Back in New Haven and Loving it!

What a change a few weeks make. Life in DC and my internship at the United Way are a distant memory, replaced with a bunch of new faces at SOM (hi class of 2009!), a lot of a familiar and friendly faces from the class of 2008, and a whole lot of optimism for the upcoming school year. Indeed, I'm back in New Haven and ready for my 2nd and final year at Yale SOM. I've been in town for less than 5 days but the list of fun and games already reads like an impressive laundry list of new haven highlights - From a 20 mile bike ride to Sleeping Giant Park with my buddy Paul Ip, to an evening at classic New Haven haunts like Richters and Archie Moores, to a welcome lunch at the New Haven Lawn Club, to a trip to the Yale Golf Course to hit some balls on the driving range, to a welcome reception at the beautiful Beinecke Hall, to dinner at Blackbear tavern, the coming year in New Haven looks promising. Official school business has rolled around and it certainly seems like an exciting time for Yale SOM. Dean Podolny in his rock star ways kicked off the official events, updating us with fantastic fundraising numbers and news about the new SOM building. Plans are still preliminary but I'm definitely excited about what the future of SOM holds- those in attendance at Beinecke had the rare privilege of taking a sneak peak at some of the architectural renditions for the new building and they look pretty stunning if I say so myself. Along with introductions on new staff, some good news about the CDO, and tweaks to our existing SOM buildings, there definitely seems to an enjoyable buzz going around. Of course as second years the job search is front and center, though for many of my classmates the job search is already a done deal. I'm happy (and a little jealous) of my friends who have secured job offers already, and based on the numbers I've heard I'm pretty blown away and impressed with the class of 08 so far. As for me, I fully intend to participate in the recruiting game in the next few months, though truthfully I remain undecided about what I want to do. Though the nonprofit world was a great experience this summer and I absolutely LOVED the United Way, I do want to make sure I find a job that can pay the bills and provide some comfort in lifestyle. I don't need a lot, but I do have a minimum threshold that I feel is completely reasonable. But anyway, more on that later as the recruiting beast gears up in all its splendor. Yes, time is flying by so quickly that no matter where I am it seems like life is just a big blur and weekends continue to roll by. Classes begin tomorrow (8:15 am!) and as usual readings are piling up, cases need to be read, laundry needs to be washed. Between it all though, I suspect that running and workouts at the gym, spending quality time with my study group, eating good food, laughing a lot with friends, learning a thing or two from my classes, and that little matter of finding a full time job is all I need to live a happy existence in my last year as an MBA student.