Career Week Rush

Music: Justin Bieber- One Time

Mood: Recruiting

So this kid, Justin Bieber is 15 and got discovered by Usher after positing pretty good R&B videos on youtube. Now he's got a single out and an album coming out in September. The first time I heard the song, I thought to myself, "what is this..." I think he sounds like a girl and still needs to mature a bit, but his voice is pretty pure. I wonder what's going to happen after he hits puberty. I find it slightly ironic that he's so young and hasn't matured yet, yet hes singing about love and in the video, is partying with girls who are like in college. It's pretty bizarre, but after listening to the song for a bit, it's catchy.

Now, back to business-- This week was the official McCombs Career Week, and let me say that it's been busy but pretty uplifting. Last week, I finished recruiting and going to dinner with the major consulting firms and this past weekend, I completed submitting my application and resume to all the firms I'm interested in. Now I just have to wait to hear back from them about interviews. I've been practicing quite a bit for case interviews with friends (to the point where I'm pretty sick of doing cases but getting pretty good at the format). I'm planning on doing more prep this coming weekend as well as dropping my resume online on OCR for some fo the comapnies. I also need to prepare for some banking interviews I have on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so I'll be busy! A friend from UPenn gave me a pretty good guide that's better than Valut and Wetfeet, so I'll review that and make sure I know my stuff.

This week itself has been busy. Even though I only have class on Tuesday and Thursday, I find that I'm always busy on MWF doing other things. I get up for class at 7am on TTH, and I get up to go jogging on MWF at like 7:20ish to fit in a nice jog before it gets hot. While I'm such a morning person, I also find that I'm a night owl and get a lot of work done in the evening as well. I've tried to be in bed by 11 each night but this always extend to 12 or even 12:30... which is late if you're getting up around 7am.

Tuesday, I had a dinner at PF Changs with a consulting firm that deals heavily in technology (they don't call themselves an IT Consulting firm, but they do a lot of technology). I got to go to that dinner because they contacted the Honors Business Association, and I got pulled in by a friend to go. I went for the food, but ended up actually enjoying what the company had to say, and I'm definitely going to recruit with them.

Wednesday, after going for a morning jog down to town lake and getting poured on, I showered, suited up, and went down to the career fair. This is my 3rd year going to the career fair, and I must say, this has probably been one of the most productive of the three, given that I am a senior now and companies are actually looking to hire me. (probably the 2nd more effective career fair was freshman year first semester, when I got an internship from meeting the people at the career fair). I talked to several firms and got to meet many of the recruiters so I'll let y'all know what pans out from that.

Today, I don't know why I signed up, but I'm going to the Diversity Dinner tonight at the alumni center for a free dinner. I've got to get dressed for that and head out so I'll update y'all later on everything else that's going on.

Stay dry, Austin!

Lazy Sunday

Music: Half the Girl- We The Living
Mood: Lazy

This was such a hectic week that I think I deserve a lazy Sunday (even though I have every Monday off. Frankly, I think since Monday is Labour Day, but since I normally have it off, I should get Tuesday off too, but I don't think it works that way).

Recruiting for the consulting firms was in full swing this week, with events on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I recruited with these same firms earlier this spring, so although much of the information they discussed about the firm, culture, and new-hire responsibilities was a repeat, I found it helpful to chat with the consultants from the firms to just network and meet people I hadn't meet before. The only thing was how tedious and how much time the networking takes. Yesterday, I dropped my resume on the McCombs website for all the consulting firms and went to their individual websites to complete the required information on their site as well. Interviews are slated for about two weeks from now, so I hope to get interviews with all the firms I dropped for. Speaking of interviews, I already have several scheduled for next week already for a few of the investment banks. Although my heart isn't really with investment banking, I at least want some type of job before I rule anything out.

While on a career note, I had a meeting with a Teach for America representative on Wednesday, which peaked my interest in TFA again. I'm not sure if I'm cut out for it, but I don't really know what exactly I want to do, so I'm keeping my options open. The application is due Sept 18th, so I'll probably submit my application and see where that path goes.

