The Wrong Side of Midnight

Hmm, another 8:30 AM - 1:45 AM day. I think the subject of the post says it all -- definitely the wrong side of midnight. Again, walking out of the building and having the most substantive conversation of the day with a taxi driver is a humbling experience. I know I'm not alone in this experience, yet it feels like it sometimes. My hours are so odd that I rarely see anyone -- that is, except for the people I work with.

My house is perfectly clean b.c I am never here -- I'm a bit behind on mail and bills, but I can do that in a few hours (should have that in a couple months or so).

The unfortunate thing about posting at 2 AM is that my brain is fried, my body is exhausted and my rationale is twisted. Actually, the last piece is a constant. At any rate, I have been really front loading my work this week to ensure a weekend of relative freedom.

Well, I think its probably time to hit the hay -- another day in front of me before the weekend.

Warriors Draft

To say I am disappointed would be putting it mildly -- I can't believe they picked Patrick O'Bryant. Oh well, I would write more but I am so happy to be out of the office that I can't focus on it -- plus, I suppose there are more important issues in the world.

Life is full of tough decisions -- Chris Mullin had to make one today and he failed miserably. Poor guy. I keep fixating on it, but how do you make the right choices in life? I am torn on a few major things right now, but not sure what direction to go in. It eats at me everyday, but yet I still can't find the clarity I am seeking.

Tomorrow is a new day -- hopefully one I can attack while well-rested.

Stealing Time

"Stealing Time" is a phrase I've taken to using now that my time has been severely compromised. For instance, I'm stealing time right now because it's 7:45 and I should be on the bus -- instead I am doing something I want to be doing. Or, I'll steal time when I hang out with people that I enjoy being around but understanding the reality that it'll be a long time before I see them again. Funny thing about Time -- he'll always come back and get you. These past 10 minutes typing will probably result in some sort of wretched penance that manifests itself in a 3 AM night.

Again, NBA draft today -- I am sure I'll be distracted come late afternoon. Let's hope the Warriors get lucky and end up with either a good player or make a shrewd maneuver via trade. I think back to the past two years and I was always watching the draft from the comfort of my own home. Life changes fast.

The Left Side of Midnight

Tonight was a great night -- left the office before midnight. Something tells me that will strike a few people as odd -- hell, it strikes me as odd. Anyway, it's always weird to walk out of a giant office building in the middle of San Francisco -- I always feel like I'm the only one in the city. It's not exactly a lonely feeling, but maybe not the best feeling either.

The NBA draft is tomorrow -- hopefully my Warriors make something happen. As in something good -- I doubt it because that franchise is doomed.

I was extremely distracted today for a myriad of reasons -- caught myself staring out into the fog on numerous occasions. Not thinking much, but just drifting off for one reason or another. I wonder how many people actually believe in fate? Some think things happen for a reason and that life has a funny way of equalling things out in the end. Others think you control your own destiny and you're responsible for defining your fate. I don't know -- I was thinking about that today. Do you just let things wash over you and leave things up to fate? Or do you try and exercise some control over certain situations?

My personality definitely falls into the latter, but I have been experimenting with the former. I think it's intrinsically very difficult for someone like me, but I figure I should give it a shot.

Hmm, kind of a non-sequitur post. Oh well, not much makes sense at this point in the evening when you're going on consecutive nights of 4 hours of sleep.

Do The Right Thing

Not only one of my favorite movies, but also (drum roll, please) the theme of my post today. Although I should be going to work, I felt the "right thing" to do was to post something that I have been thinking about. Sometimes picking the right path is easy -- opening the door for old women, letting handicapped people sit down in the designated seats on the bus, etc.

