London Week 1

So, the title of this post is a misnomer.  I've been in London almost two weeks.  School starts tomorrow (Monday Aug. 23).  Can't believe the summer flew so fast.  I've been keeping a list of "stories" from week 1 on my iPhone, so this blog post is dedicated to those stories.  My apologies for it being disjointed.

IKEA
On day 1, Binita and I went to IKEA near Wembley (area of London where main Olympic complex is being built).  The Underground goes there, and IKEA has a shuttle to help get you back to the station after shopping.  IKEA in London is very similar to IKEA in Houston.  Big box retailer with hordes of people.  It's back to school season here as well, so the selection was somewhat limited.  I bought essentials mostly (boxes, dishrack, hangers, frames, etc.) and noted some furniture I needed for storage.  One of my roommates came back that weekend and ordered my stuff with orders from others.  IKEA has a great delivery scheme here.  If you live in our post code, delivery of goods (up to 2,000 GBP) is only 40 GBP.  So, my flatmates and I split that cost.  One surprising thing I've realized...flat sheets in London are hard to find and really expensive.  Most sheet sets include a duvet cover, fitted sheet, and 2 pillowcases.  Flat sheets (low thread count) come in colors like black and white and cost $15-$20.  Also, hangers are really expensive in London.  I bought 3 packs of 10 hangers for 15 GBP total.  That works out to about 75 cents a hanger.  I have a lot of clothes too, so I was stuck.  Luckily I found plastic hangers at IKEA that were about 20 cents each.  Expect to pay the "London premium" on even the basic things here.

Frogger
Crossing the street in London gives me the heebee jeebee's.  First, there are few intersections that are right angles (London is a very old city with windy roads and intersections that come in all sorts of shapes).  You don't always know which way traffic is coming from.  A lot of intersections have big words painted on the street "LOOK LEFT" or "LOOK RIGHT", but that's not always the case.  Park Road, Baker Street, and Marylebone High Street are the three big roads I have to cross on a daily basis.  Imagine having to cross Westheimer Street in Houston on foot, and it'll give you an idea of how scary it is.

Blast from the Past
One of my first clients at Alvarez & Marsal was a recycler. Since then, I have become a recycling fiend. London is a "green" city (which I LOVE). I was surprised and admire Pret for their recycliing practice. Pret is a chain of cafe's similar to La Madeleine or Panera in the States. My friend Reese and I were there for lunch when I saw this...

Haggis and Such
My wonderful sister Binita came to help me move to London.  She spent 10 days with me, and we decided to make a last-minute trip to Edinburgh, Scotland for four days.  Edinburgh is FANTASTIC and definitely a place to visit.  Especially in August when they have their month-long Edinburgh International Festival.  It's really a mix of 10 or so different festivals.  There are tons of comedians, street performers, plays, musical performances, food festivals, and even a book festival.  Edinburgh is so green and beautiful.  It's charming and it's locals are friendly.  Go to Scotland if you want to enjoy the beauty of the Highlands, scotch, golf, cashmere, shortbread, and haggis.

Skype...Best...Invention...Ever
OMG...I LOVE Skype.  Maybe it's because it allows me to feel like I'm not that far away from friends and family.  Skype to Skype calls on laptops are always free.  Otherwise, calls to most countries are 2 cents / minute.  So, I was using that until I discovered the Skype app for the iPhone.  This allows you to make calls from your cell phone cheaply.  On top of that, I bought a 12-month subscription for unlimited calls to the US and Canada landlines and mobiles for $2.99 / month.  (Make sure to buy it in the US, otherwise it's $8 if they detect an overseas IP address). So, now, I can essentially make a call from MY iPhone to ANY person in the US for $36 a year.  Not too bad...

Lucky Lady
That's what I consider myself to have such great friends and family.  Within my first week of London, I had two sets and aunts, uncles, and cousins visit while they were vacationing iin Europe.  In that first week, I also had two Aggie friends from Houston in town.  The weekend was full of sight seeing, eating, and Speed Scrabble. 

The Calm Before the Storm
Tomorrow is the first day of school.  I've made a handful of friends over the past few months and plan on making many more over the next two years.  Admits Orientation, Flathunters Pub Crawl, and rugby practice on Sundays have been a great way to meet people.  Over 90% of my class comes from outside the UK.  So, whenever you meet someone, you instantly have something in common.  Initial conversation is around where you come from, whether you've found a flat, what you did in your pre-MBA career, etc.  It's very easy to make friends.   I would say that the friendships are superficial right now because I really don't know many people.  However, even the littlest thing (such as a text message from a classmate wishing me good luck in rugby practice) makes my day.  It makes me feel part of something rather than an expat in a overcrowded, expensive city.

