Got married in SF...(nonMBA) part 2

OK, I've figured out the problem w/ blogger. It does not like uploading six pictures at once. So I have been uploading three photos at a time. Grrrrhhhh...


Haight-Ashbury Street; Former hot spot for SF's hippie counter culture movement




Protection (The Healthy Way) and for his/her pleasure, depending on which team you're batting for.



Brother, sometimes I feel like you...





Heart on the Rock; Found my heart! After all the girls have done to it. hehe...





From my biker consultant buddy's' (Brain) window; Golden Gate Bridge @ sunset. Nice...




From Brian's apartment window; San Francisco sky line @ sunset. Very Nice...





Port of San Francisco; Like a lot of major city it developed around a port





My kind of bar, surfboards close by to catch the next set of waves




Peace in the concrete jungle




Practice your Tai Chi




China Towns' street musician; A lot of history behind that musical instrument




Contrast; Little old, lot of new




Guardians of Chinatown gate

Got married in SF...(nonMBA)

Went to San Francisco earlier this month (7/7 - 7/9) for my surfing buddie's wedding. I took Friday off so I could fly up early to goof around one of my favorite cities.



Had lunch w/ my biker consulant buddy. After reading the book, "The Namesake", I was craving Indian food so we found this Indian restaurant close by. Very good price.








Where did I leave my heart?











Union Square










Gates to China Town






Trying to post more photos but blogger is not cooperating. Will have to do another posting. Same bat channel, different bat posting.

Collateral effects of my exercise regime...(nonMBA)

It has been a little over one month since I've restarted my exercise regime. After three and half years hiatus from working out, getting back into a healthy lifestyle is an uphill battle. I've gone through this before (dropped 30 lbs and maintained back in 99') , but this does not ease the pain of laying the foundation.

Key is developing this routine into an habit. My secret it doing it for one month, then it becomes habitual for me. I work out every weekday (M-Thr) , and surf Friday after work. Try to squeeze in a surf session during weekends, but family chores and personal errans usually get in way.

I fight the 30 minutes commute to get home, greet mom, do the various items/chores she ask me to do. Mentally I'm beaten. The couch, television, all beckon to me. Every day I fight it. Everyday I grind it out. Ten or sixteen mile bike ride, one mile run, then do the weights. My reward is a bowl of salad and one chicken breast. Sometimes I cheat and grab a bowl of rice w/ that day's meat. Results so far, I've droped five to six lbs and maintained it off. Hey, it's only been one month. Side benefits, my back problem is gone, I have more energy now so I'm not as tired while working on the essays and scheduling my time to apply for several B-schools.

My family (nieces and nephew) are starting to eat salads for dinner. I encourage my mom to walk down the street and back home and she's doing it. A good leader must be able to walk your talk while you're asking them to walk also.

Potential post MBA commute?

Found this article on BBC News. Do you think your commute to work is far? Well, consider working in city A (London) and living in city B (Barcelona, i.e. "fill in inexpensive cost of living city"). WOW...Talk about the jetsetting lifestyle. hehe... The article points out that due to high cost of living in major business cities (i.e. London), the emergence of mobile computers, broadband, cheaper airfares and importance of quality of life, some people are living in internationally affordable cities and commuting to work via airplanes. There are several comments to the article by readers that actually are doing it. How cool is that?

"If you book in advance you can get one-way flights from London to Barcelona for £15.99 plus charges. The standard day single by train from Basingstoke to London Waterloo is £15.40."

My master plan is; post MBA work in Europe for a couple of years (consulting) and afterwards head back to Cali, most likely San Francisco. I have traveled to many international cities [Amsterdam, Barcelona, Budapest, Hanoi, Krakow, Madrid, Munich, Mexico City (DF) Prague, Paris, Saigon, Tokyo, Yokohama, Vancouver, etc], and SF (in my humble opinion) ranks up there amoung the many great international cities. It has culture, ethnic diversity, nice people, conductive for active life styles (i.e. surf, snowboarding). I've had another master plan once but that didn't work out and I'm better for it. But I digress.

In addition to being able to work in Europe, how fabulous would it be to say in a conversation, "Oh me? I work in London but I live in (insert affordable city)." Very cool. hehe...

B-school application advice...

As posted by AngelAngie, very good advice on applying for B-schools and for LBS. There are many helpful MBA resources, i.e. Business Week B-school Forum, Clear Admit, Beat the GMAT to list a few. If you know of additional resources, comment it to me and I will add it to my list.

