Vacationing in Montreal

Well Avi had it right on! I am also contemplating electives and whether I should have gotten involved in so many case competitions myself! :) But I too, am loving every minute of the program.

First of all, being on break has been kind of strange. I feel like for the past 4 months my life has revolved around HEC, the MBA, and the people in it. And now I feel in limbo. I have lots of work to do over the break and ideally, would like to do it before next week so I can actually have a vacation but my mind seems to want to do the opposite. It seems it has already gone on vacation.

I have spent the last 7 days watching ridiculous amounts of tv, surfing the internet for everything non-school related, hanging out with friends both in and out of the program, seeing my family and of course catching up on the good times as well as some much-needed bickering with the siblings and parents. I found some time in there to read a case and article or two - just to make me feel better about my abandonment of the whole school scene. But I know this is not a good idea because next week, my cousin comes to visit, my friends from out of town come home, my family will have time off, we will find out if we made it into the next round of the NUS competition, and I know I will be bombarded with things I will have to do for others. So tomorrow my mission is to get back to finishing up key things that need to get done - namely Globalization and Finance.

So other than that, I actually had an improvement in my grades for Period 2 which was pleasant and unexpected. I suppose everyone's experience is different but I am more concerned about Period 3 classes and how those will turn out. As for electives, I havn't even taken a good look at everything yet but I have some ideas. What Avi said was interesting - I too have an interest in economics and I did really badly the first period but much better the second. So again, the question becomes - do I take the class out of interest and risk a potential bad mark or avoid it completely? Well, two things will assist me personally in this decision:

1) It first depends on the other classes I have and how much priority I place on them. But Economics is something I didn't feel I knew much about before and because my interest and knowledge has already increased, it has gone up on my list.
2) This is most likely my last chance at being in school (unless I decided to pursue further education but for now let's assume I don't) so basically, this is the best time to learn. Plus I certainly hope that I will be judged for my whole package, not just by my GPA at the end of this program which means that learning should take precedence over grades for me. At the same time, it's not fun getting bad grades or watching your GPA plummet (I learnt that from Microeconomics the hard way period 1). And aren't your grades a reflection of your learning experience essentially? (Or are they!?!?) It is debatable.

I guess what this means is that if I have a chance to take economics then I will - good or bad.

So enough about school. While Avi is hanging out in sunny Bangalore, I am freezing in Montreal!! Actually, my optimism helps significantly - I don't look out the window and think -10 degrees celcius, white, wet, snow in piles over my car, slipping on ice, my hair getting messed up by the crazy wind, and suffocating in my winter jacket with scarfs and gloves and hats and everything. Instead I think, "how beautiful and serene and peaceful it looks - I should stay inside and avoid the shopping malls which are full of angry frantic...I mean happy, excited people, waiting to spend the holiday season slaving over family dinners and agonizing over whether they gave the wrong gift...I mean cooking and creating special memories with family" haha I could go on...

Well the truth is, Montreal is very beautiful this time of year and it really feels like the season is here! Downtown is full of lights and is busy with people and there are moments of serenity and peace as you drive through the clean snow-filled neighborhoods and twinkling lights. I had a chance this last week to do some of the things I always find myself doing this time of year - namely sitting in a bookstore with a latte, reading, watching people, and buying something useless to take home with me. And watching a movie - remember going to the movies?! And staying up late wasting time, not writing papers! Good times!

Regardless, I think this holiday marks some much needed rest and relaxation. So hopefully Avi enjoys his time back home - as will I - be it in Bangalore or Montreal!

Vacationing in Bangalore.

Period 2 ended with particularly dull colours.  Probably because I laxed after a decent performace in period 1 or because alcohol and mba are not the best things when taken together.  Whatever the reason, period 2 is over and behind me.  

Period 3 is the most interesting and the most exacting.  On top of it, Dave, Bill, Nicolas, Jocelyn and I are part of the case competition and Aravind, Paul and I worked on the business plan submitted to NUS.  By the third week I was literally cursing my enthusiasm to do all of those competitions!  Have to see how things take shape.  Currently, I am enjoying my holidays in Bangalore... the much needed vacation after 5 months of books, cases, presentations, booze and exams.  

Time has come that I chose my electives.  I feel that I had more clarity about the subjects I wanted to take when I joined HEC than I have now.  After all the courses taken in the first 3 periods, I am struggling to fit in 5 course for period 5 and 5 in period 6.  It just seems that I want to do most of it, and some times none of it.  Some subjects will not help me shape my career but are interesting enough to spend 1.5 credits on.  Case in point is Economics.  My performance in Economics in period 2 was unimpressive to say the least.  Now I think, should I take Macro-2 because I like the subject or reject it because it did not fetch me marks.  Hmm...Manager's dilemma (hehe...).  Then there are a host of other subjects and a limit of 5 to take!! Whatever! 

Starting January, we will have a host of events lined up.  Campus abroad (to Vietnam or Japan/Korea) in March (I think) and then there is an Supervised Training Project (Lets see if I get selected for MBA without borders)... And before I know, I would be dancing on the streets of Montreal for 2 reasons - 1.  The summer would have arrived. 2. I would have completed my MBA.  Let's see how things take shape.  

Life is uncertain.  But that is the best part.