ephemeral-deliberations

Spoke Too Soon

2006-11-30T08:24:00.000-08:00

Typical Warriors last night...had my hopes up of sweeping the week and finishing the homestand strong. It looked good -- so good -- for most of the game. We dominated the shooting percentage, blocked 15 shots and played moderatley well -- certainly well enough to win. But a couple botched plays at the end really shifted the momentum -- the refs missed a crucial goaltending call and two 3 point daggers were sunk by Harrington and Jackson....we failed to secure a rebound at the end and that was the game ..... Terrible. Heartbreaking and crushing.

Warriors

2006-11-29T10:44:00.000-08:00

The Warriors are a surprising 9-6 and have two Eastern Conference teams coming in before playing 10 out of their next 16 games on the road. Ouch. I'm approaching the season with guarded optimism, but things look OK so far...The emergence of Andris Biedrins and Monta Ellis has me excited -- so much so that I traded Carmelo Anthony for them in my fantasy league. I know, probably a stupid trade but at least it ups my interest in Warriors games.

I need to try and post more...

Maui Invitational

2006-11-15T11:34:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty excited because I leave for Maui on Friday for 6 days -- the primary purpose is to go watch my UCLA Bruins in the Maui Invitational, but it will also be nice to relax and enjoy the sunshine for a few days. I've been watching the Maui Invitational for as long as I can remember and I can't even describe how excited I am to be going -- its another great field this year featuring UCLA, Memphis, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, DePaul, Purdue and the host school Chaminade. It's played at the Lahaina Civic Center which is basically a high school gym so our seats will be amazing -- frankly, I can't wait.

Oh yeah, I'll be missing a couple classes and will need to do some work on the plane, but it'll be all good (I figure I should write something about school since people come here to read about Haas). I'll also find out the results of my class bidding today -- I am hoping to take Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Financial Management, Entrepreneurship and Business Model Innovation in New Ventures. We'll see what I end up with once the dust settles...

Golden State Warriors Update

2006-11-09T11:15:00.000-08:00

Well, a 1-2 rod trip doesn't sound ideal but there were some promising things to take from the losses against Utah and New Orleans and the win against Dallas.

1.) Mike Dunleavy's time is being drastically cut
2.) Monta and Biedrins emergence -- Monta's turnovers notwithstanding
3.) A tightened rotation
4.) Ike playing well until rolling his ankle in the NO game

I am still concerned about JR -- he is nowhere near the player he was last year and its clear he struggles on defense and creating his own shot (even more so before knee surgery)...

Good Times at Henry's

2006-11-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

As predicted, UCLA got smoked by Cal -- interestingly enough, we kept it close in the first half but 2 brutal interceptions and a great punt return by DeSean Jackson sealed our fate. When does basketball season start again? Oh yeah, it starts soon as I am headed to Maui to watch my Bruins kick off the season in college basketball's premier pre-season tournament. Should be sweet.

The bright side to Saturday was the pre-party at Henry's. Always the best place to be before a UCLA-Cal game, I saw tons of people I hadn't seen in years, drank too much beer and had one too many shots. All this was probably a good thing because it definitely dulled the pain of the game...

Same Crap Product, Different Year

2006-11-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

Ok, maybe I am having a knee jerk reaction to one bad game, but last night's opening night loss for the Warriors to a Lakers team without Kobe ranks with one of the most frustrating I have ever had to deal with when it comes to the Warriors franchise. I have had season tickets for a long time now and last night was BAD. Seriously, I hate this team. Ok, I don't hate them -- I love the Warriors, but man, this cycle needs to stop. So much was made of bringing in Don Nelson, an uptempo style of play, better free throw shooting, more team play -- and what did we get? We got last year's team -- except maybe worse if you can believe that.

I am going to try not to single out any players here because they were all pathetic -- does it count if I name players with the caveat that anyone left out still sucked as well? That seems fair -- it is my blog after all. Baron Davis had dribble diarrhea all night. Dunleavy couldn't do anything. Murphy airballed a friggin' layup and he must be the worst defender in the league. Monta Ellis turns it over every other time. JR looked about 70% healthy. Roberson looked WAY out of his league. Did I mention that Dunleavy absolutely SUCKED? As I posted before, if Nellie could transform him from a WNBA player to a decent NBA player, it would be akin to turning water into wine. Looks like Nellie is no Jesus.

Holy crap, I am so pissed. I don't know if I can watch another game all year -- they absolutely kill me.

