margot's blog

2010-09-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

Moving to the City

2008-08-07T15:54:00.001-07:00

I'm very excited because on Friday we're picking up key to our new apartment in Noe Valley in the city. No more long commutes, train passes, or obsessive internet browsing on iPhone. Now I get to ride the BART and spend two more hours of my life each day doing stuff I consider productive.

Pet Charts - a bad name but cute content

2008-07-29T10:18:00.001-07:00

My blog - dead and now alive again!

2008-07-20T22:10:00.000-07:00

Life takes its twists and turns, and in the past year, I've realized I'm more mercurial than most MBAs.

On June 20, I resigned from my position at Apple and the next Monday started work at a software startup in San Francisco called Wallop. Whoa - I didn't realize how life could change so much. Here's a quick throwdown:

Apple vs Wallop, round I (ding!)
Offices vs One big room where everyone works
10,000 other people who do stuff vs 10 people who do stuff

Me thinking about doing stuff vs Me doing stuff

Silicon Valley suburbs vs. San Francisco

So you can see, after round I, it's a knockout for Wallop. The name does indeed pack a punch. So many other great qualities, too. Right now, I love my job. :-D

Check out an upcoming post where I will post our new company website - right now I'm working on it.

Along with my career move, Ari and I have taken the plunge and put away a car's worth of cash on a beautiful apartment in Noe Valley. Ok, maybe a cheap, used car's worth. Like mine. We'll be moving up to our new digs on August 8th.

And so, I've decided the blog must go on. Actually, after hearing lately that people actually read it, I have come to this realization. So thanks to Ajeeth Sankaran and his awesome wife (whom I haven't met but I'm sure is rad) and Nick Hoel for my kick in the butt to get going.

My motto this time: It's never too late for anything! Stick around for upcoming posts.

Visiting the family Villages - Chonglou district, near Taishan in Guangdong Province

2007-06-28T07:32:00.001-07:00

I will also have to do a lot of explaining, but here are the the videos and photos for those eager to get a glimpse of what my grandfather and grandmother's villages look like today (well, a little over a week ago).

Videos first:

Here is when we finally found Yeah-yeah's village by walking through a field of crops - we could barely see the gate from the road and had to finangle through some rows of crops just to get to the entrance. Yeah-yeah's house is the building on the left, and there are some farmers living there and one woman. This is my first approach - thankfully this guy was really friendly and actually let me go inside and see the place thoroughly.

These guys are helping us find Yeng-yeng's village by drawing maps in the sand. Our driver is in the blue shirt.

This is all I could post today - more coming!

China!

2007-06-28T07:22:00.001-07:00

China.

So, it's been 9 days since I landed here in Zhongguo, and I feel terribly bad for putting my journaling off until now for two reasons: one, I've been lazy, and two, I think my English has deteriorated and my ego is at risk. Oh well. As for the latter concern, that kicks off this entry with the observation that NO ONE HERE SPEAKS ENGLISH, well, practically no one except our guides. This has upsides, for example, my Chinese has really improved and the experience has felt very authentic. We discovered this fact when arrived at our first hotel, a wonderfully new and clean place called the Novotel immediately adjacent to the Guangzhou Bai Yuan Int'l Airport. I was so excited by the modern room with western bath and aromatic soaps it was like Christmas (ha ha).

The next morning we took an early morning flight to Kunming in Yunnan province, where our trip really began. Since neither Ari nor I enjoy crowds, bars, late nights, or smoke that much, we decided that for this trip we would just skip the cities and go straight to the country side in tourist-popular forever spring Yunnan province. Of course, here in China a small city like Kunming still boasts 10M people, but it has an intimacy that is charming. It is navigable, clean, and inherently accessible. We met our tourguide, Leslie in the airport and took a car straight to the only AAAA tourist attraction we'd see on the entire trip, the Stone forest (Shi Lin), a park of 300sqkm that is pock-marked with large grey stones jutting up from the ground. It's a beautifully groomed place, and we were pretty tired so we took an electric bus and walked just some short distances.

Our guide Leslie, who was a chatty and sophisticated 21 year old told us about how Israelis frequently visit this area and are typically the most demanding tourists of them all. Apparently the previous week a large group had gotten into a fight (people literally pushing eachother around) when the local hawkers got a little too forceful. She showed us the exact location and we all laughed. That afternoon we tried our first authentic Chinese food and it involved choosing raw ingredients by sight to be cooked, a routine that was exercised several more times on the trip. We ended up with Pork with mushrooms and a green spinach-like vegetable stir fried with egg, and a large bowl of soup with some cured meats. We thought it was tasty, albeit a little expensive (85RMB, about $10). I was able to try out my Chinese by ordering a bottle of water and two glasses.

On the way back to Kunming, Leslie brought us to a family's shop (in a big house) where ladies were carefully stiching away at delicate thread covered paintings and exquisite silk rugs. That night after a nap, we ventured out of the hotel, tired and bedraggled from traveling, to get some dinner. This task proved more difficult than expected, seeing as I forgot my quick-reference book and only knew the words for bread, rice, dumpling, beef, and pork. We ended up getting adventurous at a small street-side restaurant with arms-length-diameter steamers, and discovered something that we loved but still don't know the word for (see pic).

The next morning we caught another flight and headed north toward the Himalayas to Dali, a town with dual personalities: modern and ancient. This region, Yunnan, is haven to more ethnic minorities than the rest of China combined, so we set out to learn more about them. The Naxi (na-shee) people are centered in this area, so we went to a touristy Naxi house and saw the three course tea and marriage ceremony recreated. Three course tea involves three teas, one bitter, one sweet, and one with everything but the kitchen sink, including cheese that is grated and some nuts. (bitter and sink ones pictured). We liked the second one best, with its spiced honeyed taste. The marriage recreation was also interesting - the bride actually wears sunglasses (and as Ari says, looks ridiculous) and a mirror hanging from her neck. As you can tell, we were entertained.

A typical restaurant where you choose your ingredients, while they're fresh, and then they cook it!

Street food:

Later that afternoon we visited the three pagodas and a gigundous Buddhist temple complex, all shiny and golden in the afternoon sun. I was in awe at the 40ft tall buddhas laden with gold in the numerous darkened temples. The doors in these places are people-sized, and the monuments god-sized, so it's difficult to imagine the possibility of even transporting one of the statues into each temple. The thresholds are 1-2ft high to prevent wandering ghosts from meandering in, which makes one feel a little athletic. Through the center doors go the monks, while the lowly tourists (myself) go in the side door. While we were there we heard chanting which sounded almost Gregorian in tune, and the air was muggy and rainy. One hall that was especially interesting for me housed 300 statues of monks (at an inferior level to that of the Buddha or other gods) from long ago until now. Monks were life-sized, and each with a resemblance to someone, perhaps even the monk himself. There were monks with large bellies, skinny as a rail, monks laughing with children climbing about them, monks with beards, monks with no hair at all, monks with musical instruments, with war tools, with mouths open in praise and quietly meditating. The stories of each of these characters were almost palpable, and recorded in a way that was formerly unknown to me: in sculpture.

We took an electric bus back through the ancient leaning pagodas (think Towers of Pisa) that miraculously seperated and reunited during the 1996 earthquake, and headed to town. Since it was our first ancient town, we were enthralled with the "old-China"ness of it all - ashen-coloured roofs curling up at the ends, dragon carvings, charcoal covered wood everywhere. We stopped in a tea shop for a sales pitch and sampled three teas as part of a complicated process: first, one has to wash the tea leaves three times with almost-boiling water, and wash the cups (small shot sized glasses) as well with the hot tea-like stuff, and then you can try it. In the shops they have these neat desks with a depressed area for splashing hot water and the tea about, and then a drain that heads secretly out of the back of the shop. We enjoyed the syrupy sweet ginseng zing and caffeine. Then we headed back to our hotel.

That evening we ventured into town along "Foreigner street" to find some food at a restaurant with an English menu. Unfortunately, this limited us quite a bit, because I found that even ordering the local specialty (fish in a hot pot with bean curd) was a bad idea. The best part of the meal was when an old woman tried to sell us some small hand-made dolls, and I asked her if she wanted the soup. She eagerly nodded and pulled out a plastic bag, in which she and I dumped the sizeable remaining contents of the soup (a whole fish, cabbage, beancurd, etc.) in to a flimsy slightly-leaking pink plastic bag. She left quickly and I hope she enjoyed the soup more than I did.

Dinner

Later that night we realized what a tourist trap we were in when the Chinese guests also staying at our hotel came back from whatever revelry they had been up to. The walls were thin and the guest were LOUD. All night. This theme unfortunately continued into LiJiang.

Drive to LiJiang

We awoke the next morning and drove another couple of hours to LiJiang. Our guide met us at the hotel and took us to Ancient Lijiang. From the highest point in town, one can see a yin and yang of construction - old blackened roof houses in the ancient part, and new alabaster-coloured commercial buildings in the new. Unfortunately, the place significantly loses its romance when you learn that entire place was reconstructed in 1996 after the massive earthquake that tumbled all the buildings to the ground.

Anyway, back in the ancient city, we were a little puzzled - weren't we just in this place in Dali? It looked exactly the same. Our guide took us on a walk through the city explaining the geography of the place, with its heartspring of water and unique well systems - water was recycled completely efficiently at one point, with drinking water, dish-washing water, and clothes-washing water all coming from the same place. Now, ancient water ways line all the stone paths so that tourists can find their way around; if you're ever lost, just head upwater and you'll reach the center of town at the water wheel.

LiJiang waterway

Water wheels in LiJiang

Dai minority women in LiJiang square

Waterway in the square

Longevity Bridge - supposedly a guy who lived here hundreds of years ago lived for hundreds of years.

On the way to Lion Hill

We also climbed to the top of Lion Hill for a good look down on the two-faced city and the mountains that surround it. The Chinese are keen on noting the likeness of natural formations and other inatimate objects. The peaks that surround LiJiang are said to resemble a Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and a divot for holding a paintbrush. Since the roofs of ancient LiJiang are also blackened, its said that the city is like an ink slab for a giant god-sized artist. That night we ventured back into the ancient town to find a raucous scene that reminded Ari of Thailand. Dancing girls in bars shouting at eachother and into the crowd in mock competition, Chinese tourists everwhere, and really bad food. At this point we realized that something I was eating was really getting to me (more on that later) and skiddadled back to our hotel for some shuteye.

at the top of Lion Hill

The "Ink Slab" (ancient city)

LiJiang new city

The mountain where you rest your paintbrush:

Tourists putting lotus flowers to float down the waterways

Sunflower seeds: an international pastime:

The next day we headed up to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, which tops 5900 meters (19,350 ft) Ok, for those of you who have ever been to a mountain in North America, this is really really high. I forgot to mention that even in LiJiang at Lion Hill, we were dramatically huffing and puffing up the stairs. Here, we really had to take it easy. Fortunately, the park as a wonderfully long and peaceful ski-lift that you take up to a mountain meadow (pictured).

Small crimson lace fringed hearts on long strings are are hung in the trees and the forest is quiet. Also, we happened to arrive at a time when the minimal number of Chinese tourists were also there: lunchtime. We began to like our guide even more. We headed to a green mountain meadow where young couples used to commit suicide when they could not be with the one they loved but instead their betrothed. The mountain is much closer from here, too, yet shrouded in a cloud like it is all summer. It also began to rain but in the warm air the wetness was not so bad. The Chinese tourists had a different attitude about this, and acted almost allergic to the rain. It started to really come down in blustery winds when it was time for us to take the ski-lift down, but we decided to be adventourous and get wet. Our tourguide followed with her umbrella (pictured). Once we got to the bottom, we were pretty soaked and ready to head back to town.

Yaks in the meadow

We were the only ones without an umbrella :-)

That evening our guide suggested that we visit a local dumpling shop called Northeastern King Wang's Dumplings right near our hotel, and I did my best at navigating the all-Chinese menu. We ordered 30 dumplings and two huge bowls of fried rice for just 22RMB (about $3). Unfortunately, we also discovered what was making me sick for the last three days: MSG. The dumplings were laden with them. 10 days later now and I'm still recovering. So goes it.

Finally somewhat accustomed to the altitude and eager to get out of the tourist jungle, we kep driving north with our trusty Muslim driver and fancy new car (a VW with just 16K miles) towards Zhongdian (Shangrila). We saw tobacco fields aplenty, and lots of other crops too, including corn, rice, apples, melon, etc. As part of the journey, we decided to take a hot-dog shaped raft 18km through the first bend of the Yangtze river, where the river bloats and swells its brown mass around a bend and heads north for the first time. Ari and I were eager for a substitute for the car (despite the fact that we really liked our driver) and it was lovely to get some fresh air and see things from a different perspective. We stopped at a sandy mound in the middle of the river, infamous for its gold-flecks (pictured). After about 18km, we stopped at a random sandy bank and hiked up a couple of switchbacks to actually find our driver waiting at the right spot. Our guide gave me a couple of peaches to try, which were at the height of their season and apparently a new variety with less fuzz. They were crisp with white and pink flesh, an quite delicious.

At the stone drum (an ancient tablet)

Rafting in the Yangtze

We met our next guide at a road-crossing near Tiger Leaping Gorge and had some "without MSG" lunch with him. We visited Tiger leaping gorge (where the Yangtse rushes through a 5000ft tall ravine with great fanfare, spraying up over boulders the size of a house) down approx 800 stairs, and made it back up on our own. Men wait along the way with unglamourous chariots and you can't turn a corner without seeing a makeshift shop with trinkets and other junk.

Markedly different from our other guides in manner and in looks, this guide explained that he was Tibetan. It was pretty amazing for us to see the dramatic differences once we had passed from LiJiang county into Shangrila. First was the smiles - everyone had one for eachother, and our guide took pains to give a smile warm handshake to each person we met. Second was the ruggedness of the land, people, and their lifestyle. Structures went from being small and stone to large, wooden, and seemingly full of warmth - Tibetan houses are large boxes, three stories tall, rectangular shaped, where the animals live on the ground floor during the winter, heating the human quarters above. The top level stores the wheat and grain, and a large open chute makes it easier to distribute to the people and animals below. The landscape also made us feel that we were in a new world - wide grassy expanses with ubiquitous black and white longhaired yaks, the chilling pristine mountain air, farmers with reddened leathery faces. Stick-made structures that resemble a shoddy wooden chair dot the landscape - 30ft tall, structures that keep and dry the wheat during the winter so it can be distributed to livestock. "Buddha hearts" (pictured) also accompany the road to keep drivers safe.

To be continued...at a later date...

India.

2007-06-17T01:18:00.000-07:00

Week in India

Yep, see, I was in India!

Before I begin with tales of India, I have to let readers know just how hot it was there. When I arrived at 5:30am June 3rd, it was a cool 40C, but at daytime visits to Jaipur, Delhi, and Agra, the temperature soared to 50C. In case you've never been in such extreme heat, let me describe how it feels. First, you sweat, alot, and everywhere. Second, you have to move slowly as to not build up more heat, and third, all your aches and pains are amplified because of general uncomfortability. Secretly, though, I wanted to see if I was up to snuff and could deal with the sweltering temperatures. And turns out, I could! We were outside at least a couple of hours each day and I did just fine. However, I would not recommend traveling here at this time because it makes things generally unpleasant.

Line to get into the Ba'hai temple, this time in Delhi (I also saw one in Israel!)

The first day I met up with Sam and we chatted over breakfast, a light fluffy salty mixture of pressed rice flakes, potatoes, and shredded carrots with lime. At Sam's place, she has an excellent cook who will prepare practically anything you like on demand. With Sam's and his efforts, I didn't get sick even once while I was there for the week. That afternoon we visited some local Delhi sights, which surprisingly were also new to Sam and her cousin Vikas. The next day we visited a Ba'hai temple and a Hindu temple too, where Sam showed me the local customs and I was blessed by a few priests.

After being blessed in the Hindu temple:

Moselm Tomb site in Delhi:

Sam's niece, Shrishti, and nephew Shiveth:

Frankly though, driving through the streets of Delhi was interesting enough for me. I had heard of the people piled into small cars, beggar children on the street, and millions of small three-wheeled taxicabs, but there's nothing like seeing the real thing right next to you on the asphalt. The amount of trash around was less than I had anticipated, but I still thought rather had thoughts of CK's sachets of detergen/Bottom of the Pyramid business ideas with a tinge of disgust - instead of focusing on selling stuff to these people, it is probably more important to ensure the right to education, safety, food and shelter first. I was astonished by the lack of literacy and hunger, in particular.

Here is where I learned to say "no", which I had been practicing in Israel. For Americans, "no" is practically unused - always cushioned with lots of softening phrases, like "no, not now" or "maybe later" or "not really" but in India, one has to learn to say "no" without anything else. For the first four days "no" was easy; I imagined myself a newsreporter just looking around and documenting things (mentally) without responsibility for anyone who may be suffering around me. But later in the week, it started to get to me - the vast expanse of wealth that lay between me and the rest of the people around me - and I started to get uncomfortable. "No" just didn't cut it anymore - I started to give food to those who were hungry and want to teach those who couldn't read. It was frustrating.