I know this post is very scatter-brained and lacks a lot of cohesion, but the last thing I did this weekend was go to the UT game versus Louisiana-Monroe. This was my first game here at UT since sophomore year, and I felt like I was a freshman again, taking pictures of the stadium and the crowd. My sophomore year, the north endzone seating wasnt there so it was pretty cool seeing that. That game was fun-- we won 59 to 20. I enjoyed seeing Gilbert score his first TD of his college career and seeing OU lose against BYU. One thing I did notice was how much rumors spread through a stadium and how vulgar some fans can be. There were rumors that Bradford broke his collarbone and was out for the entire season, and people were laughing at him. While I don't like OU, I don't think it's right to wish harm upon someone else. Anyways, it turns out Bradford sprained his shoulder and will be out for only a few games. Hopefully he recovers to play in the TX-OU game.

Ok, time to attempt to be productive today!

Oh, and on Friday, i went for a jog and go lost around the townlake area and ended up at barton springs and mopac before making my way back to my house.

Don't Steal My Bike

Music: Evacuate the Dance Floor- Cascada
Mood: Freezing in the Mil-lab

Confession: I've become one of "those annoying bikers on campus." (And I LOVE it.)

I used to be so annoyed with the bikers on campus, zipping by, taking up the sidewalk, and sometimes making you feel like you're about to get run over. As a biker now, I totally understand the other side's perspective. I try to stay on the road and operate my "vechicle" according to the state's laws, but some times, the roads are one ways, and I need to go down a street via the sidewalk. I, unlike most bikers, do stop at stopsigns. And I do wear a helment.

On Monday, when I originally planned to write this post, I was originally going to get up at 7:30am to go for a jog. I didn't get up in time (after snoozing for like an hour) and finally got up at 8:30am. Instead of jogging because it got too hot, I decided to go to group cycling (spinning) class at the REC Sports Center at 10am. Living at 29th and Rio, I hopped on my bike and biked all the way down to the REC next to San Jac and locked my bike (with my U-lock) to the bike rack right outside of the gym. An hour later, after a good, intense spin session, I was all sweaty and was ready to bike back home to shower and take care of other things for the day. When I unlocked my bike, I found that the axel to my front wheel was loose and was removed from the frame. The only thing holding the wheel to the bike were the front brakes and the U-Lock. It took me a while before I was able to reattach my wheel to my bike before I could ride back home.

I seriously cannot believe someone tried to steal a part of my bike. Thank goodness for my U-Lock. UTPD recommends using 2 locks, a ULock and then a cable. I knew this, so I ordered my second lock on Amazon on Sunday, and it should be here by tomorrow. It's just ironic that in the meantime, someone actually tried to steal my bike. I'm lucky they didn't try to cut the lock and run off with my entire bike.

After that experience, I think I felt a bit violated. I LOVE UT and Austin and like to think that the area is pretty safe. I've read about the crime that happens on Campus Watch an occasionally read about the bike thefts, but I didn't actually think it would happen to me. I was gone an hour and at 10 in the morning. The thought of someone actually touching my property and trying to take something that isn't theirs just feels so wrong and foreign to me. I'm not overreacting or trying to make a big deal out of it, but I think this incident made me realize how harsh and mean the real world can be, outside of our imaginary UT bubble.

I'll have an update about recruiting and other events of this week later.

Good Morning, Austin

Music: Best Laid Plans by We The Living
Mood: Runner's High

I got up this morning at 7:15 to go jogging to beat the humidity, and I'm loving waking up early! I did the same on Wednesday. Today, I ran from my house on 29th and Rio, down Dean Keaton, up Red River, up MLK, down Congress and across the Congress Bridge, back up Congress, up MLK, and down the Drag back to 29th! It was such a glorious run and I'm still enjoying the runner's high. (According to MapMyRun, it was a good 7 miles! I can't believe how much I've progressed since I've started training this summer.) Ok, enough of that.

