Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Closing Time at Wharton

Today was the last day of classes at Wharton. One project was due today. One project is due Friday. One project is due next Monday, and the last due next Wednesday. I would like to finish the paper in the next two days, and then I will be very almost done with my share.

As mentioned last night, the project that was due today was put together very quickly over the weekend, and I learned that I don't work that way. I'm not too flexible about working at the last minute. Kind of frustrating...but it's done and over.

Tonight I went with Tara, a Wharton woman whom I worked with in the Jewish community before business school, to a beer tasting event. I liked three of the beers. I tasted a lot more than three. We had a very long, nice walk/talk there, and I had a nice walk home.

The INSEAD left-overs (those who haven't left Philly yet) met up at a bar tonight. The bar tender was a superstar and brought me chicken fingers even though the kitchen was closed. He didn't even charge me. Super nice. I also had a few beers. Good beers. It was a bit sad to say goodbye to people, since nearly everyone who is here will be going to INSEAD's campus in Fonty. Five of us (one more changed to Singapore - it was four yesterday!) will be going to Singapore. There are a few people here who I just like having around.

Two quotes of the night:
Davide (in a wonderfully strong Italian accent) "Guys!!! I have a very important idea. I have no class between 4th and 9th of June, so why don't we go to Iceland?!"
Because that's normal. We all go to Iceland when we have no class.

Raphael (who has a GPA off the charts and does everything, and does it very thoroughly) "Melanie, don't obsess. You've got it under control." (i.e. don't work on your essay tonight). Just ironic for a guy that obsesses and makes sure all of his work is always under control. Always.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Not My Day

Though I didn't sleep last night, it started out fine - had breakfast with grandma and grandpa, Mare and Mike, Michelle, Jer, Marc, Matt, mom, dad...

Got on the plane, went to the bathroom (I had a window seat, so it's either before or never), and there was no water to wash my hands. I stood to wait until the very last minute, but the guy told me I had to sit down. I told him I thought it was disgusting that United Airlines would not allow someone to wash their hands after using the bathroom. Unacceptable.

Then our flight was delayed an hour.

Then my return train ticket to Philly fell out of my pocket (at some point between the plane and the train). Then I missed the train by three minutes - because I was in the back of the plane. Then it was 92 degrees in Philly, and I had jeans and a long sleeved shirt on...and I hadn't eaten in ten hours...and I needed to walk for 15 minutes.

Luckily I got dinner with Bala, got back to my place, and all was fine, until I checked my email, and I got stressed by a group project that's due tomorrow.

I realized this year that I get stuff done early. I like to have it done a week early and have a week for editing. A week for waking up in the middle of the night with improvement ideas. A week to really make it good. I realize that many people don't work this way, and I'm working with some of them right now. I'm not saying it's bad to do things at the last minute, but it's definitely not how I work best. Definitely.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Wedding in the Clouds

Apparently all week in Denver it was 70s and 80s and sunny. And clear. Friday was in the 70s, and the sun shone, and it was beautiful.

Bryan and Mandy chose a place in the mountains to have their wedding. Apparently it's at the foothills - right next to the big ones. They planned to do the ceremony outside. The view is apparently spectacular.

Driving up to the wedding yesterday was literally scary. There was about five meters visibility (in SCUBA terms). We were driving 30 something miles per hour. We couldn't see anything around us. We arrived at the building, and went inside, and the windows did us no good, unfortunately. We were in a giant cloud...the entire time. On the bus on the way home, the sky finally opened up a bit, and everything cleared, but unfortunately it was after the wedding.

Nonetheless the ceremony was beautiful and personal - their friend married them, they wrote their own vows, chose the readings, and the space and atmosphere itself was very intimate. The bride and groom were beautiful. We had a fun time meeting new cousins (there's a small post-Holocaust contingent here in Denver), putting mints into champagne (they fizz a lot), hanging with the family, and talking.

