• Final Strategic Across Sectors Exam (Felt like an HR case, 9 pages, 2.5 hours… DONE)
• Final Behavioral Perspectives on Management Paper (8 pages, wrote about the H1-B immigration policy and how flawed it is… DONE)
• Final Managing Organizational Politics paper (10 pages, wrote about the American Red Cross, tried to give recommendations to the new CEO, feel like the situation is pretty hopeless though… DONE)
• Trip to Boston to tour the Sam Adams brewery and catch a baseball game at Fenway Park (Enjoyed almost 2 pints of beer for free at Sam Adams, had clam chowder and hotdogs at Fenway… DONE)
• Trip to NYC to watch a live taping of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart (John McCain(!) was the guest, developed a bit of a man-crush on Jon Stewart, enjoyed Korean food in K-Town in NYC after… DONE)
• An evening of bowling with the Dean of Yale SOM, one of the prizes I won at the Internship Fund this year (Feel quite proud to have narrowly defeated the Dean, … first year participant destroyed us all though with an average score over 155….. DONE)
• Weekend trip to Cleveland to catch a Jays vs Indians baseball game, eat Chinese food, and a visit to Cedar Point, a good old fashioned amusement park (Didn’t make it to the amusement park on account of the rain, Jays got completely destroyed but Cleveland was a great trip, lots of fantastic Chinese food, played frisbee, more bowling…. DONE)

Still to Come

• Serious appointments to find an apartment in New York City (tomorrow)
• Wine tasting with the marketing professors (tomorrow evening)
• Big end-of-year birthday bash for 2 of my good friends at Hula Hanks, one of my favorite cheesy but fun clubs in New Haven (evening of May 14th)
• Class trip to Hollywood Florida at the Hard Rock Cafe (May 16th - May 19th)

Graduation in exactly 2 weeks. Social calendar remains packed. I am in denial and don’t want to think too much about what the end of my MBA really means. Pictures from social activities over the past week and a half below in collage form as always.

I just realized this morning that things are about over.  After turning in two papers today, I’ll only have one paper, one exam, and one class left.  Not only that, but thinking about groceries, I counted the days that I’ll be in New Haven before graduation weekend:  five.

Hello readers and welcome to the month of May - the final month of my 2 year MBA at Yale SOM. Its a scary thought and one that I numb my mind to, I really don’t want to admit it’s all coming to an end.

As for the items left on my plate during this last month- May brings a mixed bag of feelings and activities - on the one hand I have to think about 2 final ten page papers and 1 final exam… but on the other hand the social activities are PACKED. For academic stuff I have actually procrastinated a little less than I usually do. In an uncharacteristic move I’ve already finished one of these final papers earlier this week, even though its not due till May 12. Why would I do such a thing? Well, the next few weekends are pretty much blocked off for social activities, which leaves very little time to do school work. But the social calendar is certainly looking quite robust - Some highlights coming in the next few weeks include:

• Trip to Boston to tour the Sam Adams brewery and catch a baseball game at Fenway Park (this weekend)
• Trip to NYC to watch a live taping of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart (May 7th)
• An evening of bowling with the Dean of Yale SOM- Dean Podolny, one of the prizes I won at the Internship Fund this year (Evening of May 8th)
• Weekend trip to Cleveland to catch a Jays vs Indians baseball game, eat Chinese food, and a visit to Cedar Point, a good old fashioned amusement park (May 9th - 11th)
• Wine tasting with marketing professors, another internship fund purchase (May 13th)
• Big end-of-year birthday bash for 2 of my good friends at Hula Hanks, one of my favorite cheesy but fun clubs in New Haven (evening of May 14th)
• Class trip to Hollywood Florida at the Hard Rock Cafe (May 16th - May 19th)

And on top of all this, I’m hoping to fit in a few trips to New York City to find an apartment, which I’m pretty much willing to sign for now so long as its less than $2100, somewhere in Manhattan in a couple of neighborhoods that I’ve identified, and has some sort of sleeping loft (ideally).