Since LBS has released it's application deadlines, I've taken myself out of study break. There goes my plan of no studying through August. No worries. I was getting bored with all the free time I've had. For the last 2.5 years I have been taking night courses for two certificates (Business Analyst and IT Management) at UCI, so my nights were never really free. Before my studies, I spent my free time after work in the gym, usually arriving home at 7-8pm, again, my weeknights were never really free. I was actually training to get my pilot license (private visual flight rules certificate), before my sister-n-law passed and the title of God Father gained true significance. My pilots' certificate is on indefinite postponement, so I can help raise my God Son. I am use to having my weeknights limited. If I have too much free time, then I usually get myself into trouble, in one way or another. Call it an over developed sense of goal, I like to focus on aspirations.

Action items checked off...

It's technically Monday morning now, thanks to a bout of insomnia. So this passed weekend was busy and productive.

Friday

• Work - CHECK
• Surf - CHECK (Surfed a few waves before rushing to dinner)
  
• Dinner with bachelor boy at Shin Sen Gumi - HALF CHECK
• Bachelor boy was too from work, so he canceled. No worries, still met up with friends at Shin Sen Gumi to celebrate friends' wife birthday. Feet still sandy from surf session.
  
• Afterwards ?? - CHECK (went to Dave n Buster for drinks and enternainment)
  

Saturday

• Dawn patrol - NON CHECK (Got back way too late to wake up at 6am)
  
• Clean up house - HALF CHECK (woke up late, so help around house half way)
  
• Beach volleyball - NON CHECK (Needed to clean house and pray. Not enought time for Beach Volleyball)
• After prayer session and eating, went on 6 mile bike ride)
  
• Drive God Son - CHECK
• Rest - DOUBLE CHECK!!
  
• Take mom to church - CHECK (Sister drove mom)
• Took bachelor boy to late afternoon surfing session
  
• Dinner - CHECK
  
• Bachelor party - (Private) CHECK hehe...
  

Sunday

• Find aspirin - NON CHECK
  
• No time, woke up by brother and had to drive to LAX to pick up nephew flying from Florida. Vietnamese ice coffee keep me up
  
• Take mom and nephew/nieces to visit Dad and Sister at cemetery - CHECK (Sister drove)
• Drove nephew to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate grand niece (my nieces' daughter) 5 year birthday
• Much needed nap
• Went on 14 mile bike ride to clear head
  
• Celebrate God Son's birthday - CHECK
  
• Work on LBS essay questions - CHECK (rough, very rought draft full of bullet notes)

Huntington Beach; Main Street, directly across the HB pier.








Landmark; Huntington Beach Pier. Previous wooden versions where broken and torn apart from past major storms. Like a phoniex, it arises from its ashes. This current version is made of concrete and has survived a couple of major storms.







Bike path and sidewalk along the beach.









Surf's up!

Plans, plans, plans... (non MBA)

Today (Friday)

• Work
• Surf
• Dinner with bachelor boy at Shin Sen Gumi
• Afterwards ??

Saturday

• Dawn patrol (early morning surf session)
• Clean up house, setup for Dad's 100 day pray session (Vietnamese Tradition to honor dead after 100 th day)
• Beach volleyball
• Take God Son (nephew) to "The Block" so he can celebrate his birthday w/ his friends
  
• Rest
• Take mom to church
  
• Dinner w/ boys
• Bachelor party w/ boys

Sunday

• Find aspirin
• Take mom and nephew/nieces to visit Dad and Sister at cemetery
• Work on LBS essay questions
• Celebrate God Son's birthday

Just reviewing my action items for this weekend is making me tired!
Hopefully I'll have pictures (non self incriminating) to post...

End of World Cup, realization how international UCI is...

Since the start of the world cup, I had been watching the games during lunch at the University's grilll by the Science buildings. I work for the University of California, Irvine. Since it was summer time and no classes, I had presumed that I would be watching it with a few graduate students. How wrong I was. I forget that UCI is a major research university and has graduate students and professor through out the world. I was extremely impressed with the amount of people watching the games and how international these people were. Each were cheering for their country, their region of the world, and/or their favorite team. It was particularly cheerful (loud) during the Mexico match. Us So Cal (southern californians) cheered for Mexico, because eventually Californians will breed into CaliforniMexicans. Funny but true.

While watching these matches amongst the diverse audience, it gave me inspiration for my potential future in Business School in Europe. Where ever I end up, I look forward to being amongst a group of intelligent, international group of people I hope to call dear friends. Here's to my international future!

Improve your communication skills...

