Graduated Marshall

My Main Homeslice Nathan

2006-10-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post this pic of Nathan, one of my main homeslices from Michigan. This is him and I in NYC, hours before my flight to Hong Kong. We had just had a beer at some little spot in Soho. And he was calling me a huge tool for carrying an umbrella. Apparently, it's not cool to carry an umbrella in NYC, especially anywhere south of midtown.

Wakeboarding in Hong Kong

2006-09-30T04:34:00.000-07:00

Went wakeboarding today in the Donkey Kong with three friends. Daniel (white guy) and Young (Korean guy) are my co-workers and Jason (tan hapa guy looking over his shoulder) is just somebody I met partying. Here are some pics...

Coming up on 1 Month in the Kong

2006-09-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

I've been working for a month now. And it hasn't been that bad. Monday through Thursday, I get off work between 10pm and 1am. Fridays, I've been able to leave at around 7pm, although I had a conference call at 9:30pm last Friday. (not money) And weekends have been relatively free. It seems like things are picking up a bit now, but it's not unbearable.

My apartment has been coming together slowly but surely as well. I started off with just a bed and a closet. Most of my clothes was on the floor and I would sit on my bed when I was in the apartment. Now, I have a sofa, a table, 4 chairs, a bookshelf. It actually feels like a home now. That'll be nice for the 2 hours I have at night to chill there before I go to sleep.

The social scene is HK is interesting. You can definitely do the clubbing thing and eat food at 6am drunk afterwards. There's also a super cool international more-bohemian scene in the "Soho" area. (not sure why it's called soho, since there's no Houston street) You can definitely find new cool small bars every time you go out. I've also managed to find a great place that plays good house music. And the food here is great. Let's see, what are the downsides of HK? Pollution, too crowded, bad teeth, <100% understanding of the local language...but whatever, I'm sitting in a cube all day anyway.

I wish I could upload some pictures, but given that I'm in the office right now, I'll do it later. Hope all is well with everyone.

Droppin' Barrells like Donkey Kong

2006-09-10T05:31:00.000-07:00

So I've been here in Donkey Kong for a whole week now. It flew by. I basically arrived last Sunday, bought all the necessities and moved into my apartment, and started work at 8am on Monday morning. It has been somewhat stressful, because my apartment has literally nothing in it except for a bed. I don't even have a table or a chair. So everything is on the floor and right now, as I am typing this blog entry, I am also sitting on the floor.

Work is good. The people are reasonably chill and the projects are interesting. I've discovered where the ramen place, the fruit smoothie place, and the breakfast place are. These are some of the essential building blocks of getting through the 90 hour work week. Luckily though, my first week was pretty chill - I probably only worked about 80 hours. And I didn't have to go in this past weekend which was great, because I had to go buy a bunch of furniture. None of it is arriving till later this week though. So it'll be more floor-sitting for another few days.

I don't really have any pictures to post this time, because I feel weird about going into work and snapping up some photos. Can you just imagine that? "Boss, mind if I snap a few quick pics to put on my blog?" As he looks at me with a weird face and gives me some sh*t work to do as punishment. That would be funny...and not so funny at the same time.

Anyway, I spent most of the weekend hanging out with Alice, my British friend that I met in Beijing. She's pretty chill so we had a good time. Ikea is a hell hole though. I got a few things, but I think I'm going to check out more of the boutique places to see what's available. I saw a lounge chair in a storefront today and went in to inquire about the price. $40,000HKD = $5000USD. Damn...maybe when I make MD.

Anyway, I'm going to walk to the store now and buy some laundry detergent. Could be interesting when I get back since I have no idea how to use the laundry machine. Hope all is well with everyone.

Oh, last night, I chilled with Nathan Chan, the recently married total stud.

Pictures from New York

2006-08-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Jessie with her eyes closed. Next to her is Debbie, the wife of Joe my co-worker at Lehman.
Some pictures from the Wu-Tang Clan concert that I went to by myself. I had two $10 rum and cokes and was buzzed, watching M-E-T-H-O-D Maaan go buck. It was fun and strange at the same time.