London Day 1

After an embarrassingly long hiatus, I am writing this blog post right before I go to sleep in the new place I call home.  It’s been a long 42 hours, and I haven’t slept a wink. Hopefully, this blog post is coherent.


The summer FLEW. I’ve been literally living out of suitcase most of this summer, and the two final weeks I had to prep for the journey snuck up on me fast. I consider myself pretty lucky to have such great family members to help with this transition. My parents are safekeeping my car. My sister Binita is safekeeping many of my belongings in her home.

Packing is up there on my list of least favorite things to do (including filing my tax return, standing in a long line, or calling toll-free customer service numbers). International travel passengers on Continental are allowed one checked bag, one carry-on, and one personal item. Elite status (which I lost) gives you another free checked bag. Free second checked bag privilege does NOT apply to everyone with a Continental credit card. There’s only one that will give you a free second bag on an international flight. Bags over 50 pounds but less than 70 pounds cost an extra 50 bucks. Bags over 70 pounds are not allowed to fly. A third checked bag is pretty steep and costs 150 bucks. I only know these rules intimiately because I spent the last week conniving to get the most stuff overseas. I know that I don’t have much room, and Europeans live more sparingly. However, this is my stuff, and it’s hard to part with it. I am also SO thankful for my good friend Seema. She was such a huge help in packing and saw me frantically packing and repacking in the last 48 hours. We also became skilled bag weighers using the digital hanging scale. HAHA!! Getting through security at IAH was interesting…I was shifting things at the very last minute so that I could take my giant North Face backpack as a carryon.  I also was wearing a thick fleece and Uggs to save on luggage space.  That raised some eyebrows in the Houston airport.

The flight was fine. Had some wine, watched some movies, and replied to some emails. I didn’t sleep at all, and that came back to haunt me. My uncle recommended a car service when we arrived at Heathrow. It was SO nice to know that I was going straight to my apartment vs. some temporary spot until I got my own place. That was stress I wanted to avoid, so I was able to find a flat and lock it in before we moved in. My flat is literally 3 blocks away from LBS, so my commute will be short and sweet.

Binita and I did our best to unpack and organize my 300 pounds of luggage. We went to oh so many stores. That’s why our feet were so sore when we came back. The things that make moving to London difficult are high cost of living, the fact that you aren’t familiar with stores, and overcrowdedness of the city. I’m only a recent resident of London, and even I’m sick of the hordes of tourists around here.

After a long day of unpacking, shopping, a journey to distant IKEA, and no sleep, we had a quick dinner at Pizza Express and called it a night. The funniest part of the day was at Marks & Spencer when Binita was paying for items with her photo debit card from Bank of America. The UK has a chip and pin code for credit card holders. Basically you have a chip in your debit card, and a four digit code that protects your identity. They rolled this out a couple of years ago after credit card fraud became alarmingly systemic. When Binita showed the cashier her card, the cashier asked for ID, made her sign, and then gave her a 15 minute lecture on signing the back of your card. She pressed that it’s dangerous. Binita countered that there was a photo on her debit card. HAHA!

London escapade

Just realized I haven’t blogged in a while.  A lot has happened.  I spent the first half of June in London for LBS’ Admits orientation.  This was my first solo international trip.

I’m fortunate to have an uncle who lives in Greenwich (south London), and he allowed me to stay with him.  Definitely cut down on my expenses and made this trip a possibility.  It was also nice to stay a week longer, scope out the city, and set (or attempt to set) things up.

Admits orientation was FANTASTIC!  I remember walking up to Regents Park from the Baker Street station and thinking “OMG…this place looks exactly like it does in pictures online.  The facade of the building facing the park is beautiful, unique, and reminds me of a castle. 

 

  

They had quite a few activities for us but everyone acknowledged the focus was on meeting people.  The first person I met was Chris.  Chris was actually the first LBS person I talked to on the phone in March.  He is a mechanical engineer from southern California.  He joined the Navy and honorably served his country for several years, most recently managing infrastructure construction projects in Afganistan.  It was so good to meet Chris in person.  We crashed the end of year Finance Club BBQ.  That’s where I had my first Carlsberg beer.  Though I will always choose Shiner, Carlsberg and Newcastle will suffice for now.  The Finance Club BBQ was great because I got to meet several of the second year students.

