Too funny to resist...

Back on Track...

I can breath once more. My inherited son has been released from the hospital. He still has one heart test, but we can schedule that later. He's happy to be back home, in his own bed, instead of the cold, sterile hospital. Much better with internet connection. Yeah, that's my son.

MBA Applicant related item;
ClearAdmit.com has this great blog, referencing MBA Podcasting on Adminission Essays.
Insightful information straight from several horse's mouth. The guest speakers include:

• Linda Abraham, President & Founder of Accepted.com, an admission’s counseling and essay editing service
• Thomas Caleel, Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
• Brian T. Lohr, Senior Associate Director of Admissions at University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business
• Graham Richmond, Co-founder of MBA admission consulting company "Clear Admit"
  

MBA student related item;
Article from FT.com; Web ads sector lacks experienced staff!

According to advertising and media industry executives, one of the biggest obstacles towards even more rapid growth in the online advertising industry – particularly online video advertising – is the lack of experienced staff.

The web is the fastest-growing advertising sector.

In the US, spending is expected to increase by nearly 30 per cent this year to $16bn. In the rest of the world, growth is expected to reach 35 per cent this year, raising spending to $11.6bn, according to Merrill Lynch estimates.

Something to consider while in B-school and wondering what you want to do when you grow up...I mean postMBA.

What life throws at me and How I'm dealing with it...

The MBA application activity is lower in my priority now. My god son (inherited son) has been in the hospital since Friday. Hopefully once all the testing is done, he'll be home later this week.

Background story;
He was in football practice on Friday and complained about chest pains, heavy breathing, and headaches. Five or seven years earlier, another kid from the same football team had died during practice due to heat exhaustion. The coach checked my son into the hospital. I found out when I got home from work. My 85 year old mother doesn't remember my cell #, but his two older sisters were with him.
They've run the tests and have two doctors on his case. Since it's "hell week" for high school teams, and the kid had passed a few years back, the schools and hospitals are not taking any chances. My inherited son is 15 years old, 5'8" and weights 270 lbs. Yes, that's a lot of Vietnamese. My family has never been on the slender side of Vietnamese genetics. We're build tough and strong.
So I'm back in the hospital again, sleeping in the fold-able chair during the weekend. Although he is a big kid....he still is a kid.

Funny note;
It's Saturday afternoon and I'm coming in to relieve my two nieces. They had just given him a bath because he was starting to stink up. Yeah, remember the teenage years, when you're body's a hormone factory. Combine that with yesterday's football practice sweat still on you. Yeah...he probably did stink.
The sisters complained about having to give him a bath.
I said, "Personal hygiene is optional for men on the weekends." I shower, but don't shave during the weekends , unless I'm meeting important people.
My son laughed.
My nieces said, " ewhh~!"
The nurse responded, "You must be single."
My nieces and son then laughed.

Revenge of the 80's, take that marcusrodri...(definitely nonMBA)

Can't be certain if it's my lack of sleep or my 10 hour and still going day, but I can't help get the 80's music vidoe of my head for the last four hours. If you can't fight it, then go with it!

Since my previous post on recycled fashion, "blast from the past", Marc IESE 07' (marcusrodri.blogspot.com) commented me w/ this very 80's music video from Spain. He then posted his thoughts on the 80's. Of course reading "what' cha talk'n about Willis" in Spainish I found way hilarious. Thanks Marc, you've set off a 80's flash back in me. So I must return the favor to you!

I submit these two videos for you readers and Marc viewing entertainment and hope you have a laught attack like I did.

1) 80's hilariously awful music video. I like the song as a kid, but the video is another matter.




2) Mr. T's 80's fashion style! Yes baby!!


Yes...Sweet 80's revenge. MWEAUHAHA~...

Investment Banking, true portrait?

Yet another bout of insomnia and yet another blog posting. I have not had so many instances of insomnia, since my puberty years. Last I checked, my voice is still the same and pimples are minimal. There are my normal worries (memories of passed father, my survived mother, inherited son, b-school applications, work projects, deadlines, financing MBA), and a few new ones (i.e. my divorced sister asked I provide male figure role model to her 10 year old son) have climbed on my shoulders but I'm managing them so far. My normal 18 mile (28.9 km) post work bike ride helped me destress and recenter myself and I was sleeping early but kept on waking up. Gotta find that off switch or at least snooze button in my mind. No worries, lack of sleep gives -tvu additional blog reading time!

