Term Two begin-eth

After a lengthy break, I'm back from Toronto and in the midst of settling into my second of four terms at Harvard Business School (or, as it's officially known, "Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration - George F. Baker Foundation". Not hard to tell why most of us simply refer to it as "HBS").

It was great being back in Toronto and visiting with friends and family, but getting back into the school environment is excellent as well. The December exam period re-inforced through experience what I intellectually knew was true about HBS: the case method keeps you so focused and up-to-date during the term, that there is very little additional preparation required for finals. I loved the exam break. And I managed to write some decent exams too, so all turned out well.

A New Year's resolution was to get back into shape. I've been running regularly all fall, but in a genteel sort of way...I figured it was time to get down to work. I was THIS close to joining the Boston Athletic Association (the track club that puts on the Boston Marathon every year) when I got the urge to return from the disabled list and continue training with the HBS Rugby Football club. So I'm back at it, and there's a few marquee events this term.

Feb 15-20: Tournament at London Business School.
40 of us are heading to London for a 5 day trip, the first couple of days are for fun, and the last few are the tournament. Though we won the MBA tournament at Wharton, it was mainly U.S. teams. Playing in Europe is an entirely different story. (Stay tuned for my next debilitating injury).

April 8/9: Duke World MBA Rugby Championships.
The biggest event of the MBA Rugby world. Teams from schools on every continent. The focus will clearly be on the games, but even if they don't turn out as planned, it will still be a great event.

In other news, I'm getting deep into the summer internship recruiting period. Starting February 6, I begin a full week of interviews on campus, with the hope of securing a decent position for the summer months. The most novel jobs I've applied for have been the credit card operations of major banks (in NYC and Virgina), though I've also applied to various other jobs, one in California, two in Toronto, and one in London, UK. So far I have interviews for all of these but the west coast job, so hopfully I get at least one offer, because literally any of these would be great.

A friend of mine, Sheldon, is having his birthday party right after exams at his family house in Jamaica, and he has invited me to go along. Sounds great; and I think the best way to see Jamaica would be with someone who knows their way around.
(Also: He showed me a photo of he and his wife at the beach, and in the background was the actor who played "Stamford" on Sex and the City. How could I turn down the chance to vacation with celebrities?)

My courses are generally good this term. The highlight by far is Finance 2: interesting subject matter of course (you can tell by the title) but I couldn't imagine a more competent professor. He is simply the best teacher I've ever witnessed. And, he's got a very dry, relentless sense of humour. (And, before I knew he was from Manitoba, I could honestly tell it was a Canadian sort of wit. Interesting).

Anyway, he's got a loyal following of delerious fans. All 90 of us are excited for his class...it's really somthing, and reaffirms my choice to attend a school that prides itself on it's focus on quality teaching faculty.

I guess the other noteworthy aspect of this term is the amount of time I'm spending outside of Boston. Here's a brief rundown:

- January 13-15: Skiing in Stowe Mountain Resort. (Where the real von Trapp family relocated to after leaving Europe)
- February 10-12: Attempt to visit either Toronto or NYC, hopefully as part of an interview, (and therefore paid for) but we'll see how that works out
- February 15-20: London Rugby Tour
- February 24-28: Mark & Jen's wedding in B.C.
- March 10-12: Class retreat...probably in Vermont
- March 18-25: HBS Sailing Club trip to The Grenadine Islands
- April 8-9: Duke MBA World Championships of Rugby

Hopefully I can survive all of this, get at least 6 hours sleep a night, find a job, and pass my classes. (All without breaking any further bones on the rugby pitch).

Here's hoping.