First post of 2012!

I've been remiss. I really meant to be more regular on this blog but life kept me soooo busy that I kept putting off updates till I got time to catch my breath. (Which BTW is yet to happen - i.e. catching my breath.)
But I started using Twitter today to tweet about the UCLA-TED talks going on at school and I suddenly remembered that I should probably pay attention to this forum as well. So before I get into details about the TED talks, let me just quickly update you on the MBA stuff I've been upto since my last post.

- Participated in a Global Innovation Challenge and my team got selected in the top 5 out of 60 global MBA teams! It was a 2 week process and although we didn't win the final round,it was a challenging and fun experience. I learnt a lot about electric vehicles in the process.

- Participated in the Deloitte Case Competition at UCLA which was quite disastrous from my perspective. To start with, the topic was the beer industry of which I know nothing. I'm a wine girl. Also, we had only 24 hours to analyze the case, put together the slides, and practice our presentation. We didn't really pull that off well.

- Participated in the Net Impact Consulting Challenge at UCLA. We consulted for this wonderful nonprofit called Bookends which aims to collect and provide books to underprivileged kids. It is a cause close to my heart since I remember being poor and unable to afford books as a child in India. The Bookends team was a pleasure to work with and they loved our proposal so the engagement was a success.

- Got selected to go to Brazil next quarter whoo hoo! I'm already taking Thursday evening + Sat morning classes this quarter and with the Brazil prep classes being held on Friday evenings, I'm spending a lot of time going back and forth SD-LA. I'd say it's worth it. This is the kind of stuff we are learning and talking about.

- I'm taking a business plan development class this quarter and my team is developing a plan for a digital comic book business. It is very challenging because none of us know much about the comic industry but it's also a lot of fun and I can chat up comic geeks easily now!

- Finally, on a somewhat MBA related note, my fitness has taken a nosedive lately. I've resolved to set that straight. So, along with regular blog posts, imma hit the gym more often too. Good luck to me.

The Hype Cycle

Despite working in the technology arena, I somehow never knew about the technology Hype Cycle until today. Or perhaps I had read about it in passing and never given it a second thought.

According to technology research firm Gartner, which coined the term, the hype cycle is a "graphic representation of the maturity and adoption of technologies and applications, and how they are potentially relevant to solving real business problems and exploiting new opportunities."

Their website explains the cycle in detail. Very interesting from a business perspective. It applies to upcoming wireless technologies like LTE and devices such as the iPad.

Tongue firmly in cheek, I think the chart can be slightly modified to represent other life situations as well. 

For instance,

Or, a more identifiable situation like the following. :P

What I love about the UCLA FEMBA experience

Disclaimer: I'm not one to gush but right now I'm stressed  about a load of homework and upcoming midterms so this post is an attempt to focus on the silver lining.

I know it's only been 4 weeks but here goes in no particular order, what I'm loving about FEMBA life:


1. Our statistics professor - He's warm, easy-going, knowledgeable and funny. As someone pointed out, it helps that he even looks a little like Letterman. Also, he conducts snazzy online office hours on weeknights, which totally ups his cool factor. (Speaking of funny and cool, our Admisssions Director DS and Dean FG belong to that category as well!)


2. The carpool camaraderie - When you have to spend fours hours in the car with three other people every Saturday, you really appreciate the ability to have stimulating conversations with them. A, C, V and I discuss everything from finance to family and from class politics to country politics. I would love to share some of our more *interesting* discussions here but I'm bound by the "What's discussed in the car, stays in the car" vow. (I can tell this much though - A gets a Macy's gift card from us for his wedding, whenever that is.)


3. The surprise perks - I scored a free ticket to Disneyland! Some of our classmates who work at Disney very generously pooled together their perks to get a bunch of us free entry. There was a lottery, and for the first time in my life, I won at something like that! I've never been to Disneyland and now I'm getting to go for free with an awesome set of people.:)


4. The upcoming, much hyped Halloween party on the night after mid-terms!
Excerpt from the email from the student council:
Top 5 Worst Excuses Not To Go To FEMBA Halloween Party 2010- Debunked. 