I am of the mind set that a person should always improve in areas they are weak. Simply put, self improvement. One of the organizations I am actively involved (VP of membership) with is Toastmaster. Improving your communication skills. An article was sent from a club member. It list some goods points that can be implemented in everyday conversation, especially in business meetings. I've seen improvements within myself on the business and personal side of my conversations

LBS deadlines for 06-07 now finalized

As reported by blogger, daveformba, LBS just announced their application deadline for 06-07. R1 ends on Oct 20. That leaves only about 2.5 months for me (not including July) to get my act together. Good thing I was in the process of getting my applications/recommendations for the various European B-schools together for 2006, back in Jan/Feb, before I decided to delay for 2007 to be w/ my father for his cancer and eventual passing. Gotta get back on the GMAT study train once more. Yippee~...Not. Kiss my weeknights goodbye once again.

It is not a sudden lost. My mother has been mentioning, therefore making me feel guilty (a power I suspect all mothers have), that she is getting very tired daily. So I've been gradually slowing down my weekday social excursions to stay home for her reassurance. Elderly couples generally pass within a few years to one another. I hope/pray this will not be the case for my mother. I already feel guilty for applying for B-school in Europe.

My new routine will be, M-F;

• Work
• Excercise: 1-2 mile run, 30-45 minutes weights,
• Dinner
• MBA related activities: Kaplan GMAT review course, GMAT studies, application essays
• Surfing (Fridays after work, Saturday mornings)
  

I will have to reactivate my GMAT review course w/ Kaplan. So depending on the schedule, I will have class twice a week once again.

Added Note;

• Sunday mornings (indefinitely) : Take mom & nephew/nieces to visit Dad & Sister-n-Law @ cemetery
• Thursday nights (8 weeks) : Review course for GMAT (hopefully they reactivate my account in time so I can begin studying again)

Non-MBA Note: Work out regime is starting to show some progress. After 4 weeks of almost daily exercise, I'm starting to put a dent in the 10 lbs I've gained from countless hours in hospital (bedside and overnight stay) with dad and 3 weeks of family prayer/dinner sessions and funeral proceedings. Usually takes a few weeks of excercise to show healthy weight lost. Two pounds lost to start and hopefully more on the way. Ideally, I want to return to my peak six pack form of 155-160 lbs, but that is not realistic, because of B-school applications and living at parents home, watching mother and raising god-son. I will be satisfied with dropping weight to 165-170. Something to strive for. Everyone's gotta have goals.

We are...

We are the collection of our experiences.
We are the collection of our memories.
We are the people we call friends.
We are the people we call family.
We are the legacy of our parents.
We are the sons and daughters of our parents.
We are...

Interesting MBA article...

Found this article, Prepare for an MBA, on the Wall Street Journal. Talk about being an A type, overachiever. Wow... I found the article interesting and will probably check out the subjects I am weak in Microeconomics, Accounting, and Statistics. But in reality, I will probably only glance over the material. Don't want to burn out from business studies before I actually am in a MBA program, when it actually matters.

We came, we sort of surfed, we drank and ate...

The truck was loaded (one set of poker chips, two board wax, three surfboards, four wetsuits, five surf trunks, and tons of sunblock)







Not enough room within the room to hold the boards. As with all surf trips, we made due. Note, the other boards were stashed in various other rooms.







Walking down the trail to check the surf. It didn't look promising. Earlier in the week, a massive swell was pumping over head conditions. That was earlier in the week. A quote from Endless Summer kept going through my head, "you should of been here yesterday."




Further up the coast, and still not looking good. Looks like it will be a great surf weekend for the rookies.

Man injuried, now it's officially a bachelor party! Herman dislocated his shoulder while surfing. He was more concerned w/ the pain he will get from his wife, instead of the pain from the injury.






The heated pool and jacuzzi definitely came in handy after a few hours of surfing. Pool side grilling (Andy; Grill-Master), consumption of wine/beers, and a heated game of Texas Hold'em for that night's dinner and bragging rights. Yea baby, I won a free dinner and more importantly...bragging rights. We're guys, our ego was on the line. hehe..







Man of the hour. Xavier, aka X, X-man, Javier, etc, etc.










Walking down Gas Lamp district in downtown San Diego, we found "his" restaurant!






And when you "own" a fabulous bar/restaurant in prime location in the Gas Lamp District in downtown San Diego, the ladies, like moths to the flame, are drawn to the pimp of the group.







Yes. The betties, they all come to have their photo w/ da pimp!

Quote of the night; "smooth like an Asian."

Note to self: Get bar/restaurant in prime location and name it after self.



