GSB Mennonite

Business Week

Congrats to everyone at the GSB!! The alumni cluster in our group was particularly excited about the Business Week results...and look forward to many more great surveys. :)

Congrats to Bothner!

Congrats to Professor Matt Bothner! It's a little old news yet still exciting for those of us from his classes! Great work!

http://www.chicagogsb.edu/news/2006-08-29_bothner_award.aspx

Graduation

Finished! Graduation was last Sunday. Too bad I had to miss Gamefest the final year I'm in the Midwest, but graduation was worth the miss. Professor Kevin Murphy spoke in his typically straight-forward, clear, and foundational way that he does. And a great focus on entrepreneurship from our second speaker. It was a good day, quick and good. Nice reception afterward and then a family dinner at Cedars. :)

I'm out in Redmond this week to start work on the house...yes that should be added to the projects list without any question. Some major work to do on that front. And Jacob, I found a leaky kitchen sink. :( Ah, the joys of home/bank ownership!

Monday we leave for our summer travels, so I'll attempt to post when able.

Final Final

My last final at the GSB is complete. I finished up Taxes and Business Strategy (perhaps better titled Taxes and M&A) this evening around 5:45 pm. After back to back finals today I was fairly exhausted...a good way to end my academic experience at the GSB. :)

Skyway Chicago - Westbound

If you are ever headed westbound on the Skyway into Chicago there are two simple things to remember.

1. There are 3 lanes across the skyway
2. Stay in the far right lane across the skyway

Signs will imply that the far right lane is IPass or whatever the electronic payment system is called; it is misleading. The far right lane splits into multiple lanes one of which is a Cash/IPass lane.

Fastest way through an unbearable Memorial Day 3 mile backup.

7 Weeks

This quarter has been progressing quickly...it's already almost the end of 3rd week. I've got a case write-up I need to complete today, which is a bummer considering my bi-annual cold hit me last night and I don't feel so well.

Heading back to Goshen this weekend for Easter weekend. While the University doesn't honor Good Friday, at least we can take off a little early.

Finals Week

Plugging away on final projects, papers, and prepping for finals...along with catching up on relaxing too. :)

Keith asked about the economic policy stuff that I've been working on (2005 Tax Proposal, specifically mortgage interest tax deduction), so I figured I'd post a couple graphs - output analysis from 2001 tax data.

This chart shows the average subsidy received by itemizing homeowners (valued at the marginal tax rates).

This chart shows the universe of homeowners showing the subset that actually receives tax subsidies (those that itemize) versus those that do not because they do not itemize or because they have no debt.

Source: Office of Tax Statistics, American Housing Survey 2001, Individual Analysis

Economic Policy Presentation

Our team presented our analysis on the 2005 Tax Proposal, specifically the mortgage interest deduction recommendations, to the class and had some good (i.e. tough) questions from Professor Murphy and Professor Becker. In some ways it was a odd feeling presenting to a Nobel Prize winner and Murphy (who's had a number of other awards). It certainly felt a little different than presenting MBTI information to first-years. :)

Economic Policy

I'm up tonight working on the final project for Economic Policy: the 2005 Tax Reform Policy, specifically the changes to mortgage interest deductions. It's been really interesting to see the owner/renter, income, itemization data, etc through this project. :)

Myron Scholes

Myron Scholes spoke on campus yesterday. While he gave an interesting talk on risk and liquidity and the need for markets for risk transfer, it was a fairly narrow talk. I guess I expected a little bit broader topic for a broad audience. He did confess a number of times that he's "an options guy."

The one point I thought was intriguing was an idea around teams and chaos.

"With more uncertainty the value of human capital increases. Teams are more valuable in chaotic environments."

I guess it makes sense as the team (i.e. human capital) is inherently more flexible than fixed assets, plant, equipment, or even financial capital (that's the throwing money at a problem doesn't always fix it principle). It seems then that in a chaotic environment value is attributed to the most flexible resource.

And tying this back to Myron Scholes and his contribution to the Black-Scholes option model, it makes sense: increased volatility means higher option values => increased chaos means higher value for flexibility.

VCIC

I'm in the basement of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder. We've been here working away since 5:30 pm when our VCIC team finished up the Q&A with entrepreneurs. Thus far it has been a lot of fun and not a lot of sleep. :)

Oh and we have code names so entrepreneurs and judges don't know which schools we're from.

Here's a shot of the campus with an x marks the spot in the bottom left of our location. Note that isn't not green here; it's white. Nice fresh snow last night.

Midterms

Next week are midterms. I've been enjoying the classes this quarter, especially the Murphy/Becker/Snyder class and Managerial Decision Making. Lots of interesting ideas to discuss and think about in MDM. I really don't like midterms. I certainly won't miss tests...I must prefer projects and papers than tests. :)

In Class Ops Haiku

Last week in Operations class - Decision Models - we were instructed to describe the solution to a linear optimization problem without using numbers. I think it was my group partner that suggested it, at any rate, we kicked it up a notch.

Operations Haiku

max out revenue
within production constraints
and supply demand

Note that we've followed an English 5-7-5 Haiku format. I learned while reading up on Haiku that it's more appropriate to use a 2-3-2 format for English Haiku since the Japanese version is the 5-7-5 form. I think I got that right...anyway here is a good site to learn more. :)

Becker/Murphy/Snyder Class

Last Tuesday was the start of classes and my first class was Economic Analysis of Major Policy Issues. When Gary Becker walked into the room the class went silent. He is a very un-assuming and speaks quietly and very matter-of-factly. Check out his CV...

Oh, and I have to admit that I was embarrased on the first day of class. I was diligently taking notes when he stopped and asked what I thought was a yes or no question about two points on an efficieny frontier curve. I answered 'no', but he was looking for a more something other than a yes/no. In my follow-up response, I unfortunately did not provide exactly what he wanted...