However, other times its not quite as clear as to what the right thing is -- what do you do then? I think the crux of the issue is that it's always a conflict between what you think in your head and what you feel in your heart. Which one do you choose? It's not always easy -- I feel like I have encountered a slew of these situations lately -- some I handled well, others not so well. Not sure why I felt like writing about it today, but it's my blog and I'll write what I want to. Just was thinking about it today as I woke up. Anyway, I'm sure I'll face more of these in the coming months -- I just tell myself to imagine being in the other person's shoes and how they would like to be treated -- and go from there.

By the way, on a tangential note, I think a lot of people mistakenly think that how your friends/family think of you defines the person that you really are. I think that's true to a point, but in reality, they'll always think you're great. In my opinion, the true measure of a person can always be found by asking the people that they interact with on an everyday basis -- people they aren't close to. For example, the person who serves them coffee every day, the doorman, the security guard and the janitor. If individuals aren't nice to them, chances are they aren't that nice to begin with -- it's my standard litmus test.

Front Loading

7:45-1:45. I am no math major but that strikes me as an 18 hour day. That's ok though -- I was able to take a 2 hour dinner (albeit from 9:00 - 11:00 PM) to see some friends and catch up. Plus, I am trying really hard to front load my week (more 18 hour days ahead) because I have plans Saturday night that I don't/won't miss. If that means killing myself this week and early Saturday, so be it.

Anyway, was a decent day -- although the days and weeks morph together. I have a pile of unpaid bills (very unlike me) and I haven't had a chance to hit the store to get things like toothpaste and shaving cream. I'm to the point of squeezing out every last ounce from the tube. Maybe tomorrow at lunch I'll have an opportunity.

Anyway, that's it from me.

The Importance of Sleep

The work week ended yesterday and we had a little office happy hour -- fun to hang out with people in a different context. I wanted to go out afterwards, but I think the combination of working 15-17 hour days this week plus the prospect of working all weekend made sleeping a much more enticing proposition.

My head probably hit the pillow around 11:30 PM and I didn't get up until 9:30 or so -- that is a ridiculous amount of sleep in one night for me...I am hoping to make a couple parties tonight, so time to go to the office.

Delirious

It's 2 AM and I just rolled in -- and need to be back at 6 AM. Really? Good night.

Boarding an Airplane -- How Uncivilized

Not that I have much time to think during the days, but since I had to cancel a client meeting I was supposed to attend due to other work obligations I got to thinking about airplane travel.

I think there should be a rule made that anyone not seated in the section announced should be banned from boarding. After all, they only LOUDLY announce that only those patrons with tickets in "zone XX" should stand up and board -- they even go so far as to ask those not seated in the specified zone NOT to stand up so as not to block the aisle. Yet what happens? They start calling for handicapped and passengers traveling with children and the entire terminal rushes to crowd the entrance. What is with that? Do people just ignore instructions? Do people really want to get on the plane and sit that bad? It's ludicrous.

The only reason this type of behavior persists is because there is no punishment for it -- if the airlines would just institute some sort of penalty, then we could all board in peace without the hassle of playing luggage dodgeball trying to get on the plane.

Yes, I am tired. And yes, I am going to sleep now.

Tired

Exhausted. Home by 1 AM though. Must be back by 7 AM.

Proud

Every now and again, something happens or we witness something that makes us proud. Even at this late hour and coming home after a long day, I've been thinking about how proud I am of three people in particular.

One is my sister who is by far the smartest kid in the family -- getting great grades at UCLA and challenging herself with her career choice. Let alone also being incredibly down to earth despite her achievements both academically and professionally.

My brother is also headed to b-school and that is something to be proud of as well -- especially for someone who spends their waking hours usually devising plans to either sleep, eat or party! He'll have a great time in b-school although let's hope he doesn't fall in love with BBQ.

The last is someone that I have seen evolve and grow into an amazing marketer over the years. Constantly pushing the envelope, developing their skills and diligently forging ahead -- it's all paying off now as I always knew it would. Not hard to have that much confidence in someone with those characteristics though.

All in all, I'm a pretty lucky schmuck to know them.

