June 11, 2008: Asia in a(nother) Day

It's rather embarassing that I have not updated my blog with the rest of my experiences in Asia. At some point, I will have to do that. Nonetheless, there is some comfort in the fact that blog entries do not require linear reporting ...

Part I: "You Leave an Asian, You Come Back a Spirit"

It seems as if the return to school (and that's the physical return to school, not necessarily the return to academia) has delayed the documentation of the whirlwind trip through Southeast Asia ...

We arrived first in Manila, mostly as a stop-over for our trip to the other islands, Bohol and Boracay. Interestingly (which will probably warm the shackles of my parents' hearts), our hotel, the InterContinental, went to great lengths to ensure the safety of its guests: each car was search, each person lightly frisked with a metal detector, and each bag opened and searched.

Our hotel, incidentally, was located next to the mall that had a curious explosion under one of its escalators in October/November 2007. Some say that the explosion was a terrorist act, others say that the escalators malfunctioned. Far from me to comment - I didn't see many escalators in the mall that worked anyway.

[The above picture is not of the mall.]

The mall itself had stringent security measures put in place as well; every entry point was guarded by security and required a walk through an airport-like metal detector, while bags were searched. We speculated the probability of inoperable metal detectors to be close to .65.

In full disclosure, in a desperate fit of hunger, we succumbed to familiarity - our first meal consisted of the Filipino versions of the blooming onion, buffalo wings, french fries and beer ... at Outback Steakhouse. Nonetheless, there was an important revelation, in spite of the fact that we were resorting to American food, BEER WAS CHEAP. As seemed to be a common occurrence throughout all three countries, beer was often cheaper than water.

Miguel (born and raised) drove seven of us around Manila in his Honda Accord; I had no idea how uncomfortable a ride about a traffic-jammed city, lost, with Shruti's bony but on my leg. Manila in general was far different than I expected - a lot of the older parts of Manila were destroyed by several wars/uprisings over the years. The cityscape reminded me a little of developed areas of China, where the shopping centers/markets are shoddily thrown up in post-Communist architectural design. I was quite surprised by the lack of character. According to Miguel, Filipinos love their air conditioning, hence the big-box local retailers literally constructed like a big air-conditioned box.

There is an area of Manila that still holds on to the Spanish influence from the colonial area - the cathedral below is a UNESCO site.

Miguel's parents were instrumental in planning our quick trip through the Philippines and were extraordinarily generous while we were there. Miguel's mother, who planned all of our flights and ferries felt strongly about all of us flying on Cebu Pacific Airlines rather than Asian Spirit, as one popular adage says: "you leave an Asian, come back a spirit."

Prologue: "When it Rains in Asia"

The gods of graduate school certainly look upon us second-years favorably: our classes and finals wrap up well before the undergrads start studying for theirs which provides us ample time to commit to some adventures prior to returning for our final semester of business school (5 weeks to be exact).

After celebrating the holidays with the fam, I trudged back from Kansas City to San Francisco to quickly pack for a trip to the Phillippines, Vietnam and Cambodia with some school friends. I won't bore you with the cancelled flights and Denver snowstorm that threatened a timely departure, yet, as seems to be the case with me, drama abounded.

So, after 3 weeks, 3 countries, 12 flights, 6 ferries, one hysterically funny drunk tuc-tuc driver, sketchy cabs, weird bug bites, one lost international plane ticket and one near-fatal expensive camera "misplace," I've made it back to San Francisco safe and sound.

And so the story begins ...

December 9, 2007: Big Game and the Holiday Party

Each year, the last football game of the season for Cal ends with a good old fashioned rivalry: that of Cal and Stanford. It's truly unfortunate for any red-shirt wearing Standford fan to enter the Cal student section, as they are often chided and harassed ("Take off that red shirt"). In full disclosure, I did not attend the actual game; instead I opted to watch the game on Emily Walling's flat screen TV in the comfort of her home.

We did, however, attend the Haas tailgate prior to the game. Unfortunately, Maiken and my alcohol content did not warrant a long stay, albeit long enough to witness our classmates recreate their college-day tailgating activities. It's extremely important to give these guys credit - a few of the old engineers managed to design and construct a Cal tailgate "wagon," complete with two keg spouts, two beer pong extension tables and a built-in TV. The "wagon" made its debut at the first home game, and has never disappointed. Somehow it has made it through a seven-hour rode trip to Pasadena to witness Cal's disappointing loss to UCLA (although I think it blew a flat) and was quite the spectacle outside of the Stanford stadium.