Do check out his blog - Becker-Posner - also linked at the side.

End of Quarter

Fall quarter is over. All major assignments, take home exams, etc were due on Monday (or earlier) and our final feedback session for LEAD was yesterday. So I'm hanging out at home drinking coffee and catching up on reading and projects and starting some new projects.

I've also owed a friend of mine a link to his site, which provides consulting advice and tips for MBAs or those more broadly interested in consulting: MBA Consulting Track. He is top-notch and is current at a top firm so his credibility is no question.

Beaujolais Nouveau

Enough said...

9th Week

Only two weeks remain and just a handful of assignments to complete before the end of the quarter. One final project and one take-home final this quarter. And a number of final assignments for LEAD for me to wrap up.

Also bidding on classes for next quarter was due last Friday and I'll know results by Wednesday.

Finally, major kudos to all the other LEAD facilitators with the completion of Golden Gargs and congrats to Walker for a great film and All-Stars competition this year. :)

Busy Week

LEAD All-Stars is on Thursday so that is a very full day this week. Should be a good time for the All-Stars to meet each other and have some friendly competition with their LEAD skills. :)

Went shopping at Costco on Saturday morning. Such a crazy huge place. Fun, but I usually buy more than I need.

Bidding for classes (Winter Quarter) ends on Friday so I'll know next quarter's schedule before too long.

Updated Classes

I finally updated the index to include current classes. A great line-up this quarter with Kaplan's Enterpreneurial Finance and Negotiations...and of course the LEAD lab along with LEAD classes.

ACT Seminars

Today was a full day of ACT Seminars, when the ACT Specialists (LEAD Facilitators) get to run mini-practice sessions for first years. I must admit I really enjoy this part of LEAD because it's the only structured time that is outside of the cohort system (other than 1-on-1s) and it's also the only part of the LEAD experience (structured that is) with random groups. So we get to meet a lot of great students from outside our usual two cohorts.

I particularly enjoy hearing the stories from backgrounds, experiences, interested post-MBA, etc. And kudos to Le Voyageur for saying hi today.

PS The main index page is also badly outdated. I'll try to get classes updated tomorrow.

LEAD Milestone

This past week ended one of the personal key LEAD milestones - my final module. On Tuesday and Thursday Lisa and I delivered the ACT - Audience Captivation Training module to two cohorts. We had a lot of fun and hopefully most people enjoyed it and found it valuable. I was still sick on Tuesday, but hopefully that didn't cause too much downside.

While there are many responsibilities left this quarter for the LEAD facilitators, without weekly practices and meetings to prepare for the classroom modules it reduces some of the time.

Evening Homework

I'm finally starting to get used to the homework in the evenings, mostly because I find myself hanging out with people when I'm on campus. So most of my hours on campus are not as productive as they could be; on the other hand if I only worked while at campus I'd be all work and no play.

Actually, to be fair, much of the time on campus is in meetings or group meetings for various classes. So other than a lunch, maybe a coffee break or two, or a billiards break it's usually full days. :)

Fun fun fun.

New Classes

New year, new quarter, and new classes. Last Thursday was the first day of the fall quarter. I've got Entrepreneurial Finance with Kaplan, Negotiations with Fishbach, and LEAD LAB II. :)

Coursepacks once again are painful.

MBTI

Tomorrow is the big day for MBTI...looking forward to presenting the LEAD module for Rockefeller and Walker cohorts. Hope they enjoy it! :)

Chipotle

Finally, big thanks to Chipotle for being one of the sponsors this year of LOE at Chicago GSB. I had a barbacoa today over lunch with a friend. You guys are awesome.

LOE Part Three

For all of you who were there, I hope you got some rest this past weekend. For all of us that were also there...it was a great time and hopefully one that enabling the beginning of a lot of relationship building at the GSB.

We've got some great students this year and I look forward to spending a lot of time with my 5's. :)

Oh and good luck and have fun with Developing High Performance Teams on Tuesday or Wednesday!

End of the First Year

I finished up my final paper last Thursday night - in the midst of the first week of the internship...unfortunate scheduling, but it will help at the end of the summer with Fall LEAD.

In celebration, I leave this small picture - from Chicago GSB's Hyde Park Center. Let me know if anyone spots it this summer! :)

Spring LEAD

A big thanks to our fellow Spring LEAD participants. Thank you for all your stories, examples, and patience this quarter! They were great and all the facilitators were awarded Oscars...see mine below. I brought it with me to Seattle and have it proudly displayed on the window.

I think/hope my last module - Myers Briggs Temperament Indicator (MBTI) - went well. And we had a great time hanging out with everyone at the reception on Friday afternoon after the final class.

LEAD

Today was my first day of presenting for spring LEAD with a great group of Weekend and Evening MBA students here at Chicago GSB. We covered the Audience Captivation Training module - hopefully with some success! :) Many long hours, meetings, and weeks have gone into preparation so it felt great to present.

Next week it's Myers Briggs...

This Fall we'll be running through the same material with first years of the class of 2007!

Updated Blogs...

Thanks to Le Voyageur for the email...check out the mba peregrinations blog for some great travel posts!

Commercializing Innovation

Great class. Lots of work. Recommend highly.

Lots of interesting cases, all in some way personally connected to Professor Meadow - so the 'inside' scoop adds a fun dimension to the material.

CI Research

While doing some research for Commercializing Innovation my team found this interesting report (PowerPoint) from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland - "In 2001, more young people declared bankruptcy than graduated from college."

Midterms & Levitt

Midterms have arrived. While I only have one serious midterm it is Professor Meadow's Commercializing Innovation class - so our team has plenty of work to do in the next week.

Also, New Venture Challenge business plans are due on Monday, so I have some extra work this week.

