Thursday, August 30, 2007

Cleaning Up my Closet

Okay 'tis bigger than my closet.. it's my whole room.. In my three years absence.. I had managed to stack all documents and stuff (3 years or 4 years old) in the drawers, cupboard, desk in my bedroom in Indonesia. Last weekend, I've decided to clean them all out.. guess what I've found : my acceptance letter to UCLA undergrad dated in 2003, my UCLA orientation binder from 2003, my junior highschool grade reports HAHAHA.. I have lots of junks there...

but it makes me nostalgic that hey once more I'm at the same turning point in my life where I'm going to US for school.. pretty crazy.. Also remembered that in 2003, before school started, I had decided to perm my hair ( a decision which I had just repeated a few weeks ago and I have been regretting ever since ).. bad hair day for the next 6 months!!!

Anyway, life's good! My last day at work today, will get my salary in hard cash (coz I have no saving account here :P) and hopefully not spend it all out in one weekend.. This weekend is going to be an interesting one though ;) I shall NOT update you guys hahaha ..

Happy fall!

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Freaking out

Summer is going to end soon... ohhh... nooo....... In one hand I feel excited... school is starting, I'll be busy.. at the other hand I'm gonna leave Indo.. my friends and my family here :'( I can't believe I've been home for 3 months ..

It's been a really great and different Summer this year.. Met with lots of ppl, new friends, old friends, interesting friends, new found close friends.. Must say that I've learnt a lot from this summer (career wise, relationship wise, my point of view, friendship)..

Going back to LA in 2 weeks time!! Darn time fliess...

Saturday, August 18, 2007

dya believe in Horoscope?

Libra

The Bottom Line

Unpredictable changes will make this day different from the day you planned.

In Detail

Today will start off like a cuddly lamb, but it could evolve into a growling lion before you realize it. Unpredictable changes will pop up throughout the day, which could send you down a much different path than you've mapped out. Luckily, these changes will create some amusing moments in your day, so you won't mind altering your plans too much. Expect someone to offer you an apology when none was necessary -- assure them that they don't need to feel bad.

Leadership


Had to go and see the company's big boss today because I had to ask for his signature in the acquisition document. I was supposed to get his signature by Thursday but had forgotten to ask for one document. So there I was, on a Saturday morning non-working day, going to the big boss' house to get his signature..

When I got to his place, he was surprised to see me.. he thought I would have asked someone else to get his signature (couriers or drivers - common in Indonesia) and the craziest thing happen.. he told me "sorry to have bothered you..."

And I'm like thinking.. hermmm this is actually my fault that I didn't know he need to sign this document on Thursday and I'm his employee who needs to get my work done so technically I should be the one who said sorry to bother him on a Saturday morning non-working day to his house.. and there he was... the big boss.. saying that he's sorry to have bothered me..

I told him no it's my fault.. but at the same time am very amazed with this kind of leadership. I've heard of his family's leadership style -pretty known family in Indonesia- who is famous as humble leader and who respect its employees. But hell.. this is beyond! If I were in his shoe, I would have thought nothing of my (going to his place to get his signature) act.. I would have thought: hell yeah you should finish this job and I would have never thought of even saying sorry ...

Maybe it's the influence of Eastern culture ( where ppl are really polite and saying sorry for everything -which I can never understand) but this taught me a valuable lesson - of respecting people who work for you and to be a humble leader.. I have the utter most respect to this family and its leadership style and will always remember this lesson.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Will's question

William's queston :
Found your blog from admission411 website and it's very interesting.


Well, I have some questions related to the MBA interviews + goals and was wondering how you tackled them.

About myself. Born in Jakarta, went to Spore for my secondary school, skip JC, went to US for B.S. in Computer Engr and worked for the past 3 years in the semiconductor company.

I kinda take the whole application for granted. Didn't prepare much and I am sure my essays are very vague. Got dinged by 4 schools and invited to 1 school after I raised my GMAT from 650 to 710 (I think I was lucky enough to given a second chance).

Ok, here are the questions. Btw, thanks a lot.

1. How do you tackle leadership question? What are they actually looking for? The significance? I don't have any supervisory role at work. But I did become Permias President in college. =p

2. Failures. How did you tackle this? I read from the interview guides that they just wanted to know how I rebounce and learn from failures. But, somehow, those failures cannot be just like "lazy" etc. Cannot be too simple and cannot be so huge that there are no recourse.

3. This is a long one....
- In my essay which is very vague, I said that I want to be an entrepreneur in high-tech service provider. Then, I said for my short term MBA goals is to be an equity research analyst.
- Not sure what I was thinking then, but I know it's pretty hard to make the connection of going to IB as research analyst and the long term goal to be an entrepreneur. For most of the Indo student in the US, it's pretty common to go back to be an entreprenur.
- Do I need to have an viable business idea to begin with to tell the interview? How much detail I should be?
- I think I will drop the research analyst short term goal argument (I wanted to say that I want to become an analyst so that I can raise my own capital for my start-up company. Pretty lame, I know...)
- Instead, I am thinking management consulting dealing with start-up for my short-term MBA. Will they buy it?

Ok that's all. Thanks a lot for any help / comments. My interview is on 17th August (Indo's National Day). I hope it's a sign that I will WIN. =p

My Answer:
Hey Will,
shoot me a comment on blog the next time you have a question

To answer your questions :
1. For my leadership question. I wrote about a situation where I implemented a new procedure thus I highlighted on initiative, ability to influence people and ability to carry out a project as well as ability to be a flexible leader. Now in writing about leadership question: bear in mind that the adcoms will read thousands situations that show leadership experience so you want to kinda personalize your experience. Other than just showing the problem - how u respond - end result, also talk about why you solve the problem that way, what characters of yours are shown through the process, what you learnt from this experience. I think for most essays, they really just want to learn more about why you did something and what you learnt from it.

2. Failure essay. I didn't write any failure essay. But if I were to write a failure essay, I would first think about a specific incident where I had failed and see how I have learnt from it, how from that experience I have learnt to not make the same mistake again, or how the failure has changed myself, how it has prepared me better if something like that is to occur again. I think writing about a big failure is okay because certainly it has a bigger impact on you no? My take on essay writing is to concentrate on how the events have impacted myself.. Maybe other people who read this can offer help?

3. Haha I did this same mistake of having a vague short term and long term goals essay. I think it'll really hurt if you dont have a clear goal in mind. How detailed should the goals be? Just make it as detailed as you can envision it. Make the Short term in line with the long term goals as well.. 2 years ago I made the same mistake of not being clear about my goals because I thought how can I write something that I am not sure about.. but I started talking to other people and they told me yup you have to be clear about the goals even though you prob wont end up doing it... So your IB research analyst and then high tech start up haha.. yeah that's hard to argue.. Consulting dealing with start up? herm is it like general consulting right? Is there a specific field of consulting that deals with Start up? ( u have to check on that.. have to back up ur stories with facts). If I were you, I think a short term goal in technology company will make more sense.. or consulting with tech specification. Don't you think? Because if you return to Indo, you will need to have a competitive advantage over other ppl.. get your domain knowledge in tech first and start a tech company in Indo. ok so how detailed does ur essay have to be? I said I wanna go into Global consumer product to learn about the market dynamics.. (marketing, strategy, data analysis) and then with my previous finance working experience, I will go into microfinance in Indo.. well I think it's pretty specific.. for you.. u can say Short term of consulting or tech works, and then combined w something about ur previous working experience, u're gonna open a tech company in indo..