Only Cab on the Road

I know it's a stolen line from the song by Train, but its amazing what you reflect upon during a 10 minute cab ride home at 1:30 AM. My work day went from 8:30 AM to 1:20 AM -- the sad thing is, I could have stayed longer but I had to come home to get some amount of sleep.

Riding home, a million things crossed my mind. The things I learned today, the people I met and the experiences I will have this summer and beyond -- but more importantly, I thought about the truly important things in my life. The life I am fortunate enough to have, the city I live in, and most importantly, the people I love and the people I love enough to miss.

I think all of us struggle with work-life balances. At the end of the day, for me, the priorities in my heart rank as: 1a.) Family 1b.) Friends and somewhere after comes my career. The unfortunate thing is that in most people's lives, not just mine, the reality is that we invert that order on an every day basis due to a myriad of reasons.

Coming home at 1:30 AM on a Monday night might be depressing to some, but for me it was an opportunity to think about the important things in life.

Paycheck?

Today is my first day at work and I'm excited to start -- the downside is that I am also incredibly nervous since I'll be surrounded by incredibly smart people who are adept at their jobs -- as for me, I'm not that smart but I am willing to work hard -- unfortunately, not sure if that will translate into being adept.

That said, it'll be nice to make money again after months of taking it easy.

The Written Word

Someone recently asked me why I started a blog -- in hindsight, it was a fair question. In all honestly, I think I started my blog as a way to document some of my thoughts and opinions on a variety of subjects -- not in the hopes that people would read them and be somehow enlightened, but more to improve on my writing skills and to conjure up new ways of expressing myself.

Prior to embarking on my new career path, I was always writing -- but not in a creative way. I suppose this blog provides me with a forum to explore new styles of writing while simultaneously empowering me with the opportunity to write about things I am interested in. In addition, with a new career that will be focused on developing quantitative skills, this will ensure my skills don't get too rusty.

There are a myriad of ways people express themselves -- emotionally, through writing, speaking, through numbers, etc etc. I guess this is my way of at least trying to be good at one of the methods...

Moral Dilemma?

I think most people that know me well would describe me as having a pretty solid moral compass -- I generally try to do the right thing and treat people the way I would like to be treated (generally). However, this week in NY I ran across a situation that gave me some pause. Ok, I am being dramatic.

Here's the deal: I was staying at a nice hotel and they had Aveda products ranging from mouthwash to shampoo and conditioner. Now, I generally appeciate the finer things in life (clothes, restaurants, etc) but have never really gotten into expensive products within the beauty department (except a nice pomade) -- I use Pantene shampoo + conditioner in one for crying out loud. That said, I know someone who does and would appreciate all these things. So, I used a tiny bottle of shampoo all week but horded all the other products on a daily basis so I could give these to said individual. I could live with myself at that point because I think hotels expect that behavior. However, my moral dilemma occured around 7 AM this morning as I went to work out.

I saw the cleaning person's cart outside my room with no cleaning person in sight. The Aveda products were practically calling my name. I glanced around (as if someone actually cared and was monitoring my movements) and I grabbed a handful and put them in my room. Oh wait, it gets worse. On my way back from the gym, the cart was STILL there. Again, it was like the Siren Song. So, I grabbed even more.

I know, it's not like I did anything THAT bad but I still feel sort of guilty. So, to repent (and just to be a nice person as referred to in an earlier post), I left the cleaning lady a nice $30 tip. It made me feel better even though I made the bed every day before I left so she didn't have THAT much to clean...

Reverse Polish Notation

I love these reverse polish notation calculators -- not so much that I love using them, but I really enjoy watching people struggle with them. My brother's girlfriend is currently trying to calculate mortgage payments and observing her attempts is making me laugh -- it's like she's trying to split atoms over there. I mean, it's not THAT complicated. I think she might have better luck doing handstands on Jupiter than figuring out mortgage payments on my HP 12C.

One More Thing...

