The View Out of My Window

Mighigan Life

Michigan. Life continues in the mid west with some small changes. For example, 30 degrees is the new 65. Besides the need to dress in layers and the leaves changing, I still go to class/work, go to football games (left: the walk from the stadium on campus) and do the other random things I do. Even though I am in an engineering program, most of my time is spent reading and writing, who knew.

I have been here for about 11 weeks. I can not believe it at all. Many days I think back to the past, the friends I saw on a daily basis and the fun we had. Moving across the country definitely changes some things.

Michigan

5 weeks into grad school. Time has flown by. More later.

Friends in NY

Jen visited NY from DC this last weekend. Definitely nice to see old friends in the city. We had a good time hanging out and doing the tourist thing. We traveled around Wall Street where we saw the New York Stock Exchange (left) and the 'bull' (below). I also took them to Ulysses' bar for an afternoon Guinness.

On a funny note, as Jen and I were leaving from a good BBQ dinner, I bumped into two friends from high school. We ended up hanging out the next day/evening. It was good to catch up, especially at my first club where I, unfortunately, had to pay my first cover to get into a bar in NY.

On a side note, wings and ribs are very big around here (or at least with the people I hang out with). My group introduced me to an amazing bar (Mudville 9) that serves wings ranging in flavors of mild, medium, wow and super wow along side of half racks of ribs. The meat on the ribs fell right off.

NY Subway

It started like a normal day: shower, got dressed and walked out of the building. I then found out the subway was closed (the image is of the MTA website showing all the trains were stopped). All of them. Apparently it rained hard enough/quick enough to flood the system. That meant that I had to find a way to get to work. I started walking on the east side looking for buses or a ferry, but neither worked. Then, I took a bus across town to the west side, where I took a ferry to Jersey City. Overall, it took about three hours to get to work where it normally takes 30-45 minutes.

The ride home was the exact opposite. On the subway, a group of three guys turned on a boom-box, while the car was in motion, and began an amazing break dance show that including flips off the vertical bars and a two-man wheel that rolled down the length of the subway car. It was definitely a good show and was one of the enjoyable diversions on my commute.

Week ... I lost count

The weather in NY is definitely different than California. In particular, the humidity and the occasional thunder storm always add some excitement to the day. Even with the sporadic downpours, the city and its people are prepared. Fortuitously, I walked out into the rain from the subway to find a man selling $3 umbrellas that were worth every penny.

One benefit of working the long hours is occasionally I get food and transportation. I am still engrossed by the work and want to make my project work.

The last week was one of the toughest weeks for the market in five years. All that action and volatility led to huge amounts of volume.

The interns had a volunteer day on Friday in which we all went to clean up a beach. Picking up garbage and dealing with the mosquitoes was not terribly fun, but I enjoyed dipping my feet in the Atlantic and playing soccer on the beach.

I saw Avenue Q over the weekend. It was a good show and I really enjoyed the cast and the puppets.

Life in NY is very expensive, but I figure I might as well enjoy it while I am here.

It is official: my family has moved to souther California.

A couple weeks later

Only in New York can the bar you went to the previous night end up on the front page of Yahoo.

The night life in NY is amazing. In particular, the fact that the bars close at 4 AM and then after a short diner visit, you can see the sunrise over the east river. Quite amazing.

Work is going well. Still keeping busy and teaching me many things.

The last weekend I had a very nice time going out with friends to bars, the MOMA, central park and one of the best Texes BBQs imaginable.

If you are interested in a fun and beautiful movie, I highly suggest Ratatouille. The visuals are amazing and it is simply enjoyable to watch. After the movie we happened to come across a book store at midnight. Normally it would have been closed; instead, hundreds of people were packed into the store to pick up the final book in the Harry Potter series. I picked my own copy up the next day and began reading it while in a small park looking over the east river.

A fellow intern and I proceeded to purchase Broadway tickets. Our first picks of Wicked, Spamalot and Avenue Q were sold out and we were only able to get Phantom of the Opera. At first I was hesitant to see the show, not knowing if I would like it, but it turned out to be amazing. The entire production, the lighting, the music were tremendous. I will definitely be seeing more shows.

