This weeks musings

Mood: Great week!

Music: David Guetta- Titanium

This week was pretty good. Despite the long hours this week, I think I really made a difference at the client this week and was challenged with roles that I had never done before. I also realized that I need to start thinking more long term. A Stanford Graduate School of Business admissions rep came to the office on Friday just to chat with us. After his presentation where he talked all about the structure of the program (which reaffirmed my desire to attend the GSB), I asked him a question about what he recommends me, as a consultant, do to distinguish myself from other consultants in the application. He provided some really pointed advice-- don't see yourself as just a consultant and try to distinguish yourself. My path to getting where I am today has been extremely different from others and my future is different as well. He used the analogy of genotypes versus phenotypes, saying sure, people's phenotypes might be similar in the way they are expressed, but the admissions is trying to find out what you're genotype is. This put it into perspective to me, and really reminded me of my freshman world literature course with Bump, where Bump urged us to really ask "Who are you." 

Anyways, the thought about business school also made me act on a few volunteer/charity ideas I've always thought consultants could do, so I finally sent out a few emails this weekend. I'm hoping to launch a toiletries drive for local shelters here by collecting toiletries from all the consultants that travel each week.

To end, I jotted down a few points during the week, but finally got around to post them now, so apologies for the laundry list.

• Hot damn, I make good slides
• Finally got to use the infamous Iceberg slide!
• A black and white stock photo can really class-up a slide
• Being Pescatarian isn’t too hard…
• except when the Westin puts bacon in your seemingly healthy (and vegetarian) egg white omelet with asparagus and grilled tomatoes
• I tweeted a complaint to SPG and they immediate apologized and gave me 2,000 SPG points (I was disgusted and refused another breakfast, opting for yogurt instead)-- 
• I have a strange desire to buy Abercrombie jeans and/or underwear with the hope that it’ll make me look like one of their models…. Oh advertising…
• Consulting words I hate to use but find myself using, esp on an re-org case
• Align- "I think we're aligned with where this project is going." or "We need to align on what we're going to be covering in tomorrow's meeting"
• Word normal people would use: Agree
• Reach out- "I'll reach out to you next week when I have a question." 
• Word normal people would use: Contact
• Touch bases/Sync up- "Let's touch bases/sync up before close of business."
• Word normal people use: Talk
• Ping- "Great! I'll ping you when I'm ready"
• Word normal people use: Email, Instant Message, Call, or whatever the actual method of communication is
• Volatile market this week--- I managed to get some great deals on a few companies I’ve had my eye on on Tuesday! Hopefully, that works out for me in the long run. If you are thinking of investing and haven’t opened an account, signup with Scottrade and use code: UMOY8793 so we both get 3 free trades.

Back to Blogging [1 year later]

Music: Next To You by Chris Brown
Mood: Consulting

Wow. It's been about a year and a month since my last blog. I feel the need to return to my blog just to I can capture my life and the interesting nuances that occur. I tried doing a photo-365 inspired by Vicki Chang (where you take a photo a day to commemorate each day but that failed after I kept forget to take a photo).

There's a lot that's happened in the last year. Last summer, I traveled Europe with my family seeing The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Paris, and London. I then went to South America with Adriane where we explored the Amazon jungles of Ecuador and hiked the ancient Machu Picchu for four beautiful days. Then, I ended up booking at last minute flight to Hong Kong because a death in the family.

After all that traveling, I moved to Dallas in August where I took a two week, expensive class to become a certified bartender. Then I started work at Bain and Company in September and was staffed immediately on a technology case in Austin for 6.5 months and then a telecommunications case in Dallas for 2 months. During that time, I spend 2 weeks doing in-office training followed by 10 days in Cape Cod at Global Training during Halloween weekend. I also went to San Francisco for a work conference in June. 

