Eventful weekends

The last couple of weeks have been really busy. Class work has increased as we build on what we learned at the beginning of the module and start to look at more complex cases. Extracurricular activities have also increased. I was recently named Communications Senator and have also been asked to serve as president of the Technology Club. In addition, I joined a team of three other MBA students and one non-MBA teammate to work on a New Venture Project. This project is a requirement for school (the other option is an Integrated Consulting Project) and can lead into opportunities to participate in business plan competitions, and perhaps even turn it into a real business. Our business idea is related to wireless location-based services and was originally proposed by our teammate who previously worked for Redback Networks. Obviously, with my tech background I will be contributing on the technical aspects of the project, including working on a prototype. The first hurdle is getting our project approved. We submitted our proposal last Friday and are crossing our fingers.

Weekends have been equally active. Two weekends ago Julia and I spent three nights in New York City. We flew from Toronto Thursday afternoon after I had finished with Get Connected week, and that evening we went to see Spamalot on Broadway. I found it hilarious, and luckily Julia did too. I wasn't sure she would like it because not everyone "gets" Monty Python humour. I think the best part about this musical was that it parodied Broadway musicals, with ingenious musical numbers like The Song That Goes Like This and You Won't Succeed On Broadway.

Other highlights included visiting Wall Street, Times Square, Central Park, 5th Avenue, the Empire State Building, Carnegie Deli, Liberty Island, Soho, and the Museum of Modern Art. We got around mainly by subway and walking, although we had to take the occasional taxi. My overall impression of New York City: it is massive and there is constant activity. It truly lived up to my expectations. Both Julia and I can't wait to go back, although next time our trip will be quite different. We did tourist stuff mainly this time, so next time we hope to experience more culture, restaurants, and night life.

Outside the New York Stock Exchange on Wall St.


On Liberty Island in front of some obscure land mark.


Julia in Times Square


Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup Cans, 1962

Last weekend my parents visited Julia and me in London after returning from a two week vacation in Cuba. We met them in Stratford and watched Cabaret at the Avon Theatre. It was a fantastic performance that I think my MBA class would have preferred over The Music Man. Cabaret was quite edgy with much sexuality, and I wondered what the audience thought given that they were quite... aged. Bruce Dow starred as the Emcee and was incredible. Mom tells me that this is my brother's dream role, so who knows, maybe I will see Nick perform in Stratford one day.


Julia and I with Mom and Dad in Stratford, Ontario

We also took a day trip to the Niagara wine region. We visited four or five different wineries including Royal DeMaria, which is famed for its ice wines. When we first arrived we were greeted by the winemaker's wife who gave us a tour of all of the awards that they had won. I had never heard of Royal DeMaria before but apparently they are world renowned. They have won the most prestigious wine awards for some of their ice wines. Perhaps this is why they feel they can charge $250,000 per bottle for one of their vintages (no, that's not a typo). Fortunately they also sold some more resonably priced ice wines, so we bought a small bottle and shared it with dessert that evening.

There are about two weeks of classes before exams, and then I will be flying back to Vancouver for the Labour Day long weekend. I am looking forward to seeing my friend Jamie's new baby girl Zoe, who was born August 5th. I can't believe my best friend is now a dad!!