5) I have to study.

Dumb.com. If you're studying on Saturday of Halloween weekend, that just makes me sad.

4) It's too expensive.  

Seriously? You're paying $$$K for your MBA, and you're flipping out about $70? Perspective, dude. Perspective. 

3) I don't have anything to wear.

Then go naked. There. You came as a streaker. Clever.

2) I don't drink.

There's plenty of other things to do (like watching others drink).

1) None of my friends are going.

Make new ones. I never liked your friends anyway.


5. Facebook community - It's heartening to see classmates commiserate over painful homework, cheer for each others' job successes, and laugh together over silly pictures from weekly post-class happy hours.


6. My study group - It could have been so wrong, but thankfully it feels right....We were all assigned random study groups and I'm very glad to be part of an affable yet assertive and sincere group. 

7. Last but not the least, I'm stoked about the ski-snowboard trip being planned for the week after finals!


With that, I'm off to hit the books. We have mid-terms next week and if I mess that up I'll be writing a "I hate FEMBA and I wish I hadn't jinxed myself" post here.

Rich Student, Poor Student

Last week, I paid my first-quarter MBA fees and almost choked when I hit 'submit' on the payment website. So MUCH money! I was once again a pay-check to pay-check poor student!

Well, perhaps not that poor, since I'm earning substantially more than my graduate assistant paycheck. That was one of my reasons for not opting for a full-time MBA. I already went through the extremely-poor-student phase at the University of Maryland (Go Terps!), and while I had a good time there, I'd rather not have to repeat that experience. I wanted to be a 'rich' grad student this time round!

Looking back, life was kinda tough then.
- Four girls shared a 2-bed, 1-bath apartment. The 2-bedroom part was manageable, the 1-bath part was a nightmare. Many an argument took place over time spent on showers.
- As if sharing the bathroom wasn't bad enough, one time, after a particularly violent snowstorm, we had to share my BED (to sit and study on) because that was the only spot in the house that was catching a wireless signal. I didn't have a car to drive out to a coffee shop as I would do now.
- Our only other furniture was a ragged couch that was handed down from earlier student generations.
- I survived on Taco Bell's 99c bean burritos for lunch and badly cooked frozen vegetables for dinner.
- We didn't own a TV set. Yep, two years without television. Dinner time was spent discussing our classes and job application status.
- I shopped for clothes only twice a year, mostly at Walmart.

Fortunately a FEMBA programs means that even with the fat fees, I can afford a lot of the things that I couldn't back then.  Good food, better apartment, a car, shopping in non-Walmart locations, cable TV, vacations, etc. However, with full-time work, classes and homework, now I don't find the time to enjoy any of that. No time for TV, no time for impromptu road trips or shopping sprees, no time to cook healthy or eat dinner with friends, no time to stop and breathe...

Suddenly, I'm not sure if I got richer or poorer.

MBA week one, no casualties.

Whatever happened to the concept of ramping up? After the very first day of classes, we were assigned 2 Statistics chapters to study, 2 cases to mull over, an online quiz, 3-4 readings for the Organizational Behavior class, an hour long audio to listen to, and a 3-page paper to write analyzing the issue discussed. All to be completed within a week, before the next class (which was yesterday). We now know why it's called a Fully Employed MBA program and not a Part-Time MBA program. I'm afraid that if the workload gets any worse, some of us may end up as FUMBAs - Fully Unemployed MBAs.

Last week was honestly insane. I had breakfast with stats, lunch dates with the OB papers and dinners with the guys discussing the subprime mortgage crisis on the assigned audio. The one day I managed to hit the gym, I read a paper on the treadmill. I missed a friend's birthday dinner, didn't call my family, and the gallons of coffee I consumed gave me acidity. (I tried to stay off coffee at work but then dozed off and hit my head on the keyboard. Thank goodness for a private office with a door.) On the bright side, I managed to complete the assignments aaaannd I feel smarter already so hi five!

