Montmelian Ball
Jun 25, 2008
Jun 24, 2008
Tic Toc
This is it. In a few moments I will be gulping down the remains of my morning caffeine fix and driving off to my last day of classes. Ever. A bittersweet moment if there ever was one. The past week has been, in true INSEAD fashion, hectic and emotional. Last Cabaret, last Friday evening drinking on the campus terrace, last group meetings, last assignments to finish writing, and even a last-minute interview (just in case). And in a few hours, my academic existence will truly come to an end.
But do not fear, gentle readers, I promise that over the next few weeks you will get a) final reviews of classes (P4 and P5 since I wasn't so diligent last period); b) news from the graduation trip in Turkey; and c) probably a few words about the graduation ceremony taking place next week, before I jet off to enjoy some California sunshine.
Until then, I'm going to go soak in final amphi-born pearls of wisdom.
But do not fear, gentle readers, I promise that over the next few weeks you will get a) final reviews of classes (P4 and P5 since I wasn't so diligent last period); b) news from the graduation trip in Turkey; and c) probably a few words about the graduation ceremony taking place next week, before I jet off to enjoy some California sunshine.
Until then, I'm going to go soak in final amphi-born pearls of wisdom.
Jun 11, 2008
Losing One's Spots and Other News
My map has lost its spots. Apparently, these things need to be archived once in a while and I have no choice in the matter. After having seen my little spots multiply and grow over the past year, this is quite upsetting. But, as with my INSEAD experience, I suppose change must happen, all good things come to and end, it's time to move forward and [insert other favourite cliché here...]
In other news (and because I haven't been very good at updating you all on my life recently):
- I finally accepted a job last week. It's in consulting. Gasp. For those of you that have actually stuck by me and been reading this blog for a while, you will remember that I argued on multiple occasions that consulting was not the right path for me, that I wouldn't get sucked in to the machine, that staying closer to my original field was a much better option, and that I would never get a consulting offer anyway. To you, I now say: "Oops." Let me explain. One, only idiots never change their mind (right?) Two, I found it impossible to find an interesting legal job that didn't involve going back to do exactly what I was doing before (which really was not the point). Three, peer pressure works.
In any event, taking this job means I get to stay in Paris for a while (but still travel - thus enabling me to satisfy my permanently antsy nature and visit various INSEAD and pre-INSEAD friends). It also means I actually get to apply some of the things I learnt at INSEAD in the real world, and possibly also finally figure out how Excel works without having to call on my mathematician friends. Plus, I received several assurances that I could still transition back to law later on, in a more exciting role. So, all in all, a good choice, at least for now.
Oh, and if you want to know which consulting firm was crazy enough to hire me, I won't tell you. Wouldn't want to ruin their brand image.
- The Montmelian Ball was amazing. More than amazing. The best party of this year at INSEAD according to many surveyed (well, a couple people at least). Surreal in the extreme, it also hit home the fact that this is all almost over, which put me in a bit of a funk the next day (not helped by the hangover and lack of sleep).
- Classes (to the extent we still have a few) end in two weeks, and then we're off to Turkey for the graduation trip until the actual graduation ceremony takes place before an assembly of jet-lagged relatives, bored staff and slightly shell-shocked students. To be honest, I oscillate between denial, anticipation, and heartache at the moment. There will never be another year like this one, where everything is extreme and intense, as well as short-lived. Who will I see next year? Who will still be my friends 5 years down the road? How much of what I have learned will I still remember come September? How will I handle living with less than a dozen people and not having 3 costume parties to go to per week? Am I still able to get up early, put a suit on, and concentrate on more-or-less mundane tasks for an entire day without taking a break at the bar to gossip and sample Peruvian pisco, Chinese dumplings, Desi dancing or Italian fashion?
- Speaking of classes, I should perhaps mention the electives I am taking this period: Global Strategy & Management (an excellent mini, really should be a full course), Environmental Management (ugh), Brand Management (lots of fun but clearly I should never be allowed into marketing), and Dynamic Pricing & Revenue Management (thank god for the mathematicians in my group). Not quite up to the amazing standards of the P4 electives, they're on the whole pretty interesting classes. Now if only I could still muster up the energy to do some work...
- Plans. I have some. Including non-career-related and therefore much more exciting vacation plans for the summer. July will find me in California, combining a long-awaited mini-road trip with visits to close friends. Then in August there's a wedding and a couple weeks in the South of France (where hopefully I will be able to meet up with a few INSEADers for the first of what will hopefully be many reunions). The big question is: what should I do with my blog when school ends? I've had so much fun writing it, I think I'd miss it if it disappeared. On the other hand, it won't have much to do with INSEAD anymore. Perhaps I could follow in the footsteps of "Anonymous Lawyer" and become "Anonymous Consultant"?