Shyam, Ravi, and I decided to go to India in July, so I booked a 2.5 wk vacation in January. Having just gotten back from that (see Shyam's blog for those juicy details-- http://workprayplay.wordpress.com/: The entries titled Mughal Majesty, Holy Cow, and Play are the 3 related to our trip) The day I got back from India, I was staffed on an oil and gas client in Houston, and I have been traveling to Houston weekly for the last 3 weeks. Now I find myself here, today, blogging instead of working on a document I need to get done tomorrow by 10am, and I've got a 7am meeting tomorrow morning.

Also, if you tweet, I've created a new hashtag: #ConsultingProblems

I've had two #ConsultingProblems in the last two weeks.. Last week, I forgot my belt. That was annoying, but I was able to borrow one from a co-worker.. This week, I realized I forgot to pack underwear in my suitcase... Needless to say, I had to make a trip to purchase clean underwear. Opps! I really need to create a packing list so I remember to pack everything!

So, in short, I'm back and excited to be blogging!

The World is Changing

Music: Stay or Leave by Dave Matthews Band
Mood: Loving Life

Wake up naked drinking coffee,
Making plans to change the world
While the world is changing us



I haven't blogged in a while, so here's a quick blog. I choose this song and started this blog post while I was packing up in Austin after I was done with finals but before graduation. I had about 1.5 to 2 weeks after finals but before graduation, which I spent hanging out with friends and making memories before everyone scatters. I did the final things on my bucket list, including new restaurants, tower tour, Peter Pan PutPut, and other Austin gems. What I didn't do, which will create an excuse for me to come back to Austin is bats at Town Lake, Volleyball at Aussies, and Sake Bombs at SunHing.

Overall, my review on graduation was a fun time that reaffirmed why I love the friends I have and made me thankful for the four years I have had to develop such strong bonds with people. My parents and my brother came up for graduation, and it was nice to celebrate my graduation with them. I went to the Business School graduation at 9am on Friday followed by Plan II graduation at 9am on Saturday and then the school-wide commencement at 8pm. The day after, Sunday, I drove from Austin to Houston and then caught a flight to Amsterdam with my family for our 3 week vacation in Europe. Here's a photo summary of graduation and of Europe. Enjoy!

(Note: Some photos stolen from Facebook (which were originally stolen from me))

Last Bump Ranch Party Ever (2006-2007 class)

UBC Senior Banquet

Drinks, Snacks, and The Sunset at The Oasis

A Fun Night Downtown!

Plan II Formal

Kinsolving Fun! (Wink Wink)

Senior Photos With Shyam and Vicki by Ishanee

Tour Tour-- a shot of the Quad, where we lived for 2 years

Visit to Shiner, Texas to visit Spoetzl Brewery (and sample 4 6oz beers)

Graduation Festivities Begin 

(In front of  the tower after my business graduation)

Right before Plan II Graduation- BFFs!

UT Commencement 2010, on a hot, humid evening

(Ravi, Shyam, and I decide to keep it breezy)

As new graduates, 6535/2911 celebrates downtown for the last time together.

The end of an era, the beginning of new memories.

The next day, I fly to Amsterdam for 3 weeks in Europe. I'll try my best to sum up a 3-week trip in a few pictures. I'm warning you, this is extremely brief. We took over 1300 pictures on this trip.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The Heineken Experience

(that is called Extra Cold, and the draft shaft is completely covered in ice!)

Amsterdam is nice and quite pretty. I recommend 2 days in the city and that's all. The architecture and canal system are very pretty, and the people are EXTREMELY nice! And no, I did not try any substances that are illegal in the US but legal there.

Brussels, Belgium

A completely touristy indulgences: a Belgian waffle!

(Locals usually just have waffles and sugar. I, of course, get a Nutella-covered waffle!)

Brussels has beautiful architecture but terrible weather, and yes, more chocolate than you can bear because it's so expensive/gourmet (and I love chocolate).

