Merry Christmas!

It's our first Christmas without snow! Frankly, I don't miss it. Palm trees wrapped in Christmas lights work just fine for me.
Lindsey's mother arrived last Sunday and the two have been shopping ever since. They've shopped to the North, shopped to the South, Shopped to the East, and shopped to the west, looking for the clothes they like best! I have enjoyed the silence by reading a few books and actually playing my X-box for the first time since we arrived.
Thanks to Lindsey's mother we actually have quite a few presents under our tree. Without her, it was going to be a very thrifty Christmas since we are burning mass amounts of cash as part of this Southern California lifestyle.
Tonight will be a quiet evening and tomorrow we are preparing a nice turkey dinner. My family will be having their traditional Christmas Eve family fun night were they play games such as Trivia Pursuit and the like. It will be different to miss that, but I guess the sun and nice weather will have to comfort me.
Merry Christmas to all our friends and family from Lindsey and me!

What am I reading over Christmas break?

There is a lot of free time over the Christmas break with the quarter system. Preparing for this, I pro-actively ordered two MBA related books before the end of the class. I just finished reading The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen. The book addresses how even well-managed companies can not seize opportunities presented by disruptive technology.
Disruptive technology is improvements to current technology that are not sufficient for the current market, but could create a new (although less profitable) market. Established companies often ignore disruptive technology because their customers do not want it, the new markets are too small, and the margins are smaller than they currently experience. The problem is if the disruptive technology's capabilities improve at a greater rate than the demand of the established customers, at some point the disruptive technology will be adopted by those customers and the established firm will lose market share.
An example is Flash drives. When invented, the capacity of flash drives could not service the laptop industry, but they were ideal for iPods. As flash technology improves, it may develop the size and cost capabilities demanded by the laptop industry. Then, the flash drives will overtake the current 2.5" drives because flash is much more stable. Disruptive technology is not limited to hi-tech - discount retailing was a disruptive technology for the department stores. When first introduced, department stores wanted nothing to do with the low margins of discount retailing. The problem is that as the ability of the discount retailer to offer better discounts and move into higher quality goods, they are now supplanting the department stores from their traditional market as we can now go to Walmart to get a good blender.
This book is a classic and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in business. While there are the occasional detailed analysis, the book is written is a very easy-to-read style.

More Southern California Observations

We are now approaching the end of four full months of living in Orange County and I figure it is time for some more observations about So.Cal. life.
1) Driving the So.Cal highways is an intense experience. Whenever I hit an on-ramp to one of the freeways, I prepare for battle. The on-ramps are shorter than normal, so you need to come up to full speed very quickly. Top it off, California has two accepted 'Hi-speed' lanes the far left and the far right which means are you are try to accelerate into the right lane there is almost always some BMW flying up the lane at 90 mph. The best way to relate So.Cal. drivers to Canadians is this: picture a Montreal driver with slightly less insanity and a great deal more self-centered.
2) I still can't get over the prevalence of Valet parking in the OC. I am certain that there is a McDonald's somewhere in the OC with valet parking.
3) I am already starting to feel that 10 Celcius is cold. That didn't take long.
4) How can everyone in the OC drive a high-end vehicle. I am certain there are some BMW drivers who live in a card board box, but at least they have the car.
5) So.Cal. people get right into Christmas too! There are lights on the palm trees and the Santa Claus parade consists of lighted yachts.
6) While there seems to be a large selection of stores to shop, it is funny that they have a smaller selection of items than what we are used to in Canada. For example, Kleenex, yogurt, margarine, toilet paper are items that we get large selections of product names and quantity packaging. Here, most stores have a very limited selection of items. Target carries two brands of Kleenex (one name brand and the other private label) and only sell singles or three packs. No massive packs of 12 boxes.

OC Christmas Party

On Friday, Lindsey threw a small Christmas party for our friends. Lindsey spent alot of time cooking up a plethora of dishes. People started showing up around 7pm and the last people left after 5 am. I was pretty spent and slept until 3pm the next day. At my age, a night like that makes the next day (and sometimes the day after) a complete write-off.
It is really great that we have met some really wonderful people in the area. These people have embraced us and we wanted to show our appreciation. We also reached out to a few other people who we knew were around after exams. Rudy, his wife Colleen, and their 4 month old child, Alex, came out. Alex could only party until around 8:30pm, so he and Colleen left early. We also invited Faris out. Faris's wife was back home and he was left here all alone. It was great to get him out. This was their first real exposure of some of the poker "animals" and they held up alright, but we will expect more of them their next time out (including Alex).
The evening started out relaxed with a lot of conversation and eating. Next poker was rolled out and the real partying began decimating our liquor cabinet. After the first group left, some die-hards remained to play a third game. Then, Christine, a Poli-Sci Phd candidate, wandered into our apartment (we leave our door open to keep the apartment cool). She certainly livened up the room as we tried to get her to acknowledge her hidden attraction to our friend Jeff. I think we spent the next hour trying to convince her, through a series of strategic poker hands, to take Jeff out on a date. As you can see from the picture we had some minor success (go Jeff!).
I think any party that goes on to past 5am is a success. Lindsey deserves the bulk of the credit for pushing for it and doing all the work. A note to my other fellow students: we decided against a mass invitation because our apartment could not handle a mass amount of people. Just with the people that showed up 3 wine glasses were broken and two speakers were knocked over (one on poor Tammy's head [seen on right with Lindsey] as she was passed out on our couch - she didn't even budge). We always try to bring new people over to our place, just in controlled amounts (and this strategy gives Lindsey and I a better chance to get to know them). Anyways, you can see the rest of the pics here.

Tech Coast Angels Screening Event

This past Wednesday, myself and two other members of the VCIC team were generously invited to watch a Tech Coast Angels (TCA) screening event. At the event, 4 young companies present before some of the members making the case about why they should receive angel investment funding.

The event is a great opportunity to see how experienced investors grill entrepreneurs. For obvious reasons, I won't go into any detail about the presenting companies, but the four were from very diverse backgrounds. It was interesting to see the presentations from the investors perspective; learning what works and what doesn't.

After watching the event I have a few preliminary tips for entrepreneurs seeking investment. First, answer each question as directly as possible. There seems to be two reasons entrepreneurs do not answer the question they are asked: 1) they want to dance around the issue; and 2) they misunderstand the question. In the first case, the entrepreneur is not fooling anyone. These investors have "been there -done that" and, even if he should fool them, there will be due diligence later on that will catch up with him. IMO, the second case may be worse because if the investor asks a question and the entrepreneur answer addresses something else, that is bad. If the investor cuts him off and brings him back to the initial question and the entrepreneur still answers something else, it can be an indicator that the entrepreneur can't focus on the issue at hand. How can an investor be confident that when a issue arises in the company that the entrepreneur will cut to the heart of the matter and address it if he can't answer a direct question?

Second, have a plan and understand your weaknesses. The worse thing an entrepreneur can do is to fluff up the weak areas. The investors will see them and if he continues to assert it will not be a problem, you will lose all credibility. There is no shame to say that you need help in an area and make that part of your plan for use of the investment funding.

Finally, really think if you need angel funding. While we all want to believe our business is design for hyper growth and greatness, some businesses are not meant for the angel/VC route. Once you go this route, an angel or VC will demand a hockey stick-like growth curve and an exit in a very short time frame. An entrepreneur must understand if the market of his business can accommodate that growth or that exit time-frame. Some markets are designed for slower growth. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it will lend itself to growing itself through revenues and thus avoiding the need to dilute equity to the outside investors. The main point is that if the market will not deliver the growth rate or exit time-frame, the entrepreneur will soon find himself with some upset partners and he could find himself removed from the company.

Exams Are Done!