The rest of the night was...private. hehe...

Surfing, here I come...

Almost packed and ready for a weekend of surfing, surfing, BBQ, some Texas Hold'em poker, surfing, drinking w/ BBQ, surfing and maybe some sleep. Considering I have not been in the water since last year (studies, work, caring for my father, and life) I hope I won't embarrass myself. Since most of the other guys are from northern cali and they're non-surfers, it might not be too embarrassing. Of course I'll be bringing some of my extra surfboards for those boys. Good thing I have been working out for the last month.

Note to self; 1) bring lots of wine 2) poker chips 3) sunblock 4) camera for pictures.

Socializing for your career...

As it turns out, all the times I have been out w/ my friends have been practicing for B-schools and my career. I suppose I'm still studying for my future B-school and careers. Go figure. Here's the article by Business week; The Art of the schmooze.

BTW, that's not me in the picture. Just one of my many episodes of practicing for my future B-school and Career.

Minor goal achieved....(non-MBA)

I continuously ran (no walking) one mile. This may read rather pathetic, but it is a small accomplishments for me.

Four years ago, I used to run three to four miles, then hit the free weights for a hour, Monday through Thursday. Then Friday through Sunday is surfing. Like clock work, that was my routine, my life. Since I took over partial responsibility of raising my god-son (his mother passed), my pilot license, surfing, working out was placed on the back burner. My fathers' fight with lung cancer and his eventual passing two months ago, did not help. So I was getting fatter and wider. And yes, getting older too.

Now I've moved back home with my mother, god-son, and two nieces. My life does not belong to me. My strength, my presence belongs to them. They need it more then I.

Giving up my bachelorhood, my freedom has its altruistic benefits and drawbacks. So running and working out (at home) is my time, my sanity. Surfing is next on the check list. I'll be down in San Diego for my good friends bachelor, surfing weekend party, this weekend. Yeah, that's what you get for surfers bachelor party. No strippers, just waves and surfing. Of course booze is included. Note to self; buy lots of wine for consumption. Beer has too much calories.

B-school Deans and Professors video interviews...

On Business Week's online site, video interviews of business school deans and some professors. The link is to the right, but for you lazy peoples out there, click here for your viewing pleasure; www.businessweek.com/mediacenter/video/bschools Most deans talk about their schools. What a surprise. Where as professors discuss their fields of expertise. Some interviews provide useful instight to what direction the school is leading to and what some professors will be like. Definitely benefitual to those readers who are under certain about which school to limit to in their applications. With most applications fees in the $100 to $200 range, that will save some $$.

Consulting is making a come back...

I received this article (Consulting is Back) from the MBA Tour. "What's the MBA Tour?" you ask. "Is is a MBA program that visits various cities and gives out MBA?" Not quiet. Check out the link and sign up. It is very very beneficial to us prospective MBA candidates. Group of international MBA recruiters go to various international cities and make their sales pitch. What their program is about. Why they are great. Why you should consider an international MBA and apply for them. All normal sales pitch. But the real beneficial aspect is that these MBA representatives are also on the acceptance committee and you can meet them in person and engage in person communication. In the words of the not soo smart philosopher, Paris Hilton, "That's Hot."

Since I'm considering Management and Strategy as my post MBA career, this article is good news to me. Here's the article;

The MBA Tour has surveyed our client schools about the 2006 consulting market and all are reporting increased hiring activity from consulting firms. Schools considered traditional avenues for consulting continue to experience strong consulting recruiting. Wharton is reporting that at least 26 percent of the class of 2006 will choose consulting over a low of 19 percent in 2002. London Business School (LBS) reported a 40 percent increase in 2005 over 2004 with hiring activity on par with 2005 in 2006. At some of the top schools, consultancies no longer have to be "pursued" by placement directors. All a good sign that next year's graduating class at the top schools could find consulting companies arriving earlier on campus if the economies remains strong in North America and Europe.

Also interesting is that consultancies are increasing their recruiting presence elsewhere. While McKinsey has recruited at schools like NYU and Cornell for example, they are elevating schools like Cornell to priority recruiting schools. The Judge Business School at Cambridge reported 35 percent of its MBA class going into consulting with twice the number of consulting firms recruiting on campus since 2004. Georgetown also saw a similar increase in firms recruiting on campus of 50 percent.

This is all good news for applicants looking to finance their MBAs with a career in consulting. While the traditional consulting schools are reporting heavier recruiting activity, consulting firms are looking elsewhere to attract top notch students. So long as the demand for consulting remains, schools will see the same or higher level of activity next Fall. If campus recruiting happens earlier, that is the first indication of another strong season.