By the way, one of the good things that happened this week was that a variety of people were shocked when I told them my age -- apparently, I still look relatively young because people thought I was 26-28. Not bad. Of course after the summer, I'll probably look closer to 36-38.

Being Nice

After spending a week in NY, I started thinking about people -- it seems like the fast pace and intensity of the city make keeping up that pace and being nice mutually exclusive. Is it that hard to be a "New Yorker" while at the same time saying thank you to your server and holding the door open for strangers? The lack of common courtesy boggles my mind -- it's certainly a vast generalization, but it does seem to hold true for the majority of people.

Another observation: certain women in NYC sure are pushy/aggressive. If you're out and someone take a liking to you (not speaking from personal experience b.c no one ever takes a liking to me), all of a sudden it's like you're a three-legged gazelle on the Serengeti and they assume the role of the lion. Personally, I find this scary -- i mean, what about my sparkling personality and keen intellect?

Anyway, better pack. Looking forward to going home and seeing friends and family before starting work on Monday.

Headed Back to SF

Leaving for San Francisco tomorrow and it feels good to be headed back home. Not in a "I missed it so much" kind of way, but more in the "I wish I could get good Mexican food in NYC" kind of way. Wow, a La Cumbre burrito would hit the spot. Yes, my days are this boring.

I did have an interesting thought today -- how is that the market drops precipitously in the past 5-6 weeks, yet when news comes out that inflation is far outstripping wages the market bounces back because of a few comments Bernanke makes? That is one powerful guy.

Also, went to an interesting party last weekend with a few friends. All you can eat cheesesteak and beers. Honestly, I have never felt so sick in my life. Of course, we did happen to hang out with Robert Gallery of the Raiders which made the night much more entertaining...not as much if my friend carried out his bet of thinking he could beat Gallery for a sack of the QB. Keep in mind said friend is 6'2" and about 185. Hmm, not actually a fair fight.

Anyway, yes, not many coherent thoughts here.

New York

Things have been busy here in NY -- working quite a bit and learning even more. Have not had a chance to see much of the city (not that I need to since I have been here many times)...I saw that my Pittsburgh Steelers not only have one of the most talented QBs in the league, but also one of the smartest -- riding a motorcycle without a helmet on? When you know you could lose your contract? After accidents to Jay Williams and Kellen Winslow? Really, how stupid are you? I feel bad for him in that he got so badly injured, but since he'll recover fully I don't feel bad for saying that I hope this teaches him a lesson.

Speaking of stupidity, I lost my cell phone today. I spent the entire day kicking myself for losing it in a taxi on the way to work this morning -- of course, when I returned to my room tonight, I realized I underestimated just HOW stupid I truly am. After stressing out, desperately searching for it, voiding the service and gathering new numbers from my friends, I came home tonight to the hotel to find a nice note accompanying my cell phone saying that someone found it in the lobby this AM. Fantastic. Genius.

Other than that, I lack the creativity and energy to write much more tonight -- hopefully I'll have an update for both of you loyal readers this weekend.

My First Year at Haas

Unlike some bloggers, I will not go into excruciating detail about my first year of business school. Rather, I'm going to provide a high-level overview along with one highlight and one lowlight that I hope will add some brief moments of comic relief to your everyday lives.

Overview: Learned quite a bit from the classes I was interested in, forgot everything from the classes I wasn't interested in, met some interesting people, got the internship I targeted and the year flew by. The unfortunate thing is that life outside of business school flies by just as quickly -- that is my word to the wise, always remember to prioritize and make time for the important things in life. So, that was my overview -- Haas is a great school and I would recommend it to everyone -- the thing to remember about business school is that it is what you make of it. If you just want your diploma and degree, you can do that. If you want to treat it as a social outlet to make new friends, you can do that too.