Friday, August 3, 2007

B.A.L.I


Been such a bore lately with my stories bout work and all aint I? Well BORE NO MORE.. Heading to Bali tonight!! Anyone out there heading Bali too?? Luckily I have a friend who works in Bali so tonight he's taking me to check out the night scene in Bali.. a much needed distraction.. I'm only gonna be there for 2 days! Oh MI! Bali is about 3 hours away by flight from Jakarta?? So since I gotta work on Monday, I must be back in town by Sunday night..

I'm also going to Jiwa Spa at Conrad Hotel. Gonna be my first time going to Spa ever.. well I'm actually going for this traditional "lulur" package - an Indonesian spa sort of - Don't ask me what it is .. as I said.. my first time..

So I WAS planning to go with only friendss.. and haD been able to drag my galfriend to Bali.. and then somehow her mom comes into the picture and then my aunty and my cousin (my aunt and the gf's mom are bestfriends) and in the end my mom.. so there you go 3 gals and 3 moms going.. Not complaining coz I'm going to leave the moms in the hotel tonight :P sorry...

Well so my previous trips to Bali had always been filled with Shopping and Food.. Well this time around we're going to the beaches... haha okay i shall stop this excitement :)

Now for my previous trip ...... I went to Hong Kong.. HAHA first time there.. Visited my banker friend who works in HK. Dang I met up with SOOOO many bankerss in 3 days, it's a shame I don't want to do IB. Seriously! I met with associates, associates-turning-directors, banker-turns-PE... (What's the noun for someone who works at Private Equity? analyst at PE??) Anyway you get the point.. the night scene is pretty nice except that it's really hard to get to any clubs without reservations/VIP/ opening up a table. Kinda like Clarke-Q in Singapore but better clubs. The food is goodd... haha well actually I didnt try the street vendor foods coz my friend has only been there for a while and am not familiar with cantonese.. but I did manage to try good dim sum, chinese food, and REALLY GOOD Lobster Pasta.. (Italian food, i know!)

The view in HK is breath-taking! (See the pic above, I took it while at this lounge at the top of the building) Seriously! it's like this beautiful city scene surrounding your life... or maybe because I only went within 7 miles of the heart of the city.. The shocking thing is that I didn't shop at all there.. not a single item.. not a HK souvenir t shirt.. I don't know.. they have HUGEE malls but I just wasn't in the mood to shop.. I did manage to get around the city by myself when my friend was working.. through the bridges that connected the malls.. (Don't judge me.. the city is FILLED with malls and the malls are connected with these bridges..) I basically walked my way from the apartment to three different malls using these bridges...

Okay so that's my summer travel..
Oh got my UCLA parking permit! yai

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Happy birthday, Paris!


Paris is 3 years old today.. well okay 29 July 2007.
Happy birthday baby!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Apartment hunting


I'm gonna talk about apartments near UCLA, especially those that allow dogs.. Hahaha since I have a dog, i know how H A R D it is to find a pet friendly apartment in LA..

So this listed below are apartments that allow dogs:
1. www.westsiderentals.com ( got mine from here) but remembering that everyone is using this listing, you really have to be quick to get an apartment
2. Westside Villas try 310 4703141 - am not confirmed bout the phone number but google them( they have a few locations : Santa Monica, Purdue, Beverly Glen) and they allow dogs.. they are quite pricey if you are looking to live on you own
3. Century West Properties they have the listing of available apartments online. some allow dodgs some don't
4. Archstone Apartments - expensive but nice.. the nearest one to UCLA is in Sawtelle I believe..

Now let's not forget our feline friends: most of the apartments stated above should be cat-friendly as well.. also try Barrington Plaza on Wilshire, Villa Azure near Howard Hughes, Westside Terrace on Sepulveda.

Other apartments ( may not be pet friendly ):
http://www.pbmmgmt.com
http://www.lrapm.com
http://www.kmkmanagement.com
http://www.rstrents.com
http://www.mdrents.com
http://www.roque-mark.com

Good luck with apartment hunting.. I'm staying at my current apartment. Was planning to move in with my best friend who's taking care of Paris at the moment coz she has a dog too, but her job is not near UCLA :'(

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Going off

Haha I managed to squeeze some holiday time despite my internships.. Am going off (out of Jakarta) this weekend to visit a friend.. and then next weekend I'm heading to Bali.. yeahh babyyy.... Bali here I come :) Anyone wanna join me??

Pretty excited.. hahaha.. though I'm so gonna be exhausted when Mondays come.. ah well..

This weekend.. hehe I need some time off to forget my problems.. forgetting the past, embracing the future.. moving on.. Next weekend Bali.. same agenda :)

The party! How could I not mention it.. It was fun :) Met with long time friends whom I've not seen for at least 3 years.. some for probably 4 or 5 years.. One pet peeve though.. Indons like to flake.. Many people cancelled or didn't give notice of not coming to the party :| must get used to this.. hah.. Met also with new friends.. It's funny tat now I'm hanging out with my blog readers in Indo and we click pretty well (hollaa to u guys ;P )

Btw I met up with some gals at my party last weekend along with MBA grads from Kellog and Berkeley and we were discussing about how some people go to MBA to find a partner.. or how often MBA students whose partners are not B school students would dump the partner and date another B student.. :P or even divorce the partner and hook up with a B school student.. (I've been told............... I cant confirm it.. but they said it happened in both Berkeley and Kellog) .. And the gals told me to start up a blog ( they didnt know i have one) to talk about the eligible bachelors in B schools.. HAHAHA

Another joke would be that a gal would graduate not only with an MBA but also a Mrs.

Hohoho since I'm returning to Indonesia, I'm def not in this boat.. hehe but I'll try to confirm these stories..

On another note, my other Indonesian scholars are meeting up tomorrow in Singapore.. sigh.. too bad I couldn't join them.. In 1998, there were 40 of us went to Singapore to study for our O level.. It's crazy but they're like my close friends.. we don't necessarily keep contact with each other constantly, but there's that bond that connects us.. 40 teenagers having fun/studying together in Singapore.. miss those days :)

Let's see if I need to mention anything MBA related.. I got my student visa.. Heard another Indo gal got her I-20 from UCLA as well, the other Indo guy hasn't gotten his yet.. think some international students at UCLA haven't gotten theri I-20s and getting anxious bout it.. Hang on u guyss.. they're coming (that's what the International Student Officer said in the email)

This whole UCLA thing is turning real as the months draw nearer.. more emails from UCLA to prepare us ( to configure laptop, sign up for email address etc etc.. ) wow.. I can't believe I've been in Indo for almost 2 months.. Am leaving in 5 weeks.. wow gonna b pretty sad bout it :'( many good friends in Indo to leave behind..

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

I wonder if this is what banker does

The company that I worked for is acquiring a bank which provide micro-loans to people. (Notice: Acquiring and Microfinance). Part of what I do day to day is of course learn about microfinance in Indonesia and how the loans are structured ( as compared to in Bangladesh/Phillipines/etc). Now the other part is spent in preparing the documentations to acquire this bank to be submitted the Bank of Indonesia.

The documentations work this way : meet with lawyer and the bank officers. Done with meeting. Lawyers disburse us some documents that we need to work on. Each party fill in the parts that each of them need to fill and collaborate in parts that they need to write together. Our company writes something, reviewed by lawyers, reviewed by the Bank officers, reviewed by us again, reviewed by lawyers again, reviewed by the Bank officers again ( totally not in order, anyone can review anyone's works).. Although this is not as tedious and painstaking as the process described at Monkey Business, I can only wonder if this is what Banker in M&A does... Is what is written in Monkey Business true? Someone enlighten me...

