Im coming home...

As many of you know i am coming home from my two year stint in London to go to business school. Im flying back to CT on or around the 19th of July. Stay there a couple days and then making the trek of a drive down to Austin....solo. Ive done it many times, but have always had a partner in crime to join me. So this time to break up the trip im going to try and make a few stops along the way. Ill be taking the outlined below:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=Stamford,+CT&daddr=Philadelphia,+PA+to:Washington,+DC+to:Richmond,+VA+to:Charlotte,+NC+to:Atlanta,+GA+to:New+Orleans,+LA+to:houston+tx+to:Austin&mra=ps&mrcr=2,3&sll=37.26531,-86.220703&sspn=24.01457,40.429688&ie=UTF8&z=5


I (tentatively) plan to make stops in:

Philly
DC
Richmond
Charlotte
Atlanta
New Orleans
Houston

If you are in or around those cities from from July 22-July 28 let me know. might need a couch to sleep on :-)

my new car and my negotiating skills

So moving to the states necessitated me buying a new car. tough work living in london and needing the car just about right when i get to houston. so what did i do? AutoTrader.com. Found a car i liked, got some feedback from mom's and my houston boys - eddie (pricing) and garrett (test driving and first hand viewing) i bought a car after negotiating over email over the course of 2 days i am now the proud owner of a 2001 Jetta


[READ FROM BOTTOM UP]

On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 12:16 PM, Al Szkody <> wrote:

Good morning - there is no healthy profit for me on this deal - the price of gas forces me to spend a premium to obtain nice small cars like this. You win - you have worn me out - I accept your offer. Please send me the full name and address you want on the paperwork and the title along with all of your contact numbers and a fax number. My wife DiAnna will create a Buyer's Order with the state taxes and feess for you to sign and fax back to us. She'll iinclude wiring instructions for our bank. It is a simple deal - you send money and when your funds clear my bank I'll contact you and you can come and pick up a nice VW. By the way - I'll wager you won't bother with the door panel - it looks good and all VWs of that year look similar - that's just the way they are. I wouldn't bother to fix something minor like that if I were you. It is the good engine and transmission that are important on a used vehicle.Thank you for your business - Al

----- Original Message -----

From: RB

To: Al Szkody

Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 1:32 AM

Subject: Re: Availability of Vehicle: Owner 1176319: AutoTrader.com: Vehicle Lead 2001 Volkswagen Jetta

Thanks Al,

I appreciate you get what you pay for and that i would be getting a top notch car. I would not want to spend significant dollars on a car only to have to pay for it to be repeatedly in the shop for repairs. That said, my friend did mention that the interior door paneling was in need of repair which i would need to get fixed straight off.

I also know that The Book on this car is about $6100 and given that my budget for purchasing a car was around $7K, agreeing to terms of $7,400 would a reasonable stretch for me, while still giving you a healthy profit. I hope this works for you.

Please let me know when a good time to call you to confirm the deal and next steps.

Many thanks,
Ryan

On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 10:14 PM, Al Szkody <> wrote:
Thank you but no thank you - I appreciate your offer and you are definitely right - this vehicle would be the best if you lined up 50 or so of the same year, miles, make and model. You get what you pay for in life and I am comfortable with the quality of my product and understand that you can always buy a car of lesser quality for less money. ( But you have to factory in the money you will have to spend on repairs later.) $7600 plus taxes and I'll sell you a nice VW that should give you good service. Final offer as they say on TV. Thank you - Al

----- Original Message ----- From: "RB" <>
To: "Al Szkody"

Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 2:50 PM
Subject: Re: Availability of Vehicle: Owner 1176319: AutoTrader.com: Vehicle Lead 2001 Volkswagen Jetta


Ok. I completely appreciate your need to make money and I'm sure you can appreciate my desire to not overpay. I've looked at similar cars on offer for around 6.5K but I like this one the best of the 3. If we could agree to 7,300+ you and I would have a deal

---
Sent via BlackBerry

-----Original Message-----
From: "Al Szkody" <

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:57:49
To:<>
Subject: Re: Availability of Vehicle: Owner 1176319: AutoTrader.com: Vehicle Lead 2001 Volkswagen Jetta