Finally, some interest in Professor Steven Levitt's new book, Freakonomics, so I thought I'd mention that the Milton Friedman group here at the GSB hosted a lunch lecture with him today. Great talk and some excellent stories! Very funny guy too. :)

Time Management

Managing time and tasks are important in order to keep your sanity. This week I am applying a rather strict process of time management to some tasks this week due to a perfect storm of overlapping responsibilities.

1. Budget a specific number of hours to a task/assignment (usually based on number of points or relative importance of the task)
2. Work that amount of time on the assignment (or perhaps a little more if absolutely needed)
3. Stop
4. Print/email

Freakonomics Blog

This is another blog, by Chicago GSB professor Steven Levitt, related to the release of his new book Freakonomics.

Current and Previous Courses

I added sections at right of my current courses and previous courses. In the next week or two I hope to add all the direct links to the professor's websites. Feel free to comment or email with any questions.

New Chicago GSB Blogs

I wanted to point out some new additions to my listing of Chicago GSB blogs including some incoming students. Welcome!

Alator's Adventures 2007
poweryogi 2007
wakechick's MBA Adventures 2007
Natasha's Weblog 2006 (I hope I don't show up on her blog too often! ;)
The Becker-Posner Blog Professors

Steve Shu's Blog

I wanted to link to Steve's blog (also in column at right) because of his interests and the quality of his posts. I especially like this story; updated results are here.

LEAD - LOE - LL

How about that amazing acronym alliteration? ;)

I have posted before about the LEAD program here at Chicago GSB and LOE and Lakelawn Resort. Every year, the next years' LEAD Facilitators have a weekend at Lakelawn for squad bonding, training, and well, a lot of fun and not a lot of sleep.

New GSB Blog

A fellow MBA classmate here at Chicago GSB recently started a blog - what's next? Knowing Ken, there will be very interesting economics posts and references to some of the great Chicago professors.

Quarter Break

Breaks are a fun phenomenon. Every day feels like a Saturday! Actually it takes a couple days to adjust to not having deadlines and thinking about what is due tomorrow or the next quiz or test, but it's a great time to get caught up on everything that got postponed - such as taxes. :(

Finals Week

This week is finals week an interesting time at Chicago GSB when the amount of email falls by at least 75%. Even with Grade Non-Disclosure most people seem to take finals relatively seriously. From my conversations with people it appears there is a strong tension between our individual drive/achievement/excellence with the reality that no one will really know the performance. In some ways GND does reduce the amount of pressure and stress - in reality there would only be a quarter completed before internships and three quarters completed before full-time recruiting so not having GND would put immense pressure on the first quarter's finals. In other ways, GND doesn't allow people to give specific metrics to recruiters until 2nd years - Dean's List, etc.

Another upside is that GND enables us to see who among our fellow classmates take finals seriously *especially* when they don't have to. It's a simple litmus test for personal/internal motivation vs external motivation and perhaps even ethics.

Are litmus strips originally blue and then turn red/greenish? I can't remember that part. :)

Oh, and my finals are now over. Corp Fin yesterday at 11:30 AM and Investments at 6:30 PM. And I don't know about others, but I tend to remember the little mistakes I made - I'll never forget those...and perhaps it's the best way to learn.

Pacific Northwest 2

I had a comment question about my visit to Microsoft this past weekend and I am very excited to share that I'll be headed to Redmond this summer! And, incidentally at least one of the people I met with out there has found my blog. ;)

Anyway, if anyone has any tips or advice about Seattle/Redmond/Microsoft feel free to share it!

Ribs 'n' Bibs

Another great place to check out in Hyde Park is Ribs 'n' Bibs. It's a small corner shop, with only a small counter, but it's been a Hyde Park staple for 30+ years and the food is incredible. I walked out of church this morning and smelled the wood-fire smoke a few blocks away. My growling stomach insisted that I try it out. All the BBQ is done over a wood fire inside the little shop - so enjoy the smoky smell while inside.

Visit it in person at least once to see the old 'celebrity' photographs and enjoy the atmosphere. And then enjoy their delivery in Hyde Park. :) Oh and if you walk fast enough you can get back to Regents or there abouts to enjoy the ribs while they're still hot!

Another Hyde Park Gem

For anyone visiting Chicago GSB or a current student, I was introduced to a diamond in the rough by a friend of mine. If you ever visit Medici, which you should while you're in Hyde Park, you'll notice the University Market right next door. From the outside it appears to be a small market, but in the back is a made-to-order sandwich shop. It has just a few 'set' options, but many options for create-your-own sandwiches. It's a great alternative to the new GSB cafe when you need a change. Oh, and it's a block and a half from the GSB.

Cedars

A quick post on the excellent food at Cedars Mediterranean Kitchen in Kimbark Plaza (a rather non-descript plaza) on 53rd Street. If you're visiting Chicago GSB and want some very good food check this place out. I think it's one of the nicer places to sit and have a nice long drawn out lunch or dinner...and a couple cups of Turkish coffee. :)

Also, I've heard Harolds Chicken Shack is good, but I haven't been there...yet.

(If the Harold's link doesn't work, check out A9.com's streetview, which actually seems to be most useful for buying a home to check out the neighborhood).

New Venture Challenge

Today is the deadline for the New Venture Challenge - Chicago GSB's business plan competition. My team submitted on Friday afternoon to bypass the last minute rush that typically happens with these kinds of things. Hopefully we'll make the cut and be able to take the associated New Venture class. For those of you interested in Chicago GSB and entrepreneurship, definitely check out this program and others run by the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship, and I'll keep you posted on how our team does.

LEAD

For those of you interested in or planning to attend Chicago GSB, you may see me quite a bit next year. I applied and was selected to be a LEAD Facilitator - one of the 40 2nd year students that teach the 1st year LEAD - the only required course at the GSB. LEAD is also where the cohort structure of the class is initiated, after which it's a relatively non-structured program. I love the flexibility!