Sports Fans

2006-11-01T12:28:00.000-08:00

I have to rant about this. As you all know, I go to Haas -- Berkeley's business school. That means there are tons of students who go to the football games -- it seems like everyone is a Cal Bear fan. Why does this bother me? I really have no idea. It makes sense that the alleged "Cal fans" who went to schools with D-I football teams would be maddening to me -- after all, your loyalty is to your undergrad. Beyond that, you can't have 2 flippin' teams!! In any sport -- it's like having two wives. You have one team. One. Period.

What perplexes me is that I even get agitated at the fans who now claim Cal as their team -- after all, if they went to a small Podunk school, it makes sense that they'd cheer for Cal. But it still bothers me. Basically, I have discovered that people who mindlessly cheer on teams without knowing anything about them irritate me tremendously.

I'm probably just pissed b.c UCLA plays Cal this week and they'll likely wax us. At least we'll beat their ass in hoops -- of course, then those "die-hard Cal" fans won't be found anywhere.

There, that is my diatribe for the day.

Warriors Opening Night

2006-10-31T22:53:00.000-08:00

Yes, tomorrow my beloved Golden State Warriors open the 2006 season against the LA Lakers. I am cautiously optimistic, as I have been the last 12 years, that we might be lucky enough to make a playoff appearance this year. I doubt we will, but anything is possible. Hey, some people still think George Bush is the greatest president ever, so anything is truly possible.

UCLA got crushed this past weekend by WSU, so that sucked -- but at the end of the day, we'll always be a basketball school based on tradition and booster money allocation. We might have a few good football years here and there, but for most UCLA fans that just serves as gravy. Florida and Texas are the best football/basketball schools out there, but their academics aren't quite the same as UCLA's.

Got an A- on my Service Strategy midterm -- happy about that considering the weekend prior was the ND-UCLA game and the weekend trip in Chicago.

Student Loans

2006-10-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

Even though I would never trade my business school experience, (note to readers: for those of you ever interested in an MBA, I am of the opinion that it will be two of the best years of your life in terms of learning new material, exposure to different industries and meeting some of the brightest people you'll ever associate with) the ever looming shadow of student loans is a pain in the ass. I don't even owe that much, but just the thought of handing over much of my signing bonus to pay down a big chunk of debt is painful. But like they say, everything comes with a cost -- put it this way, I'd rather place an $80K bet on myself and my ability to succeed than invest it any other way (unless I was prescient enough to buy Google stock, that is).

Next semester, my final one, I am taking Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Information Analyis, Inegrated Marketing and either New Venture Finance or Entrepreneurship. Should make for a good final semester.

Ouch

2006-10-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

Well, let me first acknowledge that the trip out for the UCLA-Notre Dame game was as fun as expected. In fact, for the first 58 minutes and 58 seconds, it was even more fun than I could have ever imagined. Somehow, some way, UCLA was beating Notre Dame in South Bend...the stadium was quiet and we were 1:02 away from a landmark win in Karl Dorrell's reign as head coach -- alas, it was not meant to be. The details are too painful to write about in detail, but suffice it to say that a struggling ND offense that we had held in check all day went 80 yards in 3 plays to seal our fate. What a game. It would have been SO sweet to win, but it wasn't meant to be. The luck of the Irish struck again -- I have a myriad more thoughts on this game...including why I am glad I don't live in Indiana, why Karl Dorrell is a conservative football coach whose days should be numbered (Hello Karl, you have a middle fo the road team with a chance for a HUGE upset -- go for the win.) and how football is life in South Bend.

I need to go on a massive diet after this weekend...a man can only eat so much crap and drink so much alcohol before his stomach completely revolts.

Recruiting Season

2006-10-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

Even though I know my full-time gig will be exhausting and time-consuming, I am remarkably happy that I am not participating in any on-campus recruiting -- I see some of my classmates scurrying around in suits and it takes me back to last year's stresses, concerns and anticipation. i can definitely empathize with what they are going through -- the good news is that it is a great job market and everyone will end up with jobs that they want...Haas getting ranked #8 in BusinessWeek's latest ranking doesn't hurt either...

For any prospective students in interested in Haas, let me just tell you it was 80 degrees today and its slated for much of the same through the end of the month...not bad.

UCLA-Notre Dame game

2006-10-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

That's right -- yours truly is headed to Chicago this weekend to catch the UCLA-Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend. We're going out with about 15 people -- staying in Chicago all weekend, but taking a 20-person bus loaded with alcohol to the game. Should be an absolute blast other than the fact that ND will probably beat us pretty bad. I can live with that though -- I'm going more for the road trip and having a good time in Chicago.

