SBS MBA 2005 - Class News

"Hotter than a bastard"*

2005-08-28T10:33:00.000Z

Team Woodside's final weekend in Oz was spent on Rottnest Island. This is a lovely, quiet, underrated place a few km off the coast from Perth. No cars, few people, remarkable weather, spectacular beaches, a great road/cycle track circumnavigating the island and a real unspoiled feel. The principal inhabitants of the island are little marsupials known as Quokkas. These mini-kangaroos make themselves quite at home in the pub and restaurants. One of them, apparently named Roger, stole Winky's beer whilst his vision temporarily blurred as a result of the drubbing the Australian Rugby team were experiencing at the hands of the Springboks on the pub TV (Eddie and George - you've let me down once too often - it's enough to make a BLOKE switch allegiances back to the All-Blacks. Grrr.). The days were spent cycling, swimming and relaxing. On the Sunday L,M and W went scuba diving to check out the local marine life. All highly recommended.

On the way back to the Old Dart, most of the Woodside team took a little stopover in Dubai . Our non-exsistent corporate expense account didn't stretch to a stay in the hotel pictured, although we did drop by for a look. Quite a remarkable place. As for the hotel we did stay in...well let's just say it wasn't quite as photogenic. We swam in the tea-warm crystal clear Arabiam Gulf, sought respite in the fiercely air-conditioned shopping malls, took a little cruise on Dubai Creek (photo is of the golf course clubhouse - an oasis for expats?) and generally basked in the more-than-ample heat.

We rode the endless dunes in a 4x4 to an Arabian feast in the desert, complete with mud-like coffee, shisha, henna (for the girls), camel riding, kebabs and belly dancing.
Food and drink in Dubai is great. Fresh juices and kebabs that put the Botley Road kebab van in perspective.

The team is now in Oxford working "hard" to tidy up the SCP submission. All good fun.

We hope all of you guys had a fun summer like we did. Thankyou to those teams who contributed to the blog. We hope you enjoyed reading the posts as much as we did. See you round Oxford, guys. Take care.

*winky will buy a pint for the first person to place the quote

European Summer

2005-08-25T09:38:00.000Z

Team Infineon has been ridiculously busy in Munich. So many beer gardens, so little time. So many beautiful nearby cities too, which migh explain why you haven't heard from us. Here are some pics of our summer. Lots of stories to swap back in Oxford!

There was a sunny day somewhere in the beginning... we spent it in the English Garden with lots of beer.....

Dinner in Marienplatz ....

Schloss Neuschwanstein near Austrian border...

Hofbrauhaus - very good beer...

Up in the Alps at Hitler's hideaway. 4 degrees at the top!!

But such a nice view....

Off to Prague for a bit of culture.... this is where Mozart's Don Giovanni premiered 230 years ago..... we caught one of the shows. Awesome....

Then spent some time getting lost in the biggest castle in Europe, seen on top of the hill below....

This is a weird little church in Kutna Hora, outside Prague - decorated with human bones....

Czech beer is very good and may even be better than German beer...

A stint in Salzburg..... in the rain....

And a fast car for the Autobahn...

The life in Munich has been good here.... !!

By the way, when do we have to submit?! :-P

now that's a bunch of hot air

2005-08-13T22:23:00.000Z

Did you know that Bristol is home to the largest ‘balloon fiesta’ in the world? Well, neither did I until I looked out my skylight window and a hot air balloon was flying nearly two meters above my flat…and then two and then three..four! Later in the evening thousands gathered for the 'nightglow' which entailed fire glowing balloons lighted up in sync with musical rhythms.

It was quite a sight because my flat is a conversion of an old church and some of the windows are stained glass (we even have a saint still on the roof above our kitchen--see pics). Well, that’s the word in Bristol. Random acts of kindness still occurring left and right here, too.

Its great to hear the stories of everyone's adventures in the blog. Happy Birthday to both Lionel and Michael today!

Phong “The Dean” Dinh and Barbie “Doll” Finn come to Berlin, drink a lot of Gin, and leave with a grin

2005-08-11T12:21:00.000Z

It was fun for a weekend to leave aside the hard working, mildly responsible ‘internship Pedro’ and remember the more relaxed, care free, borderline alcoholic Oxford version. Still, the task ahead of me was monumental. It is not easy to show the uniqueness of Berlin to our North American friends in a weekend.

