On this eve of another end to a semester, I am reminded of what happened exactly a year ago, in one particular class, in its last lecture. All are direct quotes
There are three conceptions of an "economist" self.
a) The Developing Country is my White Man's Burden (i am solving their poverty)
b) I am a Greek/Arthurian hero: A Dragon Slayer (slaying poverty)
c) I am a Nietzchean Hero: Self-Expression (solving poverty is about me)
whatever it is, I cannot be your therapist. But here it is; make your mark. Leave a Legacy. And live life as an epic adventure.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
paralysis
A Call to Action for all friends and and even former acquaintances:
I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Business School vs. Policy School
A Day In The Life Of
A Business School Student (quotes taken from the business school website)
5:40am: Alarm goes off. I quickly debate whether I should call my trainer, Joe at Shad Gym and tell him I can't make it.
8:39:50am- The doors close, silence falls, and class begins at 8:40am on the dot
10:00am: I go to the gift store (the Coop) to see if they have screen protectors for my new high tech cell phone
11:40am: I feel actual angst over whether to join the sushi or the pasta line. Oh the decisions we MBA students must make!
1:00pm: Yay! Its a two case day, which means naptime. Sleep is precious!
3:00pm: Back in my cosy corner room, I check email- no urgent communication with potential employers. I will try to get through the LCA ase before 4pm when Tony Robbins speaks in Burden.
4:00pm: Like the Swiss Railway system, the Tony Robbins presentation starts on time. Before I know it, he has us hugging, jumping, yelling and cheering. An hour well spent.
7:30pm: I head across campus and reach the Grille at Spangler within three minutes. The food is great! Jenny, one of the friendly chefs, humourously greets me in Chinese and prepares my usual meal.
8:50pm: It has been a full day. I shower and look over my notes for tomorrow.
A Public Policy School Student (taken from anecdotal and personal experience)
5:40am: Go to sleep. Wake up five minutes later after a nightmare about a monstrous p value and thank god I have three more hours of sleep. What's Shad?
8:39:50am: I conduct a cost benefit analysis of waking up and conclude costs outweigh benefits.
10:15am: Slide into seat, five minutes late for class. Wince in pain upon remembering that I didn't do the reading on detainee interrogation in Guantanamo bay today. Open Facebook. Raise hand in class to talk about how a democracy cannot support capital punishment instead.
11:40am: Consider buying lunch, but remember I'm broke. Instead I hover near the table outside Executive Education classroom, trying to pounce on pastries and fruit when no one is looking.
1:00pm: Spend ten extra minutes getting to class because of traffic jam on Littauer Steps. Democratic Caucus students and Republican Caucus students are going at it on Huckabee. Stop by cafeteria anyway due to excess acid from excess coffee. Dry Chicken Wrap or Wet Chicken Salad Wrap? Dry.
3:00pm: Back in my cozy Forum couch, I check email. No communication with potential employers. I will try to get through my first reading of the day before 4pm when some motivational speaker guy talks about stuff across the river. Free coffee there.
4:00pm. Like Amtrak, I show up 20 minutes late to the speaker as my cheap shoes can't handle the ice, only to realize that I would rather shoot myself in the head than work in the private sector.
7:30pm. I read some blogs. Then I start a response paper due at 9pm on human rights in Iraq.
8:50pm: Start reading 200 pages and plot downfall of nemeses before heading to the computer lab to print out work. Thwarted by a group of ping pong enthusiasts in Taubman. End up at 11pm in Tommy Doyle's after the the third cost benefit analysis of the day leads me to join in.
A Business School Student (quotes taken from the business school website)
5:40am: Alarm goes off. I quickly debate whether I should call my trainer, Joe at Shad Gym and tell him I can't make it.
8:39:50am- The doors close, silence falls, and class begins at 8:40am on the dot
10:00am: I go to the gift store (the Coop) to see if they have screen protectors for my new high tech cell phone
11:40am: I feel actual angst over whether to join the sushi or the pasta line. Oh the decisions we MBA students must make!
1:00pm: Yay! Its a two case day, which means naptime. Sleep is precious!
3:00pm: Back in my cosy corner room, I check email- no urgent communication with potential employers. I will try to get through the LCA ase before 4pm when Tony Robbins speaks in Burden.
4:00pm: Like the Swiss Railway system, the Tony Robbins presentation starts on time. Before I know it, he has us hugging, jumping, yelling and cheering. An hour well spent.
7:30pm: I head across campus and reach the Grille at Spangler within three minutes. The food is great! Jenny, one of the friendly chefs, humourously greets me in Chinese and prepares my usual meal.
8:50pm: It has been a full day. I shower and look over my notes for tomorrow.
A Public Policy School Student (taken from anecdotal and personal experience)
5:40am: Go to sleep. Wake up five minutes later after a nightmare about a monstrous p value and thank god I have three more hours of sleep. What's Shad?
8:39:50am: I conduct a cost benefit analysis of waking up and conclude costs outweigh benefits.
10:15am: Slide into seat, five minutes late for class. Wince in pain upon remembering that I didn't do the reading on detainee interrogation in Guantanamo bay today. Open Facebook. Raise hand in class to talk about how a democracy cannot support capital punishment instead.
11:40am: Consider buying lunch, but remember I'm broke. Instead I hover near the table outside Executive Education classroom, trying to pounce on pastries and fruit when no one is looking.