Yesterday, I finished my last exam and my project management group did its final presentation. I am officially done for the quarter. The exams were challenging, but I find that they really give you a lot of time to complete them. For example my accounting and stats exams were 2 1/2 and 3 hours respectively and IMO a fair time would have been 1 1/2 and 2 hours. Someone made a fair point that the additional time may be granted given the large proportion of international students and other students who do not have a numbers background. I am probably too much of a hard ass.
Kudos need to be doled out to my study group who made it easy to complete our assignments on time with meetings scheduled well in advance and professional discussions that always moved us forward. We seem to work well together. While we aren't the best of friends and hang out on a personal level, we do come together to get the task completed. We are still improving as a group and I am pretty sure we have not yet reached our potential. More Kudos need to go out to my project management team. I was the only 1st year in a class full of 2nd years and they welcomed me into their group. While the project wasn't the most memorable, we were able to punch it out and I expect we will get a good mark (An "A" maybe...).
I am now faced with over a month until next quarter begins. While I would like to reach out and start making some company contacts at my target companies, I fear that the Christmas season may make this difficult. I do remember one entrepreneur who told me he was very successful making sales contacts during Christmas because the workers would always be in the office, but they tended to be bored and were more willing to talk during an unsolicited phone call. I will let you know if he was right.

First Quarter Evaluation

It is hard to believe we are at the end of the first quarter. I thought I would give my assessment about the quality of classes and student life here at Merage. I am doing this before finals, so that I am not influenced by my results.
Classes
I have been very impressed by the classes and by the professors. The professors enjoy sharing their topics with students and make great efforts to communicate their subjects in a simple manner. While all teachers have been very good, I want to highlight our accounting professor, Charles Shi. Professor Shi has done a phenomenal job communicating the sometimes tricky concepts of financial accounting in an easy-to-understand manner. In my opinion, it is even more impressive when you take into account that english is not his first language. While the communication is great, it is Professor Shi's dedication to refining his methods of explaining difficult concepts. While many teachers just show up and read from a text book (especially for first year classes), Professor Shi demonstrates a great desire to modify his teaching methods to best communicate his subject to his students. It is this effort for which I applaud him.
Student Social Life
Every Thursday there is a two hour social where the Student Association provides some free drinks and snacks. It is a great way to end a week of classes and hang out with your students. I think at each social I am able to connect with at least one student that I had not met before. Thursday night is always pub night; it is usually good for at least 20 students to show up and have a good time. Recently, one of our students has pushed for an additional Tuesday pub night that has mixed success depending on the students workload. The point is that there is always something to do. The drawback about the UCI area is that you must drive wherever you go (cab is only an option for the obnoxiously rich). But once you accept that you must drive, there are a number of fun bars to visit.
The people are great. I must state that if you are moving into the area, you must make assertive efforts to meet new people and continue to socialize with them. Otherwise, as many are from the L.A.-OC area, it can be difficult to break into their everyday lives. I have made a very conscious effort to socialize, such as the regular poker game, and it has paid off in spades. Lindsey and I are developing a wonderful group of friends.
Extra-Curricular Activities
If you find yourself with nothing to do at business school, you need to seriously evaluate yourself. Too many activities is the common theme of business school and time management will help reap the rewards. The activities are run by committed students, staff and faculty and an argument can be made that each would enrich the traditional MBA student. Merage is similar to most schools with its wealth of E-C options.
Orange County
Three words from a transplanted Canadian: "Paridise on Earth". The scenery and weather of Orange County is wonderful. It is December and I am still wearing a light shirt and sandals. The waterfront areas are scenic and beautiful. The beaches are gorgeous. Sure as you move inland, Orange county gets very generic and "suburb-y", but who says you need to live there? I think if I am fortunate enough at the end of my program to have a number of job offers, the one that allows me a quick commute from a waterfront area would be received preferentially. [Quick Edit: Today is December 3rd and it is 83 F or 28 C - How are our Canadian Friends?]
Final Thoughts
So far Merage has exceeded my expectations. The area has provided an almost too comfortable lifestyle that makes you never want to leave. Finally, there are always something to do if you are willing to drive.

Thanksgiving Silence

This weekend is our first introduction to the U.S. Thanksgiving tradition. The holiday is a huge deal here. First, people generally get the Thursday and Friday off. Thursday is spent eating turkey and watching football; and Friday is spent fighting the hoards for Black Friday sales (As a side note, I didn't think the sales were that amazing in relation to their every day sales).
The four day weekend is very long. It is only Friday and I am trying to find things to do in all this silence. Our housing complex is very quiet. Usually, I hear the constant sound of flip flops against the pavement, but not this weekend. The silence is kind of unnerving.

San Diego Zoo

Pretty much ever since we met, Lindsey wanted for us to go to the zoo. We never did, usually because the Toronto zoo was on the far side of Toronto. When we moved to the OC, suddenly we were one hour from one of greatest zoos in the world, the San Diego Zoo. This was a great opportunity to do something that Lindsey liked.
This past Wednesday, I was finally able to find a near-full week day that I could devote to Lindsey. After meeting with my school small Group first thing in the morning, we headed off to San Diego. The zoo was really easy to find just to the north of the downtown area and five minutes from Hwy 5.
The zoo has a really great layout. They have some great stations to see polar bears, gorillas, monkeys, orangutans, elephants and rhinoceroses. The monkey area had a really neat set up of multiple levels. You could see some of the enclosures from a canopy level or down at the ground level. Lindsey really had a lot of fun. We were so focused on the animals we forgot to take any pictures of ourselves (but we got many great shots of the animals - seen here).

Thanksgiving Feast

Lindsey and I went to our friends house this past Saturday for an early Thanksgiving dinner at our new great friends Gregg and Tammy. There was quite a crowd and the food was great. As coincidences may have it, many of the same people who participate in the bi-weekly poker game were invited. Even more of a coincidence, a poker game broke out. Philsan ran out and bought a $100 poker chip set and we were off!
Two games were played. I played the first and decided to end my poker night only to be surprised that Lindsey had drank enough to want to mix it up with the boys! Isn't she charming in the picture? Truth be told, she was in a great position driving the boys nuts. She had an opportunity to become the dominant player at the table only to suffer a bad beat. She went heads up with AQ against A8. Q83 came on the flop. Lindsey was in a great place, only to suffer her competitor (the man in the picture, James) to hit his second 8 on the turn. A crushing blow and a rough introduction to the cruelty of poker for poor Lindsey!
We, both, had a wonderful time that night. It was just a great night of good food and good people. This is great benefit of moving to a new area; opportunities to create new relationships with wonderful people.

I'm Linked In!

One of the career forums recommended Linked In for anyone with interest in the technology industry. Show check out my profile (below or to the right) and try to add me to your network!

Speaker Events At Merage

I wanted to take a moment to discuss and recognize the wealth of speaker events during an MBA program and specifically at Merage. As I mentioned before, extracurricular activities can stretch a student pretty thin, but they are only the beginning. During the school year companies want you to help them, students will plan outside social events, you will go to community networking events, and there will be numerous speakers speaking about numerous topics. I am a sucker for a good speaker, even if it isn't in my desired career direction, because I can usually learn at least one lesson that will benefit me in the future. I am going to highlight some memorable speaker events I have attended since I arrived.
The Boys at Wahoo's Fish Taco
Wahoo's is a chain of fish taco franchise in California and Nevada who are known for their underground marketing. Wahoo has always sponsored the extreme sports scene and punk rock shows as their main forms of marketing. This has helped them gain vast numbers of contacts in these related fields (music, movies, sports apparel manufacturers, etc.). This caused them to get loads of freebies which often just piled up in a warehouse. Enter Ed who is an amazing visual genius (see the logo) who got started in myspace very early on. One day Ed suggests that he give away some of their freebies on his myspace page. The response was overwhelming. He started contests of tell me or show me why you deserve X freebie and he would get responses from all over America. Wahoo uses this as a form of underground marketing. This alone is very cool, but it gets better. Because of the community Ed has built on his myspace page, other companies come to Wahoo to do joint give-aways! For example, new band +44 is releasing its new CD and the record company asked Wahoo to do a myspace giveaway. Or when the movie "She's the Man" was released they did a promotion giving away two passes to the L.A. premier of the movie. Wahoo's myspace marketing is not pervasive, it is always in the background. So kids New York want to go to Wahoo's Fish Taco despite never seeing a franchise because it is always tied to this cool stuff.
John Palmer, President of Southern California Region of Verizon Wireless
John Palmer presented in Merage's distinguished speaker series talking about strategic innovation. While his talk sort of outlined Verizon's history which most of us knew, he did give interesting details about the initial struggles of finding a common brand for a company that was comprised of a merger of a number of different companies. He also talked about how a Verizon needed to rely on a strong engineering team to decide strategic technological investments.
As a Merage Fellow, I get invited to a pre-reception party for select guests, sponsors and the speaker. It is a great networking opportunity and I was able to meet a number of interesting members of the Orange County community. I was very flattered to have our dean take me and another Merage Fellow to introduce us to John Palmer as "one of Merage's star pupils". One of those cool unadvertised perks of being a Merage Fellow.
Luis Villalobos, Founder of the Tech Coast Angels
Luis Villalobos is a great entrepreneur who helped build the largest angel investing group in the United States (and I guess the world). Angel investors are people who invest in very early stage companies typically before Venture Capital is interested. Where I was from, Southern Ontario, angels are not very common. Companies were often self-financed through growth and a company was lucky if they found one angel. That angel would be very careful about who he invested in because he would assume alot of risk.
Tech Coast Angels help share this risk by uniting all of the area's angel investors. The administrators of the Tech Coast Angels would vet any new business proposals and pick the best to present before its membership. During the presentation the members may grill the entrepreneurs. At the end of the presentation each member decides if he wants to invest in the company. An "investment" would be $25,000 with the goal of have a set number of investors wanting to do the investment that would hit the financing goal of the company.
Afterwards, in addition to the financing, the company would gain the contacts and expertise of its members. A win-win proposition for all involved that really helps launch a number of companies in the area. This would be an idea I would be interested in bringing back to Southern Ontario. Our angels are not united and I believe that is a key reason we do not see the same tech company activity as we see in California.
Luis, was incredibly interesting and I could listened to him for days. He discussed a number of case studies of his past experiences and common entrepreneur mistakes. Incredibly valuable talk, but much too brief.