Saturday night the Birnholtz family took over a local cafe - we literally played Boggle in a public restaurant - with four tables together. Maybe people do that in Denver, and it's normal? Probably not. Later there was a giant Birnholtz-family euchre tournament. Lisa and I had a come-from-behind strong victory in games one and three, and we will claim the gold. The ESPN commentary to the third game goes a little like this: We were down 6-2, and Lisa went alone (JJAK off A). Then we euchred them (6-8), and we got them all in the next hand. Oh yeah. We won.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Matt's Birthday

Tonight, in Singapore, Matt invited a bunch of our friends to have a drink with him for his birthday. So many wonderful people showed up! I wish I could have been there. Sounds like just about everyone we know was there!

Matt had his birthday celebration in a neighborhood pub, probably our only neighborhood pub that's not a food court drink stall, that just re-located and re-opened. They have a reasonably priced good selection of beer. It's called the Dog and Bone, but for some reason, Matt ALWAYS calls it Fox and Hound - which was the bar he lived above in DC...like five years ago.

Anyways - I wish I could celebrate Matt's 32nd birthday with him. It's Sunday. Happy birthday, Matt!!

Meanwhile, I am at a large B'holtz gathering for Bryan and Mandy's wedding in Denver. I don't believe I have ever really spent time in Denver. I still can't say that I have explored too much. Jer and I sat in a coffee shop for the majority of the day and did work. We did have a nice walk around with the 'rents, and a nice hotel room visit with the grand'rents.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

My Firefox Tabs

I think my firefox tabs tell a lot about what I do.
I guess that's true for everyone.

Right now I have:
MP3 Stream: streaming Michigan Radio (Philly NPR doesn't work clearly through itunes)
Gmail - Inbox: no explanation needed
Innovation Toolkit: working on an innovation project for a class
Funding the IMF: just went to a talk on the IMF and its response to financial crises in the past, and I didn't understand where they get their money from
Blogger: Great Expectasia: no explanation needed
Facebook: no explanation needed
Harvard Business Review: Looking to get a subscription (just emailed INSEAD admin to see if we get a discount!)
Philadelphia International House: looked up the address of where I'm currently staying in order to ship some Amazon books
INSEAD insight: another INSEAD blogger

B School is B S (Sometimes)

I had a really bizarre experience last week in class, and it led me to a very important realization: B School is a lot about BS. Really.

I have one class, which will remain nameless, where we usually have three readings per class. It is usually two theoretical readings and one case. I read everything. I'm a total dork. I think I'm the only one in INSEAD and Wharton who reads it all, but I really think it adds to my experience (imagine that), and I read it.

On Thursday last week, I prepped all of the readings that morning. I got to class, and the prof was asking questions that really didn't make sense. The case we had read was IBM, and the case picked up at Palmisano's leadership. He was asking question after question about Gerstner, and about the differences between what the two did to turn around IBM. I looked around totally confused. Gerstner was mentioned in our readings, but we really did not have this information. No one else was confused. They all looked totally confident. I asked people around me, "hey, did you see Gerstner in the readings?" I got "yes" or no response, and I got one "I didn't do the readings." People just bullshitted their way through the questions, and no one seemed concerned or confused at all.

After class, I had a quick look through the readings again, and I also checked my inbox to make sure I hadn't missed an email from the prof with an additional reading, and then I spoke to the prof. It turned out that the print shop at Wharton had indeed given us the wrong case, and the one he thought we had was not included in our course pack. He would have NEVER known. NO ONE ELSE SEEMED TO NOTICE! Super weird.

I realized that people just ACT like they know what's going on - a lot. They give confident answers, because that's what they're supposed to do, not because they feel confident in their answers. I wish I could be more like this sometimes, because then I could BS better, but then I sort of don't mind that I'm a bit more honest...and at least I get to the bottom of the case!!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Walking and walking

I walked 8.1 miles yesterday in New York.
I walked 7 miles today in Philly.
That's 15.1 miles.
I knew my MBA was worth something.