So that’s it from me - the next weeks promise to be a whirlwind of social events, paper writing, exams, and some treks to New York City for apartment hunting. In the meantime, I’ll close off this entry with yet another collage of pictures taken from this week - some of them are from a bbq held at a Professor’s house (Professor Sonnenfeld was very kind to invite the entire “Strategic Leadership Across Sectors” class to his swanky home in Branford for a open bar BBQ), as well as some pictures from a friend’s birthday dinner at Seoul, a decent Korean restaurant here in New Haven.

Yep. That’s me chillin’ on the New Haven green like a bum. Three hours ago I was writing a paper, last two hours I’ve been enjoying some fantastic live music from Sean Kingston and The Roots. Temple Grill for dinner + drinks in half an hour. Good times.

Some pics from the concert:

For those that don’t know me too well, I happen to be a pretty big Arnold Schwarzenegger fan. I loved Terminator 2 when I first saw it as a kid, and today that film still stands the test of time upon multiple re-watchings. More than just a Hollywood special FX blockbuster, the film has good insights on themes like destiny/fate, the human condition, loyalty, and sacrifice.

Aside from his illustrious film career with some of my favourite hits like True Lies, Commando, and Predator, Arnold has also enjoyed a pretty impressive career in real estate, business, and of course, politics.

I’ve often said to my friends here at Yale that I wish Arnold would stop by and make an appearance before we graduate - so imagine my complete and utter JOY when I heard that Arnold Schwarzenegger would be the keynote speaker at a Conference of Governors on Climate Change hosted right here at Yale. After a public address by Yale president Richard Levin and Nobel Laureate Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Arnold took the stage and delivered a 20-something minute speech peppered with his usual humor, and candor on Global Warming and his view on what needs to be done to further the environmental agenda. I thought there actually was some decent substance behind what he had to say, and I really do applaud his efforts in California to lead the way despite the lack of action by the US Federal government.

The conference wasn’t a one trick pony either - earlier in the day a panel was held at the Yale Law School moderated by Scott Pelley of 60 Minutes. On the panel were Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, Manitoba Premier Gary Doer, and Quebec Premier Jean Charest. I thought this panel was also very well done, and Jean Charest in particular stood out in my opinion. I’ve followed Jean Charest’s career back in the day when he was leader of the Federal PC Party and I’ve always thought that he had a lot of potential on the federal scene.

Overall I’m not too sure what the conference will actually accomplish but I still found it interesting to hear what individual states and provinces are doing to galvanize some action on the federal level. Sure, a bunch of governors have signed a “Declaration on Climate Change”, but real progress on the environmental front can only be made if its on the federal agenda. One can only hope that with a new president about to be elected, perhaps that will be the turning point where some measures will be taken on a broader platform. Pictures from the earlier panel and more shots of Arnold in the collage below.

The worst day this week - Monday:
8:30 - Wake up
9:30 -10:30 - Start preparing for 10:30 Negotiations meeting
10:30 -11:30 - Negotiations meeting
11:30 - 1:00 - Student Government meeting
1:00 - 2:20 - Class - Behavioral Perspectives on Management
2:40 - 4:00 - Class - Consumer Behavior
4:10 - 7:10 - Class - Negotiations
7:30 - 2:00 - Yearbook
and an 8:15 class the following morning!

Best day this week - Thursday:
7:45 - Wake up
8:15 - 9:35 - Class - Product Planning and Development
10:00 - 11:00 - Gym
11:00 - 1:30 - Football, frisbee, then more football in the courtyard, bid on items in the Internship Fund Auction
1:30 - 2:20 - Free good Indian food in the Hall of Mirrors
2:40 - 6:00 - Class - Strategic Leadership Across Sectors with CEOs from Blackstone, MBIA, and Webster Bank, plus others from Charlesbank, Credit Suisse, and ex-SEC chairman/SOM Dean Donaldson
6:00 - Haircut and change of clothes for the Internship Fund Auction
7:00 - Hang out with the guys in our apartment building’s courtyard
7:30 - Show up at the auction
2:00 - Go home
and I needed to be at SOM at 9am today!

