Hello!

I know, I know – two emails in one week and the first being REALLY long (which I can tell was too long based on the number of people who said something like, “I started to read it and then saw I had to scroll down and stopped reading”).  But I thought I would pass along a quick update on the internship, more specifically, what I think may be world class hazing … (particularly amazing #3 and #5) J

I am not sure if these events are intended as hazing or just a function of working at a larger company…

Computers need power? I was given a laptop but no power cord, so Tuesday morning I worked as long as I could until the computer died and set out to find a cord which took a mere 30 minutes of beg, borrowing and stealing…

Cubicles need power? When I finally got the cord and excitedly plugged it into my cube, the computer continued to function in it’s primary role as a paper weight.  After more conversations and some experimenting, I learned my cubicle didn’t have power. How is that possible?  Well, someone had systematically removed EVERY SINGLE POWER CORD from my cube…

You Lack Authorization – Not to be deterred, I tried calling the IT help desk to get assistance and discovered my phone doesn’t work.  Borrowing my neighbor’s, I had a brief call with IT with the following dialogue:

Nick: My phone isn’t working in my cubicle and I’ve tried a variety of settings/cords/etc… can you help?

IT: Yeah, it looks like you aren’t authorized to have a telephone.

Nick: You mean a cellphone or the actual phone at my desk?!

IT: Yeah, no phone at all.  You’ll need your manager to authorize a phone for you.

Nick: … … …

An Office Oasis – As I tried to busy myself with non-electrical, non-telephonic tasks, like using my abacus and washing clothes down by the steam, I thought I’d settle into my work space.  Opening the first drawer, I discovered a large cache of water bottles and Kleenex.  I can only conclude that these are supplies to help me through the numerous times I’ll curl up and cry under my desk.  Evidence Below:

The Teletubies meet the Exorcist – Somehow I failed to think to thoroughly check and all aspects of my newly issued computer; but on day three through an accidental opening and closing of the CD drive.  After a slight pause, what I can only describe as … the things that nightmares are made of… started to play.  It seemed to be a cross between 1) Teletubey-like Arabic singing 2) an angry demon from Exorcist and 3) Buddhist chanting.  For some reason, the CD picture is of grown men dressed as mice.

Linguistic Training – Thinking to hide in the world of day long online training, I logged into Medtronic’s software to discover someone had changed my settings to French.  Still trying to find the button for English.

No-Way Pay-Day – Lastly, and I think may be a strong indicator that I am not actually intern and just randomly showed up… there were issues with payroll.  I tried unsuccessfully to login twice every day since Monday, on Thursday I called HR to get help.  I asked if I could update my address from my California apartment to Minneapolis, she said it was too late and offered the helpful suggestion: “Since the check has already been issued could you just swing by and pick it up?”  I wasn’t really sure how to respond… so she took my silence as a maybe.  She did offer to see what address it was being sent and came back with “Do you live at 7000 Medtronic Way?” … which, even though it was only my third day… I knew that was Medtronic’s World Headquarter address and I hope to God I won’t be living there!

So … we’ll see what adventures the rest of the summer bring!

Hope you are all doing well – I am off to my brother’s wedding!

Nick

Sawubona (Zulu: Greetings)!

I hope everyone is having a great summer thus far – whether you are in school or not!  It has been a crazy month – end of my first year of school, 3 weeks in South Africa, starting my internship at Medtronic – and I am still slowly getting my ‘working legs’ underneath me.    There is no ‘good’ way to tell all of the stories and recount some of the more memorable moments, so I’ll embrace an old consulting adage for this email …  ‘How do you are eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.”

Minneapolis – I’ve come home-ish!

For those of you who haven’t followed my amazingly entertaining Facebook activity, I’m back in Minneapolis for the summer (till August 23^rd).   I was here briefly in May to get some logistical items ironed out before jetting off to South Africa for 3 weeks.  A big sorry to those of you who wanted to get together, it truly was a lightning fast trip with almost no free time.