Fortunately, the homework for the second week is a little less crazy. Of course, to maintain the balance, my day job workload has shot up but I can live with that. After all, I chose to do this. And as a classmate pointed out, the WEEKLY amount we're paying for the program, is as much as what we paid for a whole YEAR of undergrad engineering. Gulp. That is motivation enough for me to refrain from whining and giving this my best shot.

I sign off with an insight to why most of us found the OB paper so frikkin' challenging.

Have a good week y'all!

Cheers,
Femba Girl
p.s. : Hats off to my classmates who had work travel, wailing babies, talkative spouses and other such added distractions!

Stuff I learned this weekend

- I am a worry wart. On Friday night I agonized that my phone would shut down and not wake me up at 6am and that my carpool would leave for school without me. I must buy an old fashioned alarm clock.
- I have forgotten how to take notes on paper. My handwriting has become a free flowing scrawl.
- I couldn't recollect much from any paper I read before Wednesday.
- But, I have a creepily photographic memory for peoples' updates on Facebook. Thrice during casual conversations, I had to bite back "Yes, I saw that on Facebook."
- I clearly remember the first letter of peoples' names but nothing else. Hence I mistakenly referred to three Js as John and two Bs as Brian yesterday. You'd think I'd learn after the first couple times.
- I can consume copious amounts of caffeine, be wide awake, and still yawn in a class. From the first row.
- I will eat raw vegetables if I'm hungry enough i.e. after all the cookies and cereal bars provided have been exhausted.
- I am a grad student at heart. I was just as excited about free pizza as I used to be during poorer school days.
- I will find any excuse to put off starting the next assignment. Case in point, this blog post.

First day of classes done!

It is Sunday morning and I'm feeling surprisingly refreshed despite the loooong day yesterday. Here's a recap.

7am-9am : Drove up to school with three other classmates.

9am-930am : The school provided an impressive complimentary breakfast spread for all sections. (Well, I think I'm paying for that somewhere in my massive tuition bill.)

930am-1245pm : Data and Decisions (otherwise called the Statistics course).
We had been asked to read up the chapters on probability before class. I planned to get around to it in the car ride, but then the professor emailed that he wouldn't cold call anyone on Day1, so that plan flew out the car window :)
Prof. M is funny, seems easy-going and knows his stuff. He started teaching probability with the interesting history of why it began to be studied. History in a math class was a first for me and I appreciated it. The rest of the class was a slow ramp up to probability concepts but I fully expect it to speed up from next class.

1245pm-145pm : Lunch break (where the school doesn't provide lunch).
There was a kick-off meeting for the Entrepreneurship Association so a bunch of us attended that. ( I heard there was also an interviewing skills workshop at the same time but the EA provided free pizza...)

145pm-2pm : I gleefully discovered that the FEMBA lounge has fancy coffee machines which had options for lattes, espressos, mochas, cappuccino etc. Sadly, the machine broke down just when I was trying to get my fix. Luckily there was fresh coffee and more snacks laid out when we got back to the classroom.

2pm -515pm: Organizational Behavior.
Prof. B partly grades us on classroom participation so I was worried about dozing off. They've assigned us fixed seating positions alphabetically and as luck would have it, I'm on the first row, right in front of the teacher's podium. Great. Fortunately, the class was pretty engaging, especially the part where we had a very entertaining and heated in-class auction for a $20 bill that ended with two classmates owing the teacher $80 each. This NYT article explains exactly how the escalation of commitment happened.

545pm-645pm: Anderson Toastmasters meeting.
We were greeted by the VP of the club (FEMBA'10) with the words, "Welcome FEMBA '13. Sorry I don't look as enthusiastic as you guys. That's what happens once you've been beaten on the the head with GAP (Global Access Program - it's like a thesis project in the final year)".  Ouch.
The meeting was fun, we got to hear a few speeches and evaluations and some of us may consider joining the club.