But anyway, I realize I enjoy working with people (read: go around meet people and not sit on my ass 8 hours a day which will drive me crazy one day)..

On another note, I'm throwing a party at my place this weekend! Wii.. what party? no ocassion just feel like throwing one.. The last one I threw a party at my house was in 2003 and really enjoyed it.. So updates later. Was planning to invite around 20+ /30 people but now the guestlist become 40 :O HAHA

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

My Internship Experience


is different... I've been away from Indo way too long.. My first week at work and I had merely spent USD$1.4 for lunch at a very simple house-turned-restaurant. I had to walk on a small alley to get to this 'restaurant' ( small alley as in I can extend both my hands and that's how wide the alley is). That is by far the cheapest lunch I've ever spent on during my current stay in Indo... The food are served in a cupboard ( not fridge or hot stove) and people are free to pick the food themselves. From where I sat, I could see people washing plates using big buckets.. and thank God I could only see half of that room.. Well the food is good though.

Another experience would be that I had riden on a 'Mikrolet' ( see picture) once again after about 10 years. I was kinda hesitant on riding it but since my other co-workers wanted to ride 'Mikrolet' to get to the restaurant, I had to follow.. I couldn't be a spoiled whiner by refusing to ride on one.. So for you who don't undersand my hesitation... sometime it's not safe to ride on the public transportation in Indonesia (pick pocket, bully, etc etc )

These are all things that I had not done in 8 years ( since the last time I moved to Singapore for my high school). Funny thing is I didn't even remember missing these experiences.. These all seem a life time away from my time in Singapore or LA. HAH but I guess my going back to Indonesia this time really introduces me to life in Jakarta again. Had I join the XXX bank which is famous for recruiting overseas graduate, I would have never riden angkot or eaten at some random 'restaurant' ( coz in the building they will have clean and nice cafetarias or restaurants). Hanging out with my friends don't help either because most of the overseas graduates are already used to our overseas lifestyle that we wouldn't even think of doing this..

Okay so now about the job.. still interesting but sometime tedious.. Today for example, I just didn't feel like doing anything.. I miss the freedom to step outside and get coffeebean or starbucks (they dont exist in my office building).. to refresh myself /save myself from the sleepiness.

Now other than the job.. I had attended a friend's wedding during the last weekend. While I sat at the church, I couldn't help thinking bout.... Paris... and having Paris on my weddng day as the ring bearer.. Him wearing tuxedo, walking along a small cute girl in her green dress ( no pink thank you.. saw too much of it )
HAHAHAHAHA i'm sorry but that was what I was seriously thinking about..

and then there's this poem that is ringing on my head.. it was posted on my dentist's wall. In the past, while waiting to see him, I would stare at it and try to memorize it but I never could.. It's about love..
it said something about Love is not loud, it's not boisterous.. bla bla bla.. and I can't remember the rest.. a friend said taht it's from the bible.. 1Cor 13.. I didnt think so but still I couldn't find that full poem..

Friday, June 29, 2007

Steve Jobs' speech at Stanford

Bluetulip had just posted steve jobs' speech during Stanford's commencement in 2005.

It's both sad and inspiring to read that speech for a second time, especially in this time of changes where I often ask myself am I following the right path or questioning God/Whoever why I meet that person and there has got to be a reason for everything..

I will try to follow this words:

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

I got an internship

at a start-up microfinance bank in Indonesia.. HOHOHO SO I'm pretty excited.. Going to start work tomorrow. And my visa interview is tomorrow too so wish me luck. You'll have a report of me crying tomorrow if my visa application is rejected..

arniway.. more on the internship : it's an institution that wants to acquire another bank and wants to inject more capital to the bank. It aims to be the first microfinance bank in Indonesia. So I'm gonna be this person (who will head the bank) 's personal assistant.. haha okay not a very glamorous job. but hey i'll take whatever I can get to learn bout microfinance in Indonesia. It's been pretty good since the past week I've been beefing up on my readings bout microfinance. Had finished reading "Banker to the Poor" by Muhammad Yunus, and a few other articles on microfinance in Indonesia.

Now this internship didn't really come smoothly.. I was actually interviewing with another XXX bank in Jakarta and was offered a position in marketing but then this microfinance offer came up and I couldn't let it go.. Funny thing is I actually got this MFI internship through this blog's reader.. Now wow.. who knows blogging could help me this way :) Thank you btw :)

Okay so I have no idea what my hours are like at this new job but I imagine it should be pretty hectic. Wish me luck :)

Other than this internship, I've been meeting with old and new friends in Indonesia. It's great to be back and socialize in Jakarta from a vaccuum of almost 3 years. I'm really excited about the opportunities available in Indonesia and will definitely return back to Indo in the LR.

On the down side, I actually have not been travelling much.. Haven't gone to Bali yet and I've also promised to visit a friend in HK.. Will update you guys and do share of your experience in waiting to start for B School..

Friday, June 8, 2007

In Memory of an Anderson MBA '07

I never know Carl Peter Odebjer but I'm sure he will be missed by the Anderson family, his family and friends.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

ASEAN Scholarships for Indonesia

Click HERE for more info

The ASEAN Scholarships for Indonesia is tenable for 4 years leading to the
award of the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education 'Advanced'
(GCE 'A') Level (or equivalent) certificate.

The Scholarship is for studies in selected Singapore schools from Secondary
Three to Pre-University Two and is renewed annually, subject to the satisfactory
performance of the scholar.

Students from Indonesia are welcome to apply for the ASEAN Scholarships for
Indonesia to enter Singapore schools at the Secondary Three level. Candidates
who are not short-listed for the scholarships will be considered for the Merit Awards.




Students who meet the following criteria are invited to apply for the scholarship.
1 Nationals of Indonesia
2 Between 14+ to 16+ years old
3 Sat for SMP 3 National Final Evaluation Examination (EBTANAS/UAN) and
have done consistently well in school





Any dates given below are tentative and are subject to changes.
1 Application period - 2 June to 20 July
2 Selection test dates - mid August
3 Selection interview dates - late September
Candidates short-listed for the selection test/interview will be notified a week
before the selection test/interview dates
4 Award of scholarship - early to mid October
5 Arrival of scholar in Singapore - late October





1 Singapore Consulate in Pekanbaru
2 Singapore Embassy in Jakarta
(Address: Embassy of the Republic of Singapore
Gedung Graha Surya Internusa
19th Flr
Jln HR Rasuna Said Kav X-0
Jakarta 12950 Indonesia)
3 Singapore Ministry of Education

Please click here to download the application form





The selection tests and interviews will be conducted in the following cities:
1 Medan
2 Jakarta
3 Surabaya (if there are sufficient candidates)



1 Allowance of S$2,200 (Secondary) / S$2,400 (Pre-University) per annum
with hostel accommodation
2 S$400 settling-in allowance (once only)
3 Economy class air passage to Singapore and back to home country upon
completion of course
4 Waiver of school fees and donation to the Education Fund
5 Waiver of GCE 'O' and 'A' Level examination fees (once only, if applicable)
6 Subsidised medical benefits and accident insurance cover
7 Bridging courses (if applicable, in Singapore before start of course)
8 THERE IS NO BOND ATTACHED TO THE SCHOLARSHIP

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Update on Books

So I've done some book reviews in the past. Just to close the Monkey Business review : IB doesn't suit me..