Thursday Night Poker

As a means to regularly socialize with my classmates I started up a regular poker night. Every second Thursday me and 7 other students head out to our place for a few hours of friendly poker. The timing works great because on Thursday, between 4-6pm, we have a social hour were the students gather outside the business school and have a few beers. When the beers dry up, then we hit my place for poker and pizza. Since we usually do not have class on Friday, Thursday evening is a regular "pub" night for Merage. By the time poker is over, we are ready to have a good time.

Lindsey enjoys having the company at our place. She gets along well with the players. So far, one of the players' wives Lindsey likes has come over to visit while we play giving Lindsey some company. This is becoming Lindsey's big social event.

Last Thursday was our third event and it seems to be quite popular as I have had a rolling waiting list to get into the game. Who would have thought MBA students would like to competitiveness of poker??? We play a straight up Pot Limit Texas Hold'em until one person remains. In the first two outing James proved to be the dominant player, but this week he met his match. Wakeem proved that alcohol can make you a better player as James was stonewalled trying to read Wakeem's blank face (primarily because of the level of alcohol in Wakeem's system). Wakeem took down the giant to win first place and become the new champ!

Weather Update Canada

Hello Canada! I just wanted to update you that we enjoyed a balmy 30+ degrees Celcius today making us dearly miss London's wonderful November weather.

Amazing Coastal Drive

This Saturday, Lindsey and I decided to drive along the Pacific Coast Hwy. I had been working quite a bit with the exams and homework assignments being due, so I really felt like a break to enjoy the area. Until now, I had only gone on one tour of the area since I got here (shame on me).

We drove out on the PCH through Laguna Beach, Dana Point, turning around at San Clemente. We then drove back through the towns towards Newport Beach stopping at Corona Del Mar. Corona Del Mar has a really great scenic point and beach. I forgot my phone in the car, so I didn't take a picture, but I will remember it next time.

After enjoying the view for a little while we got back in the car and headed north to Huntington beach. We drove up the Huntington's main drag and headed home. I like Huntington Beach; it has a fun vibe, but it doesn't have the dramatic scenery of Laguna and Dana Point.

One day we will have to ride the PCH through L.A. up to Santa Monica. We are also trying to plan a trip to San Diego to check out the zoo.

Rock Opera Experience

Lindsey and I decided to get some culture, so we went to see a rock opera performance by a New York opera group at UCI's Barclay Theatre. First, the Barclay Theatre is a great venue to see a show. Every seat seems great and the sound is pretty good.
The show was good, but it didn't knock our socks off. The group played some of opera's most memorable songs souped up with rock 'n roll style. While there definitely some great moments of great creativity and talent, many of the songs lacked creative incorporation of the rock music with many of the arrangements using similar rhythms.
While not memorable, we were entertained and were able to get out for a night of culture, just the two of us.

Named to the Merage VCIC Team

Every year incoming business students faces a similar extra-curricular delemma. There are so many interesting extra-curricular activities to do, but to try to do even half of them threatens the student with being spread very thin. Even worse, as all students get more out of their activities if there are more participants, the student's new colleagues lobby him to participate in more activities. It creates a environment where it can be difficult to set limits and say no.

This week I learned that I was named to the E-C activity that I had identified as my first choice, the VCIC competition. The Venture Capital Investment Competition is where business schools send one team of students to compete against other business schools. In the competition the teams act as a venture capitalist, evaluate real entrepreneur's business plans, interview the entrepreneurs, and make recommendations to real venture capitalists. As UC Irvine is relatively new to the competition and doesn't quite have the brand power of a Stanford or Haas (yet), it has to compete in a wild card round where the winner will advance to the regional competition against the aforementioned schools.

Given my experiences on the side of the small, struggling entrepreneur, I am excited to learn more about the venture capitalist perspective. I am honored to be selected for the Merage team. The team consists of five students. The quality of team is impressive, so I am anxious to learn how we will stack up. As I mentioned this my first choice of E-C activities, so even if I don't do anything else this year, I will be happy.

Mid-Term Update

2 down - 1 to go. They were good exams - fair. I am not a big believer that exams tell the truth of our knowledge, but I certainly have fun with their challenge. The class averages of the exams have been above 80% (its funny that law school's policy with overachievers (at least Canadian schools) is to beat down the overachievers and bell them up, and the MBA (at least this American MBA) policy is to let the overachievers overachieve and bell them down later (this is another topic).

After going through Law school without buying many books, it is amazing how doing your readings help you when testing your knowledge of a subject. I am not too concerned about marks. I need to keep a 3.0 average (as a canadian I can honestly say "what the hell does that mean? A's, B's, 80%, 70% anyone?"), but at this point I do not feel my fellowship is in jeopardy. Just a guaging point to see if I am on track.

What is different about Southern California?

We've had almost two months to digest SoCal life. So many of you are wondering "what is different about So.California and its inhabitants?" especially relative to Canadians.
1. In my observations there are two types of Californians: the laid back Californian and the intense, "in-a-hurry" californian. The laid back are often clueless to there surroundings, they just move slow, talk slow, and are pretty easy going. The intense Californians have no clue anyone else exists. They honk as soon as the light turns green. Not passing judgement on either. Each have their charm.
2. Believe or not, Orange County, especially where we are (Irvine), is not very pedestrian friendly. The main roads are six lanes or more wide (every one) and the lights change very quickly. This is not a place for people to retire and walk the community.
3. I don't know why but valet parking is a common site in the larger malls. The OC is so anti-pedestrian, they don't like to walk from their parking spot to the mall.
4. The landscape is fantastic: Rugged hills, beautiful beaches, and cliffs overlooking the ocean.
5. The weather is perfect: hot in the sun; cool in the shade. Warm during the day and cool at night. Best of all, no sticky humidity. I don't miss London in this regards.
There are more and I am sure I will revisit the issue later.

First Mid-Terms Approaching

Well, it is mid-quarter and that means many projects are coming due and many exams are scheduled. In my semester programs, homework ceased around exam time to let students prepare. It appears this is not the case for business school. They keep us busy right through. I guess after a few years of work, they fairly expect us to be able to juggle a full work load.

My accounting is up first this Thursday. Then Stats the next Tuesday. My last exam is IT management the following Wednesday. They are good about spacing them out avoiding a hell week for us students. I am not too worried. After all a mid-term in a quarter system is only about a month and a half of class. Nonetheless, tension is up, but compared to law school the tension is like a Carribean holiday.