Admits

Congrats are due out to PowerYogi and WakeChick (among others) for their accepentance to Chicago GSB! I hope to see both of you here next year!

Congrats and blessings with your decision!

Contrasts

I wanted to share these two images with anyone that visits this week to give you all a taste of what we're enjoying here in Chicago. :) The first picture is from the afternoon on the way back to the apartment from campus. Note the WSJ is uncovered and the USA Today is still plastered.

The second image is a simple shot of the sky in southern California from a few weeks ago during our visit. Perhaps some day...

Catching up

I've fallen behind in following other blogs so I wanted to post again and point out that Soulfood and David have been posting quite a bit recently. Also, I'm planning ot catch up on some of my projects again soon.

Bay Visit

Our visit to the Bay area went well. I saw it mostly as an educational trip as I continue to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. :) We visited a number of tech firms in the area and also a couple investment banks. I'm still torn between the challenge and the quality of life. SF is a very cool city and I think it'd be great to be out here.

The craziest part was when I had to catch a cab up to the BART and the guy didn't have a clue where to go. It was pretty sad and scary at the same time since I had to catch a flight. It all worked out, but I was pretty shocked.

I'm down in S CA now and the weather is absolutely amazing. Definitely a nice break from Chicago weather.

Done

Wow...an hour ago I finished up my last three-hour final, which was Financial Accounting. I put some study time in last Friday AM, and last night and this morning were filled with review. The crazy thing is that I dreamed about bond premium accounting, statement of cash flows, finding the correct information hidden in note F, etc. Unfortunately having it show up in my dreams may not have helped me a whole lot today!

Looking forward to being out in San Francisco this weekend.

Study Areas

There are a number of different study areas at the GSB. One of those is the "Student Study Lounge" a 'quiet' area, which is often packed around midterms and finals.

The Student Lounge is less quiet, with tvs, pool tables, etc, but is another popular place to study.

The small group study rooms in the class room level are scheduled a day or two ahead of time and are nice for group work.

Misc places around the building are actually some of the best places. The wing south of the Winter Garden is a great place, which is where I took this picture this morning around 7:30 AM. I rarely come in that early, but I happend to this morning to get some time in on accounting prep. [This is the actual view from tables in that wing.]

Finals

Finals are next week. I've got one on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday - and a take home case final due Tuesday night.

It's a busy time here, so I probably won't be posting until after the first quarter is over!

Scheduling

For those of you headed to school, be sure to get organized before the program starts. It will save you a lot of time later when you're in the middle of a quarter.

The screenshot below is what one of my weeks looked like a couple weeks back. They generally fill up quickly, and if they don't then I actively work to fill them up!

Signed Hat

I'm an economics dork. I get excited about econ (probably more when I get to just think and talk about it vs do real homework ;).

My birthday was a couple weeks ago. One of my econ professors has a thing with hats...he wears the same baseball hat every day. I finally got the courage to ask him to wear a new GSB hat that I had just gotten (not worn yet) for one of our lectures. I was kind of surprised when he agreed without issue. And he signed it for me today after wearing it for the collusion and mergers lecture. :)

And for those of you laughing at me...I'll post again after he wins the Nobel!

WestQuest

WestQuest is Chicago GSB's student-lead trip to the West coast to visit firms in the Bay area, Seattle, and LA. I volunteered to help organize some of the Bay area visits! :)

LPF

For those of you who can't make it to campus to enjoy an LPF here is a picture from last Friday evening - which was a special cultural LPF with a lot of food made by current students from around the world. Lots of special events too, and excellent beverage selection sponsored by Diageo.

Ida Noyes

One interesting quote from the Alumni Celebration came from the architect of the new Hyde Park Center - Rafael Vinoly. He said, in front of the University of Chicago President, that the GSB should eventually have Ida Noyes. He noted he shouldn't say it, but he seems to be the kind of guy that really doesn't care what he should or shouldn't say. Of course I'll agree with him, and probably in the long term it will be the case.

Ida Noyes is probably one of the coolest buildings on campus, and recently I read that it has a pool in one wing.

Tonight, while waiting for the pub to open (basement of Ida Noyes) I walked around and found the pool. I won't say that I was sneaking, but I did try to walk quietly while exploring...is that sneaking?

Just think of the awesome things this pool could become for the GSB...if nothing else convert it into a suana and hot tubs for the Chicago winters!

I apologize for the low res picture, but it's the only thing my Treo 600 could manage.

Fruit

If you ever visit Chicago GSB be sure to check out the fruit bowl in the northwest corner entrance near the security desk. One of the current professors has provided fruit and flowers on a daily basis for guests, prospective students, and "especially students" for "a long long time." :)

Catching up

Midterms went well last week. I had Regression on Wednesday AM, Financial Accounting on Wed PM, and Adv Microeconomics (take home) was due Thursday morning.

My family was in town visiting for my niece's dedication on Sunday so I effectively took the weekend off (the first yet this quarter).

Sophally and I also went to the Alumni Celebration black-tie dinner here in Chicago. The dinner was a great time to meet alumni, but also to get a sense for the history of the GSB. I definitely left with a deeper appreciation for the culture and the legacy of the University of Chicago and specifically the GSB.

Midterms

I have two midterms on Wednesday and another take home midterm due Thursday. I doubt I'll be posting much this week...

Architecture

A few weeks ago we were in downtown Chicago for a nice evening dinner with some other students; quite a number of the spouses of students are living/working in other cities, so it's fun to get together with them when they're in town.

I always enjoy walking around downtown Chicago because of the architecture (headed up there soon for a conference). A number of people have told me to take the architecture boat tour, which I plan on doing one of these quarters.

