Given all the horrendous weather in Europe this end of year, I'm really glad that I'm not traveling anywhere near there and am quite happy here in sunny SGP. That being said, I hope that all my classmates are where they hoped to be by today despite all the many travel delays I'm sure they must have faced. It really seems like the winters just keep getting harsher each year. A result of global warming and changing weather systems? Very probably.
That being said, I'm always amazed at how unprepared some of these countries are in dealing with the averse weather conditions. I'm well aware of the economic argument in not investing in the snow removal equipment needed given that it's "such a rare occurrence" but surely the amount of economic activity lost as a result of just one full day of flight cancellations (and it's knock on effects) justify the investment? Surely leaving millions of people from all over the world frustrated and pissed off with your airport infrastructure should be enough to do something? I loved how the BBC had an article that recalled how Reykjavik airport was shut once due to heavy snows as well. For all of 30 minutes, 7 years ago! Now that's a country that knows how to deal with snow. Perhaps Iceland can teach the rest of Europe a thing or two about dealing with snow as a way to boost its own economy?
Anyway, I'm off to HCM for the next week till the New Year. Happy New Year everyone! Enjoy the holidays!
Saturday, 25 December 2010
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Day 115: 40%
Now that P2 is over, guess this kinda means that I'm 40% done with the MBA. It is really surreal when I think about it. Attended the graduation party of the "senior" class last night. I'm sure they must be feeling like it's a lot more surreal that they're actually done. They're alumni now! Congratulations to the class of 10'D! Now go out there and make us all proud and convince employers to hire more INSEAD students. ;)
4 months in and I can tell you that pursuing an MBA feels very much like having a full-time job at times. The hours can be long, you may have last minute meetings that crop up and it can all be quite stressful at times trying to juggle everything and finding the right balance between school and life outside of school. Of course in this case it's a somewhat interesting dynamic as you are paying to participate in this rather than being paid to do all the work. That might explain why you can always decide to skip a class and take a nap if you want. You are the customer after all. Sometimes on particularly long days, it's not uncommon to see people sprawled out on the floor of the quiet room in the library "recharging". If anyone knows of a job that allows naps in the afternoon and yet still pays decently, please let me know. ;)
I've felt particularly stretched at times because I'm back home and there's not only so much going on in school but also so much going on outside of school for me. Oddly enough, working life overseas was much less complicated than student life is back home but the same organisation and management tools that I learnt while working still apply even as a student. I find myself constantly having to manage expectations of friends and family when it comes to the amount of time I have for them. People often think that just because you're a student, you naturally have more time which isn't always the case. When you're back home, you tend to have so many more things pulling you in different directions all at the same time that it's hard to prioritise the ones that you should/want to attend to. You really have to pick your battles as you can't win them all. If you choose to spread yourself too thin, you just end up losing them all.
I heard an interesting talk show on the radio today and they were discussing the idea that having less choice actually makes us happier as there is a lower opportunity cost of things you are forgoing as a result of your choice and there's a much lower search cost to find something that you want/like. Up to a certain point, choice is good. Beyond that point, it potentially generates negative emotions. They used the example of choosing sometime to eat off a really extensive restaurant menu but I can definitely see how it applies more generally towards life. Choosing just one thing to do among a wide range of options is often much harder than choosing one thing to do among a much more limited selection.
4 months in and I can tell you that pursuing an MBA feels very much like having a full-time job at times. The hours can be long, you may have last minute meetings that crop up and it can all be quite stressful at times trying to juggle everything and finding the right balance between school and life outside of school. Of course in this case it's a somewhat interesting dynamic as you are paying to participate in this rather than being paid to do all the work. That might explain why you can always decide to skip a class and take a nap if you want. You are the customer after all. Sometimes on particularly long days, it's not uncommon to see people sprawled out on the floor of the quiet room in the library "recharging". If anyone knows of a job that allows naps in the afternoon and yet still pays decently, please let me know. ;)
I've felt particularly stretched at times because I'm back home and there's not only so much going on in school but also so much going on outside of school for me. Oddly enough, working life overseas was much less complicated than student life is back home but the same organisation and management tools that I learnt while working still apply even as a student. I find myself constantly having to manage expectations of friends and family when it comes to the amount of time I have for them. People often think that just because you're a student, you naturally have more time which isn't always the case. When you're back home, you tend to have so many more things pulling you in different directions all at the same time that it's hard to prioritise the ones that you should/want to attend to. You really have to pick your battles as you can't win them all. If you choose to spread yourself too thin, you just end up losing them all.
I heard an interesting talk show on the radio today and they were discussing the idea that having less choice actually makes us happier as there is a lower opportunity cost of things you are forgoing as a result of your choice and there's a much lower search cost to find something that you want/like. Up to a certain point, choice is good. Beyond that point, it potentially generates negative emotions. They used the example of choosing sometime to eat off a really extensive restaurant menu but I can definitely see how it applies more generally towards life. Choosing just one thing to do among a wide range of options is often much harder than choosing one thing to do among a much more limited selection.
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Day 114: The morning after the night before
There's an odd sense of quiet about this morning in sharp contrast with the activity of yesterday evening. That being said, I think a lot of my classmates learnt their lesson from the last champagne party and paced themselves a bit better this time round. ;)
It was a great evening to catch up with people and find out about all the exciting holiday plans lined up for the 2 week break before P3 starts. It was kinda like our first few days together again in terms of the mixing and mingling except this time round we were asking each other if our campus exchange schedules coincided with each other rather than our names and previous occupations. For some, it was their last night in SGP for a while and many hugs were shared as we promised to meet up again someday/somewhere. Deep inside I think we all knew that times like this are pretty rare and in fact may never come round again. It's always a mad dash to the finish line but then when you get there, you don't really want it all to end. We were all determined to make this a night to remember and I am pretty sure the memories will live on for a long while (especially with digital pictures =P)
Wishing all of you and yours the very best this holiday season. Safe travels wherever it may take you in the crazy world outside "the bubble" (there are MANY MANY different places that my classmates are traveling to).
Once Singy 11'J, Always Singy 11'J. =)
P.S. If you're in SGP over the holiday season and need ideas, drop me a note
It was a great evening to catch up with people and find out about all the exciting holiday plans lined up for the 2 week break before P3 starts. It was kinda like our first few days together again in terms of the mixing and mingling except this time round we were asking each other if our campus exchange schedules coincided with each other rather than our names and previous occupations. For some, it was their last night in SGP for a while and many hugs were shared as we promised to meet up again someday/somewhere. Deep inside I think we all knew that times like this are pretty rare and in fact may never come round again. It's always a mad dash to the finish line but then when you get there, you don't really want it all to end. We were all determined to make this a night to remember and I am pretty sure the memories will live on for a long while (especially with digital pictures =P)
Wishing all of you and yours the very best this holiday season. Safe travels wherever it may take you in the crazy world outside "the bubble" (there are MANY MANY different places that my classmates are traveling to).
Once Singy 11'J, Always Singy 11'J. =)
P.S. If you're in SGP over the holiday season and need ideas, drop me a note
Sunday, 19 December 2010
Day 112: 1 year later
It's been exactly 1 year to the day since I moved back home from overseas and it's been quite an amazing year to look back on. Though not always plain sailing and certainly filled with a mixed bag of emotions, it marks the longest I've been home at a stretch for almost a decade.
New friends made, new places explored, new insights gained. Old friends reacquainted, old places revisited, old insights reaffirmed. Just another lil' checkpoint on my life's journey.
This time tomorrow, exams for P2 will be over. Can't hardly wait. Bring it on!
New friends made, new places explored, new insights gained. Old friends reacquainted, old places revisited, old insights reaffirmed. Just another lil' checkpoint on my life's journey.
This time tomorrow, exams for P2 will be over. Can't hardly wait. Bring it on!
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Friday, 17 December 2010
Day 109: Halfway there
Halfway through the exams now and as my classmates have put it, the "serious" stuff is still around the corner. The next few exams (POM, MAC, CFP) have much more of a mathematical flavour about them and will be less about how many random words you can string together and write in 4 hours about a certain topic. Amen to that. My right arm is almost about to fall off after Marketing and Strategy 2 days in a row. By Monday at 5pm, it will all be over. However, to get there, we will need to get through CFP as our final hurdle. Funny how the MBA office have saved "the best" for last. The dreaded 3 letters that strike fear in the hearts of all who do not have a Finance background. O_O
It really hit me today over dinner as I was talking to my classmates, that some of them are leaving in less than 5 days time! It's a manic few days for them as they frantically study for exams and then even more frantically pack up their lives here and head home for the holidays before starting in FBL in the new year. Can't believe that the first four months have flown by so quickly. Just when we've really started to get to know one another, we have to say goodbye already. Tis quite sad but I guess we all knew that this day would come. At least we have some great memories of times shared together and the hope of more good times together in the future.
I really don't like the fact that there's not much time between the end of exams and the time when everyone jets off. There really isn't any time to decompress and enjoy each others' company before bags need to be packed and flights have to be caught. With Christmas fast approaching, people sought to get the earliest flight out possible (after factoring in packing) so as not to get sucked into the spiraling prices the closer you get to Christmas. It'll be nice to be outside "the bubble" again and to be able to spend more time with loved ones this festive season.
Come January, the SGP campus will be absolutely overflowing with the "tourists" from FBL who will be here for just 1 period and then head back to Europe (>90% of them). That will certainly be a challenge in itself. Most of us here in SGP already feel the campus is crowded enough. Where are we gonna fit all these extra people? On the roof???
That being said, I really do hope that both groups make the effort to integrate while we're here together in SGP otherwise I think it really defeats the purpose of having this fluid system. I think it'd be kinda silly if all the FBL guys just hung out together and did their own thing and the SGP folks did their own thing also. We are the same class afterall and who knows, you might be seeing many of these people beyond P3. With the sections being completely reshuffled again, we should get a good mix of people in the core classes and the electives. Maybe there should be a rule that each group should have at least one person from each campus? It'd be hilarious if on the first day of P3, the Amphis will look like Moses just parted the classes with FBL on one side and SGP on the other. C'mon guys, this isn't kindergarten anymore! Play nice with the other kids. =)
P.S. POM exam on a Saturday afternoon... seriously???
It really hit me today over dinner as I was talking to my classmates, that some of them are leaving in less than 5 days time! It's a manic few days for them as they frantically study for exams and then even more frantically pack up their lives here and head home for the holidays before starting in FBL in the new year. Can't believe that the first four months have flown by so quickly. Just when we've really started to get to know one another, we have to say goodbye already. Tis quite sad but I guess we all knew that this day would come. At least we have some great memories of times shared together and the hope of more good times together in the future.