Now on other books :
I just finished reading Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends & Influence People.. Great book!!! Wow.. It's definitely a must read. He proposes communication principles with real live examples from his classes and that really convinces me of his principles. It definitely has helped to me revamp how I deal with people : to see from the other person's perspective.

Just an example : I was in the doctor's office a few days ago. The doctor was supposed to be in at 9am and I was his first patient. 9am he's not there.. I waited.. 9.15am.. still not there I'm getting irritated.. 9.20am still no sign of him. The ipoel in the past would have gone to the nurse/receptionist and asked irritatedly what time the doctor would come and could she please contact the doctor to come ASAP..

Now having read the book and it said that the other person(the nurse) doesn't give a damn if I'm irritated of waiting etc.. and I should try to be friendly in communicating my needs as to make the other person WANTS to help me. So that's just what I did. Gulping down my irritation of the late doctor, I came over and greeted the nurse nicely and asked if she knew what time the doctor would come and if she could possibly inform the doctor that I was waiting and not to forget to thank her...

Welll she did help me call the doc and said that the doc is nearby.. Did it help make the doctor come earlier? NO.... but at least it leaves me in a better mood while waiting in that room..

So yeah good read!

Now I'm moving on to the "Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman" book after I had read the "Nice Girls don't Get the Corner Office" just a few weeks earlier.. Pretty similar advices...

Next I'm gonna read the "Rich Dad Poor Dad" book.. boy I really have nothing to do eh?

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Summer is Coming and I have Nothing to do

CFA has come and gone.......

IT WAS BAD........................... OMG... I have to guess my answers like 50% of the time................. It was like....... now let's see... which one sounds right? which one looks right?

oh well.. now that CFA is over.. I found myself... listless... ( okay fine fine i know i've been waiting to get it over with) but I now have nothing to do.. I have this stupid sore throat as a reason for me to rest and lay low, but once this illness is gone, I have to plan something.)

Few choices :
1. try to get internship
2. join chinese class + painting class + go travelling with family

HAHAHA which one should I pickk??

oh btw, my I-20 is on the way... YAI......................................

Saturday, June 2, 2007

About CFA from MaybeMBA


SO longgggg time agoooo I said I would write a post on CFA.. but I never did.. Luckily, maybeMBA has posted a very thorough post on CFA.

So enjoy :)

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Modern Day Slavery

Slavery is still happening even in US. I wonder why there's not much coverage on this bizarre event in US news.

A wealthy NY couple is charged with slavery.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Steak : Carlitos Gardel

Alright, alright I'm supposed to be studying for my CFA but I'm always distracted to post on foods...

Next :

Carlitos Gardel
Argentinian Steak Restaurant

7963 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA
90046

Phone: (323) 655-0891


LOVE their steak :

Ojo de Costilla a La Criolla

Tried the garlic fries.. not v impressed. Fresh fries but I was never a fries-freak. Do a half order if you guys want to try it. Tried the famous empanada with spinach filling as well. Pretty good.


I will say that the steak is comparable to Mastro's


Sweet Lady Jane


As promised, another hang-out place in LA that I often go to is Sweet Lady Jane. I always get their Tripple Berry Cake. Service is infamous, place is cramped, but the cake is sooo gooodddd.... My friend loves their Carrot Cake and Tiramisu (only available on Friday and maybe Saturday)

Sweet Lady Jane

Italian Rum Wedding Cake Photo Credit: James Stiles
Foreground: Lemon Curd, Background: White Chocolate Raspberry and Chocolate Old Fashioned Photo Credit: Elon Schoenholtz

8360 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90069
323-653-7145
M-Sat 8.30am to 11.30pm
Sun 10am to 6pm

*smaller photos are from Sweet Lady Jane's website

Sample Sale in LA


WHY.. Oh WHy.. does this sample sale happen when I won't be in LA anymore...
OH WELL! For girls out there who wanna check this out. Sample sale of lots of designers (past events have DVF, Miguelina, Park Vogel, Geren Ford) and jewelleries ( Uyen-uyen, Mabel Chong). It's more of those upcoming or new designers I believe... They're for the next coming season and around 50-70% off.
I've been to two events and really loved it. The stuff are still pricey despite the sale but worth it.

Billion Dollar Babes
at :

Ivar Studios
1525 Ivar Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90028

on June 8-June 10th, 2007

You have to sign up to attend! And oh, leave your boys at home.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Doing Business in a Men's Jungle


I'm currently reading Monkey Business by John Rolfe and Peter Troob that describes about their lives as Investment Bankers once they were out of the top B-schools. Let's just say it reminded me about my worry of why I do not want to do IB: long hours, making tedious changes to pitch books, lots of booz and men and possibly MCP (male chauvinist pigs), boring works, crazy bosses.

But then again, I can't judge if I have not tried it so let's still put that IB in for my summer internship.

Reading this book, however, has reminded me of what I'd learned from working at my previous company. It was a predominantly men company at the analytical division. We do have a consulting division which I would say is composed of 60%male-40%female ( if not 65-35). Down at the analytical division though, female is a scarce commodity. My team had never hired a female until me and so that is 7 years without any female in team. To think further, in the analytic departments, there are only 3 finance-women. Me as an analyst, 2 others as senior associates. I'm not counting the MDs.. there are a few women MDs. I'm also not counting the few female programmers who work in my floor.

SO WHAT HAVE I LEARNED FROM THIS PREDOMINANTLY MEN WORLD?

1.YOU CANNOT BE HUMBLE! Tell others what you have done
I read an article that says female tends to downplay their works as compared to male. Which I feel is true. Before working here, I felt that people will always notice what you do and so you don't need to say that you've done so.. WRONG! If you're not putting in those extra hours after work, people won't know that you're working hard.. it's all about perception.
So I learnt to not be humble at work. If you know how to do it, TELL THE OTHERS YOU KNOW! Even if you don't, say you know and go find out afterwards ( that's what MEN DO!)
If you don't do this.. you'll be churned by the others ( Lesson well learnt by me )

2. BE SELFISH ( To a certain extent)
When your team members do not do their work, don't cover for them.
If a member is not in the office during a sudden meeting, too bad...
selfish? more like survival

3. PERCEPTION
I notice that people who were rewarded as hard-working in my office are those who SAY that they're busy all the time..
Q:"Hey wanna go for lunch?"
A:"Sorry busy"
Q: "Hey how are you?"
A:"Life is hell. I need to finish this project bla bla bla"
Seriously, act busy!

Okay that's all I can think of right now.. anyone wanna give some tips?
This reminds me of that book :
Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office

Actually, you know what I'm going to get that book right now along with Play like a Man, Win like a Woman book.

Another tips I read from the review of Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do


-Don't always need to be liked
-Don't smile too easily
-Don't apologize too quickly
-Don't clean up after other colleagues (especially men)
-Don't be a perfectionist at the expense of innovative thinking or getting things done

I'm going to second the first 4 tips!

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Let's start with a list of websites you SHOULD know


As a friend of mine was asking me about applying to Business School, I came up with a list of websites that an applicant should know :
1. admissions411 on details of applicants to each school
2. accepted.com - great for essays, interviews preparation
3. Clear Admit -submit your CV and you can get FREE initial assesment of your profile
4. Clear Admit's blog
4. Businessweek's Forum
5. Volunteer matching website
6. opencoder for a list of MBA blog
7. Wharton's MBA blog
8. MBA.com
9. The winner of Best of Blogging 2007 - rungee who's going to Wharton


Check out past posts on MBA books and encouragement

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

A long overdue reject by


NYU finally come today. Oh well.....

Monday, May 14, 2007

Where is my I-20???


