got my grades!

I didn't screw up!  Thank God!  It'd been weighing on me!  Whew.

The winter-break is going by way too quickly.  It's too cold to go outside.  I've been indoors for the past 4 days.  I don't think there's ever been a period in my life that I've been indoors for so long at a stretch.

So what have I been doing?  I've been researching industries.  Apparently, the management consultants are going to throw all kinds of things at me in their case-interviews, and questions about "agri-business" are also fair game.  So I need to know what agri-business is all about, what the key-drivers are, etc. and blah.  Multiply that by 56, and you have a majority of industries covered.  Armed with a little "industry knowledge" you now have a leg up on your competition, and you're that much closer to "cracking the case."  That is, of course, provided you've practiced, like, 50 cases.  You've got to attend case-interview work-shops, read books (read books?!), and you mustn't forget the "fit" part of the interview, where they ask you about things on your resume -- shudders -- and "behaviorial" questions (no, spanking is not an acceptable punitive measure, I am told.)

As you can tell, I am really ecstatic about all this.

So I sent myself an email into the future, to be delivered a year from now.  I've asked myself what the weather's like.  No, seriously, it's a scary thing.  Try it at: http://FutureMe.org

Cheers.

it's snowing... in ahmedabad?!

Google's Sidebar is cool, but "cool" isn't always right...

feels like 0 degrees

That's because the weather man says so.  It's been cold, but I wouldn't know, because I've been studying!  Had a couple of finals already.  They were okay.  If I do well on them, I'll be real proud, because they were tough as hell!  Especially Accounting.  But that's to be expected at Chicago, I suppose.

This time last year was much the same for me -- in terms of time pressure --  I was applying to b-schools.  (I didn't have the excuse of Chicago cold to keep me inside, but inside I was, most of the time.)  So for those of you who're applying in the 2nd-round, here are some words of advice:

1. Rank-order your schools (in terms of YOUR preference) and work through them one at a time.
2. Work on your essays. Structure 'em.  Write first, edit later.  Simple language will do just fine.  Ask "So what?" after each paragraph.
3. Don't under-estimate the online app.  It takes a while.  You'll have to write out cogent paragraphs for your "responsibilities" at work.  You'll have to think about what you're going to write for your extra-curriculars.
4. Send reminders to your recommenders, because it's quite likely they haven't done anything yet.
5. Spend time on your resume.  (Think of it like two essays.)
6. Work your ass off for a couple of weeks.  Take time-off from work if you have to.  Next year will bring plenty of free time to rejoice and frolick and all that.