Fall 2006: Back in the United States

Most of you know we are living in the US again. I accepted a job in Austin, Texas and we are nearby friends and family. Rebecca's is busy setting up her Chinese Medicine practice and I've been on the road for work.

This is Illinois and the farm where I spent much of my childhood. Though the coal mine industry is mostly gone, this pond still exists and is a wonderful place to fish for largemouth bass.

Anyway, more to come on updates since September 2006 and our time back in the US.

Tea Sugar Dreams

A year in the woods completed and time for a reward. While your perception might be that Rebecca and I had a one year vacation in France, that is far from the reality. INSEAD is hard work and a challenge for both the MBA student and their partner. It is a year full of learning, challenging, exploring, testing and trading offf priorities. Would we do it again? Bien sur! So, with the academic challenges completed, it was time to celebrate and while many INSEADers headed to Tunisia for a big group holiday / graduation trip, we decided to fly East to Turkey with Tim and Colleen. Colleen, CEO of Puppy Dog Vacations (PDV), proved to be the best holiday planner around. Even Rick needs to beware of PDV. Thanks to Colleen, we discovered the magic of Turkey and would encourage everyone to visit once. So, what is "tea sugar dreams"? During our first day in Istanbul, a very nice and enthusiastic carpet salesman taught us to say thank you in Turkish. Tea sugar dreams sounds similar to thank you in Turkish. After a week of trying, I'm certain 0% of the Turkish population would understand any of us in our attempts to be grateful. Tim, we gave it our best mate.

On a PDV tour, the CEO always makes the decisions, once rocking advice has been provided.

Istanbul mixes Eastern and Western cultures From the prayer call towers adjacent to the mosques, you heard the religious ritual announced to the city. This photo attempts to capture the mix found in Istanbul...merchants in the foreground and the Blue Mosque in the background.

PDV found a perfect hotel right in the heart of the old city. Our first visit was to the Ayasofya, perched on one of the seven hills of Istanbul. Created during Suleyman's reign, this experience immediately brings you face to face with the Christian and Muslim elements of Turkey.

From inside the Ayasofya, we could see the Blue Mosque...so we made that our next stop. And this photo is from inside the Blue Mosque...

In total, we spent a day and a half in Istanbul and then jumped on a flight to Cappadocia, the land of the fairy chimneys. This flight takes you East towards Iraq and into a portion of land that really felt like the origin of civilization. Homes were carved out of rock. These rock homes were lived in until the 1950's and today, you can find a few five star hotels utilizing these same rock dwellings.

PDV arranged for a 3 day tour to expose us to the best of Cappadocia. Ramsey, our tour guide, is first class and if you ever make it to Cappadocia, ask for Ramsey.

Welcome home...

If you read up on this part of Turkey, you will quickly learn that early Christians settled here and though we don't know if they carved the original dwellings, their churches, sculptures and frescoes are scattered throughout the land. Ramsey knows all the details and will take you to places you would not find on your own. I'm typically not a fan of tour guides but this is a place you need one. Here we are visiting one of the many Christian dwellings.

After 3 excellent days in Cappacocia, we flew back to Istanbul for a few more days of touring and shopping. The Grand Bazaar is an absolute must and Colleen and Rebecca are gearing up to negotiate like the pros.

I found picture taking to be more fun. While many places in this world have aggressive vendors, we found the Grand Bazaar to be a place where they quickly left you on your own. It was a nice level of pressure...enough to get the flavor of the Grand Bazaar and the world's first shopping mall, but not so much that you became annoyed and had to leave.

And if you like gummi bears, then you need to buy some Turkish delights or Lokum during your visit...

Rebecca could not resist the spice market.

Now that I've worn you out with all the pictures of Turkey, I wanted to end here with one more photo. The Yerebatan Cistern. This was first constructed by Constantine and served as the water source for the city during times of seige or drought. Today, it is home to goldfish and truly one of the best things I've ever seen. I'll save the history lesson for you to discover on their official site.