• Apartment – I am living in Downtown Minnie, (13000 Yale Place) in apartment 434.  When I checked in the lady suggested I proactively mention that I am staying on the “Penthouse Level,” so if someone comes and visits they shouldn’t look for the fourth floor button.  I simultaneously had three thoughts: 1) Awesome!  Penthouse! 2) Wait, what a Penthouse on the fourth floor? 3) How dumb does this lady think my friends are?  “Oh my god! Nick said the fourth floor but all I see is 1, 2, and P???  Maybe if I hit 2 twice it will go to the fourth floor!
• Vehicle – My dad in either an act of wonderful generosity or cruel and unusual torture is letting me use one of his trucks for the summer.  So, I am taking a tumble from the period sweet rentals to the dirtiest truck left in operational existence.  When he gave me the keys [and I think he was hiding a smirk], he carefully passed along some help instructions/observations:

o   “Don’t worry, I cleaned up the car for you” – in Fargo-ian speak translated as taking a semi-dry handkerchief and  whipping the interior windshield.

o    “If it doesn’t start or the security light comes on, just sit for a while and try again, it will eventually work.” – which, I interpret as the worst security system ever, but it does offer me a regular opportunity to practice meditation.

o   “Don’t EVER use the electric cigarette lighters “ – turns out this was a big one, shorts the whole vehicle.   Also, turns out that you are never too old to want to disobey your parents when they speak in absolutes J

o   “You will notice an erratic ding-ing sound, that is just the broken fuel pump, you’ll get use to it” – ‘you’ll get use to it…’ is maybe the grossest underestimate of the situation ever.  Driving a truck 4 hours from Fargo to Minneapolis with a bell chiming ever 4-12 seconds almost drove me (and the car over the edge).

Here is my address, feel free to send cards, cookies, love, whatever..

1300 Yale Place #434 |  Minneapolis, MN  |  55403

South Africa … 1 Million Managers… 1 Million Malls…1 Million Memories (or not, I just wanted an alliteration)  

1 Million Managers – For those of you who are scratching your head wondering about this whole South Africa thing … refer to previous emails for details.  But in short, I was working with an organization called African Management Initiative (AMI), who is focused on improving management education in Africa through online resources, eLearning, etc.    I wrote a brief blog post – link – if you are craving more info.

On a whole, the trip was pretty good.  It was sort of like consulting on crack.  Note, when I say crack – I am not referencing that the consulting work was WAY crazy-hard/intense/etc.  Instead, I am referencing the fact that for the first time ever, I had to spend almost EVERY waking moment with three people, but particularly my other XY-chromosome’d colleague.  When I say every waking moment, I mean… outside of showering and the times I would lock myself in the bathroom and cry (<-jokes…there was no lock on the bathroom door) I didn’t get time alone until day 10 of the trip when everyone went to the movies and I just sat on my bed and enjoyed silence J!

We got do participate in some wonderful experiences that I wasn’t able to do when I went to the World Cup in South Africa (2010):

• Safari – Which, was awesome!  I don’t care if anyone thinks they are too cool for safaris, anytime you see a bad-ass elephant rip a tree out of the ground to eat it… you are inspired.
• Lion Park – Got to visit a lion park and pet a lion cub, which was AMAZING (Pause for ethical acknowledgement, I get that petting drug-stupefied animals is not good and by paying to do it I am supporting the continued practice, which is bad… that being said, I GOT TO PET A FREAKING LION CUB!).  We also got to pet a full-grown Cheetah named Eddie… actual conversation:

Trainer – You can pet him here, behind his head, with long easy strokes.  You can tell he likes it he is purring.

Nick – Awesome!

[Nick petting Cheetah, purring]

[Cheetah stops purring]

Nick – Uh… sir… what does it mean when he stops purring?!

• Tours – We got tours of downtown Johannesburg, including a trip to a traditional Zulu market, which was amazing.  When we told people at the place we were working about it several people responded with the following remarks – “I’ve never been there!” or “I haven’t been there in 15 years…”   We also toured the Alex Township, which was a less-touristy version of Soweto (famous black township where Mandela lived).  It was fascinating to see how people live, and the stark contrast between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’.
• Cape Town – LOW LIGHT – I returned to Cape Town with one objective, to go to the top of Table Mountain since I wasn’t able to in 2010 due to weather.  That being said, it was the WORST weather ever, and I wasn’t able to (again).  When I say worst weather ever, it literally hailed one day, to which a clerk at the coffee shop we sought shelter said, “I haven’t seen hail in like 20 years…”

Oh..  as for the 1 Million Malls reference… it was a quick acknowledgement of Johannesburg’s crazy indoor-only culture.  Everyone lives in gated communities, travels only by vehicle (typically, personal cars), and spends all of their leisure time in malls… which, come to think of it is a lot like MN 😛

Medtronic –

I started my internship yesterday; which was awesome.  I think, but I’m not sure, my title is: Global Upstream Product Marketing for Neuromodulation Deep Brain Stimulation.  Please don’t ask what that means, I am not really sure…  I had some movie-esque-Nick Kroshus moments:

• Start with a Pop! – After my morning training & orientation, I joined a meeting at 11:30.  As I was introduced to the team members, saying hello – I reached to shake a gentleman’s hand sitting across the table.  As I leaned in, I accidentally knocked an entire bottle of Diet Pepsi (<- product placement ) all over the woman’s laptop.  It is tough to articulate the horror/klutz-y/stupidity/etc. I felt in that moment…
• Exotic Travel – I get to keep traveling!  As I was talking to the undergrad intern working in my area, she shared that they want her to go to China for a couple weeks.  So when my manager mentioned that she wanted me to take a trip as well, I was incredibly excited until she said she wanted me to go to Seattle…

Overall, it has been a great day and half – and I am sure I’ll have a number of updates to share in the coming weeks!

Lastly, I am working on my brother’s best man speech for this Friday.  For those of you who have memorized my calendar, you’ll note that this is the second year in a row that I am a best man on June 14^th – last year, I was Jack’s best man in Puerto Rico; and this year for my brother.  That being said, I’d like to keep this June 14^th streak alive… so anyone considering getting married next June 14 (it’s a Saturday! ) let me know if you need a best man.

All of my love!  Stay warm (or cool) and I hope to hear from you!

Nick

PS.  Feel free to pass along some quotes I can use in my best man speech … still in drafting mode!

Hi Everyone,

As I sit down to draft this email, an obscure quote from Dances with Wolves kept going through my mind, “Now why don’t he write?”  I apologize for my delayed writing of this email – I promise to make it up in both quality and quantity in the coming months.  There are a tremendously amazing updates I wanted to share with you all.

First, let me thank everyone for reaching out and asking for ‘official’ and unofficial updates on my life.  I can’t say enough how blessed I feel to have a huge support network of friends and family who are interested in and care about my life.  Secondly, if your request for an update was intended to be sarcastic, I totally missed and you are going to get the update anyway!

Warren Buffett – What a bust!

To be fair, the trip had a number of amazing highlights – it was the MBA equivalent of the “Beiber Fever” for teenage girls.  However, I had hoped to convince him to adopt me and take me on his sole heir and successor, which (sadly) did not happen.  On an incredibly positive note, the trip was truly amazing.  Twenty classmates and I were able to visit 3 of Omaha-based companies that Berkshire Hathaway owns (Nebraska Furniture Mart, Borsheim Jewelers, and Oriental Trading Company).  But the highlight was sitting through a 2 hour Q&A session and having lunch with Warren (notice, we are now on a first name basis).

• Did you actually get to meet him?

Heck yes!  After the Q&A I had the opportunity to shake his hand and tell him I thought he was “insightful.”   Which is sort of like telling Michael Jordan he is athletic.

• Were you able to talk to him?

At lunch, I happened to sit down at his table.  I (swear to God) had no idea he was at the table when I sat down (3 seats away).  Part of the biographies were true…

No, he did not eat a cheeseburger for lunch.

Yes, he did have Cherry Coke.

Yes, he had a giant root beer float for dessert (it was easily twice the size I was given).

Yes, he paid!

During the lunch he was talking with the people around him and it dawned on me that it was my ONE chance in life to ask him a question.  While I had spent hours formulate the ‘perfect’ question, it was a bit to complicated to convey over the din of everyone eating and chatting.  So I asked,

“What do you think were the key factors in sustaining a successful partnership over 50 years?”

And he had a very insightful response that I barely heard because I was excited that once he started talking I just started hearing a dull ringing sound in my ears, sounded a lot like:

“MMMMmmmm mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm mmm”

Later a friend recapped his exact advice which was,  “Trust, honesty, you need to do things without expecting something in return, realize that they have your best interests at heart and never hold mistakes against each other. “

If you were wondering, the question I wanted to ask was:

“Berkshires & [Buffett’s] investment strategy has focused on investing in companies with easily understood business models, resulting in [Buffett] passing on high-tech opportunities like Google.  Given the rapid evolution of technology and the creation of more sophisticated business models, how would [Buffett] propose investors continue to follow this strategy?  Should investors struggle to stay on the bleeding edge of technology or, instead, invest in mature, semi-dated technology firms?

• Were there any ‘dumb’ questions? 

Yes!  The worst… far and away… was an MBA student from Chicago-Booth asked “When you are valuing a company do you use a Discounted Cash Flow?  If so, what rate do you use?”  For the non-finance readers, this amazing chef how finely they dice onions – likely, he doesn’t do that work anymore and if he did, it would be subconscious, not an active decision.