Taco Tuesdays!

Every once and a while, Lindsey and I find some energy to go out and have a good time. One such time was Taco Tuesdays at El Ranchito in Newport. The place offers all-you-can-eat taco (and taquitos, quesadillas, etc..) for $5. The food is really good, but very messy. It also features some of the best $4 margaritas you will ever have. Taco Tuesday opens at around 6pm and people get juiced and around 11:30 they hit a small dancefloor to dance to top 40 rap and dance tunes.

The only drawback is the lack of chairs to sit. Lindsey wore her uncomfortable shoes, so she was pretty aggressive in finding an open seat. For awhile I thought she went for tacos or to the washroom, only to discover she scored a seat.

Overall, we highly recommend El Ranchito for Tuesday night fun!

How are Classes?

The question I most often hear is "how are the classes?" It is a difficult one to answer because we only about one month in and my classes are the from the first semester, which generally are "foundation" classes. These classes set the foundation for the remainder of the term. Therefore, they are generally not overly challenging, but are very important because if I don't understand these courses it could hurt future courses.

The best way to describe the classes is that there is a lot of quantity, but the quality is not very challenging. This is not to say the quality of the classes are not excellent. They are great. It is only that they don't push your mind to the next level (as they shouldn't). The homework keeps me busy; the workload is very similar to a full time job. Thankfully, coming from the business world and being an entrepreneur I am easily keeping up with the work demands.

Overall, I am enjoying my classes. I am learning about finanical statements and refreshing my statistics knowledge. It is great to get some fundemental knowledge that links to my work experience. There were many times when I looked at a client financial statment and knew there was something wrong with an area. Now, I am putting some theory behind my instincts.

Our New Home

UCI has been busy building new student housing. We were placed in the newest family housing area. Our apartment is little more than a year old.

On the inside, it is difficult to fit 1100 sq ft. of condo items into 850 sq ft of new diggs. It is especially difficult to fit our living room furniture that was choosen to fill up a room twice the size of the room where it now sits. Oh well, 2o months or so.

Outside is really nice. There are quite a few buildings in the complex. The area is wonderfully landscaped. There are charcoal BBQs near each building and two big gas BBQs outside of the housing office, a few minutes walk from our place. Each evening bunnies run rampant around the common areas. It is quite cute.

The inside decor is a bit drab: White walls, thin bluish carpet. The kitchen is a nice open design, but we are hurting for closet space. The apartment has the mark of rushed contractors as the floors have evidence of being laid over a few pieces of wood leaving the occasional subtle bumps. As I said, 20 months or so; we'll make due.

Residential - 3 days and 3 long nights

The Merage residential is our first credit course of the year. It is a 3 1/2 day condensed introducting into strategy and team dynamics. The days start at 9am and they end late into the night with a due assignment.

The main purpose of the course is to teach team dynamics. The assignments were no more than a vessel to teach the teams team skills. We are introduced to our small group with whom we will be completing all group assignments in the first year. Instructor's were around to ensure we were working well with our team. I found that my team went through some growing processes. At first we were a bit excited upon our assignment. Then, as the assignments came, we experienced a lack of trust among all of us in our team mates. It was very hard for me to let go and trust my team mates. Two assignments into two late nights will not make a great team, but it is a start. Today, I see a lot of growth from where we started that weekend.

The final night is late because it is a party. The evening starts with a formal meal and pairs of groups performing sketches. The jokes were very inside and a bit nerdy, but we all loved it. Afterwards the partying begins. Flare ups of shouting and music arose in various areas of the hotel. It ended in someones room with me leaving around 3am. Overall, that was a pretty great bonding experience.

Needless to say, I was exhausted and again poor Lindsey, who was left alone in our apartment (although I left her in a furnished apartment and I got her a TV the night before), was met with a tired husband. I think the spouses really got the raw deal from the Orientation.

Orientation - Week 1

The first week of orientation was incredibly hectic. It started 9am Monday with a speech from our dean. It ended early the next Monday morning after completion of a 3 1/2 day residential course locked in a hotel. In between were a series of orientation sessions designed to introduce us to Student Services, Careers Office, and academic expectations.

I think the sessions did a pretty good job introducing us to the school and its resources. The one thing missing from the first week was that memorable social event that introduced to us to a bit of the area and got us interacting with the class off-campus.

The week after the residential was pretty relaxing. I think we had 2 - 1/2 day sessions. This allowed me and Linz to catchup, unpack our delivered furniture, and set up our apartment.

I finally got my laptop!

We take a break from catching you up on our experiences to let everyone know I finally got my laptop. My drama with Dell over just getting my order processed could fill a novel. Frankly, I have no more energy to relive it by retelling the tale. Suffice it to say, it is a story of silly employee mistakes, inflexible and disconnected processes, and a full voice mail box. Well, I got it only 44 days after I first attempted to order it. Now, my blog productivity should go up.

Don't Stop Moving

Late dinner followed by an early morning. We've just arrived in Irvine and I haven't been able to catch my breath. Even worse, poor Lindsey has been sitting alone in a sparsely furnished apartment since we've arrived.

What was so important that I woke up and headed to the rec centre (the ARC) by 8:30am? It was pretty cool. The Merage Fellows were treated to an action, adventure, team-building experience. In the morning we participated in some activities at the ARC including a climb up a indoor rock climbing wall. Pulling up all 225 lbs of my out-of-shape self was pretty rough and, I sure, even less appealing for everyone else to watch, but I got up there.

In the afternoon, we went out to the Newport Aquatic Center to go sea kayaking through the back bay and around the balboa island penninsula right by the ocean. When started with an approximately mile and a half kayak through some of the richest coast homes one could ever see. The homes were pretty massive and their docked boats were even larger.

At the end of trek, we were treated to a great lunch and a few teamwork games. Lunch was a brief respite from our calling journey back. In the kayak we saw a large seal sunning itself on the rear of a boat. We past within 15 feet of the seal and he gave us a little snort.

I made it back home by a little after 4pm, bone exhausted. I think I was asleep by 8pm.

Destination Irvine: Day 6 California Here We Come..

So, Vegas was a bit of a let down. The good news was that we were going to make one of my favourite journeys - out of Nevada and into California via the 15. I can't help but imagine wagons that travels through the Nevada desert, to come out of the mountains and see the L.A basin. It is an amazing journey.
We cruised through California's carpool lanes into Irvine. We set up a bank account and then tried to set up a cellular phone service. Unfortunately, we discovered that as Canadians we would need our Social Insurance cards to be approved for a phone. Who would have thought that cell phone companies would turn away potential customers? While we memorized our SIN numbers, we packed our cards with our movers. So we were refused a cell phone until we got our cards (five days later).
We checked into our hotel and went to sleep pretty early. I think we knew this was our last chance to sleep on a good bed before our furniture arrived in five days.
On Friday we moved into our place with little problems. The family housing complexes at UC Irvine are very pretty. Unfortunately, we got a scenic view of the ground floor parking lot. There's little we can do, so we will make the best of it for the next two years (At least we will not have to carry groceries up a couple flights of stairs).
While I went off to meet some fellow international students, Lindsey unpacked our few belongings and inflated our air mattress. That evening, the Merage Fellows met for a formal dinner with the Dean. This was my first introduction with my other peers. There is about 16 of us with international students consisting of approximately 50% of that number (maybe more - I haven't sat down to do an accuraate count). It is very easy to see in each one of the other Fellows something special. It seemed like I immediately knew why each person was chosen for the scholarship. I have no doubt they will set a high standard that I hope I can reach.
The dinner ended very quickly. There was little extra socializing because the school planned for the next day a early morning activity for all of us Fellows.
I went to bed on a crappy air mattress. It definitely was not my best sleep of this journey, but there was something about being in my new home that made me enjoy that first night.

Destination Irvine: Day 5 Vegas Baby!!