This is the flyer Will Kang made for the Say Bai 2 Lai party, my going-away from New York and the U.S. party. Cool, huh? I think I fit in quite well with the commie doggs.

I Heart Jersey City

2006-08-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

I've been in New York for a week now and it's been great. We started Associate training last Monday. Meeting all the people in my start class has been really fun - there are tons of total ballers and it makes me feel dumb and unqualified. BUT, I am Asian and I must keep working and working and working. Haha.

The highlight of my stay in the NY area so far is Jersey City. The bank put me up in a hotel in the JC, because many of our training events are out here. When I heard about the hotel location, I was not looking forward to the long train ride into Manhattan and the fact that the word "Jersey" is in the name of the place where I live. But now, I really like it here and actually, if I ever come back to New York for work, I would definitely consider living in Jersey City. There are many beautiful watefront properties and the area is great for running. It is quiet at night and it always seems to be breezy, something I never experience in Manhattan. Of course, there is a serious dearth of cool bars and restaurants, but who knows, maybe I just haven't found them yet. The people just seem way more chill too.

Last night, I had dinner with Uncle Calvin and cousin Piu Yip in NYC. It was fun. Afterwards, we went to the Empire State Building...which took way too long because there were tons of tourists there. After Uncle Calvin and Piu Yip went home, I met up with Will to have a few drinks at Crime Scene. I ran into Kanika and her friend Maggie on the street. We went to B Bar with them which was cool. Pictures displayed.

Learning more about Lehman and investment banking in general has been cool too. I am excited to start work and I feel good about my career choice...even though some people think I am weird or money-hungry to choose this job. I actually am interested in the work and look forward to doing deals.

Ah well, this will be life for the next whatever number of years...forever? Who knows. 2 years at a time.

Audi 5Thou - Cupertino In My Rearview

2006-08-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

I have officially left California. Right now, I am chillin' in the Detroit airport rockin' the wireless internet and waiting for my flight to New York La Guardia (pronounced LaGwaaahhhdia). It was kind of weird to leave. When I was packing, I kept thinking about what I could not bear to be without for the next X number of years, which was pretty much EVERYTHING. But after I took into account that Hong Kong is hot as hell, I quickly eliminated a bunch of sweatpants and sweatshirts. There are still a bunch of CD's and DVD's that I wanted to bring, but I guess I'll have to pick up my Ramones CD next time.

So on my last night, the characters were Lance, Cliff, and Arnie. We cruised to Duplex in SF to meet Daisy for her birthday party. Fortunately for us, she had a really hot black friend and a really cute sister. Unfortunately for us, we quickly became "shy Asians". Maybe in Hong Kong, the "shy Asian" disease will be overlooked because everyone will be a shy Asian. But then, all the Brit and Aussie dudes are going to come in and take our lunch money. Conclusion - it is never money to be a shy Asian. Just yell out "yeah son!" and start balling like you got 10 inches. (probably a direct quote from my friend Nathan who is rockin' out with his cockin' out in Buenos Aires)

Every time I am at the airport, which is quite often actually, I buy a copy of the Economist. I have no idea why. Maybe it's because I want to feel like an intellectual world traveler and that I need to be up to date with all the economic and political dealings of every freaking country in the world. What ends up happening though, is I read all the parts about the U.S. and maybe Asia and I skip all the stuff about the random "curreny deflation in Sudan" or whatever the f*ck else they have in there. I also like the fold the magazine in half length-wise, because then I feel like I've really dug into it and it's all wrinkled. When in actuality, the wrinkledness is forced and not due to any extensive reading I've done. What a poser I am. Even though I realize all of this, I continue to buy the Economist, because there is always this small small chance (like Dumb and Dumber 1 in a million small) that I will start to enjoy reading the random "recession in Laos" articles and it will begin a lifetime of worldliness. It's like that moment when you realize you enjoy drinking beer, like truly truly enjoy. I'm still waiting for that moment with the Economist.

