thanksgiving

I'm back in Pasadena for a nice, long Thanksgiving break (we get the whole week off at b-school!). Things have been a bit hectic with a lot of school, work and family thing going on, but overall things are good. I'm sorry for the lame update, but there really hasn't been much new lately. Highlights:

- I've finalized my summer plans and will be in Palo Alto next summer! Although, hopefully, I will be living in Noe Valley again, as I loved my old neighborhood near Dolores and 24th.
- Upcoming trips include a wedding in LA and a trip to India in March, and potentially a week-long trip to Central America next August. I am definitely trying to take advantage of my student schedule to do some traveling.
- I haven't finalized my schedule for next year. I didn't get into the Finance II class I really wanted, so that threw my entire schedule off. I'll definitely be taking Entrepreneurial Finance and Microeconomics, and Global Initiatives in Management, but aside from those three classes I don't know what other two classes I plan on taking. I'm hoping to major in Entrepreneurship, Finance and Social Enterprise.

That's all for now. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving!

another week

Wow, time really flies. This was another busy week, as I was back in Northern California from Monday to Wednesday taking a second look at a couple of firms. I am pretty sure where I will be going next summer, but just need a few more days to mull over my decision.

School has also been busy, as we had a final paper for one of my classes due on Friday. This week has flown by, but not without bumps. Unfortunately, things are so busy, I haven't been a good group member in all of my classes. This is especially true in Finance, where I decided to cut my losses early on and work on other classes. I am the nightmare member in that group, as I have contributed little this entire quarter. Although I did OK on the midterm, I think I'm screwed for my peer evaluation grade. At least my group members for my other teams like me (I think).

In regards to food, it's been a pretty hearty week. On Tuesday I ate at Houston's in SF for my sister's birthday, then on Wednesday I requested to have lunch at thee cafeteria of the firm I was meeting with, just to get the lay of the land. Other solid meals have included dinner at Buffalo Joe's in Evanston on Friday after the school's big marketing competition, brunch at Fox and Obel on Sunday, and a big steak dinner tonight at Kinzie Chophouse.

Hope to have a more exciting report next time!

recommitment

Ok, I know it's been a long, long time since I've last posted regularly, but I'm taking a stand here and saying that I plan on making at least weekly posts to my blog. I can't promise that these will be lengthy, earth-shaking posts, but they'll be better than nothing.

This past week, I flew out to San Francisco with Lauren for a quick recruiting trip (for her). As usual, I ate tremendously well in the city:

Dinner at Jardiniere: This French restaraunt was incredible. The four of us (Lauren, myself, a firm associate and her boyfriend), split four appetizers, three desserts (plus one compliments of the chef), two bottles of wine, and each ordered a different entree and dessert wine (except for me). Although my Berkshire pork entree was only a bit above average, everything else was very much above average, especially their scallop appetizer and ice dessert.

Lunch at Myth Cafe: Excellent sandwiches and sides, similar to my last visit. Lauren and I split the turkey avocado sandwich, as well as a mixed green salad, mac and cheese and home-made chips. That description truly falls short of the true measure of each item. For example, the mac and cheese was served fresh from the oven in its own serving dish with four different cheeses and a breaded top.

To-go dinner from Out the Door: I have yet to try Slanted Door or its takeout version, Out the Door, and a Vietnamese sandwich sounded like the perfect thing to bring onboard for an in-flight dinner. My Saigon roast pork sandwich was amazing. The quality of the pork and vegetables and sandwich size (about 1.5-2 times the size of a standard banh mi sandwich) easily overcame the high price $7.50 (the cost of about three normal banh mis). I will be back during my next trip to SF next week.

Yes, I'll be back for a few more firm visits (plus my sister's birthday) - arriving Monday and leaving Wednesday!

busy busy

Man, these past few weeks have flown by!

- Greg and Kelly's wedding
Congratulations to a fantastic couple! Lauren and I had a blast at their wedding, and as always, it was great to catch up with everyone. As fate had it, the hotel we booked through Priceline was the same hotel the wedding party was staying in!

- OCI
I finished two weeks of Northwestern's on campus interviewing program. Long, but worth it as I am now excited to start learning more about the firms and eventually find out where I'll be next summer.

- Moto Dining Experience
Winnie and I had a great dinner at Moto through a Visa Signature promotion. I took lots of photos, but forgot the details about the food. Luckily, Chicagoist was there as well and had much better notes about the meal.