St. Goar, Germany

With "Today was a Fairytale" by Taylor Swift stuck in my head, we explore castles in the Rhine River Valley in Germany

Bacharach, Germany

Dale and I bike along the Rhine River from Bacharach to Bline and explore more castles

We also do Riesling Wine tasting (6 Rieslings from the local vineyards)

We also stop through Koblez, Germany and see where the Maine and Rhine River merge. I love Germany. It's not too expensive and the people are relatively friendly. The food, however, is not the best. I don't want any more schnitzel or fries after this. 

Zurich, Switzerland

Fancy shopping and the headquarters of UBS and Credit Suisse (yea, as a business major, of course this would be the picture I post.)

Lucerne, Switzerland

We stay in Lucerne for 2 days and explore the city, cruise the lake, and then summit Mount Rigi

Gimmelwald, Switzerland

On Rick Steve's recommendation, we stay in Gimmelwald, which is only accessible by cable car. This is the view from the hostel. We see the swiss cows and goats graze the mountain side and hear the melodies of their bells and baaa's all day. I feel like I'm in the swiss-version of the sound of music.

Interlaken, Switzerland

After time in Gimmelwald, Interlaken is quite boring and ordinary, but nonethless, still gorgeous.

We spend one more day in Switzerland in Bern, the capital city and explore the old town and see the pretty, sandstone architecture.

Overall, Switzerland is soooo pretty but sooo expensive.

Paris, France

I've already been here before, so I take my family around to the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Muse d'Orsay, and Versailles. I try escargot finally. It's chewy like squid and somewhat slimly like an oyster... not bad though. I also end up with an extremely raw piece of lamb one night that I don't eat.

London, England

Fish & Chips and pear cider at my favourite pub in London, Queen's Head in Hammersmith. Aside from all the touristy things and museums, I see Wicked with my family (AMAZING!!!) and Avenue Q with my brother (very funny!). I also continually drink Strongbow on draught and get very sick of pub food.

Well, that's a quick picture summary! I'm going to Ecuador and Peru on Thursday for three weeks with my friend, Adriane. We're hoping to do Amazon exploration in Ecuador and get a feel for the culture, and we intend on doing Machu Picchu in Peru! Another fun trip ahead, and I'll be sure to post with pictures.

As for my plans, I'm moving into my apartment in Dallas on August 7th and then starting work a month later on September 13. During my down time, I plan to make a college photo album (with about 110 pictures from each year) as well as a college senior recital (similar to the one we did in high school). I also hope to learn the Rosetta stone in Spanish or Mandarin and also take bartending school! We'll see what happens!

Comfortable

Music: John Mayer- Comfortable
Mood: Strange, Empty Sensation



"our love was comfortable and so broken in
she's perfect
so flawless
or so they say"

Comfortable is a good way to describe how I feel about college. Four years here at UT, I've become comfortable. My college experience was anything but perfect or flawless, but it has been comfortable.

After an extremely rough week, I can officially say that I am not yet ready to graduate because I am so comfortable. For me, high school was not the most exciting even though I throughly enjoyed my high school years. College was a place for me to start over, to explore my identity, discover my passions, start and cultivate new and old friendships, and develop my place in the world.

With graduation only a month away, I'm scared and nervous. The future is so uncertain, and I am not ready for the change. I'm comfortable where I am, with the friends I've made, the college routine I've established, and the carefree lifestyle I currently live. Moving to Dallas and starting work signifies the start of a new life, full of responsibilities, obligations, long hours, less holidays and personal time, and commitments. It also means the start of new relationships and more independence.

Attending the wake and funeral of a high school friend this past weekend was emotionally and spiritually draining for me. While I didn't know him too well, I left feeling tired and sad. Life is extremely short and valuable. I am thankful for my loving parents and my amazing friends. Without them, my life would not be what it is and I would not be who I am today. I know I take for granted my friendships and the people I know, and I am truly grateful to be part of their lives. Even with acquaintances, I've found myself making a genuine effort to say hello and find out how they are doing. There is no point in holding grudges or complaining about small things. There's no reason to think you're better than  or cooler than someone else, and I know for a fact that this weekend has change my view on life. While I've always been an advocate of living in the present and welcoming the future, I know that after this week, I want to be remembered as someone who was caring, selfless, and enjoyable to be around.

