Random Happenings

Halfway point of week2 of classes. So far, not too bad. Each time I think I have no idea what's going on, I surprise myself with how much I actually seem to know.

Case in point... Financial Accouting.
Was picked in class by David Young to run through a Cash Flow Statements case. I actually passed muster and ran through the thing without problems. Full joy and what not...

Similar thing in Fnancial Markets and Valuation. Bonds don't seem to be a problem anymore. Woohoo!

Its Brazilian week on campus this week. Hosted by the Brazilian students, we have special screenings of movies like "City of God" and "Carandiru". We get guest speakers from the Brazilian High Commision or from their biggest retailer. We have a huge Brazilian flag in the foyer. We have special food and drinks. Its all a whole bunch of fun. The Brazilian week t-shirt is especially fun. See photo (click on it to see it full-size).



Next week is Italian week. I guess that means Pasta, Pizzas and a whole lot more fun.

In-House

So finally, I'm posting photos up here.
This is what my 2500 SGD abode looks like. Thank God I'm sharing it with 2 others.

Drawing Room.



My Room.



Tennis Courts.



The View.



More photos will follow now that I've finally figured it out.

Its All About the Choices

B-School is about working hard. B-School has wild parties. Irrespective of which of the previous two statements you believe, in B-School you don't have too much time.

The truth is, the first and second statements are both correct. In B-School, what you have is the option to choose exactly what you want to do. By answering a set of questions, your clear path emerges.

Which classes do I attend?
Which workshops can be skipped?
What are the supplementary lectures that can help me?
Which career guidance lectures are pointless?
Where are the 'happening' parties?

Its all about the choices you make. What you have here is the chance to reset your life or build on the one you already have. To freak out if you've been slaving for the last 3 years or finally knuckle down and get working. Its all about the options you choose and the choices you make.

There's just too much going on to allow one to attend everything and not be stressed out at the end of it.

Irrespective of the choices made, the path taken, you probably come out a whole lot more responsible. The fact is, how you end up after B-School is a direct result of the choices you make during your time there and the results of these choices can stay with you for a long time. Its just a little unnerving.

I'm off now. I choose to go and do my Financial Accounting assignment. If I don't, you see... I might regret it.

In between it all...

... I have finally found the time.

People generally say a lot of things about the first week of b-school. With all that I've seen and heard, it is incredibly difficult not to be overwhelmed by the activities and traditions that I've experienced in the past week. Despite the hype, I've got to say that b-school's first week is vastly underrated.

In the past week, I've met people from Mauritius, Russia, Ghana, Poland, Japan, America, Hungary, Israel, Germany, Holland, Pakistan, Belgium, France and Spain and this is just in the back two rows of class.
I've seen student body get-togethers. We have Consulting club, Sigma club, Rugby club, Parenting club, Women in Business club. There's something for everyone.

In the pretext of team building, I've climbed ropes, crawled across planks and bricks spread over a large puddle while blindfolded, constructed a water balloon catapult, hit the nightspots, attended barbecues and generally had a blast.

I have attended sessions on Ethics, General Management, Financial Markets & Valuation, Financial Accouting, Leading People & Groups, Uncertainty Data & Judgment, a lecture on leadership and decision-making from the first Singaporean to climb Mt. Everest and classes have been getting better and better.
For god's sake, I've even managed to pass my French language exemption exam after only 4 months of studying it. This means I'm done with all French language study and language exams for the year. It means that recruiters could think that I could be air-dropped-off in some remote French village, trek back to the city in about a week's time and live to tell the tale (which from my career point of view, I hear, is a good thing).

I've even managed to squeeze in an hour and a half of tennis from which I'm still recovering, 2 trips for grocery shopping and 1 long train ride to Little India.

I'm still in my first week of classes. It's incredible just how much happens here. I'm like the poor little kid with his face to the restaurant window, taking in everything wide-eyed and in disbelief.

Things ought to get a little more hectic now when we have assignments due and pre-reading to do for classes and lessons get a little harder to comprehend. Somehow, I think I'll be ready and even if there's something happening at 3am, I'll have my eyes open.