 I wanted to share the photo evidence of the event – while I know it can be confusing who is who because both Warren and I have gray hair, he is the one the front row surrounded by the ladies.

While there have been a number of other exciting events happening, I thought I would call this email done so you all aren’t overwhelmed by the reading.  I hope you all are doing great and I hope to hear from more than a few of you!

Mid-west peeps, try to get rid of that snow sometime before I start my internship this summer.  Everyone else, don’t live in the Midwest. J

Nick

Hi All,

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone is having a relaxing evening after working themselves back into the workweek.  I am sure some of you were expectantly waiting for an update last week but I had to take a short sabbatical to accommodate a CRAZY schedule.  But read on for some exciting updates…

Birthday Update

As some of you may know – Saturday, I turned 29 years old on Saturday which was great on a few levels.

• I am starting to reach an age where having gray hair doesn’t solicit comments like “Wow! That is so weird!”
• I am still not 30 (Sorry, Jack)!
• You are never too old to be creative or try something new

A)     After being spoiled the last two years with peanut butter pies on my birthday, I was committed to continuing this highly enjoyable and caloric tradition…however, I discovered I lacked a critical kitchen utensil required for maximizing the creamy texture…

**Yes, I actually did create this.  I call it a “Kro-Vention” J

B)      My friends at school were incredibly generous and thoughtful and organized a “Cooking Class” with a professional chef.  It was an amazing experience and confirmed why I eat at restaurants, rather than cooking at home – a total inability to follow recipes.

1. Also, I learned that Arugula is a type of lettuce, not a type of cheese.

Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes!  It was amazing to have such a wonderful outpouring of virtual and digital love!

Summer Internship – Decided

After a grueling number of interviews with a variety of different companies, I decided to return to Minneapolis this summer to work as a Marketing Associate at Medtronic.  Specifically, working in the Neuromodulation division on their Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) products  – seriously, I could not make this up if I tried.  I thought I would share the link for the company page because there is no way I will be able to answer your questions!

Granular Details:

Living: I will be living in a company-provided apartment in Downtown Minneapolis (with a roommate)

Working:Doing international business development and marketing (<- whatever that means!)

Timing: June8th – August 23

Miscellaneous

Minnesota Trip (Again!) – I am going to be headed back to Minneapolis this Friday to watch the Boys State High School Hockey Tournament.  I know, I know … Nerd alert!  Regardless, if you are around and want to celebrate some Birthday Boots of Beer – let me know, I am arranging fiesta at Gasthof’s!

Friend of the Month Award:  In a tightly-contested race, Jack Henkemeyer won the ‘Friend of the Month Award’ in the 11^th hour.  Special shout-out to Jack for making the long trip to California to visit me …  and in the process befriending and stealing all of my friends.  No joke, he went for morning runs with my roommate, has been emailing one of my other classmates.  I am not sure how I feel about the fact that he is more popular than I am…

Hope your weekend was great and you had some laughs!

Nick

PS.  Thank you again to everyone for the birthday wishes!  And if you didn’t, no sweat… my birthday is always overshadowed by Dr. Seuss’s birthday…

Hi All,

I am sure most of you are frantically scrolling through Amazon to see what weird Valentine gifts you can purchase for your loved one(s) [if the (s) portion of “ones” applies to you please respond with details, I imagine there is a crazy story there].

Thank you to everyone who is responding to my electronic mail messages, it warms my heart to hear how everyone is doing!  That being said, let me kick this off:

Interviews are Ridiculous – Correction, I am ridiculous in interviews.  I realize my capacity for being mature and professional has a finite limit which is about…90 minutes of interviewing in a day… If that number is exceeded, ridiculous things can happen for instance:

Samsung Case Interview:After totally bombing out the basic math portion of the case (by bombing, I mean I failed to successfully multiply 25 by 45) the following conversation took place with the interviewer.

Interviewer:  Nick, out of curiosity, what was your GMAT score?

Nick: It was 7##.

Interviewer: Oh… so you can do math.  Alright, well do you have any questions for me?

Nick: Absolutely, Samsung will or will not provide calculators to its interns…?

Interviewer: Uh… we will.

Nick: Okay, I am pretty much set then!  Thanks!

Medtronic Interview (4 of 5):In a marathon, career fair-style session, I had to interview for almost an entire day last Friday.  In the home stretch, the interviewer asked “How would your close friends describe you?”  to which I immediately responded “They would say I have gray hair…”  After realizing that was NOT what she was looking for, I tried to battle back… but it may have been a little moot at that point.