I really don't like the fact that there's not much time between the end of exams and the time when everyone jets off. There really isn't any time to decompress and enjoy each others' company before bags need to be packed and flights have to be caught. With Christmas fast approaching, people sought to get the earliest flight out possible (after factoring in packing) so as not to get sucked into the spiraling prices the closer you get to Christmas. It'll be nice to be outside "the bubble" again and to be able to spend more time with loved ones this festive season.
Come January, the SGP campus will be absolutely overflowing with the "tourists" from FBL who will be here for just 1 period and then head back to Europe (>90% of them). That will certainly be a challenge in itself. Most of us here in SGP already feel the campus is crowded enough. Where are we gonna fit all these extra people? On the roof???
That being said, I really do hope that both groups make the effort to integrate while we're here together in SGP otherwise I think it really defeats the purpose of having this fluid system. I think it'd be kinda silly if all the FBL guys just hung out together and did their own thing and the SGP folks did their own thing also. We are the same class afterall and who knows, you might be seeing many of these people beyond P3. With the sections being completely reshuffled again, we should get a good mix of people in the core classes and the electives. Maybe there should be a rule that each group should have at least one person from each campus? It'd be hilarious if on the first day of P3, the Amphis will look like Moses just parted the classes with FBL on one side and SGP on the other. C'mon guys, this isn't kindergarten anymore! Play nice with the other kids. =)
P.S. POM exam on a Saturday afternoon... seriously???
Monday, 13 December 2010
Day 106: Best section ever (really!)
Before the exams are truly in full swing and pull us all in every single direction, our section decided to spend some time to have lunch together and just celebrate what has been an amazing ~4 months together. We are consistently the heart and soul of most social events among our class and amazingly the section with the most champagne party funds after both periods so far. Life (and the MBA office) threw us together but we have really made the best of it by forming friendships and connections that hopefully will last beyond this period as campus exchange kicks in, and hopefully beyond INSEAD when we graduate and spread out to the far corners of the earth. I'm counting on the Brazilian guys for a spare couch when the World Cup rolls around to Brazil in 2014! Perhaps the Russian guys in 2018 too! Heh.
Awards were given out to "honour" those who have made such a strong impression on all of us these 2 periods. For example, we had the "LIFO" award for the person who consistently came late and was always the first out the door after class - unsurprisingly given to an Italian. ;)
Here's to the best section ever. All the best for the coming exams! I'm sure I'll be seeing many of you around campus studying. See you on the other side of the rainbow where our champagne party awaits. =)
Awards were given out to "honour" those who have made such a strong impression on all of us these 2 periods. For example, we had the "LIFO" award for the person who consistently came late and was always the first out the door after class - unsurprisingly given to an Italian. ;)
Here's to the best section ever. All the best for the coming exams! I'm sure I'll be seeing many of you around campus studying. See you on the other side of the rainbow where our champagne party awaits. =)
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Day 104: OK OK, We all KaraOKe!
There are few simple pleasures in life that can beat sleeping in after a long and fun night out.=)
Despite the protestations of various people who declared that they "hate" karaoke, I am always pleasantly surprised how many people absolutely love belting out the latest hits and old classics together with good friends. This is especially true if people are sufficiently intoxicated ;) I was surprised at the amount of stamina they had to sing for almost 4 hours non-stop. Pretty impressive stuff. Admittedly the numbers dwindled towards the end but it was still a pretty impressive showing right up to the last. There are some pretty hilarious photos of us out there but I'm sure future employers will forgive us and our "singing faces". (Hopefully!) I'm really glad that most of us managed to make it out for what was truly another special and memorable evening to celebrate friendships and just let our hair down before the exams really hit us in the coming days.
Pretty busy with "out of the bubble" stuff this weekend with a wedding to attend spread out over 2 days. Looking forward to catching up with non-INSEADers as it really helps me keep my perspective about things but it also does mean that time to study for my exams next week will be few and far between this weekend. I'll have to try to squeeze it in as and when I can. Can't believe exams start in 5 days time! *SHOCK*
Despite the protestations of various people who declared that they "hate" karaoke, I am always pleasantly surprised how many people absolutely love belting out the latest hits and old classics together with good friends. This is especially true if people are sufficiently intoxicated ;) I was surprised at the amount of stamina they had to sing for almost 4 hours non-stop. Pretty impressive stuff. Admittedly the numbers dwindled towards the end but it was still a pretty impressive showing right up to the last. There are some pretty hilarious photos of us out there but I'm sure future employers will forgive us and our "singing faces". (Hopefully!) I'm really glad that most of us managed to make it out for what was truly another special and memorable evening to celebrate friendships and just let our hair down before the exams really hit us in the coming days.
Pretty busy with "out of the bubble" stuff this weekend with a wedding to attend spread out over 2 days. Looking forward to catching up with non-INSEADers as it really helps me keep my perspective about things but it also does mean that time to study for my exams next week will be few and far between this weekend. I'll have to try to squeeze it in as and when I can. Can't believe exams start in 5 days time! *SHOCK*
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Day 101: The panic sinks in
Exams are around the corner (exactly 7 days away actually) and paranoia is beginning to sink in again for my class. I think people are feeling it more so this time around than compared to P1 because some of the subjects in P2 are not exactly the kind where you can tell if you're adequately prepared for it. They just aren't binary. There isn't necessarily a right/wrong answer. It's really about how you argue your case and whether you make logical sense. Of course we still have some classes that involve some funky math (CFP, MAC to some degree, POM).
To those of you out there stressing out, don't forget what one of our professors nicely summed up in this story:
2 guys are walking in the woods when they heard a bear
A: What are you going to do?
B: I'm going to start running!
A: But you'll never outrun the bear!
B: I only have to outrun YOU...
At the end of the day, it's all about the Z-curve.
And of course from UDJ: "Grades don't matter!"
To those of you out there stressing out, don't forget what one of our professors nicely summed up in this story:
2 guys are walking in the woods when they heard a bear
A: What are you going to do?
B: I'm going to start running!
A: But you'll never outrun the bear!
B: I only have to outrun YOU...
At the end of the day, it's all about the Z-curve.
And of course from UDJ: "Grades don't matter!"
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Day 100: The First Hundred Days
Incidentally also the title of a course in the Entrepreneurship programme here that focuses on the simulation of the first 100 days of a company that you acquire.
Can't believe that it's been 100 days of INSEAD already! What an amazing journey so far.
Cabaret was tonight which was GREAT fun. If you missed out on it, you really missed out on an entertaining evening. I believe it's events like this that we will remember years from now rather than any night studying in the library. Just think about undergrad. I definitely can't remember the details of what I studied then even though I probably memorised loads of stuff at the time. It's the laughter, the good times shared with friends that I still remember to this day. It's a great way to celebrate the Senior class and a chance for them to have one last big bash before they head off
Have no idea what Cabaret is? Just type in "INSEAD Cabaret" into Youtube and you'll quickly understand why it's such a memorable evening. I'm sure videos of tonight's performance will eventually surface online (although some people might wish it would not!) Heh. Some truly truly legendary moments...
Also, given that I was a Strategy Consultant in a former life, Dilbert comic strips about Strategy always have a very special place in my heart:
Can't believe that it's been 100 days of INSEAD already! What an amazing journey so far.
Cabaret was tonight which was GREAT fun. If you missed out on it, you really missed out on an entertaining evening. I believe it's events like this that we will remember years from now rather than any night studying in the library. Just think about undergrad. I definitely can't remember the details of what I studied then even though I probably memorised loads of stuff at the time. It's the laughter, the good times shared with friends that I still remember to this day. It's a great way to celebrate the Senior class and a chance for them to have one last big bash before they head off
Have no idea what Cabaret is? Just type in "INSEAD Cabaret" into Youtube and you'll quickly understand why it's such a memorable evening. I'm sure videos of tonight's performance will eventually surface online (although some people might wish it would not!) Heh. Some truly truly legendary moments...
Also, given that I was a Strategy Consultant in a former life, Dilbert comic strips about Strategy always have a very special place in my heart:
Postscript: Here's a link to one REALLY cool video from Cabaret (FONTY)
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Day 98: The Bootcamp
If you had sold your Entrepreneurship Bootcamp ticket this past week to someone else, you really missed out on an amazing experience.
Despite the fears that many of us had coming into the camp that we would be exhausted and overwhelmed by all the activity over the weekend, I think most of us felt that it was a really good experience and a reminder that there's actually quite a lot you can achieve in 48 hours if you're forced to be structured and really push yourself. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely exhausted mentally after the camp but do feel that it was completely worth it (even if that means I have a mad scramble to try to finish one of my assignments tomorrow morning)
It's kinda funny how we all hopped on the bus on Friday evening to go somewhere just about 10-15 mins away. SGP isn't THAT big so we were kinda in "the neighbourhood" at Rider's Lodge. Decent place but nothing to write home about (especially for the price that we paid). I'm not sure where they went last year but apparently it was much nicer. We were greeted by some pretty unimpressive sandwiches as our welcome "dinner" (shocking given food mad SGP!) so some of us did what budding entrepreneurs do in a situation like that... we went to order pizza. ;) Thankfully there was an Italian restaurant just next door.*phew* Our trainer, Paul, was awfully nice and offered to pay for the pizzas since the food provided just didn't quite cut it.
Since the pizzas would take a while, we decided to kick off the sessions and first up was idea generation. Now I know many people say that they don't have an good ideas for a business but trust me on this. We ALL do. You only need to look at your own life and figure out where there is some "pain", some "need" that isn't satisfied and I'm sure you can think of a business around that. I was genuinely impressed by the ideas that were being generated around the room. People took turns to stand up and give a 1 minute pitch on an idea that they have (you didn't have to). Without giving these ideas away, they ranged from all sorts areas like education, social media, real estate, testing, fashion, technology, sailing, environment etc. The sheer range of ideas was really impressive. After that we were given the task to go form groups of between 2-4 centered around any of the ideas presented (or not!). It was a good chance to really suss out various ideas and see if you could form a team that you thought you could work with. Thankfully this process didn't take too long and we all managed to get some rest that night. (The pizzas were ginormous but really good!)
On Saturday, we pretty much spent the whole day fleshing out these ideas by really clearly defining what it is we were trying to do and how we would actually go about it. The one thing I've learnt is that ideas are cheap, it's the definition, execution and the team that really add the value. It's not that easy to really define what it is you want to do. I was particularly tickled by the following cartoon:
The sessions came at us thick and fast and after a while we could tell that people were struggling to keep up with the sheer amount of information and tasks being thrown our way. Paul kept pushing us forward and made sure we stuck to our schedule. Thankfully, the food also began to improve! (apparently because someone at school had some strong words for the catering department at the Lodge). By the end of the day, people were looking exhausted because we had all been really applying ourselves to our ideas.