.............Salaries are also increasing

Salaries are also on the rise especially for the top schools where recruiting for the best students is very competitive. While they have not reached the pre-2001 year-over-year increases during the Internet bubble, some schools have reported sign on bonuses and guaranteed year-end bonuses that can increase the base salary by as much as 50 percent.

Wharton reports a modest increase over 2005's median salary of $110,000. With sign on bonuses and guaranteed year-end bonuses, starting compensation in consulting can increase to nearly $150,000 at a top-notch firm. In reviewing salaries of graduating MBAs, most schools are reporting the same or slightly higher salaries as last year. However a slight increase may indicate a possible cooling of the market. In fact, first year class sentiment at one top school indicates fear of just that as many of them rushed to secure summer internships, the best strategy for securing a full time position upon graduation.

Trying to MBA blog...

Haven't blogged much because I'm trying to orienting it towards MBA related topics. Since I'm on holiday from any form of studying (i.e. GMAT), I can comment that I think about the aspects of an international MBA several times daily. It's the only thing that's giving me inspiration in my life. Even planning a trip to Asia this Nov. w/ my buddy Jeff, is not giving me as much drive. It's only an international MBA and nothing but an international MBA.

On a lighter side, I'm happy w/ the progress of my workout regime; walk/run (mostly running now) the first mile, jumped rope for five to ten minutes, core for 15-20 minutes and finally 5-10 minutes of jumping rope again. Feels great to produce lots of sweat. I don't feel it's a productive workout unless my T-shirt is dripping from sweat. The ultimate goal of running (continuous run) two - three miles is on track. Pun intended. My next issue is to lower my beer consumption when hanging out w/ friends. Maybe switch to wine instead of beer? Interesting idea. Aside from the gay-ness factor of drinking wine w/ guys instead of beer. I'll have to push the health benefits to justify and defend the guaranteed teasing I will get. Note to self; Look up the calories for wine vs. beer.

Note; Went to Men's Health Website to look up the damage of beer and wine consumption. Ouch... Water please and make it a cold one for me please.

Can't keep still...

When I was a kid, my dad used to always chide me for constantly fidgetting my legs. Picture sitting w/ foot pushing front protion of leg up and down, at a fast pace and constantly up and down, up and down. I've out grown this tic but I'm still fidgetting in my life.

Since all UCI extension courses are done and completed two certificates, I now have my precious free time back. I've started back into my work out regime (I biked ten miles last night and helped my friend move), but there's still free time. I don't have TV in my room and I'm starting to like it. I will now start to read. It's better and cheaper then going out drinking every night w/ the boys. I'll save going out w/ da boys for weekends. Proof; I turned down going to the local club these past two nights. I am having dinner w/ two femail friends tonight (it's Friday so its ok) and most likely will be dragged to Shark Club (Friday is Asian night, promoters pics) because it's new wave music night. These girls love new wave. Oh well...

Back to my fidgetting and free time. I will restart my work out regime (goal; run 4 miles and 1 hour weights), restart surfing (reason; it's surfing baby), and restart reading (reason; I like to learn stuff). After seeing the movie Da Vinci Code, (I give a B/B+) with my god son Henry, I was going to read the book. Yes reading the book after watching the subpar movie. I'm cool like that. But after seeing the movie trailer for The Namesake I will definitely read this book instead.

Kal Penn (Van Wilder, Harold n Kumar, Superman Returns) stars in it and has a blog during the filming. Coolio, another bloger. I'll definitely read the book before watching the movie this time. How weird is that?! Another immigration, coming home book I throughly recommend is Catfish and Mandala.

MBA Note: Found this blog on Oxford MBA; Vaniah's MBA Diaries I'm surprise there aren't many oxford, cambridge bloggers. Will have to search for more



I'm going to enjoy and be productive w/ my precious free time. I only have it till' end of July, afterwards, it's back to studying for GMAT and applications.

MBA related posting...

OK...This posting will be on MBA rather then my various life adventures (cuz my life is an adventure).

So the blogs I read are not updating, I did a search for HEC MBA on blogsearch. Included within the search was this interesting article "Going Global for an MBA" on a increased trend for MBA students applying for B-schools in Europe. It's a nice article and since I've already decided on an international MBA program, this article is preaching to the choir, but I think my single anonymous reader would be interested. Read up and satisfy your thirst for knowledge. Yeah...bad poetry, but at least I'm trying to be philosophical.