A beggar in Jaipur - she just finished knocking at our window for 5 min until a policeman shushed her away:

Since most of the population in India is so unskilled, the service industry booms. Here is a photo of a vegetable cart that comes right by Sam's house - one comes by every couple of hours - and the seller shouts his wares - you can buy right there on the spot. Another part of this service culture that I found peculiar is the utter dependence that one has on it. For instance, in order to ride in a car, you absolutely need a driver - a trained one - and so if the driver is off duty, you're pretty much stuck in the house. Also, it is not safe for women to travel alone, so we were always accompanied by a driver or Sam's cousin.

Vegetable cart at Sam's apartment (view from the balcony)

The service at Sam's apartment was phenomenal - particularly the food. Each item was made to our taste - with more or less salt, spice, oil, temperature etc. I ate like a princess and enjoyed every bite, which is good because here in China my system is having more difficulty. A couple of things that surprised me were 1) salty drinks, which are made with sulfur salt - the sulfur smelling a little of rotten eggs or hot springs, whichever you've experienced more 2) the lack of uncooked veggies, which may have been particular to Sam's house and 3) the sheer tastiness and variety of food that can be made with just vegetables.

Midway through the week I went with Vikas and his son to Jaipur, part of the trifecta of cities in the Delhi area: Jaipur, Delhi, and Agra. Jaipur is the capital of Rajastan, with a rich cultural and military history. The four hour drive on the way there was very exciting for me as I have never experienced any sort of driving and traffic remotely as hectic as this; people, cows, dogs, camels, water buffalo, horses, motorscooters, three-wheel taxis, trucks, buses and other cars litter the highway for the entire span, some going in the wrong direction, or crossing at inconvenient times (especially the cows) so the driver has to be especially alert...for four hours. Not an easy task. Once in Jaipur we visited the local sights - the iconic Hawa Mahal (pronounced Mah-hehl, meaning: palace of the wind) with cloistered rooms for the 20-odd wives and concubines of local royalty, and Amber fort (Ah-mer), home to the Rajastani government with an active Hindu temple. We stayed over night at Sam's aunt's place, a large house with several rooms but (unfortunately) fewer working A/C's.

Local traffic:

Highly decorated trucks

Our tourguide at Hawa Mahel

Sam's cousin Adarsh at his house in Jaipur:

The elephant we rode - they actually kneel so you can get on, which is no easy task:

The ubiquitous me riding an elephant shot:

Back in Delhi we visited Dilly Hat, a market of cultural handicrafts from states all over India. We did some great shopping there and I went a little crazy stocking up on beautifully embroidered shawls and interesting necklaces, among other things. I began to get a little homesick and made sure I caught the daily episodes of Friends and Seinfeld. Sam and I had some great talks about life and the future. That evening Mohit arrived, back from trekking in the Himalayas with just a small backpack and sunburned lips. We hung out with him until 4am that night (!) despite our trip the next day to Agra.

Mohit having some of the fluffy stuff I liked but cannot remember the name of:

Sam and Me in Dilly Hat:

Painting in Dilly Hat:

By the time we reached Agra, the temperature had reached about 50C (122F) and we couldn't leave the A/C of the car. We spent an hour or so in a local restaurant (called Indiana, which I found particularly entertaining), enjoyed ice cream and water before heading to the Taj Mahal (also pronounced Mah-hel).

The beauty of the Taj is like nothing else I've ever seen - the proportions exquisite and the craftsmanship equally divine. It's too bad that it's just a tomb and that no one, in the history of time, has ever lived there. Even on this extremely hot day, there was a small crowd of tourists everywhere, and the Desis (Indians) do not treat the place with grace - many flagrantly disregard the signs to stay off the grass or take off your shoes, and inside, children shout unceremoniously with their parents looking on. The government has cordened off a ring around Agra where gas-guzzling vehicles cannot traverse, so we had to take a horse drawn cart to get close, and then walked the remainder of the way.

Picture from the cart:

On the way back as we were nearing our car, a boy wanted to sell me a keychain with a small white plastic Taj in a globe of water with sparkles in it - he wanted 100 rupees but I offered 50 (the equivalent of about 11 cents), and he took it, then then proceeded to hand all 7 of his keychains over to me. (I had only intended to buy one). So much for bargaining. After pawning a couple off to Sam's niece and nephew, and their maid, I returned the remaining ones to him, and he was happy. I breathed a sigh of relief when we climbed into the car for the ride back to Delhi.

The next morning I woke up, said goodbye to Sam, and departed for the Delhi airport at 6am. I flew to Bangkok with India Air, and met Ari (after some complications - I had to go through immigration to get my bag and then re-check-in to my China Southern flight, and we missed eachother for about 2.5 hours) and we flew together to Guangzhou.

Sam's shop (MANAN) in Delhi:

Yoga at Sam's house:

We made "poori" (fried bread with potatoes) and passed it out to some poor kids (note: there is no air conditioning in the kitchen, so it was about 100F in there)

some happy kids with lunch:

Flying over the warzone and my readership

2007-06-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hello dear readers! I'm in New Delhi right now at Samridhi's wonderful apartment and having a great time. India is hot, yet very interesting, car horns are cranked up a notch, cows are occasionally in the street (but amazingly don't stop the traffic from moving along a clip) and three wheel scooters packed with 4 people abound. Unfortunately I don't have the technological capability to post my photos - that will have to wait until China next week.

On the way here I managed to fly over the most conflict-ridden areas in the world: Gaza, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. I flew with Royal Jordanian, which serves up pro-Arab-world propaganda with a smile and packs all the poor people in the back of the plane. About 60 poor Indian men with no carry ons (not a book, a magazine or even a wallet) were on the large plane with me but RJ chose to pack them in the back (with a few unlucky passengers) while I had an entire row of four seats to myself with the other white people. It sort of felt like the South (US) pre 1964 but I was happy to be able to pull out my iPod and take a nap while we soared over suicide bombers and religious strife.

Sam was a great friend and arrived 30 seconds before I walked out into the mess of people at the Delhi airport. We spotted eachother quickly, which was a good thing because she said I looked pretty lost. Fortunately, I was the first out except for some hotshot and his family that flew business class and were escorted by an entourage of 15 people from the gate of the plane to pick up his priority, pre-selected luggage. This brash display of importance along with my fellow passengers on the plan really highlighted what a different world I am in here in India. I can't wait to upload the photos.

I had a layover in Amman, Jordan, which is a gloomy little airport with lots of Western shopping. Since I am very ignorant of Arabic, it was titilating to hear new sounds over the loudspeaker - Ari taught me the word "thank you" (Shukran) so that's all I could recognize. I had to be careful not to speak Hebrew (say "Slicha" for excuse me, for example) because I got the feeling that the folks there don't like Israelis so much. Or Americans. Or poor Indian guys. Or anyone at all, actually.

Starbucks is everywhere!

And so are iPods!

Anyway, India has been great, much thanks to Sam's cook(s) and the effective airconditioning. Today we visited a Hindu and a Bahai temple, which were both very interesting, and visited a market where rural craftspeople sell their wares from all over India. Since I haven't used my shopping skills so far on this trip, I was ready to dive in and bargain and got some beautiful things for a song. Of course, I'm sure I paid 2x that of a local local, but with Sam's help, we did pretty darn well.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Jaipur with Sam's brother for a look around and more shopping. Should be fun.

Oh, I almost forgot - the point of this post: my geographically diverse readership! Check out this map of recent visitor activity:

Cool, huh! Hope you're having fun.

Summing up Israel, leaving tomorrow for India

2007-06-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I leave Israel for New Delhi India via Amman, Jordan. I've had a great time here in Ha-aretz - this past week was particularly eventful because we traveled from Kiryat Shmona to Eilat - from tip to tip of the the entire long skinny expanse that makes up Israel.

From June 2

Bahai gardens in Haifa.

My stay began in Haifa, where Ari's family lives. In the first couple of days that we were here, we were Ross Ambassadors to around 50 prospective Israeli students - a reception was held at a Tel Aviv hotel that was hosted solely by Ross students. I think the Israeli nationalistic attitude bleeds into all aspects of life, including Ross, and it was very interesting to me that the allegiance is so strong amongst my fellow Ross alumni. It is true that Ross is severely under-represented in terms of brand here, so the point that Ross should be considered along with other school of equal caliber is well-taken. However, the difference here is that the Israeli Ross students are almost religiously supportive of the school and want to promote it with such gusto here. Since the presentation was 100% hebrew, I could only glean about 20% of the information, but one could hardly ignore the level of passion and commitment everyone had to the cause. David Pollock and I were the only non-Israelis there, but we still helped to answer questions after the talk. The next day there was a picnic in Tel Aviv that brought together current students and recent alumni at a park. Due to the jetlag and my general cynsism, I was not interested in socializing as usual given my recent schmoozing burn out. I am so glad that I have a job and don't need to do this anymore. Phew.

Sculpture gardens in Haifa.

After this first whirlwind weekend, we headed back to Haifa. Here in Israel there are about 3x the number of holidays there are in the U.S. The spring holiday, Shavuot, fell during the second week of my stay. Shavuot, unfortunately for me, is completely about cheese and dairy, and Israelis loooove their cheese. The variagations on cottage cheese, cream cheese, soft cheese, hard cheese, salty cheese, etc. are endless, and any social visit is accompanied by cheesecake. In fact, an Israeli newspaper reported on Shavuot that around 90% of Israelis can digest lactose without a hitch, versus a world average of 60%. In Thailand, its 0%. Genetically, I fall somewhere in the middle, I think, digesting only about 50% or so. Finally, I broke down and bought the special pill that allowed me to eat cheesecakes and spreads with reckless abandon so that I could celebrate Shavuot with everyone else. Like most holidays, Shavuot is a family affair where everyone wears white and eats together. Ari's family is less religious than most, so the food is the focus. We ate outside on the patio, and were joined by Ari's sister and boyfriend, aunt and her family, and grandfather and his girlfriend.

Ari's grandmother lives in a modest nursing home here in Haifa, and we went to visit her three times during our stay. Despite being 30 years out of practice, she spoke perfect English with me during our visit. Unfortunately, her hearing is not as lucid, so she couldn't really understand me, but it was nice to be able to make a connection. She is a weathered Holocaust survivor, and sees the world from a completely different perspective from my own. Our visits seemed to cheer her up a bit, so that was nice.

We also visited Hertzeliyya Pituach, a wealthy suburb between Tel Aviv and Haifa on the beach, to visit our friend Ohad from Michigan. We had dinner and drinks in Tel Aviv, and then stayed with him for the night. Ohad promised that he would host us well after we helped him out a bit in Ann Arbor, and he certainly did; we were put up in our own private apartment for the night, walked to the beautiful pristine beach in the morning, and had a lovely breakfast under some quaint shade right near the water. Hertzeliyya Pituach also has a great mall, complete with European chains like TopShop (first introduced to me by Damhnait) and great boutiques. We came back to this mall later in the trip to spend some time with Nir and Inbar (other friends from Michigan) and watched a movie and shopped.

This past week was full of traveling and seeing friends. We visited our friend David (Pollock) in his old haunting grounds of Jerusalem, going through the 'shuk' (market) where he bought his weekly groceries and the yeshiva where he studied Torah for a couple of years after college. Pollock also came up to Haifa to visit and traveled with us up north to meet with Karen Putterman and Mike Weir. We had a great day, strolling through archeologically important Tel Dan and rafting down the Jordan river. All five of us piled into one impenetrable rubber raft and began attempting to navigate through the small rapids. Rapidly, we realized that we were short on paddles (2 for 5 of us) and skill. Pollock did his best to steer our cumbersome sloop but we were cheerfully uncooperative and content with ducking beneath the heavy weeds on the edges of the river when we repeatedly bumped again and again and again. We encountered a big group of soldiers (men and women) on a rare day off from service and told them with stern seniority not to tip us over. Parts of the river were deep enough for a swim, and most of it was fast-moving, so Pollock, Karen and I took a dip. Pollock was by far the most adventurous, inventing a butt-swimming device (lifejacket wrapped around your bum as to construct a semi-buoyant and protective seat) that he used to go about 1km. We all had a great time.

Tel Dan, rumored to be the site of the Garden of Eden

After rafting we ventured up into cherry orchards near the Druze (safe Arab) towns on the northern edges of the country. We ate laffa, labaneh and zatar (flatbread, goat cheese and dried spice, predominantly thyme) and a couple of cherries that we poached straight from the tree. That night we left Pollock, Karen and Mike up in a Tzimmer (B&B) in the North, while Ari and I headed down to Haifa.

Ari driving through the narrow roads in the terraced Cherry orchards.

Goat herding through town.

The next day we drove down to Yam Hamelach (Dead Sea) in a dense dirty gray haze. The visibility was so bad that the desert seemed even more ominous than usual - I expected to see vast expanses of Star Wars sand but instead found myself in the middle of unimpressive rocky troughs with small bushes dotting the edges of the road. We arrived at the Sheraton Moriah around 1pm in the 40c (105F) heat and heavy air of 1300 ft below sea level and opted to enjoy some air conditioning before venturing down to the strange lifeless sea. Floating in the Dead Sea is an otherworldly experience, made even more bizzare because of all the elderly psoriasis-ridden visitors in the oily water. The water is thick with minerals, and beads completely off the skin. And, it is hot - hot as the surrounding air - so it feels even more strange. The required lifeguard was extremely comical given that it is completely impossible to drown in this stuff. Ari and I went in twice, getting out quickly the second time because the salt began to creep a little deeper into our cuts than we were ok with. That night an eerie thunderstorm took over the night, with intense lightening that rarely cut through the dense sky and distant lightning. The desert only receives an average of 200mm (8in) of rain each year, and it actually rained the night were there, at least a couple of milimeters. Even the rain couldn't avoid the haze, and with it came a dust that blanketed the car with dirt.

People in the dead sea.

After deciding to skip a sunrise hike up Matzada, we headed to the site around 8am to catch the first run of the cable car that ascends the impressive desert mesa. Long been a site heralded by Israelis as a symbol of nationalism and religious fervor, I was pleased to find that our audio tours took an even-handed historical approach to describing the site. Now, let me just emphasize that this place is compltetly in the middle of nowhere, with little water and no natural plants or animals. But Herod, a Jewish king with a tyrannical twitch, made it a center of commerce and community, replete with multiple pools and storage rooms, receiving rooms, frescoed halls and mosaiced floors. In full use, it must have been a beautiful place. The reason for its historical significance is also because of the pristine preservation of items from Herod and successors' time periods. Delicate items like hairnets, baskets, even fruit nuts have been found that tell a rich story in layers.

Dry Matzada.

Oasis in the middle of the desert!

Camel Xing

All-you-can-eat house salads for $7 each in Eilat.

Next we headed down to Eilat for a stay in real luxury at the Sheraton Herods Palace hotel - the newest hotel in Eilat. I didn't understand what people found so special about Eilat until we arrived and I could see plainly that it is because it sits cradled between Jordan, Israel, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, and it is a peaceful place - a bit Vegasy - but a beautiful nonetheless. Our friends Roy and Zahit met us there and we joined them that afternoon for some time at a gem-like private beach with a "swim with the dolphins" area, lush green landscaping and a bohemian feel. That night we ate some great Thai food and then Ari and I headed back to the beach for a romantic evening in three mineral pools with "Wet-su", some alternative form of massage.

On the beach in Eilat.

The next day we ate a proper Israeli breakfast, which is basically a huge spread of fruits, cheeses, egg dishes, pastries, smoked fish, breads, juices, all done carefully. My favorite item was a shot glass layered with honey, apple juice, minced apples, yogurt, and granola spiked with cinnamon. We snorkeled at the beach, and drank fruit smoothies near the pool. That night we had dinner in an underwater restaurant - grilled whole fish which were pretty tasty. The next morning we headed back to Haifa, on the way stopping by Moriah's kibbutz (Ketura) for an hour, visiting Mitzpeh Ramon, the world's largest geological crater, and driving through the IDF's practice grounds where Ari did officer training.

Visiting Kibbutz Ketura and Moriah :-)

Moriah's entire kibbutz from the road.

In Mitzpeh Ramon crater.

Reading about wild asses in the desert!

Right now I am typing as Ari and his dad are watching the Israeli national team beat Macedonia (2-1). After this, we'll head to a bar in Haifa, or just watch more soccer. And I need to pack for my flight tomorrow! Ok, better get going on that! More later, from India, and China.

Lone visitors at the Mitzpeh Ramon visitor center on a Friday afternoon.

Around the World in 60 Days - Israel

2007-05-20T01:11:00.001-07:00

While the rest of the world reports of Fatah and Hamas rivaling over tiny portions of land, here is the local news from Haifa the other day:

- Last night, a driver was caught driving down a road the wrong way. The police pulled the car over and found that the driver was drunk. He was arrested and brought to jail.

- Yesterday, 8 men impersonating electrical engineers went to the headquarters of the power plant and stole four transformers. They were caught and brought to jail.

- The weather will be sunny and warm this week with no chance of rain.

The news here runs once an hour, on the hour, for 15 minutes, and the news culture is completely different from that in the U.S. As you can see from above, everything is news, no matter how small. If they're reporting the weather conditions, its a good sign.

Last week we arrived on Tuesday and spent the week adjusting to the sizeable time change. On Friday, we went to a Michigan reception with over 50 potential Ross MBAs organized by Ohad, a current MBA at Ross. Since Ross has absolutely no brand name in Israel, the Israeli Ross MBA crowd is trying to change the tide and show how Ross is also a top class school.