Here is a low resolution shot I took of the river - note the intentional watercolor effect. ;)

Also, if you're ever on campus for a GSB visit, be sure to check out some of the other buildings nearby - especially the Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS). The inside of the building is amazing; built in 1926 you feel like you stepped into a 1526 cathedral.

Here is another low res shot of side of one of the academic buildings.

Two and a half weeks

It's now been two and a half weeks since classes started. I'm still in the adjusting stage of sorting out how much reading needs (not should) be done. Reading is definitely more important for case classes (i.e. it's tough to participate and learn anything if you haven't preped) but for other types of classes, particularly ones that are more familiar the reading becomes less important - at least in the near term as other deadlines, company presentations, and three or four billiard games seem much more pressing.

As for tonight, I need to prep Marketing Strategy - get caught up that is, and also skim Turbo notes prior to tomorrow's lecture.

I accomplished a lot this weekend, on most fronts including academics (i.e. classes), career (lots of personal reflection and resume improvement), relationships - hung out with people at the South Asian Business Group event, one on one dinner with a classmate in my cohort, and conversations with people throughout the day at Hyde Park Center (HPC) and on the bus over from Regents.

Thus far, I'm more convinced that relationships are about quality time - spending time with people to hear and share stories. I enjoy it best over dinner, a game, or some other neutral/bonding activities. Although, I think some of the best fun is in the groups - a small group of people teaming to accomplish the same objective...humor always makes it more fun! :)

Blue

I've decided I don't like the color blue as much as I used to. It didn't seem to be an overly popular color in DC, but after arriving on campus it appears that 90% of most of the guys' wardrobes are blue. Actually my wardrobe has a lot of blue in it too, but it's not as 'cool' when everyone else wears it. So I'm more heavily weighting the non-blue shirts in my portfolio. ;)

Weekends

Weekends are definitely the time to get caught up on things academic. Without weekends I think I'd be a horrible student. Days are filled with team meetings (for classes), club meetings, classes, company presentations, events, food, billiards, happy hours, etc. :) But seriously, weekends are an important time to get connected again with significant other or spouse and to dig through the academic material - especially when taking four courses the first quarter and one of them is call Turbo! The schedule actually reminds me a lot of undergrad, mostly because I was both a fairly diligent student and very active in a number of groups.

Identity

It's interesting to think about personal identity after spending a little over a month here. First-Years' identity seems to be very closely tied to internships (who you will work for, or what you want to do). It's tough not to get wrapped up in the buzz. Career issues are job search and by extension internships are talked about a lot. Of course it's a very important aspect of an MBA program and certainly one of the primary reasons of returning to school, but it also weigh on the 'fun' of the program. Uncertainty is something that most of us attempt to minimize, but I think during these times it's also important to think about what and who we are apart from what we 'do'.

I'd love to make a t-shirt with the following text...

Liquidity Preference Functions

Every Friday afternoon the GSB has a Liquidity Preference Function (LPF). It's a nice time to get some sustenance (sponsored by a company) and drink. The term is actually a relationship developed by John Maynard Keynes around 1936. You can read more about the real Liquidity Preference Function if you like.

Interestingly enough Keynes is really not in line with the Chicago school of economics. For the longest time, Chicago was the only school in America not swept by the Keynesian Revolution... It's well worth the read if you're at all interested in various economic theories.

LOE Pictures 2

Oh and by the way, one of my LOE facilitators posted a bunch of pictures online from our LOE days. Check them out here. He's got some very cool pictures of the high ropes course! [Disclaimer: Downloading my take a bit of time if you're on dial-up].

Campus Visits

By the way, if any of you are visiting campus for any reason drop me a line before you arrive...I'm usually hanging out in the Winter Garden a good portion of the day (it's generally where everyone meets to talk and hang out between classes). In other words, the Winter Garden is not the center of academic productivity - check out the Study Lounge for that.

More Classes & Repetition

I had two more classes today: financial accounting (basic) and regression. Both interesting in their own rights, and as always professors tend to vary thanks to their own uniqueness. :)

I just can't get over the new Hyde Park Center (HPC). I find myself just walking around looking around at the building...it really is amazing. I know, I know, I'm babbling - but just wait until you see it!

Homework

With balance sheets, income statements and retained earnings floating in my head...I'm finally ready to call it a night. With hours of accounting homework behind me (due for the first class meeting tomorrow) I'm glad I at least started the evening before it was due! :)

It's good to be back in this mode.

Hyde Park Center

For those of you who are really really interested in the new Hyde Park Center, check out the official brochure. Warning: This is a very large PDF file [30+ MB], containing all the floor plans.

Also, check out a GSB 2nd Year's blog.

Industry Immersion

I failed to write about this last week, and I saw an excellent summary on most of what I attended at the daily travails...so be sure to read another GSB student's take on the events.

Classes

Excellent first class today with Prof. Murphy. Turbo looks to be a lot of fun and Prof Murphy seems to have a wonderful balance of concern for learning and also challenge. When a student uses too much lingo, Prof. Murphy will challenge to use non-econ language to explain an idea or term. Excellent approach as it pushes people to think beyond a term what an idea or term *really* means.

First Day of Class

Today is the first day of classes...I have 'Turbo' Micro[economics] this morning and no classes tomorrow. Looking forward to it!

Shedd Aquarium

Saturday night was a Chicago GSB event at the Shedd Aquarium. Partners/spouses were invited so it was a fun evening of meeting many of them throughout the evening. The Shedd Aquarium was amazing; it was a beautiful place and the animals were great. It was also a lot of fun to be at a place like that for a 'private event.' Lots of great food and conversation.

Amazing!

The new Hyde Park GSB building is absolutely amazing. I was in awe during my visit today. I stopped by to pick up my ID and locker assignment. There is a bit of finish work to be done yet - plants, file signs, etc - but the building is just amazing. The amount of light throughout the building (thanks to the Winter Garden) is wonderful!

