So, life keeps moving... II

So, life keeps moving...

It is a short/long fall break. I know that it is kind of ironic. But life is. 

So, what happened to me recently? I went to Smoky Mountain with Joe, Ellen, and Wendy last Sunday. We had tons of fun. I kind of like Ellen. She is a great girl. I tried to read "The Power of Now"... Nah, it should be that I tried to finish it, but did not make it. It is a great book on some level, but some part is hard to be sticky. I finished "Things the grandchildren should know". Oh, God, this is one of the best book ever!!! E is truly an amazing person with a tragic/lucky life. He shows that how a young man struggled to live his life to fullest every day. I truly admire that. I think I got ding from LEK, even if have not heard from them till now. Mousumi already got the call and get the offer yesterday. And I am waiting for Bain's final decision tomorrow. I hope it is good news, but given the competition situation this year, I can only cross my fingers. 

I also found a great song "Leaving Town", and had listened to it for three days... I re-started to play guitar from two days ago. God, it hurts my fingers! But I think only practice makes a great player, right?! So, I should just keep playing. Thirty minutes every night, let me stick to the plan, and I will be good after the term. Right, talking about this term, I love the classes I chose! Leadership is a good one. Although the beginning of the class is kind of down, the later part, especially the card game, is so fun. I know that I am GREEN. Oh, yes, I can not stay with old shit for a long time, and I will die if things are the same. Competitive Analysis is also kind of exciting. Pino is a great professor, truly a exceptional individual as well. The game we are going to play seems lots of fun. I will enjoy it. Marketing of High Tech, umm, I did not have the class yet, but the first case "Hybrid Car" is inspiring. I have not enjoyed reading case for a long time. Term 2, gonna to be something!

Going back to job hunting, I know the only thing I can do is to be positive. Just like what E said -- all those tragedies happened in life seems the worst things, but actually they made life more fruitful and gave life a broader range. As to me, from failure of LEK, I bought Economist and start to learn more about what's going on around me. I should keep doing it. Regarding, Bain, I tried my best. That's it. No matter what the result is, I should not think back that what could be changed to have better result. I am me. I should keep helping other SY and FY to prepare for consulting interviews. Passing my learnings to other Duke student will make me happy. And if they can get offers, that's the best reward.

I know that I am jumping around. But I need to say -- I am going to start another book "The World without Us" today! It is the best seller from NYTimes. I hope I will enjoy it. Right, right, right, and remember to playing guitar! 

Good luck tomorrow!

Start to learn Guitar today? No, let me say next Tuesday. Yep!

Dude, I am serious this time. This is one thing I should do and in my "Things to do before 30" list. 

Going to Boston today!!!

So, I got into LEK and Bain second round! I am so excited!!! It is very hard for an international student to stand out in consulting, especially in such a tough market. But I tried my best.

Tomorrow is the day for LEK second round interview. It will be in Boston. I love Boston. That's such a great place. I had tons of fun last year at Boston. Two of my good friends are there JinFeng ("was" for Feng, since he is in Korea now) and Ally. I can't wait to go to Boston, even if I know the interview will be tough and weather will be freezing cold.

Interview season is not easy. There are endless pressure every single day. And this year... sometimes I am wondering whether I should stick to my dream to explore more about this world, or just take what I had -- something people said is great. (tbc. going to lunch now)

So, life keeps moving...

The new Fuqua Ford library is really awesome, but I spent less and less time at the library. Today is one of the few days this term.

I finished my Bain interview today. It is really hard to tell the result. And considering so many talent competitors, I do not put much hope for the second round. After the interview, I went to running in Al Buehler Trail at Duke Forest. It is a nice place, especially for running when having fever. Things did not go well these days. Mostly my reasons. I run as a way to get out of life and keep self energetic. It works somehow. I am more positive during/after running and feel much better about all the challenges I am facing. Fight! Be a fighting dreamer!

This year, the job market is horrible. Damn! US consulting firms shrink the hiring plan dramatically. Yep, I can see from the number of people who got closed list. The number is much smaller than first year summer internship number, which is ridiculous. I do want to get a job in a top consulting firm in US. But after today, I blowed away my only hope Bain. BCG hates me, as always. McK... I can't interview with it any more, since I already had an offer from them in Asia. My mentor told me that I can do the transfer after joining McK. I deeply appreciate what he proposed and his help. And if I really can't get anything else, I should just take it. At least every other people say it.

Yes, that's the moment!!! When "every other people say it"... Is that right? Orit, Bain chairman, once said that "The biggest risk is not to take risk at all". And for my whole life, I am running away from risk. Well, finance professor will say that everybody is risk averse, but when one stay on risk averse mode too long, he just want to change. Make sense, right?

Anyway, I still have some other interviews to go -- LEK tomorrow, Deloitte on Thursday, and Microsoft later this month (hopefully). Try my best!