Day One San Jose

Am finally here in San Jose and the weather is awesome.  The place is awesome.  The apartment is awesome.  Everything is awesome except me.  I am still in yesterday's clothes and am sitting here waiting on my bags.  

Damn weather in Chicago.

The Diving Bell

Even though I'm in school where I already am neck deep in readings, one of my resolutions this year was to read a little bit more - outside of Harvard Business cases, outside of textbooks - to expand my world that little bit more.

A week ago or so, I ordered The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.  Its not a very long book and I've just started with it.  So far, its been a good read.  It describes the life of Jean-Dominique Bauby, ex-editor-in-chief of Elle in France, who was left paralyzed in a "lock-in" syndrome as a result of a stroke.  It details his life before his stroke, and his life after.  What was amazing was the fact that the entire book was written by Bauby blinking his left eye.  His translator would read out the french alphabet and he would blink to indicate which letter he wanted - for each word!  Bauby was obviously someone who loved life - in his book, he takes us through his memoirs with wit and compassion.  

Over and above how he wrote the book, it is story of imagination, of courage in the face of the impossible, of tenacity, of all things we regular people could learn from.  While Bauby's situation is admittedly very unique, it provides us a lens through which to view the entire human condition - as feeble and weak as we are, the potential between our ears, the potential for great imagination is limitless.  If only we could get beyond our diving bells.  

Unfortunately a couple of days after his book was published in France, Bauby passed on.

Why I Love Amazon and Half.com

I like to read.  I don't always have time or the discipline to read, but I like to read.  Recently, I've been reading a little bit more - yes beyond managerial accounting and talent management.  Since I don't own an iPad or a Kindle, my books are mostly in their old fashioned paper bound form.  And quite honestly, that's how I like it.  There's something genuine in being able to physically flip through a book.  And since I'm not a book collector, I tend to get for myself second hand books from Amazon and Half.com by eBay.

Its amazing how cheap second hand books can get.  A penny?  Yeap.  And its just another $3.99 (Amazon) or $3.49 (Half.com) for shipping.  

I can see my library growing a lot faster these days.  

Sacks Retirement Village

I'm a bit of a prankster - mostly clean and very harmless pranks.  None of those that are deeply embarrassing.  Yes I've been on that end of the stick before but well, that's a story for another time.

So anyway we have this guy, Sacks, in the program who's well, let's just say slightly older than everyone else.  He's constantly the butt of old jokes but he takes with a lot of humor and class and isn't afraid to throw it back you.  I guess that's what makes banter so fun eh?  So anyway, Sacks and I occassionally take jibes at each other, admittedly me at him more than him at me.  He makes fun of me being short, I make fun of him being old with moobs.  If you don't know what moobs are, click on the link and head on over to the urban dictionary.  

Sacks lives 2 doors from me - which makes it pranking even more convenient.  So just today, I decided to put a poster of him up on his door.  Its the weekend, which means he's probably driven home by now to be with the wife and kids.  So from now until Monday, everyone who walks past his door will hopefully see the poster and drop a donation a too.  Seeing how this is a graduate hall, I'm not expecting much donations from people, but at least now, everyone on the floor knows an old dude lives there.  

Why do I do these things you ask?  Gee, I don't know, why do I DO anything anyway? 

Signs of Exhaustion

You know you're exhausted when you fall asleep at 7pm at your desk, sitting upright, eyes closed staring at a half completed excel worksheet with your hand still cupped on the mouse.

You know you're completely exhausted when it happens to you twice over 2 days.  Yeap, I suppose that's what 8 hours of sleep over 2 days will do to you.

Can I just say how thankful I am this particular week is over?  Finally, no more 4am nights... well for a while at least. 

My Obsession with Feet

Feet carry us where we need to go.  Everyday we put the weight of our entire beings on those little two feet.  And yet, they're always so quickly forgotten, hidden under shoes, socks and other accouterment.  I personally love having really soft feet.  No one sees it, no one feels it but I somehow feel for all they do for me, they do deserve that little pampering.  

So this what I do at least 3 times a week.  I slather my feet in good ol' Eucerin (the sticky gooey cream, not the lotion!) and then put on my trusty socks and head to bed.  The next morning, my feet feel so soft, you'd think they've never taken a step in their life!  So this is the story of my feet.  

Not quite the most interesting of posts I know.  Definitely not something that adds any value to your life whatsoever.  But I just thought my feet outta get some attention.  

Catching the Other Shoe

So I've never mentioned this before but there is another lesbian in the program.  (Chang chang chang chang! - that's the sound of cymbals by the way, for dramatic effect). I actually only found out quite recently, like maybe last semester (ok ok maybe not THAT recently) but strangely enough, we've never really talked.  I know most people think we think we travel in packs, like wolves or dogs or llamas, well we don't.  To begin with, we don't usually bump into each other - we aren't in any similar classes, we take different concentrations, I'm far less social and while the MBA program isn't that big, it really isn't that small either.  Its hard to know every single person. 