I'm pleased with who I've become over the last four years in college. I think I've grown mentally, physically, and emotionally, and I will be sad to say good bye in a month. I'm making an effort to say hello to people I don't really talk to and to be bold. Unhindered by social norms, I am trying to reach out, go out on whims, be the one to initiate, and say "yes" more than "no." I'm trying to live up my last month here in Austin, relish the present, and embrace what is in store for the future.

Comfortable.

Good Weekend!

Music: She's Got A Way- Billy Joel
Mood: Euphoric


I love this song! I hadn't heard it in a while but I heard it on the cruise during a Broadway show, and it reminded me how beautiful it is! Enjoy!

It's been way to long since I've posted in this thing. Since I haven't been blogging for the business career services, I've slowly found less and less time to post. Let's see what's happened since I last posted.

Spring Break was a blast! I went on a cruise with three of my best friends and left out of New Orleans, going to Costa Maya, Guatemala, Belize, Cozumel before returning to New Orleans. It was the first time I had done anything significant for Spring Break, and it was my first time on a cruise. It would be an understatement to say I had a blast and would love to do another cruise again. For a week, we called the Norwegian Spirit our home. I didn't have a computer, internet access, a cell phone, or any obligations. We really didn't have to care about what time it was unless we were trying to make dinner plans, a specific show, or ensure we wouldn't miss our boat when we were on the shore. The drinks kept flowing, the sun shined brightly, and the excursions were fun at each of our stops. I'm glad the four of us were able to take a week break from school, and I am definitely looking forward to reunions after graduation. Our goal is to go on the Norwegian Epic! =)

Memorable events:
- Trivia with Joleen
- Befriending Monica, the manager at the restaurant (who helped us get food the last night after all the restaurants and room service closed)
- Meeting Nicki Q
- Hanging out with 2nd City Cast and the Dancers (Tia, Tamara, Kellie Picker, and  Twitch)
- Rum Runners
- The Greyhound (drunk guy on the way there, getting lost on the way back)
- $10 for 6 beers and 4 tequila shots and delicious margs in Costa Maya
- Unmarked Taxi in Guatemala
- Zip-lining and Cave Tubing in Belize
- Yummy Belize food from Amigos Bar
- Snorkeling in Cozumel (Paradise Reef, etc.)
- White Hot Party
- Color-changing cups
- Room service 24/7
- Hoagie, Little Spoon, Sunburn, and Red Zipper
- 6535
- Reading and relaxing (I finished Born to Run!)
- Basmati rice at Raffles

Here's a photo recap of spring break:

Starting Spring Break in New Orleans

and of course, hand grenades at Tropical Isle

Dinner the first night at Windows

Us and the Boat in Costa Maya

Us and Candi, our cruise director, at the White Hot Party

In Guatemala during our unmarked Taxi ride

Ziplining in Belize

A fuzzy picture of the  Piscataway Periscopes and Joleen during trivia

Pirates and the cast of 2nd City

Snorkeling in Cozumel!

Overall, it was a great spring break, and I was very sad to return back to school. Now that a week has gone by since spring break, I've fallen into the rhythm of things once again, but it's taken a while to adjust. I really just don't feel like doing any work at all. (What's new).

I'm almost done with my thesis. I just need to revise and add an intro and a conclusion. I do need to add a little bit more after I read/flip through one last book I just picked up. This weekend was not that successful in terms of getting work done. (Is it ever?) 

On Friday, I did thesis and then my roommates and I hosted our first house party of the year, which I would say, was a success. Coming back from our cruise high, we choose the theme to be White Hot and asked people to wear white. With black lights and glow sticks, we had great drinks, great people, great music, and great fun!

