I used to spend a lot of time clicking through the Darden website as an applicant a couple years ago. I remember looking at pictures and trying to form impressions and associations in my mind. I would think about how they looked smart, in their suits and neat hairdo and flawless make up…and I would feel a little intimidated, I have to admit. I wondered if the journey I was embarking upon was something I would be able to fit in with, if I could be one of them and do it seamlessly.
Today I was clicking through the website again. I saw the international and domestic student contacts, the club pages and some student videos. And in those pictures, I saw my friends. At some pictures I just laughed, at the thought of a Halloween costume or a quip in the Cold Call Chronicle or the memory of a fun incident. At others, I looked with some pride, at their pre- and post- business school achievements. And then at some there were the fond memories of cramming in an LT room for every day of the first semester. There were some I just know as classmates and others that I know personally, know their trials and their triumphs, know their families… There is no intimidation now. Just pride and affection. And mild surprise at how quickly it all happened.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Monday, November 02, 2009
A little bit of Virginia
It was with some vengeance that I was completely unproductive this weekend. I went down to Maryland/DC for a day. It was a beautiful day, just a touch windy and was perfect to walk along the Potomac as we stopped by the Indian embassy for a friend to get her visa to India. I had never been to Georgetown before and so the rest of us spent some time exploring the area on foot – while the aforementioned friend stood in queue at the embassy and concluded that the process could do with some Kaizen.
I love the DC area and every time I visit, I am struck by just how pretty it is and that I’d be more than happy to be able to live there after school (sigh). We spent the rest of the day helping N shop for her wedding, which pretty much killed my feet! I also indulged in my favorite shopping activity of getting perfume samples – I know what my next perfume purchase is going to be! If I had to pick the best part of the whole trip it has got to be the dinner at Amma’s Kitchen in Vienna VA! It is an all veggie south Indian restaurant and the tam-brahm in me was delirious in the aroma of sambar and dosa!
I was exhausted by the time I returned to C’ville and promptly crashed! The next morning it was time for a drive/hike at the Shenandoah National Park. I had never been to the Skyline Drive before and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check out some fall colors. I don’t remember fall from last year - probably because it was in the midst of Black November - so it seemed like a great excuse to further the cause of the unproductive weekend. After a scenic drive up to the national park, we found a trail we wanted to hike along and set out with good spirits and cameras for company. The colors were beautiful and the ground just a bit damp from the rains. Our hike was followed by a late lunch at the Downtown Mall and then back home.
When you think about it, there is a lot to do at Charlottesville. The first year of school doesn’t leave you with too much time to indulge in day long activities around town. I’ve figured out how this works though: The first year is meant for you to explore everything around the Corner and the Downtown Mall; and the second year is for rest of the countryside!
I expected to feel guilt ridden about taking the weekend off like this, but surprisingly, I don’t. I managed just enough will power to prepare for my classes today, but that’s about it. This break was long overdue.
View from the top
The lady bug that got pally with Sania
I love the DC area and every time I visit, I am struck by just how pretty it is and that I’d be more than happy to be able to live there after school (sigh). We spent the rest of the day helping N shop for her wedding, which pretty much killed my feet! I also indulged in my favorite shopping activity of getting perfume samples – I know what my next perfume purchase is going to be! If I had to pick the best part of the whole trip it has got to be the dinner at Amma’s Kitchen in Vienna VA! It is an all veggie south Indian restaurant and the tam-brahm in me was delirious in the aroma of sambar and dosa!
I was exhausted by the time I returned to C’ville and promptly crashed! The next morning it was time for a drive/hike at the Shenandoah National Park. I had never been to the Skyline Drive before and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check out some fall colors. I don’t remember fall from last year - probably because it was in the midst of Black November - so it seemed like a great excuse to further the cause of the unproductive weekend. After a scenic drive up to the national park, we found a trail we wanted to hike along and set out with good spirits and cameras for company. The colors were beautiful and the ground just a bit damp from the rains. Our hike was followed by a late lunch at the Downtown Mall and then back home.
When you think about it, there is a lot to do at Charlottesville. The first year of school doesn’t leave you with too much time to indulge in day long activities around town. I’ve figured out how this works though: The first year is meant for you to explore everything around the Corner and the Downtown Mall; and the second year is for rest of the countryside!
I expected to feel guilt ridden about taking the weekend off like this, but surprisingly, I don’t. I managed just enough will power to prepare for my classes today, but that’s about it. This break was long overdue.
View from the top
The lady bug that got pally with Sania
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Under a red umbrella
Yesterday was one very wet and grey day at Charlottesville. It was dull all day, not to mention a little cold too. By evening it started to rain in earnest. But that didn’t deter a bunch of us from driving down to the Paramount Theater at the downtown mall to watch Bryan Adams in an acoustic performance – think of MTV Unplugged.
