Test

I'm trying this new thing where I blog by dictation like a doctor, so I feel pretty hard-core doing this but we'll see whether or not this works out.

Catching up

I saw a friend from SF / work today after a year or so, and it was really nice to catch up.  We went to a cute cafe in the Loop where we had great French sandwiches in a beautiful old building (I meant to take pictures when I went to the bathroom but I forgot my phone) followed by a French biscuit (not as good as Southern biscuits).  I definitely enjoyed catching up with her, and we talked about how much we love Chicago.  I still don't know if I could ever live here because of winter, but it's a beautiful, beautiful city.  There's gorgeous old buildings with amazing detail and architecture, and then super-industrial bridges.  It's a very cool juxtaposition (again, no pictures but I promise to take some soon).

I also caught up with my dear friend shopping.  I went into the Macy's since it was on the way back to the L station (no, really, you enter the L station through the store).  The Macy's in SF has been my favorite Macy's (maybe even favorite department store) because it's huge, has amazing food (yes, I choose my shopping based on what food is around), and has a ton of great brands and watches.  Sadly, I have moved on to a new favorite Macy's -- this one in the Loop.  It carries all the same stuff as the SF store, but also has true designer clothes like Jean Paul Gaultier (not that I'm in the market for that any time soon) AND it has amazing architecture.  The make-up section has a ceiling with a brilliant blue tile mosaic, the first floor has huge pillars with elaborate, curlicue molding, and the outside is the old Marshall Fields building and still has the original design and store sign.  Again, I will take pictures next time.  Or if you come to Chicago, I'll take you to see it in person :)

I know it's not the most exciting business school adventure, but it's a start.  I definitely hope to explore more of Chicago as the weather warms up (with a camera in hand).

I'm back!

I had this misconception that I would show up to business school and I would magically have all this free time to dress cute and document my outfits and fabulous life in this blog.  I was very wrong.  The first three weeks of school were crazy with orientation, a pre-term leadership class, and making friends. And then I had two weeks to get used to classes before recruiting started.  And now, I finally finished recruiting, and I have emerged victorious to start hanging out with people again -- and updating this blog.

You'll definitely see a lot more of me and I will have more exciting stories than I did during the last few times I wrote.  For example, here's a sampling of fun stories I would have shared with you over the past couple of months had I had the time:

• Recruiting events: Standing around and networking with recruiters, trying to shake hands and sound intelligent while balancing a glass of wine and a plate of food
• Going out in Chicago: It's really cold!!  Especially when you're waiting in line forever because you took too long to eat dinner and the wind is blowing and your ankles are freezing because you thought it would be a good idea to wear ankle-length skinny jeans and wedges rather than wool tights and boots.  
• Snow: It didn't really snow until the beginning of February, but now, a week later, the snow is still on the ground and it has no signs of disappearing until March or April.  I guess I'll be pulling out the rainboots a lot.
• The cold: I'm getting used to it.  It was 19 and sunny the other day and it felt warm only because it wasn't windy, gray, and 6 degrees.  It's snowy and 36 degrees today and it feels absolutely balmy.  It's always nice to go back to LA and see the sunshine though!

My more recent exciting story is about an exhibit on Maharajas at the Field Museum.  It was really cool, and I got to see college friends after a long time.  There were all sorts of sparkly pieces of jewelry, fancy saris and men's gowns, and furniture.  Fun fact: In the late 1800s / early 1900s, Indian royalty took buckets (well, hopefully not literal buckets) of jewels to Cartier to have jewelry made.  They were also huge fans of Cartier and Jaeger-LeCoultre watches, so much so that JLC made Reverso watches with Indian gods like Rama and Krishna painted on the back (the watch face could be flipped around to protect it during war, and so the back was often decorated).  Also, there was an Australian nurse who married a South Indian prince, so she was referred to as Rani (Queen) Molly and wore saris and hung out.  Indian princesses (even those of Indian origin) visited Europe often and bought fashionable clothes and wore elbow length opera gloves with their saris.  What else... Oh there was a queen named Chand Bibi in the 16th-ish century who apparently led armies and defended her land.

I am excited to share my life with you again :)