1:00pm: Spend ten extra minutes getting to class because of traffic jam on Littauer Steps. Democratic Caucus students and Republican Caucus students are going at it on Huckabee. Stop by cafeteria anyway due to excess acid from excess coffee. Dry Chicken Wrap or Wet Chicken Salad Wrap? Dry.
3:00pm: Back in my cozy Forum couch, I check email. No communication with potential employers. I will try to get through my first reading of the day before 4pm when some motivational speaker guy talks about stuff across the river. Free coffee there.
4:00pm. Like Amtrak, I show up 20 minutes late to the speaker as my cheap shoes can't handle the ice, only to realize that I would rather shoot myself in the head than work in the private sector.
7:30pm. I read some blogs. Then I start a response paper due at 9pm on human rights in Iraq.
8:50pm: Start reading 200 pages and plot downfall of nemeses before heading to the computer lab to print out work. Thwarted by a group of ping pong enthusiasts in Taubman. End up at 11pm in Tommy Doyle's after the the third cost benefit analysis of the day leads me to join in.
May we
live in interesting times.
I think I can safely say that there have been ups, there have been downs, but there's never been steady and that I have always lived, in interesting times.
More interaction with men who call me ma'am (in an 'un-old' way).
The question was posed today: What would you do if you have 2 million dollars to spend in New Orleans post-Katrina? Would it go to housing, or charter schools, or primary care for the uninsured, or at-risk youth programs, or job regeneration programs, or small business incubation?
My answer: I would spend 2 million dollars, finding out what the people of New Orleans wanted, from top to bottom, across racial lines and across class lines. Not what we think they need, but what their demand is, which is entirely different. Then I would see where those demands are aligned, and then I would be able to map potential coalitions and get a consensus around a plan of recovery, and especially from getting some of that 180 billion dollars assigned to Gulf Coast recovery.
On another note, more talking about fantasy/extremist ideology: The heart has been fed on fantasies, the heart has grown brutal from its fare. Its so dangerous and so compelling to accept some kind of all or nothing in life.
And the last note: I have made a major discovery about myself: I would be rather happy than be accomplished.
I think I can safely say that there have been ups, there have been downs, but there's never been steady and that I have always lived, in interesting times.
More interaction with men who call me ma'am (in an 'un-old' way).
The question was posed today: What would you do if you have 2 million dollars to spend in New Orleans post-Katrina? Would it go to housing, or charter schools, or primary care for the uninsured, or at-risk youth programs, or job regeneration programs, or small business incubation?
My answer: I would spend 2 million dollars, finding out what the people of New Orleans wanted, from top to bottom, across racial lines and across class lines. Not what we think they need, but what their demand is, which is entirely different. Then I would see where those demands are aligned, and then I would be able to map potential coalitions and get a consensus around a plan of recovery, and especially from getting some of that 180 billion dollars assigned to Gulf Coast recovery.
On another note, more talking about fantasy/extremist ideology: The heart has been fed on fantasies, the heart has grown brutal from its fare. Its so dangerous and so compelling to accept some kind of all or nothing in life.
And the last note: I have made a major discovery about myself: I would be rather happy than be accomplished.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
hubris
my fatal flaw is I am a sucker for men who can reproduce dialogue like this in email banter/verbal conversation/non-verbal cues.
Jules: And what's Fonzie like? Come on, Yolanda! What's Fonzie like?
Yolanda: Cool?
Jules: What?
Yolanda: He's cool
Jules: Correctamundo! And that's what we're gonna be. We're gonna be cool.
Pulp Fiction
And ma'am. I'm a sucker for any man who calls me "ma'am". As in "Yes, ma'am".
Jules: And what's Fonzie like? Come on, Yolanda! What's Fonzie like?
Yolanda: Cool?
Jules: What?
Yolanda: He's cool
Jules: Correctamundo! And that's what we're gonna be. We're gonna be cool.
Pulp Fiction
And ma'am. I'm a sucker for any man who calls me "ma'am". As in "Yes, ma'am".
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
minus 8 degrees celsius
I am officially gloved, booted, mufflered, hatted, pouffy-coated and jobless.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
bachelorette
Let me say that, having seen a male stripper now, taking everything off, that it just was not appealing in any way. On a second note, bachelorette parties down South are an entirely different event from the tamer "hen" parties of England and elsewhere. There was nothing remotely "hennish" about this one, replete with bridal veils, tiaras, sashes and sceptres and a whole lotta alcohol, pole dancing and a mechanical bull (don't even ask). And not to mention the private stripper. A whole new educational frontier was busted. I, in true fashion, was hovering near the bathroom, ready to lock myself in should this person even come 1 metre near my vicinity. Oh dear.
On the other note, I am absolutely beat and it is the weariness that sleep just isn't going to solve and one which needs 2-3 weeks in a coma. Thank god that is only ten days away for I really have reached the end of my tether.
NB. Should any of my friends organize a stripper for me in any occasion, I will suffer permanent trauma.
On the other note, I am absolutely beat and it is the weariness that sleep just isn't going to solve and one which needs 2-3 weeks in a coma. Thank god that is only ten days away for I really have reached the end of my tether.
NB. Should any of my friends organize a stripper for me in any occasion, I will suffer permanent trauma.
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