Highlight: Once, while sitting in marketing class, I was surfing the Web for sports scores while the professor was lecturing. Unbeknownst to me, one of my classmates apparently took offense at this so when she rose her hand to answer a question the professor posed, she punctuated her answer with: "and Jeff probably didn't hear what I said because he is always surfing the Web for sports." I was caught a bit off-guard by this -- to this day, I don't think I have spoken another word to this woman. Why would you throw me under the bus like that? I just don't get it. I would make some snide remark about her appearance, but that would violate the sensitivity training I am currently undergoing. After all, I am sure some men find her attractive. Anyway, I found this to be a highlight because I actually laugh when I look back on it. Plus, I got an "A" in the class.

Lowlight: Operations class. Honestly, does anyone outside of Bobby Joe in Nebraska care about queues and line manufacturing? This may have been the worst class I have ever taken and that includes home economics in 4th grade. Not only was the subject material incredibly dry, but our professor was brutal to boot. It took Herculean efforts every class not to fall asleep and equal efforts not to let my Incredible Hulk persona emerge and throw her out the window. To make things worse, I received my worst grade in this class thanks to the professor's ridiculously arbitrary class participation grading policy -- she must have sensed my hatred.

Bottom line: Go to business school to focus on what you are interested in -- after all, the end result is hopefully a new career that will challenge and motivate you to fulfill your potential.

Where is the Economy Going?

Yes, it's my first attempt at commenting on something other than sports, food and Las Vegas. Seriously, reading that makes me seem like a caveman. Anyway...

I, like everyone else, have been watching the Fed continually raise interest rates -- 16 consecutive times to be precise. Just when we thought there might be a pause in the increases, it now looks like Ben Bernanke will be forced to raise the rate another 25 basis points due to rising inflation. In some ways, it almost seems odd -- interest rates rise, yet consumer confidence keeps rising thus pushing prices up. Huh? Now, the stock market is feeling the heat -- after the past year of near record gains, the markets are now getting hammered on a regular basis because traders are hedging their bets based on inflation and scared of an economic slowdown.

What does this all mean? Now, keep in mind I am not Ben Bernanke, but I definitely feel like we may be in for a mini-recession where job growth and the general well-being of the economy declines. Stay tuned -- there will be reports next week on consumer and wholesale prices which might serve as a bellweather of things to come.

Should Jordan Farmar Go Pro?

Ah yes, the topic everyone is really interested in. Forget global warming, rising inflation and interest rates rising for the 17th consecutive time -- the real question on everyone's mind, at least those of us who are true intellectuals, is whether UCLA sophomore PG Jordan Farmar will go pro. I am kind of split on the whole idea.

Why he should return to school? Clearly Jordan needs to work on his ability to beat defenders off the dribble, improve his defense, work on his perimeter game and improve his overall court sense. What better coach to do that for than Ben Howland? With he and Arron Afflalo returning, UCLA is well-positioned to challenge for another Final Four appearance. Not to mention UCLA is not a bad place for a young, successful basketball star to reside -- if you get my drift.

Why should he go pro? Well, if he is guaranteed a first round selection, that means he will be approximately $6M richer. Not bad. In addition, a friend of mine used to say, "You play with the dogs, you catch the fleas." In other words, you only improve against better competition. Playing and practicing in the NBA would only expedite Jordan's learning curve. And from a purely material standpoint, I hear life in the NBA is not all that bad -- nice cars, luxury hotels and one or two lovely women chasing you at all times. Life could be worse. In addition, it's a weak PG class this year.

The verdict: In all honesty, and this is discounting me being a die-hard UCLA fan, I think he should return to school. He will only heighten his status in the eyes of scouts and he will have the opportunity to improve on every facet of his game. Not to mention, he could continue on his trajectory as the player in the NCAA history with the biggest ears this side of Ronald "Popeye" Jones of Murray State fame (yes, he also played for the Warriors -- 5 whopping games). Oh yeah, as an alum, I can say UCLA girls are nothing to scoff at.