Killing me.. I submitted my financial forms to UCLA around end of March and until now I'm I-20-less. First, they say they didn't get my financial statement. Now, they say they didn't have any data on what I did after my graduation from UCLA thus cannot provide me with my I-20 yet (my guess is that I need to show my H-1B working visa bla bla bla )

SIGHHHHHHHHHHH and I'm going back to Indonesia in 1.5 weeks.. come on chop chop.. OKAY well to be fair, the person who is taking care of this is sweet and helpful.

Other than that, my CFA is suffering. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna fail. I have 6 Schweser books and the test is on June 3rd in Jakarta. Right now, I have 2/3 a book to finish. But I have yet to do any of the practice questions.. Lalalalala...... okay haha I'm not exactly in a studious mood because of my pending vacation :P

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Osteria Latini

YUM.. look at my lunch today!! Hahaha this not-working-thing is going to hurt both my wallet and my waist line. Anyway, I went to Osteria Latini at Brentwood. The one I had is a spaghetti with seafood ( forget what it's called) and it's really yummy

Lots of customers there seem to be complementing their salads as well.. Btw, in case you've never been to LA.. women here LOVE LOVE to eat salad for lunch for whatever reason.. I'm more of a meat-eater..

Since I'm filling my day with food and studying for CFA, I figure I make a list of restaurants that I've been to as well so other admits/students know where to go in LA.. Definitely recommends this restaurant!

Osteria Latini
11712 San Vicente Blvd.
Brentwood, CA 90049
310.826.9222

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Done with Work

I'm done with work.. I quit... well last week actually ( and after extending one extra week stay from my supposedly quit day in April )

I'm both estatic and sad in leaving my job.. it is anyway my first ever job and I did learn much from the position... I'm saddest because I won't be seeing my wonderful co-workers, all who were supportive of my MBA journey and my personal well-being..

Now that I've quit but am still in LA, I'm spending my days by studying for my CFA level 1, basking under the SCORCHING sun along with Paris, making frequent trips to the fridge while studying and packing my stuff..

I actually had a phone interview with a consulting company in Indonesia yesterday and I had a CASE INTERVIEW.. haha which I sucked at because I do not have enough practice.. haha will let you know how that goes..

I had lunch today with my friend who is currently in Anderson and he's been influencing me to go into Investment Banking.. He says that since I have a background in finance anyway, I should pursue IB. He also says that IB likes to have more women and that they kinda lower the standards for women ( Don't kill me.. i'm just a messenger ) hahaha.. it's pretty tempting.. he says that my going to consumer product (Short term essay goal) is crazy because in Indonesia, I will be paid the same as or a little more than the local graduates ( fresh bachelor's monthly salary in Indonesia is $200 ).

So we'll see.. he says pursuing both Consulting and IB is still manageable and not as HARD as others would say.. Told me to pursue at least IB for summer.. tempting... tempting..

Oh well so that's the update for me......

Thursday, May 3, 2007

H-1B

I've just been told by my friend who's an Indonesian, had worked in the States previously before her MBA with her H-1B visa that after I graduated, I will certainly get an H-1B visa. THis is because before my MBA, I have already had an H-1B visa and thus I can use that lot again..

I'm not sure about how the process works but to know that I will definitely have an H-1B upon graduation is enlightening.. She found this out from an immigration lawyer who went to her B-school and talked about this..

On the other hand, I had just spoken to my friend who were applying for H-1B this year and she told me she didn't get it.. she said she didn't get the lottery for the H-1B and is returning to school. This is really bad news..

Update
From MBA Hairtwirler's comment :
If you had an H-1B in the past 6 years and have not left the U.S. for more than 365 days since being in H-1B status, you are not cap subject and can change your status to H-1B after you graduate. I'm going to write more on immigration matters in the next week or so...

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Why not many women go to B school


As many would complain why the ration of Men to Women in B school is 30-70% instead of the around 50-50 at Law school and medical school, the proposed reasons are :
1. B schools interfere with the age when women want to start to have family. The average working experience of 5 years mean women will enter B school at the age of 27. This maybe an obstacle for some ( definitely for Indonesian women remembering my parents/family nag for me to get married soon.. )
2. Lack of Role Model.. and here's where I want to point you GALS to this special report by Business Week on Women Entrepreneurs and role models of women entrepreneur
3. Gender stereotyping that believe men are better managers than women ( ERR... ?)
4. "Women tend to be more risk-adverse than men. Elissa Ellis, executive director of the Forté Foundation, says women are even more cautious than men about holding onto their jobs and forgoing B-school during a economic downturn, -- partly because women earn less and have less of a financial cushion."
5. "Curriculum. Until recently, the culture at many business schools was a boy's club -- replete with beer busts and golf outings. The classroom curriculum also tended to turn off females, who are usually more interested in using their careers to contribute to the greater good of society, according to Catalyst studies. Students add that the case studies rarely include women subjects or women-friendly businesses, which makes it harder for women to relate."

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

When God made You

Sad song.. haha at least for me who is currently going through another heart break

Monday, April 30, 2007

UCLA Knapp Competition


A few days ago I had the chance to attend the UCLA Knapp Business Plan competition.. ( more like crashed into ) since I'm the only admit there I think.. anyway it was exciting.. there were LOTS and LOTS of team giving a 30 min presentation in front of professors, guest Venture Capitalist and fellow students. Of the three presentation that I attended, two of them actually made it to the four finalists. That really helped in identifying what makes them tick :)

So one team was giving a presentation about Mr.Fob, a website that gives info on ethnic food and restaurants currently within LA. The team behind Mr. Fob also holds food tours ( Not so sure how often they hold it ) to ethnic restaurants in LA. Each person will pay $30 for the food tour and a food tour-guide will attend and give brief cultural background on the ethnic food. That is interesting :) they give presentation on how much funding they need, what the growth future for the business, the competition and how they can overcome it.. etc etc..

So that is interesting and for once, I'm impressed of the entrepreneur program in UCLA ( refer to my thought about Anderson day ). Last time, I didn't have a very good vibe on the entrepreneur program at UCLA because I feel that students merely want to ace in the class, however looking at how the students gave presentation at UCLA Knapp Competition really changed my mind. I guess it's more about if my interest is in Enterpreneurship, I should immerse myself with those who have common interest with me.

Why I think these students make it to the top four :
1. Data data data
2. If you have a business plan to show for the competition, it's best if you have realised the first few stages of your business idea to better prepare the business idea.
3. You can get a professional at other industry outside of UCLA to join your business team ( which the other team did by having a well-known doctor who had treated Glaucoma to join them )
4. Think about all the possible problems you may encounter in setting up the business
5. Practise presenting the idea

Now on a side note of the Kate Moss' picture : The yellow asymetric chiffon dress -inspired by this one that Kate wore - is FINALLY available! Kinda disappointed of the detail of the dress by TopShop so I won't buy it haha but others may be interested..

Monday, April 23, 2007

Girls out there, please be careful!


Girls out there.. PLEASE BE CAREFUL! Especially those who're going to stuy or live in New York.. Why? This is a news about a Columbia graduate student who was raped and tortured in her apartment just a few weeks ago.