July: World Cup Final in Paris

France had a great WC run. Zizou was super and we were really supporting the French coming into the final. After the USA vs. Italy match, there was no way we could support the Italians. We organized a group from INSEAD to a nice bar just off the Champs-Elysees, Paris' grand boulevard. Notice the French flags on the cheeks.



As you know, Zizou departed the match with less grace than he started the match with. The French fell in penalty kicks and the Champs-Elysees was not the celebration we hoped for. It was closed off and the French were sad and the flags trailed along the ground.



The Arc de Triomphe with a slide show supporting l'equipe. The text says "Zizou, we love you."

July: Graduation & Goodbyes

On July 6th, I graduated from INSEAD with my official master's degree in business administration. Leading up to the graduation were many dinners and countdowns to the final days of full-time life at INSEAD. My team sans Nil took time to picnic near Pedro's chateau. (Pedro lived in the guard tower of a fantastic chateau.) This nicely organized outing was one of my more memorable experiences with my P1 / P2 team. Ranjit invited Ramya and they have since married November 2006!

INSEAD graduation is at Versailles. It is about a 45 minute drive from Fontainebleau and I must admit Versailles Palace is a slightly different experience than Gregory Gym...the location of my graduation from the University of Texas at Austin.

On y va...later, we met with our village people crew in Paris for a very nice pre-graduation party dinner. Guillaume guided us to this nice restaurant. Around the table from Rebecca, me, Anne, Guillaume, Ashish, Snehal, Tim, Colleen, Gemma, and Paul. By nationality: USA, USA, USA/French, French/USA, Indian, Indian, Brazilian/USA, China/USA, Australian, Australian...back to Rebecca.

June: Presenting to the IOC

Marcus, Tapan and I made a late June journey to Switzerland to present our findings to the Athletes' Commission at the headquarters for the International Olympic Committee. It was one of my INSEAD highlights and I have many to thank for it. We gave our 30 minute presentation to the committee on a financial management strategy for their global popluation of world-class athletes.

Here we are just after the presentation. Nice work team! I would love to hear an update on the IOC's next steps. Oscar?

June: The World Cup Begins...

Yes, the coursework and job search must continue but...the World Cup is on. Thankfully, everyone wanted to watch the matches in the student lounge and with over 65 nationalities on campus, it was not difficult to find some home team fans. Even Trinidad and Tobago had local support in the INSEAD bar area. Come on England...

We planned early on to make two trips to Germany. Our first trip was a Cologone journey to Eilin's wonderful flat. On Saturday, Eilin arranged for a roof top tour of the cathedral in the center of Cologne. Construction started in 1248 and completed in 1880. The exterior scaffolding indicates the plans have yet to be completed.

Doctor, can you provide some advice?

If you take the roof top tour, pay close attention to the unique stones and sculptures only visible while walking along the narrow rooftop pathway.

On Sunday, we said goodbye to our INSEAD friends and drove to meet Dr. King and Rob. They had landed in Berlin and planned to spend the next two weeks chasing football matches and German sights. Sunday night in Cologne brought superb weather and crisp pints along the river. On Sunday, we picked up the lads and drove towards Gelsenkirchen. USA WC opener vs. Czech Republic kicked off at 6:00 PM (local). Kenan guided us towards this Turkish restaurant that was oh so pleasing for Mr. Bacchus.

We employed a weak strategy for buying tickets outside the stadium and firmly decided that we will pre-purchase tickets to all future World Cups. Dr. King and Rob found reasonably priced tickets but Rebecca and I went to the fan zone to watch the sad result for the United States.

We had to return to Fonty for my classes and job search during the week but the following weekend, Rebecca and I headed back to Germany to meet Rob and Dr. King in Koblenz. Following Rebecca's German instincts, she lived there for a year, we found this peaceful beer garden at the rivers junction.