This year marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of "the play," and the first time that Cal has lost to Stanford in six or seven years. If you've never seen it, follow this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aCDfJH6eRY

While the Big Game signals the end of the football season, it also signals the beginning of finals (ew). However, the annual Haas holiday party marks the middle of finals, which often means that the pre-final jitters warrant a long evening of alcohol consumption in preparation for a rough week. This year's holiday party was at the Wax Museum in Fisherman's wharf; the long-time obsession I have had with Harrison Ford was slightly diminished due to this ghastly replica:

Until next time ...

November 20, 2007: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Even though Emily turned thirty nearly a year ago (seriously, it was only 2 months ago), the pictures finally resurfaced. Her parents were gracious enough to host a large number of Emily's friends at their home in Napa.

And here's the birthday girl with her husband, Jason -

At least her parents were entertained by our antics ... or at least they were mildly amused ... or tolerant. In all seriousness, they were incredibly generous - and have always been supportive of us crazy Haasites.

After some candle blowage, we were shamelessly willing to jump in the pool ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMILY!

November 17, 2007: It Never Rains in California

Although late to the blog (which I should be consistently updating; the public documentation of second year business school should be a requirement).

They say that one should relish in second year business school, as the work load mysteriously becomes lighter, the beer flows heavier and we transition to the second years we said we'd never become - the second years that continuously provide unwelcomed advice to the first years ("relax, grades don't matter") and are mysteriously absent from most school social functions.

By my second year, at least, I have learned what I like and what I don't like, although not evidenced by my choice of quantitative classes. While I may not able to calculate EBITDA, I fully understand the concept (and know exactly who to contact to figure it out for me). Not only that, I can successfully say that I can read a 10-K and identify issues with the financial reports (well ...)

My point is, the learning is amazing, and fun. No matter how you look at it, I have been able to meet incredibly intelligent and interesting people along this road - individuals I know will always be in my life.

That being said, we have been definitely finding ways to amuse ourselves. First, Emily's birthday up in Napa ... fortunately, pictures from that event have not quite surfaced; at least not the incrimating ones.

The beer mile ... Ken Wallace's annual beer mile, to celebrate his birthday. The event takes roughly 30-40 minutes, depending on how fast you can slam 4 beers, and how quickly you can run 1/4 of a mile in a random-ass outfit. Each lap around the track is followed by a beer chug. Although tempting, most of use decided to spectate ... and we helped the runners celebrate (provided that they could stand up straight). See James (Elisabeth's boyfriend), er, cat-in-the-hat to the upper left. We chose to cheer on from the sidelines while taking incrimating photos.

Homecoming came and went (with a horribly disappointing loss, after being ranked #2 in the country), then the big 32 (much to my dismay) a week later, and then Halloween. Embarassingly enough, I attempted to use the glasses as an inspiration point ...
Thanksgiving this year will take place in San Francisco for me, as I plan on heading home to KC for a week stint over the holidays. Then, on a trip with some classmates ... more on that later!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007: La-La Land Revisited

My Santa Monica ... I am about to start packing up and getting my act together to return to school. Here's a picture of Main Street, which is one of the cutest streets - it's kind of like a cross between Union Street and Fillmore Street in San Francisco, with a beach vibe. I really love this area - it's somewhat LA, without being totally LA. I feel like if the universe would combine a dash San Francisco and toss in a little Hawaii, it would pop out Santa Monica. The surf is a little lacking, but up and down the coast there are surfing options. The location is very central to most places - 20 minutes to work (barely any LA traffic), 20 minutes to the airport, 10 minutes to Westwood, 15-20 minutes to Brentwood. Hollywood I have steered clear from, as well as some of the other hotspots. I like where Elisabeth and I live - it's our quiet little space in a mad city. AND we are four blocks from the beach, which I try to get to at least once a weekend.

Here's a picture of the beach as you walk up - one thing that's great about it is the length and depth of the beaches - tons of sand ... lots of water. There's a path for bikers and for walkers/runners along the beach as well, which makes for lots of pleasant walks.

This weekend marks the last weekend I will be down here - I will be a little sad to leave ... just when you get used to your routine, you change it!

Michelle Tom (Amato) is in town visiting, as she is planning to move out here in September/October. Michelle and Alex couldn't stay away from the West Coast!

I leave to return to school on Sunday, which means a lot of packing and a lot of shopping required ...