Company visit and more

Despite some last minute cancellations/backout by 5-6 people, 8 of us went over and visited Redwood Systems in Fremont on Friday. There were folks from Anderson and Haas. We met their marketing folks and saw a demo of their product and later went to lunch with the company execs. Had extensive interaction with the Director of Product Marketing, who turned out to be a Haas alum. Business cards were exchanged and promises made to keep in touch. :) I hope to organize more of these events in the new year.

I applied and got selected for the Easton Technology Leadership Program at UCLA. This program will run concurrently with my MBA (it will supplement the MBA) and is designed specifically for people with engineering backgrounds. Did I mention that this is super exciting for me... Next quarter looks tough with Managerial economics and Financial Accounting. :(

We wrapped up the year with a book club meeting on Friday. We recapped what we got out of it during the year and looking forward what to expect. :) KT paid us a surprise visit and we ended the year on a high note.

weekend

Finally, got around to enjoying a full weekend, something I used to take for granted for so many years. No classes this weekend....but the "work" never stops. :) Gym class for Shruti on friday evening, played wii saturday morning with the kids. Then took wifey shopping (actually dropped her off at the store) and the kids to swimming class and lunch. By afternoon, I was supposed to be tired but was not. Instead, I had this new found appreciation for what my wife goes through every Saturday when I am goofing off in classes at LA. :) Later in the evening, dropped the kids off to a "camp" where they played and made ginger bread house while Ruchi and I caught a movie (after a lonnnnnng time). We saw "Did you hear about the Morgans?". The movie was ok and I sorta liked it while Ruchi found it below average. Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker didn't look as impressive as we thought they would look. We capped off the night with an excellent diner at Olive Garden... an excellent Carbernet Beringer, Ministreone soup, pasta and the works. Best of all, excellent service and I expressed my appreciation with a generous tip. :)

Talking about looks and age and what not, we are reminded time and again of our own mortality in more ways than one. This weekend, one of our neighbors passed away. She was living by herself (after her husband died about an year ago) and was probably in her 60s. We woke up in the morning and saw cop cars outside her house and later found out that she had passed away. Really sad... she was a nice and gentle lady. The police haven't concluded the reason for her death but most likely she died due to respiratory issues (she had medical issues). Her immediate family lives less than a mile away but she was all alone when the end came. In her memory, we did not light up our x-mas lights all weekend. We hope her soul is in peace.

Called DM/YY and another neighbor over for tea last evening. While DM and YY left after a couple of hours, we had an entertaining evening with the other neighbors and family. Later in the night Nalin went over for a sleepover at his cousin's house. He called today and begged to stay another night. :) Last I heard, Divs and Nalin were making Brownies... :) We have already bought a x-mas gift for Shruti and trying to figure out what to buy for Nalin. We were thinking of a racing car game (wii) for him but people are saying that these games can be very addictive...so will think some more about what to do.

End of Q1

The dreaded Saturday 12/12 came... On the way over, I just sat by myself. I was tense. Some of the guys were discussing stuff for the finals and I just tuned them out. We reached LA and it was pouring like anything. Several thoughts flashed through my mind... what if my laptop is ruined due to the moisture? or the "allowed" cheat sheets for the stats exam... what if they get messed up? On top of that the rental lady (yes it was my turn to rent the car) kept insisting that "Why are you declining the accident coverage? do you know the area so well? Look, it is raining really hard and you want have any protecting in case something happens...". I was getting a little irritated by her persistence and really wanted to shove the contract papers down her throat but outwardly I had this calm, composed smiling face... what did she know? :)

Reached school, ate a little (wasn't hungry)... went to the exam room. The prof started the exam (stats)... After about 20 mins he left the room and came back 10 mins later and states "There's some good news for you guys!!! Instead of 3 hours, you get 3 1/2 hours. But not sure if that will do you any good" :) No, I did not feel like shoving the question paper down his throat since I was doing well at that time... but he is one humorous guy. :) Anyway, exams (both) went well. Flew back to SJC in the evening (there was lot of turbulence on the way and my friends canceled their drinks... it felt like we were in a roller coaster). quite scary.

Rest of the weekend was really great. Looking forward to some relaxing time over the next few weeks. Party planned for this friday at a friends "bachelor" pad (wife/kid in India). :) Enjoying my break from school for now till the madness starts all over again in January.

Let it Snow, let it Snow, let it Snow.....

Just yesterday as I was about to leave for work in the morning, I saw white stuff on the mountains near our house... lots of it. Yes, it was snow... and so nearby. It snowed over night (I am not really a weather person i.e. I don't usually monitor what the weather is going to be) ... so it was a pleasant surprise. Today in the morning it was frost outside in the morning. I felt sad for my plants in the backyard. :( The whole week, it is supposed to rain on and off.

The cold weather as usual brings its own share of joys - sniffle, cough .... aaachoooooo!! Shruti was the first one to fall sick. Today I was WFH to give her time to get better and looks like in true holiday spirit, she shared her bug with me. in the finallllllllllllllssss week!!! Holy *&)*) I am dead meat.

Company visit

I am organizing a company visit for my Anderson class fellows to a local fremont-based startup. Already in touch with their VP of Marketing. It should be a good learning experience talking to them (hopefully the CEO as well).

For this week's case study, we are reading a Berkeley case about Cisco Systems. :) I almost expect the prof to "pick" on the cisco dudes in the the class and seek our views/comments about this article and cisco in particular. :)

Speaker lined up for the next bay area e-labs meeting. He actually launched a company and ran it for 4 years or so. Should be enlightening.

Still trying to figure out where to go for the December vacation. SA flights are soooo expensive. :(