By Sunday, less than 48 hours after we started the Bootcamp, we were ready for our 2 minute pitches in front of real investors. How's that for an intense weekend! I think everyone did an amazing job considering how little time we really had. There were a total of 3 rounds with the 10 teams being whittled down to 4 (semi-final) and then finally to 2 (final). Congratulations to Clare and Raaj for winning the Bootcamp with their real estate idea! In true Bootcamp fashion, the prize was... a boot! (I kid you not). The 2 finalists were also invited to pitch their ideas to REAL investors on Wednesday at the Global Enterpreneurship Forum held on campus. How cool is that?
Overall, it was a great experience and I'm really glad that I took the time to go for it. I know that most of my fellow participants would agree with me. Who knows? Maybe the Bootcamp tickets for this coming week will end up selling at a premium after our advertising in school next week? ;)
Despite the fears that many of us had coming into the camp that we would be exhausted and overwhelmed by all the activity over the weekend, I think most of us felt that it was a really good experience and a reminder that there's actually quite a lot you can achieve in 48 hours if you're forced to be structured and really push yourself. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely exhausted mentally after the camp but do feel that it was completely worth it (even if that means I have a mad scramble to try to finish one of my assignments tomorrow morning)
It's kinda funny how we all hopped on the bus on Friday evening to go somewhere just about 10-15 mins away. SGP isn't THAT big so we were kinda in "the neighbourhood" at Rider's Lodge. Decent place but nothing to write home about (especially for the price that we paid). I'm not sure where they went last year but apparently it was much nicer. We were greeted by some pretty unimpressive sandwiches as our welcome "dinner" (shocking given food mad SGP!) so some of us did what budding entrepreneurs do in a situation like that... we went to order pizza. ;) Thankfully there was an Italian restaurant just next door.*phew* Our trainer, Paul, was awfully nice and offered to pay for the pizzas since the food provided just didn't quite cut it.
Since the pizzas would take a while, we decided to kick off the sessions and first up was idea generation. Now I know many people say that they don't have an good ideas for a business but trust me on this. We ALL do. You only need to look at your own life and figure out where there is some "pain", some "need" that isn't satisfied and I'm sure you can think of a business around that. I was genuinely impressed by the ideas that were being generated around the room. People took turns to stand up and give a 1 minute pitch on an idea that they have (you didn't have to). Without giving these ideas away, they ranged from all sorts areas like education, social media, real estate, testing, fashion, technology, sailing, environment etc. The sheer range of ideas was really impressive. After that we were given the task to go form groups of between 2-4 centered around any of the ideas presented (or not!). It was a good chance to really suss out various ideas and see if you could form a team that you thought you could work with. Thankfully this process didn't take too long and we all managed to get some rest that night. (The pizzas were ginormous but really good!)
On Saturday, we pretty much spent the whole day fleshing out these ideas by really clearly defining what it is we were trying to do and how we would actually go about it. The one thing I've learnt is that ideas are cheap, it's the definition, execution and the team that really add the value. It's not that easy to really define what it is you want to do. I was particularly tickled by the following cartoon:
 |
| So funny yet so true... |
The sessions came at us thick and fast and after a while we could tell that people were struggling to keep up with the sheer amount of information and tasks being thrown our way. Paul kept pushing us forward and made sure we stuck to our schedule. Thankfully, the food also began to improve! (apparently because someone at school had some strong words for the catering department at the Lodge). By the end of the day, people were looking exhausted because we had all been really applying ourselves to our ideas.
By Sunday, less than 48 hours after we started the Bootcamp, we were ready for our 2 minute pitches in front of real investors. How's that for an intense weekend! I think everyone did an amazing job considering how little time we really had. There were a total of 3 rounds with the 10 teams being whittled down to 4 (semi-final) and then finally to 2 (final). Congratulations to Clare and Raaj for winning the Bootcamp with their real estate idea! In true Bootcamp fashion, the prize was... a boot! (I kid you not). The 2 finalists were also invited to pitch their ideas to REAL investors on Wednesday at the Global Enterpreneurship Forum held on campus. How cool is that?
Overall, it was a great experience and I'm really glad that I took the time to go for it. I know that most of my fellow participants would agree with me. Who knows? Maybe the Bootcamp tickets for this coming week will end up selling at a premium after our advertising in school next week? ;)
Friday, 3 December 2010
Day 96: Fragile Fridays and Das Boot!
Lots of people looking quite fragile this morning after the Africa Week party last night. ;)
That's what you get when you manage to negotiate free-flow at a bar. I think the professors sorta know that morning classes the day after usually are going to be pretty poorly attended. You can pretty much predict this in advance as most National Week parties here are on Thursday night in SGP as compared to Friday in FBL. I'm guessing it's different because it's a lot more costly to book a large venue on a Friday night here in SGP and also because sometimes a quarter of the class is in (insert name of tropical island resort here) on Fridays. There is a reason why we're nicknamed "Club Med". Don't get me wrong though, people here are still amazingly motivated and driven, they just want to squeeze more out of life. ;)
As some of us are going to FBL next period, we had a themed Friday today where those who are staying in SGP wear white while those leaving wear blue/black. It was a nice way to clear it up the mystery once and for all. Looks like most of us are still going to be here, which makes me wonder how many people are coming over from FBL? I expect that the SGP campus is going to be pretty much at bursting point next period.
Off to the Entrepreneurship Boot Camp this weekend. Promises to be another hectic weekend with workshop after workshop. Probably not the best time to have the Boot Camp towards the end of a period when people are feeling quite tired and stretched but sometimes you have to take what you can get.
Who knows, maybe the next big INSEAD alumni started business will come out of this weekend. One thing's for sure, we're definitely in a really good place to try to start businesses (BBC Article)
Come to think of it, who are the famous INSEAD entrepreneurs of the past? Know of any others besides this list?
That's what you get when you manage to negotiate free-flow at a bar. I think the professors sorta know that morning classes the day after usually are going to be pretty poorly attended. You can pretty much predict this in advance as most National Week parties here are on Thursday night in SGP as compared to Friday in FBL. I'm guessing it's different because it's a lot more costly to book a large venue on a Friday night here in SGP and also because sometimes a quarter of the class is in (insert name of tropical island resort here) on Fridays. There is a reason why we're nicknamed "Club Med". Don't get me wrong though, people here are still amazingly motivated and driven, they just want to squeeze more out of life. ;)
As some of us are going to FBL next period, we had a themed Friday today where those who are staying in SGP wear white while those leaving wear blue/black. It was a nice way to clear it up the mystery once and for all. Looks like most of us are still going to be here, which makes me wonder how many people are coming over from FBL? I expect that the SGP campus is going to be pretty much at bursting point next period.
Off to the Entrepreneurship Boot Camp this weekend. Promises to be another hectic weekend with workshop after workshop. Probably not the best time to have the Boot Camp towards the end of a period when people are feeling quite tired and stretched but sometimes you have to take what you can get.
Who knows, maybe the next big INSEAD alumni started business will come out of this weekend. One thing's for sure, we're definitely in a really good place to try to start businesses (BBC Article)
Come to think of it, who are the famous INSEAD entrepreneurs of the past? Know of any others besides this list?
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Day 94: What do you mean it's December already???
These past few months have really flown by since we started school at the end of August. If anything, most people I've spoken to feel like this period has only gotten "faster" as the weeks go by. Scary to think that we'll be taking exams again in little over 2 weeks. I certainly don't feel really prepared for it yet. Despite it being some pretty hectic times, I'm glad we still know how to take a break from time to time to do something fun. Thanks to the Africa Week organisers, we had some West African drummers on campus to give some of us a chance to try it out!
CV's are due today for the CV book at midnight and I'm pretty sure that the INSEAD Career Services computer server is completely overloaded at the moment. Never ever underestimate the power of last minute panic to motivate people to get things done (even if it is the last minute). The CV book compiles all the CV's of each class so that prospective employers and students get a feel of the kind of people that come to INSEAD. Apparently a few people actually get contacted by companies who find them from the CV book but I am pretty sure it is a very small number. I do think it's a valuable exercise to "force" us to get our CV's in shape before recruitment really gets underway for our promotion. Although, how do you stand out in a book with 500 CV's?
I guess one way would be to take a really funny picture (perhaps have dreadlocks or a huge afro?) or change your surname legally to "Aaaa" or "Zzzz" so you'd be at the start /end of the book!
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| Maybe this should be an elective for P3? |
CV's are due today for the CV book at midnight and I'm pretty sure that the INSEAD Career Services computer server is completely overloaded at the moment. Never ever underestimate the power of last minute panic to motivate people to get things done (even if it is the last minute). The CV book compiles all the CV's of each class so that prospective employers and students get a feel of the kind of people that come to INSEAD. Apparently a few people actually get contacted by companies who find them from the CV book but I am pretty sure it is a very small number. I do think it's a valuable exercise to "force" us to get our CV's in shape before recruitment really gets underway for our promotion. Although, how do you stand out in a book with 500 CV's?
I guess one way would be to take a really funny picture (perhaps have dreadlocks or a huge afro?) or change your surname legally to "Aaaa" or "Zzzz" so you'd be at the start /end of the book!
Monday, 29 November 2010
Day 92: Straight back down to earth... *bump*
After a fantastic weekend in Hong Kong catching up with some of my favourite people, it's straight back to the real world with homework and projects and deadlines. The week ahead looks to be a pretty crazy and demanding week and I am not quite sure where I am going to find the time to finish the work/errands that need to be done. I can never really tell if I've been re-energised by the weekend or been completely exhausted by it. The crazy thing is that it's probably a bit of both. Re-energised mentally but exhausted physically!
It's Africa Week this week (we celebrate a WHOLE continent this time!) and our African classmates have done an amazing job of lining up a whole series of events for the week despite a pretty small organising team. (Kudos!) I am personally looking forward to the Braai and Wine Tasting on Wednesday evening but will need to pace myself overall so I do not run myself into the ground this week with all the activity that is taking place!
The Entrepreneurship Boot Camp is taking place this weekend and I have had to front load the work this week so that I will not have too much of it hanging over my head while I am at this camp. I am looking forward to it as there have been generally pretty good reviews about it from past participants. Unfortunately, a couple of people have pulled out at the last minute due to various reasons as usually is the case for most events. The one thing I have learnt is that even if you do not book a place at an event by the deadline/before it is sold out, there are often people looking to offload their tickets closer to the date if you are still interested to go. There's always so much going on that trade-offs have to be made.
As my class approaches the home stretch of the period, the class above us (10'D) are slowly approaching their own finishing line and the last few days of their own amazing year. Most of them do not really have too many classes at this point in time and appear to already be in the holiday mode.