In the early morning hour we departed our beloved wigwan (yes, we know it is a teepee) knowing that we will be facing a busy day. Our primary midpoint destination would be the famous Grand Canyon. But before the grand experience we stopped in Flagstaff at Kathy's for breakfast. Kathy is a quiet Asian woman whose Mexican cooking staff cooks a mean breakfast (and a tasty side salsa). Kathy offers with every main breakfast order the option of getting a complimentary fresh-baked muffin. I recommend it; it was delicious.
After a solid breakfast one is ready to experience the sight of all sights: the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is a 45 minute drive due north of flagstaff. Upon reaching the entrance, you pay your fee (that is good for the entire week, not that it would help us) and drive toward some of the most awe-inspiring scenery known to man.
I want to make it clear I am not a nature nut. When I see a scenic view I say "wow that's nice", but I do not become melodramatic. I say without regret that your first views of the Grand Canyon will be memorable. You read about it. You even see pictures of it. But until you walk up to the edge, you will never truly know it. Even more majestic that the Niagara Falls (sorry Canada), the Grand Canyon is beyond description. We've posted a few pictures. They do not do it justice, but they are the best we got.
After nature's wonder, we set off towards a man-made wonder, the Hoover dam. On route one has the opportunity to take a rte66 sidetrack into Seligman. Seligman is like Holbrook, a final bastion of rte6 Americana. It seems to be fighting against time and it has the support of the American biker community. I recommend stopping at the Snow-Cap Drive-In. It looks bizarre. The employees/owners are bizarre. It is worth every penney getting a bite to ear or a delicious shake. Just make sure you get a real straw. After Seligman, rte66 makes a large loop throught peach springs. In our opinion there wasn't much on the rest of the journey, so you may prefer to head back onto the 40.
We headed up hwy 93 at Kingman towards Vegas. How does one describe old 93? If one wanted to ensure that he would die and no one would find him, he would do it on the 93. The 93 is the most desolate, abandoned road I have ever encountered. It is about one hour from Kingman to the Hoover dam and the whole way I prayed to any god that our car would make the journey. I am pretty sure that if we stopped, our bodies would never be found again; likely being so delicious supper for some crazy hermit who patrolled the road for naive tourists.
The hoover dam has a police inspection point. Well, the inspection point is mainly a tent consisting of two retired officers of some sort who ask if you have any explosives. Essentially, if you do not look arabic you can proceed. As we are whiter that white we had no problem circumventing the security. We were unable to stop and really experienc the Hoover dam because they are busy constructing a new road throught the site. Ths road will not travel over the dam (I expect to keep the landmark safe). To make a long story short: we drove over the dam; it looked pretty big.
From Hoover Dam, we headed into Vega. Yeah, Vegas baby!! First, I want to say that Vegans (or whatever they are called) are crazy drivers. They wiz by us tourists in the left and right lanes like they are chasing the NEXTEL Cup. We found our hotel that was a mere quarer mile from the strip, on the other side of the 15. I admit it was cheap, but I figured if it was only a quarer mile from the strip we could easily walk there. Lindsey and I napped for a few hours and prepared to tour the stip around 8pm. You can see the strip. You can walk towards the strip. Unfortunately some retarded tourists like us can't reach the strip. It seemed every turn we made was the wrong one and we ended up wanderning areas of Vegas on foot where it was a miracle that we weren't mugged. In hindsight, we discovered our wrong turns, but we really did not have the energy to move forward on foot. We decided to drive around. Lindsey say the neon of the Vegas strip in its full glory. She wasn't very impress (she may have been tired) and we returned for a good night sleep. A good night sleep in Vegas; we are embarassments to all Canadians.

Destination Irvine: Day 4 Calling All Wigwams

Our day 4 agenda had alot of sightseeing and the highlight stop of our trip. We began the day early heading to Sky City. Sky City is the longest continuously inhabited settlement in North America. It is also on the top of a beautiful mesa in the scenic New Mexico country-side. This trip was a last minute plan, but ended up to be a wonderful experience.
The main reason the visit was memorable was the stories of our tour guide, Tony (his catholic name - don't ask me to remember his native name). Tony was charged by the tribe to communicate its history to all visitors. He passionately talked about how the Spaniards tried to force Catholicism on his people only for them to revolt. Then, how his people later embraced Catholicism after the Mexicans offered it to them. His people now practice their native religion and catholicism. The mesa city had a spanish church that featured aspects of both religions.
I highly recommend to everyone to check this site out. It is a true historical landmark.
Next, we headed to Inscription Rock. A national monument site that shows that rich white people like graffiti too! Seriously, it is a large protruding rock (more than a hill, less than a mountain) that featured a fresh water spring. The spring attracted all travellers on horse. A spanish govenor and explorer first inscribed his name on the rock after discovering the Gulf of California. Other people followed - Spaniards, then later Americans. Many of the inscriptions can be tied to documented periods of history that make the inscriptions so much more powerful.
It is a self-guided walking tour where they give you a guide book and a well marked path. Near the end of the tour Lindsey saw a snake and got a bit freaked. Since I know little about snakes I wasn't going to screw with it. So, we decided to leave. We later were informed that it was a bull snake; a perfectly harmless snake who eats rattlers.
With plenty of daylight to spare we headed into Arizona and to our highlight destination, the Wigwam Motel. This is an institution on Rte66. And as the pictures show, it was everything we thought it could be (although the bed was a bit uncomfortable). For those unfamiliar with the Wigwam Motel, yes we know that rooms are shaped like a Teepee (not a Wigwam), but that is part of the kitsche. It was truly a memorable experience.
The Wigwam's town of Holbrook is a wonderful piece of Rte66. There are alot of neon signs, motels and diners. We happened to have dinner at one of its most famous, Joe and Aggie's Cafe. Without a doubt, it was our best meal of the trip. J&A's boast delicious home cooked mexican food (for those asking how does Joe and Aggie create amazing Mexican food, we were informed the true names of the founders Jose and Agnacia) and some of the best conversation about the old road. We met J&A's grandson who recently returned to help run the restaurant with his sister and parents. They were happy to talk to us about the history of the area and definitely had us cracking up at their jokes. We highly recommend stopping in.

Destination Irvine: Day 3 Leaving the Plains

We decided to head out on day 3 a little bit later than usual. We were pretty tired from the pace of the previous two days. We didn't plan on a lot of sightseeing, but the little made up for itself in quality as we drove out of Oklahoma, through the Texas panhandle, and into New Mexico.
I think pictures best explain the sites. There isn't much history to them, but you can see in order the titled water tower of Texas, the incredibly large cross, and the infamous Cadillac Ranch.

We also stopped on Rt66 to take pictures of some very cool motels in New Mexico. Unfortunately, we did not stop to enjoy these locations, but it was great to see them.
At the end our day 3 run, we ended up about 1 hour west of Albuquerque in a very small town. We ate at a family restaurant and went to bed early.

Quick note: As I am playing catch up, I am not proof reading the posts. I appologize for the grammar and spelling mistakes.

Destination Irvine: Day 2 Back on Track

We spent our first night in a quaint budget chain hotel, just south of St. Louis. We woke up early the next morning eager to finally begin enjoying our trip. We decided to start sight-seeing by going to the Mermac Caverns (just to the south of our hotel, about 30 minutes outside of St. Louis).
Mermac Caverns is a massive cave complex that has a storied history. It was once the location of explosives factory for the north that was destroyed by the Confederate army commando unit that included Jesse James. Legend has it that Jessie later escaped from a Bank robbery in those caves. Today, in addition to tours, the front areas of the caves are used for some town meetings and parties (there is a large disco ball in a large round chamber!).
As you can see from the picture, the stalactites and stalagmite are pretty impressive. In true American fashion, they end the tour with the playing of god bless America with the American Flag projected on a massive formation. On the way out, we had to stop and take the wonderful picture of us in the warped mirror. Aren't we a cute couple?


After departing Mermac, we soon left the interstate to enjoy old route 66 through Missouri, into Kansas, and then into Oklahoma. There are a few interesting buildings, but there is a desolation theme through most of the small towns.
Once in Oklahoma, the interesting sites were few and far between, so we hopped back on the interstate stopping for the night on the western edge of Oklahoma City. The motel sucked, but I had a steak dinner that made up for it.

Destination Irvine: Day 1 Can I have a Mulligan?