Welcome back to school everyone! This is my first official post to start off the school year! To the new McCombs students on campus, welcome to Austin, welcome to McCombs, and welcome to my blog! I'm now a senior Finance, Business Honors, and Plan II Honors major with a minor in Accounting. I've been blogging about my college life and career search since sophomore year, and I can't believe that I'm a senior now and the recruiting process I'm going through is for full-time offers and NOT internships. It's a weird feeling knowing that full-time jobs don't have a specified end-date like internships do, and that any change from that job will have to come from my own initiative. Honestly, I cannot believe I'm a senior. I'll do my best to savour this year and to live it to the fullest! This semester, I only have class on Tuesday and Thursday from 8am to 3:30pm, which I'm looking forward to. I'm such a morning person, that I feel I'm more productive in the morning. I'll also be busy with recruiting and extra curricular activities. It's definitely an interesting change of pace from the summer, and I can't figure out which one I like better.

Let's do quick photo recap of my summer:

I went to London for 1.5 wks right after school let out! (I had no finals.)

Then I went to Paris for 3 days!

I then spent a week in Rome and visited some friends who were studying abroad.

After that, I began my internship in Seattle in mid-June. (This was the view of the space needle from my brother's apartment!)

I celebrated July 4th at Alki Beach in Seattle, grilling and enjoying the sunset.

I made a trip to Whistler in Vancouver, Canada to see how gorgeous it was during the summer! (I went to Whistler for spring break too, so it was cool seeing how green it was.)


We ended up hiking up some of the slopes and got some great shots of Whistler and the surrounding mountains!

I took a ferry to Bainbridge Island and had some of the best ice cream I've ever had at Mora's. This is a shot from the ferry of some of the Seattle skyline.

I got a lot of sun this summer, not only from jogging but also from rowing and just reading outside. This was a relaxing weekend in Gasworks Park with Lake Union in the foreground and the Seattle Skyline and the Space Needle in the background. (I took a learn-to-row course 3 days a wk for 4 weeks on lake union. I also managed to read 11 books during my 10 wk internship, though my goal was 12 books.)

I also managed to squeeze in some camping in Wenatchee National Forest at the Owhi Campground right along Cooper Lake. It was a great camping adventure!

I flew back from Seattle this past Saturday, Aug 22nd and moved into my house in Austin on Monday. This is a view of Mt. Rainier from the plane.

Lastly, I know in my last post, I mentioned my goal to hit 2000 txt messages.. Well, I hit it! I think I was at 2100 or so when my billing cycle ended.

All right, well, I hope you enjoyed the photos! I need to get some other things done before a couple of meetings today. I also need to drop my resume some more for full-time recruiting. Next week will be a busy week filled with events and dinners with employers. Hope everyone has a great Friday and an awesome weekend! Feel free to leave me comments. If for my readers who I don't know. Feel free to say hello to me in the hall and introduce yourself! I love meeting new people, and I don't bite!

1790

Music: David Gray- Babylon
Mood: 1790

What does 1790 mean, you might ask? The time I get back to Texas in military time? An important year in US history?

No, 1790 is the number of txt messages I’ve sent from July 25th to today. My goal is to hit 2000 texts by the end of my billing period (Aug 25th). So, if you’re reading this, txt away! =)

In other news, tomorrow, Thursday is the last day of my internship. This week has been pretty slow going. I’ve wrapped up all my projects and I’m cleaning up and preparing for my departure. My boss was in on Monday but has been gone for the rest of the week, and I’ve already had my performance review (and I’m thankful I got a pretty solid review).

So to pass the time, I’ve been reading my case interview book and prepping for interviews when I return back to Austin. I’ve updated my resume and cover letter, researched companies I’m interested in, and penciled in the dates companies are visiting. Tomorrow, I’ll clean out my cubicle, clear my computer, and catch with my immediate coworker about where I saved everything so she can pick things up for where she needs to. I’ll then say good bye to everyone and head out around lunchtime, maybe even before.

I’ll try to fit in a blog post before I head out, but Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I’m going camping. Saturday evening, I’m flying back to Houston, gorging on Chinese food, and then moving into my apartment on Monday. It’ll be rush-rush, but I’m excited!

Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Music: Will You Be There- Michael Jackson (Theme song for Free Willy)
Mood: Tired and Sore
Reading: Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Freidman

So after a friend said he just finished watching Free Willy and was jamming to the song that plays during the credits of the film, I’ve kept listening to it on YouTube. Ironically, it’s by Michael Jackson! I checked the Seattle Public Library to see if they had a copy. They actually have like 7 copies, but all are checked out/on reserve, so I went ahead and put a hold on it so I can watch it. Free Willy evokes so many good memories of my blissful elementary school days. Not to get too reflective of the past, but those were the days when we were friends with everyone and we’re corrupted by social groups, etc. The song is extremely catchy and really put me in a good mood all day (except for the fact that I was still extremely tired).

Other than that, there’s not much going on here in Seattle. I’ve got 2.5 more weeks until my internship ends, and I’m excited to be back in Austin. There’s so much to be done once I fly back on Saturday, August 22nd. I actually took my 2nd personal day on my last Friday so that my actual last day is Thursday, August 20th. I hope to go camping, possibly along Mt. Saint Helen, that Thursday and Friday night before flying back to Houston. Once I land (at midnight) I’m going to leave my stuff in the suitecase and just pack more things. Sunday, I hope to binge eat on delicious Houston Chinatown food (which means dim sum for brunch, Chinese bakery foods, bubble tea, and then a dinner with the typical Chinese dishes), and obviously get a haircut in Chinatown as well! Then I’m going to drive into Austin on Monday and move-in/get furniture for my room in the house I’m leasing with 4 of my closest friends.

Yesterday, the 2010 Ikea catalog came in the mail, and it totally made me extremely happy. I can’t wait to have my own place and have the means to decorate my own place. (I’m sure it’ll cost a lot of money, but home is where the heart is and I’ve got to have a nice, aesthetically pleasing living space.) So for my place, I’ve already got a dresser from craigslist, my shelf from bed-bath-and-beyond, and a desk chair and rug from a graduating senior. I’ve still got to buy a bed, a bed frame, a desk, curtains (for 3 windows), and a full-length mirror. I don’t want to spend too much money, but I’m sure it’ll end up adding up, unfortunately. I also need to bring my bike and a mini-fridge up to Austin. Luckily, even though I’m moving in on Monday, I don’t have class on Wednesday (I only have class on Tuesday and Thursday), so I’ll go to my Thursday class and then will have time to get settled till Tuesday. I’ve also got to work on Mortar Board things as well, though.

The last thing I’ll write about before I get off work is the job outlook. I get weekly updates of the bank’s economic outlook for the next few quarters. The most current one I got, compared to last weeks, had unemployment forecasted to hit 9.8% by Q3 and then when I graduate in May 2010, unemployment is forecasted to hit 10.10% with a Q4:2010 forecasted unemployment of 10.40%. That’s extremely scary. GDP is forecasted to grow at a slow 1-2% each quarter. I remember this spring semester, employers were optimistic that the class of 2010 wouldn’t be affected by the recession, with hopes that the economy would be lifting. It doesn’t seem to be the case. Especially since I’m starting full-time recruiting in one month. Today, the bank had a conference call with all commercial banking interns to discuss full-time opportunities. Though I’m not sure if I’d want to work in commercial banking, I might have to settle for something I don’t really want to do in the short term just to have A job. That’s a sad reality, but something a graduating senior like me will have to face. Though I won’t exactly end the internship with a full-time offer on the table, at least I’m guaranteed a final round interview. In fact, they said that 100% of their full-time new hires were previous interns. That’s somewhat comforting, but I’m [1] not sure if I want to stay in Seattle full-time, and [2] not sure about commercial banking either. There are other opportunities in investment banking, global wealth management, and sales and trading within the bank as well, but I’m not sure if I want to be at a bank full-time, especially given the current climate and volatility.

I’m going to update my resume tonight and start the whole recruiting thing, reaching out to contacts, etc. I know recruiting season is just around the corner, and I’m going to have to sharpen up my interviewing skills, dust off the consulting interview guidebooks, and start introspecting on what I want to do and where I want to be after graduation.

