Day 152: Morning zombies (aka Heart of Europe Part 2)

"Morning zombies" are common sight after a big night out on a Thursday night. Last night was the Heart of Europe party and given that it's the first National Week, it was MASSIVE. People were really up for a big night last night and there was a definite energy on the dance floor. It's only been 2 weeks since the Bain party at the end of Welcome Week but already you could tell that people had been working very hard in the meantime and were looking for a chance to let their hair down. The Heart of Europe team certainly did not disappoint us with their party although the choice of a Latin club made the venue somewhat odd. I guess it's hard to find hardcore German techno club / rave here in SG (or maybe I've just never looked for it!)

Unsurprisingly, there were a few people looking a bit worse for wear this morning in school but the key thing is that they still showed up and soldiered on despite probably not getting very much sleep. I salute them for their effort. That's work hard play hard at its very best for you alright. =)

A big thank you to the Heart of Europe team for a great week full of events both big and small. Bring on Iron Curtain (Eastern Europe) Week in 3 weeks time!

Amusing Class Moment / Lesson of the Week:
This comes from my Market Driving Strategies class and shows a series of automobile ads as they "responded" to one another jibes. This isn't a recent campaign but it's hilarity is timeless.

BMW started it

Audi fought back

Subaru came from left field

Bentley ENDED the argument
(Reportedly photoshopped but still priceless!)

Day 148: Heart of Europe

National Weeks are back in full swing again and first up in 2011 is the Heart of Europe Week (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). Popular belief has it that they were the only National Week who could get the week organised this early in the year and so soon after the Christmas holidays. Guess German/Austrian/Swiss efficiency has its merits afterall. ;)

From our experience in P1, we know that the first National Week with the P1's around is always a hot seller but I don't think anyone anticipated the frenzy that accompanied the tickets sales today. I heard that tickets for the dinner tonight sold out before lunch time and that everything was completely sold out (t-shirts and party tickets) before 5pm today. Amazing response!

The buffet dinner at Paulaner certainly did not disappoint with the only complaint from most people being that they ate too much because the food was too good! No other better way to wash it all down of course than with a liter of German beer. If today is anything to go by, the rest of the week should be fantastic. =)

The only thing some of us have to watch out for is not to burn out from exhaustion. I know it's only the start of the week but some of my classmates definitely came back from the weekend looking more exhausted than when they left for the weekend! The number and intensity of the assignments and readings are certainly not letting up. Maybe we could all use a little German/Austrian/Swiss efficiency boost to get through all the work this week.

Thankfully I had a really relaxing weekend in Pangkil with some of my classmates. Definitely one of those things you don't really get the chance to do unless you're at INSEAD and surrounded by a large group of people who are up for a similar getaway. The phrase of the weekend most certainly has to be "Are you a man or a bag of potatoes?"

The perfect prescription for a crazy week is definitely PANGKIL-ers. ;)

Another beautfiul sunset brought to you by God, sponsored by Pangkil

P.S. In response to my previous acronym post, a friend of mine came up with a really good one:
INSEAD = I Never Stop Eating And Drinking

Day 144: Cure for exhaustion

It has been a super busy past few days but today really takes the cake. I had an 8.30am - 7.00pm day. That means 6 classes back to back with a 30min break for lunch. I don't know how some of my classmates do it but I am so tired at the end of the day even though I had 6 hours of sleep. I know quite a few people who went out last night and one of my group members only ended up going to bed at 5am this morning! Let's just say that coffee was one of my best friends today although I haven't gone down the Red Bull path yet...

Breakfast of Champions
(my P1/P2 "neighbour's" regular start to the day)

The great thing about it though is that despite the fact that I'm exhausted by the sheer amount of activity and work required, I genuinely do feel like I had a great time in school today. Really enjoyed all the classes I had today and feel like I've learnt something, been challenged intellectually and gotten to know people better. People often ask what a day in the life of an MBA is like so here's a sneak peek into what my long day was like.

My first class of the day dissected the US Ford Fiesta social media campaign and we had a lively discussion about the strengths and shortcomings of that campaign from 2009. My key takeaway was to have a clear idea of how you're going to harness all the excitement of the buzz generated otherwise it just dies off.

The next class (double) I had was an Idea Tournament which is kinda like American Idol for Business Ideas except that all of us were the judges. Lots of really cool interesting ideas that had a lot of potential were presented. Honestly, I'd be pretty excited to work on quite a few of them if people were really serious about forming a team.

Following a quick lunch, I learnt more about the death care industry in North America and financial distress from my finance class. I know it's a pretty morbid topic but a really fascinating industry. Very stable revenues as you can imagine! Also, there's a lot of money to be made in consolidating if done properly. ;)

My last class (double) of the day was a computer simulation Marketing Strategy game that we are all playing against each other. My group's company is still in the lead after 3 rounds but competition is getting fierce! Will we still be in the lead after next period? Stay tuned!

Just because classes are done doesn't mean that your day is done. Not by a long shot.

Met up with my group from my first class to discuss a paper that's due tomorrow (last minute panic is a wonderful motivator!) before catching up with some classmates who were still around. Finally managed to eat dinner closer to 10pm. I know many of my Spanish classmates would still think that's early for dinner. ;)

After a crazy day (and a crazy week in fact!), I'm glad the weekend is almost here. Heading to Pangkil (a private Indonesian island off Bintan) tomorrow with a couple of classmates. Must admit it's a bit of a "right of passage" here on the Singapore campus. Seems like just about everyone who studies here spends at least one weekend ther.

I've heard it's just lovely and very very relaxing. A chance to just kick back and enjoy a bit of sunshine and nature. Sounds like just what I need. Oh... and there's no internet.

Perfect =)