The main thing I have heard from them is that they feel that things just happen so fast. Before you know it you are already in P5. I wonder what else they might say, what else they might have done differently if they could do it all over again. I have seen surveys online that invite them to leave their thoughts and comments. Hopefully some of this wisdom can be shared with the current batch (and the batch coming in January!). I really believe that there is so much that we can learn from each other, if only we are willing to share the unique knowledge and opinions inside of us. Who knows?
Something you take for granted may just be the lifesaver that someone else needs.
It's Africa Week this week (we celebrate a WHOLE continent this time!) and our African classmates have done an amazing job of lining up a whole series of events for the week despite a pretty small organising team. (Kudos!) I am personally looking forward to the Braai and Wine Tasting on Wednesday evening but will need to pace myself overall so I do not run myself into the ground this week with all the activity that is taking place!
The Entrepreneurship Boot Camp is taking place this weekend and I have had to front load the work this week so that I will not have too much of it hanging over my head while I am at this camp. I am looking forward to it as there have been generally pretty good reviews about it from past participants. Unfortunately, a couple of people have pulled out at the last minute due to various reasons as usually is the case for most events. The one thing I have learnt is that even if you do not book a place at an event by the deadline/before it is sold out, there are often people looking to offload their tickets closer to the date if you are still interested to go. There's always so much going on that trade-offs have to be made.
As my class approaches the home stretch of the period, the class above us (10'D) are slowly approaching their own finishing line and the last few days of their own amazing year. Most of them do not really have too many classes at this point in time and appear to already be in the holiday mode.
The main thing I have heard from them is that they feel that things just happen so fast. Before you know it you are already in P5. I wonder what else they might say, what else they might have done differently if they could do it all over again. I have seen surveys online that invite them to leave their thoughts and comments. Hopefully some of this wisdom can be shared with the current batch (and the batch coming in January!). I really believe that there is so much that we can learn from each other, if only we are willing to share the unique knowledge and opinions inside of us. Who knows?
Something you take for granted may just be the lifesaver that someone else needs.
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| (INSEAD Cafe) Are these 11J's? They don't even look 11! |
Saturday, 27 November 2010
Day 90: Waaay outside the bubble
In HK this weekend catching up with friends from waaay outside "the bubble". I always have a great time largely due to the amazing people that I know here. They are a collection of some of my favourite people and the one thing we all have in common is a love for finding and sharing good food. HK for me just wouldn't be the same without them.
Doesn't hurt that the weather here now is just gorgeous. Warm without being hot. Cool without being cold and just glorious in the sunshine. Don't believe me? Check this out:
While this is the weather back in SGP. Much hotter and more humid but at least sunny.
Alternatively, here's the weather for FBL. I'm glad I'm not there right now. ;)
Some of my classmates are actually also in town and I'm sure I'll bump into them at some point this evening especially since everyone's up for a night out on the town. Need a little nap now. I gotta feelin'... that tonight's gonna be a good night (and potentially late one). Heh.
Doesn't hurt that the weather here now is just gorgeous. Warm without being hot. Cool without being cold and just glorious in the sunshine. Don't believe me? Check this out:
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| Hong Kong |
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| Singapore |
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| Fontainebleau |
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Day 88: Peculiar conditions?
Walking the corridors here at INSEAD, you get the sense that there are 2 peculiar conditions currently afflicting my current class. The first is a physical one and the second is a philosophical one that might indirectly contribute to the first one.
The first condition I am talking about here is the newly dubbed "INSEAD cough". Seems like after a couple of months in, people start developing a cough that does not go away that easily. I know a classmate of mine who has been afflicted by it for the past 3 weeks and still gets coughing fits from time to time. He has already seen a doctor but it still refuses to go away even after a course of antibiotics. Probably doesn't help that all of us are often in close contact with each other due to classes, other activities or the fact that ~90% of the students here live within the INSEAD "bubble" that consists of the triangle between Heritage, Dover and INSEAD. Quite an ideal environment for a cough to spread really.
The second condition is one that some of my classmates have talked about before and it is called "FOMO" (Fear Of Missing Out). This is essentially a condition where you sign up for everything that sounds interesting only to find out that you're triple booked just about every evening this week. There really are sooo many things happening on and off campus on any given night of the week.
Take today for example. I could have:
The programme really is a massive exercise in prioritisation if you ask me. There are so many "required" readings to do that you have to figure out which are key and which you can afford to skip if you want to maintain your sanity and any form of social life. The same with your social life too though. There are so many groups doing different things that you just have to figure out what you are really interested in and stick to it. All this comes back to the theory of the MBA triangle matrix mentioned previously.
It is inevitable that you will have to sacrifice something along the way or prioritise one thing over others. The sooner you come to terms with that, the more at peace you'll be.
The first condition I am talking about here is the newly dubbed "INSEAD cough". Seems like after a couple of months in, people start developing a cough that does not go away that easily. I know a classmate of mine who has been afflicted by it for the past 3 weeks and still gets coughing fits from time to time. He has already seen a doctor but it still refuses to go away even after a course of antibiotics. Probably doesn't help that all of us are often in close contact with each other due to classes, other activities or the fact that ~90% of the students here live within the INSEAD "bubble" that consists of the triangle between Heritage, Dover and INSEAD. Quite an ideal environment for a cough to spread really.
The second condition is one that some of my classmates have talked about before and it is called "FOMO" (Fear Of Missing Out). This is essentially a condition where you sign up for everything that sounds interesting only to find out that you're triple booked just about every evening this week. There really are sooo many things happening on and off campus on any given night of the week.
Take today for example. I could have:
- learnt how to make temaki sushi at someone's apartment
- gone to a classmate's birthday drinks
- participated in the Healthcare Club's networking drinks with alumni
- attended a meeting of the Entrepreneurship Club
- have Thanksgiving dinner with my college alumni (I chose this option because I had committed to it earliest)
The programme really is a massive exercise in prioritisation if you ask me. There are so many "required" readings to do that you have to figure out which are key and which you can afford to skip if you want to maintain your sanity and any form of social life. The same with your social life too though. There are so many groups doing different things that you just have to figure out what you are really interested in and stick to it. All this comes back to the theory of the MBA triangle matrix mentioned previously.
It is inevitable that you will have to sacrifice something along the way or prioritise one thing over others. The sooner you come to terms with that, the more at peace you'll be.
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Day 87: Stereotypes
When you're in a multicultural environment like INSEAD, you will invariably encounter and challenge stereotypes of the various nationalities here on campus. Our Organisational Behaviour class today sought to highlight some of the stereotypes that people have of each other and to get people from that culture to help shed some light on these widely held beliefs. Stereotypes are not necessarily negative, they are just widely held simplifying assumptions for a group of people which are often based on some observed truth.
When discussing a topic like this, you can quite quickly tell which cultures are more comfortable laughing at themselves. Quite a fun discussion and a chance for everyone to learn something new about another culture
The following quick example brought out a lot of laughs from my class:
When discussing a topic like this, you can quite quickly tell which cultures are more comfortable laughing at themselves. Quite a fun discussion and a chance for everyone to learn something new about another culture
The following quick example brought out a lot of laughs from my class:
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Day 86: And the results are out!
We had to wait till this morning to find out the results of the National Week Bidding (given that FBL is 7 hours behind) but they are finally in. To those that are coming to INSEAD in January 2011, these are the National Weeks you can look forward to in the first 3 periods. If you are from these countries/regions, there will be plenty of chances to get involved to help organise the events and get to know other people.
The 6 that made it (in no particular order are):
Congratulations to the winning teams and I'm looking forward to some truly memorable weeks! =)
The 6 that made it (in no particular order are):
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| Heart of Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) |
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| Italy |
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| Iron Curtain (former Soviet nations) |
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| Israel |
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| Dragon (Chinese) |
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| Latin America |
Monday, 22 November 2010
Day 85: Let the bribing begin!
There's a class here at INSEAD that deals with Business Ethics and one of the main topics discussed in the first period is the issue of bribery. While most of us agree that it's unethical to offer and accept bribes when doing business, all that goes out the window when it's time to canvass for votes for National Week Bidding! ;)
The countries bidding this year included:
Right from the morning, the 10 national groups competing for 6 spots set up their booths to "win" our votes by sharing with us with all manner of food and drink. This was only the beginning though as the highlight was to be in the evening when they highlighted their culture and presented their proposed National Week activities in a short presentation. To aid their cause, there were people dressed up as a brown bear (Iron Curtain), a panda (Dragon) and a bull (Iberia) to ensure that their efforts stuck in our minds. The festivities then continued in the courtyard where they really pulled out the stops in a last ditch attempt to "convince" us that they had what it takes to host the most amazing week. We had ice sculptures that served to chill vodka shots, smoked meat sandwiches, falafels, bulgogi, Jägermeister, Red Bull, beer funnels, Jack Daniels, tapas, paella, caipiroskas (due to the lack of cachaça), pizza, nutella, dumplings, whiskey/green tea.
Needless to say, all the groups knew exactly the right buttons to press. ;)
This is probably the most fun I've had on campus at INSEAD and truly a day not to be missed if you ever get the chance to experience it. The results of the voting will be out tomorrow!
The countries bidding this year included:
- USA
- Canada
- Latin America
- Iberia
- Dragon (Chinese)
- Korea/Japan
- Italy
- Israel
- Iron Curtain (former Soviet countries)
- Heart of Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
Right from the morning, the 10 national groups competing for 6 spots set up their booths to "win" our votes by sharing with us with all manner of food and drink. This was only the beginning though as the highlight was to be in the evening when they highlighted their culture and presented their proposed National Week activities in a short presentation. To aid their cause, there were people dressed up as a brown bear (Iron Curtain), a panda (Dragon) and a bull (Iberia) to ensure that their efforts stuck in our minds. The festivities then continued in the courtyard where they really pulled out the stops in a last ditch attempt to "convince" us that they had what it takes to host the most amazing week. We had ice sculptures that served to chill vodka shots, smoked meat sandwiches, falafels, bulgogi, Jägermeister, Red Bull, beer funnels, Jack Daniels, tapas, paella, caipiroskas (due to the lack of cachaça), pizza, nutella, dumplings, whiskey/green tea.
Needless to say, all the groups knew exactly the right buttons to press. ;)
This is probably the most fun I've had on campus at INSEAD and truly a day not to be missed if you ever get the chance to experience it. The results of the voting will be out tomorrow!
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| THIS is how you have a shot of ice cold vodka, INSEAD style |
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Day 84: What a weekend!
