It aint over...yet

Its been awhile but I'm back in the saddle again. Apart from the v airy happy feeling in my head after an admit decision, there's a whole other tornado going on in my humble little cranium.
So here's my updated list of all that I must accomplish before getting on a flight to France

• Pay the deposit. The ulcer this 10% deposit is causing me is making me wonder what the state of my digestion system will be when in debt of close to $90,000!
• Learn French. Though I'm still confused if I should make Spanish my 3rd language...may help with the Latam course and the entire emerging markets scenario. Any suggestions which would help more?
• Get the International Drivers license, even though I doubt I can afford renting a car for the whole year. But it may help on short trips across the French country side :) though my bank balance loudly lets me know that any holidays from now to July 08 are just a fantasy
  
• Figure out the list of visas I'll be needing - French, Shengen, Swizz & UK. Maybe I can get to Wharton on my tourist?
  
• Start on the pre MBA reading list. Its only about 5 books but Where's the time?
• Start an accounts 101 and a finance 101 course. Want to wiggle out of the foundation course in hopes of saving some moolah but Shall I repeat - where is the #%^& time?
• Find a house & house mates. No problem here except where is the money?
• Write all the scholarship essays. Well here is the money but guess what? I pay the deposit & then just wait & hope I get to be the lucky 20% who gets any money out at all.
• Figure out an education loan, though most of the one's on offer fall woefully short of what I really need.
  
• Shop for winter, shop for college, shop for fun. But what about that money, honey?

And some wise soul had advised that from now to August was just R&R.... no hopes on that happening. So this is the next leg of this long road, so all say Hail Mary( or whatever religious/ quasi religious/philosophical/theological expression that helps) and hop on for the ride.

Thanks

My big thank you post to the entire blogger gang (community just makes it so v serious)
I'll be starting at Fonty in Sept and I'm just overwhelmed. I started the applicant journey sometime in July and today in Jan its finally over.
Well as over as possible without taking scholarships, loans, shifting etc into account.
The funny thing is in July I had never even heard of INSEAD...yes, embarrassingly I was that naive but today it feels like the biggest thing that ever happened to me.
So now I bid adieu to the 6 odd months of applicant hell and raring to get to the other 6 odd months of getting the practical stuff into control.
INSEAD here I come!

In INSEAD!

I'm in!!!
I only had one interview and was on tenterhooks this whole week. Another friend in Bombay who interviewed with the same person was called yesterday, 2 days before the decision deadline and interviewed on the phone. She didnt tell me since she knew I'd push the panic button.
But news just got in we are both in!
I'm over the moon....Life is good and there is going to be a big celebration tonight ;)
Its been a tense week in the blogosphere with HBS and INSEAD decisions happening all at once but this is the end of my endless wait.
My applicant journey is just about getting over - now its scholarships, loans, banks and dreams of FB :)

Business & Politics

The latest news in the business dailies -
ThePawar family to buy 49% in UB breweries. Sharad Pawar is the Union agriculture minister and responsible for reducing duties on wines in Maharashtra.
Apparently this all above board. Are there no laws in this country to protect against vested interests?

Reverse Outsourcing

So while I patiently twiddle my thumbs till Jan 19th (INSEAD deadline), a little report on Reverse Outsourcing

Lately every India glossie, item song, ad commercial, print work is being adorned by foreign beauties. Coming from far away places, mostly from developed yet not economically strong nations of East Europe, Mexico and Brazil, these girls are giving the Indian models a run for their money.

Time was when a few genetically blessed chicas would rule the ramp and make hay while the sun shone on them a little more brightly than it did for the less endowed mortals.
But not any more - the foreign invation is a strong challenge - they are younger, better bodies, taller, less inhibitions and far more affordable.

So its no surprise that from small stores like Seasons & Benzer to big brands like Himalaya Aryuveda, Colgate, John Player etc have them grace their commercials. Only condition is to dye their manes black - apparently the Indian audience loves to salivate over the 'imported' talent but not if they are blonds - something about aspirations!

INSEAD interview update

An update on my INSEAD interview -
After weeks of chasing my interviewer I finally met her in the last week of December. I was peeved at being asked to keep calling and then having the appointment can celled. So went prepared to meet someone I was not going to like but came back feeling not so bad.
the interview was long and exhausting - lasted an hour and a half and I felt we covered a lot of ground. I would even say we exposed my weak areas and hopefully strengthened some otherwise weak spots. The interviewer followed the same path as others but somehow different individuals make the experience wholly dissimilar.
this interview took place in my interviewers house. I didn't ask but I think she has left her job. It started with her dog sniffing me and her daughter & friend bursting in & out. Even her husband came back and decided to move about the house in shorts. So yes the setting was most definitely not professional but the interview was.
What a contrast to my LBS one - the setting was an investment bank but the tone was uber friendly and casual. Here it was the opposite. My interviewer took her time, was very
professional and cold, though I'd like to believe she thawed by the end of it.
She didn't reveal any information regarding her feedback. She felt I was one of the most unusual candidates she had met but my 'diversity' could work for or against me since the competition was so high.
Oh well as again time will tell...
(Have to say though she had some great art on her walls, maybe all the culture you pick up after INSEAD and hopefully a job too which can afford it all :)

2007 & the world is the same

The New Year is here and so are the lists. Resolutions, to-do's, trends and whats in store lists.
I love lists so no guesses on what I did on the first morning of the new year...in bed in my pj's with at least 3 dailies and read thru all the supplements. Ooh the simple joys of life!
So here's my list...no resolutions but what I in my rather short sighted, ill informed, hastily put-together way think will be the trend for 2007:
- the big brands & corporations will bend backwards to reach any consumer they may not have already bombarded with their so called 'USP' They will have interactive platforms, 60 sec spots, jingles, billboards, events and even sales to push up that bottomline- everything infact except actually working on their product or improving their service. No need for that if the PR is in overdrive.
Think Big Play Small- SME companies will continue to feel threatened & look apprehensive and act scared. They'll even win all the sympathy with photo ops of cutsie cuddly mom & pop store owners outside giant cold large retailer. But secretly they too will find the balance sheet not too bad. Large corporations on the other hand will bring out their own devices to make people part with their money & they too will find the going smooth.
- Indian companies will continue to buy out never-before-heard of companies in their bid for global domination. The pink dailies will froth over with excitement on the exotic locales these companies are going.(Reports of executives in Brazil, Switzerland, Belgium negotiating multi million dollar take over bids will keep us green with envy). In all the hype & hoopla no one will check on the health of these so called strategic investments for awhile and no one will question why on earth we are suddenly so damn good at running an enterprise which has been in deep trouble.
- Economists will disagree on everything from slow downs to safe landings to growth projections and inflation worries. But whenever in doubt will put yet another India growth story on front page news and relax in the feel good haze.
- MBA salaries will make headlines & the competition will become intense. This will be the road to the city of gold but it will suddenly find the traffic a trifle too much to handle.

Finally the real main trend will be Duality and everything in between. While sometimes we will find consumerism on the rise, at another we'll see more socialists on the streets of Paris - giving up a warm bed but not their revelry.
Chavez will enjoy the attention his remarks will bring him and Bush will give him adequate competition in stupid sound bytes.
The Indian economy will grow yet it will isolate its own large majority.
We will sign trade treaties with our neighbors but mistrust them completely. For all the trade growth, we will see a far higher growth in our defense purchases.
Salaries will go up and so will our EMI's.
You will enjoy greater connectivity with the world yet find no time for a family life.
Web 2.0 will have to work harder to find new shining stars or find itself in the midst of another small bubble...
SRK will hunt out all of AB's old shoes and try to fill them.