The city of Koblenz is worth a visit. Like most European cities, it has a vibrant city center, rivers running through the main portion and wonderful architecture. Less touristy but worth the 1-day trip. We had one mission for Saturday, procure match tickets for USA vs. Italy. The following picture indicates the masses attending the game. Within the masses were the ticket scalpers and me with my new strategy for buying tickets. I was going head-to-head with the Italian ticket scalpers and willing to invest the time, energy and tactics required to buy tickets.

The strategy worked. Not only did I find affordable tickets for Rebecca and I to attend the USA vs. Italy match, but I also found category 1 tickets for Rob and Dr. King to attend the USA vs. Ghana match in Nuremberg. I would like to thank the friendly Italian and compassionate American for selling me tickets to this match. If you buy me a gelato then I will detail my strategy. It involves patience, humility, positioning, cardboard, negotiation and the right clothing. I am still curious to know if my Australian friend that felt a need to trail me and needed a course in negotiations ever found his way into the match.

May Brings Family

Mom and Don made their way over the Atlantic after banking a few flight credits in Dallas. We had a great time visiting with them and showing them the sights and sounds in and around Fontainebleau. Besides our normal route of Fonty, Moret, Grez, Barbizon and the local restaurants, we made our way through Melun and to the famous Vaux Le Vicomte. The rumor is the man in the iron mask constructed this French masterpiece. Built in the 17th century by Nicolas Fouquet, it's magical gardens and summertime classic music festival should be on your list of things to do one day. This placed staged one of the most famous festivals in France and around 2 AM, King Louis IX had Nicolas arrested and he was never seen again.



Mom and Don enjoying the view of the gardens.




At the very end of the gardens is a massive lake surrounded by fountains. Rebecca, you look so very French ma femme.



Jason Walker and Shannon also visited us during this week but I don't have any pictures. Jason, help me out here! We had a great time with them with a day trip to Paris that was very memorable.

May: Prague Marathon

One of Rebecca's goals for the year was to run in a marathon. We selected Prague since I had never been there but she had been there but been arrested (therefore, her running game should be on). Between super busy academics, the football team and job search, I did not have time to train and had decided I would cheerlead for Rebecca.

On the way to the registration tent on Saturday, we met a nice Englishman that runs 40 marathons per year. While registering Rebecca, discovered the t-shirts were pretty cool...for those running in the race. Shortly after the registration, I saw a nice pair of New Balance shoes. My math is clearly weak because I added these factors up and decided to march back to the tent, register for the marathon and buy a new pair of running shoes.

At the end of the day of touring Prague, we had a nice street cafe meal and prepared for the next day's 42 km or 26.2 mile journey.




We woke up and made final preparations for the race. I decided I should race with my jacket and camera...since a marathon is easy stuff. So, how about a pre-race photo...of our race timing chips and my new kicks.



The 2nd kilometer was the best as we crossed the Charles bridge and headed down the road. My spirits were high and we made idle conversation as we kept a nice pace. This is Rebecca crossing the Charles bridge.



After the half-marathon point, the picture taking and fun took a steady decline. The out and back along the highway did not help. It took some mental discipline to push through to the end and here we are...safe and sound in the center of Prague. The post-race massage and Czech beer were excellent but did not prevent a knee injury lasting for 4 months. In other words, don't follow my lead on this one...

Holland In April

Holland beckons. Most debate two options. Option 1, run with the bulls in Spain. Option 2, tour the tulip fields in Holland. Granted, they don't occur at the same time but our band of risk-takers journeyed North. The road trip included Ashish, Snehal, Jonathan, Riza, Gemma, Paul, myself and Rebecca. Though my camera was broken during this weekend, Ashish granted rights to his digital genius maker.

On the way up, we joined forces with our Norweigen friends, Eskild and Karine. One of our favorite cities, Ghent, was the stopping point for a relaxing dinner.