Unlike other big cities, Berlin is still in a very fluid state. Everything is still coming together. Politically, it is again the capital of what, in many aspects, is a new country and where politics still stir a passion that is foreign to any ‘western’ European country.

Socially, people are moving in and out as some follow their companies as they set up shop in the new capital, and others move ‘west’ in search of opportunities. The unemployment is rampant, but due to a generous welfare system nobody goes without decent housing, schooling, or healthcare, which means low crime and a great deal of free time. This welfare system (and what are still pretty decent salaries for unqualified jobs) is attracting the masses of immigrants that are indispensable to make any city remotely interesting.

This sense of ‘empty canvas’ coupled with dirt cheap rents and a generous welfare state has attracted all sorts of creative, but alas less wealthy, young artists who cannot afford London or NY. The result is a sizzling cultural activity, always fresh and provocative (or thought provoking if you prefer). More than going back to Brecht, Bach, or Beckmann the cultural scene in Berlin is all about taking you one step further. In my street, for instance, an impromptu second-hand-book-dealer-cum-young-writer’s-hideout sprung up in a in a vacant shop. Shop windows turned into art galleries are the norm in other ‘poorer’ parts of town.

In a nutshell, nothing is cast in stone. What is happening in Berlin now will only have a word ended in –ism to describe it in a couple of years. For the time being that –ism is what you make of it.

Still, with the help of a bottle of Gin (did not make it past Saturday needles to say), copious amounts of beer and the odd kebab I was able to give our friends a good flavour of what Berlin is about.

They got to see Berlin from atop the Fernsehturm (CN tower for Barb, she is still finds it hard to grasp the concept of Television towers being built outside Canada). Followed by a dinner with the Zalotas (all three of them) in restaurant where every dish was made with potatoes (take note Declan).

They had a small menu dégustation of Kristall, Hefe and Dunkel (the three main types of Weissbier) in Potsdamer Platz. Previously a no man’s land dissected by the wall, Potsdamer Platz is now a state of the art business/entertainment complex and a good example of the period of optimism felt in the early 90's that is now long gone.

We walked along a remaining part of the wall in the history laden banks of the Spree, while focusing all our attention on spotting VW Beatles that would allow us to punch each other in the arm (don’t ask me why, these guys are plain nuts)

To the embarrassment of Barb, we proudly cycled down Unter den Linden to the Brandenburg gate, in a 6 seat bike. Highly recommend the experience. The ride itself is sub-par and it distracts you from the main avenue in Berlin. But the expression of fear and disbelief in the face of the hapless tourists makes it all worth while.

All in all it was a nice weekend fraught with drinking, history, puns, and overall clean, wholesome fun. But, alas, it takes more than a weekend to fall in love with Berlin.

Best

JPJ

Random thoughts and philosophical questions

Should a Weissbier tasting start with Kristal and end in Dunkel (i.e. from the lightest to the heaviest), or should it go the other way around?

There is no ‘H’ in ‘bender’. (Barb Finn, ladies and gentleman, the guardian of orthography)

Jorma Ollila is an anagram of “all major oil”. Look out for a new Dan Brown bestseller.

The last comma in the title is called an Oxford comma. Its use is often a point of contention but, given its name, I decided to include it.

Thongs are not a peaceful topic. But apparently they are falling out of fashion.

The internet is gaining all the characteristics of a pantheistic deity. Discuss, without mentioning Matrix or Keanu Reeves (Star Wars is acceptable though).

Infoscions in the New York Times

2005-08-10T08:25:00.000Z

A shameless plug, especially since no Oxford students are mentioned in the article, but the New York Times published an article about the summer program we are in here at Infosys.

link

Infoscions Tour Around India

2005-08-09T06:47:00.000Z

Life on Infosys campus has been downright
suburban...feels very much like the U.S., as intended to appeal to the predominantly American clientele. Assimilated Infoscions that we are, we've finally taken to the vegetarian food and Teen Idol-type shows the company puts on. Last winner...a Michael Jackson impersonator.