- KWEST
Tomorrow I leave for one week in the Galapagos!

chicago distance classic

This past weekend I finished the Lasalle Bank Distance Classic, a fairly tough half-marathon considering the heat and humidity in Chicago. I was shooting for under two hours, but just missed it as my body gave out in the last two miles - all I had to run were two 10 minute miles to finish under two hours, but I couldn't do it. I'm still glad I was close to my target time though :)



Now I'm in the midst of interviewing for firm positions for next summer. 10 down and 17 more to go in the next week and a half!

san francisco weekend

I had a fantastic weekend in San Francisco, as I was in town for a job fair this past Saturday. Here's how it went -

Friday
Early (6:00AM) flight from Chicago to Oakland, but thankfully I was able to hitch a ride with Bert. After arriving we visited my sister at her office, dropped off our stuff, and I took Bert to check out Fisherman's Wharf. If you haven't been to Musee Mecanique, I highly recommend it. Even though it's new location is not as cool as it's old home in the Cliff House, it's still worth a visit. Plus it's free, and most machines are only 25¢. It was a bit of a disappointment, as I couldn't complete one of the strength games that I used to be able to do with ease in the past. Here's the hammer game I hope to conquer on my next visit:

Saturday
I had to rush to the career fair after having a delicious Chinatown breakfast with my sister. The career fair took up most of the day, but I was able to run out to Yuet Lee for lunch with a bunch of my classmates also in town for the fair. For dinner, a bunch of us went to Cha Cha Cha, and then closed the night at Matrix Fillmore.

Sunday
I was hoping to squeeze in arun while I was visiting, but I forogt how cold it gets in SF over the summer. Instead, Jennifer, Emily, Eric and I all met for brunch at Zuni Cafe. Their hamburger had been on my list for a long, long time, and it did not disappoint. Then Jennifer and I went to the Asian Art museum, which had two very impressive exhibits - Tezuka and a Japanese woodblock print master. From there we went to the Legion of Honor, which also hosted a cool exhibit. Along the way, Jennifer dashed my hopes of every owning an original piece of art by my favorite artists. Finally, I drove down to San Mateo for a fun dinner at Kingfish with my old BUILD co-workers.

Monday
Although I had a 4:45PM flight out of Oakland, I attempted to squeeze as much SF as I could in one morning and afternoon. I had breakfast in Chinatown again, then met up with Gerald and one of his FCI friends. We took a short walk around Chinatown and North Beach before driving out to the Mission to meet Thien for lunch at Taqueria Cancun. Then we went to Tartine Bakery for dessert, and finally Gerald drove me to the airport from the city.

All in all, a superfun trip!

congratulations chris and bo!

I flew back to Los Angeles this weekend to attend Chris and Bo's wedding. The ceremony was in Palos Verdes, and the reception was at the Trump National Golf Course along the coast. I had a great time, the wedding was beautiful, and as always, it was great to see my family and friends back in LA.

Now it's back to class, with two midterms and multiple papers and memos due this week!

road trip!

Even though this was a busy weekend, with on-campus-recruiting and fall class registration deadlines, but I still made time for a fantastic road trip to Milwaukee. After relaxing all-day Saturday, I have planned to do a ton of work and research on Sunday, until I woke up to an email about watching the Giants play the Brewers in Milwaukee. After some quick phone calls and logistical planning, four of us were off to Wisconsin!

Three more weeks before the Chicago Long Distance Classic Half Marathon, and I've got a lot of training to do!

pitchfork

Even without much prior knowledge of the bands performing, the Pitchfork Music Festival was one of the coolest music festivals I've ever been to. I spent nearly all of Saturday at Union Park, and most of Sunday afternoon and evening. Here's why it was so awesome:

- Public transportation. Getting there couldn't have been easier, as the park was right off the Ashland stop on the Green Line, and only three stops outside of the Loop.
- Great music. Although I knew of only a few bands in advance (The New Pornographers and Of Montreal), I enjoyed listening to most of the acts.
- Superb planning. The festival was spread across three stages, and the layout/schedule was planned perfectly such that there was no overcrowding or volume interference at any of the shows.
- Flatstock. This trade poster festival at Pitchfork was awesome. I've always been a fan of cool concert art, and this was a collection of companies that all made cool, unique, modern posters for indie rock bands and venues.
- Affordable prices. The two-day ticket was only $35, and most impressively, bottled water was only $1!!!

wow! time flies!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted! Sadly, my return post will also be a short one, as this is one crazy week for me. Who'd have thought that my summer class schedule would be even busier than my routine during the regular school year?!

A lot of it has been trying to catch up after missing a week of class while I was in Pasadena, but even before I left town class has been mad busy. I plan on posting a better update next week, once things calm down and I've turned in my assignments for this week.