My knee(s!) hurt, but clearly not that much.

When I was in NYC yesterday, people said, "are you spending any weekend in Philadelphia while you're there?" "Yes - this weekend I'm in Philly." That didn't make much sense (since I was IN New York), but what I meant was, I slept in "my" bed from last Sunday night until next Friday morning, and I was in Philly on Friday and Sunday. Today I even saw the city a little bit. I really like it!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Bus, Brunch, Bris, Baby, Baseball, & a Boy Named Jack

I just returned from the most beautiful day in New York City.

It was beautiful because the weather was in the 70s and sunny. The trees are in bloom, and it just smelled good (before the piss smell comes out).

It was beautiful because there were thousands (millions?!) of people and families on the streets. You had to fight for space on the sidewalk, and everyone looked so happy to be outside. The Great Lawn was literally COVERED with people, and if you look from far away you could see balls pop up everywhere every few seconds. The park was PACKED.

It was also beautiful because I saw people I love, and in particular two really special babies.

I had a superb brunch at Bubby's (that's what it's called, I swear) in Tribeca with Flyer. SUPERB. And I love connecting with Fly.

I then was invited to attend/partake in Jer and Terese's baby, Max's bris. I felt like I walked into a really intimate moment in their lives, and I felt so fortunate to be there. First of all the baby is beautiful, and I absolutely loved seeing the two of them as parents. It was so amazing to see. The mohel did a really beautiful ceremony - even though it was all written down and "set" it still felt like it was just for Max. I think we all cried a little bit. When I say "we all" I mean me, Jer, Terese (the Mohel didn't cry, and Max didn't cry THEN). I was the only one there, and while I was so happy to be there, for them, I wished that there had been more people.

I understand that a bris is a crazy thing to do to your child. You spend all of your love and energy to keep your baby safe and happy, and then you willingly turn him over to be hurt by someone. It must be a REALLY hard think for a parent (particularly a mother, I think) to do. When Shana did it as well as other friends, I did think about how crazy it is to do this in front of so many people, and how it's sort of like genital mutilation, and I don't really understand how it's normal...but today I understood some of the value.

It was so special to welcome Max not only to the Jewish people, but also to the world, and into his wonderful family and parents' families (and the Michigania family!) and the lives of everyone around him. It must have been a special moment for J & T to take a step back from the craziness of the last week and really welcome him with a super old ceremony. I did, though, really see the value of having so many friends and family around when you do this, because it sort of envelops and supports the baby as well as his family, and it takes the focus away from the actual circumcision (which is still TERRIBLE!). Though I don't really know what their take on the whole thing was, I am so happy for them that they did it, and I am so happy that I was able to be there with them, and I hope that they look back on it in a positive way - it was intense, man. Whoa.

The second baby story is also so special. This baby was also born last Saturday, to my friends David and Alex. They have been trying to have a baby for years...they got four embryos that are made from each of their genetic materials (I don't know how appropriate it is to disclose super details here...but I feel like what I wrote is okay?). They found a surrogate, who interestingly had her tubes tied, and she didn't need to untie them for this - which makes sense, but it wasn't something that made sense to me right away. She housed and grew their embryo - fetus - baby, and last Saturday, three weeks early, she pushed Flora into the world, and she is so beautiful - and looks a LOT like David. I am overwhelmingly excited that two gay men can legally do this and have this beautiful daughter. This took a lot of work, energy, time, etc., but there are no legal issues now that she's home. One major catch is that neither really gets maternity leave...but they're figuring it out.

I had walked from 72 to 102, then I went into the park, ran into Daniel (obviously), and I walked to meet Jack at the bottom of the park. I saw a fun looking game of softball, so I sat to watch, and I realized that their names were Levine, Levin, Cohen, Fine, Weiss, you get the idea. Their team name was "The Tribe." It was funny. I met Steve. Steve had a super amazing diving catch in the sixth. I was proud.

