Where did the past 3 months go?

When you do not write a blog entry for a long time, the first thing that you do when you actually do sit down and are ready to go for a shiny new entry is really think about what happened to you in the days, weeks, or in my case, even months since my last post.

Since I last put my thoughts down on paper, I can honestly say I have gone through some life changing events. As my fourth business tri-mester comes do a close, I can't help but reflect upon the amazing time I have had the past few months.



First off, my experience going on exchange has been spectacular. If you go to business school, or are considering business school...I highly recommend going on an exchange program...without hesitation. In my case, Kellogg is a perfect compliment to LBS...the two schools are unique but similar...Kellogg is about twice the size of LBS and focused more on Marketing and Strategy...while LBS is more intimate and more financially rigorous.



I have met some amazing people at Kellogg and I look forward to keeping in touch with them throughout the year, and years to come for sure. I am also looking forward to showing my new friends (about 10 of them to be exact) London...as a large Kellogg contingent is headed to LBS on exchange in semester #2. I think I have made some great friendships and learned a lot of new perspectives...but lets not make it all serious...The people at Kellogg LOVE to party as much as the people at LBS...and TUESDAY night is the night in Evanston...So whether it is $1 burgers at Bar Louie...or closing down the Keg during Halloween...I had some extremely memorable nights drinking cheap, quality American beer :)

The second best part for me the past couple of months has been living in Chicago again...Now I have not lived in Chicago since I basically left undergrad...almost 8 years ago...The city has changed a lot...but that charm that I fell in love with is still there in full effect. I think Chicago is one of the most underrated cities in the US...so I will keep trying to do my best PR effort into raising its profile. From the bars, restaurants, night life, sports teams...and most importantly...NICE PEOPLE...I would not rather life anywhere else (except maybe London :)

It has been tremendous spending time with my family...which you learn to take for granted...also travel has been great...NYC, MIAMI, LA...I made sure I racked up some frequent flier miles...While going everywhere in the world the past year, I came to a realization that travel is something that I truly love...just going to all of my favorite cities now, with my favorite restaurants...people..comfort...Without doubt, no matter where I live or reside, travel will be an essential part of my life going forward...



Where is the the future for me? Well, that is still unanswered as of now...To say I have a lot of things on my mind is an understatement...But I am thinking a lot about what is important to me going forward...I think the holiday times ahead will be perfect for some real soul searching on my part...so everyone stay tuned...I feel like big announcements will be coming your way soon...

Lastly...I am REALLY excited as well to get back to London...to be with everyone from LBS...to cheer on Chelsea...and to get back to my favorite things...including the best kebabs in the WORLD...London is such an amazing place that being away for as long as I have been gone has been pretty brutal...So my little list of things to do keeps getting BIGGER AND BIGGER...But I am sure I will be able to fit it all in...

Finally, I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season...From Thanksgiving, to Christmas to Hananakah, the holidays are my favorite time of year...This year, my brother and I will be in India...which is something that I am so excited to do, I am beyond words. Seeing the Taj Mahal has been on list for about 20 years now...so happiness and health to everyone...and lets have 2008 be even better than 2007.

A New Beginning

First off, apologies for disappearing into a black hole...I had no idea how behind I would be on things and how overwhelming starting Business School again would be. I feel like it is year one all over again...I don't know anyone here...so I am being extra nice and really trying to make "friends"...no jokes please...

London ended with a BANG...in general it was a great summer...no matter what the jokes were about the weather or about how busy everyone was. The city definitely took on a different tone to it when you are working full time as opposed to being a student. I had an amazing summer and really got close to a lot of my friends outside of LBS...I have a new set of roommates which I am excited about...as well as, at least I think, experiencing London for everything it had to offer. Sadly, I don't know if I will top the ultimate way to leave though....my FIRST CHELSEA GAME...it was incredible...I also saw Prince...who was awesome...and Ave. Q---which is hilarious and I HIGHLY recommend it to everyone.