I appreciate the offer . Thank you, but no thank you. Little clean one owner
low mileage vehicles that are good on gas and are nice and dependable like
this one are almost impossible for me to buy with gas prices being as high
as they are. I've already priced it below retail - a fair price. How about
$7700 plus taxes? Al Szkody



----- Original Message ----- From: "RB" <>
To: "Al Szkody" <
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 1:45 PM
Subject: Re: Availability of Vehicle: Owner 1176319: AutoTrader.com: Vehicle
Lead 2001 Volkswagen Jetta


I think we should be able to. How does 7K cash work for you?

---
Sent via BlackBerry

-----Original Message-----
From: "Al Szkody" <

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:04:55
To:"RB" <>
Subject: Re: Availability of Vehicle: Owner 1176319: AutoTrader.com:
Vehicle Lead 2001 Volkswagen Jetta


Hello - My friend Ryan who rents from me met your friend and went over the
car with him and took him for a ride. I understand he liked the car. Can
we do business on this nice one owner low mileage 2001VW Jetta VR6


----- Original Message ----- From: RB >
To: Al Szkody
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 9:52 AM
Subject: Re: Availability of Vehicle: Owner 1176319: AutoTrader.com:
Vehicle Lead 2001 Volkswagen Jetta

Hi Al - just left you a message on your cell. I have a friend coming by in
a few hours to check the car out. His name is Garrett. Thank you


On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 4:06 PM, Al Szkody <
> wrote:


I've sold cars with a $60,000 cost over the internet without a problem -
that is what feed back is for and mine is perfect. Of course you are
welcome to send any inspector that you wish - it's a nice car. Thank you -



----- Original Message ----- From: RB
To: Al Szkody
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 8:45 AM
Subject: Re: Availability of Vehicle: Owner 1176319: AutoTrader.com:
Vehicle Lead 2001 Volkswagen Jetta

Hi al,

Im really interested in this vehicle, but am understandably worried about
buying a product of such an expense without seeing it and driving it.
Could i agree to buying it now, subject to a 3rd party inspection?

Regards,
Ryan


On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 5:14 PM, Al Szkody <
> wrote:
Hello - Yes, I still have my nice one owner low mileage VW Jetta VR6.
Please give me a call on my cell and I'll be glad for you to set up an
appointment to see and drive this nice car. Thank you -

Consolation for Arsenal...

Cesc Fabregas wins PFA Young Player of Year award

PFA Premier League Team of the Year: David James (Portsmouth), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd), Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd), Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Liverpool).

Would he be even more handsome called Ryan?

George Clooney regularly tops "gorgeous man" polls, yet his is the first name least associated with attractiveness in a new study. Might this have slowed his climb to movie stardom? Can a name really determine your fate?

If you're called Brian and didn't get that promotion, then blame it on your parents and their choice of name. Ditto for those called Helen, and for the Georges out there who are unlucky in love.

We have strong perceptions about first names and associate them with success, luck and attractiveness, according to new research. And our perceptions can have very real consequences in everyday life.

POORLY PERCEIVED NAMES Least successful: Lisa and Brian Least lucky: Helen and John Least attractive: Ann and George Source: The name experiment

People walk around with stereotypes in their heads that can influence all sorts of decisions, yet don't even realise it, says psychologist Richard Wiseman, who conducted the research.

He asked more than 6,000 people about their perceptions of the most popular first names in the UK over the past decade, along with those in recent years. Some strong trends emerged.

Elizabeth and James are considered the most successful sounding first names, Lucy and Jack the luckiest and Sophie and Ryan the most attractive. But can a name determine our fate?

Class issue

A name certainly plays more of a part than we think, says Dr Wiseman. While many factors influence how we view a name - from liking a successful actor to disliking your boss - these perception can have a very real impact.

"Past research has shown that such perceptions can become self-fulfilling prophesies, with teachers giving higher marks to children with attractive names and employers being more likely to promote those who sound successful," he says.

But isn't it just the case that better off parents are more likely to call their children Elizabeth or James and it's a privileged upbringing that spells success rather than their name?