Meeting my classmates was the highlight of the trip. I met some REALLY impressive people.  Olympic athletes, royalty, successful entrepreneurs, war veterans, people with unbelievable work experience, and even a professional hockey player.  I found most people to be down-to-earth and genuine.  There were 200 admits there out of our projected class of 395.  Looks like 91% of our class will come from outside the UK.  26% female.  The average age will be a year older than me.  It's a competition to see if each new class will have students from more countries than the prior year's class.  Mine beat the 2011 class, landing at 66. 

My other favorite part of the trip was Sundowners.  European schools are a little "different".  Attached to the school is Windsor Pub.  And in the basement of the school is MBAr.  Each Thursday, the school has a giant schoolwide happy hour where students, faculty, and recruiters come and have free wine / beer / cider.  There's a giant lawn area in front of the school, so we had hundreds of people enjoying the weather outside and drinking from 8 - 11:30 pm!  

As for the rest of my trip, I enjoyed just exploring the city on foot.  I REALLY HATED trying to set up a bank account and flat hunting.  Banks are concerned with money laundering so it is very difficult to open up a bank account.  I was lucky and ended up getting a very basic non-free account with Barclays.  They told me that online banking and a debit card were the “perks.”  Couldn't get a credit card though.  And flat hunting is a nightmare because the real estate market works differently.  Landlords use estate agents to find renters, and properties come on market and go very quick.  In other words, agents don't know what flats will be available when I move in August.  And when a flat does become available, it will sell in 2-3 weeks.  I will say it was good for me to go look at flats because I know what areas of town I want to live in, how close to the school I want to be, how much flats cost, and how small they actually are.

A few stories I’ll share:

-On the first day I was in London, my uncle from northern California randomly was in town.  He went to college there, so I met up with him and my other uncle who lives in Greenwich.  They showed me around the city.  My uncle told me that when he left London in 1989, the city was a dump.  But, now the city has greatly gentrified and there are so many nice things to see and do.  We also went to a Michelin star rated Indian restaurant, Mint Leaf.  It was in the basement of a building and had a great atmosphere.  Very good Indian food.  YUM!  I also enjoyed the art around the city.  Currently, there are 250 or so elephants painted by famous artists.  They are being auctioned off to raise money to save the Asian elephant.

-One neat thing about London Business School is no one has an accent.  People come from all over the world and speak many languages.  I was worried about my Texas accent, and I went for a week trying to soften it and get rid of the “y’alls”.  I failed miserably.  We say that no one has an accent at LBS because you come to this accepting place and join an eclectic group of people.  Everyone’s accents and backgrounds become the fabric of the student body.

-I got some great advice from my classmate Katie.  She’s an Irish girl who has lived in London the past few years as an art dealer.  She told me to avoid using the Tube for the first few weeks.  The Tube (Underground) gives you a warped perception of the city.  And if you ride the very efficient bus system, you’ll quickly learn to gauge distances and understand where things are in relation to one another.  I did it afterwards and it really helped!

-When you go to LBS, you are not joining a magical community where everyone will instantly get along and avoid ignorant comments.  In fact, the exact opposite will happen.  The example that comes to mind is a conversation I had with D’arcy.  D’arcy is a former professional hockey placer turned investment banker.  I know he had lived in Canada and NYC at certain points.  We walked together from the school to the Tube station and rode the same route.  I asked him when he was flying back to NYC.  He said he lived in Toronto. And, I said, “Oh, I thought you were still in banking.”  I know there are other banking centres in the world, but that comment instinctively came out.  D’arcy called me out on it and told me that Bay Street is the Wall Street of Canada.  I felt awful for making that ignorant comment.  But, that’s what is supposed to happen in a non-hostile environment.  Those small conflicts make you a more understanding, worldy person.  I heard some ignorant and hateful comments about Texas while I was there, but I’ll get to set the record straight too. 

-I stopped by a shop called the Carphone Warehouse and bought an unlocked phone and SIM card for a mere 4 GBP!!  And it was a brand new phone too.  Afterwards, I enjoyed 7 pence / minute cell phone calls to the US and 20 pence / minute calls to the UK.  Incoming calls are free and texts were 10 pence each.  This was a bargain compared to the “discounted” rate of $1.29 that AT&T was charging me. 