All the work that needed to be crammed into the weekdays this past week all seem worth it now in light of a fabulous time in the land of a thousand smiles. =)
After touching down late on Friday night, we soon headed out to Sirocco rooftop bar to get a quick panoramic introduction to the city. Really stunning and peaceful views up there in contrast to the hustle and bustle down below. Followed that by heading to a tiny 2nd floor bar near Silom that had cool beats from the live drumming to accompany to the DJ. This was a place that hardly any airs about it but had a lot of character. Apparently it was a place that our host used to party at when she was in high school. No better way to end the evening than to go to bed in a 5-star hotel that was essentially free due to connections that I had from my previous job. Hotels like these truly exemplify Thai hospitality at its very best.
Next day we took a boat cruise along the Thailand's famous river to visit parts of the city that make you forget you are in one of South East Asia's largest metropolis. You also realise how important the river is for so many people living in the city. It was on this trip that I learnt that the full official name of Bangkok is actually the world's longest place name as recognised by the Guinness Book of Records. Now of course Bangkok doesn't seem like a mouth full but try this on for size:
"Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit"
Which translates to:
"The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarma"
What an epic name!
We finished our long tail boat cruise just in time to get ready for dinner at Buri Tara. Our host had arranged for a dinner by the river because this past weekend was also the festival of Loy Krathong when people traditionally release floats along the river to give thanks and as a symbol of letting go of the past and starting anew. She arranged for us to have bread krathongs so that we could also take part in this festival but remain environmentally friendly since the fish can eat them! It was really fun to be part of this festival and to partake in the traditions.
Sunday saw us digging in to some amazing brunch at the original branch of a Bangkok institution (Kalaprapruek). The soft chocolate cake there really lives up to its famed billing. You must have a slice if you're in town. Needless to say, we were again absolutely stuffed by the time we rolled out of there and headed to Chatuchak Market to try and walk off our brunch. If you've never been to the market before, all I can say is that it is GINORMOUS and I challenge you to go there and not find something you like. There's something for everyone.
Thank you once again to our lovely host, S, for organising such an amazing weekend!
After thought: I really enjoyed spending this weekend away with my classmates because it gave me the chance to get to know them a bit better, especially those who are not in my section. Unfortunately, we have to balance these fun moments with the demands of school work. Makes you wonder if you could strip out the rigour of the MBA and just organise "networking holidays" for young professionals, whether that would be popular. Afterall, many people say that the true benefit of an MBA are the friends that you make
After touching down late on Friday night, we soon headed out to Sirocco rooftop bar to get a quick panoramic introduction to the city. Really stunning and peaceful views up there in contrast to the hustle and bustle down below. Followed that by heading to a tiny 2nd floor bar near Silom that had cool beats from the live drumming to accompany to the DJ. This was a place that hardly any airs about it but had a lot of character. Apparently it was a place that our host used to party at when she was in high school. No better way to end the evening than to go to bed in a 5-star hotel that was essentially free due to connections that I had from my previous job. Hotels like these truly exemplify Thai hospitality at its very best.
Next day we took a boat cruise along the Thailand's famous river to visit parts of the city that make you forget you are in one of South East Asia's largest metropolis. You also realise how important the river is for so many people living in the city. It was on this trip that I learnt that the full official name of Bangkok is actually the world's longest place name as recognised by the Guinness Book of Records. Now of course Bangkok doesn't seem like a mouth full but try this on for size:
"Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit"
Which translates to:
"The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarma"
What an epic name!
We finished our long tail boat cruise just in time to get ready for dinner at Buri Tara. Our host had arranged for a dinner by the river because this past weekend was also the festival of Loy Krathong when people traditionally release floats along the river to give thanks and as a symbol of letting go of the past and starting anew. She arranged for us to have bread krathongs so that we could also take part in this festival but remain environmentally friendly since the fish can eat them! It was really fun to be part of this festival and to partake in the traditions.
Sunday saw us digging in to some amazing brunch at the original branch of a Bangkok institution (Kalaprapruek). The soft chocolate cake there really lives up to its famed billing. You must have a slice if you're in town. Needless to say, we were again absolutely stuffed by the time we rolled out of there and headed to Chatuchak Market to try and walk off our brunch. If you've never been to the market before, all I can say is that it is GINORMOUS and I challenge you to go there and not find something you like. There's something for everyone.
Thank you once again to our lovely host, S, for organising such an amazing weekend!
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| View from Sirocco |
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| A traditional Krathong made from the trunk of a banana tree and decorated |
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| Garlands to bless the boat |
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| When in Thailand, you just have to visit a temple ;) |
After thought: I really enjoyed spending this weekend away with my classmates because it gave me the chance to get to know them a bit better, especially those who are not in my section. Unfortunately, we have to balance these fun moments with the demands of school work. Makes you wonder if you could strip out the rigour of the MBA and just organise "networking holidays" for young professionals, whether that would be popular. Afterall, many people say that the true benefit of an MBA are the friends that you make
Friday, 19 November 2010
Day 82: The end of the week... not quite!
Today is Friday but it's not quite the end of the week yet, certainly not for many of us who are traveling this weekend. I'm with a group of about 30 who are going to Bangkok while I know that there's another large group going sailing around Phuket and others have already left for Bali.
There is one guy I know though from my class who takes the cake from all of us. He is spending the weekend in Portugal (where he's from) to celebrate his anniversary with his girlfriend. Given that there aren't any direct flights between Singapore and Lisbon, he's on the road for a grand total of 31hrs (SGP>DXB>MAD>LIS) just to get there. He made it there safe and sound and on time but has probably <48 hours on the ground before he has to make the return 31hr journey back to SGP. A round of applause please.
Whenever I travel, I loathe bringing work with me and have it hang over my head while I'm overseas spending time with friends. As a result, I had to squeeze out time during the week to get all my assignments complete before I leave this evening. It was tough to find the time to get them all done and to plan ahead but at least I won't have to think about readings or homework while I'm away, even if I will be surrounded by classmates who might be talking about it. Speaking of which, I will probably have to find time in the coming week to do the same as I will be going to Hong Kong next weekend
I still managed to make it to the DESI week party at Butter Factory last night though which was great fun. It was kinda fun to have the whole place booked out for the evening and not have to worry about drinks since it was free flow. These guys sure know how to throw a party. The highlight of the evening for me was when this large Indian guy started playing a neon lighted mridangam "live" in accompaniment to the DJ. Cue some crazy dance moves. As my DESI friends inform me, it's all in the shoulders. ;)
Needless to say, after the "exertions" of last night, attendance at our 8.30am Strategy class was pretty poor. I personally thought I would not be able to get up in time but I guess I surprise myself from time to time. At the moment class started, we had less than a third of the class present. An hour an a half later when class ended, the numbers were only slightly better than half. To his credit, our professor really took it all in his stride and found the humour in the situation rather than get really upset about the poor turnout. Guess these sort of things aren't that uncommon. Heh.
Anyway, time to pack (no red or yellow shirts!) and make my way to the airport. Coincidentally, this is my first trip with them since school started! Looking forward to a fun weekend away with my classmates so it's not quite to the end of my INSEAD week yet. =)
There is one guy I know though from my class who takes the cake from all of us. He is spending the weekend in Portugal (where he's from) to celebrate his anniversary with his girlfriend. Given that there aren't any direct flights between Singapore and Lisbon, he's on the road for a grand total of 31hrs (SGP>DXB>MAD>LIS) just to get there. He made it there safe and sound and on time but has probably <48 hours on the ground before he has to make the return 31hr journey back to SGP. A round of applause please.
Whenever I travel, I loathe bringing work with me and have it hang over my head while I'm overseas spending time with friends. As a result, I had to squeeze out time during the week to get all my assignments complete before I leave this evening. It was tough to find the time to get them all done and to plan ahead but at least I won't have to think about readings or homework while I'm away, even if I will be surrounded by classmates who might be talking about it. Speaking of which, I will probably have to find time in the coming week to do the same as I will be going to Hong Kong next weekend
I still managed to make it to the DESI week party at Butter Factory last night though which was great fun. It was kinda fun to have the whole place booked out for the evening and not have to worry about drinks since it was free flow. These guys sure know how to throw a party. The highlight of the evening for me was when this large Indian guy started playing a neon lighted mridangam "live" in accompaniment to the DJ. Cue some crazy dance moves. As my DESI friends inform me, it's all in the shoulders. ;)
Needless to say, after the "exertions" of last night, attendance at our 8.30am Strategy class was pretty poor. I personally thought I would not be able to get up in time but I guess I surprise myself from time to time. At the moment class started, we had less than a third of the class present. An hour an a half later when class ended, the numbers were only slightly better than half. To his credit, our professor really took it all in his stride and found the humour in the situation rather than get really upset about the poor turnout. Guess these sort of things aren't that uncommon. Heh.
Anyway, time to pack (no red or yellow shirts!) and make my way to the airport. Coincidentally, this is my first trip with them since school started! Looking forward to a fun weekend away with my classmates so it's not quite to the end of my INSEAD week yet. =)
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Day 79: Grades!
The hot topic of the day was the release of our P1 grades. After it was released, it was the only thing people were talking about. Not even the snake charmer and fortune teller who were on campus as part of the DESI week celebrations could steal the headlines.
Grades here at INSEAD are calculated using the Z-score with a GPA of 3.0 being the mean score (only among your peers on the same campus). Your own score then reflects how many standard deviations you are away from the mean. So if you got a 4.0 then you are 1.0 standard deviation higher than the mean. Conversely, if you got 2.0 then you are 1.0 standard deviation lower than the mean. As long as you get a score greater than 0.0, you pass the class (i.e. if you're within 3 standard deviations less than the mean, you pass). To my knowledge, everyone passed except for maybe 1 or 2 people who didn't cross the line on Finance. It's not enough to pass though, you need to get at least 2.1 for your core courses so as not to be hauled up in front of the academic committee.
Given the grade non-disclosure policy, no one has to reveal anything about their grades if they don't want to. Not just to external companies but to internal requests as well. Most of the "poets" I know who were pretty worried about the exams did pretty alright. Generally I'd say that people are pretty pleased with their results. Either that or the people who aren't pleased are hiding in the corners away far away from everyone else. =(
I'm guessing that people are recalibrating themselves now and their effort levels for the next set of exams which are due in just under a month's time (O_O I know!!!). Some will certainly be gunning to ace these next set of exams and claw their way into the Dean's list (top 10% of the cohort) while others may perhaps be adopting a more holistic approach and figuring out how many weekend trips they can afford and still get the GPA that keeps them out of trouble. ;)
And at the end of the day, just remember that our statistics professor in P1 showed us empirical data that there is very little correlation between GPA and salary after INSEAD. Outside these 4 walls, grades don't matter. It's what you learn here that counts, and what you learn here isn't confined to knowledge gained from books.