Things to note :
1. Buy a pepper spray!
2. Be paranoild like me and have 911 on your speed dial. Or if not, this accident can be prevented if you just talk on the phone with someone when you feel wary of a stranger. The stranger/ prospectful criminal may think twice before attacking you because you're on the phone with someone else
3. Try to live with a roommate. Cheaper, safer, and someone may be able to take care of you when you're sick
4. If you're in a public parking area and going to enter your car, please have your car key handy and get into your car quickly and lock the door. Do NOT stand in front of your car, trying to grab your key from your bag or worse sit in your car with your door open. You'll be a good target for this prospectful criminal.
5. Take self-defense classes..
6. Don't trade in your safety over rent price.. Try to find out the crime rate in the neighborhood you're interested in by checking out the local police website.
7. For international students who are coming to US/Europe/ other countries than their own and esp if you have never studied abroad.. please be cautios of others and your surroundings ..

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

read read read

Okay I give up waiting for comments.. I'm following Iday's approach and am starting to read all the students' blogs one by one.. Thank God I did.. because there's a reason why they're writing those blogs.. For us the upcoming MBA students to learn and carve the best plan for our 2 years MBA experience....

Okay so I'm gonna be away for a while burrying myself in all the blogs :)

Monday, April 16, 2007

Vote for your favorite blog for BOB HERE!!



So here are the list of nominees for BOB this year :

Applicant Bloggers:
AGirlsMBA - http://agirlsmba.blogspot.com
Anand - http://anandologue.blogspot.com
Asiangal - http://asiangalmba.blogspot.com
B-School Diva - http://bschooljourney.blogspot.com
Forrest Gump - http://run-forrest.blogspot.com
HairTwirler - http://mbajamey.blogspot.com
Iday S - http://i4iday.blogspot.com
Inblue - http://inblueblogs.blogspot.com
ipoel - http://youngmbagal.blogspot.com
JatWarrior - http://jatwarrior.blogspot.com
Juggler - http://thembasaga.blogspot.com
Katrina - http://katrinamba.blogspot.com
MBA babe - http://mbababe.blogspot.com
mba_salsera - http://mbasalsera.blogspot.com
Meru SAVARNI - http://merusavarni.blogspot.com
necromonger - http://onwardtomba.blogspot.com
Peter - http://aamba2009.wordpress.com
Rohit - http://wannabdictator.blogspot.com
Rungee582 - http://rungee582.blogspot.com
RusGirl - http://rusgirl.blogspot.com
ScareCrow - http://scarecrow07.blogspot.com
StressTensor - http://stresstensor.blogspot.com
Suser - http://susulicious.blogspot.com
TJ - http://flexibleimage.blogspot.com
UniQpath - http://uniqpath.blogspot.com

Current Student Bloggers:

Angel Angie (LBS) - http://angelangie2008.blogspot.com
Ash (Stanford) - http://gsb2008.blogspot.com
Ashwyn (IESE) - http://stereoscopy.blogspot.com
Benny (Tuck) - http://mba-benny.blogspot.com
Bronowski (Yale SOM) - http://brownoski.blogspot.com
Divine Miss N (LBS) - http://divinemissn.typepad.com
FM (LBS) - http://ehfm.blogspot.com
FromCali (Ross) - http://fromcali.blogspot.com
Hallonman (INSEAD) - http://hallonman.blogspot.com
Jacek (ESADE) - http://eumba.blogspot.com
Jerry Blank (Yale SOM) - http://flatpointmba.blogspot.com
J-Term Johnny (Columbia) - http://j-term-johnny.blogspot.com
Karlitos (LBS) - http://karlitosgoesmba.blogspot.com
La Laudiaria (Wharton) - http://heiressmba.blogspot.com
Le Voyageur (Chicago) - http://mbaperegrinations.blogspot.com
MBA Gladiator (Yale SOM) - http://mbagladiator.blogspot.com
Mbwana (Stanford) - http://mbwana.blogspot.com
Nagendra (Oxford) - http://nagsblog.blogspot.com
Noelle (IESE) - http://spanishnoelle.blogspot.com
Patxi (LBS) - http://commitment.es/mba2008
Perpetual Motion (Wharton) - http://perpetualmotion.wordpress.com
Rubeo Boy (Stern) - http://newlifecity.blogspot.com
The Dirty Canuck (Chicago) - http://the-dirty-canuck.blogspot.com
Tim K.(McCombs) - http://southpawtiger.blogspot.com
UCLADawg (Anderson) - http://ucladawg.blogspot.com


OKAY! SO THAT'S A LOT! And to be frank, I have not been following most of them.. I had definitely browsed most of the applicants' blogger but not so much of the current students' blogs.. SO I think this voting by the nominees will not be very fair ( assuming most of the nominees are like me.. which of course I might be wrong ) but anyway.. I'm calling ALL BLOG READERS to nominate your favorite posts!! Okay so then you guys will help me SCREEN for the posts... I will of course still read your nominations and pick my fave post :)

Nominees are welcome to nominate yourself too.. That will help me check out your interesting post.. because there's no way I will go through each nominee's postSS throughout the year..

For Example, let me start : I like my excerpts post for long term goal and family essays.. just to help applicants to really see a concrete essay. After being rejected in early 2006 from 4 top B Schools, I contacted a friend of mine who had gotten in to 4 even TOP-PER Bschool and ask if she's willing to share her essay with me. She's kind enough to share with me and that helped me identify my mistakes :
1. don't ramble too much about my jobs -> adcoms don't call about my daily tasks' details,
2. try to be very specific about your short/long term goal even though you're not very certain what it is..

What else.. I think my blog is different because it helps the applicants with a. less working experience or b. international applicants to get a feel what B school is really about. ( It's really all about the ALCOHOL ) jk.

Now my favorite post will be when I ask others what they REWARD themselves for getting into B school... BOY That one receives a hell lots of comments.. haha

OKAY you guys get the point, please vote for your favorite blog's post in my comment box ! KAY! deadline for me to vote is coming up

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Excerpt from my Long Term Goal Essay


In the past, I've posted excerpt from my family essay ( that I assumed help me get into Anderson ), so here's another one of my LT goal:

In a departure from the office, my recent trip to Indonesia has also helped me reshape my long term goals. I was accompanying my family to travel to remote areas of the country – the contrast in living condition between the locals and those living in the capital struck me profoundly. After much thought, I recalled the story of a businesswoman in India who had set up a microfinancing company to provide women living in isolated parts of her country with small business loans. These loans allowed the poor to advance their economic standing as well as attain their independence. I realized that the business model of microfinancing would apply equally well to the situation I had witnessed in Indonesia. My long term goal is therefore to set up a company that issues micro-loans in remote areas of my country in the near future. It is evident that my current work in the field of investment debt provides an excellent foundation, however, I intend to further develop my ideas at Anderson through its [say club name].

So, I hope you guys can note that from my two excerpts, I try to show :
1. something personal
2. something in the past that makes me what/who I am right now, makes me want to do something, explains my motivation for the future.. and that's why in the present I'm pursuing an MBA.. ah life is a circle ( HAHA I remember my literature class while studying "Joy Luck Club" : it's a circle. the begining is the end and the end is the beginning")
3. something different ( everyone will write about their work experience and how they go beyond the expected and bla bla bla.. this is good! Yes.. but try to inject something else.. something personal, some explanation why you went beyond)

Happy essay-ing!

Saturday, April 7, 2007

B School Interview is different than job interview


So how is it different?

At B school interview, the school wants to get to know about you as a person: your strength but also your weakness, your likes and your dislikes, your motivation as a person, your goals in life..

Job interview : the employer wants to know that you have MORE strength than you have weakness, your working style, your interpersonal relationship, your goals in alignment to the company's goal..

During my interview with USC, I let myself by me.. In asnwering " What's the most common misconception about you?"