Finally, Saturday came and we were ready to depart. My detailed plans were designed to ensure we would have a smooth entrance into the U.S. (the last thing I wanted was to give a U.S. Customs officer a reason to screw with me). The movers came and loaded our furniture in a smooth operation the day before. All we needed to do was to cross the border. Something, as a person who grew up in a border town, had done a million times.
Things did not go as smoothly as planned. First, I asked Lindsey to verify that we had our passports and completed paperwork to cross the border. The documents should have been in my meticulous cared for folder, but Lindsey discovered that my passport went missing. As a person who thrives on planning and control, I was shocked to discover that I did not take this news very well (I think my face went ghost white and I started hyperventalating). After ruling out somewhere in my briefcase, when I thought about were it could be, I thought of two options: 1) the movers had stolen it; or 2) it had fallen into the crack of my leather chair (which was with my mover, well beyond the U.S. border). Either option was not very attractive. Oh Shit...
Thankfully, I am a white Canadian. I was able to get across the border with replacement documentation using only my drivers license and a birth certificate. So, Lindsey and I headed out to the border. The border was only about 100 km away. Driving a route that I have driven at least 50 times, for a weird set off circumstances that is not worth getting into, I missed the first critical exit to get on to the proper highway. Worse it took us 30 minutes to discover we had missed the exit and another 60 minutes to get back on the proper highway (two strikes)
We got across the border, but the wait was long. Surprisingly, the customs officers seemed more concerned that we had corn beef sandwiches in our cooler than the fact that I lost my passport. For the sake of national safety, they confiscated our sandwiches and reprocessed my paperwork. We had planned to be beyond the border by 7:30am, we had crossed it by 12pm (a little off schedule).
Well, we are in the U.S.; everything should be great right? We would you believe, driving on a highway that I have driven over 50 times, I missed the next critical exit? Strike 3, luckily this detour only set us back 20 minutes. I am happy to say for the remainder of our trip (no less on roads I rarely or never have traveled) we did not miss another critical exit.
Some times you just want to go back to bed and start over. This was one of those. Amazingly, thanks to some open roads and Lindsey being able to drive for quite a few hours we were able to make it to where I had planned to stop on our first day. Sure a few hours late, but we were back on schedule and I could stop hyperventalating.
As a post script to this fiasco, we found my passport with the I-94 card in the crack of our leather chair. What are the chances?!!

Time to Catch Up

So we're live after missing about a month. I am going to try to start from the beginning and talk about the events of the days that have since passed.

First, I will give a brief update. We are all settled and I have just finish my business school orientation and first week of classes. I was moving at a rapid pace trying to keep up with business school and home set-up activities when I first arrived. Things are much calmer, but I am finding it difficult to keep up with this blog. I am hoping I will get into a grove as things settle.

I am enjoying business school. The first semester is not terribly exciting, but very important. I have courses in Accounting and Statistics that are giving me a solid foundation. I am excited to learn more about the financial statements that I have looked at in my work, but never fully understood. I have dropped a course in Microeconomics (as I have my degree in Economics) and taken Project Management in its place. I recently was self-teaching myself project management processes to encourage my last company to pursue a more comprehensive software development process. With this course I hope to pick up even more knowledge. My last course is IT Management. It is an introduction to how IT impacts a business. There is a lot of strategy (which I love) and the class is taught primarily in case study method (again which I love).
California has a three quarter program which takes me some time adjusting. Therefore, courses will go by very quickly. You will not get the same depth as a two semester course, but you will get exposed to a variety of topics.
Overall, I am impressed with the quality of my classmates. They are all very unique and interesting. I have found the international students very fascinating. This is not to say the American students are not, but if you consider that to be accepted as an international student you must have an exceptional background for you to be (i) accepted and (ii) decide to make that type of monetary and family investment, one can understand why they are very interesting.
Before I get any further, I am going to stop and try to catch you up on this journey (I hate this overused word, but it is very appropriate).

All Our Bags are Packed...but we are not leaving on a jet plane

The movers arrived at 8:30am and they packed up our condo by 12:15pm. We are going out for a nice bite to eat with family tonight and then we are departing tomorrow morning at 6am. We got our border paperwork out of the way this past Tuesday after a four and a half hour ordeal.

The U.S. border is 45 minutes away from my home. There travel time there and back is 1.5 hours; you can do the math. Americans will be happy to know that your Customs Agents are diligently reviewing every vehicle crossing the border to the point of creating a massive line. Of the 3 hours of non-travel time it is safe to say that over an hour was spent in line.

It is almost comical to see the difference in how Canadian and U.S. Border Guards handle visitors. The immigration booths for Canada are like a revolving door. "Hello, do you want to hurt us? No. Come on it!" While the U.S. is "what is your name? What is your passengers name? How do you know her? Why are you coming here? Where will you be staying? Do you have evidence of a reservation?"

Now, the U.S. diligence is fine to a point of reason. While white with no criminal record, being a young whipper-snapper I can still accept a few extra questions for myself. But why grill the old people driving the card-carry AARP vehicle of choice, the Cadillac. My god, they are lucky to remember their name. While I am not an American, but I am sure they would be willing to accept the security risk of just waving them through.

Bitch, bitch, bitch Trevor. Don't you have anything positive to say? Sure, I am looking forward to another roadtrip across a magnificent country. The proliferation of air travel has made us cringe at the thought of a 8-12 hour drive. Sure the drive is long, but the things you will see. America is an amazing land with so many distinct cultures, scenery, and people. I feel it is a shame for an American to die without experiencing at least a quarter of it.

Anyways, as I noted earlier, my lap top is sold (I hope you like it Susan) and I am officially off the grid. Internet withdrawal is hard. I hope to take advantage of a couple of hotel business centers to keep you up to date. Our furniture will be delivered around the Tuesday after we arrive. So it is only 5 days in Irvine without it and my computer. I think I will survive.

California here we come...

Zeus' Thunderbolts! We're Packing!

Nothing tells you "things are a changing" more that seeing your condo being packed up. The boxes are starting to fill up and take space in our home. The movers are coming on Friday morning and we are leaving on Saturday.
The best news is that Lindsey and I finished work last week. So our biggest priority is to clean out the liquor bar. It's a tough job, but someone has got to do it. There are other serious tasks: we are changing a ridiculous amount of addresses; getting our passports stamped; securing US travelers checks; selling the remaining vestiges of the furniture not making the journey with us; packing; ensuring we have all the needed paperwork; and finalizing travel arrangements for our trip out to the big C.
The paperwork and preparation are not a pleasant experience. As a person who grew up on a border town, I can safely say that U.S custom's officers can be big pricks. It has only got worse since 9/11. Of course, I am speaking from the perspective of someone who does not want to destroy the United States. So, any delay seems needless. I am sure they are truly protecting America when they give me a hard time.
I sold my laptop and TV, so aside from internet cafes, we will not have ready access to a computer until we have been in Irvine for at least one week (more likely two weeks - plus). Without them I think I will go information deprived (as will my faithful readers). If any reader can offer me computer internet access close to UCI for the period September 7th - 20th, I would appreciate it.
I can't wait to arrive. Til then be lucky...

God is in the Details

Lindsey and I will be finishing up our jobs and the end of this week and leaving our country at the end of the next week. Wow, this is really happening!

As the departure date gets closer, we are getting closer to resolving the numerous tasks that we need taken care of before leaving. We just purchased our vehicle out of its lease; chose Lindsey's medical coverage; made arrangements for a student loan; selected a professional mover; and have begun changing our address with everyone.

I am now planning our trip down to Irvine. The goal is that is will be a bit more leisurely than our whirlwind tour of U.S. business schools that we completed this March. We have a plan to trace the legendary Rte.66, stop at the famous Wigwam hotel and experience Vegas. We will be arriving in Irvine on Thursday, September 7th and taking possession of our apartment the next morning. We still do not have a set date for our furniture to be delivered.

Our condo hasn't sold yet, but we know it will sell at some point and we accepted that the planned influx of cash will be delayed.

I am getting excited to see all the great people I met at our admit weekend and meeting some people on the Admit Website who appear to share my passion of commercializing technology.

'til then...be lucky!

More Merage Housing Woes!