Grades here at INSEAD are calculated using the Z-score with a GPA of 3.0 being the mean score (only among your peers on the same campus). Your own score then reflects how many standard deviations you are away from the mean. So if you got a 4.0 then you are 1.0 standard deviation higher than the mean. Conversely, if you got 2.0 then you are 1.0 standard deviation lower than the mean. As long as you get a score greater than 0.0, you pass the class (i.e. if you're within 3 standard deviations less than the mean, you pass). To my knowledge, everyone passed except for maybe 1 or 2 people who didn't cross the line on Finance. It's not enough to pass though, you need to get at least 2.1 for your core courses so as not to be hauled up in front of the academic committee.
Given the grade non-disclosure policy, no one has to reveal anything about their grades if they don't want to. Not just to external companies but to internal requests as well. Most of the "poets" I know who were pretty worried about the exams did pretty alright. Generally I'd say that people are pretty pleased with their results. Either that or the people who aren't pleased are hiding in the corners away far away from everyone else. =(
I'm guessing that people are recalibrating themselves now and their effort levels for the next set of exams which are due in just under a month's time (O_O I know!!!). Some will certainly be gunning to ace these next set of exams and claw their way into the Dean's list (top 10% of the cohort) while others may perhaps be adopting a more holistic approach and figuring out how many weekend trips they can afford and still get the GPA that keeps them out of trouble. ;)
And at the end of the day, just remember that our statistics professor in P1 showed us empirical data that there is very little correlation between GPA and salary after INSEAD. Outside these 4 walls, grades don't matter. It's what you learn here that counts, and what you learn here isn't confined to knowledge gained from books.
Monday, 15 November 2010
Day 78: Back!
It's good to be back in class today after almost a week of medical leave. Although, I was getting quiet partial to that mid-afternoon nap. =)
It does feel like I've missed more than that already given all that happened this past week in school. Still, DESI week is upon us and they treated us to a fantastic Amphi storming this afternoon that had all manner of song and dance. If that's anything to go by then this Thursday's party should be one to remember (if you don't drink too much!). This afternoon, we had a mini-Holi celebration in school (see note) with predictable mayhem ensuing. It's not everyday that you get a bunch of grown ups throwing coloured powders and spraying coloured waters at each other, screaming and running around like a bunch of 8 year olds. To most of the pedestrians walking past, they must have thought that INSEAD had become a mental hospital. In fact, I think some of the children that were there ended up being pretty spooked by the crazy multi-coloured people that their parents and their parents' friends had become. I am assured by my Indian friends that it's WAAAY more crazy at the real festival and you can end up being caked in powder. Of course at the real festival, way more people are drunk too which I'm sure adds to the craziness. Hours later, I still can't get the colour out of my nails and parts of my skin still have a reddish hue.
Don't think they had this in FBL today. The craziest they probably got up to was to sit around and have chai. =P
I'm not surprised that with all the activities of the past few days, people are beginning to show a bit of wear and tear. It's only Monday but people are already looking exhausted and are declaring that they won't go for any of the events this week. Let's just say that I've heard that excuse before. ;)
Will really need to focus this week as there's a lot of activity going on but also a fair amount of work to be done. (It's not ALL play ya'know?) To top it off, a bunch of us are going to BKK this weekend. Woo hoo!
Now? Time to sleep. I'm not a robot!
It does feel like I've missed more than that already given all that happened this past week in school. Still, DESI week is upon us and they treated us to a fantastic Amphi storming this afternoon that had all manner of song and dance. If that's anything to go by then this Thursday's party should be one to remember (if you don't drink too much!). This afternoon, we had a mini-Holi celebration in school (see note) with predictable mayhem ensuing. It's not everyday that you get a bunch of grown ups throwing coloured powders and spraying coloured waters at each other, screaming and running around like a bunch of 8 year olds. To most of the pedestrians walking past, they must have thought that INSEAD had become a mental hospital. In fact, I think some of the children that were there ended up being pretty spooked by the crazy multi-coloured people that their parents and their parents' friends had become. I am assured by my Indian friends that it's WAAAY more crazy at the real festival and you can end up being caked in powder. Of course at the real festival, way more people are drunk too which I'm sure adds to the craziness. Hours later, I still can't get the colour out of my nails and parts of my skin still have a reddish hue.
Don't think they had this in FBL today. The craziest they probably got up to was to sit around and have chai. =P
I'm not surprised that with all the activities of the past few days, people are beginning to show a bit of wear and tear. It's only Monday but people are already looking exhausted and are declaring that they won't go for any of the events this week. Let's just say that I've heard that excuse before. ;)
Will really need to focus this week as there's a lot of activity going on but also a fair amount of work to be done. (It's not ALL play ya'know?) To top it off, a bunch of us are going to BKK this weekend. Woo hoo!
Now? Time to sleep. I'm not a robot!
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Day 77: Monsoon
I think it's quite appropriate that the annual formal ball here on the SGP campus is named the "Monsoon Ball". Only just this morning it absolutely poured down from the sky. Bet you don't get that too much in FBL. Good thing though it didn't rain last night at the actual "Monsoon Ball".
From the pictures on Facebook, it certainly looks like people had a good time dressing up to the nines and partying the night away. The guys all looked really sharp in their suits and tuxes while the ladies looked stunning in their dresses. Looking a bit more like the future leaders of the world eh? ;)
Just like back in college, it's always so eye opening to see your friends dressed up all formal and such especially when you usually just see them in their t-shirts and bermudas slippers. On the flip side, when I was working, it was always refreshing to see my colleagues outside of work all dressed down for a day out and about. It's always interesting to view people when displaced outside their usual context as it is a strong visual reminder that there's a whole lot more to the other person than you usually see in school or at the workplace.
DESI week is coming up next week, the first national week of P2, and I'm really looking forward to it. (DESI is a term used to describe the people of South Asia). If I remember correctly, they make up more then 10% of our entire promotion and are the largest cultural group on campus. Everyone knows someone who is helping to organise this week and they've been really getting us all excited about it. If anything, I know that these guys certainly know how to serve up some great food, throw a really jumping party and just have an amazing time in general. I'm trying my best to get well in time for the festivities as it's something I really don't want to miss out on.
The National Weeks really are great fun and a great chance for students to showcase their food and culture to the rest of the community. In a couple weeks time, we will have to vote for the National Weeks of Jan-Jul next year and I know that many different groups of students are already getting their bids together in an effort to convince the rest of the student body that they have what it takes to host the most amazing week. I believe these are some of the events that truly make INSEAD unique because no other business school will have so many people from so many different countries and celebrate this rich international diversity on a regular basis in such a unique and memorable way.
From the pictures on Facebook, it certainly looks like people had a good time dressing up to the nines and partying the night away. The guys all looked really sharp in their suits and tuxes while the ladies looked stunning in their dresses. Looking a bit more like the future leaders of the world eh? ;)
Just like back in college, it's always so eye opening to see your friends dressed up all formal and such especially when you usually just see them in their t-shirts and bermudas slippers. On the flip side, when I was working, it was always refreshing to see my colleagues outside of work all dressed down for a day out and about. It's always interesting to view people when displaced outside their usual context as it is a strong visual reminder that there's a whole lot more to the other person than you usually see in school or at the workplace.
DESI week is coming up next week, the first national week of P2, and I'm really looking forward to it. (DESI is a term used to describe the people of South Asia). If I remember correctly, they make up more then 10% of our entire promotion and are the largest cultural group on campus. Everyone knows someone who is helping to organise this week and they've been really getting us all excited about it. If anything, I know that these guys certainly know how to serve up some great food, throw a really jumping party and just have an amazing time in general. I'm trying my best to get well in time for the festivities as it's something I really don't want to miss out on.
The National Weeks really are great fun and a great chance for students to showcase their food and culture to the rest of the community. In a couple weeks time, we will have to vote for the National Weeks of Jan-Jul next year and I know that many different groups of students are already getting their bids together in an effort to convince the rest of the student body that they have what it takes to host the most amazing week. I believe these are some of the events that truly make INSEAD unique because no other business school will have so many people from so many different countries and celebrate this rich international diversity on a regular basis in such a unique and memorable way.
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Day 74: Time to explore
One of my classmates made a comment yesterday that I thought was pretty interesting. She said that I was lucky to be away from school so I "wouldn't feel like I was getting pulled in a thousand different directions to do various things".
Over the past couple of days, I've ended up spending much more time on my readings/homework than I would have previously given the lack of much else that I can do from home. But with the world at my fingertips through the internet, there's also a whole world out there to explore and stay connected with so that I can delay the onset of cabin fever.
For example, I was able to receive updates from friends about the Dash all throughout the day in the form of status updates and photos posted on Facebook. (btw: if you haven't had enough of the Dash, click the picture below for another album)
I also got the chance to G-chat with friends from around the world that I have not caught up with in a while due to differing timezones, updated this blog, watched a couple of shows online and checked out some pretty interesting websites with cool ideas.
Of the websites I checked out, I was particularly impressed with The RSA's youtube page (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) that has a whole series of talks on a wide range of topics from "Changing Education" to "The Empathetic Civilisation".
However, the MAIN reason why I was particularly impressed was the way that some of these talks have been "scribed/animated" into condensed 10-12 min clips. The company that does this are a really talented group of animators/artists at Cognitive Media who essentially believe that complex messages are sometimes best conveyed through visual media. Pretty cool stuff!
Over the past couple of days, I've ended up spending much more time on my readings/homework than I would have previously given the lack of much else that I can do from home. But with the world at my fingertips through the internet, there's also a whole world out there to explore and stay connected with so that I can delay the onset of cabin fever.
For example, I was able to receive updates from friends about the Dash all throughout the day in the form of status updates and photos posted on Facebook. (btw: if you haven't had enough of the Dash, click the picture below for another album)
I also got the chance to G-chat with friends from around the world that I have not caught up with in a while due to differing timezones, updated this blog, watched a couple of shows online and checked out some pretty interesting websites with cool ideas.
Of the websites I checked out, I was particularly impressed with The RSA's youtube page (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) that has a whole series of talks on a wide range of topics from "Changing Education" to "The Empathetic Civilisation".
However, the MAIN reason why I was particularly impressed was the way that some of these talks have been "scribed/animated" into condensed 10-12 min clips. The company that does this are a really talented group of animators/artists at Cognitive Media who essentially believe that complex messages are sometimes best conveyed through visual media. Pretty cool stuff!
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Day 73: The Dash
Since the beginning of time, there have been few calls to action greater than that for humankind to get together in fancy dress and have a parade. These are the stuff that traditions and legends are made of. Some of the best in the world of course include Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Carnivals in Brazil, Venice and Cologne.