I loved the unplugged performance more than I did his regular concert that I went to in Bangalore a few years ago. This was more intimate and really brought out his vocal talent, not to mention, his personality. He interspersed the songs with little tidbits of what inspired that particular song or some other memory revolving around the song. In some he improvised, in others he let the audience fill in for him. It seemed less like a performance and more like a conversation. And I was struck once again by how soulful some of his lyrics were, and was taken back to days of my “youth” when I would OD on his music.
And therefore when, after the performance, RJ and I decided we wanted to try to head backstage to get his autograph, the guys in our group didn’t protest too much. However, what we didn’t expect was to be standing outside, in the rain and cold for more than an hour, just waiting for BA to show up. We thought we wouldn’t miss him because we were standing right by his bus. It was us and maybe four or five others, crazy enough to brave the weather. I wish I could ask you to scroll down for a picture of BA’s autograph on the reverse side of my ticket, because I never did get that autograph. BA came out through a different door, got in a car and was driven off while we still waited there.
There’s a lesson in that. Everything’s an act. Here I was naïve enough to think he’d come out and sign my ticket. And why would he? We’re just a bunch of fans, he wouldn’t know us from the others he’s met or tickets he’s signed before. It doesn’t pay to glorify anyone, and I’m surprised I, of all the people, forgot that.
And then there are those that refuse to leave you standing in the rain, and insist on standing with you – even if they would never wait that long for anyone. Thanks to the ones that waited and special thanks to fellow blogger Sameer who waited patiently despite having an interview today.
I loved the unplugged performance more than I did his regular concert that I went to in Bangalore a few years ago. This was more intimate and really brought out his vocal talent, not to mention, his personality. He interspersed the songs with little tidbits of what inspired that particular song or some other memory revolving around the song. In some he improvised, in others he let the audience fill in for him. It seemed less like a performance and more like a conversation. And I was struck once again by how soulful some of his lyrics were, and was taken back to days of my “youth” when I would OD on his music.
And therefore when, after the performance, RJ and I decided we wanted to try to head backstage to get his autograph, the guys in our group didn’t protest too much. However, what we didn’t expect was to be standing outside, in the rain and cold for more than an hour, just waiting for BA to show up. We thought we wouldn’t miss him because we were standing right by his bus. It was us and maybe four or five others, crazy enough to brave the weather. I wish I could ask you to scroll down for a picture of BA’s autograph on the reverse side of my ticket, because I never did get that autograph. BA came out through a different door, got in a car and was driven off while we still waited there.
There’s a lesson in that. Everything’s an act. Here I was naïve enough to think he’d come out and sign my ticket. And why would he? We’re just a bunch of fans, he wouldn’t know us from the others he’s met or tickets he’s signed before. It doesn’t pay to glorify anyone, and I’m surprised I, of all the people, forgot that.
And then there are those that refuse to leave you standing in the rain, and insist on standing with you – even if they would never wait that long for anyone. Thanks to the ones that waited and special thanks to fellow blogger Sameer who waited patiently despite having an interview today.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Keeping the flame alive
A few weeks ago, in my Leading Strategic Change class, the professor encouraged the class to think about what our individual strategy was to keep our flame alive. At the time I wrote it down as a “personal question” and over the following weeks, I found myself coming back to that question repeatedly.
Recruiting has been the cause for a lot of sleepless nights. And as I struggle to maintain my balance through the curve balls coming at me, I wonder what measures I’ve put in place to keep myself driven. I have been guilty of being too consumed by this boot camp I signed up for and although they warned us right at the beginning of school to hold on to our ties with the outside world, I know that I have allowed those ties to grow feeble. Sometimes I think it’s something we all have to learn – to see the big big picture, to realize that each of our many lives – work, social, personal, religion - is a microcosm and it’s temporary and so it doesn’t pay to fall too much in love with any one, without being conscious of the sum total.
As I struggle to define and make sense of everything present and before me, I search within for that part I can come home to when I want to retreat. And I ask myself where my flame is. In some sense I think a lot of us have begun to “check out” already and I am alarmed at the frequency with which I am thinking of “the future” - filled with uncertainty yet free to be what I want it to be, just waiting for me to give it shape. And I hope that when I find my flame, the way forward will be clear.
