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...