new year
I’ve never been one for New Year’s Resolutions. Not because I think I’m not in need of modification or improvement, but mostly because I always thought that if I felt compelled enough to change something, I shouldn’t need to peg the change to an arbitrary date like 1/1.
That said, the pace at which the last 4 months have gone by has caused me to think maybe this is a good time to take a quick inventory of the things I’d like to do, accomplish or experience in the coming year.
MORE:
writing, photography, attention to learning, attention to friends, travel, exercise, cooking, openness to nonproductivity for the sake of resting, focus on the present
LESS:
nail biting, stressing, junk food, calendar management, focus on what’s next
Thanks for reading this past year.
Wishing you a spectacular 2009…
the importance of boredom
I came home for Christmas this year (as I do every year). I was unusually bored. It could be that I was procrastinating working on the job search. It could also be that many of the friends I had here are either not here any more, married, or both. More likely is the fact that I went from life at 150MPH to life in a slower lane when the semester ended.
At first this was frustrating.
Thinking about it now, though, I’m realizing that in two weeks, as I’m just finishing my first day of classes of the 2nd term, I’m probably going to wish I had boredom on the calendar. Wish I was back here right now. Funny to imagine.
I think it’s important to be bored every once and a while. It clears the mind. Forces you to decompress and relax. Boredom also causes you to appreciate the busy time, the time when you have tons to do, and helps you realize what parts of the busy time are most meaningful.
cover letters
The current bane of my existence is the set of cover letters I’m writing for internship applications. Given the economy, it seems that the job hunt is the thing that is causing the most stress at school. I have friends who are applying for literally dozens of jobs in the hopes of snagging just a few interviews. On the one hand, I see the strategy there. On the other hand, I wrestle with knowing there are just a handful of places that I really really want to be this summer and I feel like I’d be better served spending most of my time and effort trying to get in the door at those places (say by writing a handful of really good cover letters rather than dozens of mediocre ones – which is what I know would happen for me). And then there’s the other hand, which are people I know in reruiting who say that cover letters don’t get read that closely anyway and to focus more on the resume and interview prep.
travel and the media
Every year, the media runs out the door the day before Thanksgiving, parks the satellite trucks somewhere in the flow of traffic around the airport, and sets up to do travel woes live shots. Clockwork. Literally. And for a time, working in the media, I recall there being data to support the claim that the day before Thanksgiving was, in fact, the busiest travel days of the year.
This year, I think I’ve heard the term “busiest travel days of the year” about 10 times. Conveniently a little “one of” has been placed before the phrase most recently. I will even buy that a little.
But today! Today I heard on the television, the radio, and read online, that today would be one of the busiest travel days of the year. And when we took my brother to O’Hare today, there was the Fox News sat truck. Parked and ready. But guess what? There were no people there. Literally. O’Hare was wide open – moving cleanly – nothing to see. The highways to and from O’Hare… wide open – moving cleanly – nothing to see.
So. What gives? One of the busiest travel days of the year? Really? Really?
it’s the people, stupid
I was watching one of my favorite movies, “Stand By Me” while working on cover letters and resumes tonight. The movie ends with this quote:
I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anybody?
I used to think that was a pretty interesting quote. I partially agreed with it. I suppose it captures something about the truth in friendship that occurs at such an age. Thinking about it tonight, though, I realized I had an answer to the question asked. Yes, yes, I do.
I can go on about this more later, and I will, but I really do feel very fortunate to have come to school this year and to be in the section I’m in. I’ve made incredible friends in a short amount of time, and there are friendships that I’ve no doubt will last a lifetime. I’m not sure if it’s the connection around the shared experience, the genuine commonality around intellect and drive, or just luck – but there is a bond among people here that is truly great.
I gave a toast at a dinner party the a couple Saturdays ago. I had always said I perceived half the value in the mba program to be in the education and half the value to be in the people you meet (the network). I said at dinner that I’m starting to believe it may be weighted more heavily in favor of the people, after all.
This should surprise anyone who perceives HBS as having a stigma of arrogance or obnoxiousness. It did me. That stigma simply hasn’t presented itself (at least not in the level I thought it would – because surely you can’t rid the world of jerks entirely). But it has confounded me how genuinely good the majority of people are at school.
Anyway – long way of saying that I do feel like I’ve had friends as good since I was 12. I have them right now.
benjamin button
I saw Benjamin Button last night. It was a good movie. I’d recommend seeing it (though I’d recommed seeing Slumdog Millionaire first). A few thoughts:
The movie was too long. There were so many episodes in the movie that could have been cut without changing the overall story. At 2 hours and 48 minutes, I was definitely fighting to stay interested by the end.
The movie was really heavy. I understand that mortality and time are very difficult topics. But, for a Christmas release, I was surprised. The characters in the film were mostly uninspiring, because both the way they were written and the way they were portrayed, which left one hoping to be inspired by the message, which ended up being forced upon the audience at the end in a heavy-handed epilogue. Further, the stilted use of the hospital deathbed and Hurricane Katrina as framing devices was straight up depressing.
Perhaps this was all the intent. But the wonder and curiosity evoked by such a fantastic premise were lost on me.
All things considered, though, it was fun to spend the time pondering life in reverse. And the film did not once disappoint from a design and production standpoint. The settings were all richly crafted and the work done to age the characters was nothing short of magnificent.