It is in this same vein that I'm sure the INSEAD Dash was inspired (or perhaps one late evening at Holland Village after too many beers). It essentially involves students from the SGP campus dressing up in fancy dress and "parading" to INSEAD along the <1km route from Heritage Condominiums where a lot of students live.
Although I was not able to partake in the festivities this morning, I've been checking Facebook religiously as the stream of hilarious on-campus photos being posted online continues to tickle to no end.
While a picture paints a thousand words, I think that the following pictures of people in fancy dress paint a whole lot more!
To all those who took part in the festivities today, you guys and gals are the ones that make INSEAD such a special place. Keep living the dream! ;)
P.S. Maybe even those lavish parades that Mr. Kim occasionally organises up in North Korea was inspired by a youtube video he saw of the Dash. I think he forgot the "fun" factor and the samba music though. It might make it a future festival destination! O_O
P.P.S. Apparently the Carnival season starts on the 11th of November at 11.11am in Germany and lasts till the following Ash Wednesday! Who said these Germans weren't fun??? (Wikipedia)
It is in this same vein that I'm sure the INSEAD Dash was inspired (or perhaps one late evening at Holland Village after too many beers). It essentially involves students from the SGP campus dressing up in fancy dress and "parading" to INSEAD along the <1km route from Heritage Condominiums where a lot of students live.
Although I was not able to partake in the festivities this morning, I've been checking Facebook religiously as the stream of hilarious on-campus photos being posted online continues to tickle to no end.
While a picture paints a thousand words, I think that the following pictures of people in fancy dress paint a whole lot more!
 |
| "I knew that INSEAD was internationally diverse, but this is pretty bizarre" :P |
 |
| "...and THIS is how you soften the vegetables for the stew... *KICK*" |
 |
| "I'd like you to meet the consultants we've hired to reduce headcount" |
 |
| "Trust me Gandalf, you want to invest your funds in Moria Mining Company" |
 |
| "Sheesh, the price of Rocks has really fallen against the Pollen" |
To all those who took part in the festivities today, you guys and gals are the ones that make INSEAD such a special place. Keep living the dream! ;)
P.S. Maybe even those lavish parades that Mr. Kim occasionally organises up in North Korea was inspired by a youtube video he saw of the Dash. I think he forgot the "fun" factor and the samba music though. It might make it a future festival destination! O_O
P.P.S. Apparently the Carnival season starts on the 11th of November at 11.11am in Germany and lasts till the following Ash Wednesday! Who said these Germans weren't fun??? (Wikipedia)
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Day 72: Out of action...
I'm officially out of action for the next week at least as I've caught a bug that keeps me stuck at home over the next few days. I've already missed so much in the past 3 days and I'm going to miss so much in the coming week.
Massive disappointment. =(
It all started so innocuously with some slight discomfort when waking up on Sunday morning. Felt a bit tired, had a slight sore throat and a stiff neck but it didn't seem too bad. Figured that as long as I took adequate fluids and didn't overexert myself, I would be fine that day. By late morning, I was already running a high fever and could tell that this was not going to go away that easily. As a result, I:
Although I can't make it to class, I still have to keep up with the readings and homework so that when I do return, I won't be too far behind. While I do feel that I'm missing out on the teaching in the classroom, I feel that I'm missing out even more on the social aspect of it (this week more than ever given all the events).
Some will argue that the connections that you forge during your time here are more valuable than anything you can learn in the classroom. These bonds aren't necessarily cemented in one off events like those held this week, but rather through continued communication and interaction. However, it's exactly events like these that give you opportunities to have a shared experience that can be the basis for future communication and interaction.
So this is what an MBA feels like with all of the studying and without any of the social events. Not worth 50K+ Euros if you ask me... (we can talk about cost another time)
P.S. Here's hoping you guys have a great Dash tomorrow! I look forward to the pictures since I'm living vicariously through them at the moment!
P.P.S. Why doesn't FBL do anything like this? Oh right... they're studying. :P
Massive disappointment. =(
It all started so innocuously with some slight discomfort when waking up on Sunday morning. Felt a bit tired, had a slight sore throat and a stiff neck but it didn't seem too bad. Figured that as long as I took adequate fluids and didn't overexert myself, I would be fine that day. By late morning, I was already running a high fever and could tell that this was not going to go away that easily. As a result, I:
- Have already missed the INSEAD Olympics held at Sentosa on Sunday afternoon (e.g. Previous years' video) which is one of the few times that the class gets together to have fun in the sun
- Will not be taking part in the INSEAD Dash tomorrow (e.g. Previous years' video) despite finally being able to rent the costume I had my eye on these past 2 weeks. Was really looking forward to being a part of this rag-tag "parade".
- Will not be attending the Monsoon Ball this Saturday which is the annual formal ball held on the SGP campus. Was really looking forward to hearing one of my classmates (DJ Googie) spinning the turntables that night.
Although I can't make it to class, I still have to keep up with the readings and homework so that when I do return, I won't be too far behind. While I do feel that I'm missing out on the teaching in the classroom, I feel that I'm missing out even more on the social aspect of it (this week more than ever given all the events).
Some will argue that the connections that you forge during your time here are more valuable than anything you can learn in the classroom. These bonds aren't necessarily cemented in one off events like those held this week, but rather through continued communication and interaction. However, it's exactly events like these that give you opportunities to have a shared experience that can be the basis for future communication and interaction.
So this is what an MBA feels like with all of the studying and without any of the social events. Not worth 50K+ Euros if you ask me... (we can talk about cost another time)
P.S. Here's hoping you guys have a great Dash tomorrow! I look forward to the pictures since I'm living vicariously through them at the moment!
P.P.S. Why doesn't FBL do anything like this? Oh right... they're studying. :P
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Day 69: Classes on Saturday's should be banned
I find it kinda ironic that as a student, I'm getting a shorter weekend because of class of Saturday while the rest of Singapore enjoys a long weekend because of Deepavali. Something just doesn't seem right don't you think?
To be fair, we are getting a long weekend next weekend while the rest of Singapore enjoys a normal one due to the leadership summit that INSEAD is hosting (assuming you're not going for the summit). Guess it all adds up in some weird cosmic way.
I know some classmates of mine didn't actually come to school on Friday because they were exempt from Marketing and weren't interested in the Entrepreneurship Day that was held on campus in the afternoon. I always find it fascinating hearing from alumni entrepreneurs about their journey beyond INSEAD and how they've got to where they are today. The panel yesterday was no different with all 3 panelists arguably enjoying various stages of success.
The first had a pretty successful private consulting business in brand management for many multinational and family businesses here in Asia. He was probably the most confident and passionate of the 3, something that probably comes with experience and knowing that he's "made it" and isn't really "working" anymore in the strict sense of the word as he's just essentially pursuing a passion that just so happens to pay him.
The second had previous failed in his first venture centered around software only to rebound into his current venture that involved digital media and training. He seemed to be doing reasonably well although it seemed to me that it wasn't exactly a rip-roaring success and that he wasn't really passionate about it. It came at a time when he was pretty down on his luck and this venture paid the bills so he jumped at it.
The last guy had only graduated from INSEAD just 2 years ago and was involved in an internet/targeted marketing business in China. He had previously trained as a doctor and thought that this might be a fun thing to do. I felt he actually provided the most memorable moment of the discussion when he said that if he knew then what he knows now, he might not have chosen this path. All this despite the fact that he seems to be pretty close to proving commercial success and reaching probably a really exciting time with his venture.
The panelists all picked up on an analogy by the first guy whereby he likened the process of starting a company to that of bring a plane to take-off. As you taxi to the runway, you perform all the required safety checks and make sure everything/everyone is in place. Once you're ready to takeoff and accelerate down the runway, you pretty much focus in on whether you're going to reach the velocity needed and whether you're going to pull back on the lever to get airborne. Up to a certain point of course you can abort, but after that critical point, it's all systems go. Now or never.
To be fair, we are getting a long weekend next weekend while the rest of Singapore enjoys a normal one due to the leadership summit that INSEAD is hosting (assuming you're not going for the summit). Guess it all adds up in some weird cosmic way.
I know some classmates of mine didn't actually come to school on Friday because they were exempt from Marketing and weren't interested in the Entrepreneurship Day that was held on campus in the afternoon. I always find it fascinating hearing from alumni entrepreneurs about their journey beyond INSEAD and how they've got to where they are today. The panel yesterday was no different with all 3 panelists arguably enjoying various stages of success.
The first had a pretty successful private consulting business in brand management for many multinational and family businesses here in Asia. He was probably the most confident and passionate of the 3, something that probably comes with experience and knowing that he's "made it" and isn't really "working" anymore in the strict sense of the word as he's just essentially pursuing a passion that just so happens to pay him.
The second had previous failed in his first venture centered around software only to rebound into his current venture that involved digital media and training. He seemed to be doing reasonably well although it seemed to me that it wasn't exactly a rip-roaring success and that he wasn't really passionate about it. It came at a time when he was pretty down on his luck and this venture paid the bills so he jumped at it.
The last guy had only graduated from INSEAD just 2 years ago and was involved in an internet/targeted marketing business in China. He had previously trained as a doctor and thought that this might be a fun thing to do. I felt he actually provided the most memorable moment of the discussion when he said that if he knew then what he knows now, he might not have chosen this path. All this despite the fact that he seems to be pretty close to proving commercial success and reaching probably a really exciting time with his venture.
The panelists all picked up on an analogy by the first guy whereby he likened the process of starting a company to that of bring a plane to take-off. As you taxi to the runway, you perform all the required safety checks and make sure everything/everyone is in place. Once you're ready to takeoff and accelerate down the runway, you pretty much focus in on whether you're going to reach the velocity needed and whether you're going to pull back on the lever to get airborne. Up to a certain point of course you can abort, but after that critical point, it's all systems go. Now or never.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
Day 67: The aftermath...
Our "End of P1" Champagne Party was last night. If you were anywhere near campus, you would have heard the music blasting as we celebrated good times, friendships and the end of exams. Even if you didn't know about the party, you could probably have guessed if you were in school today and noticed a significant number of people walking around looking a little bit worse for wear after a pretty epic evening.
I was pretty impressed that we had about 90-95% attendance for first class of the day which thankfully was at 10.15am. Another section had an 8.30am class today and apparently only about half of them showed up for it. The emails have already been flying around today about lost bags/wallets/phones/IDs etc. My favourite email thread from last night though centered around a guy coming home with 2 extra pairs of shoes and emailing the class to find out if anyone had by chance arrived home barefoot and puzzled!