Jack and I walked to Hell's Kitchen, ate great sushi, ate even better frozen yogurt, walked to the D, and Jack put me on the bus back to Philly.

What a long and wonderful day. One of the best ever, I think.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Falling for Doylestown

Today I spent the majority of the day going to, in, and returning from Doylestown, PA. I went for a school project - and I don't think I would have ever gone there otherwise, but I'm so glad I did!

This town is a cute little east coast town. It is 1.5 hours away from Philly on the train. Downtown is nearly all independent stores (except for a Starbucks with a BIG sign!), tons of sidewalk dining, nice, healthy looking people, and great old Philly architecture. I think I could live there. I think anyone nice could live there! Granted it's also 70 and sunny today, so I think that nearly anywhere would be beautiful - but this place really was!

On my way to the train - it was 10 to 1, and the train was at 1:20 - I wanted to stop to get a sandwich. There was one restaurant that was clearly more crowded than the others, and the sandwiches come out onto the sidewalk diners looked superb, so I went inside. The queue was outrageous, but I stood. I asked the lady behind me if she had been there before, and if the line would move quickly. She said yes, and then we talked and talked...she grew up in Philly, moved to Doylestown, because she just loved it, she goes to Penn Hospital for her "treatment," her niece lives in New Zealand...which is sort of near Singapore, her cousin's husband's mother has a place in Traverse City...she was super nice. She was right - we got to the front quickly. I asked them to expedite my sandwich, which they did, some guy told a girl her shoe laces were untied, four people said hi to me, and then I ran out of there. I had ten minutes before the train LEFT, so I started running...in my danskos...with my backpack, computer, filled nalgene, coffee cup, etc.,...sandwich and fleece in hand, and of course, I fell.

My fall sort of reminded me of "the secret" which says that if you think it - even if you think "I don't want to fall" it will still happen. I kind of kept thinking about how I hope I don't fall, but the second I stopped thinking about it, I did. I landed on my knees and used my right hand to stop me, so I ripped my NEW jeans (the first ones I have bought since 2001!!), got a huge cut on my left knee, which is also super swollen, fell straight on the top of my right knee bone, which is really painful now, and I also cut up the palm of my right hand. Boo.

For a second on the way home I planned what time I would have to go running or walking to be outside for an hour and a half (to get in a whole This American Life plus more...) before going to dinner with and old friend, but when I got off the train, I realized it hurt to walk at all! So...here I sit, doing work in my room until I go to dinner.

Refua shlemah to my knees!

Singapore...in Philadelphia?

I got an email from the social impact group at Wharton about a talk on women and entrepreneurship tonight from 6:30 - 9. Other than the fact that I thought that 2.5 hours for an event was outrageous...I went.

Actually today was a BEAUTIFUL day - maybe 70s? and sunny, so I had to go for a run before I went, but I got there on time. I met the organizer - Evelyn. She said she was from Singapore. Wow! Really? I live there!! She's an NUS student who is doing a year exchange at Penn. The next person I met was Singaporean also. Then there were 20 or so people, and I was the only white person. Actually, someone even asked me if I had my powerpoint slides on a thumb drive...only the presenters were white (and only 2/5 of them). I found myself at an event organized and attended exclusively by Singaporean students! There was one from NUS who is from Medan (where we went with Matt's family in December!) in Indonesia, but everyone else was from Singapore! I talked Singapore with them - maybe of them went to the Junior College right next to our house. It was so totally unexpected.

The presentation was excellent - actually two of them were not, but three were really excellent. What I took away is that you really need to know what you want to do - what makes you happy, what makes you go, what makes you frustrated, etc. and figure out your options from that. I have consistently felt that I need to get a job in corporate Singapore - to get experience that I can bring back to non-profits. But the thought of it actually makes me feel really anxious. It's hard to tell if that's because it's just new to me (other than Moody's) or because I secretly know that there are other things that will make me more excited. Granted I need to know what the job is before I say there is something I would rather do...but it's just a thought.

