A few lessons...

Boo to strikes!
I gave up my Honda (aka Bailey) this July and no longer have a car.  Many people (obviously not from Texas) told me I would love public transportation.  The London Underground is one of the most advanced, clean, and extensive public transport systems in the world.  After two months using it, I would say it's good but definitely not as good as having your own car when you can come and go as you please.  Also, and this must be a European thing, but workers go on strike fairly regularly.  There have been two Underground strikes since I've been here and they reek HAVOC on the city. My classmates who have to travel using the bus or the tube have to plan hours in advance to get from point A to point B.  Everyone is late.  Workers are mainly striking to not lose their jobs. 

I read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle a few years ago.  Next to Uncle Tom's Cabin, it is said to be the work of social commentary with the greatest impact.  The FDA was created in the U.S. after The Jungle was published.  Labor unions also gained clout.  I can empathize with their circumstances and understand where they are coming from.  However, bringing one of the largest cities in the world (as well as a global financial center) to a standstill doesn't really gain my sympathy. 

Mid Autumn Festival 2010
September 22 was Mid-Autumn Day in China.  Our Chinese colleagues in Stream B put together a special presentation for us after our Global Leadership Assessment for Managers (GLAM) session.  They explained to us the significance of the holiday.  It is observed each fall and is based on the Chinese calendar.  There is a full moon that evening, and it is tradition to eat a moon cake.  We each sampled one of these delicious moon cakes in class.  They are typically very sweet, and when you take a bite of one, you are supposed to be filled with warm thoughts to remember loved ones far away (represented by the moon).  Mid-Autumn Day was something I knew nothing about before.  But, I'm really glad our classmates taught us about it.  So many of us have traveled far away to be here, so it seemed very appropriate for us to all celebrate this together.  After the presentation, we all gave the presenters a forceful and long round of applause.  Because that's how we do it at LBS.

UGM lesson
Our first class in the MBA program is called Understanding General Management (UGM).  Our section was taught by Dr. Brandon Lee, and he is an amazing teacher!  UGM is Strategy-lite.  Basically, you learn that frames, values, processes, and commitments exist in organizations.  Brandon does a good job selecting the cases...I particularly liked the Honda, AmEx, and Body Shop cases.   However, the biggest takeaway from that class had nothing to do with a case.  Brandon made us write a letter from a headhunter describing our dream job and why we should accept it.  He then made us write the eulogy a friend would give sixty+ years from now.  In a weird way, I LOVED writing my eulogy.  Because in it, I talked about friends, family, and things that matter.   The point of this exercise was fairly obvious in that Brandon wanted us to take a more holistic view of what "success" is when we're just starting the MBA course.  He also asked us whether the two works seemed to "mesh" and logically reinforce each other.  Mine didn't.  And I was proud of it because my eulogy was mainly about a life of significance.   Brandon pushed back and asked us rhetorically if they didn't, should they?  And that's when it kind of hit me.  To work towards a distant ideal and sludge through the present is not the way it should be. 

Birthmonth!!

My FAVORITE month is finally here!!  October!  I'm partial to it because October 2 is my birthday.  Last Friday my flatmates and I had 15 or so friends and partners over to our place for a potluck and games.  It was loads of fun.  It reminded me of fun times at Casa Willow Pond in College Station when Holly and I would have people over.  Our smallish flat in London has a largish living room, and so it was great to entertain and have a night of fellowship and laughter.  My sweet flatmates even surprised me at midnight with a birthday cake.  YAY!   I celebrate birthmonth instead of a birthday...which means I get to shop, eat, drink, and celebrate as much as I please :).

On Saturday, I had brunch at a place called Med Kitchen with a few of my female classmates.  Brunch was one of my favorite pasttimes in Texas.  Weekend brunch hasn't quite caught on with the Brits, but there are a few places (like Med Kitchen) that do it.  When David and Lis were in London, we went to a place called the Breakfast Club.  Ying found this great Soho spot.  Portions are huge but service kind of helter skelter. 



Speaking of parties...our awesome Stream B social reps organized an AMAZING flat crawl for our stream.  We had several members of our stream that live close to the school open up their homes to us.  It was the first ever flat crawl in LBS history and defiinitely a fun night.  One memorable activity was playing that game that many Americans love - flip cup!  D'arcy, James, Emily, Nina and I played together as a team.  We were six-time undefeated champions that night!  Whoop!  Here are a few pics...

NB: Note the reddish non-contagious eye infection.  Gah!  A month of being sick in London stinks!

Me and Haroon

Me and Benjamin (Apparently this Frenchman thinks I smile very "American").

Me and Juancho (He made great guacamole for the party.  Reminded me of home.)