BUT...being back in Chicago now, I miss London terribly...let me sum it up to you in one sentence...Evanston (Where Kellogg is located) has 4 bars...yep...4 bars...which I have already all been to...that is something that I will NEVER get used to...perhaps the leafy, stunning campus will grow on me...perhaps the flip-fops and hot dogs will bring back a warm place in my heart...but right now...I want my South Kensington like you don't even know...

The people here are nice...the professors are excellent...but the first thing that really hit me...and still continues to hit me is the SIZE of everything...when you put all of Kellogg's programs together...you are looking at like 1200+ students...basically double the size of LBS...everywhere you go...there are people here. Every meeting is overflowing...every lecture hall is packed...I don't know how I would deal with it if I were here full time...I guess you just get used to it? On the other hand...size matters as they say...and for example...McKinsey hired 57 PEOPLE from Kellogg last year...freaking NUTS...

In terms of me...well I managed to get sick from my lovely family...so my first real blow out Chicago weekend might be a little subdued...but I am feverishly trying to get better as soon as possible. On the bright side, the CUBS...are back playoffs...a place they have not been in a LONG time. I am very excited and already thinking about how I will some how afford tickets to see them.

So...the future is open right now...I will spend the next three months throwing myself into the city...lets see how everyone in LBS is in terms of keeping in touch...and we shall see...I guess I am supposed to be making some big decisions while I am here...so far my biggest decision has been where to eat lunch on a daily basis since I have no idea where anything is....

One London Summer Down...How Many More to Go?

Hey everyone...I must say that the last few weeks have really given me a lot of perception onto a year which I already thought was completely filled with perceptions and insights...

This summer I have been lucky enough to see what life is like working in a big company compared to a small company---what are the benefits and disadvantages...but also to see what finance and consulting are like...What does the future hold for me? That is still a question I am working very hard to answer...

I also have met many new people, strengthened friendships and have only really confirmed my love for London as a city...It will be tough to leave...that is for sure...



On September 21st I move to Chicago for 3-months...I am really looking forward to seeing what life will be like in Chicago after being away for so long. Basically, apart from visits here and there, I have not really lived day-in and day-out in Chicago since I was 21...I know that I have changed a tremendous amount since then and I am wondering if I will still love the city as much as I think I love it right now when all is said and done in December...

One thing that I know I will love for sure is Kellogg...I am very happy with the classes I am taking this upcoming term...and from everyone that I have met, Kellogg seems to have some really cool people on campus...Just brings back memories of when I was a kid and walked around Northwestern with awe...I am really excited to be finally walking back on that same campus, but now as a student...

Other than work---which seems to have completely engulfed my life...Let me tell you...consulting is some LONG hours...but I really like my project so far and I am flying to Geneva for a days next week, so hopefully that should be fun---I really enjoyed my first European summer despite the crap weather in London...

Just the buzz on the streets...the overflowing pubs...the quick little holiday trips...the start of football season...it has been a blast. I had a chance to kick back for a few days in Barcelona...which is NO DOUBT the Miami of Europe...The city is amazing...everything is open until 4AM...people eat dinner at 11pm which I LOVE...and the nightlife is out of control...oh yeah...did I forget to mention that the weather is ridiculous and the beaches are insane?





I am sad to say goodbye to friends for a few months...it is weird as I feel like London is home now, so it does feel strange to be leaving...but I am excited for what the future will bring in Chicago...I have many close friends which I cannot wait to see...and who knows...maybe this is finally the year the Cubs make it to the world series and I will be there to cheer them on!

But not to worry, at least I am leaving London with a bang...Hopefully if things go according to plan, in the next 10 days I will go to my first CHELSEA GAME!!! As well as go to see Ave. Q and PRINCE...

So...Goodbye London...surely not farewell...and Hello Chicago...it's been a while, but it's great to be back...

One Down...One More To Go...

So the last time I wrote, it was July 1st...Today it is August 19th...The longest time that I have spent without blogging...so where to begin?

The first thing that I need to mention is just how incredibly fast time has flown by this summer. On Friday, I finished my first Summer internship at Morgan Stanley...9 weeks...GONE...like they did not even exist.