Whenever not on campus, we take a courtesy cab into town...a 17km ride that takes over an hour. The traffic here is worse than Bangkok, Sao Paulo, and dare we say it, London. Hence, the taxi drivers here are hoping to be discovered as the next Michael Schumacher, blazing through gridlock in their V2-engined minicars. At one point, we were literally driving underneath a truck. Solution: don't look forward when in the car, and never take the shotgun seat...which often has seatbelts that don't work.

Not to say we don't go out very much. Back-to-back nights to celebrate Roy's and Declan's birthdays put our livers into intensive care.

Nevertheless, Declan and Achint have vowed to take the scalp of every pub in Bangalore in addition to those in Oxford.

The Biodiesel team came to visit back in July. Curious as to why there were only three of them. Evidently, Alex decided that 4 days was enough in India and decided to go back to Europe.

In the meantime, we've been skipping town every weekend to go to a different destination. A coffee plantation converted to a health spa, Bombay to experience what flooding from a monsoon can be like, Pondicherry to get a taste of Franco-Indian culture (and get beef for the first and only time in India...damn really could use a steak right now).

Last of all, went to the southwest coast to Kerala to have a pleasure cruise and have a nice swim and massage and the five-star Taj resort.

Ah..yes, we're are living in squalid conditions. The pampering you get with those ayurvedic massages are just too relaxing. <:Op And who can eat king prawns the size of lobsters? Next up, the Taj Mahal and a trip to the palace on a lake in Udaipur. Perhaps we can play baccarat there ala James Bond? So sad that the summer is passing so fast. Hope everyone is doing well. For more pictures, click HERE.

A whale of a Time

2005-08-08T03:07:00.000Z

The weekend was another good one for Team Woodside.

Friday night, Leanne had her first taste of Kangaroo at a local pub. She was disappointed that it wasn't one she had killed herself but nevertheless pronounced it "very tasty".

On Saturday, Leanne and Winky cycled to Cottesloe for a fish and chips lunch & a bit of hanging about on the beach.

Saturday night the Team watched the Fremantle Dockers thump the Richmond Tigers at Subiaco Oval. A match of consequence (and some spite, as it turned out) with both teams vying for a place in the finals. (If you don't know what sport we are talking about, well - we're not surprised - it's a quirky antipodean pastime - see: AFL - an idiot's guide )

Sunday was spent lolling about on the vast Indian Ocean as we cruised the offshore reefs, looking for dinner. One of our team, cognisant of his predilection for "feeding the fish" had decided not to join us. The wind chop against the swell in the morning meant that at least one other team member perhaps wished for a while that he'd done the same and stayed on dry land. Indeed, his face matched the colour of the ocean for a bit. The chop died down, the sun came out and fish started to bite. We caught enough for a couple of dinners and were heading home happy. Then the real show began...

On the cruise back to the harbour, we were lucky enough to be visited by a pod of 4 whales - a mum and baby and a pair of big fellas. We hung with them for ages in a now-calm ocean and lovely blue skies. A nice moment that made us feel very fortunate to be suffering the Perth "winter".

Cheers from the Woodside Team.

A few more photos HERE

Team Keely's Adventures as a Banker in Bristol

2005-08-03T19:47:00.000Z

Wassup!
Team Keely (me, myself and I) is living in Bristol and really enjoying it. I have officially deemed it the 'Friendliest Place on Earth' because I have experienced so many random acts of kindness here. For example, I missed the last bus home one night after salsa dancing and some random stranger went to the cash machine and gave me money for a taxi home….isn't that odd, but extremely nice? It is a fun city and its easy to meet new people with lots of parties and places to go out. I met up with two incoming SBS MBA students and did my best to scare them about all the work ahead of them... then we went salsa dacing.

As you can see, I had some rafiki visitors from SBS, too! This weekend, Luis, Alex, Hossam, Kalim, Natalia and I explored the beloved Bristol Suspension Bridge and had dinner outside on the harbour. It was a special weekend.

As for work, I am doing an internship with Triodos Bank, an ethical bank which does retail and investment banking for social and environmental businesses www.triodos.org. Proud to say that we financed renewables 10 yrs ago, before it was cool.

Well, that's all folks. Team Sam, if you want to extend the pub crawl to Bristol next time the Globe is closed, come on down to visit cuz we have over 500 places to go out here!