Restaurant Review: Bong Su

Yes, it's my first ever restaurant review. Over the past few years, I have often debated the merits of being a food critic. The pro's to the situation are overwhelming: you eat out every night on the publication's expense, you get to bring friends along for the ride, you have some sort of "power" (akin to the annoying bouncers on a power trip at whatever "in" club you happen to be waiting in line for) that can make or break a restaurant and it's just kind of fun to dine out every single night. The major con, as far as I can tell, is that the potential exists for extreme obesity to occur. That would suck. Not that I have ever been obese, but I can imagine the trauma that might ensue if I were.

Anyway, back to the review. Tonight, a couple friends and I went to a new Vietnamese place in town called Bong Su. It's the sister restaurant of a place in Palo Alto named Tamarine. The service was excellent and I found the food to be quite good as well. At first, the portions seemed a tad on the small side -- but then I realized my perspective had been tainted by my weekend trip to Vegas where all the portions were meant for overweight people wearing jean shorts from Kansas (I'm not really scared of any backlash, b/c I know my one reader is not from Kansas). We started with the quail stuffed with sticky rice and the calamari. No qualms with either, but I did feel the quail was somewhat difficult to eat. For entrees, we had the shaking beef, tamarine prawns (more like shrimp on flaxseed oil for all you Barry Bonds fans or Napolean-complex lobsters), garlic noodles with crab and Japanese eggplant. All were excellent, although the beef may have been a bit undercooked and underseasoned.

One short note on the attire worn by the staff: loved the women's outfits with the bare backs, but the male outfits have to go -- I mean, did they really wear Nehru jackets in colonial Vietnam?

Financial Modeling

Since my summer internship will focus around financial modeling and analyzing financial statements, I thought it'd be useful to spend the past few weeks learning how to do just that. I start training in NYC next week and I'm looking forward to a summer of long hours, but filled with interesting work and interacting with accomplished individuals.

It's been helpful to review my past accounting and finance coursework to learn how to build an operating assumptions page that links with the income statement, balance sheet and statement of cash flows. My Excel skills were pretty rudimentary, but I'm getting better at it -- I plan to spend a lot of time on my plane ride getting even faster with the keystrokes.

Vegas Baby

Last week, two friends and I decided to head to Las Vegas at the very last minute. Before I begin, let me say my friends and I LOVE Las Vegas. Something about the city is invigorating -- maybe it's just the oxygen they pipe in, but regardless, the place is a Mecca of sorts for us. At any rate, I digress.

We arrive at 8 AM on Saturday -- we head out to to the pool and commence on some libations. Even though we are normally quite scared of people and generally act like wallflowers, (some of our friends may disagree with this commentary) we manage to meet a few nice people from Florida and chat with them for the majority of the day. To make a long story short, let's fast forward to the evening. All cleaned up, we head to Tao where we have bottle service set up for the three of us -- typical Vegas evening of dancing, chatting etc etc -- so for the punch line, let's hit fast forward again. At 2:45 AM, after two bottles of Grey Goose have been consumed, our friend from Sacramento has reached a stage where he is no longer speaking English. In fact, I believe we identified the dialect he was speaking at the time to be a rarely used one found in the jungles of sub-Sahara Africa.

So, good friends that we are, we decide to send him home ALONE in his clearly not so lucid state. Well, I manage to roll home at 5:30 AM (don't ask where the other 3 hours went -- I have no idea) to find him fast asleep. In hindsight, it was a victory of the human spirit that he managed to make it back to the hotel. Keep in mind, his flight was supposed to leave at 6:40 AM that day. So, at 6 AM, he wanders out of bed (drunk off his gourd)looking for the bathroom. Unable to enter the bathroom (due to shattering a glass earlier in his drunken stupor), he then proceeds to the closet -- to our horror, said friend then urinates in the closet before passing out. Horrific. Needless to say, he missed his flight and didn't get home until 8 PM...Vegas, Baby.