Roy presented first before the slide presentation, and did the hard part - convincing the audience why they should be there, listen, and consider Ross. Despite the fact that I could probably understand only about 10% of the Hebrew, it was really interesting to see the cultural difference here - instead of smiles and nods, the audience responded with critical looks and furrowed eyebrows. Instead of slowing the momentum, this seemed to fuel Roy's talk and make him more emphatic. Here, argument nourishes discussion rather than quashing it. Photos of the event are at: www.israelatross.com

The next day we had a picnic with Ross MBA from three classes: those who just graduated, those who will be MBA2s this year, and the incoming class. There are seven Israelis, all men, who will be joining Ross in the fall, four of whom are married with small kids (under 2). Kids are the best at getting around the language barrier, so I like hanging out with them. At one point, I found myself trying to play with two kids who spoke no English (one only Russian, and the other only Hebrew), but nevertheless were interested in interacting. Very cute.
http://www.israelatross.com/Home/WebAlbums/Tel%20Aviv%20Picnic%20-%20May%202007/index.html

More later from me, and next time, with photos!

Around the World in 60 Days - Stops 2 & 3: Puerto Rico and NYC

2007-05-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

OK, so I just have to put this out there: I have been a bad blogger and I don't have any photos from NYC. Sometimes I feel like such an idiot but I am not the natural picture-taking type and I run out of photographing steam...then I look at the photos and I think, wow, that was a great idea! I should do that more often. Doh. Next time I should listen to my own advice.

So, we spent a great 8 days in Puerto Rico. The first four were with my parents and the last couple of days it was just Ari and me. My parents just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary last Tuesday (cheers for Mom and Dad!) so this was part of the party. We started our trip in Ponce, which is in the Southern, unvisited, sleepy part of the island, and then headed up to San Juan. We visited Arecibo, the bioluminescent bay, beaches, El Yunque (the only tropical rainforest in the U.S.), and historic Old San Juan. We were disappointed by the food and the prices (a shocking $25 min per meal, anywhere you go!) and delighted by the deeply rooted culture and the beautiful lush rainforest.

Instead of commenting about precisely everything we did, here are some pictoral highlights from the trip, with comments:

Me and Mom and Dad in Puerto Rico, in the Ocean

Ari and I on the grassy knoll near El Morro, Old San Juan

Those of you who know Ollie well will know why I had to take a picture of this cat...notice the paws...

Ann and Arun dancing salsa in Old San Juan

Ari and I at the top of El Yunque peak

Rainforest beauty

My parents at the edge of Arecibo Observatory (where Contact was filmed!)...

A parallel parking victory in Old San Juan!

in NY:

Me and Phil in his front yard, Westchester County (Somers) NY

Me and Ari, in the same spot. By the way, the Guerci's have 5-star accomodations!! :-)

Around the World in 60 Days - Stop 1: Chicago!

2007-05-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

It was a real whirlwind at graduation and I wasn't quite satiated with friend hugs as we left for Chicago early on Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago. Ari rented a car in Ann Arbor and we used it to transport us (including his parents) to Chicago for a couple of nights. After a smooth trip we arrived at the Chicago Hilton on the edge of Lake Michigan and Michigan Ave.

We spent the day walking Chicago on the first warm day of spring, which, unfortunately for us, turned out to be very hot. We meandered across the downtown to Navy Pier for a much needed lunch/snack, and then to the river for an architectural boat tour.
That evening we visited Spring a nouveau American restaurant with heavy Asian influences. You can read my review about it in the link above.

The next day after a great night's sleep we headed out in cooler windier weather to the John Hancock tower, the world's second tallest building (that you can actually walk around on). Now, for those of you that may not know me so well, I am extremely afraid of heights so this experience was a bit more thrilling than I would have liked. Thank god the structural elements are on the interior, since it's very windy up there. Here is the southern view:
After an unfortunately unremarkable meal at Bistrot Margot, we headed back to the hotel and said bon voyage to Ari's parents. The next morning, we headed to Puerto Rico.

Around the World in 60 Days - Introductory Post

2007-05-11T05:24:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

I failed you. I promised to carefully chronicle my traipsing about the world, let you in on all the little adventures and secrets of this trip, but so far, not a peep from my fingertips! I hope you can forgive me. So, here goes the first of hopefully many entries that will keep everything straight and set for the history books. This is:

Margot & Ari's Trip Around the World in 60 days!

Our destinations:

Chicago (April 29 - May 1)
Puerto Rico (May 1 - May 9)
NYC/Westchester County (May 9 - 14)
Haifa, Eilat, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Israel (May 14 - June 3)
New Delhi, India (June 3 - 10)
Southwestern China, Kunming, Dali, Xishuangbanna, Toisan, Hong Kong (June 10 - 27)

We've already blown through two destinations! More in the next entry, on Chicago, home of modern architecture.

It's almost the last time to procrastinate!

2007-03-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody,

So, it was a very exciting night last night - P-Hat played our best 1990's rock n' roll in front of a very very drunk MBA crowd. The reasons: upcoming marriages and fundraising. Last night 12 MBA women had their bachelorette party - a mob of tank top clad women with flashing lights, crowns, leis, the whole bit. These are the times when I am very very thankful that I am not engaged (phew!). The fundraising bit added some excitement as well because about 30% of the male MBA2s are sporting mustaches. Like the gross Burt Reynolds kind. So they're feeling a little more self-conscious than usual, and this equals more drinking too. Yippee. (http://rosstache2007.blogspot.com)

Anyway, P-Hat had a blast and we really rocked the crowd. This was our first full-length set (about 17 songs) and I was completely exhausted after screaming my head off after song #3.

Today we had a leadership workshop meant to usher us proudly into the real world with some great leadership skills. The result was an ego maniac speaker who named dropped like nobody's business. I was unimpressed.

Tomorrow I have my very last final of my MBA career: World Economy. Wish me luck!

Home Again Home Again, Jiggity Jig

2007-03-07T04:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I was sort of slacker with the blog at the end of my trip. I can make up all sorts of excuses but really I was just lazy and the writing kick wasn't in me. Now that it's 6:30 in the morning, it's back in full-force. So I thought I'd catch ya'll up on how the rest of the trip transpired.

We went to beaches in Haifa and Tel Aviv:

From Feb 28

We descended down centuries-traveled oceanside cliffs and into water borne caves at Nikra.

From Mar 1

We went up North to the green rocky hills and Yam Kinneret (Sea of Galilee for you Jesus loving folks).

From Mar 1

We wandered around Sfat, a small old city built on a steep hillside with four ancient synagogues rumored to be the home of some of the first Kabbalist practices.

From Mar 1

Up north, we stayed in Amirim, a collective of B&B's that are all vegetarian. As you can imagine, it's all very utopian - dogs and cats live amongst people and know that the two-legged ones won't leave them out in the street at night. Our spacious suite was complete with a jacuzzi that overlooked the Kinneret and it was lovely.

From Mar 1

We saw a 1-week old foal and went horseback riding on lush green hillsides and waded through tall wildflowers.

From Mar 1

We drove around a lot and looked into Lebanon, which is really shockingly lovely. We saw the Hezbollah flag standing tall next to the Lebanese one, and hypothesized about another possible conflict. We reminisced about Ari's military days, stopping by the small concrete soccer field high up on a lookout point where he played on the weekends. We tried to get into one...two...three national parks but because it was Friday afternoon, we were turned away.

Then we headed back to Haifa. We spent more time with Ari's family. We went out with his sister and friend, Nadav. Then, it was time to go.

From Mar 2

Purim Carnival in Haifa:

From March 4

Enjoying the Beach in Haifa and Tel Aviv - Photos Only

2007-03-01T00:50:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos - this morning we're off to the north to stay at a B&B...more in a few days...

Beaches in Haifa and Tel Aviv:

Giant Jellyfish:

From Feb 28

Student's Beach in Haifa:

From Feb 28

Haifa:

From Feb 28

The Road down from Haifa/Mt. Carmel:

From Feb 28

Ari's Father's Quarry:

From Feb 28

Billboards:

From Feb 28

Beach Promenade in Tel Aviv:

From Feb 28

Juice stand in Tel Aviv (yesterday I had pomegranate and carrot juice!)

From Feb 28

Whirlwind through Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

2007-02-27T11:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning at 9 sharp, Ari and I took to the road for the short (in American terms!) 1 hour drive to Tel Aviv - Ari had to visit the U.S. Embassy to renew his student visa, which he did successfully after waiting in a very inefficient line for 3 hours. I, on the other hand, had the luxury of venturing out into the streets of Tel Aviv for a stroll and some shopping. Keen shopper that I am, I ended up heading right up towards Dizengoff Street, home of punky, creative, and elegant boutiques.

From Feb 26-27

It was a little intimidating finding my way around, but this feeling only lasted about 2 minutes until I discovered that shopping is a universal skill and not culturally bound. Also, here I could practice my newfound negotiation skills that I just learned about last term. In about an hour, I bargained my way through two rings, a couple pairs of jeans, and a shirt and belt. The shopping service style is much more aggressive here - I was handed nearly one thing in every shop - and unfortunately I was not adept enough at Hebrew to make anyone consider that I might be a local, which meant higher prices (most likely). Fortunately there were marked prices on the items so I anchored low and held on for dear life. I even almost walked out a couple of times and this seemed to work well since it was a rainy day and the shops were starved for some business.

From Feb 26-27

Ari and I successfully met at the designated coffee shop around 1pm, and then we headed to Jerusalem to our hotel on Har HaTsofim (a hill that overlooks Jerusalem). We had a lovely dinner at Rivlin, right near the old city, and then headed to the Western Wall (Ha Kotel) for our tour at 9pm. I actually drove this part, since Ari and I both agreed that I was a better driver and he navigator, since the maps were all in Hebrew.

The old city at night is very beautiful - the walls seem even more solid and protective than I imagined. We ambled through narrow passageways and streets that one could barely imagine a car squeezing through. It had just stopped raining, and everything was damp and quiet so that our footsteps were the only audible sound within the yellow-lit walls. We descended toward Ha Kotel, went through the security station (checking your bag as you would in an airport) and walked out onto the broad plaza bordered by Ha Kotel.
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From Feb 26-27

I was surprised to find that while the place certainly seemed sanctified by the people there, there was nothing particularly compelling about the wall, and in fact I began to feel foolish as I stood facing the giant pieces of stone that have been in the same place since before 86BC. It seems strange to me that a people freed from idolatry choose to stand facing a wall to feel holy. Of all the places that I have been in my life, I have felt greater holiness in nature, during a sunrise, or watching an act of kindness and compassion.

From Feb 26-27

That is not to say that the Western Wall could be taken lightly; the emotional energy of the women was completely overwhelming. Women of all ages from all places were deep in prayer - most with a book - women about 20 taking photos of eachother at the wall with their cellphones (which made an oinking noise that I found highly disrespectful) - women with their daugthers, snapping photos and encouraging them to pray, women bowed over with eyes closed weeping, women rocking back and forth and singing prayers. As I have seen in photos, cracks were jam packed with handwritten notes - Ari even saw one note with a phone number.

From Feb 26-27

We lined up in the cold for our tour through the tunnels and visited the wall from underground, under the Arab quarter, and saw the greater extent of the extraordinary workmanship of the temple mount structure: a wall that extended all along the Old City, built using stones that would challenge the limits of modern-day technology. Our tour guide was informative but frustrating for me because she kept making very insidious comments about Arabs. There were a number of children on our tour - American Jews - and they all accepted the Anti-Arab rhetoric without question.

From Feb 26-27

The next morning after breakfast at the hotel, we headed to Yad VaShem (Holocaust Memorial Museum) for the first part of the day.

From Feb 26-27

It is a beautifully-designed stark landscape of concrete and glass, and every effort has been spent on making the place somber and trustworthy as a monument to the Holocaust. As you can imagine the museum is very very very sad. My favorite piece was a poem written by a 14 year old names Abraham who died at Auschwitz:

A Dream
By Avraham Koplowicz

When I grow up and reach the age of 20,
I'll set out to see the enchanting world.
I'll take a seat in a bird with a motor;
I'll rise and soar high into space.

I'll fly, sail, hover
Over the lovely faraway world.
I'll soar over rivers and ocean
Skyward shall I ascend and blossom,
A cloud my sister, the wind my brother.

I wish that this museum was more about hope and less about death. I understand that remembering will make this never happen again, but hope is what kept people alive, and I feel like they too would want a place dedicated to hope that remembered them as thoroughly as Yad VaShem.

Needless to say, I was completely exhausted after this experience. We headed out of Jerusalem and took one stop at Mini-Israel, which is a complte replica of over 350 famous sites in Israel made in perfect in 1:25 scale. I found some humor in the cats lying about (see photos) and the "giant" birds hanging out on the buildings. Plexiglass surrounding the Arab figurines was an uncomfortable reminder of the current situation.

From Feb 26-27

We came back to Haifa to Ari's Mom (Aviva)'s delicious bolognese, and watched Million Dollar Baby. More news tomorrow!

Re-enactment of Ari's Officer ceremony:

From Feb 26-27

Giant Cat!

From Feb 26-27

Replica of Western Wall:

From Feb 26-27

Does Southwest Airlines really fly to Israel?

From Feb 26-27

Before Yad VaShem:

From Feb 26-27

Up at 5am/Druze Towns/Poker in Karmiel

2007-02-25T14:36:00.000-08:00

This morning I rudely woke Ari up at 5am to go for a walk. I am not sure if it was the naps or jetlag that got to me but there I was, lying awake, listening to a lone bird chirping away at 4:30. Fortunately, Ari was a good sport and we walked to see the sunrise - in the haze, it was impossible, but it worked to catch a couple more winks of sleep.

Had a chocolate and plain croissant and some o.j. at 10am and went straight to the nearby Druze villages for some market shopping. We drove through Isfiya and then to Daliat el Carmel, a large Druze town. The Druze come from a long departed arm of Ismailism, the derrivative of Islamism, and they are considered Arab Israelis. Most Arab Israelis are exempt from serving in the army, but the Druze proudly distinguish themselves as part of the team and many have served throughout the years, demonstrating their patriotism toward Israel. Unfortunately, though, it is clear that the Druze are also subject to more poverty, downtrodden infrastructure, and religious segregation compared to the Jews living in Haifa. The result: a place that made me feel like I was in Mexico. Lots of shops with various toys and trinkets: leather elephants, faux Native American dreamcatchers, sparkling fabric of all colors, copper tins, spice jars, ood (guitars)...the list goes on. I was able to get a great pair of sweatpants for 20 shekles (about $4.50US) and also picked up some canvas art reproductions.

Daliat el Carmel:

From Feb 25

Shwarma:

From Feb 25

Ari and I picked up Idan from school and took him to lunch. We ate hoummos and meat, and I tried the hot peppers, which made the meal 2x better. Then I went shopping with Elinor at the local mall while Ari visited his grandmother. I was saddened to find a mall that looked just like it could have been in Edina, minus the security guards who check your purse at each entrance. Picked up some great shoes and a sweater for a steal (prices here are 1) on sale and 2) about 30% cheaper than U.S.) and then headed back to Ari's place. Saw his parents and grandfather, who was over for a bit, and then headed to Karmiel for a poker game with some of his Intel friends.

The game was with two of Ari's friends from Intel, and I can completely understand why the three of them got along - all three are very grounded, smart, content engineers. One, Miki, is getting married on Weds and we will go to the weddding, and the other Avi, showed off his adorable 6 month old daughter. We had some pizza with spices on it (similar to hot peppers in the U.S.) and put the latest soccer game on.

Traffic lights here represent Israeli driving - at any moment, anyone could honk at you for practically no reason. Similarly ridiculous is the fact that before the light turns green here, there is a yellow "warning" to start - just feeding Israeli's impatience with lights and waiting. Also, Israelis are always striking. Ari cannot remember one single year in school when there was not a strike. In fact, there might be a strike at the airport on Monday - the day when we're supposed to fly out! Stay tuned.

Mixed up in the Middle East - Old Akko

2007-02-24T08:57:00.000-08:00

After a series of drinks and beer last night in Haifa, we came home at around 3 a.m. and hit the sack. In Israel, closing time is when the customers leave, and people are out all night - the difference is that since there is no rush to drink, the booze goes down much more slowly and the general atmosphere is less frenetic. "Packed" here is equivalent to a busy but not hopping night in the U.S. It's nice.

We woke up at 12:10pm, suprised at the time, and hurried off to lunch with Ari's family (minus Elinor) in Akko. We had a superb lunch at Uri-Buri, a seafood place specializing in just-caught, fresh small plates. Everything hearkened the simple, pure mediterranean sea and was very delicate. My favorite dish was shrimp with artichoke hearts and lemon with a saffron thyme olive oil dressing. Artichoke hearts were fresh and rich, and the bright yellow sauce seeped into every nook and cranny of some fresh bread at the table. We also had a very meaty white fish encrusted in black pepper that most closely resembled beef steak, ceviche, a spinach strawberry salad, and calamari (see photo). For dessert we had an assortment of truffles and a baked pear filled with marzipan (almond paste) encrusted in pie pastry, with homemade cinnamon ice cream. Marvelous.

