Monday Musings

Music: Hello Seattle- Owl City
Mood: Relaxing a Bit

First- I want to give a shout out to my AMAZING roommate, Margaret! =)))) YOU ROCK!

I had an interview at 8:30 with a consulting firm, and it was raining today so Margaret drove me the 5-6 blocks down to the business school so I didn't have to get wet! Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. It's little things that make your day!

So, the interview went pretty well (I thought). The interviewer was a Plan II/Psychology major, so we hit it off pretty well. We talked so much that we were pressed for time for the case, so I only had time to solve about half of it. Plus, I felt he interrupted me... I was doing a percentage of revenues (after deriving volume and cost)... he made me start all over from to do a percentage of the volume before multiplying by costs (which ended up with the same number at the end..) but i guess he wanted me to derive the increase in volume first before finding out the increase in revenues.. Oh well. Hopefully I get a second round for that.

I had my finance test today as well, which I thought was okay. Not too bad, so hopefully I did well on that.

Then I had marketing, took a break for lunch, took a jog out at clark field (it was such a pretty day after the rain cleared!). Then I went to my TC for plan II about investments and warren buffett. I was originally interested in the class because I thought it'd go into the social aspects of business and investing.. however, it turned out to be a review of investments and financing and then reading buffett's autobiography.. it's not the most interesting 3 hour class for a monday afternoon.

Anyways, after that, I had a call with the conuslting firm to run through a practice ccase with him and give feedback to prepare me for my interview on Thursday.

Ok, that's it for today. Overall, good day, but now I still have a bit of hwk to get done. Oh, but i forgot,,.. how i met your mother is at 7:30 on monday's but Obama had a 1 hr press conference from 7-8 about the economy so HIMYM was skipped.. UGH. I am mad at Obama for that. =(

I guess Shane is having issues with the job search, just like me; except I'm searching for "consultant."

Start of a Long Week

Music: Spaceman- The Killers
Mood: Subdued

The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down!
It's all in your mind!"
Spaceman- The Killers

This weekend went by so quickly! UGH! Even though I have Friday's off, I feel like I don't really start doing any work until Saturday and then on Sunday, I can't stay up late because I have 8am class.

This weekend, I was supposed to read like 300+ pages for my Plan II TC about Warren Buffett. I only was able to read like 1/4 of that because I was already behind from last week's reading. Hopefully I get the short mini-quiz correct. YIKES. I also spent today studying for my FIN 367 exam on tomorrow. I'm not too worried about that. I did the practice tests and read the chapters so I should be okay.

Let's see, what else. I have three interviews this week. 2 of which are with consulting firms. I didn't have a chance to run through an interview with a friend in person, but I did some reading and brushed up on my case skills. Hopefully I'm able to rock it. I'm just getting desperate for a job for the summer. I don't know where I'll end up. Realistically, I just need to bring my A game and get 'er done. It's just been very depressing getting rejection after rejection. I've got one interview tomorrow at 8:30, then 2 interviews on Thursday. I'm going to swing by the Career Fair on Wednesday and then go to the diversity dialogue dinner on Thursday. Hopefully in two or three weeks, I'll be happy and have a job. I'm just really over school right now. I don't know if people can tell by the way I act or whatever. If I've brushed you off or ignored you or acted moody, I'm sorry. I really miss studying abroad and don't think I'll ever get over it. To me, everything I'm doing here now is POINTLESS. School doesn't really do anything-- and as I sit here preparing for classes, etc., I think to myself, why am I doing this? There's so much more I could be doing rather than just spending my time studying.

I don't know. I need to get my mind in a different mentality if this semester is going to go well, or else I'll just give up. It's really frustrating. I bet if/once I get a job offer, it'll be better. But for now, being jobless and studying so much is not fun. But at the same time, I want a rewarding job or something I enjoy doing. I definitely don't want to be as bored as I was this past summer. I need something that's engaging, challenging, and where I can interact with others. I want a job where I'm not going to just sit in front of a computer all day.... I want to do consulting. Haha! The question is, does consulting want me? -___-



OK. I apologize for turning this blog into a rant or a place to complain. Don't you miss the happy thoughts of when I was studying abroad? Haha. Well, happy things to come! ::Fingers Crossed::

I guess I failed to mention the good things this week. Let's think of the positive from this week:
[1] I got to watch 3 episodes of this season of The Office. Jim and Pam are too cute
[2] I made brownies at my friends apartment, and they were delicious.
[3] I got to go out with friends on Friday night and had a GREAT time.
[4] I got to do Kinsolving Dinner with Becca, Sam, and Shyam on Tuesday.
[5] I did well on my FIN 367 quiz from Monday
[6] I think there are only 5.... sorry.

Me and my friends all wearing hats from Peru!

Never Ends.

Music: So What- Pink
Mood: Fit

This week has been going by so slowly, but I swear, there are not enough hours in the day for the amount of work I have to do. It's not that the work is hard, there's just so much to do. I've considered skipping the gym so many times to do more work, but then I drag myself to work out and end up feeling better, so I'm definitely feeling more fit than when I was abroad.

In terms of the career search, it's pretty futile right now. I feel many of the major companies that I would have normally gotten a 2nd round or an offer have cut back because of the economy. In any case, I still have to keep on trucking. I have an interview with a small consulting firm on Monday and then I'm interviewing with another major strategic consulting firm this Wednesday/Thursday. I have a multiple choice test with the company on Wednesday and then a 2 hour interview on Thursday. Tomorrow, the company is having an interview prep course. I'm kind of upset about this because the CEO of Southwest Airlines is coming to speak tomorrow at the same time, so I'm going to have to miss it to go to interview prep, which is really frustrating because Herb Kelleher is supposed to be an amazing speaker. Also on the career front, I'm going to the Diversity Dialogue Dinner next Thursday to get a free meal but to actually look for a job too. The career fair is on Wednesday and I guess I have to swing by as well just to check out the employers.

On the work end of things, I have so much to read and not enough time. The material is very interesting, I'm reading a biography of Warren Buffett for my Plan II TC course. I'm on pg. 60 and I have to get to pg. 340 by Monday. I'm also reading Innumeracy for my Plan II Physics class, which is an easy read but I just don't have enough time. I have a FIN 367 test on Monday which I need to read and prepare for. In addition to that, I need to practice my case interviews this weekend. I guess it'll be doable, I just can't play at all this weekend.

OK. It's 2:30am, I ought to go to bed. But let me tell you first, last night, I had a really CREEPY dream. I had a dream that I got in a car accident and my car flipped over. It was a single car accident, and I was upside down. I don't really remember the details; I just remember yelling and screaming and freaking out. It seemed so real that when I woke up, I had to look at my keys and then go check the parking lot to see that my car was still intact. It was really eerie and creepy. I have no idea what it means, but now I'm kind of scared of driving.

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.