Lastly, here is a picture of my really really cool cousin from Hong Kong. His name is Piu Yip and he is 14 years old. It's funny, because he is ridiculously tall and resembles Everett when Everett was younger. Right now, he's in LA with his uncle on the other side, but in September, he'll be back in Hong Kong, where the two of us will ball it up hard.

Oh wait, one more thing. I signed on an apartment in Hong Kong finally. It's the one with the view! Yes, the one I thought I had lost - it is now mine. Yeah son!

Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, San Francisco, New York

2006-07-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been over a month since I last wrote anything.

After LA, I went to Hong Kong to look for an apartment and found one with a view like this. Unfortunately, it was rented before I made an offer. I'm so lame for half-stepping on that one. It was interested to get a small taste of what my Hong Kong life would be like. Life is really fast there and the weather is f*cking humid and hot in June and July. I had a chance to have dinner and drinks with some of the people from the bank - it's definitely more chill now that I'm not recruiting anymore. It ALMOST, but not quite, seems like I'm one of the gang. Maybe that'll happen after a month or so. Who knows.

After Hong Kong, I went to Beijing to practice my Chinese. Prior to the trip, I was not looking forward to it at all. I kept thinking, "why am I wasting my vacation to go to Commie town and grind on some Chinese characters for a month?" But it turned out to be one of the best decisions of the summer. Gheorghe Pusta and I had a freaking awesome time. We were roommates in the dorms at the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) and we met a bunch of great people. Class would last from 8-12pm and afterwards, I would either go into town or play basketball or take a nap. At night, we would go out, sometimes get bottle service. Money. I decided that I like Beijing more than Shanghai. The people seem more grounded and honest. The city is way more chill too, which I like. Shanghai was just constant action and lack of sleep. But of course, it could all just be my state of mind while I'm in each city. Gheorghe definitely wins the most-improved award. His Chinese was not serviceable prior to the trip, but after a couple weeks, he was conversing with the waiters at restaurants and getting around fine by himself. His listening skills improved dramatically. Hear that, ladies? Gheorghe is a man who will listen to you.

Now I'm in Tokyo. I missed the last couple days of class to come out here and chill before heading back to San Francisco. The first night, I hit up Shinjuku by myself - scary. The Japanese guys were all wearing black suits and had long blond hair. None of them were smiling or looked like they were having a good time. I stuck out like a sore thumb. I kept getting solicited for prostitution, which got annoying, because I felt like I was trying to shoo away a fly every 2 minutes. The next day, I saw Senso-ji in Asakusa and strolled around Ginza. It was super nice, but super expensive. That night, I chilled with Keiko Shiine, my friend from business school. The next day, I woke up at 4:30am to go to the Tsukiji fish market and watch the fish distributors go through an auction process to get their tuna. It was awesome. I then pounded a whole bowl of toro for about $20 USD. From there, I took an hour train west to Kamakura to see a few temples and of course, the big Buddha Daibatsu. I had dinner with Keiko again that night. Her friend Hiroko, another Michigan MBA, joined us. It was a relaxing Italian dinner. Afterwards, they went home and I went to the jazz bar in the Park Hyatt in Roppongi Hills to have a drink. Bill Murray style. I even ordered an 18-years aged Japanese whiskey by Suntory. What was Bill Murray's line in the commercial? "Suntory times....is your time"? Something like that.

I'm leaving Tokyo this afternoon to go back to Cali and pack up my stuff. From there, I'm off to New York for training. And so it goes....

Back in the Bizzzay

2006-06-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

The month spent in LA went by way too quickly. The second half of my month there was spent playing a lot of golf. I even got some new irons and a new putter with the discount Dave has at Roger Dunn Golf Shop. When I first started playing again, I was shooting around 115, but after a few more rounds, I was down to around 100. Now I'm officially re-obsessed with the sport.