From Feb 24

Old Akko is an Arab town also on the Mediterranean sea north of Haifa. The hazy day made views difficult but it was still very picturesque and fascinating in its history. The site has been inhabited by various groups for about 5,000 years - everyone from ancient Canaanites to Napoleon. Large stone walls and "chan" (village squares) structure the maize of passegeways and streets. Walking around it feels as if walls were built, and then walls connecting those walls, making it cloistered and somewhat clausterphobic, yet impenetrably safe. We went to the "shuk" (market) and saw bins and bins of fresh gleaming fish, sacks of fragrant spices, and bought some fresh pita (made on the spot) and hummus to bring back for dinner.

I think I overestimated the warm weather and have been feeling ill-equipped (cold) because of the cool, slightly damp weather here - unfortunately tomorrow it will rain, and we are planning to find some indoor things to do, including seeing a couple of museums in Haifa.

Idan in Akko:

From Feb 24

A car in an impossibly small passageway:

From Feb 24

Ood, sheshbesh (backgammon) and drums in the shuk:

From Feb 24

Me with a shark in the shuk!

From Feb 24

Ari and Idan with the shark

From Feb 24

Akko

From Feb 24

"chan" in Akko:

From Feb 24

I've landed...in Israel....but where am I?

2007-02-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

From Feb 23

International travel, fortunately, is still exciting for me. Ari and I left cold Ann Arbor on Weds night on a flight to a very foggy Frankfurt, where we landed in extreme fog that demonstrated just how sophisticated auto-pilot can be. Once landed in disciplined German fashion, we were hurried to our next flight to Tel Aviv. The flight is where the "Israel" part starts.

From Feb 23

The contrast between the people on our first and second flight was dramatic. The first: clean, quiet, polite, organized, efficient. The second: noisy, hectic, no one following directions, people seeming confused, dirty bathrooms, etc. Ari said that this was Israel "lite" - I guess on El Al everything is much more "Israeli" - I am sure I will experience this more later in the trip. Fortunately, Ari and I were both so tired at this point that it didn't matter and were both able to catch some shuteye. We arrived in Tel Aviv and took an extremely convenient train to Haifa, where Ari's father picked us up at the train station. One thing happened that I hate, which is that awkward first meeting and gesture - I, like most, usually go through the motions (hopefully without error), metaphorically closing my eyes until its over because inevitably, it's weird. Ok, so this time it was weird. Me, being a huggy American, and Ari's dad, who's European, didn't really mesh. He went in for the kiss and me the hug, and well, you know what happens. Awkwardness. And I was already feeling pretty awkward. Its ok, though. We've since smoothed things over.

From Feb 23

Ari's house is on a curving quiet dead end street in the hills of Haifa - still close the urban areas but certainly out of the noisiness. The house (like most, I think) has all hard flooring - granite, wood, tile. No carpet. It is built into the hillside with two levels facing the sea view and a tiled courtyard on the back. There are other housese right nearby and in terms of square footage, the houses seem to be about the same size as my house in Minneapolis. Ari has a large room in the lower level which is sort of like an efficiency apartment with a fridge and its own bathroom. The style inside the house is a mix of mediterranean/jewish - lots of artwork and whiteness everywhere.

From Feb 23

We watched Maccabe Haifa win last night to a team from Russia, and then went to sleep at the reasonable hour of 10pm. I think there's something wrong with me because I just don't get jet lagged - but I'm not complaining. We woke up around 9, but I was pretty stressed out because Ari had closed all the windows to complete darkness, so I was very disoriented. We discovered that my brain has "boot sequence" (you IT folks might know what I mean) where I need to know where I am, what direction I'm facing, what time is it, etc. in the morning, otherwise I get very grumpy. Crisis was averted when we opened the window.

After a light breakfast, we headed out for a 3-hr walk into the Mt. Carmel forest. Now, I wouldn't classify this necessarily as a forest, more as a park with trees and picnic areas and a view of the sea. The wildflowers were out, which made things quiet beautiful, and I took a bunch of pics.

From Feb 23

We also explored some ancient Roman olive oil presses that were still remarkably in tact (some of the vats had small tiles in them that you could still see color on) and saw the view of Haifa port. I guess on clear days you can also see Lebanon, but today was hazy so the views of the sea were unimpressive. We had a big lunch (the main meal of the day) with Ari's grandfather. Since he does not speak English (but does speak Hebrew, German, Russian, and Yiddish), we had to rely on Ari as interpreter. We got along well anyways, and the photo is enclosed to prove it.

The day before I left I had the sudden realization that I was going to Israel. I had been so focused on meeting Ari's family that I completely forgot that I was to arrive in one of the most culturally rich places in the world....so I did what any sensible Nudell family member would do - promptly went to the bookstore and bought a couple of books - one for travel, and one on the culture. The culture book turned out to be about 25% ethnocentric b.s. and I plan on returning it to Borders upon my return.

As a Jew, I'm supposed to care a lot about being here. As Margot, I realize that my "Jewishness", while fortified by the cultural heritage of Israel, is not founded here. Being Chinese lets me "pass" as practically anyone - no one here thinks that I am Jewish (let alone Ashkenazi!), so I have the privilege of being the ultimate observer. Sometimes I feel left out, as if the Jews have disowned me because of this, but then I realize that each person's religion is truly their own - an fabric of faith, culture, heritage, family values - and then I realize I have a lot of that to work with. So, in short, things are just peachy.

From Feb 23

Tonight we'll go to dinner with Ari's family and a friend. More updates tomorrow!

From Feb 23

Tips for the Good Guys on Asking a Girl Out (by request)

2007-01-27T22:27:00.000-08:00

So, it has come to my attention that I am capable of giving some advice on the aforementioned subject. Listen carefully.

Expressing interest in someone else is one of the most ballsy things to do in life. You could get rejected. You could be misunderstood.

But, worse yet, you could never find out what's going on. The next couple of blog entries will be completely dedicated to this subject.

Here is the first tip that might help you Good Guys out there:

First of all, express your interest directly. Do not say "I was wondering if you want to have lunch sometime". This can be confused with the completely platonic: "Let's have lunch sometime" - in which you'll find yourself finagling over schedules and locations, times, what's best on the menu, etc.

Instead, say: "I would really like to take you to lunch sometime. Will you come?" There, the intent is out there. It doesn't matter if it doesn't work in either of your schedules or you can't find the perfect place to go. It matters that you asked, and that you intended to ask. I can think of very few times when someone could say no to this, unless they absolutely do not like you. And if that's the case, you're better off knowing now than later when you've spent the extra $15 and your ego trying to figure it out over a meal.

Another tip coming next time! Cheers.

bow down, Margot Lees, to my blog, which is now top-listed on Google!

2007-01-07T22:06:00.000-08:00

So it's back to the procrastination again. It's amazing how school inspires, invigorates, and pushes me enthusiastically towards successful utter procrastination. Work doesn't do the trick, even hard work. But working hard in classes and not getting paid for another six months? Now, that's something to procrastinate for. Hence my blog entry at 1am.

Not to say that I don't have some good courses lined up. This semester, it's all about Strategery and I'm emersing myself in the topic save some silly requirements left over. Thank god I have a job, that's all I can say. And, thank god I'm leaving this place too. I'm getting sick of it.

We (MBAs) just finished a 3-4 wk break from classes - most left Ann Arbor for home or sunnier locations, while I remained and really enjoyed the peace and quiet. I learned to play backgammon (also called "shesh besh") with skill, spent some good time with my cat, and made gravlax for the first time. For those of you unfamiliar with this phenomenon, think of it as a poor man's lox that you make with fresh salmon. It only takes two days. My quick recipe:

Get a thick piece of high quality salmon from the market
Trim off any thin pieces- you want it to be the same thickness
Drown it in 1.5 parts salt: 2 parts sugar
Drizzle some vodka over the top, and you can add lemon and dill if you feel so inclined
Flip it every 12 hours or so
In two days: GRAVLAX!

It will look something like this, and hopefully you can cut it with such a high quality knife as this one. It will certainly make things easier.

In other news...

I recently bought some expensive plane tickets to fly to Israel. In preparation for my trip I've been searching out maps and stuff for reference. This one is pretty cool (Google: eye on israel) and it is interactive. You can't see it, but the train moves and airplanes fly overhead so everything looks "alive"... I wonder when rockets were falling on Haifa if they included those too - little cute explosions on their little cute map. Awww.

Fresh Sounds for a Happy New Year!

2007-01-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers of my Long-Dormant Blog!

It's been a long time since I've enjoyed pop music - I've recently discovered a brit chick who definitely has some style. Check her out: Lily Allen's Website

Best,
Margot

What's up with Margots taking Lee as their middle name?

2006-12-07T21:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, let's all admit - we've done the inevitable at some point - Googled ourselves. I will also admit that I have Googled potential boyfriends, old boyfriends, people I am creeped out by, people I like, etc. etc. It's an easy quick check. Well - in my Googling "Margot Lee" I have discovered the inordinately large number of Margots with Lee as their middle name! What imposters! They ought to just choose it for a surname, cause everyone knows Margot Lee just sounds...right.

Onwards and upwards - it's been a very crazy couple of weeks what with school and all. For the MBA Blog searchers out there, here's a neat list of things I've done:

- Auditioned for Follies, the Ross variety show in the spring, which included reading lines and singing "Hail to the Victors" a la Tony Bennett
- Took the writing exam for the second time using the B.S. "persuasive adaptiveness tool" - basically succumbing to the "Man"
- Wrote a paper about a dysfunctional team and even drew some cool diagrams about it
- Created a final presentation and presented to "investors" who will allocate their "money" based on the presentation
- Played a gig with P-Hat at Scorekeepers (that was tonight)
- Learned a new song to play with P-Hat
- Saved 30% off of $100 at CVS courtesy of a friend giving back a favor
- Made Thanksgiving for 10, moved the meal twice
- Almost finished eating the turkey
- Played a fierce game of Monopoly that came to a stalemate
- Finished the last assignments for the most difficult class ever: FIN637 (real options, options & futures, valuation, and sustainability, all rolled into one)
- Considered getting a kitten over winter break

Those first four items were in the last two days. Needless to say, it's been hectic.

Tomorrow morning I am flying to San Fran with boyfriend Ari to chill out on McKinsey's dime for a nice lil' offeree weekend. We're staying at the Omni, which looks decent, and taking some cooking classes on Saturday. Also will try to explore the city a bit and pretend like we don't have tons of work to do. Best of luck to ya'll doing your finals!

A little shameless self-promotion...

2006-11-21T10:37:00.000-08:00

I recently co-directed a video for a variety show by MBAs for MBAs. It's about our band, P-hat.

Enjoy!

Omigod people actually read this thing. So I'd better say something good.

2006-10-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last two days reviewing resumes. The MBA1s have theirs due 10/13 so they're all in a scramble to make theirs perfect. It's a tall order in the thick of classwork and stuff. Although I'm a bit embarassed to admit it, I really like reviewing resumes because it's like a little marketing project. How do you synthesize yourself and your experiences into a neat 1-page package? How do you balance allegory with formula? How do you create your own voice in bullet points? It's challenging, but fun.

Today was a football Saturday. Ann Arbor shuts down, restaurant reservations are suspended, and everyone wears yellow (ok, here we call it "MAIZE") t-shirts. Friends flock from out-of-town, beer is drunk, and everyone turns into a cheerleader. We all sing together, chant together, dance together, stand together and sit together.

Apple folks were in town this weekend, and I was wined and dined and got to spend some good time with my team in Developer Marketing. Apple also sponsored the tailgate (a food and beer-filled experience in the golf course adjacent to the Stadium) and also did some promoting for their marketing positions. Then we went to the game.

For some reason the Apple people were given student-section tickets, which really changes the whole game experience. We were literally nestled right in with students - in the corner of the stadium. I actually prefer the seats I've had before, more on the side, so you can see. Either way, these are good seats because you can maintain a good perspective on the game and see the plays happen from above.

It was also a little rowdy. Ok, a lot. There was a group of kids next to us "on" something very strong (think ex or something of the like) and also some drunk kids above us. The groping sort of got to me midway through the game. It's a good thing we left in the 3rd quarter.

I did enjoy the yellow (maize), tho, and the pom-poms, which I've featured in this entry.

let's rock out at 10:30 am

2006-10-06T05:55:00.000-07:00

It's 9am, and I have exactly 90 minutes until I have to start rocking out. 10:30 is the only available time that the five of us could meet. That's how it works in B-school - everyone's schedules are so packed you start doing very perversive things - playing rock n' roll at before 12 and studying after happy hour. we do what we must.

Ooh, I love my view from my window this year. I have a lovely balcony that overlooks the backyard and houses on the opposing row are screened adequately by trees so you just don't feel someone's looking right back at you. Ollie and I spend a lot of time looking out the window at the jungle 50 yards out. Today's even a sunny day so it's pretty striking.

Ever since I graduated from Vassar in 2001 I've been quite scared of "making it" but the fear has been recently subsided what with the acquisition of the new job. I think my story is a little different than most: I was making less than $30k entering B-school, and used to living on even less. My mindset is still to return the crappy necklace I bought at Walmart for $11. The concept of having enough to live on, saving, and contributing to retirement is sort of beyond me still. I feel like I took a fast track from Target to the Coach store. echhh. There is a course here taught by a "luminary" (CK Prahalad) who tells you that the business opportunities at the so-called bottom of the pyramid are huge and not to forget the little people. I was NEVER poor like those he's referring to, or even close, but having a brush with hard bottom of the barrel makes you mindful of what you have and what "it" could be like. So BOP (base of the pyramid) strategy, for me, is not a revelation, just a well-articulated point of view to explain to B-school students who've been in the lap of luxury too long. I guess it's still good we all learned about it together.

(photo credit unknown but obviously I did not take it. You can find more here

2006-10-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

Howdy ho pardner, welcome to the Pirate Party!

This is me in my swashbuckling garb. As promised, we had a rowdy Pirate Party last weekend, hosted over 100 and polished off over 500 jello shots, pirate punches, and rum and cokes. All in all, it was a good time.

My life right now is filled with NPR again. Thank god for me finding my radio code once returning to Ann Arbor. I can't believe I survived the summer without public radio. It was a serious lapse in judgement.

NPR brings the ups and downs: Pulitzer prize winners and dopey politicians, inspiring acts of bravery and justice and tales of horrifying genocide in Darfur. At least they keep it real. I'm going to take a proverbial minute here to put in a plug for my very favorite podcast which is produced by NPR: All Songs Considered. Bob Boilen, the host, has got it right when it comes to the tunes squeezed out by my $30 speakers (a budget purchase at Target) and I love him for it.

'Tis fall here in the midwest, and we're assaulted by cool sunny days with bright red and yellow leaves falling, then blustery rain. Somehow the ever-changing weather keeps you feeling like you're moving forward day by day. I like to think we're skipping along, but recent thoughts have made me realize, it takes all that you can just to hold on.

Pirate Fun and Revelry

2006-09-16T19:45:00.000-07:00

In true trendy form, our house has decided to host a Pirate Party on September 29th. Not sure if all dear readers are familiar with Evite, but it certainly has revolutionized the way that social events are organized these days; you can see who has seend your invite, who's coming, who's not, who they're bringing....remind you of Big Brother? I hope so.

Anyhoo, the party promises to be a good time complete with costumes, pirate drinks and such. We've gotten a tremendously positive response from our friends who are all jazzed up about a non-beer, non football related party, and honestly it's about time (yes, referring to previous entry) that someone around here decided to do something somewhat out of the ordinary. Not anyone's fault directly, but we're tired of the bus, the games, the beer. We want something new. Ahoy mateys!

On another note, I have bcome impromptu writing consultant for my consultant friends, which is quite ironic, in my opinion. Another reminder of Vassar when I was helping future English Lit PhD's write their papers. Me thinks writin' might be a crackin' good option to pursue, aye!

It's about time

2006-09-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

It's about time I put another entry in to this blog. There is a lot to catch any remnant readers up on. School is going very well and I'm quite enjoying this year sans recruiting and (currently) sans any quant courses - I feel as if I've returned to Vassar and am in liberal-arts land again, except this time we're writing business plans instead of research papers. I'm not complaining. A stark different from last year, filled with accounting stats, finance, etc. And the stress level is low. I'm trying to keep it that way and abashedly avoiding school altogether (imagine me, studying from home, all the time) because the stress certainly seems to rub off. Yuck. Stress.

This is my final year, I've realized, to enjoy myself, and I'm going to make the most of it by doing the following:

1. Not take on any leadership positions (I'm already SGA VP of Marketing and Wine Club VP of Catering for gosh sakes, that's enough)
2. Attend all social functions that are not at Ricks
3. Eat at home and cook as much as possible (cause I'm a good cook and I eat healthier at home anyhow)
4. Schedule time to hang out with friends, because they're all so busy
5. Travel - So. America maybe?
6. Learn a new language - currently it's Hebrew, just because I'm around it so much, and I think it will have its benefits for me
7. Throw great parties (have you heard of our Pirate Party? )
8. Join the Gourmet Club for personal benefit only
9. Keep running
10. Keep blogging

Back in Michigan, and Things are Fine

2006-09-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

After a long cross-country trip and a fast-paced family filled week, I'm back in Ann Arbor at B-school. To tell you the truth, I think the reason why I've not been blogging is because I dreaded the drive so much; I have done this way too much in the last couple of years and I'm so excited to be in ONE place for awhile. I love being a student but not the moves.