I want to say a big THANK YOU to all the alumni and non-alumni donors and every one else that worked to make it a reality. I believe it's going to be an incredible two years here!

To prospective students, I must say that seeing pictures will never do justice to the place. Definitely plan on checking it out in person...

LOE Pictures

One LOE activity I forgot to mention yesterday was a pickup 'learning' game of cricket. It was a lot of fun, and we had many excellent teachers in our class. :) Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it, but here are a couple others I took of the surroundings. The one major downside of the Treo 600 is the low resolution camera. I hear the next generation of it will have a much better camera, screen, and built-in Bluetooth.

And here is one from last week of Rockefeller Chapel.

LOE, Part 2

To summarize what I heard from other students (and what I concur with) LOE was better than I expected. You never really know what to expect when you go off to 'camp' for a few days of 'outdoor experience.' It really was a lot of fun; I've got a scratchy throat from sitting outside and talking until 12:30 AM last night.

LOE took place at Lake Lawn Resort - a very nice and expansive complex in Wisconsin. Check out the overview of the resort if you're interested. What I thought was most intriguing was the long indoor walkways between each of the buildings, apparently in order to host events while completely snowed in. Actually it'd be an awesome place to be snowed in...

LOE activities were mostly with our cohort of 55-60 people and also within our squads of 7-8 people or combinations of squads. Lots of team activities, problem solving, and challenges throughout the two days - all the kinds of things that help teams understand communication, leadership, planning, etc.

We also went to a high and low ropes course nearby. I climbed the 60 foot climbing wall and then zip-lined off the top. The first few second or so is basically a free fall! And I was the first to make the 'leap of faith' jumping off a small platform 30 feet off the group and grabbing a bar hanging out in the middle of now where off the front of the platform. It's interesting to think about how irrational it is to throw yourself off the end of a platform 'hoping' that you make it. I thought the name of the event was appropriate. Faith can be a similarly fearful process, but like my jump, when you reach the point of understanding/safety it's well worth the apprehension.

Played a little table tennis and mini golf and the two days were filled with great food. I was plesantly surprised by the food and ate up! :)

LOE

After a weekend away (probably the last weekend away for quite some time) I'm packing and getting ready for the LEAD Outdoor Experience (LOE). If that's not the correct acronym, it's close enough. We leave here at 6:00 AM tomorrow morning, which is brutal enough... We don't get back until Wednesday so I won't have the option to update things here until then.

I also picked up the needed items I forgot at home including the wireless router and 3-ring binders. Hopefully my laptop project can finally get completed this week.

Had a good trip back to Goshen this weekend and got to visit with a high school friend of mine. Was just thinking on the way home that this kind of experience would be a blast with him... Reminds me of some of the guys I worked with a lot at Rose-Hulman. Hope to find more of that here on the academic front. Actually I don't really have a bifurcated view of academics/social life. Most of my social life revolved near my academic life and vice versa at Rose-Hulman, and I assume it'll be similiar here.

First Days

Yesterday was the first day of programming and already I feel behind, which is actually a comfortable feeling since it may be one of the more effective motivational techniques for some of the more mundane things - email, etc.

Things got kicked off with a great message from Dean Synder. Thus far we've been learning a lot about the program, academics, bidding process, policies, with a ton of informal and organized events for socializing. Tomorrow is financial aid and career services.

There are some great people here and it's been fun to meet a lot of people - definitely an environment where you realize how amazing some of their experience has been. But around the time you start feeling overwhelmed and intimidated you realize that everyone also had a significant motivation to leave whatever they were doing in order to do something else - which pretty much means we all like our work well enough to want to go through the application process and live on loans for two years. ;) Seriously though, the entire MBA experience is a highly personalized two-years and everyone here has their own stories.

The Chicago program is probably one of the most flexible...as they say, we have enough rope to hang ourselves with the academic freedom here. I just hope I don't bite off so much rope that I choke on it! :) Looking forward to classes starting...

Facebook

The Student Facebook is now called the Student Directory. I thought it might be valuable to have the entire list of the Class of 2006 in my Treo, so yesterday evening I started down a lengthy path of exploring contacts and the Facebook.

It wasn't too difficult to capture the entire Class of 2006 thanks to the download option in the Facebook and then import into Outlook for syncing to the Treo. I did have to mess with the 15 category limit for a bit though...

Then I thought it might be interesting to have the Facebook images included in the Outlook contact files in the contact picture area... I spent some time figuring out the html structure in the Facebook pages (unfortunately it only displays 20 people at a time, so the use of mouse macros came in handy).

Ahh, I must say this was an interesting project and I'm pleased with the results, but because I don't want to incriminate myself I'll just end it here. I may bring this up as an 'idea' to the Dean's Office and see what the response is. Unfortunately I'm a little concerned about possible legal obstacles to what would be the most logical use of the information.

Students

I've had a great first week meeting students here at Chicago GSB. Last Wednesday I went to a social event organized my the Chicago Alumni group - not many alumni there but lots of incoming students.

I've also enjoyed running into some many people in Regents Park. You meet people outside, in the elevators, and of course at the Summit Club. I've put the billiards table to good use this past week.

Names are a bit rough yet, but I'm hoping to learn a couple every day.

A Room with a View

A friend from DC recently asked about the view...here is a merged image of the view (apologies for the distortions). Click the smaller image for a slightly larger version...

Click here for a much larger image (4976 x 800).

Promontory Point

Pa'lee and I walked down to the Point this evening and enjoyed what feels like Autumn coolness in the evening air. I shot a couple pictures of the waves on the Point - looking back northwest toward Regents Park and downtown Chicago. If it wasn't obvious I've been resizing the images on the front page to reduce download time; click image to see a larger version (albeit much smaller than the original).

