cheer boys cheer.

My alma mater is up against a significant inflow (can you tell I'm taking Ops this term?) of applications. Paige knows this firsthand, as she has been working hard to make sure volunteer interviewers are available for West Coast applicants. It's a good problem, really. And suffice it to say, I couldn't get in there anymore.

From the student newspaper:
This year the Admissions Office saw a 21 percent increase in Early Decision (ED) I applications and a comparable increase in ED II, which means that almost 150 more high school seniors than last year pegged Middlebury as their top college choice. Of the 6,152 applicants for the class of 2010, an unprecedented 900 more than last year, 195 have been accepted ED I and 270 more are vying for ED II spots. In comparison to Williams' mere five percent increase in ED applicants and Harvard's eight percent decrease, the vast increase at Middlebury has proven to be a special, albeit welcome challenge to the Admissions Office.

prom night.

Last night was the annual Ross Winter Formal, aka Prom. So we all got dressed up, went out to dinner, and danced our asses off in a hotel ballroom. Just like my last prom...in 1994.

It was a welcome release to the anxiety of recruiting season and a treat to see all of the MBA1s and MBA2s in the same place. My two dates were stunning in their black dresses and corsages. Of course, I have no idea where they wandered off to. It was that kind of party.

with the mtrek all-stars: ben, jess, and jennie.

Maybe next year, I'll rent a tux. Or at least a limo. Or I'll spike the punch. Probably all of the above.

woof.

My colleague and fellow Section Fiver, Tao, sent a bunch of us an encyclopedia of canines in anticipation of the Year of the Dog. So I couldn't help myself:

reminds me of fenway!

Happy New Year! Gung Hey Fat Choy!

rank early, rank often.

We had to submit our MAP rankings yesterday. I opted for a 50/50 mix of domestic and international projects, hoping to lower the chances of an "opportunity" to spend five weeks in Racine or Kalamazoo. Below are my rankings (Company, Function, Location):

1) Intel, Marketing, Hong Kong
2) Ashoka, Marketing, Spain
3) Infosys, Growth, India
4) Cisco, Marketing, San Jose
5) Whirlpool, Market Entry, Romania
6) Whirlpool, Market Entry, Russia
7) Atrica, Marketing, San Jose
8) Sally Ride Science, Market Entry, San Diego
9) Toyota, Web Marketing, Los Angeles
10) American Express, Operations, Ft. Lauderdale

The results should be back next week. Fingers crossed. Passport ready.

making noise.

Either we have really nice friends, or P-Hat played a solid show at S'keepers the other night. We certainly had a blast, ripping up songs by The Cars, Weezer, and (gasp!) Madonna. Yours truly was even given the opportunity to sing a couple of tunes. What were we thinking?


jamming on a borrowed bass and a borrowed amp.

Anyway, can't wait for the next gig. Who wants to stuff us in their basement?

almost famous.

Ross asked me if I would mind being linked to from the Admissions site. I don't. As a good marketer, this is a great way to acquire new readers. Ross admits, congrats! And welcome to the blog.

(I would link to the page here, but it's behind the secret Welcome to Ross door. Sucks to be you, Kellogg kids.)

best pong players on the planet.

That's right, the best beer pong players around are here in the fine city of Ann Arbor. We're so proud of our World Series champs. When's the Beer Die World Series?

for those about to rock.

Gig #2, tomorrow night at Scorekeepers. Here's the email from the sponsors of the event, UMBSA:

Are you ready to ROCK? Come to UMBSA Happy Hour tomorrow night to see P-Hat and the Job Shop crank it up to 11 as they hit the stage. They'll go on at 6:30pm, so take a break from school and recruiting and enjoy yourself at Happy Hour.

let the voting begin.

We received our MAP binders last Friday. For those of you unfamiliar with this acronym, it stands for something like "Multidisciplinary Action Project" and is roughly translated to mean "MBA field trip." Except instead of the zoo or science museum, we get to take our newfound MBA skills all around the world. It's a unique part of the Ross curriculum, and something that attracted me to Ann Arbor in the first place.