On a lighter note, I’m going on a hike tomorrow evening, and it should be nice because it’s a full-moon. Yasmin is in-and-out of Seattle for the next 5 days, and I’ve also got the bank’s season tickets for Saturday’s Mariners game, which is 8 rows behind the visitor dugout!

Ok, I’m off now. Thanks for reading, and leave comments if you wish.

High of 97

Music: State Lines by Matt Hires <download here by right clicking and save as>
Mood: Sweaty

WOW! It's been a while since I last updated this blog, and I cannot believe the summer is coming to an end. This is the 4th to last week of my internship and it's flown by so quickly. This has been a summer of introspection.

It started off after I watched the Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, where the two characters realize there's so much in life they want to do before they die. While I haven't exactly created my own bucket list, I do have goals that I would like to accomplish before I pass. Watching that movie left me reflecting on what my legacy would be after I die. Many of y'all know I am passionate about helping others and that I really admire the work the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been doing to promote early education and to prevent deaths from preventable diseases.

In addition to watching that movie, I've also read two very inspiring books about people who have dropped the typical trajectory of life and dedicated their lives towards helping others. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Morteson, founder of the Central Asia Institute, and Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood, founder of Room to Read, were two books by men who gave up a normal, upper-middle class lifestyle to help promote literacy in Asia by building schools and promoting literacy. Reading those books has inspired me to dream big and encouraged me to follow my passion to help others. For me, the issue will be taking that leap faith and taking the nontraditional path. That's something I'm going to have to face this coming school year.

On a lighter note, I absolutely love Seattle, although it's extremely hot now. We have a high of 97 tomorrow, and while being from Texas, that doesn't seem hot, it is when you don't have AC in the apartment. The past few days, I've woken up sticky and uncomfortable, with a thin layer of sweat coating my skin. It's pretty disgusting. I'm ready for cooler weather, though I know my return to Austin will be marked by even hotter weather than this.

Also, let me recommend an upcoming artist, Matt Hires, who is currently touring with Paolo Nutini. I first heard of him because he's going to the Mountain Music Festival on Aug 15 with a few other good acoustical singers. I listened to him on myspace. You can DL his album on iTunes but his actual album isn't in stores until late August. I have a friend who works at Amazon to took me to the left over bins where Amazon ditches books and music after reviewing them and I was able to get his CD. Let me say, he's AMAZING!

I ought to get to bed soon, but in keeping up with the theme of the previous post.

Things Done:

• Chris Daughtry "concert"
• Death Cab for Cutie Concert with Ra Ra Riot and the New Pornographers
• Chicago Mortar Board Conference (this past wkend)
• Vancouver and Whistler (about 3 wkends ago)
• Saw Bruno (was funny, but vulgar)

Read:

• Freakonomics by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt
• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
• Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
• Sula by Toni Morrison
• Dreams From My Father, by Barack Obama
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
• Next by Michael Crichton
  
• Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood
• reading, The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett

Doing:

• Taking Learn to Row classes, 3x a week-- this past Monday was my first time on the water. I want to take some time to journal some thoughts later on. There's so much teamwork involved that it really teaches an individual like me patience and to not blame others when it seem so easy to
• Watching Arrested Development (Thanks for mailing to me Rachel! I can't wait to start watching when I get the DVDs in the mail)!
• Being a local-- I've been asked for directions 5 times since I've been here.. I swear, the tourists truly thing I blend in!
• Training for the Austin Distance Challenge

Plan on Doing:

• Camping
• Hiking
• Vancouver one more time
• Seeing Harry Potter in IMAX
• Seeing 500 Days of Summer
• Try Ethiopian Food, among other foods still on my list
• Order at Starbucks without feeling intimidated
• Maybe go to the Fray concert (Aug 6)
• Mountain Music Festival (Aug 15, with David Gray, Ingrid Michaelson, Howie Day, Serena Ryder, Barcelona and Matt Hires)
• Explore Bainbridge Island
• Go to another Mariners game using the bank's tickets

I've got less than 4 wks left to do all this, plus I need to order my books online as well as figure out what furniture I'm getting for my room.. YIKES!