The Hague was our outpost by night and we scheduled Saturday for a 10 AM start time to head into Amsterdam for a day trip. As you can see, I had to inform everyone that we missed our alarm and it would be a few minutes before we were ready to move out. Ashish, thanks for snapping this photo!



The automated train ticket booth did not work and we had the option to either board the train to Amsterdam without tickets or walk to another station with a functional ticket system. We selected the cheaper option. Four stations later, the bust occurred. We purchased our freedom and our new Dutch friends were quite patient and understanding. So, our gang posed for a group mug shot in front of the Rijks museum.



After a day of canal boat rides, strolls among tourist attractions and aligning the interests of a diverse group, we turned our attention to Sunday and the Keukenhof gardens . The bulb flowers in the gardens represent hundreds of varieties and are supplied by approximately 90 exhibitors. You can only visit in April and May during the flowering cycle. The following picture does little justice to the gardens.



On the return trip, we did what all INSEAD students and partners do at the end of a trip to Holland...head straight to the center of Arras. After taking zoomed in photos of the holy center, we ate some nice food and wandered into the main square and a very odd, very European fair. The Star Wars ride was the center of attraction mainly because of it's awful sound system, energetic ride announcer and frightening design. If your game is chain smoking, fast motorcycles and two euro wine then Star Wars is the ride for you.

I have to show the ride...may the force be with you if this is worth your time and money. I would rather bungee jump from a cable car in Switzerland....Rob.

Mon Frere et Moret sur Loing

Well, I decided to add a few more photos from Nathan's trip to France. Though he only spent 4 days in our petite village, it was enough to see the sights in the nearby area. Besides Grez sur Loing, our favorite petite village was Moret sur Loing. So, to commemorate Nathan's trip and the town of Moret, some photos.

The bridge over the Loing river.

The opposite angle of the river...and Le Vieux Mulin. This chateau, arched over the Loing river, housed a few INSEAD graduate students for the year. C'est fantastique.

Finalment, mon frere sur la pointe.

Catching Up: April 2006

April brought on the second half of Period 4 and start of massive amounts of job search work. With hundreds of companies coming to campus, the work load was intense which explains why I let the blog slip for a few...well, 8 months.

Our camera broke for a portion of April and we don't have pictures of a wonderful vacation with our Norweigen friends, Eskild and Karina. We made a 4 day journey to Normandy and stayed in the picturesque town of Honfleur. This classic seaside harbor-town is a must-see. The capstone of the trip was a excellent day with Marc and his family. Originally from Normandy, this ex-French foreign legion officer and family were awesomes hosts for the four of us.

One of the highlights was my brother Nathan winning the 2006 Outback Challenge in Morocco. Nathan was kind enough to fly in and out of Paris on his way to kicking some butt in Morocco. Nathan navigated and Scott drove a competition ready Toyota 4x4 truck. Not bad when you win the 6 day race by 6+ hours. Official Results

Thank you to Nathan's French colleague, Patrice, for rigging a sturdy vehicle.


Their truck, ready to rock and roll. 

Here is Nathan returning from a sandy but victorious week in Morocco.


Sandy but safe. 

We had two days to show Nathan around the French countryside...and the small towns nearby. This is Moret sur Loing.


Brothers in front of the Moret sur Loing gate. 

Catching Up: March 2006

One of my favorite classes at INSEAD was Strategies for Product & Service Design. INSEAD partners with the # 1 design school in the world, Art Center College of Design. We study jointly with design students and our semester brought Nokia to campus for joint design work on...well, I can't tell you what we worked on due to our highly secretive developments...and our NDA. In any case, we made a trip to Los Angeles to visit the Art Center and some well-known design studios in California.

Rebecca joined me and spent most of her time auditioning for Lost. During one of her breaks...


Living it up in LA. 

The ladies club spent one of our LA days at Universal Studios. After winning the pose-off contest, Rebecca was offered a job on the spot. Sadly, she had to turn it down to return to France...c'est la vie?


No, that is not Dustin in the spiderman outfit. Thanks for asking.