Had a great drive despite myself, with Kim Franco as partner for the first big leg of the way from SF to Tahoe to Cheyenne, WY. We went to a Giant's game in SF and had a fabulous day in Tahoe with Jeff (pics coming).

Once in Cheyenne, Kim returned to Colorado and I continued on to Chicago. Actually, I drove to Chicago in one day, which took 16 hours. I do not recommend this for anyone, especially without a radio, but in the end all was well and I arrived in Chicago safe and sound, albeit a bit weirded out.

See, this is really boring stuff so I'll spare you the details. Now I'm back at school and today I'll be going to my first football game of the season. Scary how I've assimilated to fast. (Sigh). More interesting thoughts at a later date, I promise.

Live from the WWDC War Room

2006-08-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

One of the joys of being an intern at Apple this summer is planning and attending the Worldwide Developers Conference at Moscone West, in San Fran. Imagine thousands of mostly guys, all ages, with laptop bags slung over shoulders, donning Apple t-shirts, mohawks, and milling around looking somewhat lost. Long lines for the men's bathroom. Theatrical session rooms with presentations on Mac Games, Mac code, and Mac everything. That's what it's like here. Geeky, and surprisingly subdued.

Although reserved in person, attendees get their aggressions out over the web, and they're not quiet. Just look on technorati.com to see what all 356 bloggers are saying about WWDC: the banners, the energy at the keynote, the food. As an Apple marketing agent, it's a great source of real info, you just have to make sure to get a good solid sample.

Still shrouded in secret, one of the things I've been working on for this year's conference will be unveiled tomorrow at our Go-to-Market Session. I'm excited. It's not everyday that some MBA from UMich gets to work on a real project at a great company like Apple.

mawing on some great books and movies, for a change

2006-08-06T22:53:00.000-07:00

ah. the sweet taste of a good film or a great book. lately i've been lucky enough to reserve some time (in the midst of a hectic work schedule) to gnaw on some thoughtful work; i walked into the barnes & noble the other day and said:

"I don't want to be let down, because the fiction I've read lately has been so good. Whaddya have?"

unfortunately the guy starting back at me with thick horn-rimmed glasses and a black lip ring answered completely cluelessly. "I can look up titles or authors, but I don't read fiction."

WHAT?! how is it that someone working a book store can NOT read fiction!? what has the world come to? also, what is a poser like this guy doing actually working in BOOKSTORE if he doesn't READ??

fortunately, there's the internet, and my literary-oriented family who spouts out book recommendations ever so often. Some fabulous books I've read recently include:

Everything is Illumited by Jonathan Safran Foer
Middlesex by Jennifer Eugenides
South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
The World is Known by Edward P. Jones

Once you get a taste of good fiction, you really can't go back. I am so happy that I have once again returned to the days when I can actually read a great book or watch a great film. ah.

If you work until 9pm but you enjoy your work, is it really that bad?

2006-08-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

I guess I consider it a good sign that I am still in the office and not really to tear my hair out and start pillaging MacBooks. I actually like it here.

This week is probably the most hectic of the year for my group, since WWDC is right around the corner. My team is busy badge-stuffing, finalizing registration, and tightening up presos for the conference. I'm working on a presentation on the business and marketing tools we offer for our membership base. It's pretty cool.

I feel I really lucked out this summer finding such a great fit, and I feel it was cause by two mindsets that I had coming into the internship:

1. I want to work for people I like, a company that does things I like, and a place that I like AND
2. I know what kind of life I want to live and won't settle for anything less

#1 is easier to figure out than #2, certainly, and I think I'll be figuring #2 out for a long long time (it's a continual journey). Fortunately, I proverbially kicked myself in the ass recently and set out on my own to figure it out. It hasn't been easy, but I'm learning now, more than before, about what I want.

For example, this summer I've been running (see previous posts) and it's fantastic. This morning I took a run at 7:45 through my peaceful San Jose neighborhood pre-traffic and daytime bustling. Another example: I eat what I want when I want, and I'm not spending a gazillion dollars. Eating for one, albeit sometimes depressing, is a great skill. If you've figured out how to do that and maintain your figure, go you.

written a couple of weeks ago, but published today.

Really Hot but not Bothered in San Jose

2006-07-21T23:19:00.000-07:00

So much for regular posting. I guess I'm just a weekly now, not a daily. Shucks.

I am quickly learning about how hot it really gets here during the summer. We're talking sweaty-slippery-leather-car-seat dry heat, heat that slows you down, keeps you mellow and perspiring constantly. I think my brain sort of shuts down in the heat, and it's lucky for Apple that they have some damn good air conditioning that keeps the women's bathroom feeling like an igloo. Right in the center of the building, it's insulated from the heat like a cooler.

It's 11 o'clock and still sweltering hot. Augh. I went to one movie tonight (The Devil Wears Prada - B+) and will go to another tomorrow to escape the heat. I like to think of it as $10 for approximately 2 hours of air conditioning, and entertainment (secondary).

Tag, I'm it.

2006-07-18T16:55:00.000-07:00

Ah Srini, ever the social wonder. You have tagged me. I will comply only because we will be roomies next year! ;-)

I am thinking
That I should really write in my blog more. Today I checked and have had lot of visits in the past days, weeks, months, and I have neglected my blogging duties! Ah!

I said
Phew, I'm glad I am not doing consulting.

I want
To relax for MBA2 year. Have some fun. Yeah.

I wish
For worldwide peace. Seriously.

I miss
My family! I haven't seen them since winter break. I also miss B-school pals, especially Section 5ers.

I hear
that Srini has an awfully popular blog. That I'm on the corporate games team at Apple (go ADC Gulls!)

I wonder
What would have happened if I had not made the decision to go to Michigan....hm.

I regret
Not much these days.

I am
Really liking air conditioning.

I dance
To anything but pop.

I sing
When I'm sad, when I'm happy, when I am strongarmed by my friend Phil in band practice.

I cry
Less frequently these days. I think I've cried more this year than ever before.

I am not
An expert at much. But I have a lot of positive energy.

I write
in my blog rarely these days. Does that mean I have a life?

I confuse
its and it's. All the time.

I need
Money. Yep, still need money.

I should
Go running this evening. 4 miles.

I finish
PB&J on toast with a glass of milk each morning.

I tag
gosh, Srini stole all my fellow blogger friends! Sorry, the buck stops here. :-)

like my shitty router, my blog goes on...and off...periodically.

2006-07-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

Hello folks. As I have neglected my blog for quite some time now, I feel I must give a solid update on what's going on in Margot-land. Here are a couple of interesting tidbits, in list form (a la Margot-style):

1. Talking with my dad on the phone the other day, he asked "are you the Margot on Yelp? Have you really reviewed about 60 restaurants?" It's a strange time when your own father is discovering you online. Yes, that was me. Fortunately I was not the other Margot on eBay buying lots of "dumb trinkets" (in my dad's language). Yeah, so besides the recruiters and potential dates, even your father could be watching YOU online. So watch out.

2. Today I finally entered 2005 (yes, FIVE) and got cozy with RSS feed technology. I put a ticker at the bottom of my browser that scrolls by at a clip and informs me about all the crazy (mostly terrible) stuff happening in the world. I was deeply saddened to see today that there is violence escalating between Israel and Lebanon, and having the ticker there feels like a slow drip of salt water on open wounds. Ouch. Not sure how long I can keep it up.

3. I did a strange thing today: I bought a book about cemeteries. Actually, it's about the specific cemetery where I run very frequently. I found it in the Barnes & Noble under "staff favorites" (so apparently there are other weird people out there like myself who enjoy reading about dead people). At Barnes & Noble, another thing that I noticed was an entire robust section devoted to BIBLES. There must be a lot of religious people around here. Weird.

4. Work and Life are going quite well lately. It looks like I will probably be out here in the South Bay upon graduating from Michigan. I'm really enjoying work and busy with a couple of new projects related to the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (visit http://developer.apple.com for more detail) which is pretty exciting.

5. Ollie is great and I think that one of the cats involved in the pseudo kitty porn ring (see previous entry) is now his friend. I also think that this "friend" may not have a permanent home, as s/he has no collar and is frequently caught sneaking Ollie's food. Hm. (This is tugging at my heartstrings; mayber Ollie does need a permanent kitty friend! I am open-minded about previous employment!)

That's all for tonight, as I limp along with my shitty router. It gives me about 5 seconds on, then 5 seconds off of connectivity. Yes, even in the Silicon Valley, we still manage to struggle with wireless. It's probably because I'm on my PC. Stupid Windows.

Over and Out.

blog entry in 4 minutes...go!

2006-07-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

okay, so I'm in Chicago for the weekend and enjoying the nooks and crannys of the city. I'm staying in Bucktown, in a Michigan MBA 2005 bachelor pad, which is very "cool" but not very functional. Therefore, today's entry is:

Top 10 Things to Watch Out for when Purchasing Your First Bachelor Pad:

1. Easy to Clean. C'mon, you know you won't be cleaning it yourself, and you don't want some random person looking through your Maxims and other...uh...stuff...so make it easy to clean yourself.

2. Private. Many a night you'll find yourself coming home at 2am, and you'll need your privacy, from the neighbors AND any potential roommate. Doors and walls are KEY.

3. 99% Complete. Yeah, sure you have lofty goals of refinishing the floors and adding window treatments, but between your new hotshot job and going out, you won't have much time to pursue crafty projects.

4. Easy to Ventilate. So, sometimes you won't take out the garbage for awhile, so who cares? You will when you come home with your hot date. You'll want open windows to = that fresh clean smell.

5. Views. First impressions matter, so make sure you have some good views from your bird's nest.

6. Working electrical/sound system that's Low Maintenance. See #3 for more detail.

7. Laundry in-house, preferably next to the bedroom. You don't have time for laundry. You'll rarely do it. Make it easy on yourself.

8. A Grill and Other Recreational Props. Examples: foosball table, pool table, turntables, shuffleboard, etc. Yeah, cool.

9. Ability to block out the sunlight. Avoid skylights, which can prevent your ability to make it dark when you need to sleep.

10. Don't live next to the elevated train. It's really really friggin' loud. And it runs all night. And it shakes the apartment. Trust me.

Have a great 4th weekend!

Hello. My name is Margot, and I'm a poker addict.

2006-06-28T23:16:00.000-07:00

So here's my guilty confession of the week: I've spent approximately 10 hours playing poker online for play chips. It's pretty embarassing. My poker addiction started at Michigan, and I used to believe that it was associated only witih real live games. Now I've discovered that it's spread to online fake games too. Am I getting any benefit from this experience? Is there any ROI?

I justify my habit by thinking about going to the MBA World Series of Poker next year in Vegas. So, yeah, I'm in, uh, training. Right.

wake up call

2006-06-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

This morning I was awoken at 6:30 with a phone call from my friend Kim. I glanced at my cell phone for a half-second and decided to let her leave a message. Too bad, because here's the message I got later this morning:

Kim, in a scratchy voice: "Hey Mongo, this is Kim and Lili...Lili's been talking about you all morning and wanted to call you, right now...I know it's a quarter to seven in the morning for you, but she wanted to talk to you...here she is!"

"Hi Mongo." (In the background, Kim: "say, I wanted to talk to you")

"I wanted to talk t'you..." (In the background, Kim: "say, I've been talking to you all morning")

"I talk 'bout you all morning..." (In the background, Kim: say, ok bye bye!")

"ok, bye!"

Nice message to wake up to. Thanks Kimmy!

Yahooey!

2006-06-21T23:43:00.000-07:00

Who's going to "indentify" me next? The NSA?

get right back up on the horse again...

2006-06-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

Back on the blogtrain and things are better. Today I submitted my lovely blog to an MBA blog forum (did you, dear reader, even know there was such a thing?!) that has blog listings from all the major B-schools across the country. I have to admit that from a PR standpoint, it is a little scary for schools to roll over and leave key impressions of their programs up to lowly students like myself. Ha ha. Good thing Michigan's so great, otherwise I'd rip it apart.

Mid June and everyone's finally started their respective internships. Everyone falls into their slot at some office in some corner of the world and does something cool. After the frenzy of recruiting and impending doom of offer time, it is definitely a relief to know that everyone is taken care of and having fun. As the Office of Career Development and the MBA2's from last year said: "It all works out". Of course I didn't believe them then, but now I do.

The consulting folks were the last to start, with my friend Ari starting at McKinsey in Chicago today. It seems pretty ridiculous to me that I have already been in the hamster wheel (just kidding, read other entries and you'll learn I absolutely LOVE my current internship) for seven weeks now, and it is halfway over. All us MBAs are used to eating the same food, digesting the same classes, and socializing over the same beer, so as Nate referred to in his blog (yesterday, I think?) we're all sort of "attached"...it feels good though, like a global team, out to better the world.

Let's keep it light

2006-06-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

Some bloggers have this innate ability to steer clear of slogging through personal topics, but me, I come at it straight on.

For those of you who didn't know, I broke up with my longtime boyfriend Jon Gray this past March, and yesterday was the fourth anniversary of the day we met. We're ok about the break up, but things these past months have been tough on both of us. We're dating new people and going at it on our own. Don't worry, I won't go into the details.

Yesterday was especially strange because even though I forgot that it was our anniversary (those of you who know me know that I don't stand on ceremony) it seemed I couldn't get away from disctinctly Jon memories - I went to the fabulous SF Giants stadium for a game with tickets courtesy of my Apple Director (thanks Paul!). Walking around the park in the cool sea-singed air felt just like the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where we came last summer. The man in front of me in the beer line was wearing Jon's favorite brown hoodie (I haven't seen it on anyone else but him, and this guy). Last night my dreams were racked with Jon encounters (non-romantic or sexual, so buzz off), but they were with me and him and new people that he is with now in his life, that I've never met. I woke up and sat up immediately from sleep, and Ollie meowed at me good morning, all at the same time.

I believe that the mind is a powerful thing and that if we tune in to its inner workings, we can use it to tell our future. Predilections towards feelings and urges run deep and are driven by our "unconscious" or whatever you want to call that inner compass, and if we listen carefully, we can learn more about who we are, which is the Big Question in my Life.

One thing I vowed never to do again is to shut memories out for the purpose of moving forward, because you can't really move forward without having stuff behind you, and if you're lucky, you might actually know what that stuff is. So albeit sad, I'm finally beginning to welcome my painful past...however teary it might be.

from the loop

2006-06-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

So, it's 6:26 and I'm still at the office. It's been a long Monday, mainly because my manager is leaving for a week to do the Cour de'Alene Ironman (swimming and biking miles and miles and then doing a full marathon!) and I really needed to get cranking on my stuff. As such, I've blessed this entries with some photos of the loop.

In case I haven't mentioned it, I really love it here. The people are great, down to earth and very positive yet realistic about the possibilities. It's no surprise that Apple's enjoyed so much success over recent years - I think it's all Karmetic.

I broke down a couple of weeks ago and purchased my first "nesting" element for my office, a plant that I picked up at Rite Aid for $5 with a $1 pot (which is quite nice) that was on sale. Can't complain, I sit by a window anyways and although I don't have the kind of acoustical separation that I dreamed of at least I have a good amount of space. And I get to meet lots of people who walk by, calling me Margie or Marge or the like. It's like a healthy suburban neighborhood without the lawns.

I really miss music; making music and being around music and have thought longingly of Boulder many times in recent days. Hopefully I'll be able to find some sort of niche out here...

throw pillows and peace & quiet

2006-06-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

After a rip-roaring bunch of days last week I decided to take it easy this weekend and purposefully not make plans. As a newcomer to the area, "not making plans" is synonymous with "being at the whim of anyone who might happen to call me" or "lazing about my house doing nothing", which actually was fine with me. A brief chronicle of events:

Friday:
At 4pm on Friday, the beer bash started at Apple, which basically means there's free food and beer. Somewhere along the way, someone made some interesting observations about the Applers tastes, because there's always a lot of cake, strawberries, and smoked salmon, which is served sans cream cheese or any garnish. Personally, I am accustomed to lox a) for breakfast, or b) with some sort of creamy accompaniment to assuage the salty fishy breath one might have after eating smoked, uh, salmon. Instead I end up having stinky breath and hanging out with my co-workers over beer on a hot Friday afternoon. Hey, I'm not complaining, not at all.

After the beer bash I went to sushi with a small group of MBA/Apple Interns. Half of them live in Apple corporate housing, which is a gigantic rip-off ($900 for a SHARED ROOM per month, and with an undergrad as a roommate!) and also are without automotive transportation, so they really appreciated getting out of the 2-block radius in which they've been confined for the past 1-2 weeks. Afterwards we headed to Palo Alto for drinks, where we grinned and beared it through a Stanford MBA2 band's rendition of "Sweet Home Alabama" and the like. Coming from another MBA band (p-hat - see the link in the sidebar!) I can relate with the level of humility that a show like this requires but certainly NOT with the volume level - I think you could hear the band on Mars if they hadn't been in an enclosed structure. We saved our few remaining ear-hairs and camped outside in the patio area two walls from the ruckus.

Palo Alto is a nice place and I am a little disappointed with myself for not applying to Stanford. Not that Stanford is better, just that Palo Alto is much better than A2. Oh well. Maybe I'll live in P.A. next year.