Warm wishes to all!

Sometimes....we bite back

2005-08-03T14:24:00.000Z

shark at aqwa (photo by Leanne)

Leanne, soon after checking this guy out at the W.A. aquarium, tucked into a meal of shark and fries, just to show'em who's boss. More sharks are eaten by people than vice-versa, but this doesn't reduce the fascination that Anders and Mig have with the toothy fellows. A 30th anniversary edition of Spielberg's "Jaws" was aired on Sunday night and was avidly viewed by all on our team. Wink pronounced it "lame" when compared to his recollection as an impressionable 14 year old (when it kept him out of the ocean for the next 10 years). Leanne pronounced it "lame" when compared to her 21st century CGI experience. Anders and Mig simply pronounced it "lame".

L and W went indoor rock climbing last night where they were in-turn both entertained and embarrassed (depending on who was climbing and who was belaying).

Wink's mum visited for the weekend. Wink was absolutely delighted to have not just one, but two girls simultaneously pointing out his deficiencies as a member of the male species, whilst laughing long and loud at each other's astute and incisive observations regarding these issues.

Wink's mum taught Leanne how to knit, although she will eventually have to perform some research to figure out how to actually stop when she reaches the end of the scarf she has commenced.

We took a river cruise to Fremantle, passing the impressive, but sometimes tasteless homes of some of the richest people in W.A. Most seem to have made their money from mining, much to the satisfaction of Winky - not an I.B. amongst them!?

A movie was viewed. Leanne recommends "Monster-in-Law" as a great romantic comedy for those needing a little escape. Wink has insisted that the next movie features more car-chases, gunfire, explosions. and cleavage.

Weather has been great on weekends. Rainfall has politely restricted itself to mid-week.

Anyhow, must run...bye for now.
Leanne, Winky, Mig and Anders (Team Woodside)

Colonial Tour (Part 2)

2005-08-03T04:39:00.000Z

The Deloitte team’s inspection of the British Colony of Australia (BCA) continues apace. We have of course been immersing ourselves into native culture and observing the peculiarities of this outpost. The locals appear to be separated largely (although not exclusively) into two groups – the Beers, Lads Or Kruising Evenings Society (BLOKES) or Spreading Hair-dye on Every Inch of the Ladies’ Anatomy Society (SHEILAS). The latter results in a high incidence of the Collars And Cuffs (CACs) problem (as first identified by the British hero James Bond).

A week or so ago we sampled the delights of Melbourne, the home town of our Glorious Leader (aka Coakley). Following an evening repast of a barely-dead side of cow each at Vlado’s (for those familiar with BCA’s second largest city) we were entertained in a massive casino which happened to have a fantastic sports bar. On three 30ft square screens we enjoyed BCA get mauled by the Dutch/British Colony of South Africa at rugby, but were disappointed by the upstart BCA cricket team that had the nerve to beat Her Majesty’s finest at Lord’s. Needless to say, this being BCA, the land of BLOKES, the other screen alternated between dog and pony-and-trap races on which the natives appeared to be betting with some intensity.

The following day the team experienced what can only be described as a bastardised version of rugby apparently popular with BLOKES and SHEILAS alike. This ‘sport’ is called Aussie Rules and the team nonetheless had an enjoyable afternoon that also involved sampling local beverages.

On return to the metropolis of Sydney much work ensued, along with job interviews (for those mad enough to wish to join this queer species of man), gym attendance and further consumption of local liquid refreshment. As a reward for such industriousness our Glorious Leader laid on an evening on the tiles with his erstwhile Deloitte team. As a can be seen from the picture they are a feisty bunch of ladies who appeared to take a particular interest in the youngest member of our team, while the elder statesman (aka Philpott) was dubbed the Silver Fox for his smooth and urbane manner. The rest of the team remained puzzled as to what they might be referring …

The rest of the night was spent in one of Sydney’s many evening drinking establishments, and the team had a joyful time (see below) although CACs remained a persistent problem. Our Glorious Leader, for all his innumerable qualities, appeared to have an unerring accuracy for selecting what were dubbed “Wooftastic” venues due to the somewhat toiling character of the SHEILAS present.