Next Planned International Trip (for now) … South Africa – For one of my courses, I (and 3 classmates) am going to be helping the African Management Institute (AMI) develop a strategic marketing plan for how to expand their mission and reach throughout the continent.  Generally, they want to provide managerial education to the middle managers of Africa.

While I am incredibly excited about the opportunity and the focus, there was one moment where I realized ‘holy smokes, this is crazy’.  When having our first call, the manager of the program said her goal for the program was to have 1,000,000 managers paid and enrolled by 2023 (10 years …. See, I can do math!).  When I asked how many members they have currently (hoping to hear 990,000), she said… 300 members but 2000 people visit their website a month.  After I picked myself up off the floor after being knocked over in shock by the goal, we continued the conversation.  If we even get close to that number, it will be a huge success…. I’ll keep you all in the loop!

Outside of my humorous little anecdotes, things have been going tremendously well.  I love being in school, living in the warm Bay Area, and getting to spend time with fabulous people every day.

Good luck trying to convey your love and devotion to your significant others via heart-shaped candies!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Nick

Hi All,

Good morning!! As I sat on the plane and tried to conjure up the best way to relate the wonderfully wild and interesting adventures I’ve had over the past few weeks, I struggled to think of when I would find the time to write this email.  Thankfully… jet lag solved my problem for me by waking me up at 3:00 AM after a three hour nap… J

So, let me start here… I hope my email finds you in good spirits, enjoying the new year.  I am not sure if you are tired of receiving my “Bucket List” / general email communication (certainly, let me know if you are!) but several people have mentioned how much they appreciate it.  Personally, it has been a blessing for trying to keep in touch with people and something I will likely continue to do and hopefully send more frequently.  If you shuddered briefly there and thought “MORE EMAILS!?” – let me explain.  After a long flight with nothing to do but think about New Year’s Resolutions I realized I have become trapped in a vicious “Friend/Phone Call” Catch 22 – I struggle to find time to talk with people so I chat with friends infrequently, which leads to longer phone calls, which makes it even harder to find time (and enthusiasm) for phone calls which makes them even less frequent which makes them even longer which… I hope you can see where this is going J

So, my solution is this:  I am going to send you an email with my little updates and I hope you respond with interesting news and exciting observation or we can follow-up with a phone call.  My goal isn’t to eliminate verbal conversations, but I do want to help cut them in half by removing some of my update!

Please forgive any typos- I refused to proof read this!

Onto to my trip! 

After a couple unsuccessful attempts to share stories with friends and family and numerous failed attempts at starting this email, I realized the unique challenge I face when summarizing the trip is that the experiences that made the trip so meaningful/unique/_insert positive adjective here_ were had to summarize with a few photos and words.  As I was motoring along in a water taxi around Inle Lake I realized that the trip was less about sights, sounds and smells and more about the experiences and emotions I felt…

…The peace and serenity as I biked around Bagan and the 1200 religious stupas and pagodas built millennia ago…

…Holding two Thai orphans hands after we delivered gifts and spent a morning playing with them on New Year’s Eve…

…The small vibrations that made my teeth chatter while taking a boat taxi around Inle Lake…

…Sharing a wonderful start to 2013 as I watched fireworks burst overhead at a rooftop NYE party in Bangkok…

…The paralyzing terror of seeing the whites of the oncoming driver’s eyes as our driver made the bold decision to pass a truck while we went around a mountain bend…

…The relief of getting off our final domestic flight in Burma after the worst landing ever (note: I’ve conservatively experienced over 600 airplane landings) landed…

I promise I’ll try to avoid waxing poetically or writing sentimental gobbly-gook– but, it was way too difficult to just jump right into stories… onto the FAQ (which builds in some interesting observations and educational aspects… I inserted some links so you can reference the wiki articles on some of the places I travelled.

Where exactly did you go again? 

For those of you who are scratching your heads in wonder and thinking, “I didn’t know Nick left the country,” let me get you up to speed.  I left on December 27^th for Southeast Asia and didn’t return until January 13.  When I was there I spent my time across the following places:

Bangkok, Thailand (5 days) – Bangkok (capital city of Thailand) was phenomenal but likely different than most individuals because I failed to visit/explore of any of the landmarks/historic sites.  I am sure you are asking yourself how/why I that would happen?  The short version is I was in Bangkok with a number of classmates who arrived a few days ahead of me and saw all of it already and no one really wanted to back to a tourist trap twice in a week – can you imagine going to the top of the Empire State Building two times in one week?  Also, one of my classmates is from Thailand (fun fact: his dad was one of the ranking Admirals of the Thai army) and he organized some “off the beaten path” excursions, which included: 1) visiting a local, outdoor market in suburban Bangkok, 2) visiting an orphanage to deliver toys and play with the kids [my Mohawk was a hit!], 3) participating in Buddhist New Year’s celebration & meeting the religious leader of the temple.