I submit for your reading entertainment, fellow class of 09' blogger....Katrina. Came across her blog and boy did she kick ass on the GMAT! -tvu bows to her superior standardized test taking skillz...cuz she's got mad skillz. Otay..Enough with the silliness, back to this posts' point. Yes, I'm a poet...

In a previous post, Katrina referenced this article written by an intern for IB, based in Hong Kong. Sounds exciting, yes? Well read the intern's article. WOW. Is that an accurate portrait he is painting of Investment Banking?

Some cheese with your whine and excuses?

What a great article from Business Week, "The Admit Office's Hate List." Chop full of vitamins, nutrients, food for thought for applicant essays and interviews to B-schools. The article has six points. Why the odd number? In the words of my nieces/nephews, "I dunno." Whatever happend to ten? An additional four tips would have made this article four more points better. hehe... Here's the summary of the article, but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you read the orginial article in its' entirely.

1. Making excuse instead of explaining;
• Thin line between excuses and explaining your shortcomings other weakness. Show them what you have done since to address the problem. Don't talk about it, show them what you have done and stick to the facts.
2. Writing what you think they want to hear;
   
• blah blah.. no suck/kiss up. Don't use their buzz words. Don't regurgitate their brochures back to them. Say it in your own words, your originial ideas. What a novel idea! Yes the pun was intended. hehe...
  
3. Getting too personal;
   
• If that topic is not appropiate for a dinner conversation and NOT relevant to the topic at hand, then don't put it in your B-school essays. Stick to the point and topic.
  
4. Resume Padding;
   
• "If someone is a relatively recent college grad, and they're suddenly saying they're at a managerial level, that's a red flag..." Get it? Got it? Good.
  
5. Title shopping;
   
• "All B-schools prefer that recommendations come from someone who knows you well in a business... Even worse are recommendations from people who barely know you at all... Choose your recommender based on how well they know you, not their prestige factor..." Enuff said.
  
6. Playing Alpha-Dog;
   
• "It's a tricky thing, striking the right balance between being confident and a good self-promoter without being arrogant and over the top. But being too intense—or even worse, condescending or rude—is no way to win points. [Admission] office doesn't look favorably on alpha personalities that intimidate and exclude other people. Much of that comes through in the interview portion of the application process, but admissions officers scour essays for clues to your personality as well."

What is the the bottom line? Be the real you. Remember, you have to find a fit for yourself. An analogy; Remember having the super huge crush on the hottie in school. After months and years of silent yearning, imagine you now are finally dating that hottie. Now you realize the hottie turns out to be a super baddie. Getting into a top school and hating the experience would be a waste of your $$ and more importantly, time. Money will come and go, but you'll never get your wasted life time back. Time is the ultimate limited resource. I will have to include these points into my next essays edit, which BTW is on revision three.

Stirring up the gender bee hive

I've done my share of putting one's foot in one's mouth, but I've always...ALWAYS know to never comment on gender differences and inaedquancies. Talk about stirring up THE GENDER BEE HIVE. Well this idiot S.O.B did on his blog. The net is the perfect forum for shooting ones' mouth off, but be prepared for the flames coming back at you. I summit this return flame. hehe...

I have been surrounded by strong women in my life. When in 75' our family fled Vietnam war, my father stayed back to wait for my brothers caught in the fight. It was my mother that took our entire family on the boat, in the middle of the night, with nothing...I mean NOTHING, but clothes. It was her that worked and raised our family until my father was able to flee five years later. So don't tell me that a woman is weak. Out of family of ten kids, I am closest w/ my two older sisters. They were the one that I learned what sacrifices and true strength are about. No, I'm not a mamma's boy. If you meet me in person, that is the furtherest impression you'll get from me. If I hear some idiot mouth off that women are inadequate and weak, then I'm going to have some serious words with that hot bag of air. Sorry...Needed to vent. Now back to the issue.

Knowing that my future includes an international MBA, working in Europe post MBA, and I look forward to employment in an international city. There is no place for prejudice and certainty no place for gender discrimination. Growing up in the 70's Huntington Beach, California, and with the Vietnam war fresh in Americas' memory, I have experience plenty of racistism. If you're going to not like a person, then do so for their specific character flaw (i.e. lazy, idiot, mean, liar, cheat, etc), not because of generalized reasons (i.e. ethnicity, gender, age, religion, etc).

Observations and Life Lessons from this weekend...(nonMBA)

I finished a second revision of B-school X essay over the week, so I had some fun this weekend. These are some observations made and life lessons I learned over the weekend.