I will spend my time in the next few days making lists of things I like, what makes me happy and feel good, what makes me frustrated...maybe I'll come up with something good.

In other news - people here have been so super wonderful. Mindy had me over for dinner on Tuesday night, and I got to see Paula also. Mindy and I are the same age, and we grew up in each other's lives...but now she has a HOUSE (beautiful house and yard!), an SUV, a dog, two kids...pretty different life than me. She picked me up in my DORM!!! Yeah, I live in a dorm.

Last night (Wednesday) I went to a classmate's house for dinner. I spoke with him on Monday, and we realized that I knew his wife. We worked together in NYC - she was the social justice coordinator at BJ - a big shul in NY. They were so sweet to invite me, and we had a lovely meal. People are just great.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Matt on Thailand on CNN.com

I was just checking out the situation in Thailand on CNN, which is getting better...

When I came across this!!

Matt is quoted all over the place!! I don't know if it's legal to put any of it on my blog, so I won't, but check it out!!! He's FAMOUS!!!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Diamonds

I am totally conflicted over diamonds. Conflicted because of conflict and also because of other things.

Matt proposed to me with a diamond ring (in a parking lot - but whatever). It's gorgeous. I feel so lucky to have it - I can't imagine a ring more beautiful.

I'm not a jewelry person. I do, however, have no problem wearing my wedding band. I tried to wear the engagement ring at first, but I couldn't. Then I put it in a safe deposit box for two years, and it was just liberated a few weeks ago, and it's now having a second try at life on my finger.

I didn't know if I wanted a diamond ring. Right before we got engaged, I told Matt I was SURE I did NOT want a diamond ring. I remember talking about this on Eli's couch for hours. Nope. Not for me. Don't think I could walk around with a big gem on my hand - something that other people can't afford. Plus - where did the diamond come from? How many people were killed for this silly diamond? Plus - SOCIETY tells me I want a diamond. Society even tells me that diamonds are pretty. Did I want one? Are they pretty? It was hard to tell...and because of all of that, and because I just think too much about everything, I decided no.

As mentioned, I didn't really wear it when we were engaged. Maybe for a few weeks. I felt like everyone could see it, and it felt weird on the streets of New York. On the subway I wanted to turn it facing in. I felt like I can't help people when I have an expensive thing on my finger. I can't explain that, but I felt like that. We decided to leave it at home (even though it's way more safe in Singapore, probably!).

For some reason, this year, I missed the ring. Maybe it's because I feel like an MBA is more valuable with a diamond...not sure (that was a joke), but I did think about it a lot, and I forgot what it looked like. I decided to give it a second try.

I started wearing it again when I got back to the states, and my goal is to not think about it all the time. I have not achieved that. I look at it multiple multiple times per day, and it is distracting. I feel like it distracts other people too. I don't know why wearing a wedding band doesn't bother me - in terms of societal expectations - but for some reason it bothers me that married, upper-class(ish) women have diamonds on their hands, and I'm one of them. My goal is to feel somewhat better about it before I get back to Singapore. We'll see.


In other news, I had a VERY VERY VERY boring/frontal class today, and I was miserable trying to stay awake. The only thing that could keep me going was thinking about going to get an iced chai tea latte at the break. This girl I sat next to on the plane home from Boston told me about a cheaper, closer Starbucks...and I still have $17 on the gift card. Usually we have a 15 minute break.

Right when we were going to break, the prof said, during the break, please fill out these evaluations, and by the way, let's have a shorter break today. I was so determined, I blew off the evaluations (which is bad when the class is tough to stay awake in, but I trust the others told him so), and I basically ran to Starbucks. I also figured that a breath of fresh air after class ALL day could do me some good. I got to Starbucks with my only decision to make - which size. I was going to do a cost-benefit analysis of the small and medium...when the woman said, "would you like this free tall coffee?" "yes, please." No further questions.