I did have Yankee tickets, however, due to a broken steam pipe, the subways were shut down and I was not able to attend. The event though was a crazy experience to be part of with people running through the streets and a large cloud of steam rising from midtown Manhattan. Video below.

Week 3

I am glad to say the ten to twelve hours of work a day go by very quickly and I am very interested in what I do. The group is great and I am learning more at this job than any other simply by doing my work and asking a lot of questions.

Fourth of July in the city was very fun. It was a little weird to have a Wednesday off from work, but it worked. Ended up watching the fireworks on the east river water front. My roommates, a friend and I went to watch the show. At first we were hit by the rain. Then the crowds blocked our view, so we ended up running down FDR a few blocks to enjoy the light show as the rain lightened up. It was a good time. After, we had dinner at a classic NY diner.

The city is very expensive. It is easy to spend $60-80 in a few hours on dinner, transportation and beverages. I have done this a few times, but I figure I am only in the city for a couple months.

I did go visit a friend up at W 105 st. It was my first time I was slightly uncomfortable in the city, especially when I was taking the subway home early in the morning. Fortunately, everything worked well and I made it home and proceeded to sleep in.

It is very interesting how the weeks are tremendously busy and then the weekends are very open. One cool trip I took with a UCLA friend was to Brooklyn where I went to the Brooklyn museum, a afro-punk concert after, then a regular bar followed by a salsa bar. All a great experience and maybe I even improved my merengue abilities.

On a cool fashion note, by some random happenstance, two ties my mother gave me before graduation ended up perfectly matching two shirts (maroon and apple-green, respectively). Because of this, and realizing I really have no other chances to utilize the combination, I wore the the tie-shirt pair to work the last two days.

Otherwise, things are going well. I am starting to make some friends and the city has an energy and life that just gets you excited when you are walking the streets. Side note: V for Vendetta is a very cool movie. Enjoy.

Week 2

Well, two weeks down in NY. I can definitely say I am starting to pick up on the the way of life here. I have been working real hard, but I am glad to say that my project and the group I am working with are amazing. I am learning a lot and having a lot of fun at the same time. Specifically, that entails working from 8 AM to between 6 and 8 PM and then going out to dinner or to a local pub. It may be a little draining at times and a little hard to wake up in the morning, but once I get out of bed, I am excited to go to work.

It is a tad bit weird going from home where I know a good number of people to NY where I know maybe 10. Because of this, I have spent a descent amount of time reading, watching old west wing episodes or walking around. Since I am busy during the week and do not have much time to relax, it has been nice to just lay around a bit in the middle of a Saturday and just relax.

I plan to start organizing a few more events for the weekends and weekdays simply because it seems too hard to be spur of the moment. The first plan will either be a sporting event, a museum or something on Broadway.

On a side note, did you know that there are no Wells Fargo banks in the NY area. This makes it a little hard to deposit checks. Oh well, I will just have to figure a work around.

Nothing really specific about this last week since it feels like it was just all work and a few nights out. Until next time.

Day 4, 5, 6

Day 4:
So, all the travel and early risings really did not allow my body to recuperate from the cold and cough I had developed during finals. I was not feeling that well. Luckily for me, the firm keeps a doctor in the building (at left) that I immediately saw upon walking into his office. After prescribing me some medication and picking it up from the pharmacy across the street, I went home and proceeded to sleep from 8 PM to 6 AM.

Day 5:
Friday was Russel day. The Russel 2000 Index is a list of 2000 stocks that the index tracks. On Friday, the index re-balances, which mean many stocks are added and removed from the index. Therefore, the many funds that try to use the Russel as their base price comparison for the year must sell all the stocks that are going out of the index and buy all those going in. Most of this trading is done on Russel day, therefore, creating large amounts of volume for the market. I work for the group that manages getting trades to the various exchanges, and this is obviously a significant day for their business.

It was great to see and learn how they operated their various products. I learned a ton about the system and hope to start my own project in the near future. After a successful day at work, my colleagues and I went to a local pub by Wall street for a nice beverage. After that is was Japanese food and home.