Looking back on things, this summer has been really enjoyable from tons of perspectives for me. I got a chance to see what a working summer in London is like...and ask myself...Could I really live here?



I think the answer is a resounding yes...Despite some of the worst weather in history, I still found the city to be charming when it had to be...I always had things to do...and Europe was still right around the corner...I met new friends, some of which I am confident I will know for years to come...I saw friends get married...and others have children...I guess when I stopped to look around, I realized that everyone kept moving at a very fast pace...and I had to keep up...

In terms of highlights...I would have to say that I just tried to do the same things I have been doing all year round...but in no particular order...

Pearl Jam, Orlando Bloom's In Celebration in the West End, England vs. France at Twickenham Stadium (MY FIRST RUGBY MATCH!), Arsenal vs. Inter Milan (My Long Awaited return to the Emirates and to Premier League football), LIVE EARTH, The RaceWay (Formula 1 Go-Karting at 50MPH!), Walthamstow Stadium (My first trip to see dog racing)...and last but not least, my first London country club golf experience...It was AWESOME...







But honestly...I just think the best times also sneak up on you...Like going to Maheki with two of my close friends and having the time of my life...or introducing my favorite KeBab shop to people from San Francisco, Alabama, and New York...or going to Shabbas dinner (MY FIRST ONE IN A YEAR!) and meeting new people and really seeing how warm people can be...

I have five more weeks to enjoy London before I am off to Kellogg and another new adventure...where I know I will meet more people and see more fascinating things...I guess really need to decide where I want my future to be...but luckily I have a few more more months...

Anyway...I will keep this entry short and sweet...enjoy the pictures...

WORK and RAIN...What a Combination...

Hey everyone...sorry for not writing in a long time...The last three weeks have kind of been a whirlwind...so I will do my best to catch everyone up...

School finished with a flurry that grabbed me and would not let go. Finals were just annoying...they were all jam packed together which was frustrating...and this year we got this AWFUL take home Economics final which just took forever to finish...On top of that I had a language exam as well...UGH...Lets just say that I am very happy to be done with school...I hope the pictures and champagne show how I really felt!


Now...who needs a break right? One day after finals, works starts...So I am spending the summer at Morgan Stanley, on the Sales and Trading side. So far...AWESOME...I am very happy with the people, the program and everything I am learning. Now I know...it has only been two weeks...but I have already begun to hear some horror stories from other people...and thankfully I do not have any myself...so, so far, so good...

Also...something that really brightens up my day...the FOOD at work...awesome...I feel like I am working at GOOGLE...everything you can imagine...10 cooking stations...nuts...my goal is not to put on 10 pounds due to over eating this summer...

Life in all aspects is good otherwise...I am really excited at being elected to join the Student Association of London...I get to help out clubs with sponsorship and PR...so that should be fun...

The rest of the summer should be a lot of fun...some nice concerts here and there...I will also venture out into the English country...Oxford...Bath...it's time to properly see the little island...that is if it ever stops raining...I have tried not to bitch about the weather...but it has just been BRUTAL lately...I am keeping my fingers crossed for an awesome July...

OK...Lastly...here is my BEST of LONDON as promised:

1. BEST PEOPLE WATCHING - Covent Garden - Just great...and DON'T FALL FOR THE BIKE TRICK...NO ONE EVERY GETS ACROSS!




2. BEST COOKIES - BEN COOKIES - Covent Garden / South Kensington


3. BEST KEBABS - BOSPHORUS KEBABS - South Kensington


4. BEST PUB - THE WESTBOURNE / COW - Notting Hill


5. BEST FOOD - WHOLE FOODS - High Street Kensington

6. BEST MARKET - BOROUGH MARKET


7. BEST THAI / BEST BELGIAN - BUSABA / BELGO



Stick with these things...and I promise hours of fun and quality weight gain :-)

Ok...I think thats it from me...back to work...(man...that sounds weird to write)...enjoy the picture from Hyde Park...

Crunch Time!

OK...so classes for the first year of school are OVER! Yep...all that is left is 3 exams, 2 of which will be BRUTAL...then I am officially done with year one-- London Business School.