My part-time job is going ok -- it's tough to get some stuff done because some of the resources are severely lacking -- it is nice to learn and make some money though.

Went to a great restaurant the other night for a friend's birthday -- NOPA in the Panhandle. It's gotten a lot of buzz lately and I have to say its well-deserved. The food was great and the service was timely, yet not too much of a nuisance. Great ambiance, too. I would recommend you try it.

Haas #8 by BusinessWeek

2006-10-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

In a bit of good news, Haas was ranked the 8th best business school in the country by BusinessWeek -- a nice coup for the school. I'd agree that the curriculum is probably not as good as some place like Wharton for those interested in finance positions, but I was able to get a job -- and my friends will attest, I am NOT the smartest kid in the world...

Anyway, readmore about it at the BusinessWeek site...

Office Dynamics

2006-10-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

Isn't it odd how each office, no matter the industry, has a unique culture all its own? It really is amazing. My current office is extremely quiet during the day with people working away, but come afternoon, people are talking loudly, playing music and even watching movies in the conference room. Definitely a departure from my summer experience.

Now that I have accepted my full-time offer, I need to get comfortable with the fact that I will be spending 12 hours a day in a classroom and living in a hotel for 7 weeks. Yup -- that is the deal. The new associate class spends 7 weeks in NY undergoing training -- seems like a long time to be away if you ask me. Oh well, it'll be fun meeting my new colleagues -- hopefully, my office has a good incoming class.

In other news, did my annual Warriors season ticket draft -- I ended up with opening night versus the Lakers, Spurs, Rockets, Nuggets, Mavericks and Clippers -- I rounded out my picks with teams like the Hawks, Pacers, Sixers and another team that is slipping my mind. I have to admit, I am really excited for the season to start -- somehow, I feel like the team will be better this year -- even if they don't make the playoffs, I feel like there is a young core of talented players that can be the foundation of an eventual playoff team.

Movie Review: The Departed

2006-10-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

So, i went with a couple friends to see "The Departed" on Friday night -- before I get into the review, let me just comment that the new addition to the San Francisco Centre which includes Bloomingdale's is pretty nice -- we walked through the men's department to get to the theater and it made me want to go shopping for some new clothes. Anyway, I digress...

Simply put, the movie was excellent -- not for the faint of heart b.c there was a fair amount of violence and graphic gunshot scenese, but the movie came together very well. The performances of the star studded cast was also superb -- I thought both Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson were fantastic -- the only downside was that the movie was really long and a tad predictable at times. Other than that, it was filled with great cinematography, a good plot and a few surprisingly hilarious moments especially courtesy of Alec Baldwin.

By the way, the new Century Theaters now boast Pleather seats -- comfortable, but they make odd noises if you move about too much...

Warriors Post

2006-10-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I posted about my favorite basketball team, so I thought with training camp underway now is as good a time as any to write about my squad. Each and every year, I promise not to get excited since the Ws always let me down....however, the hiring of Don Nelson has me pumped...I know the Western Conference is ridiculously stacked and the Warriors have not really changed their roster (except adding my man Dajuan Wagner), but somehow I feel like Nellie will add 10 or so wins to their record...I know it sounds foolish, but a man has to have something to look forward to, right?

Accepted my Full-Time Job Offer

2006-10-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

Well, after much thought and consultation with loved ones, I have decided to accept the full-time from my summer employer. It was not an easy decision given the short-term costs of the position, but I feel strongly that the long-term benefits will far outweigh the costs. Since I'll soon be back to working 90-100 hours a week starting next July, I will try and enjoy my second year at Haas the best that I can.

I would post more on this topic, but I have discussed it with my family and significant other so much now that I am burnt on the issue. I will post more in the coming days.

New Job

2006-10-02T09:51:00.000-07:00

So, it is my second week on the new job and I still haven't been given much substantive work to do -- I hope that changes soon, b.c as nice as making money is, I want to learn some new skills that will be applicable to my full-time job next year.

I decided that my next (and last semester) at Haas should be filled with practical classes -- I am thinking of taking Mergers and Acquisitions, Financial Information Analysis, Corporate Financial Management and something else. Sounds fun, huh? I know, not really.

The Office

2006-09-29T14:28:00.000-07:00

I don't watch a lot of TV outside of sports, but I have been faithfully watching the U.S. version of "The Office" now for quite some time. It's on Thursday nights at 8:30 (you're welcome, NBC) and it is flat out hilarious. Check it out -- you won't regret it.