I think beach living is amazing. That was my first time actually living on the beach and I think that is my new life goal. Realistically, it's not that expensive or out-of-reach - I guess it just depends on what you want to spend your money on. Would the beach get old after awhile? Would I not care anymore after a year or two? Who knows.

Now I'm back in the Bay Area. My mom left for India last night. She's going to go see the Dalai Lama in his hometown. I forgot the name of the town, but it is very close to Nepal. In my opinion, that is an awesome opportunity and I'm glad she went. My brother is leaving for Utah in a couple days for his summer internship at VSpring. I'm happy that he has a such a great summer job. Next year will be key for him as he decides whether to pursue engineering or business. And I will leave for Hong Kong and Beijing on Monday to look for an apartment and practice my Chinese. That leaves my dad at home alone for a couple weeks, but I don't think he cares. It's interesting how everyone is moving around these days.

Beach Cottage Style

2006-05-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

I have been living in a small beach apartment for about 6 days now and I have done NOTHING. Rahul and I have slept at around midnight almost every night. We have also been mowing through Lost Season 1 episodes - I am officially addicted. I went back to Blockbuster today for discs 5 and 6 and they did not have disc 6. I was pissed.

A couple days ago, we played another 9 holes of golf, but on the way to the course, we picked up a six-pack of 16 oz. Miller Lites. It was hilarious. We were playing with three older, somewhat serious, golfers (yes, we had a fivesome) and they probably thought we were huge clowns. At one point, Rahul approached the tee box with beer in hand, set his beer down on the grass, and took his shot. The rest of us were looking on and I was laughing my ass off, but only on the inside. By the time we finished the 8th hole, both of us had to piss so bad that we skipped the 9th hole and called it a day.

Last night, we met up with Nathan in Santa Barbara. He was actually there this time. His parents were nice enough to invite us to dinner and I had an awesome steak along with a couple margaritas. We also had a chance to meet his brother Jonathan who is getting married on Saturday to Laura, a nice Chinese girl. It was good to see Nathan again - it definitely brought back some memories of when we clowned hard in Ann Arbor.

Today, we ventured out to Malibu to do some surfing. We found this dude Kiyo on Craigslist who would supply the boards and wetsuits and take us out for a reasonable fee. It was ridiculous. I had surfed in college, but I never got very good - it was so much better having Kiyo there to show me what I was doing wrong. It was Rahul's very first time surfing and all things considered, he did pretty well. He rode one wave all the way into shore. We are now exhausted and must rest up for the evening's activities.

Santa Barbara 4 No Reason

2006-05-19T22:15:00.000-07:00

I arrived in LA a few days ago and caught up with some of my old friends from college. Rahul arrived a few days after I did. We have been having an awesome time out here relaxing and partying.

Two days ago, Rahul and I drove up to Santa Barbara, because we thought our friend Nathan was going to be there for his brother's wedding. In fact, Rahul had double-checked with Nathan over e-mail that he would be there on May 18. We stayed overnight in a Motel 6 and fully expected to get in touch with Nathan the next morning. When we called him the next day, his phone was turned off so we thought maybe he had deactivated his cell phone. I came up with the idea that we should check the wedding website (yes, Nathan's brother has a wedding website) for the hotel contact info. The first thing I saw when the website loaded was that the wedding was scheduled for May 27th. Rahul and I had arrived a week too early! We felt dumb.

BUT, we made the best of the situation. We went for a long run along the beach. Then we ate a good breakfast. Then we played 9 holes of golf. Then we ate lunch. So even though we had gone to SB by mistake, it was still a positive experience.

The other hilarious thing is that when we got back to LA, we need a place to crash, because we don't move into our beach condo until tomorrow. So we found this crappy motel on Expedia.com for $77 a night. It is called the Hollywood Downtowner. The sign outside the motel is really sparkly too which is even funnier.

LA 4 Life, Son!

2006-05-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving for LA today. I'm going to be there for a month and it's going to be risidulisky.