Maria, Valerie, Valerie's BF, and me

 Arunabh, me, and Joyce

I am very cognizant that my time in London is an opportunity of a lifetime...I want to make the most of it.  A great experience that I wouldn't have had otherwise was going to London Fashion Week.  I don't consider myself a fashionista, but going to a fashion week is so neat.  The shows are short, but SO exciting.  Will post more pictures of this soon once I get them from a friend.

The people watching environment at London Fashion Week is one of a kind!

I found out recently that I am the treasurer for the Women's Touch Rugby club.  I'm super excited about WTR this year.  One of the best decisions to join this club.  I love the fellowship with this amazing group of girls. 

We had our annual pub golf event with the men's team last night.  It was a night to never forget.  Basically it's a pub crawl.  You split up into co-ed teams and visit 9 bars.  At each bar, you drink a pint (girls drink half pints). Each place has a par value, and the goal is to drink the beer in as few sips as possible (some guys and girls even get perfect scores).  There were only a few water penalty exempt spots where you can go to the bathroom.  It was a fun night, and I got to meet some great people.  Tartare and Custard were our second year captains.  Guys had to wear a Hawaiian shirt while girls wore animal print attire. I loved Joyce's bear outfit.  I sported a cheap leopard-printed scarf that I found on the 50% off sale rack at H&M.

Pub golf team...

Girls celebrating at the Windsor afterwards...

Venting session #1

I love my blog for the creative freedom it gives me and the mechanism it serves in helping me share my stories with readers.  However, this blog is also something I'm using to capture feelings and track history while I'm in London.  Not everything is going to "ice cream and sunshine."  So, without further ado, I present the first installment of some "venting sessions" that may pop up on this blog.

The bain of my existence
The Whirlpool AWG 329 washer dryer. Most washing machines and dryers in this country are not up to American standards.  Generally, they are small, clean less effectively, and take longer.  Like most appliances in this country, washer dryers just aren't as powerful.   The controls on our machine are not intuitive either.  The drying cycle is really a "steaming cycle" that takes 2+ hours.  That wastes alot of electricity and your clothes come out damp and have a slightly funky smell because of the water.  Seriously, I hate our washer dryer!

I know, I know...I need to underload and buy a drying rack.  I plan on doing that going forward after last Saturday's laundry experience.  I threw in a load in the afternoon.  Filled the detergent in the dispenser.  Adjusted the settings.  Pressed Start.  3 hours later my clothes came out more dry than not.  For some reason, I opened the detergent dispenser and saw that ALL the detergent was still in there.  So, basically, I washed my clothes in dirty water.  Great :-/  So, I ended up washing my clothes AGAIN.  Three hours later my mostly dry clothes came out with white powder all over them.  GRR!

Hummus
Because I'm back in poor college student mode, I decided that I will start making my own hummus.  I consume large quantities of hummus, so I figured making my own would be economical, healthy, and Martha Stewart like.  I have since changed my mind.  Who the hell makes their own hummus?!?!  It took 40 miinutes and didn't have the right consistency or flavor.  I think it had to do with the fact that our blender sucks.  Again, like most other UK appliances, it just doesn't have the power needed.  Basically there is an "on" setting and an "off" setting.  Nothing else.  No "pulse" setting.  Never again will I make hummus.  I will buy the tubs that are sold in Tesco and every other corner store here in London.

Taxes
If you haven't heard me say it enough..."London is expensive".  Really expensive.  You should also realize that it's a city where everything is taxed.  You should assume everything is taxed.  My classmate Sid shared an enlightening story. He lives in the UK and through a deal his employer has with Royal Bank of Scotland, he got a mortgage rate that was 170 bp below the "going rate" in the UK.  At the end of the year, the UK calculates the difference in what Sid spends on mortgage interest and the mortgate interest he would have paid with the "going rate".  The amount saved is taxed at 40%!!   Crazy...

OK...done venting.   Last week was a light Orientation week filled mainly with introductory presentations, motivational speeches, and social gatherings.  It was a fun week!  One of the highlights was getting our study groups.  It was written on piece of paper in an envelope, so it was a mad dash to try to find your study group teammates.  I'm in B2 and I LOVE my peers.  Andre, Maria, Luca, Ori, Pete, Protheit, and I are going to have a great year.  I would go to battle with any one of them, and I look forward to our upcoming year.

We had Away Day last week too.  It's a special day that I can't say much about, but it's a bonding experience with your study group and stream.  I LOVED our study group contract and all that we collectively accomplished.  It rained off and on all day and was cold in Reading, but that didn't matter.  Like most things in life, it's not about what you do but rather who you do it with.

Another great event from last weekend was a surprise birthday party we had for Kunal's wife, Shikha.  We held a picnic in Regent's Park and had a great turnout.  It was a GORGEOUS day in London. 

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.

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