Saturday:
Ok, so I didn't really know what "hot" was until Saturday when it was too hot to sleep, read, walk around, eat, exercise, or do anything besides retreat to some air-conditioning bastien such as the grocery store. After watching two incredible soccer matches (Ghana defeating Czech Rep. and U.S. being demolished by crappy refereeing, oh, and tying Italy) I dragged my heat-exhausted self to Trader Joe's for some shopping. Oh gosh, I do love that place, with its limited selection, small footprint, campy feel and terrific prices. This week I bought some buffalo burgers that I ate tonight (Sunday) for dinner. Yum yum.

Saturday night I was fortunate enough to tag along with my friend Kevin to "the city" for some drinking and dancing. We visited a bar called gravity, which more aptly should be entitled "reincarnation of Matthew's Mug" (Vassar readers will appreciate the reference) because it felt just like college: harmless, fun, sweaty, and longingly juvenile, which suited me for the night. After 2 dirty martinis, 1.5 date proposals and gettin' down for 4 hours we came back to South Bay at 2am. I think that was my workout. Good thing I wore flats.

Sunday:
Up for World Cup again but subject to lackluster games this morning. I made myself some banana blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup (thanks Trader Joe's!) and camped out in the empty house one more day. Oh, and I started a good book, Sammy's Hill, which was written by Krisitin Gore (not related to Al) and reads just like my writing....at least the character feels similar. It's very strange.

I took a surprise trip to Target in search of a couple more towels and pillows (I guess you could really call that "nesting") and came out with a new outfit and as many pillows as I can humanly carry. I justified it to myself with the thought that I could definitely still fit everything into my car for the trip back to Michigan at the end of the summer. Good stuff.

Will try to be more regular about blogging and coming up with interesting things to say. Ciao.

Uh oh, it's been too long...

2006-06-14T18:29:00.000-07:00

Dear me, it's been days since I've updated.

Visited Tahoe for the weekend and had a fabulous time. One thing that makes California so amazing is that you can be close to the ocean and only hours from the mountains (snowcapped, even now!) and rolling green hills. Lake Tahoe is the 8th deepest lake in the world (!) and was formed when the earth split apart - really the lake is a big crack in the earth. Unlike most bodies of water this side of the continental divide, runoff from Tahoe does not go to the Pacific, but instead South. Ahh, the things you learn from the hotel brochure.

We stayed in a charming B&B in Sutter Creek (see photo) on the way up to Tahoe, played mini-golf, went out on a paddle boat, and went for a hike. The weather was awesome and I actually forgot about blogging, it was great.

More productive thoughts tomorrow, I promise.

I only have so many hours in a day

2006-06-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

And unfortunately these last couple of days most of the hours have been spent hard at work at Apple. I miss running, I miss blogging, and I need some release. Things are still great at work - am ramping up for a big presentation next week that is quite important for the future of my summer project.

Those of you that know me know that I recently (in March) broke up with my very long term boyfriend, Jon. Getting through these last couple of months has been tough at times but I think things are looking up and I'm starting to feel better. It's taken awhile, and it will take longer. Many thanks to all the great friends I've made at B-school who've helped me out - ya'll know who you are.

when you need to know CPR after a long day of drinking

2006-06-04T21:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday was an exciting day. I drove up to the city with my iChamp (Apple buddy) Nitin to attend the Union Street festival, then on the way back we stumbled upon something you never really want to run into: a bicyclist lying in the middle of the road, unconscious.

We were headed off of 280 to get some gas in San Carlos when we spotted two cars pulled over to the side of Edgecomb road and a man lying in the middle of the road. It looked like he had been hit by a car. Although my CPR skills are a bit rusty, I decided to pull over to at least make sure they had called 911 and help was on the way. I asked the people already at the scene if they needed help, and by the scared look in their eyes and verbal answer "yes!" decided to stick around. It was a good thing we stopped. I ran back to look at the guy who was lying face up, with spit and a little blood coming out of his mouth. He was breathing (a good sign) heavily and it looked labored, like his tounge was blocking the airway. I ran back to car and clued Nitin into the situation, and he came over. A woman was calling the paramedics frantically on a cell phone, and she couldn't identify what city we were in. Nitin took over and spoke with 911, describing where we were. I went over to the guy and helped roll him on his side, which seemed to help his breathing. Within a couple of minutes he started to come to, moving his hands and legs and then trying to unbuckle his helmet, which was cutting into his throat. Another man came over and proceeded to restrain him to keep him still, and the man (who had gotten hit) said, "get your hands off of me!" I unbuckled his helmet and tried to calm him down a bit by having him count and promising that by the time we had counted to 30, the paramedics would be there (it was true). Nitin called the guy's wife to tell her news...it was a crazy scene. By the time the paramedics arrived, the guy was in great shape, fully conscious and breathing normally. It turned out he didn't get hit by a car, but fell of his bike suddenly. I think he had a heart attack because he was holding his left chest as if in pain. We left to get some much-needed gas.

Encountering this really made me think about what I would want to happen if the man was a family member - it was scary not having any trained professional there to assist us and just trying to do what was right. I think Nitin really helped the most because the woman who was trying to call 911 was sort of hysterical and not really capable of even talking about the location (even though there was a road sign and address sign right there.) In retrospect I think I should have been a little more assertive about helping and keeping everything calm.

I spoke with my parents about what happened, and being medical professionals, they gave me some good advice:

1. Breathing is always good, and you can clearly tell if someone is not getting oxygen, because they will turn COLOR (!!) assuming their skin is white. Knowing this would have helped because I would not have helped turn him on his side, since his color was normal.

2. If there is no risk of head/neck injury, helping someone sit up can help them breathe.

3. There are no rules in this situation! The best thing to do is call 911 (nice work Nitin!)

Anyway, it was exciting and really made me think. Hopefully I'll never have to deal with it again! ADC Gulls to the Rescue!

korean barbeque and karaoke

2006-06-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

I guess it's "discover Asia's cuisine" week in Margot's world. Tonight I met up with Rina and Jason (fellow Michigan MBAs) for Korean barbeque and karaoke. For those of you who haven't been to Korean barbeque, it looks a lot like this:

Rina's a popular gal so we had about eleven people there, all asian (except for Jason, the token white guy) and all in high-tech. I guess that's what you get in silicon valley. So, back to the food. Korean barbeque is comprised of lots of side dishes with different (usually vegetable based) items, such as pickled cabbage or other veggies, rice flour in its various forms, tofu, seaweed, sprouts, and in one case, tiny crispy sweet fish (you eat them whole!) in a red sauce. Then comes the meat. It's sort of like fajita meat without the veggies, and there was spare rib and also beef. We also had a whole fried fish (delicious!) and be bim bap - the crispy kind. Overall, it was excellent and I think I ate more than I've eaten since I've gotten here.

Post-feast we headed over to Karaoke World, a booth-style karaoke place where you sit in a small room with a large tv (and disco ball) and sing for eachother. It's low-pressure karaoke which is intensified by no alcohol (usually a requirement for American karaoke places). Somehow they tweak the mics and supplement the vocals with backups and doubles so you sound really good when you sing.

Tomorrow I head to the Union Street festival in San Francisco...a more detailed update will follow.

mochi ice cream

2006-05-31T20:39:00.000-07:00

Now I know this exists all across the U.S. but today I experienced mochi ice cream for the first time. For those of you who haven't tried mochi before, it is ice cream wrapped in a lightly sweet rice flour casing. It's like a package of creamy goodness, cold in the center and gentle to the tongue. Yum.

Two other exciting things happened today - my sister Anna turned 25 (happy b-day Anna!) and I spoke with an old friend whom I haven't talked to in four years: the great Stasha Lawson. Stash is doing great and is in the summer internship of her MBA progam like me - she's in So. Cal working with Dow chemical and about to make some Big Life Decisions about where she'll go next. I completely understand. This is a crazy time, but someone's gotta do it.

My Vassar reunion is coming up but I'm not going, which I'm pretty bummed about. My reasoning in not going is that I just can't spend $800 to spend 24 hours at Vassar, even though it probably is worth it to me in some way. I hope to hear all the stories from my friends going. Should be exciting, even second hand.

Yesterday I trimmed our rosebushes in the front yard - I guess they don't bloom all season like I had hoped. Amongst the trimmings were these gems I salvaged...quite nice, eh?

Thank goodness Mallards don't mate for life

2006-05-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I was feeling a little Tony Sopranoish today - I got emotionally attached to a duck.

I was at Albertson's buying some household supplies and was kindly helped out to my car by a guy named Carlos who noticed me struggling with my 15 lbs of organic apple juice (it was on sale). We had to wait while a car crept by, the couple inside pointing and smiling at a mallard drake (duck) wandering around expectantly in the parking lot. Craning its neck, it looked like it was looking for something that it lost.

"See that duck?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah." I inquired: "what's his deal?"

"Well, about 3 weeks ago, he was with a female duck in the parking lot with a bunch of little yellow babies - chicks. Well, anyway the female duck and the little ones got hit by a car, and you know...they all got killed."

"How heartbreaking" I replied.

"The crazy thing was that that duck wandered around in the spot where she got hit for two weeks, and would not leave. He was causing traffic problems and all the ladies in the store would come out and cry, and say how sad it was...yeah, it was sad, but he's a duck."

"Wow," I replied. "Do you know if Mallards mate for life?"

"Nah, I don't know. I sure hope not."

So, I had to come home and look it up. Mallards don't mate for life. It's Canadian geese (those Canadians were always more steadfast now, weren't they?)

Here's something I found while looking for an appropriate duck image - this catfish was caught in Italy with live eel as bait. Of course liars in Texas have claimed it (falsely) as being caught in Texas, but this has been proven false. Others have claimed it was caught in North Carolina. All's I gotta say is yowser, that's one biiiig fish.

today, it's all about you, dear readers.

2006-05-29T22:37:00.000-07:00

So last week I put a statcounter on my blog, which gives me a little more information about you (spoken like a true marketer). Some general observations about you, dear readers:

1. Microsoft is losing in the browser war! Hooray. 52% of readers use a browser other than Microsoft Internet Explorer, such as Firefox (46%).

2. Although my readership mainly resides in the U.S. (45%), I do have a couple of loyal followers in Singapore (20% - thanks Srinivas!) and Israel (17% - thanks Ari!) which makes me feel much more cosmopolitain and worth my salt.

3. People actually read what I write. I had to save this one for last - this chart represents the length of tiime people actually look at the blog. The less green, the better. Green represents the number of people who look at it for less than 5 seconds - this has declined from 86% last Monday to 63.6% today. Hopefully the trend will continue. Thanks for reading!

my impeccable musical taste v.1

2006-05-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks,

In an effort to maintain some consistency, I've decided to bolster the music recommendation section of this blog, and will now hereforward include a summary of artists featured in the sidebar every couple of weeks. In case you haven't noticed, we've had:

D'Angelo- a lyrical and musical genius, it's really a shame that good ol' D hasn't been able to pull it together for another album. It has been awhile since his last Voodoo release in 1997. Like feel-good music (Al Green and Marvin Gaye)? Like a good grove? Like walking to a beat? This guy's got your number. I can't stay in a bad mood.

Arto Lindsay- Think smooth latin vocals dancing above some technically complex rhythmic and sonic tracks. Verry intewesting.

Gloria Estefan - Yeah, sure, we all think of her as the watered down J-Lo, but Ms. Estefan definitely has some tricks up to her sleeve when she hearkens back to the classics. If you like Buena Vista Social Club, you'll love Abriendo - it has a great old salsa feel that's as satisfying as a big family dinner cooked by your mom.

Sigur Ros- This esoteric foursome actually created their own language that sings true (even without literal translation) amongst thick sonic passageways - it's really beautiful and breathtaking at points.

Hope this helps expand your musical horizons! More to come soon.

After-school style short film on why Asian girls go for white guys but Asian guys never get the white girls...it's worth your time.

On this Memorial Day Weekend, let's actually think.

2006-05-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, we have to thank our lucky stars that there are people out there who devote their time and energy to art. These flags (you can see more here) are a graphical representation of certain populations by area, and they are really quite brilliant.

Memorial Day is a holiday that I've had some difficulty explaining to some non-Americans lately. For me, it is simply a marker of the start of summer, picnics, big rainy soccer tournaments, and the formal ok to wear white (which I never wear anyway, so that point's moot). We get Monday off and there are a lot of American flags around.

As another blogger put it, the Iraq war is getting too weird for me:

running at rancho & Apple Sales Web preso accepted!

2006-05-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Today, for the second time, I adventured out of my home-to-work Homestead Rd. tunnel to experience the wilderness, silicon valley style. I drove 10 minutes from the Apple campus to Rancho park, a sprawling woodsy county park in Mountain View. Ah, it's like Colorado only better - massive gnarled trees are shade canopies above the trails, there are some rocky hills to climb, a stream to run next to, and a farm (Deer Hollow) with real animals and a lovely garden. The farm's open during the day and I hope to check it out.

I've been running with Apple people - today with a fellow MBA/Apple intern and his wife and another Michigan fellow (undergrad engineer). These people are super runners. I am clearly not. I think they go twice as fast. The cool thing about Rancho is you can all leave at the same time, run different loops, and finish up in tandem. It's really nice on the ego. Today I eeked out a grueling four miles (no thanks to my painful collapsing arches) and Wednesday it was five. I hope to keep this up at least for awhile - anyway, the trail is so beautiful that the run is actually a pleasure.

The other news is that I worked on a WWDC 2006 presentation this past week (at Apple, we call 'em 'presos' - see the title of this post) and it got approved as is by all the higher-ups. Yippee! It will now be distributed across the globe to Apple Sales representatives. I can't believe it only took me two weeks to make some real impact. It's great to be an intern at Apple.

Ollie the p i m p

2006-05-25T22:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, up until this point I have refrained from writing anything in this blog about my cat as part of my general repulsion with single women (yes, I am single, and a woman) being obsessed with their cats. Secretly, though, I love my cat Ollie and he is a fantastic bedfellow. Lately, Ollie's been providing some night-time entertainment as well.

So I have this window that is reachable from the ground floor of the house, that I leave open at night so Ollie can have free rein of the house. For those of you who don't know Ollie (there are few of you out there) he is a 20lb lithe shorthair black cat with a black spiked collar. He looks intimidating, but he's really a sweetheart and pretty much everyone likes him. He has a pathetically high whiny meow that he uses to say hello and request things that he wants (like going outside) which is why I let him go out the window (it saves me the hassle of waking up). And now, to the real story:

About a week and a half ago, I was awoken from a deep groggy sleep to find not one, but two cats in my room! Ollie had made a friend with the neighboring cat (let's call him Frank, he's white with big grey spots) and Frank and Ollie were romping around my room in the middle of the night, knocking things around and causing a ruckus. I sat up suddenly, which frightened Frank, who proceeded to make a panic-stricken dash for the window. That's one story.

Second story: Last night, I am awoken at 4am to a crooning "mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow" outside my window. I notice Ollie looking intently out the window at two cats, this time Frank and another furry orange striped cat (let's call her Linda) are circling eachother strangely. Suddenly, the invetible happens and Frank mounts Linda and starts humping her. He even bites her neck trying to hold her in place. If this weren't strange enough (with Ollie and I as voyeaurs on this violent sex scene) another brown cat trots up and begins to watch. I gasped (out of the strangeness of it all) and all cats looked up at me, surprised. It didn't seem to phase Frank much, as he attempted to continue, but Linda seemed embarassed by my presence and managed to make a mad dash off the pimp stoop. And that's how we roll in San Jose. Kitty porn at 4 a.m. - the red light district outside my window.

this is a talent I will never have...

2006-05-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

Today I ran about five miles, the longest I have run since my limping days as a distance runner on the track team in high school. To date myself, that was around 1996 or so. It's be a long long time. This video is short enough to sneak in during a spare moment at work. Enjoy.

Treasuring the Asian delights of California (not my friends)

2006-05-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

Today I am past the an-employee-who-just-started dearth of work period, and things really beginning to hum along. I have a great team of people to work with and great projects, too. I feel really lucky.

I've also begun to appreciate the finer part of California life: good asian food. Yesterday we went to a huge Chinese grocery store where they served everything on the planet that is Chinese. The catch is you have to either speak Chinese (lucky me, I was with pal Grace who is Taiwanese and fluent) or be really forceful. Case in point: I ended up with some one else's lunch, which was a little greasier and meatier than I had ordered. It is a screaming deal, tho, for $5.45 I can get enough to last me for about three meals. Today we went and got some "pho" (pictured above), which is Vietnamese soup with beef or whatever you want in it. For those of you who enjoy condiments, this is the perfect dish because you add siracha (spiciness), basil + onion, etc. (fragrance) and this brown sauce (sweetness) as you like. Pho me, pho is comfort food. Yum.

First night in the city

2006-05-21T21:15:00.001-07:00

woowee. don't we look goofy.

Last night I hauled myself to San Francisco for the night to meet up with Jason (above) for dinner. I got confused and took 280 instead of "the" 101 (those of you who live around here know how truly dopey this is, and the reference to local terminology) but ended up having a nice drive around the perimeter of Golden Gate park and through downtown.

Jason lives in a highly secured apartment building that edges a very sketchy (read: I think I could score something there) neighborhood. While I was waiting for him to come down from his apartment, a man who looked like D'Angelo arrested after his second cocaine possession (here is a photo of his first, so you get an idea of what I'm talking about) yelled at me, dancing in a very bouncy sort of way, and pulled down his pants to his knees, displaying extra-large blue boxer shorts. (thank god). Another man walked by trying to start a lighter repeatedly, in a slow methodical rhythm. I think it was his personal soundtrack. We smiled at eachother. Ho hum, just another early evening in the city.