In other news (and because I haven't been very good at updating you all on my life recently):
- I finally accepted a job last week. It's in consulting. Gasp. For those of you that have actually stuck by me and been reading this blog for a while, you will remember that I argued on multiple occasions that consulting was not the right path for me, that I wouldn't get sucked in to the machine, that staying closer to my original field was a much better option, and that I would never get a consulting offer anyway. To you, I now say: "Oops." Let me explain. One, only idiots never change their mind (right?) Two, I found it impossible to find an interesting legal job that didn't involve going back to do exactly what I was doing before (which really was not the point). Three, peer pressure works.
In any event, taking this job means I get to stay in Paris for a while (but still travel - thus enabling me to satisfy my permanently antsy nature and visit various INSEAD and pre-INSEAD friends). It also means I actually get to apply some of the things I learnt at INSEAD in the real world, and possibly also finally figure out how Excel works without having to call on my mathematician friends. Plus, I received several assurances that I could still transition back to law later on, in a more exciting role. So, all in all, a good choice, at least for now.
Oh, and if you want to know which consulting firm was crazy enough to hire me, I won't tell you. Wouldn't want to ruin their brand image.
- The Montmelian Ball was amazing. More than amazing. The best party of this year at INSEAD according to many surveyed (well, a couple people at least). Surreal in the extreme, it also hit home the fact that this is all almost over, which put me in a bit of a funk the next day (not helped by the hangover and lack of sleep).
- Classes (to the extent we still have a few) end in two weeks, and then we're off to Turkey for the graduation trip until the actual graduation ceremony takes place before an assembly of jet-lagged relatives, bored staff and slightly shell-shocked students. To be honest, I oscillate between denial, anticipation, and heartache at the moment. There will never be another year like this one, where everything is extreme and intense, as well as short-lived. Who will I see next year? Who will still be my friends 5 years down the road? How much of what I have learned will I still remember come September? How will I handle living with less than a dozen people and not having 3 costume parties to go to per week? Am I still able to get up early, put a suit on, and concentrate on more-or-less mundane tasks for an entire day without taking a break at the bar to gossip and sample Peruvian pisco, Chinese dumplings, Desi dancing or Italian fashion?
- Speaking of classes, I should perhaps mention the electives I am taking this period: Global Strategy & Management (an excellent mini, really should be a full course), Environmental Management (ugh), Brand Management (lots of fun but clearly I should never be allowed into marketing), and Dynamic Pricing & Revenue Management (thank god for the mathematicians in my group). Not quite up to the amazing standards of the P4 electives, they're on the whole pretty interesting classes. Now if only I could still muster up the energy to do some work...
- Plans. I have some. Including non-career-related and therefore much more exciting vacation plans for the summer. July will find me in California, combining a long-awaited mini-road trip with visits to close friends. Then in August there's a wedding and a couple weeks in the South of France (where hopefully I will be able to meet up with a few INSEADers for the first of what will hopefully be many reunions). The big question is: what should I do with my blog when school ends? I've had so much fun writing it, I think I'd miss it if it disappeared. On the other hand, it won't have much to do with INSEAD anymore. Perhaps I could follow in the footsteps of "Anonymous Lawyer" and become "Anonymous Consultant"?
Jun 3, 2008
The Montmelian Ball is Coming!
The most surreal, extravagant, decadent, fabulous party of the year is coming to the INSEAD bubble this weekend, and I get to have the privilege of being a co-organiser this time around! That's right, this Saturday my new home is hosting the magical Midsummer Night's Dream ball...
May 25, 2008
Overshare?
I've been asked many times about why I choose to have a blog, why I would want to reveal myself to people who don't know me and have no reason to like me. Privacy has typically been categorized as a desirable thing, but is that still true in this age of Facebook and reality television (that being said, I have more than one friend who refuses to bow to Facebook pressure and who's private life thus remains strictly private)?
When asked about my motivations for blogging, I typically respond by saying that my purpose is educational only, and that my blog serves merely as a source of free information for prospective INSEAD students who are entitled to know more about the business school they might attend than what is printed in marketing material. But you and I both know that's only partly true. Some of my posts have nothing to do with INSEAD, and others reveal information that is unnecessary and trivial to a candidate's decision to attend this fine institution.