In other other news, there is a woman on my floor who really doesn't like bathroom stuff. When anyone else is in the bathroom, she flushes the toilet over and over again - so no one hears her pee, I suppose. I was just brushing my teeth, and I noticed she went out of her way to go all the way around the suite to enter the bathroom through the other door so I wouldn't see her and then continuously flushed. I know she didn't want me to see it was her, so she anticipated that I would leave soon. I kind of brushed my teeth longer than usual. I just wanted to give her a simple "hi!" but she didn't come out. For a long time. She also sprayed a smelly thing A LOT when she was done. EVERYONE POOPS! EVERYONE PEES!! IT'S OKAY!!!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Babies and Babies and Babies

My life is full of babies!! I'll get back to that...

I had a great four day trip to Michigan - it felt like two weeks. It was relaxing, hectic, busy, boring, and all good. Friday was a super chill day. Jer and I ran some errands including fixing a necklace, buying a bathing suit, visiting Trader Joe's (and seeing someone get arrested in the parking lot!). I got my jewelry cleaned, and they look sparkley. More on diamonds to come. I also found out that Great Lakes Crossing is about 15 minutes from my parents' house, and they have a Nine West Outlet, which is great news for me and my feet. Remember, they don't have my shoe size in Singapore. We got to dine with Sandy and Harvey, and Mr. Lichtman came over for a social night cap. What a good guy.

Saturday was nuts. I got to see Marla and her belly (due in July) for coffee in the morning, then hung out with the Michigania crew over at Adina and Gregg's - and I got to see Noah, who is now 2.5 and the cutest boy. He said, "who are you?" I told him who I was, and he said "Hi!" in a really nice, inviting voice. He's so funny. We got to meet Greg and Cristine's baby (and see Greg and Cristine). He is a huge, gorgeous, cute Sam. I can't wait to spend more time with him one day. While we (all 19 of us...) were together, Terese and Jeremy had their baby, Max!!! It was quite exciting, and they're doing great. Then I ran over to the Hildebrandt's for a short visit, hung with the Goldfeins - ALL of them! - for an hour or so, and then I made it over to the Robinsons for a dinner with all cousins. It was like a half seder. But the food wasn't kosher, and there was no Hebrew. There was euchre. No Elijah. (Is Elijah at seders anyway?)

I made it back to Philly in the early afternoon with enough time to walk downtown and search for a dress. I found one. It's pretty. I hate buying things. I hate trying on clothes. Particularly I hate trying on clothes that are made for people with straight, skinny bodies. Banana Republic is not made for curvy people.

I noted this last year, but it's still remarkable. I always wore and 8. Always. My clothes that are an 8 still fit me. Now when I go shopping I buy a 4. That's not right. Whatever the day, I found a blue dress, so now I don't have to go naked to Bryan and Mandy's wedding. Thank goodness.

The moral of my weekend (and life) is that just about everyone in it is or was just having babies. It kind of comes in waves. I remember feeling this way in the past.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Birnholtz Seder

After a long day of traveling (somehow I left my room at 8:30 and didn't arrive to my parents' house until 4...), I finally arrived in Michigan for an excellent evening of sedering.

Highlights include:
Lisa is in from San Fran area.
Lori is in from LA
Ashley is in from New York
Jer is in from Ithaca
Nancy, David, and Tessa are in from Boston
And we also had the two Birnholtz families, the rest of the Franco family, the rest of the Robinsons, Aunt Belle, and of course the Radners. By "we" I really mean my mom. She cooked EVERYTHING and prepared and led everything. She's the seder superstar.

Tonight, my mom was asking Hannah (Rachel and Ron's 4 year old) questions about the passover story. A family member I will not mention said, "phew - I'm glad she didn't ask me!" Hannah knew the answer.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Grafman Passover

I just came from a wonderful seder at the Grafmans'. This was my first Birnholtz and Hildebrandt free seder in my entire life. I know - I'm shocked too, but I always came home from Israel or my parents came to visit.