I answer : I'm a very outgoing and bubly person that sometimes at work people don't take me seriously

Q: What do you not like about your job?
A: very detailed oriented and tedious as opposed to my working style that likes to take a look at the big picture

Okay IF that was a job interview, the interviewer would let me out the door after 5 mins..
But hope you guys get the picture, that's what others are saying when they give you advice to be yourself during interviews..

Friday, April 6, 2007

Now WHY didn't I know this Best of Blogging Award before


As fate would have it, I'm nominated for the Best of Blogging 2007. Hell, why didn't I know this thing before.. and the winner gets an Ipod Video??? I want one too.............

But anyway haha Thanks for nominating me!! I'm honored..

Now for the story about Paris.. I haven't talked about him for a long time now have I:

I went home from work yesterday and found his vomit in front of the door ( Sorry.. gross ) but okay so I'm like.. great.. what now.. and then I saw to the left of it is ....

MY HAIR TONIC CONTAINER CHEWN..

OH SHOOT.............. Okay so I'm not as panic as I sounded because I immediately recalled that Paris had eaten : tylenol, my heartburn medicine, acne creams, PENSS, pencils..
I'm amazed I never had to take him to the vet

So he was pretty tired through out the night, didn't eat anything and just drank water. My first ALERT was when I gave him a new toy I had bought at Petco and he did NOT play with it.. We're talking about Paris who lovessss squeaky toy and would tear it apart in one day..

Hah.. I pretty much studied my CFA last night with him on my lap, making sure that he's still breathing. Did call the 24hr Vet and they said that it's a normal sign of eating something bad and I can go to the vet if I'm worried.. Good to know there's 24 hr vet service..

When I called the vet I was like : my dog ate my hair tonic and I don't know if he's having food poisoning..
Person on the other line : So what did he eat? What's the ingredients..
Ipoel scrambling to get to the box of this hair tonic.. and......... OF COURSE IT DOES NOT HAVE ANY INGRDIENTS written ot it .. because this tonic is from Indonesia and Indonesians do NOT list any ingredients on their products.. DARN
ipoel : I don't know.. it doesn't say anything
Other person : then I can't tell you if it's poisonous or not..

Okay so there you go.. anyway back to Paris.. he's fine now.. eating.. I'm actually working from home now to "monitor" his health.. hahahahaha

Tips on How to get to know a School more

Any of you had that experience where you're in a B school info sessions and all these adcoms are around you.. but you have no ideas what to ask them?? or maybe you see other people are told to contact current students /alumns to ask about that school's particular MBA experience and you're like WHY... ISN'T IT ALL THE SAME?

Okay well I had that experience.. lotsssss of time.. As you guys remember about how I decide to pick schools is solely by location.

Well here are tips and explanation WHY you should try to find out about schools you're interested in and HOW.

Now the HOW :
1. Talk to current students/ alumns. And ask them: how do you like the program/school? Is it what you thought it would be before you join MBA? Is there anything you are disappointed about? Is there anything you really enjoy? What do you think about the professors or the clubs? Do you think you learn anything from B School? if yes, WHAT?

It'll help to talk to someone with the same background or long term goal as you have.. for example at the Q's bar just before Anderson day, I actually met someone who has similar background as I do.. it's almost insane :
He's from India, went to Singapore for scholarship for his undergrad ( I went on the same scholarship for my high school ) and then he worked in fixed income ( ME TOO ) and then he moved to LA to do his MBA at UCLA and he plans to return to Asia to be an entrepreneur..

WOW.. Really gives you insights..

2. Okay other than talking to current students/alumns, talk to professor/ staffs from the B School. I met with a few entrepreneur professors at UCLA and asked tons of questions : such as
- how can you teach Entrepreneur
- what's your program like
- how many of your students really become an entrepreneur after MBA
- name me some who are successful

ETc ETc ETC..

3. browsed the school's website , its international exchange program maybe if you're interested, take a look at the classes they offer, read the school's catalogue back to back

4. read all the blogs and forums about those schools and get a feel of HOW others view the school and also the rankings..

5. Okay I'm out of idea.. :)

Thursday, April 5, 2007

ReCap on Anderson Days..


I know.. it's a bit late that I would only go through my A days experience now... I went to the first A days (March 11-12). Although most of the people I met at A days are nice and friendly, this includes the admits and the seniors, I must say I didn't really bond too much with these students. Partly because I was too busy trying to talk to every Entrepreneur students and professors in Anderson. During that period, I was still unsure about whether I should really go on with my MBA plan or go back to Indonesia for good. So, I went to talk to every one who's related to Entrepreneurship there and just asked for his/her opinion.

Now about the Entrepreneurship in UCLA : must say that Bruins are v proud of their entrepreneur programs. It's not the best in the nation.. ( number 10 according to USnews ranking for Entrepreneurship) but yeah it's not bad. Anyway, I (speaking as an international student who's looking to return to Asia upon graduation and start my own business a few yrs after my graduation) am kinda disappointed with the program. I think that the program is great for students who want to do business here in US, but won't help much for biz in Asia.

Why? I have a feeling that the Entpreneurship program (possibly in the whole US) is more geared towards helping wanna-be-entrepreneurs to get funding from Venture Capitals... Which is totally wonderful and sensible.. ( IF you're gonna stay n do ur biz in US )...
There's also the fact that I FEEL the Entrepreneurship program is more talk than do.. U are taught to PRESENT your business ideas to the VCs, work the data and show them why your biz idea is brilliant.. BUT that's not what entrepreneurs are all about.. Entrepreneurs are about doing... not selling ur idea to get funding.. OF COURSE there are SOME who will work on their biz idea after they get funding.. but seems like the students are more into PRESENTING their ideas to get good grades..

NOW HOW do I come to this conclusion : I went to one Business Plan Development class.. and well I believe about 30% of the students are going to work on their business ideas.. UCLA also has fellowships.... where if you want to work on ur biz idea during ur Summer, U can apply for this grand to make it happen.. Of course.. this is brilliant.. though i doubt many students will do that..

OKAY SO anyone who wants to do entrepreneurship in UCLA should not be discouraged because of my post. I think it's what you want to gain out of the program... I've definitely met with lots of determined entrepreneurs who are concurrently working on their business while doing their MBAs.. yes, their paths are not as straightforward as those who want to do Investment Banking or Consulting but UCLA still help you with their Knapp Competition (business plan) or fellowships program!

Yes that's my insight of the Entrepreneurship program here.. which may be useful if you have the same long term goal as I do..

Overall: the people are nice and friendly. Pretty dominated by Californian people : NorthCal, SouthCal. But meeting people from Chicago, NY, Washington is not uncommon. I skipped a lot of their A day program ( namely Dinner with a Dozen, early moning class ) just because I was too tired.. but def a good experience..

Before the A days, people meet up at the bar Q's on Wilshire and they do hiking/biking together so that's a good bonding time before the real A days come.. I regret I didn't go to the outdoor activities.. but remembering my dermatologist told me I should not sweat else acnes will be popping out.. I'd rather stay home. ( Hell, I sound bimbotic..)

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Advice for Young Applicant, specifically international applicant


From my experience meeting with admitted students at A-days and through casual dinners around LA, I'm painstakingly aware of my age as compared to other admitted students. OKAY I'll admit I'm not THAT young.. I'm 24 going to 25 this year.. Whenever the other students start talking about "OH u went to UCLA too? Which year..? "I kinda want to not say anything.. :)

But anway back to the advice.. so I guess my advice will really mostly apply to international applicants ( sorry locals.. ) I think the international applicants at an advantage if they're applying with less than ave working experience.. why? because of course they have the diversity going on, and they have more to offer to the class in terms of global network and cultural differences. Also if you happen to be a young FEMALE applicant, you're in better luck than the fellow males because from my conversation w other ppl ( DISCLAIMER: I say from conversationsss ) seems like B school understand that :

OURBIOLOGICALCLOCKISTICKINGASIWRITETHIS

and that we want to start a family soon yada yada yada and thus Adcom give us a break for applying early.