Haas #5 in WSJ Poll

2006-09-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

I know this is old news, but the WSJ ranked Haas as the #5 business school based on recruiter feedback. Granted, I take this ranking with a grain of salt as any poll that has Harvard and Stanford ranked #14 and #18 respectively is somewhat questionable, it's still a proud moment. I know the students and staff are jacked up about it.

Here's another little tidbit I thought about the other day. There seem to be a lot of students who think that the MBA is the Holy Grail. That once they get it, there should be jobs lining up at the likes of McKinsey, Bain and Morgan Stanley. What people don't realize is that the MBA is a commodity -- a lot of people have them. The thing that is NOT a commodity is the individual. How are you different? What makes your story interesting? A lot of students I meet seem inundated with a sense of entitlement -- like they deserve something because they have an MBA. Well, the fact of the matter is that there are a ton of smart, driven people in the world with MBAs -- the way you'll get that prized job offer is not by being smarter, but by being who you are, figuring out what you want and driving yourself to get there.

Full Time Job Offer Deliberation

2006-09-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I have done a lot of soul-searching and spoken to all the people who are near and dear to me about my full time job offer. I like many aspects of the job, yet the whole work-life balance is not optimal -- at the same time, it offers a learning experience many other jobs just can not offer. So, what to do? Even more so, what to do when folks from the firm call every other day asking what I am thinking and what is holding up my decision. All I can say is that I am stressed beyond belief.

To be honest, I am leaning towards taking it at this juncture. I am planning on doing some more thinking over the weekend and hope to have a decision finalized by this weekend. We'll see how it goes...

Schoolwork

2006-09-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

I know I have mentioned how unmotivating it is to be a second year Haas student with a good job offer in hand -- but this week, I have found some internal motivation and decided that I want to get excel in all my classes -- so, this week I did all my reading, case work and HW assignments. It seems like a small victory, but trust me, the lack of motivation was a sizeable hurdle to overcome!

This weekend

2006-09-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I've got a really fun weekend planned for the next few days. It includes dinner at a couple new places I have not tried, drinks at a retro speak-easy (!) and a trip to Napa for some wine tasting. I don't know who reads this, so I can't put much more information here but suffice it to say it's someone's birthday and I want the rest to be a surprise...plus, my parents are coming up to visit my sister, so it will be nice to see them after their 3-week jaunt to China.

I'm really excited -- should be a weekend filled with great company, entertainment and weather (yes, I'm being understated on purpose).

Job Decision

2006-09-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

This post will cover two job offers: First, I have decided to accept part-time job with a small investment bank here in San Francisco for 20-25 hours a week. I'll mostly be doing valuation work, analysis and research -- it will be interesting and prepare me well. In addition, it will pay $35/hr, so that will help with that nasty phrase, "school debt."

Second, I met with 8 folks from my summer employer for lunch yesterday -- it was nostalgic riding up the elevator I spent SO much time in this summer -- it was nice to see everyone and it wasn't quite as high pressure as I thought. Clearly they'd like to see me accept, but I think they understand the deliberations I am going through. It's a big decision and I can't make it in a vacuum -- the repercussions will affect a lot of people and I want to make sure I make the best decision with the information at hand.

Decisions, decisions

2006-09-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

Well, a lot of decisions need to be made soon on the future employment front. With an offer from my summer employer on the table, I need to decide if that is the path I would like to take. Aside from that, there is the decision between staying in San Francisco or branching out to Los Angeles or New York. Each locale has their appeal to me -- clearly SF has the advantage of my family, friends, the outdoors and the fact that I know the people in the office. Not to mention, my season tickets to my beloved Golden State Warriors. LA has its appeal in that the weather is fantastic, the location is on the Westside near UCLA (can we say Bruin games) and its close to family and friends. Plus, the industry I would be working on would be media/entertainment and that is interesting as well. NY is a whole different beast -- better for my career, FUN town, new experience and good to mix it up a bit.

Of course, there are downsides to each as well -- SF: Maybe I know the city too well? Need a change? LA: TRAFFIC and the fact it is somewhat of a cultural wasteland. NYC: Won't be building any equity in a home, rather spending every hard-earned red cent to live the "lifestyle." Not to mention cold weather. And humid summers. Anyone who knows me is aware that my body does not do well under extreme humidity.

So, decisions are at hand. I will keep both of you posted.