I will mention quickly – Thailand is where Red Bull was first created.  My classmate’s parents made small gift bags that included a bottle for us (costs maybe 30 cents compared to the $4 dollars we pay in the US).  Feeling a little jet lagged, I was super eager to try it… downing it all in one gulp (note: it isn’t carbonated there.. just the syrup)…  Feeling pretty pleased with myself I mentioned it to some friends who stared at me in horror.  Evidently, they all received a warning that I missed that the Red Bulls in Thailand are concentrated and, in their words, “a single bottle is like drinking four 5-Hour Energy drinks”… I was up until 3 AM that night so I would say they estimates were pretty accurate 😛

Incidentally, we had an opportunity to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Bangkok which involved a roof top party with 1000 people dancing to rave/trance/electronica.  Not entirely my scene, but it did seem like the perfect background for some crazy scene in a Bond movie where the villain would go parachuting over the edge to get away… just my two cents.

Yangon, Myanmar/Burma (2 days) – Yangon is the former capital of Myanmar/Burma and its major commercial hub.  Let me pause for two quick fun facts on this:

Fun Fact #1:  The reason I keep saying Myanmar/Burma is because the whole name change happened in the last 5 years and it switched from Burma to Myanmar.  The reason the issue is slightly contentious is because the government changed the name without asking anyone’s opinion … however, most people do agree the name Burma wasn’t exactly accurate/right because Burma is the name of the largest ethnic group in the country but there are over 130 unique ethnic distinctions.

Fun Fact #2:  The new capital city was established in 2006 and was planned city, built by the government to reflect its power/authority/yadda yadda yadda.  We never went … but I heard it is pretty terrible.

We spent a whirlwind couple days traveling around the city – seeing one of the largest Buddhist temples/complexes (Shwedagon Pagoda) which was one of the most amazing and marvelous religious symbols I have ever visited (easily on par with Notre Dame).  It is difficult to convey how awe inspiring it is, but from a quantifiable aspect… suffice to say that the entire temple area is coated in over 7 TONS of gold.  Which when you looked at the abject poverty just outside the gates, I couldn’t help but wonder if those resources could have been allocated a little differently (especially, given the fact the average Burmese person earns $4/day).

The only other quick story I’ll share – when I was reading about Burma they made a note in the Lonely Planet that we would most definitely be spied on.  While I am only 20% sure the gentlemen we encountered was a spy… there was a very curious and “helpful” citizen who walked with me and my small group for 10-15 minutes asking questions about our trip, while they started normal enough they eventually slipped into a more invasive vein about what our thoughts/views on the Burmese government are.  I was ready to write the experience off as a possible culture breakdown and not a spy, until he repeatedly showed up around our group during the rest of the day… first on the street, later outside of our lunch restaurant, and hours later he saddled up again as we were in a market…

Mandalay, Myanmar/Burma (2 days) – Easily the least touristy place we traveled to in Burma.  We spent most of time exploring some of the off the beaten path destinations: 1) the Mandalay bridge – a 20 foot high, 1000 year old, rickety bridge that monks and pilgrims cross each morning to visit a Buddhist temple.  2) we climbed Mandalay hill which was a 600 M hike up that we had to perform barefoot to see the sunset… unexpectedly and somewhat obnoxiously, when we got to the top we were charged a fee to use our camera for photos… each camera cost a 1000 Kyat (~$1.3)… Even more frustrating was the elevator I discovered… after we hiked all the way up!
Mandalay was my first introduction to Burmese tobacco products.  Given the sanctions against the country, western cigarettes and tobacco either aren’t available or too expensive for the locals to purchase.  In lieu, they have two interesting alternatives … 1) Betelgeuse (pronounced Beatle Juice) which is a red-rooted plant that they chew compulsively and stains their teeth blood-red.  2) Hand-rolled cigarette/cigars.  Unlike the treasured Cubans and Dominican cigars people rave over, these cigarettes are made with tobacco that is freshly picked and dried… and still very green.  I tried one with my classmates and it felt a little like getting kicked in the chest by a donkey… not something I would advocate people do on a regular basis!