Recruiting has been the cause for a lot of sleepless nights. And as I struggle to maintain my balance through the curve balls coming at me, I wonder what measures I’ve put in place to keep myself driven. I have been guilty of being too consumed by this boot camp I signed up for and although they warned us right at the beginning of school to hold on to our ties with the outside world, I know that I have allowed those ties to grow feeble. Sometimes I think it’s something we all have to learn – to see the big big picture, to realize that each of our many lives – work, social, personal, religion - is a microcosm and it’s temporary and so it doesn’t pay to fall too much in love with any one, without being conscious of the sum total.
As I struggle to define and make sense of everything present and before me, I search within for that part I can come home to when I want to retreat. And I ask myself where my flame is. In some sense I think a lot of us have begun to “check out” already and I am alarmed at the frequency with which I am thinking of “the future” - filled with uncertainty yet free to be what I want it to be, just waiting for me to give it shape. And I hope that when I find my flame, the way forward will be clear.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Vertigo!
What could get Emmett Street jam packed with cars, bumper-to-bumper? What could get a sea of people – more than that for a Cavs game- all walking towards Scott Stadium, dressed warmly for the chilly night ahead? What could get bschool nearly-30 somethings all aflutter and coming to class with rock-band tees? Bono and his roomies of course!!
U2 came to Charlottesville on Oct 1, Thursday as a stop on their 360 Degree Tour. I’ll get straight down to it – it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I grew up listening to these guys; all the way from their Joshua Tree and Zooropa days (remember Lemon?), my sister and I loaded up our iPods with all their albums and listened to them obsessively as went through our U2-crazy phases a few years ago. So this concert was special… each song in the set had a special memory attached and as Bono, charismatic as ever, went through the phenomenal sound and light show that this concert was, it felt like an emotional rollercoaster ride for me.
The show itself was a fantastic visual treat with the expanding-contracting 360 degree screen, light shows, dancing beams and video streams on the screen. Sunday Bloody Sunday opened with a moving tribute to the conflict in Iran. U2 came back for 2 encores, where Bono and The Edge played a semi-acoustic version of One in one and a power-packed rendition of Vertigo in another. Here’s U2’s set that from that night:
1. Breathe 2. Get On Your Boots 3. Mysterious Ways 4. Beautiful Day / The Hands That Built America (snippet) 5. No Line On The Horizon 6. Magnificent 7. Elevation 8. Your Blue Room 9. New Year's Day 10. I Still Havent Found What I'm Looking For 11. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of12. The Unforgettable Fire13. City Of Blinding Lights14. Vertigo15. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight16. Sunday Bloody Sunday17. MLK18. Walk Onencore(s):19. One / Amazing Grace (snippet)20. Where The Streets Have No Name21. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)22. With Or Without You23. Moment of Surrender
(HT- LT39 Mr and Mrs Younus)
U2 came to Charlottesville on Oct 1, Thursday as a stop on their 360 Degree Tour. I’ll get straight down to it – it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I grew up listening to these guys; all the way from their Joshua Tree and Zooropa days (remember Lemon?), my sister and I loaded up our iPods with all their albums and listened to them obsessively as went through our U2-crazy phases a few years ago. So this concert was special… each song in the set had a special memory attached and as Bono, charismatic as ever, went through the phenomenal sound and light show that this concert was, it felt like an emotional rollercoaster ride for me.
The show itself was a fantastic visual treat with the expanding-contracting 360 degree screen, light shows, dancing beams and video streams on the screen. Sunday Bloody Sunday opened with a moving tribute to the conflict in Iran. U2 came back for 2 encores, where Bono and The Edge played a semi-acoustic version of One in one and a power-packed rendition of Vertigo in another. Here’s U2’s set that from that night:
1. Breathe 2. Get On Your Boots 3. Mysterious Ways 4. Beautiful Day / The Hands That Built America (snippet) 5. No Line On The Horizon 6. Magnificent 7. Elevation 8. Your Blue Room 9. New Year's Day 10. I Still Havent Found What I'm Looking For 11. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of12. The Unforgettable Fire13. City Of Blinding Lights14. Vertigo15. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight16. Sunday Bloody Sunday17. MLK18. Walk Onencore(s):19. One / Amazing Grace (snippet)20. Where The Streets Have No Name21. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)22. With Or Without You23. Moment of Surrender
(HT- LT39 Mr and Mrs Younus)
Saturday, September 26, 2009
SY Weekend Escapades
There’s a lot going on in the ville these past few weekends. And because I (and nearly all of my classmates) realize that our time in the ville is now limited (Q1 is nearly over, can you believe that?!), we’ve been trying to make the most of it.
Last weekend the UVA Symphony Orchestra from the McIntire School of Music at UVA performed at the amphitheater for the public – for free. Called the Symphony under the Stars, it began a little past 7pm and had an amazing line up of music. Highlights included selections from the West Side Story, Carmen, ET theme music etc. A bunch of us went that evening and sat on the grass for a sky deck view of the stage. The weather has been cool in the evenings these days and the setting was perfect. We walked past the Lawn apartments on our way, built by TommyJ to promote more interaction between students and their teachers at UVA, now home to selected students.