• When going to a depressing location, have family/friends come also.
  
• Treat your entire family out to a nice meal. The family bonds better without the stress of cooking the meal and clean up.
  
• Spend time with a younger member of the family (no movies) where you are constantly interacting with them (i.e. sports, hiking, shopping). Talk to them as a person, instead as a child.
• Teach babies how to blow kisses and other cute tricks. This puts a smile on all adults and more importantly, teaches the baby the fundamentals of social skills.
  
• Going w/ plan B is sometimes better then plan A... Roll w/ the punches and go w/ the flow
• Sometimes it pays to be the wingman. private hehe...
  

Blast from the past...(nonMBA)

I've been noticing the fashion trend of the SoCal kids is recycling towards the 80's (skinny jeans, i.e. Jordache) Way Bitchin! Like, I'm totally psyched!

The days of










Flash Dance fashion














Billy Idol




(Yes, I did have the rad Billy Idol hair cut)














Duran Duran












A Flock of Seagulls

















80's Madonna















not to be mistaken for Ms 90's Madonna







nor 00' Madonna






is making a comeback baby! Hopefully the mullet and big hair will remain unrecycled. hehe..

Why I and maybe other US students apply to International B-Schools

Another bout of insomina and another blog. Read Business Week's an day in life article on MBA graduates. Fairly standard article, but what perked my ears were these paragraphs. I have many reasons for applying only for B-schools outside of the good' ole' US of A. These paragraphs help to

Looking back on my B-school experience, I think that school you choose is more important than your courses. I would enroll in the most diverse, international program you're accepted to. Generally, courses are fairly standard between MBA programs; what varies is the composition of the school's student body

At "B-School X", no one nationality makes up more than 10% of the student population. That has a huge impact on every class, even standard first-semester courses such as Marketing or Accounting. Bring students from 40 different countries to contribute and debate, and the course takes on a new dimension.

So far, I've worked in three countries (the U.S., France, and Japan), but because of what I learned from my peers at"B-School X", I have a more international perspective and understanding of conducting business in many markets around the world.

I've attended a few B-School information sessions and read up on their international student body data. No American B-school could compare to the foreign B-School international student body represented. The international B-schools put the international in...well you get the idea. hehe...

Side non-MBA note; Is it possible to weight less at the end of the day, then in the morning? Yes, if you're losing weight! Yeah baby, dropped almost eight pounds so far. My work out regime has changed a bit. I'm mostly biking for my cardio and just went from 10 mile (16 km) to 18 mile (28.9 km) ride. A 3 to 4 mile run would be better, but the sensation of the the wind in my face can't be beat.

This rose goes to B-school X...

This article from Business Week poses an important issue to consider for us MBA applicants. How well will you fit into your B-school? Unless you do have extra cash and do want to spent the extra $100 to $200 in applicant fees (I rather spend my hard earned money on my various "vices") , us cash limited applicant bloggers are/will short list the number of schools we are/will apply for. Everyone has their reasons to not apply for B-school X and must apply for B-school Y, but have they considered (aside the schools' emphasis/reputation /ranking) will they fit the B-school and/or will the B-school fit them? The school adcoms will certainly consider, "What/how can this applicant add to/enrich our program?" Us applicants must consider, aside from the post MBA salary increase, "What will I get out of this program? How will this school help me in my life long goals/ambition?" What is the perfect match?

The meat of the article looks to the applicants' personality as the answer. How well do you know yourselves?

...your character traits traits have a lot to do with how successful you will be at school, work, and even in your personal life...Knowing how to team up with people who are strong in areas where you are weak is the key to achievement, he adds. That's why getting to know yourself is such a big part of the MBA experience

Good thing I am more comfortable in my own skin now.











It took me almost four decades (yea I'm older then my appearance. It's an Asian thing), years of traveling (exotic experiences and soulfilled discoveries), one trip to home country (Vietnam) w/ dying father (tracing the footsteps of my family), a few broken hearts (mine and others), twelve plus years working, inherited a son,



care of my mother, life experiences,etc, etc. It's still a on going process, but I'm definitely comfortable with myself in this decade. -tvu in the 70's, 80's, and 90's was still trying to figure things out. -tvu in 00's is a mature/comfortable/self aware, etc person. Now I gotta improve my beach volleyball skill and lose the fifteen pounds. hehe...

Recap of weekend...(nonMBA)

The entire previous week was engaged in last minute prep work for my good friends wedding. Yet another wedding. Ughh~... I'm a grooms man this time, no free time for wedding pictures in this post. Maybe no wedding pictures turned out to be good this time.