Though I have never left my seder bubble, I am not so surprised to see that our seder is extremely similar to others (or at least the Grafmans'). The whole egg, fish, soup, brisket, meat, tzimis, veggie, random good dessert thing...Some who want to do the whole thing, others who don't mind the singing, others who just want to eat, and then even others who just sort of are happy to have it all happen around them. Each seder seems to have them all.

The matza balls were the best matza balls I have ever had. Apparently the key is A SECRET. (I was asked to remove it from my blog!).

Another exciting part of this seder was that I got to bring Adonai with me. Adonai was at my seder. Was Adonai at your seder? We also brought him to shul. It was mostly smooth, except when he met the rabbi, and he kept just shaking his hand and staring at him. That was a bit awkward. I have to admit that I cracked up in the middle of the shema. Who sits next to ADONAI in shul? It was just a little too much for me. He was a great sport, since he hasn't had too many encounters with Judaism - ate all the food, even read parts of the seder.

I realized today (again...) how disconnected I am from Judaism right now - when I saw on facebook that everyone is doing this prayer for the sun which apparently happens every 28 years, and not only did I not know it was coming up, but I have never heard of it! Weird.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Boston

I swear, I could move to Boston, and I could just move right into Sarah's life. She sent me to a cafe on Friday, and I sat there for six hours, and I fit right in. I don't even think they noticed me. Friday night we went to her friends' house for dinner, and not only did I know people in common with them, but I really liked them (and their friend, and Sarah's boyfriend).

Saturday her and Ben's friends came over, and we watched basketball together with her roommate, Kristin, and it was excellent. Good pizza, and good times. Kaitlin (sp?) sort of reminded me of Jill. Good people. (or as three different people said this weekend, "good eggs.")

Today consisted of Portuguese sausage along with a side of Nancy and a topping of David. I had Jer to drink. It was a nice brunch.

The weekend was totally necessary - to not run around and do a million things or run around and see a million different people. Sarah is a lot like me, in that she doesn't really chill either, so unlike both of us, we just didn't do anything, and I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did.

I do have two things to say that I experienced today. In New Hampshire.

I checked my backpack at the Manchester, NH airport. The woman said, "that's a small bag to check." "Yes. Unfortunately I have to check it because it has mousse." "You don't have to check mousse!" "Actually I do, because it's bigger than 3oz. It's very inconvenient." "People bring their MOOSE on board all the time! No problem. Is it stuffed?" "NO!!! I'm talking about HAIR MOUSSE! People really bring stuffed dead animals onto the plane???" Did she really think a stuffed moose would fit in my backpack anyways? New Hampshire is really different than Singapore (and New York, and Philly, and Boston, and Michigan...).

I sat next to a super cute, nice sophomore from Penn today on the plane. She's an SDT, went home for her cousin's bat mitzva, and she's going right back to Boston for Passover this week. I asked her if she knew Hallie, obviously (no). She told me that all of her friends - ALL of her friends - from Penn have blackberrys. She told me all about how they need it, and how it has changed her life. She showed me "bbm" - where you can see who has their blackberry on, and you can just send them a message (I think we call that a text message in normal cell phone talk). I was blown away. Really? These people need blackberrys?

I went out with Elan this past week, and we were talking about how when we were in college and people got cell phones, we would make fun of them, because they obviously thought they were SO important that they needed to be reached at all moments. We would shout "BUY! SELL!" at someone who had a cell phone. Then...two years later, everyone had cell phones. I guess that's what's happening with the BB.

And then someone pooed on my pants. (just kidding, sarah)

Friday, April 3, 2009

The Ethical Dilemma of Death

Before I came to the states, I decided that one inconvenient trip would be a good idea while I'm in Philly. DC and NY are really convenient, so they don't count, and Michigan was required (just ask my mom), so that also didn't count. My finalists: Chicago, Toronto, Ithaca, Boston.