The funny thing is that 3 blocks away from this scene resides the Hilton and prime tourist real estate. We took the cable car to Chinatown and hopped off and walked a bit. Smelled the sweet sticky savory aromas of dumplings in Chinatown, and headed to North Beach, apparently one of the places to be on a Saturday night.

We went to an excellent Afghani restaurant called Helmand, and besides the rude hostess seating us late (we had a reservation) everything was superb and worth every penny. We shared a bottle of Rock Rabbit Shiraz (2003), the rack of lamb and Aushuk (Afghani ravioli filled with leeks and scallions with a ground beef + tomato and mint yogurt sauce on top). We also had some lovely spiced rice pudding that wasn't too aromatic but still was nicely nutmegged and pistachioed, if you know what I mean.

After dinner we trekked up many hills (I think my butt was looking better by the second) to a get together where we knew no one. Jason wanted to meet the folks he was getting together with for Bay to Breakers. We met some cool Michigan Business School alums there and I displayed my sharpie skillz.

We caught a cable car back to Jason's neighborhood. There was a quite a scene, and luckily, my car is the closest one on the right, so I was able to drive away. I think there were about 20 cops there and a lot of flashing lights. Hugged goodbye and headed back to my hamlet in the south: San Jose. I had a great night.

[PS Speaking of D'Angelo, I have heard on the wire that he is releasing a new album entitled James River. Can't wait.]

I don't belong here.

2006-05-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

You Belong in Paris

You enjoy all that life has to offer, and you can appreciate the fine tastes and sites of Paris.
You're the perfect person to wander the streets of Paris aimlessly, enjoying architecture and a crepe.

See Which European City You Belong In

Apparently, I belong in Paris. Better put it on my list. According to the quizzes, I am Chinese food (a sleeper, in terms of cuisine, yet exotic and addictive), and Cherry Pie (sexy yet classic and tart). Have fun.

And, regarding the title of this post:

Thom Yorke (Radiohead) will release a new a new solo album: The Eraser. I do feel like this sometimes.

Stepping up...

2006-05-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen photos of the new Apple store on Fifth Avenue, check it out:

Creativity suppressed

2006-05-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

Wow. wow wow. I've just been reading my friend Srini's blog, and the latest entries are fantastic. Apparently, when my brilliant pals are not wrapped up in MBA classes or their internships, they have extraordinary ability to be creative. Long live the spunkiness, I say!

Here are a couple of tidbits from Srini's blog (you can check it out yourself in my sidebar) that I love. Right now he's in India, and soon he'll be in Singapore. Ever want to learn about how it feels to be a yuppie Indian guy? Read the latest entry. The bit below is a little older and I just like it. Oh yeah, and I'm in P-hat:

"On the subject of brands, I have been advertising my friend's band (P-Hat and the Job Shop formerly known as P-hat and Heteroskedasticity) all over the world. I wore the band t-shirt to the Law School Graduation Party at Oz on Saturday, 6 May - where many graduating law school JDs (Juris Doctors) saw me on the dance floor. Trust me, you cannot miss me on the dance floor. And I mean that in a good way.

I then wore the same t-shirt on my flight across the world. So the P-Hat logo has now received eyeball exposure (trust an MBA student to use a fancy term like that) in midwest USA, Chicago, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangalore. Even my folks asked me what the logo was about. And then I had to tell them about the band and give a short primer on statistics. Maybe I should lobby to be the publicist for the P-Hat band. And I also need a fresh p-hat t-shirt. Cos this one stinks."

we MBAs, we think we're soooo cool...we even fantasize about ourselves....at work...

oh c'mon baby just call me...

2006-05-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

(listening to Bill Withers' Lean On Me album...) Not sure if all my dear readers are aware, but there are technologies that allow you to call from/to anywhere in the world for practically free; now that Skype.com is offering free calls to the US and Canada there's really no need for a phone. It's crazy. The connection is better than cell phones anyway, it sounds like the person is right in the room with you.

Life at Apple and in San Jose is great. Things are very laid back, frozen yogurt costs $1, marketing rules, and I got paid. I've begun to appreciate the finer things in life; lately I'm in to good smells. I just bought Kiss My Face brand moisturizer that makes me smell just like a peach. Our lawn get mowed once a week and the sun bakes everything dry. A nice life in Cali.

on marriage and beer

2006-05-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

Here's my friend Lei. She's getting married. This photo was taken during the MBA1 bar crawl right at the tail end of last term. Yes, we're MBAs and we drink a lot of beer. Lei and I were actually being rebellious not sporting the mandatory red t-shirt to identify us as members of the group. Shame on us.

I guess I'm at the age when people are getting married. I have actually never been to a real wedding, if you can believe it, and disappointingly, I will have to miss Lei's bash this summer because of the internship at Apple. I'm sure it will be a fabulous affair, after all, it's in Hawaii, and Lei and Joe are fabulous, so there's really no other way.

the human spirit still alive and kicking

My first snappy entry as deemed "Silicon Valley Virgin"

2006-05-17T07:07:00.000-07:00

So, my dear friend Nate just gave me a nod in his very well-read blog, and I'm feeling the need to strut my stuff a bit as a blogger today - seeing as I may be getting more traffic. [is my ego inflating by the second? I think so!]

Anyhoo, it is about time for me to make some smart-ass remarks about my initial week here in Silicon Valley. Being a big fan of lists, here goes:

********************
Qualifiers: (as a rule, I hate qualifiers, but these observations are based on limited data and this should be made clear to you)

1. Really, I have only talked to Apple folks (and my roommates, and their friends) so I suppose this will be dominated by impressions of them.

2. Places I've gone (physically): My house in San Jose, Apple campus including Caffe Macs (cafeteria), Rite Aid, a Subway, jogging around my neighborhood (see below entry), Trader Joe's and Tandoori Oven in Pruneyard (a shopping strip in downtown Campbell), Bascom Animal Hospital, a brazillian breakfast place near my house called Joao's, Cow Hollow/Marina/Union Street in San Francisco.

3. Time I've been here: 9 days

Some thoughts:

First, people here are smart. Compared to Boulder (where I lived for four years) people appear more world-savvy and amped up. They have degrees and they can do math quickly. They like to talk about liberal politics; they know about Darfur in Sudan and the latest news in wiretapping. They read Dan Brown books (DaVinci code, etc.) and have also seen Pixar flicks. They like to get excited talking about these things (as do I), so it's a good fit.

Second, there are a lot of guys (tons) and they are mostly engineers. A quote via Ari from Linda Lim: "The odds are good, and the goods are odd". Ha ha. No really, I love engineers. I really do.

Third, it gets cool at night (see Nate's Austin entry), which seems like a small thing but is actually important. It gets hot during the day. Like, really hot.

Fourth, the food is good, much much better than Ann Arbor. Thank god.

Ok, so these thoughts are pretty generic. Sorry. I've only been here 9 days. More will come, soon.

view from my window

2006-05-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

It's getting sorta hot here. Today we broke 80, which feels much warmer in the midday full sun. It will take all that's in me to keep running in this heat.

Jogging through the cemetery for the fourth time...

2006-05-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

I've been running every other day or so for about 25-30 minutes, a slow, thoughtful jog down my street to a cemetery about 4 blocks away. Once I'm there I'll loop through the pathways and extend the jog as long as I feel like.

The cemetery is probably a strange place to run; a paradoxical experience to do something that is lively among the dead. What drew me to the place was the romance and history - old fashioned iron-wrought gates and a stone wall that borders the busy street. My first experience running through the memorial park was before the gates closed at 5 o'clock, when cars could still drive through. Then I discovered a couple of dirt pathways, worn over the years, that circumvent the gate, and realized I could go anytime.

The gravestones in the park date from the late 1800's to very recently; today I saw a grave yet to be covered with sod, which must mean that a recent burial took place here. There is a small number of folks who share the cemetery enjoyment experience with me - most with small dogs that can walk (illegally) without a leash. Occasionally there is the random man or woman on a walk, but mostly it is just me and maybe one other person. What keeps me coming back are the details - trees whose noodly branches reach toward the sky and create an archway of shade above the paths, the gravestones with a small picture (usually in color!) of the deceased, wilting lilies and roses laid carefully next to graves. Even the sprinklers have charm, making mini rainbows in the sheaths of sun. It is strange but comforting to think that even in a cemetery, there is life, a lot of it, and it feels like a celebration - lots of souls still loved even though they've been gone years and years.

Today I ran past two young women, probably in their early 30's, having a picnic at one of the gravesites. Adorned with sunglasses and smiles, they had laid out a blanket and were having a cheery conversation as if they were at a neighborhood cafe among friends. This struck me as completely beautiful, seeing people living life yet remembering the past, even though it is sometimes hard. I struggle with this a lot, and if you've read my previous entry about transience, you'll know what I mean. Anyway, I thought it was fantastic and wanted to share it with my readers. Hope everyone's having a lovely weekend.

I think I may have found my people...

2006-05-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

After five days at Apple, I'm feeling very at home and hoping that this turns into a full-time opportunity [read: "Apple, please hire me!"] The folks are great and the atmosphere is too and it just feels right up my alley. As it always goes with new jobs, the ramp up this week has been a little slow, but the overwhelmingly positive attitude of the Applers around makes it even comfortable to just hang out and learn some stuff without feeling pressured. It's really that fun. Crazy.

This weekend I have assigned myself the responsibility to explore San Jose a bit and also make a visit to San Francisco. I'll be visiting cous Shira in the city and also meeting with some other interns from work. So far I only know the drive from home to work (which has every type of store available, from nail places to grocery stores to a HC Dumplings shop- thanks to the ethnic makeup of California and strip malls) but I will attempt to expand my geographical knowledge a bit since the idea is to stay here.

Nothing else exciting to share with everyone. Ollie's shedding a lot. My roomies are cool. Having fun.

Dammit! The spammers have discovered my umich account!

2006-05-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

The bastards have found me. I am now innundated with crappy emails about stock alerts and e!n%l@ar%g*e#d whatevers. Auughh!

Today is my fourth day at Apple and I am now understanding what my role is here: talk to everyone and synthesize all their ideas into a great solution. It reminds me of my projects in school, and consulting. Apple is a cool place, though, everyone is very happy and laid back and I can wear me orange flip-flops to work and no one blinks. Awesome.

Phil sent me these photos taken by one of his friends who is studying Chimps in Zimbabwe. Looking at pics like these and hearing about another life in another world makes me feel good about things. It's sort of like reading a chapter in a great book.

enjoy!

Margot's summer schedule

2006-05-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

I will be working at Apple for 14 weeks, from May 8th-August 11th.

Other places I'll be this summer:

Denver - Memorial Day weekend (May 27-29)
Tahoe - June 9-12
San Jose (here)- June 24-25 (Phil is visiting)
Chicago - July 4th weekend (June 30-July 4)
San Francisco - WWDR August 7-11 with Apple
Minneapolis - August 14-August 23 (approximately)

I plan to drive through Milwaukee and Chicago on my way back to Ann Arbor August 23-28th.

I will be at Ann Arbor on August 28 and classes start on September 5th.

First day in the loop

2006-05-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

I started my internship at Apple today. We spent the first half of the day in boring HR training and then were off to lunch with our respective managers. I will be working with a great guy on a terrific project and am really looking forward to getting started. Apple's a big company that behaves like a small one, which suits me just fine. Typical dress includes jeans and t-shirts, and people work hard but seem to enjoy themselves. I am part of a huge wave of summer interns (300 in all) from colleges and master's programs throughout the country.

A couple of noteworthy observations:

- I saw Steve Jobs at lunch, in fact he was sitting right near me out on the patio. People treat him like a celebrity even within Apple, which I found sort of amusing
- Apple is big about security and we are not to talk to anyone about what we're doing (hence my vague description above)
- My MBA is working for me already! My project will definitely push me to use a lot of my newfound skills that I've acquired at Ross. Woohoo!

Also worth mentioning is that I finally picked Ollie from the vet (he was there since last Thursday - poor guy) and he is doing just fine, despite his infection and trauma from moving across the country in a car. He's a great cat. Here's Ollie looking pissed because he's shaved...

2006-05-08T06:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the road trip with Grandma Jean. Today I start work at Apple (!)

to my loyal readership

2006-05-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

There has been a request for another blog entry (seeing as I have neglected my journaling for a couple of days now) so let this entry assuage my readership's desire for an update.

I am presently at my cousins' house (see the view from my current window seat enclosed) in Santa Barbara at my great aunt's 80th birthday party. There were approximately 90 people here today in the garden and on the patio, most of them over 80 and kicking. As an auxiliary family member, I had a great time socializing and taking breaks when needed. I also got the chance to catch up with the few younger cousins here after about a 10-year hiatus. A psychologist, a programming manager for the LA Times, a music/tv producer, they're all comfortable in their own lives and doing well. Hopefully I will get a chance to come down here to L.A. this summer for a weekend. My cousin Shira who is a couple of years younger than me looks and sounds exactly the same as when we were 13 and 16 and I came here to her Bat Mitzvah. Come to think of it, I think I do too! We've had a fantastic time reconnecting and I am so glad to be here.

The younger cousin set are still aspiring to get into college and I think that more now than ever younger kids' lives are hurtling towards adulthood, fast. I don't think I even knew what college really was until I was maybe a junior in high school. My college counselor consisted of an archaic computer in a flourescent light-filled small room where I could peruse the databases alone without guidance. These days, there are consultants just for high school students, and they even have specialties like essay writing or college choice. At any rate, they're all doing well and it was good to see them.

I am feeling extremely happy for a couple of reasons, one of which I can't disclose outright in this blog. The reason I can discuss is that I will start work tomorrow morning at Apple in Cupertino, CA and am really looking forward to working and making some money! Monday and Tuesday are training days and then the real work starts on Wednesday. Wish me luck!

~M

Endless sightlines in Wyoming

2006-05-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

Wyoming stretches out flat as a pancake for miles, with few rest stops, gas stations, restaurants, or any sign of human life. With the serenity of the plains and the dryness of the desert, the highways evoke lots of thought, unorganized, free thought, which is perfect for a drive like this.

Thanks to wireless communication, I have managed to stay linked up with so many friends, and it is wonderful. Everyone in my life is living such rich lives, flying across the world alone and with dear friends, holing up in Ann Arbor dealing with hard times, letting go of relationships past and learning how to work through the present.

Grandma Jean and I have been having a lovely time exploring vast Wyoming, and today stopped at a great diner in Laramie before driving to Evanston, where I write this blog. Sounds trite, but I really love Holiday Inn Express, the rooms are great and much nicer than your average hotel. Ollie has (another) abscess so I will have to take him to the vet here tomorrow. I am sure he'll be ok. He's been a real trooper this trip, hardly complaining and taking the frantic travel pace and many hours of driving with stride. Here's a pic of the two of us (Ollie and I) at my old place in Ann Arbor.

20 hours done, many more to go.

2006-05-01T19:27:00.000-07:00

On my drive from Ann Arbor, MI to San Jose, CA:

I'm in Boulder, CO right now, just for two nights and one day. Being back here is simultaneously heartlifting and also a little haunting, seeing as I lived here (and grew up a lot) for four years. I've been fortunate enough to see most of the important people, even though I've crashed into their lives quite suddenly (and on a Monday). I forgot how sunny it is here, and the sun makes everything slow down, especially compared to Ann Arbor. Everything is pretty much the same, and familiar faces are all around. I have discovered how this city is just a little too small for me, The closeness of the community and place were comforting and insular during a crazy time in my life.

Please check out my friend Damhnait's (Daav-net) blog, bendyroad (see links to the right). She is going to work at NASA in LA in the late summer, and on the way traveling to Canada and the Arctic, where she'll spend three weeks very dirty studying bacterially mediated sulfur deposits on the ice. [For you lay-people out there, that means she's looking at bugs that make sulfur and poop the sulfur out on the ice - in hopes of discovering similar behavior on other planets]. Here is Damhnait - she's ready for space right now!

Tomorrow Grandma Jean and I depart for Salt Lake City, a long drive across Wyoming. She is 90 years old and loving the trip.

Another (Fresh) Start

2006-04-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

Packing up my stuff today for the big move to California. I don't like living in a place for only a year - not enough time to settle, really. I am realizing I have too much stuff for this many moves - "stuff" being comprised mainly of books. Thank god for online music, otherwise I'd never be able to move anywhere.

Looking forward to Apple, ranked the #1 Most Innovative Company by BusinessWeek.

MAP Top Ten

2006-04-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

You Know It's MAP When...

10: People who are not your friends are over at your house from 4pm until 4am
9: You lose most of your patience about...everything
8: You discover the magic of MicrosoftWord outlines and Powerpoint becomes your friend
7: When you hear you have to go to school to work, you feel like crying
6: You flirt with an 18-year old because of lack of ineraction with the outside world
5: You're escaping to a smoke-filled dive bar at 1pm because you feel guilty eating lunch
4: You get up at 5am after coming home at 11:30pm the night before
3: Business attire = a dress shirt with flip flops and jeans
2: After saying the same thing 5 times in a row, you feel that no one is listening, because they tell you to say the thing you've said 5 times in a row.

and...