The day after, on Sunday, Nobel Prize Winner Professor Mohammed Yunus of Grameen Bank spoke at U-Hall, on the topic Solutions To Poverty. A bunch of us attended this one and it was well worth the time! Professor Yunus is an inspiring orator and his story of how he founded the Grameen Bank and his motivations were very interesting to hear. I made up for not taking my camera to the Symphony and took a bunch of fuzzy pictures.
Yesterday the Marketing Forum at Darden and I had a great afternoon listening to the big names of CPG talk about successful marketing campaigns. On grounds were DuPont, General Mills, J&J (and their fantastic Olympic campaign called “Thank you Mom”), Frito Lay and Heinz. And today is the India vs Pakistan cricket match and Darden’s South Asian Community is all ready for the madness. We’re screening the match live in one of the classrooms. For those who can’t bear to walk to school on this rainy morning, we’re watching the match on the projector in the home of a second year with parathas and beer. I’m wearing my Team India tee and blogging live from the venue. Cheers!
U-Hall; seen here is Prof. Yunus.
Last weekend the UVA Symphony Orchestra from the McIntire School of Music at UVA performed at the amphitheater for the public – for free. Called the Symphony under the Stars, it began a little past 7pm and had an amazing line up of music. Highlights included selections from the West Side Story, Carmen, ET theme music etc. A bunch of us went that evening and sat on the grass for a sky deck view of the stage. The weather has been cool in the evenings these days and the setting was perfect. We walked past the Lawn apartments on our way, built by TommyJ to promote more interaction between students and their teachers at UVA, now home to selected students.
The day after, on Sunday, Nobel Prize Winner Professor Mohammed Yunus of Grameen Bank spoke at U-Hall, on the topic Solutions To Poverty. A bunch of us attended this one and it was well worth the time! Professor Yunus is an inspiring orator and his story of how he founded the Grameen Bank and his motivations were very interesting to hear. I made up for not taking my camera to the Symphony and took a bunch of fuzzy pictures.
Yesterday the Marketing Forum at Darden and I had a great afternoon listening to the big names of CPG talk about successful marketing campaigns. On grounds were DuPont, General Mills, J&J (and their fantastic Olympic campaign called “Thank you Mom”), Frito Lay and Heinz. And today is the India vs Pakistan cricket match and Darden’s South Asian Community is all ready for the madness. We’re screening the match live in one of the classrooms. For those who can’t bear to walk to school on this rainy morning, we’re watching the match on the projector in the home of a second year with parathas and beer. I’m wearing my Team India tee and blogging live from the venue. Cheers!
U-Hall; seen here is Prof. Yunus.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Coffee Cup Creativity
The other day, I met with recruiters from a company that specializes in packaging solutions (in true consultant-esque anonymity) and we were talking about the various brands this company can boast of. There were a bunch of familiar names – I think I’ve spent way too many years of my life obsessing about the consumer packaged goods industry – and there were some interesting surprises.
The most interesting one, though, was that this company is famous for making cups for Starbucks! Of the eleventy million Starbucks coffees I’ve consumed in this lifetime, I never thought to look below the cup to see who actually made these cups… and of what. So it turns out that this company and its association with the Starbucks coffee cup is very famous in the sustainability circles because they actually use re-usable material in the manufacture of the paper for these cups. So for all the times that I might have felt bad about having “coffee for here” in a Styrofoam cup, the footprint was not as bad as I imagined… although not bad > not as bad, so technically I was still leaving a footprint…
So what’s even more interesting is this ubiquitous coffee cup can be the canvas for a brilliant bit of creativity. See what I mean here. Meanwhile, here's a (made of plastic) beer glass/cup from my first Cold Call at Darden.
The most interesting one, though, was that this company is famous for making cups for Starbucks! Of the eleventy million Starbucks coffees I’ve consumed in this lifetime, I never thought to look below the cup to see who actually made these cups… and of what. So it turns out that this company and its association with the Starbucks coffee cup is very famous in the sustainability circles because they actually use re-usable material in the manufacture of the paper for these cups. So for all the times that I might have felt bad about having “coffee for here” in a Styrofoam cup, the footprint was not as bad as I imagined… although not bad > not as bad, so technically I was still leaving a footprint…
So what’s even more interesting is this ubiquitous coffee cup can be the canvas for a brilliant bit of creativity. See what I mean here. Meanwhile, here's a (made of plastic) beer glass/cup from my first Cold Call at Darden.
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