Prior to business school, I lived at my parents' place for 2 years. It was 10 minutes from work and I thought it was a financially-smart move. AND, I thought it wasn't so bad and that I could do it long-term.

Now, I have become Graduated Marshall and I've been at my parent's house for 2 weeks. Not money. I just can't handle the shitload of unsolicited opinions and "advice" that I get while I'm in the middle of a movie or eating. Result - going to LA and then going to China and then going to New York and then moving out of the country for a few years is going to be awesome. Maybe after a few more years of doing whatever the hell I want anytime I want will get it all out of my system and when I return back to Cali, I'll be able to do THREE weeks at home.

Check back for insane pics of LA.

Baby Frenzy

2006-05-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

Harriet Ross, my older cousin, just had a baby (Collin is shown on the right). And my close friend Grace Chan also just had a baby. What the hell is going on? Over the last 2 years, I have taken zero steps towards the phase of life that they are in. In fact, I have probably made negative progress. Business school was a constant party - finding a "serious girlfriend" was an extremely low priority. It still is. The funny thing is that most of my buddies in business school now have girlfriends. Did I miss the memo on that one? I'm like the guy who's still taking shots at the bar when everyone else is saying to each other, "hey, it's now time to find a serious girlfriend." Oh well. You can see a picture here of me with my new nephew, Collin Alexander Ross! He is awesome - he was passed out the whole time I was there to visit him. Harriet, Geoff, and I went to Elephant Bar to have a quick lunch. He just chilled at the table with us, sleeping. Collin and I both have the talent of being able to sleep through ANYTHING. He was snoring too, just like me. I want his life.

Opening Blog Post

2006-05-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

I graduated from business school on April 28, 2006 and realized that in a short period of time, my life is not going to be as fun anymore. In September, I'll be moving to Hong Kong to work a million hours per week for Lehman Brothers. Until then, I have a few things planned in order to maximize the fun while I can. I rented a beach condo in LA for a month - I'll be moving in next Monday. After Father's Day, I'll also be going to Beijing for about 5 weeks to learn and practice my Chinese.

This past weekend, I cruised to Napa with Andrea, Lance, and Andrea's cousin Daisy. It was a good crew. We hit up 2-3 wineries each day in the two days we were there. I actually learned quite a bit about wine on this trip. My favorites were Cakebread, Sterling, and Franciscan. We also had a 2BD suite in the Chateau Hotel...which is actually not that nice of a hotel and is why we can afford to have the 2BD suite. For dinner on Friday night, we hit up the CIA Wine Spectator Greystone restaurant. Nice decor, great service, and good satisfying food. I had oysters on the half shell, a guyere souflee french onion soup, and a lamb sirloin. Dessert was a huge chocolate souflee shared by the table. I could barely walk after dinner.

Last night, I had a dinner party for a bunch of my family's friends. Eric Chan and Grace Chan were in the house. Grace Chan's new son Dylan was also here. Irene Sun and Monique Chan made it out. Of course, all the parents were here fawning over Dylan and making fun of the kids. My mom made some ridiculous pork ribs and two huge tri-tip steaks. I contributed a smoked salmon platter and an apple walnut salad copied from something I had at Zingerman's (jewish deli in Ann Arbor). My brother, being the superstar that he is, contributed two platters of sashimi (all yellowtail and salmon) - obviously a huge hit at the party. We also had some decent wine from Bogle Vineyards. A chardonnay prior to dinner to go with the hummus and smoked salmon and a merlot during dinner to go with all the meats. After dinner, we played UNO (remember that game?). I never won a game. And there were stakes as well - everyone but the winner had to do 30 seconds of wall-sit. This is where you sit against the wall as if you were on a chair and your legs must make a 90 degree angle. So basically, I was doing wall-sit for about 90 seconds. Fun times.

This concludes my initial entry for my new Blog. Hopefully, I will find the time to continue to make entries over the next few years. Peace out homies.