To all my "walking wounded" classmates, I salute you and thank you for a fantastic evening and a memorable P1. Here's to more good times ahead! Oh... and remember to drink a lot of WATER! ;)
I was pretty impressed that we had about 90-95% attendance for first class of the day which thankfully was at 10.15am. Another section had an 8.30am class today and apparently only about half of them showed up for it. The emails have already been flying around today about lost bags/wallets/phones/IDs etc. My favourite email thread from last night though centered around a guy coming home with 2 extra pairs of shoes and emailing the class to find out if anyone had by chance arrived home barefoot and puzzled!
To all my "walking wounded" classmates, I salute you and thank you for a fantastic evening and a memorable P1. Here's to more good times ahead! Oh... and remember to drink a lot of WATER! ;)
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
Day 65: P2D2
So P2 classes have officially started and some members of my class have yet to return to SGP. I guess if you're going to skip a class, the "best one" to skip would be the first one given that it's the one that will likely have the least content.
What this also means is that the possibility of chalking up a "fine" begins again after a one week break for exams. Fines are the financial penalties that one has to pay into the Section Champagne Fund should one commit any of the following "misdemeanours" in increasing order of financial penalty:
You would think that we should be able to stay within these pretty reasonable boundaries with perhaps just a handful of exceptions here and there. You would be wrong...
In the last Period alone, over a period of ~7 weeks, we collected a whopping ~$2150 for the Champagne Fund! According to our social reps, this exceeds the previous record for a period by over 15%!
I doubt this record will be broken this period as about 1/5 of it came from various wagers/bets that we had in class vs. our professors. Let's just say that the subject matter in 1 of the core courses lent itself particularly well to setting up bets and our professor was also keenly aware of that. ;)
Looking forward to a pretty darn amazing champagne party tomorrow to technically officially celebrate the end of P1. =)
Cheers! Salud! Prost! A Votre Sante! Mabuhay! Kam Pai! Skål! zdrowie! L’Chaim! Yum Seng! Saúde! Oogy wawa!
What this also means is that the possibility of chalking up a "fine" begins again after a one week break for exams. Fines are the financial penalties that one has to pay into the Section Champagne Fund should one commit any of the following "misdemeanours" in increasing order of financial penalty:
- Being late for class ($5)
- You're late if you walk in after the professor starts speaking
- Taking a taxi from Dover/Heritage to INSEAD ($5)
- Someone needs to catch you in the act
- Exemption when it's raining (or if you're in a suit?)
- Word vomit ($5)
- Saying something that the class feels is out of point / irrelevant / disrespectful / overly corny OR
- Demonstrating that you have not been paying attention (e.g. asking an identical question to one that was asked before)
- Generally voted on by the class on the spot
- To be fair, it can be somewhat subjective but it is done in good nature and with good faith
- It is by fair the least common fine
- Sleeping in class ($10)
- Photographic evidence needs to be provided
- Forgetting to switch your phone to silent ($20)
- The ringtone needs to be heard for the infringement to occur. Vibrations do not count
You would think that we should be able to stay within these pretty reasonable boundaries with perhaps just a handful of exceptions here and there. You would be wrong...
In the last Period alone, over a period of ~7 weeks, we collected a whopping ~$2150 for the Champagne Fund! According to our social reps, this exceeds the previous record for a period by over 15%!
I doubt this record will be broken this period as about 1/5 of it came from various wagers/bets that we had in class vs. our professors. Let's just say that the subject matter in 1 of the core courses lent itself particularly well to setting up bets and our professor was also keenly aware of that. ;)
Looking forward to a pretty darn amazing champagne party tomorrow to technically officially celebrate the end of P1. =)
Cheers! Salud! Prost! A Votre Sante! Mabuhay! Kam Pai! Skål! zdrowie! L’Chaim! Yum Seng! Saúde! Oogy wawa!
Monday, 1 November 2010
Day 64: Back to school
Back to school again after a 4-day break (essentially just a glorified long weekend).
That being said, not all of us were back today. Given that today's schedule consisted of a career coaching session by an external speaker, many classmates of mine chose to take an extra day of holiday instead of coming to class. I know a large handful of them were still in Borocay today (although they are probably back now as I'm typing this). Not a particularly bad idea I must say, squeezing that little bit extra out of what was already a very short break.
A couple of classmates of mine did a quick calculation regarding the money you "waste" by not attending classes/lectures. I think it came up to ~€130 per 1.5 hour class/lecture*. Given that today's session was roughly 6 hours, my classmates who didn't attend essentially forfeited ~€520 of their tuition. Whether that was worthwhile or not, only they can really answer.
The session today was by Daniel Porot (www.porot.com) and he's an INSEAD alumni. The talks centered around "Making a a radical career change" and "Networking and the art of the unsolicited approach". I must admit that there wasn't much that I heard today that I didn't already know (but I guess that is usually the case at such events).
One thing I did get out from it though was how to gather information about the job you think you want. Essentially you want to reach out to as many people that you know (or that you can get to know) who are in the position you think you want and then ask them the following 6 questions:
Presented like a true consultant if you ask me. Additionally, he has a penchant for drawing multicoloured pictures on his tablet PC to illustrate his point. VERY much like a consultant then (~Partner level) with regards to the use of visuals high on dramatization but low on actual content (unless you paid attention to his stories). If you looked at the pictures alone, you'd think he was playing Pictionary with us.
Still, must be nice to be him. He gets to do something he really enjoys, gets to travel the world to speak about a subject he cares about passionately and gets paid for it.
Picked up my course packs today for P2. Boy do they weigh a lot! Time for the "fun" to begin in earnest tomorrow!
*assumes 25 classes at 24 hours per class over the course of a period. Additional talks/lectures assumed to be a negligible proportion and has the same cost/hour
That being said, not all of us were back today. Given that today's schedule consisted of a career coaching session by an external speaker, many classmates of mine chose to take an extra day of holiday instead of coming to class. I know a large handful of them were still in Borocay today (although they are probably back now as I'm typing this). Not a particularly bad idea I must say, squeezing that little bit extra out of what was already a very short break.
A couple of classmates of mine did a quick calculation regarding the money you "waste" by not attending classes/lectures. I think it came up to ~€130 per 1.5 hour class/lecture*. Given that today's session was roughly 6 hours, my classmates who didn't attend essentially forfeited ~€520 of their tuition. Whether that was worthwhile or not, only they can really answer.
The session today was by Daniel Porot (www.porot.com) and he's an INSEAD alumni. The talks centered around "Making a a radical career change" and "Networking and the art of the unsolicited approach". I must admit that there wasn't much that I heard today that I didn't already know (but I guess that is usually the case at such events).
One thing I did get out from it though was how to gather information about the job you think you want. Essentially you want to reach out to as many people that you know (or that you can get to know) who are in the position you think you want and then ask them the following 6 questions:
- How did you get this job?
- What do you like most about your job?
- What do you like least about your job?
- What are the key tasks/challenges that you face in your role?
- What skills/talents does one need to perform those key tasks you mentioned earlier?
- Could you give me the names of 3 people who like this job as much as you do?
Presented like a true consultant if you ask me. Additionally, he has a penchant for drawing multicoloured pictures on his tablet PC to illustrate his point. VERY much like a consultant then (~Partner level) with regards to the use of visuals high on dramatization but low on actual content (unless you paid attention to his stories). If you looked at the pictures alone, you'd think he was playing Pictionary with us.
Still, must be nice to be him. He gets to do something he really enjoys, gets to travel the world to speak about a subject he cares about passionately and gets paid for it.
Picked up my course packs today for P2. Boy do they weigh a lot! Time for the "fun" to begin in earnest tomorrow!
*assumes 25 classes at 24 hours per class over the course of a period. Additional talks/lectures assumed to be a negligible proportion and has the same cost/hour
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Day 63: Before the madness begins again...
I'm not partial to posting things that other people have written but this came to my attention over the weekend and has particularly captured my imagination and that of the people around me. Hope this makes you ask yourself a few questions too.
Onwards to P2! =)
-----
Written by Adrian Tan, author of The Teenage Textbook (1988), was the guest-of-honour at a recent NTU convocation ceremony. This was his speech to the graduating class of 2008.
-----
I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It’s a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.
My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.
On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.
Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.
And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you’ve already won her heart, you don’t need to win every argument.
Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.
The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You’re done learning.
You’ve probably been told the big lie that “Learning is a lifelong process” and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters’ degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers. Don’t you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.
The good news is that they’re wrong.
The bad news is that you don’t need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You’re in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.
I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I’m here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.
You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There’s very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.
Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.
So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you’ll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper.
Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they’re 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn’t meet their life expectancy.
I’m here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.
After all, it’s calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.
Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.
That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste.
If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don’t need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.
What you should prepare for is mess. Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.
Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.
What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.
Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.
The most important is this: do not work.
Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.
Work kills. The Japanese have a term “Karoshi”, which means death from overwork. That’s the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there’s nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.
There’s a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are “making a living”. No, they’re not. They’re dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful.
People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan “Arbeit macht frei” was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense.
Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.
Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself.
I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn’t do that, I would’ve been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction – probably a sports journalist.
So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don’t imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I’ll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.
Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t, you are working.
Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I’m not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.
In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.
I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated.
It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.
One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one’s own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.
The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.
I didn’t say “be loved”. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one’s looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.
Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We’ve taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.
Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul.
Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.
You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.
You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.
Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don’t, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.
Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.
Onwards to P2! =)
-----
Written by Adrian Tan, author of The Teenage Textbook (1988), was the guest-of-honour at a recent NTU convocation ceremony. This was his speech to the graduating class of 2008.
-----
I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It’s a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.
My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.
On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.
Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.
And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you’ve already won her heart, you don’t need to win every argument.
Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.
The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You’re done learning.
You’ve probably been told the big lie that “Learning is a lifelong process” and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters’ degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers. Don’t you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.
The good news is that they’re wrong.
The bad news is that you don’t need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You’re in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.
I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I’m here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.
You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There’s very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.
Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.
So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you’ll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper.
Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they’re 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn’t meet their life expectancy.
I’m here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.
After all, it’s calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.
Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.
That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste.
If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don’t need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.
What you should prepare for is mess. Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.
Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.
What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.
Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.
The most important is this: do not work.
Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.
Work kills. The Japanese have a term “Karoshi”, which means death from overwork. That’s the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there’s nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.
There’s a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are “making a living”. No, they’re not. They’re dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful.
People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan “Arbeit macht frei” was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense.
Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.
Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself.
I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn’t do that, I would’ve been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction – probably a sports journalist.
So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don’t imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I’ll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.
Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t, you are working.
Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I’m not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.
In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.
I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated.
It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.
One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one’s own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.
The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.
I didn’t say “be loved”. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one’s looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.
Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We’ve taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.
Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul.
Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.
You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.
You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.
Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don’t, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.
Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.
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