Funtime summertime

I have now joined the ranks of the unemployed :).  Last Friday 5/28 was my last day at work.  Leaving this job wasn't like leaving The Canyon News, Gap, etc. because I've spent four years with Alvarez & Marsal and LOVE the people there.  The culture there is unmatched.  My goal for the day was to not cry, and I didn't!  It was a busy day at the office.  Lots of people were in.  I had lunch with one of my fave managers, Courtney.  A couple of MD's that I really liked working with made it a point to stop by and wish me well.  Richard (one of my fave MD's) came by and reminded me of my second day with the firm when he walked me to my first client (we both ended up getting a little sidetracked in the tunnels).  Aaron was in the office too, so it was great fun catching up with him.  Then, I turned in my laptop, AmEx, and office keycard and left.  When I got home from the gym after work, Binita (my sister) was home.  She told me she had a surprise for me.  She got me a $200 Banana Republic gift card to be used towards a trench coat as a Happy Quitting Day gift.  Haha!  I have the best sister EVER!

The past couple of days have been pretty great.  I'll always miss the people at A&M, but I think this summer is going to be pretty awesome.  Don't get me wrong, I haven't had time to sit on the couch all day.  I've been working non-stop on scholarship applications, getting ready for my trip to London the first half of June, planning a trip to Peru in June / July, applying for a visa, and looking for a flat to live in.  I am an inch from going over the edge, but I have my checklist of things to do, and I'm knocking them out one at a time. 

Saturday was a super fun day.  I read most of the day and then went to get a pedicure with Binita.  Afterwards we went out for Thai and stopped by Borders to pick up the new Lonely Planet guide to Peru.  Sunday was even better.  David threw a "Eat Us Out of House and Home" gathering since he and Bret will be moving out of their loft this week.  I grew to love that apartment, and I'll miss seeing the crew there.  Jennifer, David, Ryan, and I did end up playing one last fierce game of Speed Scrabble that lasted until 2 a.m.  

I'm looking forward to the summer ahead.  It'll be a selfish couple of months in which I do basically whatever I want.  Parts of it are going to be expensive (e.g. Peru, London, California), but it'll be worth it.  Now that I don't have a steady income, I'm alot more conscientious when it comes to money.  This summer I'm going to have to tighten up the purse strings when I can.  However, there are certain purchases that don't count.  They are:

1. Half Price Books
2. Gym membership
3. Redbox rentals...seriously amazing how $1 can provide 2 hours of entertainment.
4. iTunes purchases...as an Apple shareholder, I'm only supporting myself, right? :)
5. Wine.  Grabbing a glass of wine in the evening for good conversation with a friend has become my new favorite pasttime.  My go to spot is Max's Wine Dive.  It all started when Lis and I had brunch there one Sunday in February.  We befriended our waiter, Joseph, as well as Kate (the Great).  Now, I go there at least once or twice a week and enjoy the VIP treatment.   My recommendation for a great "value" wine is the Petite Petit.  You won't regret it.

http://www.lodivineyards.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=67

An "epic" month

May has flown by so fast! And, it's been a busy, busy month.

Last night was the LOST finale, and it was a fitting ending. SO GOOD!! I particularly liked it when Kate saved a bullet for black smoke monster in John Locke's body.  I am a LOST addict and feel that there are nuggets of wisdom that we can all apply to our daily lives. Over the past six seasons, here are my key takeaways:

1) When bad things happen, everyone deserves a chance to start over.
2) We're all connected some how. Not exactly in the "it's a small world" kind of way, but something deeper. We may never know how or why.
3) Our past really does impact us. Little things early on in life shape who we are and the way we behave.
4) You can't judge people based on first impressions. You may not "like" people truly if you knew the whole story.


I really liked how everyone came back to the church at the end before they "moved on." Jack's dad said something interesting when Jack asked why. He said that these people on the island were the most important people for him, and it made sense for them to come together again. He needed them as much as they needed him. I think about that alot lately. I've been to quite a few happy hours, parties, weddings, etc. this month. Each time I go, the thought in the back of my mind is that that gathering could be the last time I see so-and-so for a very long time. And that hurts, so I block that out, give quick goodbye hugs, and walk away. I was in Austin this weekend for an annual gathering of alot of people that mean alot to me. I hope that I've impacted them 1/10 as much as they've made an impact on me over the years.