So anyway she knows I'm gay and I know she's gay, but we never quite did our secret handshake thing... until today.  We finally met and said hi.  Because I tend to over think things, I thought it might have been weird but it actually turned out pretty normal... like meeting any other person in the program.  I wonder why I thought it would be weird.  Oh yes  I have to admit the anticipated weirdness was compounded by the fact that I kinda drunk-called her Friday night.  Didn't say much, but still drunk-calling, that's never good.

So that's the most exciting part of my day - I lead an awfully exciting life don't I - meeting the other one.  Well at least she's cute and funny in snarky sort of way.  Then again, that's how most lezzies are anyway right, well at least the more interesting ones.  :D 

Are MBAs the Scourge of Humanity?

I saw this in BusinessWeek and just had to take a photo!  We are Masters of the Business Apocalypse!  I feel very scorned.

The Sword in the Stone

My favorite Disney cartoon when I was a kid was The Sword in the Stone.  And wow, I certainly didn't know that this was actually released in 1963!  By the way, I'm not THAT old.  I wasn't born yet!

But its a awesome story of how Arthur the boy became the king under the wonderful tutelage of Merlin who teaches him lessons by turning him into a fish, a squirrel and I think even a bird.  And boy did my vocabulary grow from watching this video!  I remember owning this on a VHS tape and played it so much that it got all wonky on me.  And instead of getting me another show to expand my horizons, my folks got me the exact same VHS video!  To say that I was a fan is certainly an understatement.  

So anyway in 2008, they came up with a 45th anniversary edition and I'm thinking of getting one for my niece.  I'm not sure she'll love it as much as I did, and the cartoon-ing on it certainly isn't as fancy as what you'd get these days, but its a great story and sometimes good ol' hand drawn cartoons can't be beat.  Sure they aren't as smooth as what you'd get today, but to think that every single frame was hand drawn, now that's "Higutus Figutus" amazing! 

Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am

Quick quick update.  I'm employed!  And at a freakin' great company too!  Exactly the type of company I wanna be a part of - fast, dynamic, fun, high-tech and in the wonderful California Bay area!  

Here's a toast to some of my more interesting free employee perks this summer:

• free gourmet coffee and soda
• beach volleyball courts and awesome running tracks
• foosball and ping pong tables in every building
• free gym
• all the other perks of working in a campus style work environment!

Do I hear a hurrah?  And its no April Fool's joke!

Bolo Santosi

I got this via Mr Brown (a really popular Singapore blog) and its hilarious!  This is a montage of a character in the popular game Just Cause 2 called Bolo Santosi who is I guess a Southeast Asian islander.  I've never seen the game before so I don't know for sure but boy does it have some superb voice acting!  

So this sounds remarkably like the "original" Singaporean accent.  Original being in quotation marks please.  For folks who haven't heard a Singaporean speak, this is NOT how we talk.  I repeat this is NOT how I sound.  This is just a really bad, campy version, and for those of you who know what I mean, its very "Masters of the Sea"- a really really horrific drama series known for its bad script and worse accents. 

What's really interesting about the whole thing is this is US based game and apparently this is what an "exotic" Southeast Asian accent is suppose to sound like!  (The game is based on a fictional Southeast Asian island - I see the connection...)  Seriously couldn't they get a better voice actor to do this??  What I want to know who is hell voiced Bolo Santosi!

"My name is Bolo Santosi... I am the leader of the revolutionary army known as the Reapers..."

Why Am I a Worry Wart?

Why can't I stop worrying?  What is wrong with me?  Why does my heart constantly feel like its about to beat out of my chest?  

A huge part of me has always been a worry-wart.  Since I was a kid, I remember having these palpitations whenever I worry, my heart beats so fast, so heavily that I feel like its almost better if it had just been ripped out my my chest.  And as far as I can remember, this feeling has overcome me for everything - from little things to the big things in life I can't control.  

I remember standing at in line during assembly at school feeling this way because I'd forgotten to do my homework or bring a book.  No big deal right?  Perhaps.  But boy did I worry.  And imagine how many times a year this feeling overcame me.  I wasn't a great student so way too many times.

I remember feeling the this way during my earlier years of taking exams.  I have since grown accustomed to them and they no longer rattle me as much these days.  

I remember sometimes just sitting around worrying about my mom when she gets a bad cough.  She smokes and I worry about more serious ramifications.  This same feeling washes over me and I can't shake it off for days.

Today, I sit at my desk, trying to make sense of John Deere's activity based accounting systems and feeling the same way.  I'm waiting for a particular response from a particular someone and though I won't get an answer till next week, my heart already feels overwhelmed.  

Please send me peace of mind.  

Wicked

Hands down, pants down, Wicked is the best musical ever.  I've only watched it twice, once in Chicago, the other in Melbourne.  I've heard (and sung) to the soundtrack thousands of times and I still can't get enough of it.  They're coming to Kalamazoo in Michigan (its a short drive there) and I'm soooo tempted to head down to catch it... again!