Well, if I thought Lindsey and I had housing problems, it appears we are better off than some other Merage incoming students. A comment on my last post left by a fellow student advised that she will not be able to get housing in Vista del Campo Norte (the singles resort) until September 16th! That means some students won't have a place to stay for the first week of our orientation! Not Cool. I am not sure if Merage is making alternate arrangements.

If Merage isn't making alternate arrangements and any of my new student colleagues are in this boat, Lindsey and I will have a spare bedroom and an inflatable mattress that we are willing to offer to anyone who needs it. I can be contacted at trevor.speirs (at) gmail.com. We will do our best to help out. Our only challenge may be that we aren't sure when our furniture will be delivered after we move in on the 8th, but we will work things out.

Housing Finally!

Yesterday, I finally got a call from UCI's Palo Verde housing department asking me if I was interested in a housing assignment. Interested? Hell Yeah!

There was little in the way of selection (more on that below). I felt I was getting the sloppy seconds. I was given 2 choices (both were on my bottom of my preference list). Given, time was of the essence, I selected one and now I am going go roll with it.

The housing assignment did cause a problem: my move in date is September 8. This problem is that my first "mandatory" international student orientations for Merage is September 5. So if I want to attend these orientations, Lindsey and I will have to hotel it. I am not thrilled, but I am rolling with it.

As for why this years MBA housing assignments were such a disaster, it appears to be an unfortunate combination of new employees and a new university policy. Merage's "guaranteed" housing offers were never guaranteed in the official university sense. It was the product of a relationship and understanding between Merage and the housing department. This past year, UCI instituted an official policy guaranteeing housing for PhD and MFA students. File it under "it seemed like a good idea at the time" as a lack of implementation plan and new housing employees created difficulties in fulfilling that policy in a timely fashion.

This year the MBA's were not going to be assigned housing until all the PhD and MFA students were allocated. Sucks to be us. Hence the drama and the very late assignment date. While it was out of their direct control, Merage got caught with their pants down here. As soon as they saw that new policy they should have taken steps to ensure their students were taken care of. Something I will have to raise when I get there.

Oh well, another task to strike off my list.

Summer Prep Work

Merage has been hard at work preparing for the class of 2008. I recently received a letter introducing the Career Services Department. It suggested that our search for our new career begins before we start school. It gave us links to research, suggested we start talking with people who are in fields that interest us, and asked that we take the Career Leader test.

Career Leader is essentially an interest test designed to give us some direction about what careers may make us happy. Now, I am a veteran of numerous personality/aptitude campaigns and I have the reports to prove it. Career Leader indicated that I have three strong interests in Application of Technology, Creative Production, and Enterprise Control. It also identified five career paths that would most interest me: Entrepreneurship; General Management; Management of New Product Development; Research and Development Management; and Venture Capital. Interestingly it found I had a low interest in an area that I really enjoy: Strategic Planning and Business Development.

There is some good information about the career fields, so I am better for participating in the test. I do think that it is only half of the equation. While it is great to know what you like, you need to have the necessary attributes to do the job. I do not subscribe to the school of thought that believes you will learn the attributes necessary to make one successful in that field (especially when as an MBA you are expected to perform at a high level). I think if this test was combined with an aptitude test, like Myers-Briggs or Insight Color Wheel, it would be more valuable to a new student.

Other good news is that final details about Merage's Laptop Program is being finalized. For those who do not know, Merage has the longest continuously running MBA laptop program in the United States (probably in Canada as well). Technology is a foundation of the MBA program (As you can see from my Career Leader results, now you know why I was drawn here). Every student is advised to buy a recommended laptop before the start of class and the school offers a $500 tuition credit as incentive. As they have been doing this for a long time, the computing department secured a banger of a deal from Dell. If we wait until September 5th to put in an order, we can get the new Intel Core 2 Duo to power the laptop. My current laptop was purchased when I began practicing law back in 2002, so I am excited to upgrade. So far this laptop program looks to be executed at a high level; their experience shows in this area.

3 more weeks until we start moving west!

3 Weeks To Go!

Time is flying! Lindsey and I have begun making our final arrangements for our move. Unfortunately, we still have not got any housing details from UCI! The Merage Admissions Department have really dropped the ball in this area. I have no idea how they expect foreign students to participate in International Student Orientation during the first week of september, if they do not know where or when they can move in four weeks prior? It is an unfortunate disappointment because up to this point Merage has been stellar. I hate to be critical of my school, but I have created this blog to honestly discuss our experiences - good and bad.

Other news, condo still isn't sold and we have ended our listing with our original realtor. While we look for a new realtor, we are trying to sell it by ourselves with newspaper ads and a quick website (check it out).

I had the movers visit for a more detailed quote. They discovered that the apartment (despite us leaving a lot of furniture behind) is going to cost 25% more than their initial quote. Oh well, I ain't 'U-Haulin' all this stuff across a national border and a continent. Mo' Money, Mo' Money, Mo' Money!

On the topic of money, I settled on my student loan arrangements. A foreigner coming to U.S. will have difficulties getting a private loan from a U.S bank because our good credit rating in our home country is irrelevant to them (Yes, we are going to have to build up a new solid credit rating from scratch in the U.S.). Generally, the only way for a foreigner to get a fair loan in the U.S. is to have a U.S. co-signer (this presents difficulties for the majority of us). Canadians have a few more options, but they have higher rates. Merage recently made an arrangement to offer foreign students access to Sallie Mae loans without a U.S. co-signer, but I think I can get better terms from a loan shark. Therefore, after detailed research I discovered that my student loan options we A) practically give up my first born child for a U.S.-based loan or B) get a loan from a Canadian bank and continually transfer the funds to our new U.S. bank account. In the end it was an easy decision. Anyways, one more issue taken care of. Now, I just need to figure out how to transfer mad amounts of cash into the U.S.

Next big area I need to address is health insurance for Lindsey. Unfortunately, spouses can't be covered under UCI's graduate health plan. I have heard that, generally, school plans are very expensive relative to other, less extensive, plans. Merage had some private health plan options sent to me a while ago. So, I am going to revisit and try to get these arrangements finalized.

Next I will discuss what the school has us doing in the summer.

Fellow Merage Blogger

I think it is well past time that I post some links to fellow Merage School bloggers. Billy the Kid is an incoming MBA/MD student from Orange County. I met him at our Admit Weekend and found him a fascinating guy. Have a look at his blog at http://doctorbill.blogspot.com/

Trying to Get Organized

Summer is moving quick. September will be upon Lindsey and I in a blink of the eye. Unfortunately, our situation is still very unsettled. We haven't sold the condo and we haven't received any details (or confirmation) of our guaranteed housing from UCI.

The condo sale has been a series of disappointments. We have had numerous viewings but no takers. Even worse, units in our complex that I would classify as below ours have sold. It is confusing because whenever I am present for a viewing, all I hear is how nice the unit shows??! I am trying to decide if I need to change realtors. Our is a very good marketer and gets foot traffic, but I question his ability to close deals. He only follows up with realtors who view the unit once. When I asked him why he doesn't do more follow ups with promising leads, he responded that he did not want to look desperate??! I think there is a difference between driven to make a deal and looking desperate. Coincidentally, he doesn't think it looks "desperate" to aggressively drop the listing price? I think we may have philosophical differences on how to get a deal done. I understand he is the expert and I usually defer to their expertise, but when the results aren't there and your gut tells you different sometimes you may have to go against them.

The appeal of the guaranteed UCI housing is beginning to lose some of its luster. I still haven't received any confirmation or details about our housing arrangements. My application was filed back in April and I haven't heard from them since. I understand that this is out of the MBA program's control because it is a separate bureaucratic department that handles these applications, but if you are going to guarantee housing you need to have some strong ties with that department. I was given a contact name in the Housing Department, but she has failed to respond to two of my emails. The lack of information is creating problems for our relocation.

As we live in Canada, this is a big move to the west coast, across a border. We want to use a professional moving company. We can't book a mover until we know when we can move in. We don't even need the final address, we just need dates! And housing hasn't even responded with those details.