NBA Draft Musings

True to my word, here is my first intellectual posting regarding the draft and being a conscientious objector. Ok, so this entry is neither about the military draft nor being a conscientious objector -- I just really wanted to use that phrase.

For all you TRUE draftniks out there, this is my take on this year's NBA draft especially as it pertains to the downtrodden Golden State Warriors. It's ironic that a team so bad, a team that has missed the playoffs 12 years in a row (in a league where over 50% of the teams make the post-season), can be deemed by many experts to not have very many glaring needs. HUH? I know I'm not splitting atoms in my down time, but that doesn't make much sense.

First point: The talent pool, in general, sucks. Even the projected top picks don't impress me that much. Tyrus Thomas? Yes, he can jump and he had a few good games this year. But he thinks he can play small forward in the NBA. Last time I checked, you actually needed to be able to do something other than dunk to play the "3" in the Association. Then again, Mike Dunleavy can't do anything well and he plays "3" for the Warriors and gets paid $8M a year to suck (Thanks, Mully). Andrea Bargnani? His highlights look good -- then again, in those clips it appears he may be playing against a team of Albino monks (no slight towards all you Albinism activists out there). I do like Brandon Roy -- polished and smooth. Plus, he's from the Pac-10 so props for that.

Second point (more of a musing): Who will the Warriors draft? Personally, I think they need to package the pick to somehow get a post presence. I love Adonal and all (he actually is a good citizen and smart to boot -- he's very involved in campaign finance reform), but anyone who watched when we drafted him knew he would have hands Edward Scissorhands would chuckle at. His clip at the draft will likely go down as the only time a lottery pick was highlighted MISSING a layup. You're 6'9"! Please dunk next time.

I'd like to take a guy like Shelden Williams or Cedric Simmons at the #9 slot if we end up keeping the pick. Both could be Antonio Davis type players in the NBA -- and loyal fans of the Warriors know we need someone who can block shots, rebound and score a little in the post. Plus, if we get rid of Murphy, Ike can score in the paint and we need someone to help him out defensively b.c he is just as bad as Murf in that department. My friend, esteemed season ticket holder partner, thinks we should take Patrick O'Bryant (POB). I haven't mentioned this, but I'm worried about my friend. He might be going blind. I've seen POB play, and although he manhandled Aaron Gray of Pitt (Yippee!), I have my doubts he'll amount to much more than a skinnier, less athletic Michael Olowakandi. If that doesn't scare you, I don't know what will.

Third Point: I usually adopt one player in the draft who I declare my "man-crush" of the year. Not in a sexual sense mind you, but someone who I think will end up being pretty good. Come to think of it, forget the "man-crush" term -- I think prospect might be a better descriptor. This year, I happen to think Ronnie Brewer will be an excellent mid-to late round pick. He reminds me of Josh Howard -- except without clear braces and significantly smaller teeth. They both have ugly jumpers, both are long and athletic and both can handle the ball and defend multiple positions. Oh yes, they both can get to the tin and finish well. I like this kid and think he can be a player.

Fourth Point: I now realize what a difficult job Chad Ford of ESPN has. I could go on and on, but I've likely already lost the one reader I had. Anyway, more on the draft in the coming days.

Welcome To My Pointless Blog

After a title like that, how can you NOT want to continue reading? To all my dedicated readers (1 at current count), I feel obligated to warn you that despite my best intentions of crafting creative and insightful entries about topics ranging from politics to economic reform, the reality is that much of the focus will be on sports, friends and my business school experience. Did I mention sports? And the Golden State Warriors -- because at last glance, my friends and I aren't quite sure if they qualify as a legitimate sports franchise anymore.

Anyway, back to the introduction of who I am. I'm a student at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and am scheduled to graduate in 2007. Ok, enough about me -- the rest can be found in the profile section. As my friends and family will attest, I'm not that interesting anyway.