1. After you reschedule your presentation to fit your faculty advisor's schedule (at 6:30am) he doesn't show up, yet he is able to give you a final grade worth 7 credits!

Yeah! I love MAP!

simple + food = good

Michigan Students Getting Creative During Finals Time

2006-04-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been to an arcade? Here's some respite from MAP.

Big Night (with the Wine Club)

2006-04-23T05:50:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to our inaugural (as the new 2007 board) Wolverine Wine Club event. Among the kegs, yellow t-shirts, football and cheesy dance-focused parties, the WWC is a welcome treat. All the women dress up for each other we drink extraordinary amounts of malbec, sauvingon blanc and shiraz. As you can imagine, this leads to a pretty big night. An early riser, I am up at 8 a.m. the next morning and no one is to be found on email or skype.

My part in the festivities is to procure food and put it out at the event. There are two reasons for this. 1) we like having food there, for posterity and so we can talk about it because lots of people don't really know how to discuss the wine and 2) to prevent excessive drunkeness. A self-assessment of my performance yesterday leads me to believe that while I may have succeeded at 1), my performance in regard to 2) was somewhat lacking. I think this could be improved with more bulk in terms of the food. Next year, next year.

I am happy with my food choice (thanks Katherine's catering!) which was reasonably priced and high-quality, and best of all NOT ZINGERMAN'S! ha ha.

if a drunk tries to break into your car at 2am, and he doesn't succeed, what do you do?

2006-04-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight at 2 a.m., I am sitting in a sandwich shop, and through the window my friend spots a guy trying to break into our friends' car across the street in a well-lit parking lot. What would you do?

1. Run over to the guy and car and yell at him, after all, you don't want him to break into the car!
2. Yell at him from across the street, hoping that he'll leave your car alone
3. Do nothing and call the police

Ok, so the three of us did all three of these things. Guess which one was me?

The guy ended up being a very confused drunk (?) and we told the police about it. For the record, I hate the police, but sometimes you just have to clue them in as to what's going on...

spring is here and the nights are comfortable

2006-04-19T22:15:00.000-07:00

I was able to go on two walks today in the midst of school projects. It was a cool but temperate evening. Srini and I were attempting to take a photo of the sunset, but then we decided to take a photo of ourselves (below). We parted, and then I went to a great sushi place in Kerrytown called Yamato. I spent too much, (er, I was not a cheap date - according to you know who you are) but it was really quite good. I need to get some recommendations from Japanese friends on what to order next time, because I don't think I took full advantage of the quality or menu. At about 10pm was almost roped in to going to Windsor to play poker all night. Lovely photos in the sunset, eh?

2nd place at poker for the 4th time in a row! Augh!

2006-04-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

This blog entry is a joint entry, via skype, with one of my fellow poker-playing friends. Tonight we had a rough night, right Ari?

Ari: Right. You should definitely enter a paragraph about the hand that you beat me on, it is definitely worth mentioning. It was the only hand that I played tonight. I got kings! (exasperated). The only thing that you had me on was Aces, that sucks! [you suck! no, I am kidding....you suck and your blog sucks...no no no...just kidding]

Margot: Ok, so for everyone that is not a poker expert, this is a tricky hand because AA and KK are basically the two best...

--side conversation
Ari (interrupting): Do you even remember the flop? What was the flop?

Margot: I do remember the flop!

Ari: What was it?

Margot: The flop was 10, 6, 7???

Ari: It was 10, 9, 2! I would never have called you with that because it could have been a straight!

Margot: (Sigh) ok, you're right. Maybe if you would have played more hands, you wouldn't have such a good memory of what happened

Ari: I got the most junk that I have ever gotten. And I don't think that I should have folded, so there. Is this all going to appear on the web?
--side conversation over

Anyway, I won against another great hand. And it was early in the game. And it was a surprise. But Ari raised too fast before the flop, so I knew what he had. Shit, Ari realized I misspelled ellipses. Gotta go and edit the former entry.

Ari (in the background): Am I right, or am I right?!!

Margot (Sigh): Yes, you're right.

on my overuse of ellipses and disguise as an MBA

2006-04-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

I have just spent the afternoon powerpointing. For those of you that haven't had this lovely experience, imagine moving abstract shapes around on your laptop to try to create some "a-hah!" moment in a future meeting in a videoconferenced laminate filled conference room. And I'll be wearing a suit. Ugh.

As I am a big fan of lists and my ego, I must tell all ya'll readers about another top 10 list that came out today:

Top 10 most desirable employers for MBAs

Apple came in 7th. It is really scary how so many of us think alike. I feel like I am a big shiny tuna working my ass off in the vast cold ocean watching the hippy turtle dudes cruise by...do I really belong here? If anyone is not asking this question at this point then they are crazy. This is what happens when you do powerpointing for an afternoon. Bad things.

Oh, and on my overuse of ellipses: I will try to stop, as much as I can, in the future. I don't talk with ellipses, so why ever would I write with them all the time, dammit!

Trying to keep it simple, as always.

love and loss

2006-04-18T06:51:00.000-07:00

Happily enough, many of my great friends here have recently found some luck in the love category. MBAs, without intense pressures of classes, do have souls, if you can believe it. On a sunny yesterday afternoon my pals Sandra and Phil and I decided to go get massages. The people here never cease to amaze me, how they can deal with so much flux and turmoil in life and somehow maintain a steady grasp on the goal. A stark change from living amongst the creatives in Boulder, when a slight breeze can just make someone topple over on the wrong day.

Being an MBA also requires (although they will never tell you this in the F(*&'n application process) an almost uncanny ability to let go of things, sometimes in a disturbing way. Most MBAs are transient, almost overly flexible, and we are able to move across the world for the perfect job, extract from friends and family practically overnight, and transform our lives very quickly. In many ways, this is what makes one successful in business. With this skill do we sacrifice the deep, time-building relationships that others might have?

There is a statistcally significant break-up pattern here in school, and it comes in waves according to school holidays; the first being at thanksgiving and the last around spring break. I suppose it all has to do with priorities, but to outsiders it is troubling; to be successful at business, do you have to sacrifice everything else? I hope not. Or maybe you do, just for now, and you can shift everything around later in life. But, without practice, it is difficult to improve at anything, right?

p-hat strikes again...

2006-04-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

Forgot to mention that P-Hat played for the second time at local dive bar Scorekeepers this past Thursday. You can learn more about the band and our escapades at phat.wheresnate.com.
I learned a couple of things about performing:
1. gigging in front of all the people you hang out with = scary
2. rocking vinyl black boots and your best black dress can help with ego boosting
3. beer can also help
4. don't worry if you forget the final song, and you're playing the bass...just ask the bass player!

We'll be rocking out again next year. We have t-shirts for sale. We have a PA and we aren't afraid to use it.

religious benchmarks and the rest...

2006-04-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

Some things come and go each year and mark important events- this year Passover marks a turning point for me; am wrapping up a big school project and also about to embark on my move out to the Bay Area where I will be amongst the expensive housing and techies. This weekend was really quite amazing in Ann Arbor - sunny and 70, the graduating MBA's threw a send-off at the dilapidated bus with outdoor music and several kegs. Really, it's a last hurrah to the kind of partying one can only do at a big10 school.

Spring has arrived in Ann Arbor, and I opened my shades yesterday to a bright yellow bush smiling in at me through my window. All the trees are beginning to blossom and things smell good. Also, it's been raining and that earthy summer smell is back.

Spring and fall seem to be the benchmarks for me; this is the time when I always make the BIG decisions in life, which have bode me well. I have been playing a lot of guitar, and catching up with old friends. More soon.

Oh, and I most closely resemble Princess Leia, according to this quiz: http://www.tk421.net/character/

some lovely animation to brighten your day...

2006-04-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

in the same vein as spirited away, this hauntingly beautiful short film will entertain...

www.biteycastle.com

Old posts...(archive)

2006-04-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

an undying love for....a school?There is a religion here in ann arbor, and I'll call it Michiganism.  The relic is the football and the dress gold and navy.  Chief annual holidays fall on homecoming and graduation, and the town breathes the fight song in their sleep, deep slow breaths of "hail.....hail......"  Everyone lives in peaceful bliss knowing that Michigan evangelism is live and well in the world.  An example of disciples below:
 
    April 07, 2006            

reaching new heights of procrastination...

Right now I'm on a team of four MBA's and we're supposed to be working on a real-world project for a real company.  We've been flown to Ireland (see post below) and back, researched for four weeks, and spent quite a deal of time trying to figure out some way to create a deliverable worth about $10k for said company.  Uh, as you can imagine, its not fun.  sooooooooooooo, as I result, I have really blown myself and others away with new methods of procrastination.  And so, here it comes, another list:
Margot's tips for successful procrastination (they're so useful, you'll dismiss your guilt by feeling happy and becoming popular with your friends because you'll have so many fun things to share!):
NUMBER ONE: download StumbleUpon.  This is a website that gathers your tastes and then drops you off at sites that are highly rated by other users.  Its so fun, that you'll just have to do it once a day...because who isn't bored for at least 30 seconds in a day?
NUMBER TWO: decide to make your music library more robust.  You always wanted that acoustic album with your favorite song by your favorite band (mine: Radiohead) and now's the time to look for it.  Really, your music collection is a reflection of your deep inner soul, so it'd better look good.  (This is especially relevant when you're on a shared network and can see others music collections and scoff at them...N'SYNC, ha ha)
NUMBER THREE: decide to pick up your guitar, or piano, or whatever, and learn some new songs (perhaps inspired by #2 above).  This always takes some time.
NUMBER FOUR: embark on a photo-organizing spree.  Sure, you have lots of photos on your computer that you'll never print or look at, or share, but that's no reason why they shouldn't be organized!  
NUMBER FIVE: start loaning and borrowing things.  You meant to bring that book over to your friend's place a month ago, and now's the time to do it.  While you're over there, borrow a book, and then you'll have to read it, and then bring it back.  This could eat up at least a day (total in valuable procrastination time)
NUMBER SIX:  do a graphic overhaul on your computer.  download a new firefox skin, make sure you have all the right Yahoo! widgets, set your appearance settings to clear type. Your computer will look so spiffy that you'll want to...
NUMBER SEVEN: update your blog!
ok, that's enough.  back to work.

April 03, 2006 |

Morning Musings

Don't get me wrong, Michigan is a great place.  We're grounded people, with real expectations and more tact than your average bear.  But frequently, we're spread a bit too thin and can't hire a webmaster to do the dirty work.  This cracks me up.
    March 29, 2006  | PermalinkComments (0)        |            

Freshly Baked Brown Bread and Smoked Salmon in DingleReturned from Ireland yesterday and regrettably did not contribute to the bloggin enroute.  During the brief 10-day visit I learned the following things about St. Patrick's island:
1.  The roads are narrow, the castles old, and the seafood still wiggling
2.  Green grass glows incessantly
3.  The IRA exists healthily and people are willing to discuss it in dark pubs over a couple of pints
4.  Irish people eat, on average, three times the amount of potatoes an American might eat
Really, we had a lovely time and got to see some hot spots.  At the top of the list was Dingle (yes, let the dirty jokes begin!) a small vacay town at the tip of one of the rocky Western penninsulas.   Various brightly painted row houses with pubs below and B&B's above line the windy hilly streets, and the food is excellent.  Since it was the off-season, there were few people there but we were still able to find a warm basement pub with some fiddle and banjo (trad. Irish repetoire) and of course, a Guinness.  
Another favorite spot was Dromoland castle (www.dromoland.ie) where apparently our dear W stayed recently.  I am sure that they washed the sheets thoroughly.  Hopefully Georgie got to enjoy the delicious chocolate truffle on his pillow.  I certainly did.  The castle grounds were magnificent, and in the summer, the place must look right out of a fairy tale.

Speaking of fairy tales, I was aptly named queen of the banquet during our visit to historic Bunratty castle.  My faculty advisors are sitting on either side.  We had to eat with our hands during the entire banquet.   
Cliffs of Moher (below)
and, the first night out on the town in Galway.
 
and just when you thought this post was over, words from Holden Caulfield (channeled by my friend Srini):   
"What really knocks me out is a book, when you're all done reading it, you wished the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it"  
Wise words.
 

    March 27, 2006  | Permalink        | Comments (0)
no frills and fruff...this IS why I'm working at Apple this summer...http://youtube.com/watch?v=EUXnJraKM3k&search=ms%20ipod
    March 15, 2006  | Permalink

Sometimes, you just have to look forward & Here's to hopingTonight there's a full moon.  I drove by my new house which reminds me of the house my mother and her sisters grew up in in Minneapolis.  White, with a front porch with a low railing, the house has that heavy, lived-in feeling that houses have from the 30's and 40's.  I will be living there with two Desi guys and a Texan Chinese girl.  We will have beer.  We will cook.  We will sit on the couch.  We will throw parties.  We will hang out.  We will watch movies.  We will be college students for one last time.  It will be fun. 
This post was inspired by my friend Phil, who sent me the following email for the blog:  "Not to start anything, but I wonder how many lives  have/will be saved due to the sacrifice/deaths from the Iraq war…  Thomas  Jefferson said: “The Tree of Liberty needs to be refreshed from time to time  with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”  Here's to hoping, Phil.
This one goes out to all my homies with da blogs who are kicking my assThings are great here at Biz-School, I'm heading to Ireland on Friday for 10 days and some adventuring relating to a "project" we're doing for school.  There are four of us on the team, four intense, yet independent peeps, and I think things are going to go just swimmingly.  
Tonight I played poker for the 2nd time at my friend Ari's house.  For the second time, I was right in the middle of the pack, using the tips from Phil Helmuth's book (not that I'm a huge fan, but I bought the thing in the airport) chapters 1 and 2.  The Israelis really knock it to ya at this table, joshing eachother and causing quite a ruckus...just when you think they're not paying attention, they'll come and swipe the rug right from under your feet.  Pretty smashing entertainment for $20/4 hours, I say.
Other things I wanted to mention in this blog:
1.  My band, p-hat and the ____(<--insert funny group name here, ie "heteroskedasticity" or "job shop" etc.) now has a website, at http://phat.wheresnate.com.  We are the most merchandised band that's never had a paying gig.  Chuckle chuckle.
2.  The boys in b-school are having a mustache contest, and you can read more about it at their blog> http://rosstache.blogspot.com/.  Highly worth checking out.
3.  Do you know how many people have died in the Iraq war?  Find out at http://www.iraqbodycount.net/.  
Thas all that's on my mind tonight.  I will try to be more dilligent about updating, as life is flying by so fast...
    March 14, 2006  | Permalink        | Comments (0)


Screw Business School and Bring on the Rock and Roll!Ok, so i've decided my current blog title is way too confining...what will happen after I leave business school and will my new title be as boring? (think: margot gets a job, margot moves to another city where she knows no one, etc..)
Back to the topic: this fine evening, P-Hat and the Job Shop (my band) will be blessing the ears of MBAs with good ol' fashioned rock and roll at (affectionately) "Skeepers" (also known as Scorekeepers).  Yes, it is technically a sports bar.  Yes, it hosts many slutty undergrads most evenings.  And yes, we will only be playing for about 60 minutes.  But the glory of rocking out!  How could you miss it.  Of course, most of you do not live here in Ann Arbor.  You can always dream.  I will try to obtain some sort of recording to post on my blog here.
This is really the most hectic week I've ever had.  The COMPANIES are here: consulting, marketing, etc. and everyone is walking around dressed up in their (monkey) suits trying to look "professional".  For those of you who do not know, I did not even OWN a suit before coming here.  So I wear my one, over and over and over again.  At least its a little stretchy (and from Banana).
Over and out.
    January 19, 2006 in Current Affairs  | Permalink        | Com

me: agnostic dislexic insomniacI sit up awake at night and wonder if there really is a dog.
Back in Minneapolis for the holidays: My extended family is a mele of chaos and comfort.  Extended fam includes a bus driver, gymnastics coach, and argentinian tango expert (this is all one person) as well as an anti-semetic (a little tricky because I'm jewish), a musician, a politician, a helicopter pilot, and a 12th grader.  This is just a sample.  My joy comes from the fact that my cousins are doing great - we're all growing into our own skin and becoming grown ups (its very exciting) and entering a new era where our crazed parents won't run the show all the time.  Looking forward to more adulthood (the first time in years!).
Happy happy to everyone.
M
    December 27, 2005  | Permalink        | Com

It's never too late for anything!Take my grandmother, for example.  She's tiny, 90 years old, and a spunky character.  If she was on friendster I'd leave lots of amusing testimonials, like:
"You may think Grandma Jean's a sleeper, but just when you think you can talk about illicit habits, she'll ask you how it was and if you're doing it now."
or
"It's never too late to conquer a new language - Grandma Jean's learning Yiddish at age 90.  She's practicing every day on her half-mile swim at the YMCA pool."
Today on the airplane I sat next to a thickly bespectacled man with a voice like Garrison Keilor and the mannerisms of a Brooklyn Jew.  A librarian, he continually wonders about things, with more curiosity than most people have in their pinky finger.  Did you know about the ripe corruption in the Ann Arbor library system where secretaries and directors alike embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars?  I guess we can look anywhere for corporate snafu's - just 'check it out' at the library!
Once the can has been opened, how do we contain the squirmy worms?  
    November 27, 2005  | Permalink        | Comments (0)           

           

           