I rarely go to Austin but have been twice this month.  The first time was for Russell and Becca's wedding.  It was such a charming, fun wedding at the Allan House (great wedding locale).  I was running SO late and had to park in handicapped parking so that I could make it right before Canon in D started playing.  Haha!  Becca was a beautiful.  And Big Russ was grinning from ear-to-ear the entire evening.  I can't wait till I see them again for a fierce game of Yahtzee :)
 
Because I've been busy most of this past year traveling and preparing for my next adventure, I hadn't seen or talked to many of the people at the wedding.  A couple of these childhood friends even live in Houston, but I've been MIA.  However, in June I plan on going to the driving range and brushing up on photography at the Houston Zoo with Jack Attack.  I will be assembling alot of furniture in the fall, so I should probably check out Don's new place and his newfound interest in carpentry.  Oh, and Vanessa and I are way overdue for finishing a bottle of wine one evening.
 

 

 

After Russ and Becca's wedding, I went to a dance party that my friend Steven threw. They seem to be regular events with a bunch of his friends, but this one was special because it was an "Epic" Columbus House Party. Words cannot describe how many people there were. Professional DJ, boom boom room, lots of beer and wine, red carpet, photographer, etc. It was SO much fun and a great venue to people watch. Several people had on entertaining costumes. When Steven throws a party, he throws party. So, his "epic" dance party is the inspiration for this "epic" May that I've had.

 
 

 

London links

So, I'm inundated with emails from my classmates these days.   Brynne sent out this, and I laughed out loud.   This conversation has played out once or twice with me.

http://www.decisionsciencenews.com/2010/01/25/dont-cry-for-london-business-school-rest-of-world/

Also, get first dibs on London 2012 Olympics tickets by registering your interest here.  I'll graduate right before the Olympics and plan on attending the games.  Let me know if you're interested.  I'll keep an ear to the ground on deals and coordinate places to stay the best that I can.

http://www.tickets.london2012.com/?camefrom=CFC_UK_LONDON2012_L2012_SIGNUPSPLASH

A lesson in generosity

I'm new to blogging and am not sure when I should write.  But, a friend told me to write whenever I'm inspired.  It's 2 am on a weeknight right now, and I'm inspired. 

I went to the end of term Titans dinner at Texas A&M tonite and drove back to Houston (hence the late night post).  This is the class where Britt Harris recaps the semester for current Titans and 60 or so prospective Titans who come to see what this special program is all about.  Former Titans (like me) are invited to help select the next group of Titans, and after class all 100 or so go to dinner at Abuelo's.

Tonite's class was special.  Travis, a gifted entrepreneur and comic, was able to get Governor Rick Perry to say a few words to us via video.  Kind of amazing that such a young guy is able to pull that off.  Since I'm a Titans I member, I was the oldest female in the room.  Britt gave me a few shoutouts during his lecture and referred to me as the "matriarch" of the group.

I still remember how I Forrest Gumped my way into Titans.  In my senior year, Jason Kaspar came to my Tanner Fund class and made an announcement.  He said that a successful alum (Britt) was starting a special project and needed students' help.  He told me to show up in an obscure office on the 3rd floor of Wehner.  Oh, and he mentioned to dress in business casual.  Praise the Lord that I ended up going because that's how I met Britt and the other members of my Titans Junto.  It was with this special group that we launched an innovative class at Texas A&M.  It is also the seed in which oh so many wonderful lifelong relationships have sprouted.

Don't get me wrong.  That last semester at Texas A&M was brutal.  My Titans group went to hell and back to get what we needed to do done.  But, it's something I'd do all over again in a heartbeat.  As I sat in the classroom tonite, I was inspired not only with the message Britt preaches but the incredible group of people who believe it and live their lives in accordance to it.  As always, we went around the room and did intros for the current Titans and the former Titans.  Many of the students had just accepted positions with Simmons, Barclays, MorganStanley, the Peace Corps, KBW, etc.  Quite impressive given that this was a bad recruiting year.  But, it wasn't the jobs or accolades that impressed me - it was the people.  Good people who all are going to make an impact in this world.  Two of them, Paige and Harrison, have accepted jobs with my company Alvarez & Marsal.  I won't be around to see them develop, but I know they are going to dominate.

I consider myself to be the luckiest girl in the world to have Britt as my mentor.  At our last Titans supper of my senior year, Britt gave the graduating seniors gifts.  The girls received large silver horses.  The guys received large silver elephants.  I don't care how much it costs to ship that horse to London...it's coming with me!  After he explained the significance of the gifts, Britt told us that he considers us to be a part of his legacy.  And that has been the greatest compliment I have ever received.

If nothing else, my Titans experience and Britt have inspired me to live generously - with my time, $, and talents.  To those whom much is given, much is required.  So, I will keep pressing on.