Her name means business

It's not that simple, argue some. A name often represents parents' aspirations, as much as their social status. This can have a strong influence on a child whatever background they come from.

"The real consequence is not in the actual name itself, but in the intentions behind it," says Dr Martin Skinner, a social psychologist at Warwick University.

"Names usually reflect parental aspirations, so someone who wants their child to be taken seriously will give them a name that has weight and is not frivolous - whatever class they are."

The good news for anyone called Lisa, Brian, George, Helen, Ann or John - the lowest ranked names in the study - is that a name, and the perceptions people have about it, don't make that much difference in life, according to some.

"For better or for worse, you make the most of what you've been given," says Dr Skinner. "Your own efforts can overwhelm the impact of a name, in the end it's just a small advantage or a small handicap."

So what do people with names that are perceived to be successful, lucky or attractive think about them?

LUCY THOMAS (Seen as lucky) I do think I've had good luck in my life but that comes down to having a good family, rather than my name. I've never gone without. I've had a good childhood, travelled a lot and have a good job as a pharmacist, but I put most of that down to the love and support of my family. People do seem to like my name and I've been told it's nice on lots of occasions, but I don't think it influences the way they treat me. I'm just who I am, take it or leave it. I don't know why my parents chose it, but I know it's of Latin origin and its meaning is "light". I really like that and really like my name, I wouldn't change it. I have noticed that most girls I know called Lucy feel the same, they are very happy with it.

JAMES CONINGSBY (Seen as successful) I always knew I didn't have the type of name that would get me slapped in the playground. I think that's why my parents chose it, they didn't want my name to be any sort of burden. I'm a partner in a law firm and don't think my name has done me any harm in my chosen profession. Saying that, I don't think it would have made much difference what I was called, I would still be doing the same thing. It is very neutral and I think that is what makes it work as a name. It doesn't have any connotations like other names do, like Henrietta or Kylie. Nothing can really be assumed about a James. I've never had any negative comments about my name. If people say anything they say they like it. I've never thought of changing it, I'm happy being James.

CHRIS WICKHAM (Seen as attractive and lucky) I didn't like my name when I was young but I was called Christopher all the time then - now it's always Chris. I like it because it's a name you can go through life with. A lot of names date and really identify someone as being from a certain generation. My name isn't like that. A Chris can be any age, old or young. It's also as male as it is female. You can't really pigeonhole someone with this name. I'm surprised, but pleased, that people perceive it as attractive and lucky. No-one has ever told me they like my name, but then again no-one has ever told me they don't. My name simply isn't brought up by people in discussions. I think it's because Chris is very neutral, it doesn't have any obvious connotations. I don't think it's helped me in life particularly, but I don't suppose I'd really know unless I changed it and I wouldn't do that. I'm happy with it.

ELIZABETH BARRETT (Successful) I love Elizabeth. It's the name of one of the greatest historical and feminist (for her time) queens in Britain, as well as the current one, so it feels quite regal. I also like it as you can shorten it to different nicknames. My preferred one is Lizzie, which to me seems sparky and young. But I like using Elizabeth as well as it rolls off the tongue. I think it's viewed as strong and I think people expect women with the name to be intelligent. I think films have helped with this. When you see Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice on screen reading books and managing to win the heart of a Darcy, I think people see it as aspirational. Some say I have a very British sounding name, by which I think they mean old fashioned. Really, people don't tend to remark on it. I'm not aware that it has helped me in certain situations but I do think people are judged on their names.

Is this racism?

While in the Eurostar lounge, some woman, looking very lost, turns to me and says 'can you please get me some white wine?'. I definitely give her a 'are you seriously talking to me?' Look. I think she gets the picture pretty quickly and profusely apologizes blaming her misspeak on the fact that I have a blue shirt on (of course it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a black man in a predominately white environment of course)

Its a small lounge so I see her couple times while waiting for my train. She repeatedly says hello and sorry and by the 2nd time I'm very very annoyed.

Now the question is: should I think this woman is a racist or is it just a case of mistaken identity?

---
Sent via BlackBerry

Interesting Start to a day...