On Saturday, I worked at DiscoverBHP, the last discoverBHP I'll ever be at as a student. I lead ice breakers and I also spoke on the study abroad panel for 3 hours before ending with a lunch. Coming back to my house around 2pm, I was planning on going to Holi, the festival of colors, going on at the main mall, but I was too tired. Instead, I bummed a bit, and then went to go wash my car with Ishanee. (While car washing was a success, I parked under a tree right afterwards and there's fresh bird poop. That's why I hate parking at my house.. there's no covered parking! UGH!). Afterwards, we pulled the futon out onto our porch and had beers, listened to music, and enjoyed the great weather. We then grabbed dinner with the rest of the roommates at Frank and Angie's before going to Whole Foods where we ended the night with dessert and a bottle of chianti wine.

Sunday, I slept in, went to HEB, ate a Changos with Shyam, and then bummed at home and avoided doing work. The only thing productive today was that I tried out barefoot running. After reading Born to Run and doing research online, I've been tempted to buy Vibram Five Finger shoes, which stimulate barefoot running. I went to the store on Thursday to try them on but they're backordered for about a month. So today, I just went to Clark Field and tried running barefoot. I ran 2 miles, and it felt great! It was also the first time I'd gone running since the marathon back in February, so it was an amazing feeling. I really enjoyed running barefoot and could have gone for longer but I had to go to Bowling for Engineering vs. Business week. I bowled 3 games, bowling a 90, 83, and 86. Not too bad but not too good. I did bowl a few strikes and spares! =)

Well, I need to see what work I have for the rest of week. Hope you enjoyed the post!

Spring Lull

Music: Air Force Ones- Nelly
Mood: Searching for Motivation



This weekend has been nothing but work and more work. I've written more than 34 single-spaced pages for my thesis (which is about 68 pages double-spaced), but I've still got more work to do for it before I'm finished. I'm hoping to be done writing by spring break so I can edit my paper on the way to New Orleans.

Besides the thesis, I've got a finance test on Tuesday and a MAN 374H paper due on Wednesday. The FIN test won't be too hard, but I'm worried about how much work the MAN 374 case will take. Also, I'm going to Taylor Swift on Wednesday at the Frank Erwin Center!!! Somehow, Shyam and I were able to buy tickets online on Saturday morning, after they've been sold on since January, so YAYA for that.

I cannot wait for spring break, and it cannot come fast enough. We're cruising out of New Orleans to Costa Maya, Guatemala, Belize City, and Cozumel before returning to New Orleans. I'm really excited, even though I don't have a new bathing suit, but I've given up looking for a new one that I'm willing to spend that much money on. But we'll see. I might need retail therapy after Wednesday and buy some in the end.

Ok.. Enough procrastination. I need to start studying for finance so I can do management all day tomorrow!

I'm the World's Greatest: A Proud Marathon Finisher

Music: The World's Greatest- R. Kelly
Mood: Runners High, but Sore

"I saw the light
At the end of a tunnel
Believe in the pot of gold
At the end of the rainbow
And faith was right there
To pull me through, yeah
Used to be locked doors
Now I can just walk on through
Hey, uh, hey, hey, hey
It's the greatest
I'm that star up in the sky

I'm that star up in the sky
I'm that mountain peak up high
Hey, I made it
I'm the world's greatest
And I'm that little bit of hope
When my back's against the ropes
I can feel it
I'm the world's greatest"

I DID IT! 26.2 miles. Done. Finished. Behind Me. I ran the 2010 Austin Marathon on Sunday, February 14th. This was the most emotional race I've done and the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, both physically, mentally, and psychologically. No test, college admissions, interview, job search, anything has been has hard as the marathon I ran yesterday.

