"Will you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the cat.
"I don't much care where-" said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the cat.

Alice in Wonderland
-

It's the early part of the internship recruiting season for us, and it's interesting to meet different people from all kinds of job functions and industries. It really is a test to see that I'm serious about my original plans - and while I've briefly thought twice about them on a few occasions, ultimately I take a step back and remember the big picture. After all, I'm crazy enough to leave a job to come here at a time when a lot of people are currently looking for one.

Besides the people (family, friends, RAPTORS!), the two things I'm starting to miss about the states are american football, and my car. I found a site to watch the NFL streaming, but the problem is that chargers games are on at 4am Monday morning here: I've been sleeping late or waking early! And while I think it's pretty awesome and quite convenient to be in buses, subways and cabs all the time, I do miss climbing into the ride and taking the wheel.

Story time: I brought some Reese's peanut butter cups (thanks to TINA WOO's care package <3!) into the common lounge the other day, and three of my classmates; from Spain, Italy, and Madagascar; gave me these looks I couldn't believe - they'd never had a Reese's before. I passed a cup out to each of them and watched as they carefully pulled away the orange wrapper and peeled off the black liner. The result of the small bite they each took was pure unscripted pre-school joy. I didn't hear another word out of them until they each finished their Reese's cups.

My contribution to HKUST MBA

And a special bday shout out to Leti!

Nicest junk boat ever.

The scarcest resource...

I don't remember which professor started his course this way but in his introduction he asked the class what the scarcest resource is - and the answer is: Time. It's the one thing that will never be renewable, unless Doc Brown can really figure this flux capacitor thing out.

Here's the mental update: 

After being sick for the better part of a week, I found myself jumping right back into a heavy LIFE-load: 5 courses, company info sessions, MBA Association meetings, networking events, enrichment talks, friends visiting and of course group classwork. My google calendar looks like a game of tetris. I've even had to make a calendar entries to block off time to call home. Of all the things I'm learning about here, the most significant has been to manage my time. 

The pace of Hong Kong is extremely fast compared to California. Here, we are constantly working, meeting, networking, learning, eating, drinking, moving. It's nice to always be doing but it was also quite nice to just sit in bed this Sunday morning and veg a little. I do miss chillin on the couch with my dad and watching football on a Sunday afternoon.

And the physical update:
The resume's being finalized and I'm working on cover letters. Apps are coming right up and I'm still narrowing down the jobs/internships I want to try for. Updated my LinkedIn and started meeting people for informational interviews, which I find infinitely more useful than browsing company websites. Also got together with the MBA Student Association leaders at CUHK today to exchange ideas so hopefully we'll get to do some events together this year.

The weather's cooling down and that scenery at HKUST is still as beautiful as ever.

Campus on a rainy day

And a fun one after a junk boat trip

That's it for now. Keep it classy and LET'S GO CHARGERS!

Greetings from Hong Kong

Time for an update (my first)!

For those who didn't know, I'm off and out in Hong Kong for the rest of my life, or at least until I know where I'll be for the rest of my life. I'm here to work on my MBA at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. If you've never heard of it, you will someday!

For those who need a little background on my decision to leave the states...

Before arriving to take on the Hong Kong UST MBA experience, I had to decide to give up my career at MetLife where I met many amazing people and learned an incredible amount about myself and what it takes to succeed in the real world. The past five years have been a period of great learning and greater self-awareness (yeah I'll pitch MetLife for a little while longer). I loved being there and I'm certain I would have done well if I stayed, but I'd always wanted to travel and learn more about the world outside of the states. So it was now or never: I gave up In-n-out burger and American (you have to add "American" otherwise they get confused) football for Cha Siu and "football" (round ball, not worth it).

I chose Hong Kong because it's an East-meets-West location as opposed to going all out and diving headfirst into China. Although I bleed red, white and blue, I see things growing less and less U.S.-centric going forward. Call it the age of communication or the emergence of Asia, I wanted to get immersed into what and how they think in the rest of the world. So Western education, international student body, Hong Kong big-city backdrop? I'm GAME. And I must say that it has absolutely exceeded my expectations. My classmates are from 30 different countries. My study group alone is made up of a Thai, a Chinese, a Spaniard, an Indian, a Korean, and me. Yeah, you quickly learn how to organize your thoughts and communicate effectively especially when you come up against project deadlines.

It's been a month and I'm already made some friends I think will be around for the long-run. Also, I've explored the city twice over and experienced some awesome things. For example, yesterday I went to an Indian ceremonial Engagement party for my good friend Shaan. Congrats buddy!

And with that, I'm back to solving Erik Peterson's issues (some of you know Mr. Peterson). Hope all is well stateside - save me some Boiling Crab and Buffalo Wild Wings!