Friday (Calm b4 Storm); Finished last of wedding errands, so I took the groom out for a condemn mans' last drink. So it's only the groom (my child hood friend) and grooms man (me), so it's not a bachelor party, just too dear childhood friends savory his last precious hours of freedom. Being both snowboarders and surfers, freedom is best enjoyed after a pint of good beer, good music and the wind in our face and hairs. So after a good beer, we jumped in my truck, windows rolled down, blasted the music and cruised PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) from Newport Beach to Seal Beach. The smell of the salty ocean air adding to the flavor, I looped the drive ? times. We started around 11pm, I finally pulled back home around 2 am. We've known each other since seven years old, no words were spoken during that cruise.


Saturday (The STORM); OK, so I woke up a a little late, but no worries. We were still early for the ceremony at the church. Reception was Vietnamese/Chinese style (eight course meal) and the wedding party going to each table to greet, thank, toast the guests and pick up the money gifts. While each table gives the groom and bride the most foul, alcohol rich beverage to consume. Since the groom can't handle his liquor (cheap date), and I being the only grooms man that can consume alcohol, guess who drank for him?? I wonder how the dinner was, because I didn't get more then two bites. Hmm...Alcohol consumption on a empty stomach. Wonder what that produces? A very, VEERRY DRUNK grooms man.

TIP 1; when late meeting the bride's sister to pick up flowers, just smile and don't answer any questions. Just smile. Normally bring flowers helps smooth things out. Since we're meeting at the florist, that was not an option.
TIP 2; when "tipsy" and flirting..I mean talking to the ladies at a wedding reception...make sure....MAKE CERTAIN...that the two ladies don't know each other and they are not friends with each other and the bride.


Sunday (The Aftermath); lost cell phone (my black book is gone. Took me years to develop that phone list), lost rental bow tie (had to pay lost items fee), needed ride back in morning to pick up truck, because -tvu was too drunk to drive himself. Yes, I went home a lone. Wonder why? And there's the bee hive that -tvu stirred up last night. The bride gave -tvu an earful. The groom was having a good laugh. Thanks buddy. Glad I could provide you w/ entertainment. hehe...

Side note, I met up w/ another high school friend (back visiting) for lunch. I hadn't seen him since two years ago and his baby daughter was only a few months. Back in the high school and part of college years before he met his girlfriend and now his wife, he was quite the ladies man. He is a tall good looking guy with a good mind. That was then, now he's still the ladies man, but only limited down to two women this time....the wife and daughter.






The other lady in his life








Sorry, ladies. Mr model-bachelor is taken and she's got him wrapped around her tiny adorable fingers







Daddy's little girl








These little hands are able to wrap daddy around








Wrapped around her fingers

Three diplomas and one more to go...

Earlier this week, I received my second diploma (Business Analyst certificate) from UCI Extension. Including my first one (IT Management) and my undergraduate degree from University of California, Santa Barbara, that makes it three. Of course there is the big ole' MBA from a B-school in Europe that I'm aiming for, but that is a goal I'm applying for and hope to start progress in fall of '07. Three down and one more to go.

Side note; I was reminiscing my time (several best years of my life) while in UCSB.

• Put myself through college
• Second person in family to graduate from college
  
• Learned that the world is larger then Southern California and USA
• Traveled to Mexico city (DF) and Japan
  
• Learned to surf and snowboard
• Co-Founded a multicultural fraternity: Sigma Chi Omega
• Had our 10 year anniversary in 03' (Where's -tvu in the pictures?)
• Made some life long friends

What I hope to accomplish/gain from B-school (next best years of my life) in Europe?

• Finish the program; Graduate (MBA) diploma]
• Greater insight into entrepreneurship, management, marketing, business language
  
• strengthen/develop my soft skills, leadership, management, business skills
  
• Change career
  
• Summer internship in the industry (Strategy/International Business/Consulting ) I am aiming for post MBA
  
• Exchange program to a B-school in Asia [Hong Kong, Keio (Japan), Melbourne, Singapore, etc]
  
• Work in Europe postMBA
• 6 weeks vacation
• experience European lifestyle in urban setting
  
• Time permitting while in B-school; travel/surf/snowboard in Europe, Asia, etc
  
• Make additional life long friends and develop business contacts for future entrepreneurial projects

That's the battle plan for now, but we'll see how it holds up once it starts.

Strategic planning is worthless, unless there is a strategic vision. -John Naisbitt