Very strange day…

After a busy day that included switching over to a new computer at work, having a 5 a side game bang in the middle of the most important match of Arsenal’s season, winning against AC Milan in the San Siro - a match few thought they could win (apart from me of course), and getting home at about 10:30, it slipped my mind that I needed to book a cab to the airport for my flight to Amsterdam in the morning. So at about 11pm I call one cab company who seemed to have no idea where I lived but he booked the taxi anyway. Ive been done in before where I booked a cab the night before a trip only to find out the next morning that they for some odd reason didn’t have the booking in their systems. Needless to say, missing my flight when I was the only company representative at the client meeting would not be a good thing. So, not feeling too confident in this cab actually showing up in the morning at all, never mind on time, I call another company and book another taxi at the same time. Worse case, two cabs show up and I have to tell one to leave. Easy.

So I wake up the next morning and sure enough I can see two cabs waiting outside. I doubt it took them too long to realize what had happened. I soon receive a phone call – its 5:30 in the morning so who else would it be. Yup. Cab company yelling at me about booking two cars. I basically say chill the F out and ill be right down. My plan was to choose the one closest to me, get in and leave. Didn’t work. I get outside, get in the car and the other cabbie comes running over FUMING! He goes on a 20 minute rant about how I shouldn’t make fun of people like that cuz someday someone will make fun of me. WHAT?!?! What is this guy talking about? I have a flight to catch and he is blabbering about making fun of people at 5:30 in the morning? I mean my closest friends make fun of me everyday. Why would I give a $hit if randoms did it?

Anyway after trying to get me to pay a 12 pound cancellation fee (unsuccessfully) me and the other cabby, completely silent throughout all this, were on our way to Heathrow, making it to the terminal early enough for me to get breakfast in the BA lounge and read about my Fab Fab and the Gunners triumph :-)

The day I was kissed (well almost) on the tube

Some drunk dude gets on the tube, a crowded tube at that, and starts blabbering about god knows what to anyone and everyone he makes eye contact with. Starts with the lady he keeps bumping into because he is completely unable to stand without the help of two hands. So, ever intelligently he uses just one and sways all over the shop repeatedly bumping into this woman who makes her distaste known to the entire carriage.

So moving on to the next person, he starts to compliment this woman on her beautiful eyes (I didn't get the chance to see so I cannot confirm or deny if he was speaking truth) sitting next to me - still swaying of course but the train has emptied a bit by this time so he's not bumping into anyone anymore but he does nearly land in my lap on one reverb. At this point I finally get a whiff of his stale alcohol stench. He smells like he bathed in a tub of out of date beer, whisky, and dentures a year past due for a cleaning. He stunk.

So as expected he moved onto the next victim. Me of course. He says something that I'm not able to hear with my headphones off so I remove them - This could be well worth it! What he said was that I was a good looking man. Ha. I laugh and thank him, he repeats it and I say thank you again. At this point everyone is watching and giggling. Its very funny actually but it soon gets even funnier. He tells me again for the 3rd time in a matter of 30 seconds and this time leans in for a smooch! I lean back as far as I can trying to avoid a lip lock but I'm trapped without much room to maneuver. Luckily it was my stop and I was able to avoid lip locking with the man that closely resembled the guy in the old school bitter beer face ads from keystone light.



All I could say at the time was 'I'm not THAT good looking!' And ran off the tube. Everyone was laughing hysterically, including me. I'm still laughing now and it happened an hour ago! Needless to say I was not expecting that to happen on a simple trip home from work! Gotta love London.

Lets hope its all worth it...

So since this summer I've been making excuses for not doing certain things - Something I normally don't do. It was all in an effort to get myself into business school. I am now done with the entire process and just waiting for accepts or dings.

It started this summer with my company sponsored Kaplan gmat course. This took up not only the 3 hours a week of class time, but determined to get a good score, I also studied most week nights and weekends. Sometimes I missed the few nice summer weekends we had this year, but it was supposed to be worth it. You must sacrifice to get things you want in life right?