Day 6:
Saturday was the first day in a few weeks I had no major event planned (class, final, graduation, travel, or work). This allowed me to sleep in for a bit. After, my roommate and I traveled uptown a bit to go see Central Park, the Apple store and FAO Schwarz. We saw some amazing break dancers performing in the park. The Apple store is located below ground, but its entrance is a glass box at the street level. It was definitely one of the cooler Apple stores I have seen.

After purchasing some new headphones, we proceeded to the giant toy store, where I had to try my hand at playing the large piano. We were able to capture a cool in-air action picture of my musical playing skills.

Overall, it has been an amazing week. I have made a lot of mistakes, occasionally made a fool of myself and got lost many times, but heck, I learned and know what to do next time.

Day 3

Took the Path to work under the Hudson from WTC. One of the most amazing things I have noticed about NYC are the social rules everyone follows. For example, when boarding/exiting a subway train, all waiting to board stand at the doors' sides until all have exited through the middle of those waiting and then they board. Also, when taking escalators, people on the right stand while the people on the left walk.

At work, I learned all about order management and how to take equity trades to the various exchanges. Also, through out the day, I enjoyed the office view. Manhattan above. Statue of Liberty below.

Day 2

Work (28th floor overlooking Manhattan). Meet boss. Tech talk. Bowling. Bars with colleagues. Rain. Taxi ride home.

NY - Travel + Day 1

After graduating Saturday, a late night of packing (thanks Sarah) and seeing friends later that evening, I left for New York Sunday morning. Sarah drove me to the airport along with Danielle. It was definitely weird saying good bye to the people I have lived with and been with the last four years. They made my life and they are now my family. It is amazing to think that we live in this continuous flow for four years of class and socializing and then on the morning of June 17 the sun rises and we spread across the land evoking images of the diaspora. The hardest thing about the move is not coping with the new location or culture, but leaving the people I care about most.

After some delay and a couple naps I arrived in NYC. With my 60+ pound bag in its proper place on the trolley, the bag and I made the taxi ride to my new home in a 48 story building. Unfortunately, I am on the fifth and the view is of a brick wall. The roommates are all good guys, are very welcoming and have made the transition easier. They hail from Philadelphia, Virginia, and Tennessee, respectively.

After a late night run for a deli sandwich and some cough medicine through the streets of a very unknown Manhattan, I went to bed at 1 AM. I woke up at 6:15 AM. For those out there who need help doing the conversion, it is 3:15 AM PST. With my suit in place and the accompanying tie tied, the 20 minute taxi ride to orientation was easy, but definitely too costly to make a regular habit of ($18).

Orientation oriented me with the company culture and the tax forms of both New York and New Jersey. After meeting many Stanford interns and listening to various presentations, I walked out of the building to the stark realization that I was on my own in the streets of New York. It was an amazing thought, yet the funny thing is that after all that orientation I was quiet lost on how to get home and took several moments with the map my Mom sent me with to determine the best subway train to take home.

After a ride and a bit of a walk enjoying the various street shops and vendors, I arrived home. My roommate arrived at a similar time and he pulled me a long on a shopping trip. It is amazing how having to carry your food back from the market changes one's perspective on what they can buy. After purchasing some items and making a nice sandwich, the roommates and I traveled to the water front where we enjoyed the sites.

Tomorrow I start at 9 AM, which is definitely better. It will be an interesting day of many new experiences where I will learn both academically and, most importantly, about life. As Sarah said, "The sun is coming out! Smile because the world is ours for the taking."

Lets see what we can do.

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Comment

The more I learn, the more I realize I do not know much.

Concepts

Punishing a peer in unharmonious no matter the ends (man governing man)
Undergrads are fed and led
Ivory tower are lacking of hearing
Family matters
Selfish in chaos
Smile/Lift weights
Deadlines are man made and self imposed
Lift the weight off your shoulders and realize the good things
Everyone is busy/its all relative
Don't complain
Enjoy the friends thou has
Don't give unsolicited advice
To thine own self be true

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