And now, I’m off to the FOURTH Study Group Celebratory dinner, a late celebration for Mamoun’s offer at American Express!

I was just shuffling through my binders when I noticed that this is what I have left to turn in before I graduate:

2 papers

1 case writeup

1 project

1 final

In other news, tonight I visited the Architecture Salon, which the SOM Arts & Culture club organizes in conjunction with the Yale art schools (there have also been an Art Salon, a Music Salon, and a Drama Salon). The goal is to exhibit students’ artwork and have students from different schools talk with each other. Did I mention that there is beer and a cheese plate?

Anyway. Tonight at the Salon there was a contest. To build a house on Mars. While Team SOM’s was not the most architecture-y construction (one architecture student jibed it for being “so cliche”), we cheered the loudest for it. And that’s what counted.

First place!
Wheels to get around Mars, and arms to pick up the house’s own refuse (magnetic hands on the model really work). The top floor is a rotating restaurant.

First of all, the first years totally won the Garstka Cup on March 27. What is the Garstka Cup? When first year students play second years on the ice, and nobody has played ice hockey before (or, at least, it looks that way). It is a good time with a real band and lots of beer, and I distinctly remember a second year telling me at the pre-game happy hour that the second years always win. Well, looky at this one.

Its the first week of April and for international students hoping to work in the US, it marks the beginning of a process I like to call “Visa Roulette”.

Starting yesterday (April 1st), employers began filing H1-B petitions to sponsor foreign non-US citizens like myself for long-term work authorization. As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog entry, the H1-B visa allows foreigners to work in the US for up to 6 years and it is the most sought after visa by international students. Sadly though, based on the chatter on the web and the opinions of many immigration lawyers, the chances of securing an H-1B visa this year will rely on luck - with the odds of success somewhere between 1 in 4 or 1 in 3.

Foreign students didn’t always have their visa prospects determined by random luck - early in the 90’s for example, the 65,000 quota was never reached. But in recent years, the quota has been exhausted, albeit over time. For the 2006 year, the quota was reached within 4 months. For 2007 , the quota was exhausted within 2 months. But last year over 130,000 applications were filed within the first 2 days of accepting applications, and the US government decided to conduct a lottery to determine who would receive a visa. Those that applied last year faced odds of about 50/50. Now a year has gone by and predictably there have been no legislative changes to increase the 65,000 spots available to foreign students. So naturally the 65,000 who didn’t get receive a visa last year are likely to re-apply in addition to the new applicants like myself who are applying this year.

Its puzzling to me as to why the US would resort to randomness to who remains in the country and who does not. In fact, most of the H1-B application process seems completely arbitrary and nonsensical. Every year, America literally turns away thousands of skilled workers who want to legally work in the country, pay their taxes, and be productive members of society. Potential investment bankers, computer programmers, economists, and even nonprofit consultants like me (gasp!) are told, “Take your skills and go somewhere else to work”. To depend on a lottery to compliment and grow the nation’s workforce seems illogical to me, and counter-productive especially during a time when the US economy isn’t firing on all cylinders. For a country built on capitalistic notions, its truly bizarre to see basic laws of supply and demand of labor ignored, despite employers actively petitioning for the cap to be increased. Ridiculous.

At this point all I can do is wait and cross my fingers. I’m fortunate enough that my future employer has hired an immigration lawyer, paid his fees, and filed a petition for an H1-B on my behalf. Even so, its irritating that my long-term work prospects in the country will now be determined by nothing more than a figurative spin of a wheel. Time to play Visa Roulette… Wish me luck.