Now while getting into B school w less than working experience, there are things to consider :

what can u give to other students from ur limited w/e.. maybe ur diversity, maybe ur internationa w/e, maybe your non-profit experience, maybe u worked for only 2 yrs but u have done an amazing job at it.. Whatever it is, make sure u know what u can offer to the school..

Of course then there's that conversation about how we are at a disadvantage because we never manage anyone before.. If you have strong extracurricular activities where you have managed people before.. GREAT.. I've spoken to current students about this.. Most of them react : HELL YOU GET IN.. who cares..
One though says YES DEF u're at a disadvantage.. I asked WHY? He says you'll learn a topic well when you tell ur self : HEY That's what I SHOULD HAVE DONE before.. But i guess that's debatable..

Now from my reassesment of whether I want to do MBA last month.. u guys should pick an important lesson! PLEASE do research about why you want to do mba BEFORE you apply to schools.. HAHAHA but then again I guess I might be discouraged from applying had I known other applicants have much stronger profile than I do.. Okay lemme admit how I pick schools :

I know I def want to do MBA. WHY: prestige, educational value, international network

HOW I PICK SCHOOLS : okay which schools are in big cities ( NY or LA).. okay next, which school are top 20... Okay then :
UCLA, BERKELEY, USC, NYU, COLUMBIA

Hah okay u get the point, I'm nuts..

But I must say, I'm a general representative of the international applicant ( OKAY.. maybe that's too general.. how bout Indonesian.. No? Ok I ll stop generalizing)

but yeah that's what I've been doing for my undergrad: didn't research what major I need to do, didn't know what classes there are, didn't know why I want to go to a specific school.. Location Location Location..

OK anyway I know it's hard for international applicant not in US to really get to know the schools other than through websites or catalogue. Access to alumns are probably limited. I've only done my research after I got in schools: I've never talked to current students/alumns before. The idea ofo researching about a school before was too abstract.. I always wonder about what I should talk to with these students.. maybe because my goal at the first place is not clear about why i want to do MBA.. Once you know what you want to get out of it, then you start researching more.

Anyway, I believe this applying to B school process is AS IMPORTANT as getting in.. Hell, networking, researching, talking and emailing current students.. These all are NEW to me..

Anyway back to advices : Don't be too stressed out if your w/e is not too much.. it's quality not quantity. it's also about what you want to achieve with your MBA. what's your goal after MBA. if it makes sense then by all means apply early. I believe that my career progression and MBA is in line in achieving my LT goal. Thus I apply..

Also don't think about failing.. You should always think about doing your best. Do the best for your application : GMAT, essays etc.. Then when all that fails, think again why you fail.. talk to other ppl why they succeed.. Failure is just a postponed success.. My gmat is lower than other students, my w/e is nothing as well.. but I think essays really help .. so work hard :)

Any other advices... Herm.. not at the moment.. but good luck !

I think adcoms who read my advices here will want to kill me.. what's with them telling ppl not to apply to early.. and here I am telling ppl to shut that off and just concentrate on what you want to get out of MBA..

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Two Laziest Dog in the World...

and of course both of them happen to live with me at the moment..
okay the one in the front is not only lazy but also always camera-ready..

Anyway.. congrats on everyone who just hear good news ( katrina, of course miss agirlsmba, and others.. )
Okay for those who didn't hear good news.. it's okay!!! seriously!! just get a couple drinks ( don't drive ), get wasted, and you'll be fine.. HAH okay i'm not helping..
but yeah seriously for guys : get drunk, for gals: go shopping..
and then once the mourning ends, start all over again for next year :)

Let's see any update for me... I'm still going for MBA.. despite my colleagues' attempt to collect bets on whether I will return to US or stay in Indonesia ( and get married.. so they say )

AND OF COURSE... ALL OF THEM say I will NOT return to US

GEEZ.. thanks for your support guys!

But yeah I'm still here doing mba.. more Indonesians are accepted to the Anderson..
This will be an exciting journey

Alrigty then.. update me on what you guys are planning to do before school starts!
As for me.. I'm still scouting for upcoming internship opportunity in Indonesia..

Saturday, March 24, 2007

my poor CFA


I have NOT BEEN STUDYING FOR CFA! I'm supposed to be studying right at this moment but instead I'm blogging..

I'm 2.5 weeks behind according to my personal SCHWESER calendar so anyone out there doing CFA this june : STOP BROWSING THE NET AND START STUDYING!

and that's exactly what I'm gonna do right now...

ENROLLED IN UCLA ( Did I tell u guys this before .. herm )


It's been 3 days and I haven't changed my mind about going to MBA... HIP HIP HOORAY!!!

I want to thank Lindy, Natasha, my baby, Paris, my mom, and everyone else whom I have been bothering the past month about my dilemma of going to B school or not.. I'm very happy to say that I have NOT changed my mind for THREE DAYS!!!

ThANK you THank You..

HAHAHA okay I'm over-reacting....

but anyway

I HAVE PAID my deposit to UCLA $1000 ( aka one Paris Biarritz bag .. SIGH )..

Yai.. I'm officially going to UCLA Anderson class of 2009!

And I actually might have found an internship with KIVA to do microfinance in Yogyakarta, Indonesia... I had the chance to talk to a friend's friend who is involved in micofinance organization, KIVA, in Indonesia. He's heading to Indonesia in June to head up a microfinance project and he invited me to join the group.. Okay.. I haven't heard back from him.. but still yai..

OH did I tell you guys : I'm interested in doing microfinance in Indonesia in the future ( that's my LT goal in the essay )

Okay I had the chance to chat with another Indonesian current Anderson student yesterday.. What a mind-boggling experience!!! THIS GUY is sooo darnnn talented..
Okay so he told me he did double major in his undergrad at Purdue I believe in Finance and Computer Science. Then he worked in Singapore, did his GMAT and scored 750.. Got contacted by MIT to do a Master in Engineering for Supply Chain something... He was offered admission with tuition for MIT.. did that.. and then work at a consulting company for a while... and joined Anderson 2 yrs ago ON FULL SCHOLARSHIP ( yes meaning two years full scholarship )

KILL ME... He's going to join AMGEN corporate finance upon graduation.. and was offered a position at BCG Singapore. He did summer internship at JP Morgan , Hong Kong to test the water but didn't like IB.

Okay so yeah I feel small ...

Tralalala but oh okay I also found a sublessee ( did I spell it right?) to take over my apt from June-August.. Now I'm thinking of bringing my dog, Paris to Indonesia for vacation for 3 months.. ANyone with similar experience of bringing your dog abroad???

See everything is clearer now.. One step at a time...

I also want to CONGRATULATE sa_ir, a fellow Indonesian, who's been accepted to Indiana Kelley School of Business.... CONGRATS.. And I believe, One-Toe, another Indonesian guy is going to MIT Sloan.. Am I right?

Craig Hubble, the admission directer for Anderson had also informed me there's another Indonesian gal who just got accepted to Anderson.. hahaha wow oka I should stop mentioning about the Indonesiansss....

happy spring break holiday!!!