Bagan, Myanmar/Burma (3 days) – Bagan could be best summarized as the Angkor Wat of Burma.  They have 1200 stupas ranging from small little temples the size of a closet to massive pagodas that were several stories high.  It was an interesting dichotomy of religious sanctity blended with rampant commercialization as vendors would post up at the top of the temples, at the doors in and out, or simply motor behind you as you go to each temple, offering post cards, prayer beads, and “one-of-a-kind” paintings that I saw everywhere.

Inle Lake, Myanmar/Burma (2 days) – Is far and away one of the most visited tourist destinations in Burma.  It has an amazingly massive lake where we stayed at a hotel that was on stilts over the water.  I was incredibly excited for our time there because I envisioned something akin to Fiji or the Maldives.  Let me dispel any myths … it is not… it is VERY, VERY cold… and that cold is exasperated by staying over water!  We visited a number of interesting places… a monastery made famous for ‘jumping cats’ that have been specially trained by monks.  I never saw them jump, (quick pause to be irreverent) I feel like if I had a cat and I antagonized the crap out of it would jump, so I am not sure what specially training they went through.  The other interesting visit was a half-day trip to a vineyard … it was majestic but I don’t think Napa has much to worry about!

Manila, Philippines (3 days) – Manila was a surprisingly conflicting city for me.  I, like most of my friends and I think a lot of people, dismissed Manila as a dud.  The day before we left to go, I repeatedly heard people refer to it as a ‘city without a soul.’  When I landed I certainly agreed… it is a giant metro area with malls upon malls upon malls.  We met up with a classmate who is from Manila who took us to lunch and when we asked about his childhood (and his current winter break) and his favorite activities he responded like an American teenager, “We just hang out at the malls all the time.”  In a desperate attempt to find something worthwhile, I took a walking tour in old Manila and met the guide who talked passionately about how Manila’s culture and ‘lack of soul’ stemmed from its history of being conquered and subjugated – first by Spain, then the US, and finally Japan.  It was a fascinating tale of how natural resources, religion, and … sadly… war can shred the culture of place.

What was this for again?

This is far and away the most common question I have gotten.  There was no “purpose” for the trip other than to see more of the world.  Berkeley-Haas has an amazing tradition where students take “Winter Treks” to travel to locations around the world.  There trips that vary along the spectrum of organization… there was a “main Southeast Asia” group that had almost 50 people traveling together and two or three smaller groups that overlapped with them for parts of the trip.  I was on one of the satellite treks (I initially called it the “Flexi-Trek” but the girls I went with said that sounded too much like a type of tampon L ).

What was your favorite part of the trip?

It is tough to pick one “best” part of the trip because it was such a mishmash of experiences.  If I had a pick, it would have been sitting on 1000 year old temple looking out over Bagan watching the sunset.  It is amazing how climbing up (and away) from the noise and chaos of life can help you center yourself and find peace.  Whether your religious, spiritual, or not… for some reason it felt like your soul quieted for just a few moments.

Anything else?

I achieved one of my final aspirations – getting upgraded on an international 10+ hour flight home.  I was pretty excited for the lay-flat beds until I realized my shoulders were about 2 inches too broad to lay down… L Regardless, it was amazing to be on the second-floor of a plane with a real blanket, TWO pillows, and endless streams of water and snacks!

Also, I learned that a Burmese Visa is the secret phrase for additional screening at US customs.  I have taken 10+ international trips and I always appreciated coming back to the US, lining up in the “Citizen Lane” and flying through the process.  This time… it was an entirely different experience involving 5 different custom agents, two pre-luggage checks with detailed questions about where I was, why I was there and how I financed my trip (which forced me to awkwardly reply, “with student loans…”:) , and three post-luggage checks where I had to remove everything from my bag and detail every hotel and hostel I stayed in.  A word to the wise (please note, I had been awake for 25 hours straight when this occurred), never ask a customs agent if they are “real police.”

Sorry this was so long – but I wanted to give you all enough details to ‘satisfice’ your curiosity.  If you want to know more shoot me an email or give me a call.  One of my resolutions is to do a MUCH better job staying in touch!

Happy New Year!
Nick

Hey everyone,

I thought I would share another bucket list accomplishment that would make your day.  Since my mom first (foolishly) let me pick my own haircut and I opted for an amazing buzz cut mullet … I knew it was only a matter of time until I decided to take it to the next level… a MOHAWK!  Realizing, that I am getting dangerously close to the age of 30 … which is a critical juncture in every man’s life.  Critical because it is an age that clearly defines some activities you are no longer allowed to participate in… You can no longer go to night clubs; You can no longer do the “sniff check” on clothing; and most relevant here… you can no longer get mohawk hair cuts.