7pm-900pm: FEMBA meetup/happy hour at South. (Celebrity spotting - Cuba Gooding Jr. at the bar.)
Quick dinner at Rubios.

9pm-11pm: Drive back home. I'm very thankful for having a carpool gang (more on them later) because I sure as hell wouldn't have managed the drive alone.

Overall, very fun day that went by really quickly. I'm just amazed I was able to sit through two 3-hour long lectures. It's been a while. :)
For next week, we have a handful of papers to read, a movie to watch, an assignment to write up, and an online quiz to submit before Saturday. I'm just glad there are 279 others with my workload. Misery loves company ;)

We're not being pretentious, we're networking!

Sometime last month -

It is a class of '12 and '13 FEMBA networking event at a downtown lounge. It also happens to be the night of a bachelorette party and a high school reunion so the place is chaotic. I walk in with a couple of girlfriends and start looking around for familiar faces when an NDS (nice-looking but drunk stranger) suddenly grabs my arm.

NDS: "Be my date tonight and let's go make new friends!"

If I weren't caught so off-guard I would never have let him drag me away but the next thing I know, we're in a crowd of people and NDS puts his arm around me and starts talking to a friendly looking couple.

NDS: "Heeeyy good to meet you both! How's the night going?"

At this point I'm squirming and trying to get away but his grip is tight and I don't want to create a scene.

Friendly couple: "We're great! How about you guys? Where are you from?"

NDS: "We're great too!We're from around here and looking to make new friends!"

Friendly couple: "We're here with our MBA friend. Are you here for that party too?Where do you work?"

NDS: "I studied sports medicine but we don't wanna talk about jobs and careers okay?"

Me (finally struggling free): "Actually, I do want to talk about it. But I need to go find my friends so if you'll all excuse me...."

NDS: "Yes, let's get out of here. Such a pretentious crowd! Asking me right away about my job and stuff. Damn these MBAs!"

Me (grinning): "Yeah, I can see why you think that's pretentious. And Oh!, I'm with that crowd. So I think this is where we say goodbye."

Don't feel too bad for the NDS. I believe he had a grand time with the bachelorette party later that evening ;)

Odyssey

odyssey n. , pl. , -seys . An extended adventurous voyage or trip. An intellectual or spiritual quest: an odyssey of discovery.


The Leadership Odyssey we went through during the LF week certainly lived up to its moniker. We were divided into groups of 18 and taken through a series of intellectual and physical tasks that tested our skills and mental strength many times over. I won't elaborate on all the tasks here, but a couple of them really stand out and I feel I must mention them.


THE POLE:
We were taken to a shaded corner of the field and asked to put on harnesses and helmets. At this point I wasn't sure what we were expected to do but I noticed a trapeze swinging high up and I was starting to get a tad nervous. In the next few minutes, after we were told what we had to do, I was not just a tad nervous but positively chattering with fear. Turns out, we were expected to scale up the 40-feet high pole, STAND on top of it, turn around 180 degrees and then LEAP out to catch the trapeze! For a minute I thought it was a joke. You know, maybe they were recording my reaction or something. But then reality hit me as I watched the first of my group mates go for it. It was harrowing to even watch the others go through it. Until then I had only heard the expression "knees shaking in fear" but that day I saw it and I felt it. And when the knees shake the entire damn pole shakes. And you're STILL expected to go through with it. 


I yelled encouragement to all my mates who went before me. "You can do it!", "Remember you're harnessed, so you can't fall!", "Don't look down, look at the trees!". 