So why do I do it? Why this compulsive need to share (some of) my life with complete strangers? It can't just be the therapeutic act of writing, because good old paper-and-pen-lock-it-with-a-key diaries would do just as well. It can't just be to communicate with my friends scattered around the globe, because there's always free calls on skype to satsify that need.
So maybe I'm an over-sharer, compulsively addicted to rush that comes from reaching out and exposing a small window of vulnerability. Who knows. In any event, though I would argue I'm still very much "to the left of the plate", this article by blogger Emily Gould does raise some interesting questions.
In other news, this time directly related to INSEAD, a heartfelt congratulations goes out to the Summer Ball organising committee for putting on an extraordinary event last night. A veritable feast for the eyes and heart, this party contained more than its share of the "wow factor". Imagine this: the Fontainebleau chateau colourfully illuminated, fireworks, live bands, champagne on tap, a manic bongo-and-trumpet playing genius and hundreds of INSEADers, past and present, in tuxes and ball gowns. Simply magic. I promise to put up some pictures in my next post.
Til then, I wish you well, my anonymous and not-so-anonymous friends.
When asked about my motivations for blogging, I typically respond by saying that my purpose is educational only, and that my blog serves merely as a source of free information for prospective INSEAD students who are entitled to know more about the business school they might attend than what is printed in marketing material. But you and I both know that's only partly true. Some of my posts have nothing to do with INSEAD, and others reveal information that is unnecessary and trivial to a candidate's decision to attend this fine institution.
So why do I do it? Why this compulsive need to share (some of) my life with complete strangers? It can't just be the therapeutic act of writing, because good old paper-and-pen-lock-it-with-a-key diaries would do just as well. It can't just be to communicate with my friends scattered around the globe, because there's always free calls on skype to satsify that need.
So maybe I'm an over-sharer, compulsively addicted to rush that comes from reaching out and exposing a small window of vulnerability. Who knows. In any event, though I would argue I'm still very much "to the left of the plate", this article by blogger Emily Gould does raise some interesting questions.
In other news, this time directly related to INSEAD, a heartfelt congratulations goes out to the Summer Ball organising committee for putting on an extraordinary event last night. A veritable feast for the eyes and heart, this party contained more than its share of the "wow factor". Imagine this: the Fontainebleau chateau colourfully illuminated, fireworks, live bands, champagne on tap, a manic bongo-and-trumpet playing genius and hundreds of INSEADers, past and present, in tuxes and ball gowns. Simply magic. I promise to put up some pictures in my next post.
Til then, I wish you well, my anonymous and not-so-anonymous friends.
May 19, 2008
P is for Procrastination
For those (sadly too few) of us for whom recruitment season is over, P5 is a very different beast from what we've experienced over the past 8 months. A glorious mix of sunshine, parties, travelling and the occasional class, P5 is definitely not conducive to getting anything done. And I don't just mean case readings and project write-ups, but also car repairs, exercise, grocery shopping, finding shoes to match my ball gown, blog writing, etc... Thus proving the theory that the more free time you have, the less productive you become. At least the tan is coming along pretty well, and my liver's getting a good workout.
So, I imagine you're wondering what exactly I have been up to in the past three (four?) weeks since my last posting. Well, I've had a few interviews (leading to several more dings and a couple more job offers), I've experienced the madness of Queen's Day in Amsterdam, I've almost died when one of my front tires blew out on the A6 to Paris, and most recently I've enjoyed being maid-of-honour/Paris-tour-guide at my friend's wedding, complete with a very emotional ceremony, fabulous food, some nervous speech-giving by yours truly, staring at a TV-celebrity, being incredibly silly at the "Kid's Table" and showing off sunrise at Notre Dame to bleary-eyed Americans (photographic evidence below).
And yes, I have actually made it to a few classes as well, and continue to run from meeting to meeting to "help" me decide which job offer to accept.
All-in-all, a not-too-shabby start to P5!
So, I imagine you're wondering what exactly I have been up to in the past three (four?) weeks since my last posting. Well, I've had a few interviews (leading to several more dings and a couple more job offers), I've experienced the madness of Queen's Day in Amsterdam, I've almost died when one of my front tires blew out on the A6 to Paris, and most recently I've enjoyed being maid-of-honour/Paris-tour-guide at my friend's wedding, complete with a very emotional ceremony, fabulous food, some nervous speech-giving by yours truly, staring at a TV-celebrity, being incredibly silly at the "Kid's Table" and showing off sunrise at Notre Dame to bleary-eyed Americans (photographic evidence below).
And yes, I have actually made it to a few classes as well, and continue to run from meeting to meeting to "help" me decide which job offer to accept.
All-in-all, a not-too-shabby start to P5!
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