Then after the course was over, I scheduled the exam and began gearing up my studies for that date, which scarily enough was Sept 11! Seeing the results of the exam, I was not overly impressed with my return on the time invested. I didn't do poorly but would have liked to do better. I didn't need a great score (ie 750) but a good score would have allowed me to write my own ticket to any school I wanted. That obviously did not happen, so the schools I was to apply to had been limited slightly.

I decided to apply to 3 schools - INSEAD in France, university of Texas in Austin, and rice university in Houston. Very different types of schools offering slightly different things. INSEAD - strong international focus, 1 year program, located near Paris, strong global reputation. UT - top 20 us business school, Austin period, study abroad opportunities, strong reputation with recruiters. Rice - top 50 us b school, in Houston (where I grew up), global business specialization.

In terms of application process, INSEAD was by far the most difficult. This may have been because it was the first one. It may have been because I only have myself 10 days to finish it all because I decided to plan a visit to NYC beforehand. Most likely it was because it required 8 essays. Over the course of the ten days running up to the December 5 deadline I spent an incredible amount of time writing essays, getting them reviewed (thank you so much to all involved in that process. You probably know far more about me than you would have cared to know but I must say your help was incredible and I could never thank you enough), rewriting essays, getting reviewed again, starting from scratch and writing them again. Many late nights were spent, a couple days off work, and numerous phone conversations with people I consider far more intelligent than I to help me along. The result - interview with INSEAD. Receiving this notice caused me much joy, but I was very surprised. INSEAD was my long shot school given my gmat score. My experience and essays must have been at least somewhat impressive.

I had 2 interviews, the first of which went well. A Canadian. We met at his offices in Mayfair and walked over to the nearest coffee shop. The interview was very conversational and he was very friendly. He asked the normal questions of why MBA, why now, why INSEAD, what do think the MBA will do for your long term goals, etc. He also asked about my medium term goals and we spoke about extra curriculars at the school. He was heavily involved in rugby and suggested that I do the same as the networking opportunities there were great. We had a few laughs and clicked on a personal level, which through my research of the INSEAD interview is very key. We ended with a thank you and nice to speak with you and I left the interview feeling good. That night things changed....

The second interview not so well. It was with an Englishman and he did not seem very happy with life...In short, he was not a very good advert for the school. When he described his past work experience, he mentioned 2 failed efforts after graduating and a 3rd that he is 'trying his luck at'. He was not even successful!

Apart from the fact that he barely skimmed over the most important questions to the process (why MBA/why INSEAD/work and personal experience) and focused more on philosophical questions - including the question, if you knew that if you gave the 100 pounds you were to spend on an ipod to a charity would save a life, and you didn't do it, what makes you any different than a murderer (Chinese riddle for you), the environment was entirely uncomfortable and unprofessional.

A few things i noticed: He drank a pint of alcoholic cider while only offering me water. we held the meeting in his home office. I sat on the couch and he in the desk chair giving him an immediate superior stance. He spent most of the night with his hands interlocked behind his head, leaning back in his chair. Most of the responses i gave were received as if he was uninterested and as if he just couldn't wait to ask the next question. From the beginning to the end of the interview he downplayed the importance of the interview saying "if i like you, that wont guarantee you acceptance and if i donut, that doesn't mean you will not get accepted into the school".This was the tone of the entire interview, including responses to every question. I'm not sure if he repeated this to calm me, but given everything else going on in the interview, my assumption is that he wanted to be in control of the situation. I left the interview completely confused, angry, and scared that this but held the cards to my future. Both interviews were last Monday and the more I think about it, the more confident I am in my prospect of being accepted, whether that is right or wrong remains to be seen...

The university of Texas application was next and was far easier to complete given the hard work with the INSEAD essays. UT required 3 + 1 optional essay. i completed this one just before Christmas so was able to enjoy the period with only the rice essays left. While in France snowboarding I received notification of a request for an interview, which happened yesterday. The interview went very well. We discussed the usual why MBA, why here, why now, etc, but was proposed with a few questions I did not expect: what do you think you do best and what do you expect to be the most difficult thing to deal with when at McCombs, apart from academics. I think I have pretty good answers...when I left the interview I felt fairly confident that I was going to be accepted but will find out in the next 2 weeks.