With no further ado and for your view pleasure, I present the next item crossed off my bucket list.

Briefly, if you are wondering why… I participated in No Shave November to raise charity for the Special Olympics and Alameda Point Initiative.  In 2011 (last year), they broke every record set around the challenge earning almost $12,000.  This year we were able to raise $12,000 … in just the last 3 days… which brought our total to over $24,000 (more than doubling the previous record).

Thank you to everyone who donated now or ever!

Nick

Hey Friends!

I promise not to keep bombarding you with these emails, but I wanted to let everyone I know I made it safely to Berkeley (and started Math Camp) and pass along my address.  Don’t worry, I am not giving you the address as a coy attempt to solicit cookies or care packages (though, they are welcome) – but I figured people could use it as a starting point for their google maps when deciding where they want to travel when they come visit!

XXXX Oxford Street

APT XXX

Berkeley, CA

94709

Oh, I retroactively added “Drive across the US” to my bucket list – if Mitt Romney can retroactively quit his job, I figure I could retroactively add and accomplish life goals (sorry for the political humor!),  I started the trip in Washington, DC in 2008 and after a short, 4 year break in Minnesota, I successfully navigated to Berkeley, CA!

Stay in touch and have a great rest of the summer!

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to take a moment to pass along some exciting news – I was admitted to the University of California – Berkeley Full Time MBA program (aka Haas) last Thursday!  As many of you know (and are probably tired of hearing about), it has been a long journey and took over two years from when I started studying the GMAT to last week when I was finally received a phone call letting me know I was admitted.  As the saying goes – there is no rest for the weary.  Other than the immense relief I felt and the two hours I  wandered around grinning stupidly – I’ve been in full scale, life-changing-event planning (i.e., reviewing my finances, chasing financial aid, finding housing options, ending current housing options, on and on).

Now that I have second to think, I wanted to share my news with everyone!  I apologize I wasn’t able to contact each of you individually, but I am sure you can imagine how unsuccessful I would have been …  it seems like the only people busier than me are my friends and family 😉

After chatting with a few people – I have gotten some pretty consistent questions, so I thought I would preemptively answer what I could in a helpful Q&A.

When do you start?

Orientation starts mid-August, but they have a Math Camp for people.  While I think I am pretty good at math, I think I’ll probably need some type of refresher… so I’ll be starting 7/30.

Where are you going to live?

I am trying to figure that one out – like all great, nerdy schools – Haas has both a Facebook group and a Google+ Group where people are searching about for roommates.  The roommate profiles are what you would expect, everyone likes granola, sustainable living, and hiking 🙂

What are you doing between now and when you leave?

I am going to try to live my life and get as ready as possible for California and the MBA experience.  When I say live my life, that includes hosting Jack’s Bachelor Party this weekend, traveling to Puerto Rico to be his best man (aka holding the tissues if he starts crying) in June, volunteering a week of my time at RYLA in July, and more… Some how in there I would also like to spend considerable amounts of time with my friends and family.  Oh, and you know, keep working. 🙂

What are you going to do there?

At this time – hopefully, pursue a degree in Social Entrepreneurship.  If you haven’t heard of that before, it is essentially creating businesses that focuses on more than just profit (e..g., micro financing in Africa).  Specifically for me, I want to focus on starting a consultancy that helps people pursue their entrepreneurial dreams (so, I will probably need to start out by starting a business or two).   Disclaimer:Life is a wild ride and I may find out I have some crazy passion for finance or clean technology, so don’t judge if I change my mind.

Are you coming back to Minnesota? 

Short term – Yes, plenty of holidays and as you all know… Minnesotans love to get married 🙂  Long term – Definitely, friends and family live in the cold tundra we call home.  Thus, I shall return to the Mother Igloo 🙂

Can I come visit?

Yes! Please!

Why are you writing this?

Because I wanted share my good news.  But more importantly, make sure people realize I only have a few weeks before I take off – so if you want to hang out, we need to get on it!

Your title says Two Bucket List items… what are they?

1) Get into top 10 MBA program (I like to think Haas is a top 5, but US News disagrees with me 🙂 ) – Check

2) Live on both coasts before your 30 – Check

Thank you again to everyone who helped or supported me over the past two years.  I know many of you either 1) never got to see me because I was constantly studying or applying 2) listened to me vent about MBAs while humbly learning to enjoy the waitlist 3) offered your thoughts/prayers/opinions/encouragement when I needed it.

With lots of love!
Nick

PS – If you read my email and thought – ‘Why the heck is Nick emailing me this?’   It’s because I am hoping we can catch up! 🙂