International Orientation starts the week after Labor Day, assuming we need a week to drive out to Cali, we got about four weeks until we depart - even less time to book a mover! I think I am a patient man, but my fuse is nearly at its end. We are not some undergrads who can put some t-shirts in a bag and start school, we are a family relocating! I need some details ASAP!

Other than that I am looking forward to meeting my classmates. UCI has an admit site where incoming students can post a picture and profile. There are a lot of interesting backgrounds that are going to collide once the program starts. It will be exciting to learn how to work together.

Orange County Preparation

Not much to write about lately. We haven't sold the condo. I just received my I-20 papers. Otherwise very little is going on.

I have started to prepare for the O.C. lifestyle. I have been watching episodes from seasons 1&2 of Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. It is good to know that rich American high school kids get absorbed over the same types of ridiculously miniscule issues that Canadian high school students do. I just can't believe how Jason treated LC! You better not re-hook up with him in The Hills, LC. Oh, the drama!

I hope all fellow MBA'ers are enjoying the summer. I have yet to get out to golf once (O.K. partially my fault, the one day I could have went golfing I stayed home hung over).

Final note: Is it just me, or do Americans have to be insane to accept this confusing health care system of "co-payments" and "specific providers" given the country's wealth? Discuss amongst yourselves...

Cheers.

Burning the Bridges: Condo is Up for Sale

To paraphrase a famous general: to keep your troops moving forward burn all avenues of retreat.
Lindsey and I burned one more bridge by listing our condo for sale this week (see listing here). The London market appears to be peaking, so at worst we will catch the start of the backslide of prices (better than the tail end).

I haven't seen many comments lately. Makes one wonder if anyone is listening.

I Guess Leaving May Not Be So Hard After All...

After the UCI's Admit Weekend, I am confident that this was a great decision. I think the jitters are gone and I am ready to go forward full steam. Even more so after I saw this in the local newspaper.

I would describe my city of London as conservative, priveledged, but never tacky. I was wrong. Take a look at what one Londoner put on his lawn. It reminds me of the Leg Lamp from The Christmas Story which emanated "hot sex" from the window for all the men of the neighbourhood to partake in.

Let this be a lesson to you ladies: Don't marry a man who loves to collect lawn ornaments. These things must be more addictive than crack.

O.K., so when am I leaving?

An "Admittedly" Sunny Weekend

Wow that sun's got some power! I am back in Canada recuperating from UCI's Admit Weekend. In my visits to all my Application Schools, I repeatedly heard that admit weekends were important to establish relationships with the incoming class. They were right. I met a lot of the North American students and I had a really great time. Kudos to the UCI staff and current students for putting on an entertaining show.

Admit Weekend started with registration, a small surprise lunch (unfortunately I had just ate) and the opportunity to do the first round of networking. If I had to guess there were approximately 50 admit attendees. Next came, the dean's speech. Dean Policano confirmed the strategy that I talked about in earlier posts. Some highlights included the recruiting of Kerry Vandell to lead the real estate program and David Hirshleifer from Ohio State to be the first Merage Chair in Business Growth. If there was a point from the Dean's speech, it was that UCI has some financial clout and they are using it in chair positions to recruit top faculty and scholarships to recruit top students. The Dean also clarified areas of his strategy that I had yet to discern including his goal of making The Merage School of Business strong in four key areas of real estate, health care, entrepreneurship and innovation, and wealth/investment management.

Afterwards, was a lengthy ice breaker session where we got to learn a little about the incoming classes personalities. Then we were treated to two abbreviated class sessions to give the admits a feel of what to expect. I had already taken a 2nd year MBA class in law school, so I knew what to expect, but I think the interactive nature surprised some of the students.

After classes, we then moved to a reception and dinner with students, alumni, faculty and staff. While the food was nothing to write home about, the conversation was very enjoyable. Not much substantive was said at the event, but the opportunity to interact with such diverse people was a treat.

After the dinner was the unofficial visit to Vegas; a club in Costa Mesa. About 10-15 Admits joined about 15-20 current students at the club that played house on one dance floor and rap on the other (this was confusing when it appeared that quite a few of the patrons had an outrageous punk look). Both DJs were adept at spinning a good mix. Most everyone got on the dance floor at least once. My ride, Dan, and I were the among the last group to depart at 1:30am. I think I got to bed at around 2:30.

Breakfast was served at 8:30 the next day. Amazingly, I was up and in the lobby by 8:05am. I needed to try to rope another ride because I was not confident that Dan would make it (I was proved right when Dan showed up at around 10:30). The morning was dedicated to learning about the services available to UCI students. The highlight for myself was UCI's laptop program. In place since 1987, it is the longest continuously running laptop program in the U.S. The laptops are an integral component of the MBA program where students use the most cutting edge software in the majority of their courses (OK, maybe not accounting). The computer department approves and secures deals for only 3 laptops for its students to buy to allow the tech support team to optimally configure and service the computer. This focus makes the integration of some of these software programs go much smoother than in other programs. The laptops will allow you to use the Catalyst intranet site that connects students to all components of the program. UC Berkley recently opted to use the Catalyst system. I love technology, and UCI has got it.

After lunch was the introductory ropes course designed to teach us teamwork and trust. Our group divided into three groups. There were a number of puzzles presented
to the groups. The puzzles really forced us to listen to our team mates and work together. They were tough and fun, but I think the main purpose of the event was to give us a sneak peak of what our entire entering class will be doing during orientation week only 20 feet higher (see picture - yes future classmates, that's where we are going!).

By the end of the ropes course I was exhausted and thoroughly sun burnt (Note to self - significantly increase your home expense budget for a lot of sunscreen). We tried to remedy the exhaustion by going to the Steelhead Brewery for some tasty microbrew. Then, we proceeded to go to the Lucky Strike for some neon bowling. This event really showed how well everyone had bonded over the weekend as everyone looked very comfortable with one another. It got pretty exciting when you combined the deadly (but entertaining) combination of alcohol, blindfolds, and bowling balls. Luckily no one was hurt, and we had a lot of fun.

By the end of bowling, I was pretty exhausted. I went back to the hotel and crashed. Returning home, I was not able to get home until after 3am, so I decided to take Monday off and sleep. I think, now, I am rested and ready to rejoin the real world.

I have recapped the events and my thoughts, but the real substance of this weekend are the new classmates that I met. They were all very unique and interesting. I am hesitant to name them because once I start I will want to talk about each one (As you can see this post is long enough). Lets just say I remember all those who I met and look forward to expanding that relationship in September. That and I am sure many of them will make appearances in this blog over the next two years.

Back in California Ready for Admit Weekend

I arrived into Irvine around 10pm this evening. Of course it is 1am EST, so I am zonked. The flights were smooth except for other passengers sitting in my section. The first leg had a young girl who drank heavily before getting on the plane, then once on the plane proceeded to ingest perscription pills until she passed out cold. She was seriously stoned. The next leg saw me in a fairly empty plane. For the bulk of the boarding time, I had my section to myself. Then, I see anther women coming towards me. She had a thin nose with bright blue eyes close together. That wouldn't have been a big deal if she just glanced around like most people, but she starred intently at one area at a time. It really freaked me out. I started praying "please don't let her sit here" and guess where she sat - next to me. She wasn't bad passenger; she just gave me the willies!

Upon arrival I tracked down the cab area. I read a list of shuttles and the Irvine Marriot was not on it. So I got a cab. When I told the cabbie I wanted to go tot he Irvine Marriot, he looked at me with scorn. Unbeknowst to me the Irvine Marriot does have a shuttle. While driving to the hotel, he went on a rant saying that he waits 3 hours in line to get one passenger and that passenger doesn't know there is a shuttle to the Marriot Irvine. I mentioned that it might not be the best earning strategy to wait in a 3 hour line to get one fare, but he wasn't impressed. The ride was still a $8 cab ride, but I guess that wasn't enough. Welcome to the OC?

Tomorrow, starts my reason of being here: UCI's Admit weekend. I hope to get a head start meeting some of my classmates by laying the foundation for some good future relationships. I am still debating if I want the optional school tour at 12pm. I think it will depend on how well rested I am (sidenote: I appologize for any typos, but it is now approaching 2:30am EST and I am spent). I will keep you updated on how it goes.

Toodles.