Last but not least was my rice application. This one was easy and difficult all at the same time, easy because it was only 3 essays and the topics could be translated from the first 2 applications, but difficult given all the hard work I had put in for the other two. I was just coming back from the holiday season which consisted of eating and drink lots, while working little so my motivation had all but disappeared. Luckily I gathered myself and got the essays done and submitted the application ahead of the Jan 14 deadline. A week later I was invited for a phone interview with a 2nd year student. This interview I was extremely nervous for as it was the first one I was going to do, but I was put at ease once the interviewer started. He was reading from a script. This meant the responses the were looking for were formulaic and as long as I could relate it to my background and experience, I was golden. So golden in fact that last week I received notification of acceptance into the Jones program for the class of 2010 with a 20K/year scholarship to boot!

Knowing that I will be in business school next year gives me a great relief and sense of accomplishment, but the next 2 weeks will tell if I will be able to make a decision on the prospect of multiple offers or take the only one that's offered me a place!! Wish me luck :-)

A gorgeous day in Cambridge

Football was canceled and had no plans in until 10:30PM so I decided to do more exploring of the UK. Sorta got lost out of the station but that is always to be expected with me. I knew I found my way when I found the common.


Here I found traditional weekend activities of university students and of British people in general. A couple of guys knocking a football around and a girls rugby team in training.



People her are generally happier than Londoners which arena obvious as its a college town but it definitely has a buzz about it that makes one feel good. Or maybe its just the happy music I'm listening to?

So as I meander through the half paved, half cobblestoned roads I come across kings college. Upon entering the chapel I am lucky enough to walk in on the orchestra and choir rehearsal. Now I'm not a big fan of operas but they were rather impressive I must say.


































Walking through the chapel is interesting as I am learning much about its history and relation to the British throne. Plus I am amazed by the architecture in most cathedrals and this one is no different. I have to say my interest is not properly vested being American. But as s man of the world (joke), it is not a waste of 5 pounds (not a joke).












































So I leave kings college chapel to the venture more walking around in the weather which is worsening as the rain comes down more steadily. I quickly realize how much nicer going to school here would have been than in Storrs, CT with the cows...



























































On another note: Im trying to find book called 'how to get into the top business schools' and wander into a book shop inconspicuously named Wesley Owen. In it, all I can find are books about the bible (not the actual bible funnily enough) and Christian worship CDs. Needless to say I haven't found my book yet.

And despite the REALLY urgent need to urinate, I pop into the apple store cuz I definitely need to add to my collection of 3 ipods. Could use a Mac computer though....

After repeated efforts to buy 2 books from 3 different book stores (where the first store, borders, an international chain, only sells the one book out of the us and doesn't carry the second book; the second store carries the 2 books but are out of stock; and the last store doesn't have one book but find the other book unfortunately when paying I realize that the CD part of the book has been stolen and there are no others in stock), I stumble on trinity college shortly followed by st john's college. I check out Trinity college and instantly prefer it to King's. Its multiple courtyards and marble statues are very charming.
















































Entering one of the buildings I am presented with another opportunity to see a rehearsal. This time a collection of horns. This time not as nice as the the choir and that would be generous. Ok no sugar coating, they were horrible. Lots of work ahead them I'm guessing. As for St John's, I don't even enter because frankly I'm bored of the colleges at this point and am really hungry and food always leads me to the next stage in life. But i did take a few pics...






















So with that I'm ready to sit at a pub, watch some football, eat a burger, and have a beer. Unfortunately I can't find a pub showing the game and the one I do settle on has a 25 minute wait for food! Miserable. So I decide to just catch the next train back to london. Thing is that the train is in 10 minutes, but I'm about a 15 minute walk away. My competitive nature kicks in and I commit to making this train. After walking briskly for a while I can now see the station but only have 2 minutes to make it so I pick up the pace with a full sprint. Weaving in and out of people on the sidewalk and narrowly missing getting run over by a perfectly innocent driver of a corsa, I reach the station in time and jump onto the train with only seconds to spare, breathing heavily gasping for air and sweating profusely!

Good cultural day trip in the bag, its time to do some good old fashioned partying back in London!!