Now that I am an elder statesman for my school, I had the pleasure of volunteering to help and be responsible for the entertainment portion of the MBA 2009 Admits Weekend (which is a great weekend that MBA Programs put on for students that will be attending school next year and for students that are still considering whether they should attend).

Not wanting to pat myself on the back...I think the weekend was AMAZING. I had a blast meeting all of the new MBA 2009's who flew from all over the world...We took them drinking, out to my favorite Belgian restaurant, to a cricket match...and most importantly...we had GLEN PHILLIPS from Toad the Wet Sprocket play!! I am a huge Toad fan, so this was a great little cherry on top of an already incredible weekend. I am pleased to know that the school looks like it will be in very good hands next year.




Now in an in an attempt to continue to stay upbeat, I needed a break after Admits Weekend...and I was lucky enough to have my brother in town for 2 WEEKS! Now this is the first time the Bruce has been back since he left London in December...and the city still has not recovered.

After all of the major London spots were visited with astonishing speed and frequency, we decided that Paris needed a visit as well. But of course..not before Buasaba, an incredible play starring Harry Potter and of course Borough Market. Now, I thought Bruce was a London expert...but no...he is also a Paris expert...Suffice to say...Paris was beyond words.

Not wanting to make the majority of people extraordinarily jealous, I will just list some highlights which included in no particular order:

1. ASTONISHING WEATHER
2. Champagne Tours
3. Priceless Works of Art
4. Oysters, Crepes, Croissants, French Onion Soup and more Oysters
5. Did I mention the French Onion Soup?



After being a bit sour on Paris from my younger years...I feel like I am a converted individual...now don't get me wrong...I am not moving to France anytime soon...But I took great notes and am happy to give tours anytime... :-)

I had the time of life with Bruce...now I am deciding what the future holds...where should I live...etc. etc. and of course he has to come in and confuse me as always...

Anyway, work starts on Monday...I am not ready in the least...but hey...nothing like winging it right?

Lastly...Here are my classes that I signed up for next year at LBS...who knows right? Maybe I will become a big shot...or I will settle for little shot...but HAPPINESS HERE I COME :-)

SPR08
Brand Management
Financing the Entrepreneurial Business
Product Innovation
Strategy Dynamics
The New Rules of Strategy
The Unstoppable Growth of Branding
Venture Capital & Private Equity

SUM08
Creativity & Personal Mastery

Where has the year gone?

I know that I have sounded a bit nostalgic in a few of my last posts...but I have some bad news...this post will be no different...Everyday that I look at the calender, June 16th becomes MORE AND MORE imposing...since that is the day that my first year of business school officially ends....UGH...

I just do not want to believe that one year has basically disappeared...and I guess the reason is that the year has been so incredible, I just kind of want to be stuck in it for a little bit longer...

Anyway...enough with that...I will try to look at the bright side and get really excited about the summer and the future...but before I do that, let me fill you in on an amazing past few weeks...

I have had the pleasure of a few wonderful friends coming to visit...and you know when people come to visit, you kind of get excited as well because secretly you do all of the fun stuff that your city has to offer, but look very cool doing it? Well...that is what I did...

So I want to thank Kevin and Rita for brightening up my May...The one thing that happens when you travel a lot like I have done this semester, is that you miss some of your favorite things about London...Lots of food, drinking and late nights later...My favorite city has rightly returned and the thoughts of leaving London at some point in the future seem harder and harder. With that, I decided that I will put together my own "Ed's London Best" list...so get excited as that will be in the next post...I want to make sure my list is Travel & Leisure worthy :-)

Speaking of Travel & Leisure...I recently just got back from Bologna, compliments of LBS. The school sent us to Italy to see the Ducati Motorcycle factory...We are taking an Operations Class and seeing a factory in person is like a "Super-Sized" type of field trip. None the less, Bologna is lovely...and 100% Italy...filled with cafes, little streets and that feeling of being a quaint, sleepy town. Spend a few days here ...have some gelato and a few cappuccinos and really de-stress.



Stress...funny how that leads me to the future...So, for all concerned my summer and fall schedules are in place and I am really thrilled at how everything is shaping up and coming together...so, here you go...