Hyde Park

I spent a few hours meandering around Hyde Park today. It's a very interesting neighborhood with a mix of academia, commercial and various types of residential housing. The commercial ventures seem to be struggling. A number of restaurants were recently closed and vacant (sometimes unrenovated) space is noticable.

I happened to pass a closed-up building listed on the map as "old 10th Church of Christ Scientist." It would make a great theater or private home - on Blackstone just north of 57th St. :) Update: I heard that this building is going to be torn down. Very sad...

Finally, two new pictures from campus. The first is a small outdoor 'preachers pulpit' on the northwest side of the Rockefeller Chapel. The second is a shot of the winter garden section of the new building. They've sodded the entire area surrounding the new building and it looks great.

Oriental Institute

I arrived in Chicago yesterday, after two weeks in Indiana working on a barn (hopefully that page will be updated and added today).

After getting our lock oiled, because my key got stuck in the lock, I headed over to campus and got my official Chicago ID card, and my Chicago GSB card holder. :)

Over lunch I met Pa'lee and we sat on a park bench in the main quad, then walked over to the bookstore and the library (where I got my ID). She headed back to work and I headed to the Oriental Institute. I highly recommend a visit if you ever find yourself on campus, especially if the Mesopotamian Gallery is still open. I have a couple pictures, but this one is probably the best out there. The human-headed winged-bull is amazing!!

Promontory Point

We have a great view of Promontary Point from our apartment along Lake Shore Dr. More pics later of the rest of our view including most of Hyde Park and even a bit of downtown. I'm playing around with a product that Google acquired called Picasa.

There is a small picture of Regents Park (the twin apartment buildings) from Promontory Point from this Point site.

Also, check out the history of Lake Shore Drive from the City's site.

Chicago GSB Building

For those of you who aren't on campus yet or who haven't been able to see the progress on the new building, these pictures are about two weeks old. I hear landscaping is coming along nicely...

If you're interested in Gothic architecture, check out this picture from the building just east of the GSB. Gothic Popup

Goshen, IN

The road trip from Arlington, VA to Goshen, IN went very well. I left DC around 6:40 AM and arrived a little less than 10 hours later. Thanks to a breakfast at McDonalds (for some reason I crave McDs only on road trips...) and plenty of coffee I survived the toll roads and refueling pitstops.

Thankfully the Electric Brew in Goshen has free WiFi so I'm finally getting a chance to catch up on email and the blog. Goshen has a neat downtown (thanks mostly to the Brew) but many other spots are being restored. Unfortunately the truck by-pass that was put in a couple blocks away doesn't seem to the be the popular destination for trucks that it was intended for since every few minutes an 18-wheeler bbbrrrrummmmmssss down Main Street.

Last Day + Recap

I've been wrapping up work and have been negligent with respect to posting. Today is my last day. Although I don't officially 'retire' until the 15th.

Actually last night I went out with some former roommates and friends to the Chart House Alexandria (excellent salad bar!). And the night before I went to a GSB faculty lecture sponsored by the DC-Baltimore GSB Alumni Club. The lecture from 34106: Commercializing Innovation by Scott Meadow was excellent, and it got me much more excited about the next two years at the GSB.

I leave for my parents' place in northern Indiana tomorrow morning for a few weeks of relaxing and a barn-raising (literally, but not nearly as big as the link) - more on that in the future. And then I'll head out to Chicago in late August to settle in for a week+ before LEAD begins.

It is actually very surreal to experience 'lasts' - the last commute, the last morning trip for water, the last log in... It'll probably sink in a bit more in a few weeks - especially the lack of the DC friends, but I trust there will be new Chicago friends soon! :)

New GSB Portal

The new Chicago GSB portal is now up. Check it out, especially the image of a detail from the new building's ceiling.

The portal update was definitely needed, and other updates are still in need of redevelopment (most notably the LEAD site and pages); but the new portal is a great start.

Friedrich August Hayek

Reading about the lives of any sort of Renaissance man (or woman) gets me fired up. And when the person is a passionate economist associated with the University of Chicago (during his time on this side of the Atlantic) I get even more excited.

The Library of Economics and Liberty has an excellent bio of Hayek that is worth the read. I am planning to read at least one of his books before starting at the GSB.

Chicago GSB Dean

I found this 2002 interview with Dean Snyder (with his undergrad college) that contains some interesting points. The dinners/breakfasts with the Dean sounds like a great idea. I wonder if leaders do that in the business world?

Also, in a misc note, ROSCOR will be doing all the media and IT for the new GSB building. I still wonder who the building will be named after...

Moving, Complete

The move is essentially complete and went much more smoothly once we left DC, thanks to the help of a number of friends on this end. Driving a 30 ft truck is actually quite fun, especially after I realized the seat was about the height of the roof of an SUV. The SUV drivers suddenly seemed to have much more respect for a larger vehicle than they generally do for smaller ones.

We stopped in northern Indiana to spend an evening and morning with my family. The drive to Chicago was fairly uneventful, other than the search for diesel in the southside of Chicago took a bit longer than planned... S. 40th and Ashland in case anyone is curious.

We moved our things into Regents Park with the help of my parents, some close friends, and some new friends from Hyde Park. The view is better than I expected and I think it'll be a nice community to be in for at least the first year. I would post a picture or two from the living room, but I left the camera there. I'll have to do it later.

After moving we had dinner at Wildfire - great steaks, but a bit loud for real conversation.

Moving 2

I think I've finally learned my lesson with respect to do it yourself moving. As I've said before, if I don't learn vicariously I learn painfully. The do it yourself process can be fairly easy if everything goes well. But if it doesn't it can be a real pain...welcome to my DIY experience.

I had arranged to park the 20+ ft truck in the loading dock at my apartment tower all day today, but was informed late yesterday that what they said wasn't correct - I didn't have it from 8 AM until 12 noon. What do you do with a big truck for four hours?