So we get a huge binder of projects and are asked to rank our top ten. "Gaming" has been a topic of conversation around these parts. In other words, can you outthink the ranking system and assure yourself of either (1) going international or (2) avoiding an assignment in North Dakota.

Since I'm going back into technology after I graduate, I'm angling for the projects in China and India with companies like Intel and Infosys. Also of interest is a project with Whirlpool in Russia, a stock car racing team in North Carolina, and a (business) tour of Western Europe with American Express.

Let the ranking begin!

teevee dinner.

The SlingBox is one bitchin' piece of hardware. If you're not familiar with this technology, you can send a television stream from your home cable box to your computer. Which means if you are travelling for business or (cough) studying at business school, you can access the local news from your hometown. One time hardware purchase, no monthly fees.


i didn't have senate hearings on my mind, but you get the idea.

It appears that our friends at Sling are close to rolling out a Mac version. It's only in alpha stage, but better late than never. Put me on the waiting list.

you know you're in b-school when...

...one of your classmates brings a box of microwave bacon to a TV-watching event. Thanks, Kraft recruiting presentation! (Two months ago.) By the way, Lost is hands-down the best show on television and can be downloaded over on iTunes. If you haven't been following along, it's time to catch up.

the light at the end of the tunnel.

After several dry years, it appears that MBA job prospects in Silicon Valley are looking up. At least, according to this article on CNET. (Thanks, Barb.)

Of course, my colleagues at Haas and Stanford have a clear advantage in Valley recruiting. Which is why schools like Sloan, Harvard, and (cough) Ross have sponsored forums on the West Coast. As I look at what's available here at Ross, many of the interesting companies are showing up: Apple, Intel, Dell, Amazon, etc. However, even more of the really interesting companies require a little elbow grease.

Regardless, it's officially open season on campus. Who has the right bait?

why does it feel like christmas eve?

Because Steve's keynote is tomorrow. Keep your eyes on CNET and AAPL. May we all continue to Think Different.

eleven is the new ten.

OK, so Morin found this first. But Guy Kawasaki's new blog entry about "making the ask" is a classic. Read it here.

making an impact.

Paige's Aunt Dorothy (actually "great aunt") passed away the other night. She was 93.

I first met Aunt Dorothy in spring 1997, when Paige and I first started dating. Aunt Dorothy joined us for Easter Sunday and then Opening Day in Cincinnati. She was a baseball nut, a lifelong Cubbies fan. She drank beer. She took Paige and I to the driving range and ripped a few down the middle. She called me "Nat."

Aunt Dorothy moved from Wisconsin to Southern Illinois in the early 1990s. She promptly bought a house. And then a Thunderbird. A convertible. A bright yellow convertible.

She was truly a selfless individual that believed family came first, a tremendously hard worker who moved her way up the Prudential chain during the glass ceiling era. And for the last few years, she volunteered at a food pantry to help the homeless. It was for this service that she was honored as an Inspiring Woman by Southern Illinois University.

We'll certainly miss you, Aunt Dorothy. May there be light beer and Cubs games wherever you are.

inside or outside.

As expected, Intel revealed a new logo at CES this week. While I'm a big fan of the old logo (probably because my Dad worked there from the day I was born until the day I left for Middlebury), the new one is growing on me.

globalization.

Every blogger should have sitemeter running. If for no other reason than to see cool maps like the one below. This shows where the last 100 visitors to wheresnate.com are coming from. Bitchin'.

bush would prefer "strategery".

Received this email from the Dean today. Too bad for those International Business folks. CSIB was a strange acronym anyway; of course, so is MO.

Recently, as part of their strategic planning process, the faculty of the Corporate Strategy/International Business Area considered the question of the appropriate name for their area. They decided to simplify their name to “Strategy.” Other areas potentially impacted by the change were consulted and we will enact this name change given the recommendation and rationale of the area.

By the way, I was sitting on my back patio in the sun beneath a nearly-ripe crop of oranges and lemons. 70 and balmy in San Jose. Do I have to go back to school?