quote of the day

we had lunch with our professor last week.  he went around and asked us where we worked before wharton, why we came to wharton and what we plan on doing after.  after i told him where i worked before, he replied - "oh, that's a sweatshop."

thanksgiving

so i am a little delayed in posting, but it has been a little busy to say the least.  i went home to california for thanksgiving. so nice to see family and enjoy some warm weather!  bummer the football game did not turn out as desired.

thanksgiving potluck

tonight we had our cohort thanksgiving potluck.  so nice hanging out with everyone and we realized we have some hidden chefs in our group - who knew about these secret talents!  i definitely ate way too much.

below is the gem i found at dibruno brothers (boutique grocery store).  my uncle loren would have been so proud that he could have had his favorite, turkey, for dessert.

nyc

so i went back to the city, like actually walked around for a bit, this weekend.  my visit reaffirmed my love of the city.  there is something special about the city: awake at all hours, walking down the street like you own the place (laughing at tourists), favorite places in each neighborhood and hailing a cab like a champ.

on thursday night i met up with old co-workers for drinks and karaoke.  friday, i visited my old hood - kinda crazy that it basically looks the same with just a few replacement stores.  then, i went to my old nail salon and they recognized me!  so nice!  later that day, i visited my old job in the afternoon

friday evening i headed up to yonkers to hang out with my cousins for the rest of the weekend. always fun being with them!

loved being in the city, but it is hard - so many people to see in such a short period of time.

things i love

today i love thinking about how i will be in the sunshine soon (and not dealing with the snow!), fresh direct deliveries, buying shoes, confidence boosters, planning trips, fall drinks at starbucks and meeting new people.

putting it all in perspective

every now and then, i think back to a conversation i had one of my first few days in philadelphia.  i was on the train back from nyc and a lady and her 7 year old son sat down next to me.  they were from biloxi and were taking the train to visit family because they didn't have money to fly.  i chatted with her son a little bit as he played his gameboy (or whatever they call them these days).

she started talking to me, asking what i do, etc.  when i explained i was going back to school, she asked quite a few questions including how much did school cost, how much was i hoping to make post-business school and how could i afford to pay for school. i clearly felt uncomfortably answering these questions, so i skirted the issues - just explaining that i was hoping to make more than before and enough to cover my loans.  she suggested the amount of $40,000/year as post-business school salary. i just said yeah something like that, i don't know exactly.

whenever i think back to this interaction, i try and put my daily frustrations in perspective and remember how lucky i am.

american dream

today is election day.  this is not a post about who to vote for or who i hope will win, but instead about our amazing country and the belief in democracy.

i walked out of my building today, to be greeted by two citizens carrying huge signs reminding me to vote.  they were not pushing an agenda, instead just getting out the vote.  they asked if i voted and i said yes, they cheered.  this made me feel proud to be an american.  throughout the day, i passed approximately 15 people today who were also trying to get out the vote.

additionally, all of the buses in the city had scrolling electronic signs that said don't forget to vote.

perhaps it is because i live in a swing state and people are especially motivated, but either way, way to go america!

annapolis

i spent the past two days learning to sail with the wharton sailing club.  about 24 of us went down to annapolis for a two day course with j world.  i was surprised by how physical sailing is - i guess i just had images of champagne sailing in my head.

the weekend was tons of fun, but sailing post-sandy was probably not the best way to learn. winds were up to 20-30 knots with additional pressure from the wind gusts making it feel even stronger. i guess i should also mention that it was FREEZING and i was wearing 6 layers! i think i am finally regaining feeling in my fingers.

  

after all day on the water on friday, we took a tour of the naval academy.  one of the students on our trip was in the navy pre-wharton and his friends offered to give us a tour.  the campus is quite impressive and our guide was kind enough to answer all of our questions (and we asked a ton).  he viewed tours as a way to provide the public with a personal view of the military and a way to allow americans to know what all of their money is being spent on.  additionally, i knew the naval academy was strict, but i had no idea how strict it was. wow!  the freshmen are given very little freedom!

for dinner friday night we went to a local seafood place called cantler's.  i dont really eat seafood, but people seemed to really enjoy the crab.

saturday we continued our adventures on the water.  we even had a regatta at the end of the day where we raced the other wharton boats. pretty cool if you ask me!

i learned quite a few new terms (examples include: trimming, jib, main and spinnaker, tacking and jibing, tiller and halyard and MORE).  who knew i would learn this vocabulary in business school?

quote of the day