I've always enjoyed musicals.  Somehow the whole "let's break into song in the midst of a conversation" thing speaks wonders to me.  Wicked however doesn't just speak to you, it captivates your mind, it brings a song to your heart.  The musical based off a bestselling book is exactly what a bestselling book is all about - a damn great story.  Top that off with awesome contemporary sounds and the wonders of green makeup and you have yourself a Tony award winning musical.

To give you a quick gist of the story, the musical revolves around the friendship of Elphaba (the very green Wicked witch of the west) and Glinda, the Good witch of the North.  It essentially tells the story of what happened before Dorothy arrived from good ol' Kansas.  Through their opposing personalities, political unrest, rivalry in love, the 2 witches find in themselves and each other not only true friendship but strength and courage to face all that is to come before them.  

To watch or not to watch, that is the question.  

"I think I'll try defying gravity... and you can't pull me down..."

Crazy Flights

So it was a last minute thing that I had to head down to San Jose and if I thought my flight there was horrible, my flight back was actually far worse.  Check this out:

San Jose – New York (5 hours) on Jet Blue

New York – Chicago (3 hours) on Delta

Chicago – Michigan (1 hour) on United

And mind you these are rounded DOWN numbers.  And yes they were on 3 different airlines.  I had to go through security twice!   And if you’re somewhat familiar with US geography, which I am admittedly not, you’ll realize that my flight went to from one end of the west coast all the way to the other end of the east coast, only to come back into the mid west.  Top that off with 3 hour flight delays and that is a picture of a very very grumpy me.  

I don’t think I’ve ever been more exhausted on a flight. I left San Jose at 1030pm.  I arrived back in Michigan at 6pm the next day.  Even with the 3 hour time difference, it was a hell of a flight.  Yes that’s after taking a red-eye.  Now I know why they call it a red eye, my eyes are red and swollen!

Good night folks.  Its been more than 36 hours since I've lied down on a bed...

San Jose

I'm in sunny San Jose!  Yay no snow!  Updates soon...

Another One Perhaps?

So I have a tattoo.  A super small star on my wrist.  Its a purple star and I absolutely love it.  Sometimes I just look down at my wrist and wonder what I ever did without it.  

So talk to anyone who has tat and they'll tell you that once you get one, you tend to wanna get another.  Now that I've lived with my little tat for a while, I think I'm ready for a slightly bigger investment.  I've been thinking about this for months on end and will probably continue to think about it until I find a good tat artist either here or back home.   So here's what I'm thinking... and mind you I came to this after a long time... Dandelions that float into the wind.  Its the picture of serenity, of hope, of possibilities and of tenacity cos we all know that dandelions are one of the hardest weeds to get rid of.  So as I did my research, I came across this - dandelions that float into the wind and become birds!  How freaking awesome is that!  Whoever came up with it, best idea ever.  I love it.  Not sure where its going go but I love it.  The stomach, the shoulder blade, I don't know, but what do you think?

Yay for Tomorrow!

Heading to a nice restaurant tomorrow for brunch with a couple of other Singaporean students... Yes yes what else do Singaporeans do best apart from eating.  This is a group I've only recently met since I've been here in Michigan and well its nice to be surrounded by people who end their sentences occasionally with "lah".   Anyhoo, I'm so excited.  Its been so long since I've dressed up and gone to a nice place to eat.  I've even sussed out the menu and I already know what I want!  I can't freakin wait!

Trip to the Library

Made my virgin trip to the main library recently and was pleasantly surprised to find that every area was colored coded.  You find the call number of the book you want, check the color out and then voila, you just follow the markings on the ground.  What an insanely simple solution!

Fight Shape Update

So I've been heading to the gym almost every other day this week and well, I can't begin to tell you how much my muscles ache.  I try to exercise different muscle groups each time I'm there, just so I don't strain them, although I do think I might have strained my chest muscles this week.  Upped my weights to 40lbs this week on that machine that you push out on (yes I don't know a bit about these weight machines), and I think that might have a little too much.  I think I'm just going to stick to my cardio routine this week.

I'm seriously thinking of getting myself a personal trainer if for nothing else just to learn how to use these machines properly so that I don't hurt myself.  But at $30 bucks an hour, I'm waffling.  

But I do feel myself being able to handle longer bouts of cardio activity now and I'm really pleased with that.  I used to have trouble running one kilometer and now I'm up to about 3.  Not quite marathon level yet but I'll get there... some day.  I've been actually more engaged in incorporating "wind sprints" into my cardio workout, its supposed to help improve your aerobic performance and essentially make for a much better workout with less time.  

So that's my fitness update for now.  Keep running folks!

Shooting on the Bus

Took the bus to the supermarket today and decided to show you a little bit about what uni town is all about.  These were taken with QuadCam on my iPhone in 9 second intervals.  There was very little I could control over what was taken since (1) it just shoots every 9 seconds and (2) I was stuck on the bus.  But this came out roughly how I wanted it to, a tad too small though but good in that they are almost random.  Will do this again soon, using 4 instead of 8 shots.  So well here's part of what my life looks like here in good ol' Michigan.