Pre-Term

It's been a crazy busy week of seemingly non-stop networking. Some highlights of the week:

0. Some talks by some very impressive alumni and corporate leaders and faculty (CEO of Rothschild, Global Head of Equities at Lehman, VP of Corp Marketing at Sony).

1. Scavenger Hunt - This was a professionally organized scavenger hunt which pitted study groups within a block against each other (fyi - the class of 400 odd is divvied into "blocks" of 70ish each, each further divvied into study groups of 5-6). All groups within a block were sent off to the same downtown neighborhood armed with a set of 20 clues to solve. Though we didn't win (we got too cocky and made two very careless errors), we had a hoot running around Chinatown trying to solve the clues. I have a feeling I may have been a bit too aggressive, but I think atleast two of my teammates were equally, if not more, so. I know I'm not usually this aggressive inside the classroom, but I guess that's what happens when you're pitted against 400 other Type-A's.

2. Mets Game - This was kinda cool because, despite having been in NY for over 5 yrs, I've never been to a baseball game before. Even though the game was painfully boring (I'm told not all baseball is this sporific), it was a good, relaxed atmosphere to bond with classmates.

3. Presentation Skills Workshop & Networking Skills Workshop - Because these are two very very important aspects of not only landing a job, but also of becoming a successful leader, the school had two experts come in and talk in detail about these. Personally, I felt 80% of both the workshops were things that I was already familiar with (most of it common sense really), but 20% of it was actually quite valuable and new.

4. Bar Blasts - These were fun because (1) they were all held in the E.Village, which is still a somewhat alien neighborhood for me (I always avoided it since it was filled with raucous college students :-)), and (2) yes, you guessed it - bars are good places to get to know people better, thanks to alcohol, the Great Uninhibitor.

The rest of the week was a blur of presentations by professors, alumni and the various offices serving the MBA program.

A quick note about networking - Even though I talked to about a 100 (or more) people, and connected pretty well with atleast 30 of those (people whom I spoke to more than once, for atleast 10-15 minutes each), I did not enjoy the process as much as I thought I would. This is not to say that the people weren't interesting (quite the opposite, in fact); I think it's more because the whole thing is so forced. But, I suppose I'd better get used to it, since this is how it's going to be at all events (esp. recruiting presentations) for the next two years.

Some photos from Italy

My Italy trip can be summed up in one word - "gastronomic". The whole trip was pretty much about eating and drinking. I think every meal I consumed consisted of 3 courses and half a bottle of wine (plus Amarone/Grappa/Limoncello and what-have-you). I think the only authentic Tuscan food I didn't eat was the tripe, which I was too chickenshit to try. The wines were very, very good across the board - Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino, and Vino Nobile de Montepulciano. Even the Vino da Tavolo's (table wines) were pretty damn good. But, the thing I absolutely LOVED were the olives! I have never, ever tasted olives so fresh and succulent. Mmmm....

Anyway, the food was amazing, and the Tuscan landscape is so varied and beautiful; from the green groves of Chianti to the rolling plains of Volterra, to the hills of Montalcino, each region has its own distinctive look. The common thread is that the towns all have medieval forts and churches. I would've definitely liked to see more of Tuscany, especially northern Tuscany.

The one thing I would've done differently is stay somewhere in Tuscany (most likely somewhere in Chianti) rather than staying in Florence and taking day-trips. Florence is cool, but I liked the countryside a lot more. Also, because Florence is such an old city, there are way too many one-ways and winding roads, which makes getting in and out of Florence pretty time consuming.

Florence was kinda cool. It's a lot smaller and less modern than Rome or Milan, but it was easier to walk around in. It was also tons of fun renting a moped to drive around Florence for a couple of days. It's the best way to get around the city, and brought back wonderful memories of riding around Bangalore in a Kinetic Honda :-). I must say, I didn't care too much for the Uffizi. Too much Christianity without much thematic variation in the paintings. Or maybe just my ignorance.

Milan was cool the way New York or London or Paris is cool. I did splurge a bit in Milan and eat at a Michelin starred restaurant (I figured what the hell, I'll probably be living on pizza for the next two years), which was really good, but nowhere as good as a Michelin starred restaurant in Paris (IMHO, maybe the guide is only reliable for France). I also window-shopped on Via Napoleone and Via della Spiga (maybe in a few years, I might actually be able to buy something from one of those shops).

MILAN:
Tram Station. "Efficiency" and "Italian" seldom go together, but the tram timings were pretty accurately reflected on these little screens.
















Top of the Duomo against an absolutely clear blue sky. Sadly, due to ongoing repairs, the rest of the facade was covered by a terribly unsightly billboard










Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle













Slightly creepy-looking souveniers


















FLORENCE:
The marble facade of the Cathedral (at the Duomo)












Firenze - city of scooters and mopeds













Santa Croce at dusk (over the next couple of days, we kept getting lost and coming back to the same spot :-))











Dudes fishing in the Arno! ("catch of the day" at the neighborhood restaurant?)

















TUSCANY:
The landscape around Volterra is a complete contrast to the Chianti landscape (more brown here than green, of the wheat fields)











Wine Barrells inside the Vignomaggio Winery in Greve


















Chianti Country (grapevines, olive groves and cypress trees)
























Lots of sunflower fields en route to Montalcino (from Florence)











View from terrace of the Vignomaggio Estate (a beautiful winery in Greve, producing some excellent Chianti Classico)










San Gimignano, city of 14 "skyscrapers" (medieval towers dating back to the 13th century, the tallest of which is 175 ft)

Almost there

There have been a whole lot of little things to take care of before school. I finally completed the assessments (needn't have even studied all the material; they were really simple), registered for classes (all core courses since I can't really opt out of any of them), got my ID, submitted all the requisite forms etc.. I still need to buy a bag (backpack? messenger bag?), business calculator, stationery etc. Boring, but necessary.

I did use my new ID to visit the Bobst Library, and the Kaufman Mgmt Center. I'm hoping I have time to go back and check out more of Stern sometime next week. Also, it takes me only around 20 minutes to walk from my house to the campus, so it should be possible to walk to school on most days, rather than taking the subway.

Other than that, I've been reading a bit ("Altered Carbon", "Kite Runner", "Guns, Germs and Steel", "Freakonomics", "Maximum City"), hanging out with friends, cooking a lot and watching way too many "Law and Order" marathons.

Will post my Italy snaps soon...