The reason behind the marathon is extremely personal for me. For those who know me well, I set goals and do everything to achieve them. Usually, my goals are academic or career oriented, that is, getting good grades, doing well on standardized tests, getting my dream job, etc. Four years ago, I set a very different goal, a goal that I didn't think I'd ever try to accomplish. I volunteered at the Houston Marathon in January of my senior year, passing out water near mile 22 at the top of a pretty steep hill. I was extremely inspired that I said I wanted to run a marathon. I remember going out for runs my senior year and not being able to go past 1 or 2 miles. In college, I forgot about my desire to run a marathon as I focused on my grades and figuring out my career options. Sophomore year, I roomed with Trevor, who did the Austin Distance Challenge and ran in both the Austin and the Boston marathon. While inspired, I didn't have the chance to start training for the marathon because I went abroad in the fall and focused on finding a summer internship in the spring of Junior year. Then I went to Seattle for the summer and had the idea of doing the Austin Distance Challenge my senior year. The training began over the summer and I got up to 6-7 miles over the summer, running around Lake Union after work and also taking a learn-to-row class.

In August, the dates of the 6 races for the Austin Distance Challenge were announced, and two of the races did not work out for me-- one was the Sunday after OU Weekend and the other was the first week of January and I was not going to be able to make those races! Instead, I decided to run the 10 Miler in early November and then see how I felt before registering for the 3M Half Marathon and then then Austin Full Marathon. I ran the 10Miler and the 3M Half very well and I was content with my time and how I felt afterwards.

Right now, however, after running 26.2 miles, I'm am completely sore and cannot move once I sit down for more than about 20 minutes. Hence, I'm currently just loafing on the couch typing when I should be studying for my accounting test on Wednesday!

Anyways, to sum up the marathon, it was exhilarating, challenging, defeating, and moving.  I set the goal to finish at least 4 hours and 30 minutes or better. Throughout the entire race, I was going at a 4:10 to 4:15 pace and stayed with the 4:15 pacer for the majority of the race until about Mile 19 to 20. After that, I could feel my calve muscles start to cramp up and I had to start stopping to stretch it out. Around Mile 22 or 23, the 4:30 pacer caught up with me, and he slowly faded into the distance as I had to continually stop to stretch out my cramping calves and stop to walk so that my calves wouldn't go crazy. It was the most defeating and most emotional part of the race, to literally see my goal slip away from me. I had to hopelessly watch as my goal changed from running in 4:30 or less to running as much as could and at least have a running finish. I ended up finishing in 4:36:22, or a 10 minute and 37 minute per mile pace. In my opinion, that's a terrible pace, but I know I lost my goal because of my calves and having to stop to walk and stretch it out sometimes, and there's nothing I could have done about it.

Mile 22 to the end at mile 26.2 was the roughest part of the race, and I thank the supporters for cheering me on. I was pleasantly surprised and motivated when Ravi, Shyam, and Vicki were on the sidelines cheering around mile 24 to 25. They saw me and ran with me for about 100 yards or so just telling me to keep running and that the end was near. Somehow, I hobbled myself across the finish line and completed my first marathon.

There are two random people I'd like to thank during the marathon. One was a lady around mile 15 or 16 who was holding a Staples Easy Button. As I ran by, I smacked it, and it shouted back to me "Now THAT was EASY!" It totally pumped me up and was very cute. The other was an elderly man who was passing out cookies and tissues around mile 19. He was just opening the box and I really need a tissue as I ran by, so he ripped open the box as fast as he could to hand me a tissue so I could blow my nose while running. The supporters are the people who really do make the marathon what it is. From the neighbors who were passing out orange slices, cookies, gatorade, water, or even beer or champagne, they do it because they enjoy it, and their kindness really do make a big difference.

Now, looking forward, I'm not sure what my next athletic goal is. I really do love running, but it's so bad on my knees what I told myself before the marathon that I'd stop running and move into biking. The problem is, running is not the same as biking. Having finished my first marathon but missed my goal by 6 minutes, I'm tempted to run another marathon just to blow this time out of the water, ie. at 4 hours flat, but we'll see what's in store. Right now, I'm just resting, recovering, and avoiding the school work I really need to start. (ie. I have an intermediate accounting test on Wednesday evening that I'm probably not ready for.)

Carb-ing Up at Milto's the night before

Dying around Mile 24!

But even Ravi, Shyam, and Vicki had strength to run with me and even take pictures while running!

Finished at Last!

And celebrating my finish with my parents!