Half-time...

Oh my God, I actually have a free moment on this Saturday evening to write a post… Its been a crazy, crazy first half of the winter quarter. In between interviewing, attending conferences and going into new initiatives, I have had very little time to reflect and think, yet alone write a blog post…Time to say some things that are clear about the 2nd year so far:
Second year of the MBA does not mean a slow down in activity: No way, for me it’s a been a ramp up, more engaging academics, club leadership and responsibilities and more serious recruiting. And this is even though I have Monday and Friday days off! I’ve been venturing into some new areas as well- for instance, making across the street contacts in the Africa Studies Department, meeting like minded graduate and undergraduate students interested in Africa- there are now plans to organize an Africa conference in the Spring (with an emphasis on 100% business), which will be fantastic- we hope it will rival the Wharton and Harvard conferences. On the non for profit side, there is a chance of me getting involved with a health care non-profit/NGO in Tanzania that one of the professors and a prominent Stanford GSB alum support- The Touch foundation. Another thing I’ve been doing is hosting and showing around quite a few prospective students- this has been rewarding and actually a great way to remind myself some of the great qualities of being at the GSB and give my part in attracting talented students.
Less time to see classmates: This is been a real downer for me. Just when you are getting to know some classmates really well, the fact that Schwab is no longer the more common meeting point means that it much harder to stay in touch- yes there are FOAMs and LPFs, but you cannot guarantee that second years will be there, and even then, these events only offer mild chatter, nothing in depth. The good news, is that we do meet up for birthday parties at a venue in San Francisco, we have much more of a ball. Of course, small dinners are and always will be the best way to solve this problem. Take tennis, I haven’t been able to have a single session this quarter, I end up canceling or being canceled due to that suddenly scheduled second round interview or other pressing event.
Confusing time for me career wise, like most, but I love the area: Silicon Valley is really growing on me this year, especially with my contacts outside the b-school. I mentioned very early in my blogs about how important it was for me to really meet ordinary bay area Californians to get a better sense of what it is like to stay here long term- and its great, I have friends who work for major silicon valley tech firms as employees, one is an editor of popular blog for the silicon valley area and have been acquainted with numerous entrepreneur friends. And no, these people are real friends that I have beers with, rather than far-removed or distant business contacts. For me this has been a crucial input into my decision to focus my job search within the bay area- I just love this area and the people I’ve met! Fingers crossed, at this moment in time, I can say that consulting and technology careers paths still remain open. Next week will reveal more clearly which of these avenues are still open to me. Interviewing is finally ramping down- thank god… On Campus Recruiting (OCR) is not pleasant and is thoroughly draining- I am looking forward to a relaxing thanksgiving, and looking to returning to Tanzania for x-mas- Zanzibar calls.

Finally, a word out to some people who have been commenting- I have not been silent because I can not be bothered- I just realized that I don’t get e-mail alerts for anonymous comments which are the majority of comments- I will reply to these pronto and the problem is now fixed.