Chicago: I would love to see friends there including Jill and Ben, Marla and Allen, Kirsten and Chad, Laura, Seth and Elissa...could have been great. Then I found out that Jill was coming to Michigan to see me, Laura was coming to DC on the weekend I would be there, and Marla (and at that point possibly Kirsten) would be in Michigan during Passover. Chicago did not win.

Toronto: I would love to spend some serious time with Shana, Daniel and Joseph. I could see all of my brother's hilarious friends and even spend time with him there. Then I found out that Shana and Joseph were coming to Michigan to see me. Toronto did not win.

Ithaca: Jer has lived there for a couple of years now, and I haven't really ever spent time there. I would love to see his house (that he doesn't live in), and spend some time outdoors. Then I realized I would see Jer at home for Passover, and he might not be there the weekend I could travel. Ithaca did not win.

Boston: I would get to see Sarah, and her purchased apartment, and I could even meet her boyfriend. I could see Liba, Ethan and Adin, whom I haven't seen since my last morning in NYC (Adin was a year old). I could meet their new son, Yona. Though I would see Sarah for the first seder in Philly - Boston won.

It was no easy thing to find a way to get here with a reasonable price, but I figured it out - with a 5am train and a flight back from Manchester, NH. I couldn't wait.

Then...I got a call from Liba on Monday night telling me that her grandfather is dying in Rochester, NY. I have a big heart, and I feel horrible that her family is going through this, so don't let what you read on the rest of this post tell you otherwise. She said they didn't know when he would pass away, but it looked like it was going to be soon. Basically, when he passed away, they would hold the funeral the next day, and then they would come back to Boston the next day. In my MBA calculations, and the fact that they keep shabbat, that meant that if he passed away after Wednesday I would not see Liba, Ethan, Adin or Yona in Boston. I DEFINITELY did not hope for anything so horrible, but I feel bad that I even had that thought.

Sometimes I think that if I blog about it it doesn't count.

Needless to say, they're still in Rochester, and I'm in a cafe in Cambridge. The good news is that I get to spend more time with Sarah, but I am really disappointed (I even left my gifts from Philippines, Thailand, and China that I got for Adin back in my dorm room). :(

Mazal tov to Mike and Jo who had a beautiful baby, Charlie, this week. Two wonderful quotes from Mike,
"Even though we have only had him for two days, I can't even remember what my life was like without him."
"His head looked like a sub from subway when he came out. Like something from another world." (okay, that one wasn't nice, but it's funny)

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Stacks

Remember when my blog was about life as an ex-pat in Singapore? Oops...

Now it's about being on a college campus. I am currently writing (trying to write?) a paper in the stacks of the UPenn library. There are a few things striking about the experience.

The smell of the stacks is so stuck in my brain. At Michigan I used to study in the stacks. Since I spent so much time in the Judaic section (I think it was on the fourth level in the back, but it's been about ten years...), I saw that there were desks, and it was quiet, so I started studying there on a regular basis - not only Jewish stuff. The smell meant hot heaters, cold outside, lots of books, and way too much work to do. I remember being there really late at night, and I remember running up and down the stairs for some reason.

When I enter the stacks at the Penn library, they smell exactly the same, and it seems to have the same books, and the same study desks! So I sit here trying to write a paper about HR at HP and what that might mean for the world...Why not?

The other thing that is striking to me is that the last time I spent a lot of time in the stacks (other than last week) was such a different technological world. I didn't have a laptop - I was lucky to have a computer! There was barely internet - or at least I wasn't really using it. We still registered for classes over the phone. Now I sit at a desk from 1963 with my macbook plugged into the little fluorescent lamp, and I have wifi. It's just a totally different world.

I bet in 1997 and 1999 I got more done, because I wasn't able to check my email every hour...or blog...instead of WRITING MY PAPER!!!