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...

LBS...YES, I do still attend...

Well...I wanted to take a well deserved blog entry to reflect upon the fact that my first year at LBS is 3 weeks from conclusion...I am in a state of disbelief...nuts right?

Anyway...Some of the stuff I have done the last 6 weeks of my life, I will 100% remember forever...and I know that I would never have been able to what I have done without LBS. Looking back, I can now say that without any doubt, LBS was the best decision I have made in a long, long, long time...

Before I sound like a complete dork, here are some of the highlights that I have enjoyed recently:

1. The chance to go on some really cool Treks where I have seen and met with companies that I never would have met with otherwise...

i.e. - Dubai, Silicon Valley

So...let me give you a sample of an incredible day on the Silicon Valley Trek...(By the way, as an aside, I decided that San Francisco is my favorite US city other than my beloved Chicago)



--Meet with the founder of HOT OR NOT.COM---Who is astonishingly candid, open, and captivating...
--Venture Capital Panel with Stanford Business School...We heard from Accel and a bunch of other cool firms...but of course FaceBook dominated the discussion...our final analysis = Accel is really smart!
--Touring the Yahoo! and Google campuses...I felt that I was in college again...it was another world that I have never seen before...FOOD EVERYWHERE!

Also..when you travel to these far off lands, you really bond with you MBA classmates more than ever...I am really happy with my new friends and all of the relationships that I have made...Despite my depression that first year is almost over, I am already looking forward to second year...which leads me into my next big LBS related announcement...

I AM GOING ON EXCHANGE AT KELLOGG!! I know it sounds funny to go on exchange to Chicago...but LBS has a great partnership program with a few select schools and I could not pass up the opportunity to see what Kellogg has to offer. So, everyone can get excited for some fun Chicago adventures from September to December...

In the meantime...I am way behind on some fun London, non-LBS related updates...Many of my friends have celebrated birthday's lately...so...roll call please...Happy Birthday: KEVIN, MAYUR, MILAN, ANIL, JAMIE, PAYTON and everyone else I probably forgot because I am AWFUL with birthdays. I also celebrated my 29th year on this earth last week...so thank you to everyone who called, wrote, or somehow communicted with me :-) But more on my B-day in my next post...




Lastly, with all of the new Chicago excitement, I'll with a fun weekend I recently had in Chicago...which included a friends, a trip to Wrigley Field, Beer Gardens, proper hot dogs, and my amazing mother's 55th Birthday!



Finally...I am beginning my official build the buzz for TRANSFORMERS campaign...it comes out July 2nd...GO SEE IT!

Talk to everyone soon...

DUBAI...or Should I Say Shangri-La

I guess my first real desire to go to Dubai was about 2 years ago...I was watching some Discovery channel show where they showed, in painstaking detail by the way, the Burj Al-Arab hotel. I guess something about seeing the world’s first 7-STAR hotel piqued my curiosity...:-)

So...when LBS presented me with the opportunity to go to Dubai on a really cool job trek, how could I turn it down? You are right...I couldn’t! Also...my thinking was this...If I am to become a high profile super consultant...there are so many projects in Dubai right now...I had to really know that if I volunteered for one...could I really live in the city for 3-6 months? As you will see...the answer is 100% YES...with ease...

Dubai is a mix of South Beach, Las Vegas and Hong Kong---the beaches are beautiful, crystal clear and filled with tons of gorgeous women. The clubs and restaurants are world class---yet---somehow I was in the Middle East...The entire time I was in Dubai I felt like I was in some kind of hazy dream...like...this couldn’t be actually possible right? The city is filled with superlatives (Now you understand why I like it so much) The world’s best hotel---biggest skyscraper---biggest mall---indoor skiing---Everything in Dubai not only has to be perfect...it has to be BIG and the best in the world. I found myself right at home :-)



(No more gratuitous beach pictures, I promise)

Luckily, I had a good buddy who came on the trek who had worked in Dubai for the past five years---He did not let us down...so for anyone who is planning a Dubai trip in the upcoming future...here is my personal list of cannot miss activities:

BURJ AL-ARAB – Why not start with the best right? This hotel dominates Dubai skyline...and no matter how long you stare at it...you want to stare at it some more...Whether it is the underwater restaurant or the sky bar or the completely mesmerizing lobby...this hotel is not be missed under any circumstances
BUDDHA BAR – For anyone who has been in Paris or NYC---Dubai does not disappoint here---I was blown away
MODINAT JUMERIAH – Like a small Bedouin Village---this hotel is beyond words---you get moved around on little gondola like boats---the Burj is in the background...and about 50 restaurants are at your beck and all---oh yeah---the best club in Dubal is here as well...TRILOGY...and even TRADER VIC’S...all the way from LA!
JUMERIAH BEACH HOTEL – Go immediately to Bar 360---located so far into the ocean that you have to ride a golf cart to get there---just beyond words---get a mojito and just try not to fall in the water
ABSOLUT SHO CHO – This is the first time I have been to a lounge sponsored by Absolut---and they did not disappoint---The sushi was awesome...the crowd was hot...from there we went next door to Boudoir---another ridiculous club
MALL OF THE EMIRATES – This is the mall with the world’s largest indoor ski resort---and by itself is the world’s 3rd biggest mall. From Harvey Nichols to a LITERAL COPY of Rodeo Drive, to the first Armani Restaurant...you will not leave disappointed



Hopefully, you have a little understanding of what the city has to now offer you...and don’t forget---spend every possible minute on the golden sand beaches...and soon you will realize that there is not enough time in the day. I was BLOWN away by Dubai...now the only question is when to go back...New Year’s anyone??

PS...Here is a picture of the group before meeting with SHELL...just so people believe me when I say that I actually went for business... :-)