And then it was my turn. I scaled up the pole quickly enough, but when I got to the top, I froze. There was barely enough room on top for my two feet! Also, how does one stand up in that situation with nothing to hold on to?! And I was waaaay above the ground! All the words of encouragement I'd shouted simply flew out of my head and before I realized it, my knees were shaking and the pole was dancing. I refused to stand up when the pole was still wobbling but the instructor shouted up at me,"The balance is in your body and your mind. The pole won't stop shaking until you calm down. Put your hand on your knee and stand up." I didn't want to do it. My mind and body both rebelled. I just wanted to get the hell off that pole. I looked at the trees in my line of view but it only reminded me about how high up I was. The next few seconds were a blur as I gritted my teeth and somehow managed to stand up. That was it. I didn't have it in me to slowly turn around. So I simply swung around in one swift motion and lunged for the trapeze. Of course I didn't catch it. But at least I jumped. And I couldn't have done it without all that encouragement from below.


What was the whole point of this exercise you ask? Well, I'm not sure but it was something about facing your greatest challenge and getting through it. Mind over body. Or vice versa. 


RIVER CROSSING:
My heart rate had just about returned to normal when we were taken to this task. Two people scale up ladders side by side and stand on parallel ropes facing each other. The ropes are arm distance apart to start with and then diverge. The task was to walk sideways across the ropes to the other end, while leaning over and pushing off on each others' shoulders for support. This was a less frightening but way more physically challenging task. I experienced the knee-shake again, but my partner AH was wonderfully calm and she got us through most of it. Due to the divergence it was hard to judge how much to lean over and push and I kept worrying that I'd push AH off. 


Me: "OMG this is hard, my rope is shaking too much!"
AH: "It's okay. Don't look down. Look at me. Push me more!"
Me: "Okay I'm not looking down but I'm still nervous and my arms hurt!"
AH: "Talk to me. Don't think about it. So, tell me about your family. Any siblings?"
Me: "Whaa?!" 


The surprise question actually managed to calm me down and we got through a decent distance while chatting about family. Props to AH! :)


Both the activities taught me a lot about myself, my strengths and weaknesses. As a bonus, I met wonderful people who I hope to continue being friends with. I realize the Odyssey isn't over. It's only just begun. And I think I'm ready for it. Next time, I'll catch that trapeze ;)

Leadership Foundations

The 5 day orientation for the FEMBA program was everything it was hyped to be. Intense, exhausting, challenging and very, very enjoyable.We had to take a few days off from work (and make our arrangements for accommodation in LA,) but I consider it vacation time put to excellent use.

LF highlights :
- 4 sections with a total of 280 students for the class of 2013, with each section having a dedicated professor for the duration of our stay.
- Catered breakfast, lunch and dinner where we got to network with fellow classmates from diverse industries, cultures, and educational backgrounds. (+ Decadent desserts with every meal!)
- Leadership lessons, classroom discussions and keynote talks. (We had some 15 papers to pre-read for the classes. Sign of things to come?)
- Student-initiated happy hours after 12 hour sessions at school, stumbling back to our rooms to read for the next day, crashing at wee hours and waking up in time for the 7am breakfast. Rinse, repeat.
- Improv comedy coaching and side-splitting improv sessions in the main auditorium.
- A day long outdoors session called the Leadership Odyssey (my absolute favorite part!)
- Mount Everest simulation - one of the many group activities. This one tested our decision making skills and scored us for successfully battling and navigating various adversities during the climb.
- A final written exam on the last evening followed by cocktail reception. (Never been less refreshed before a test!)

A crazy, unforgettable week in every sense. Hopefully the rest of the ride is just as thrilling and rewarding. :)

Action, Reaction

Me: "So I'm going back to weekend school for my MBA."

Parents and sister: "So proud of you! You're gonna rock!"
Colleagues: "Good for you!"
Hang-out buddies: "Cool but why do you need another degree? This means we won't ever see you at weekend activities!"
Close friends : "Wow, that's awesome. Maybe you'll meet some great guy at the program! :)"
Other relatives : "WHAT! When will you ever get married??"
......