So instead of taking off work to joy-ride for four hours I parked it in a neighborhood where I used to live. What could have been a straight forward logistics plan turned sour.

Hmmm, so a logistics plan/path is good until a primary link is broken - at which point alternative methods become the backup. Thankfully I had a decent backup plan.

Does anyone else have a strong sense of justice when hassled by mistakes others make and refuse to remedy? This judge is still trying to decide whether to turn the other cheek or write negative reviews at the various apartment building review sites.

Comments or Counsel?

Moving

Some aspects of moving are fun - new places, new sights, new neighbors. I really enjoy throwing things out. It's amazing to me how much paper I collect in the course of a few years. I'd like to have less paper in the future.

I also don't like packing. During moves is when I wish I'd have fewer 'things.' The big move starts Thursday - although packing was started a couple weeks ago. I go pick up the truck on Wednesday and friends are coming over on Thursday to help load it. I think I'll get a 2nd dolly/hand cart.

Gas mileage on the truck is very low. I'm hoping for a drop in gas prices between now and Friday. :)

GSB Graduate

During my Google searching I found Dave Rangel's blog. He just graduated from the GSB. Congrats Dave!

Dave's site has posts on a lot of different topics. I'm particularly impressed with his mix of business and technology-related posts.

League of MBA Bloggers

I finally made the listing at League of MBA Bloggers, probably the best source for MBA-related blogs. I'll have to settle for the 2nd Chicago listing thanks to that other student. ;)

Oh and I even got a mention, although not by name...

DC Event: Alumni & Admits

Last night was another Chicago GSB DC alumni/admit event, this time held at Whitlow's on Wilson. The showing of the alumni was impressive - nearly all new alumni compared to the previous alumni event a few months ago. The admit showing was a little less impressive, but since many of us are moving in a week or so or have already moved I guess it's not surprising.

It's always interesting to meet almuni in the area and hear what they're doing/interested in. Looking forward to starting!

New Building - Update

While searching for new pictures of progress on the GSB building, I came across this photo tour completed about a week and a half ago. Enjoy!

Chicago Maroon: A photo jaunt around the new GSB

Also, I saw an interesting article about Starbucks developments on the South Side. Check it out, and be sure to read the final paragraph - it's quite humorous.

Laptop

My productivity enhancer arrived yesterday, otherwise known as my GSB toy...my IBM T42. It's a very nice machine, at least as far as I can tell. The only design flaw I've noticed in the first 24 hours is the battery fasteners. The battery has two 'claw' fasteners - one on the end and one near the middle of the pack. However there is no fastener on the opposite end, giving a few mm of wiggle.

The only downfall of having a great screen (1400 x 1050) resolution on it is that I immediately notice the difference when I sit in front of my 1280 x 1024 screen. I know, the world's smallest violin is playing my song... :)

Congrats!!!

A big congrats go out to my spouse, who just found out she'll be working at a Center connected with the GSB.

We're pretty happy about having that final detail nailed down.

LEAD 360 Feedback

I've finally sent out all the emails for the LEAD 360 Feedback. I feel that I'm a little behind in my pre-class assignments. Actually all the tests are completed, but I've got a lot of little things to deal with now: immunization forms, Facebook photo, career services info, rebuild resume, etc.

Looking forward to playing with my laptop. It's currently on it's way - from HK to AK to KY to VA. Unfortunately I probably won't have it today.

ThinkPad

I finalized my laptop decision today...I ordered a ThinkPad T42 from IBM. Thanks to the resourcefulness of my GSB classmates we were able to order laptops from two other schools' specials. :)

I look forward to many hours of coffee-maintained ThinkPad productivity over the next two years.

Community - Class of 2006

daily travails has posted about the Chicago GSB laptop discounts. I have been thinking about my class' community dynamics over the last couple weeks.

True to the historical reputation of the University of Chicago's free market's school of thought, the class has banded together and achieved significant group discounts for apartments; and this week laptop discounts were added to the list of community benefits.

I wonder if cellphone deals will be next?

It is interesting to see market forces played out. The power of a community that works together is amazing. I guess this would tend to work only when options for products exist.

For instance, the housing cartel numbered ~150 students. A couple students took the lead in negotiations with various apartment buildings. If the average monthly rent for a student is $600-800, the negotiator has ~$100,000 in monthly revenue in their pocket. Of course this assumes that the cartel sticks together and takes the offer, which in this case the group did.

Chicago GSB Building

We heard a lot about the new GSB building during Admit Weekend. Here are some of the useful links of design and progress. Unfortunately the construction cam has been down all of 2004.

Official University of Chicago GSB Construction Site

The architects of the new building are Rafael Viñoly Architects, PC. Some very nice pictures one their website (look under Projects)...Flash site so I don't know how to link directly.

University of Chicago

Create your own University of Chicago postcard here.

I think a neo-Gothic home would be nice.

Hyde Park

I'll be moving to Hyde Park at the end of next month. I'm looking forward to the change in scenery, although Washington, DC is beautiful (mostly in the spring) the Gothic architecture and buildings in Hyde Park will be a nice change. I hope the gardens and the chapel will be a nice respite from classes and studying.

the daily travails has a great link to Chicago Uncommon, and I've now linked the Hyde Park pictures. This door is one of my favorites.

Chicago GSB

As the site heading suggests the major purpose of this blog will be to record misc experiences from my time at the University of Chicago's GSB. I begin their full-time MBA program this fall! :)

I hope this blog (at least the Chicago GSB category) will provide some usefulful inside information and I welcome any questions regarding the MBA application process and/or Chicago GSB.

Also as the sub-title suggests, I trust my Mennonite faith will provide a valuable perspective while at the GSB. I look forward to integrating my heritage with the next two years of experiences at the GSB!