Internship #1 - Morgan Stanley, Sales, London - June 18th - Aug 17th




Internship #2 - Spectrum Strategy Consulting, London - Aug 20th - Sept 21st




Kellogg - Autumn Term - Sept 24th to Dec 14th




LBS - Winter Term Jan 7th...

I think I really did everything I set out to do when I started at LBS in August...I got two internships which I am really looking forward to starting...and the best part is that I do not know what the future holds...Will I fall in love with consulting? Will I do Sales in London for the next 3 years? Will I hate both and join a start-up in San Francisco? I guess that business school is ideally for situations like this...so I anxiously await my fate, and I promise to let everyone know as I figure it out myself...

I have to run, getting ready to go to Paris (I know...more tough traveling...but hey...my brother is town). Next time I promise to write about the 2009 MBA LBS class which I got to meet during Admits Weekend, and the previously mentioned "Best of London" list...

One last thing...I have FALLEN IN LOVE...yep..head over heels in LOVE...in case people want to know who has stolen my heart...her picture is below...

From Russia With Love...

So this is a blog entry that I have been really excited to write, because, honestly...how often do you get to go to Russia? Personally, I have been waiting 26 years...

Anyway...here is a brief catch up and a little history on yours truly...

First off...Many people do not know this, but I was born in a city called Lvov in the country of Ukraine. That being the case, my whole life I grew up speaking Russian, and not tooting my own horn or anything, still feel like I speak it not too bad after having lived in America all of my life...

Secondly, since LBS is so ridiculously global, of course an amazing Russia trip was organized by two students. So a very, very, very bug thank you to Omar and Evgenia for taking 30 eager LBS students to Russia and bringing everyone back in one piece...

The trip started off in what I now consider to be the most beautiful city in the world, St. Petersburg. The previous title holder in my opinion was Stockholm...but St. Petersburg was just another level beyond. The city was beyond description...kind of like a fairy tale of castles, cathedrals, canals and palaces.

I hope some of the pictures do it some justice, but honestly...you have to see it to believe it. Also...St. Petersburg has "White Nights"...basically...LIGHT all of the time...one of the coolest things I have ever experienced...Walking around at 11:00PM and having it be light outside is extremely surreal...

HIGHLIGHTS
1. The City - Walk around, soak it in...stare...just breathtaking to behold. Hop on a river boat cruise and revel in history...


2. The Hermitage - To call this a museum is a joke...astonishing interiors, masterpieces hanging everywhere, go for a few hours and just get lost...



3. The Summer Palace - Just when you thought you had seen it all...this comes along and BLOWS YOU AWAY...I thought it was better than Versailles...and to really put everything away...there is an entire room made of AMBER...yep...AMBER...




The food was great, the people were friendly and the nightlife was a blast. I did not know what to expect from St. Petersburg, but I am fan forever...

Now...onto Moscow...and what a better way than by night train? I thought so...It also happened to be my birthday...6 hours, 12 bottles of vodka later and an entire train FULL of wasted students we stumble in Moscow...


WHAT A CITY...I don't know about a lot of people, but most of the pictures of Moscow that I have seen revolve only around the Red Square...so when I saw this city...I was just really impressed. It is SO BIG...Some streets have 8 LANES...

Moscow sucked everyone in and refused to let go...One night we had a fantastic dinner with everyone form the trip and new incoming LBS students for next year...I had a chance to finally meet RUSGIRL...she rocks, as does her blog...I linked to it so check it out for yourselves...

HIGHLIGHTS

1. NIGHTLIFE - BAR NONE the most stunning women I have ever seen. All of the guys on the trip still cannot get over what they saw...

2. Kremlin - As many pictures as everyone has seen, it is still more breathtaking in person. St. Basil's rivals anything I have ever come across...

3. The City - Huge, sprawling and wonderful...From Gorky Park to Nevsky Prospekt...walk, wander and witness a city transforming itself...


Long story short...Russia did not disappoint in anyway or in any form. I was with some great friends and I already cannot wait to go back. I give it my highest recommendation...