in Austin. So, thank you so much! It really means a lot to me. Like seriously, I still have another month to go (2 wks of finals = 5 exams and then 3 wks of touring china with my parents) before I go back to Austin. I know my time here is slowing disappearing and I really don't want it to. I'm ready to be back but at the same time, I'm really going to miss Hong Kong. I know I keep saying this, but I don't know how else to express what I'm feeling. I know that when I do leave HKG, it's not good-bye. I'll be back in Hong Kong later on; I just know it.

Ok, that is all. Sorry for the randomness of this post. I got 5 hrs of sleep last night (b/c i had to much caffeine at dinner last night so stayed up till 3am, then woke up at 8am, had 2 cups of coffee for my 9am class, and then that class let out early so I'm just bored and watching the office, etc (when i should be studying). I'm going into the city later today to add pages to my passport (i only have 3 blank pages left!).

so quick summary of this post:

[1] I'm too caffeinated to think or be coherent

[2] I love my friends and can't wait to see them in January!

Video Blog!

Music: Semi-Charmed Life- Third Eye Blind
Mood: Apathetic about Finals

Enjoy! (17:21)

*oh boy, that is NOT a pleasant picture... note to self. smile for about 15 seconds before starting to talk in your next video blog.

HKG Love,
Eric