At the weekend the team felt the urge to take advantage of the unseasonably good Winter weather in these parts (apparently even warmer than back in dear old Blighty) and spent a morning engaging in another quaint local pastime – surfing. This involves a blond, unshaven character with a slightly slow mode of speech calling us “dude” a lot and explaining how we should stand up on a 10ft piece of foam board. After a good 10 minutes apparently countering longshore drift while lying on said boards on the beach we were released into a slightly chilly ocean. Much amusement ensued and the team all managed to stand up for at least a short while, although Senior was pronounced dunce of the group for continually catapulting himself headfirst off of his board into the swell he should have been riding. Overall the team were pleased that unlike others on this blog they had actually done more than just posed on the beach with their boards!

That evening was marked by the return of our Glorious Leader’s family which meant the end to his chaperoning of Her Majesty’s representatives. The team was then free to carry out its inspection unhindered by the less than objective interventions from this biased local flagwaver.

A highlight of this time was a perusal of a local Boat Show in Darling Harbour where the team made efforts to select the piece of kit on which to spend their respective signing-on bonuses. As can be seen from the hardware in the background of the picture below the team was possibly somewhat over-optimistic in the size of these bonuses. Whilst browsing through one of the curious ‘shopping malls’ they have here the team happened upon a sponge beer holder (known locally as a ‘stubbie’) with the inscription “He who dies with the most toys wins” – the team heartily approved of these sentiments.

That’s all from BCA for now, but we will report back should any further information be forthcoming. The prevalence of CACs remains a constant concern for your loyal inspectors, but we shall overcome…

Philpott, Senior, Whiteoak and Coakley

The Globe

2005-08-02T09:57:00.000Z

Team SAM is making a concerted effort to complete the Definitive Oxford Pub Crawl, with the boys tied for first. We have come across several obstacles but luckily we are resourceful bunch. For example the Globe pub is currently closed for renovation. So how are are we supposed to have an alchoholic drink there then? Easy really, just bring your own and sit on the stoop :)

welcome to the hotel california

2005-07-31T20:11:00.000Z

Hi guys! Team Participant (Dave R, Tara, Barb C & Hannah) are having a fabulous time here in Los Angeles. Although the California sunshine and preponderance of salads is a bit of a shock to Hannah's English system, all is well, and we are thoroughly enjoying the La-La lifestyle. The weather is gorgeous and the bosoms are large and perky - the only unsettling things about this town is that (apart from the ones attached to the large perky breasts) you rarely see any actual people walking around on the streets. Everyone seems to have swapped their natural transportation systems (their legs) in favour of enormous big shiny SUVs. This drives our resident environmentalist Dave absolutely crazy and we frequently are worried for his blood pressure on the long slow drives into work (LA traffic is horrible).

The project is fun and to our excitement our team room is literally next door to Robert Redford's office. We have seen him a few times (we have even touched him - don't worry, only a handshake) and he appears to be about 1,000 years old. Sadly however Mr Redford has been our only movie star sighting apart from a lesser known actor named Jeremy Piven who appears to be following Dave and Jackie around.

All in all, a good time. We have a nice place in the Hollywood Hills that has a great view over Los Angeles (have a look at the pic). The beach slackers that are the OC team have visited us and dragged us down the hill to enjoy to seedy sights and sounds of Sunset Boulevard. We've also been to see them in San Clemente and they appear to be adjusting to the surf lifestyle pretty well (damn them!).

So greetings to you all from sunny California, and as they say here, 'have a nice day!'

What is the difference between a tobogganist and a gymnast?

2005-07-25T15:30:00.000Z

One rides down the slope; the other slides down the rope.

Thanks to Siva’s daily pay-for text messaging service, the team starts off each morning with a mildly amusing joke, setting the tone for a day filled with meetings, research, instant messaging, lunch decisions, and of course, Joanne’s telephone calls to Continental in search of her dear luggage.

After spending the first couple of weeks reacquainting themselves with the work culture and the client’s business, the team is now ready to go full steam ahead with its deliverables, having just finished its first presentation and a plan to finish its first draft of the final report by end of week. The team will be heading to Boston this week for a taste of some good ol’ New England clam chowder and carousing around the city for some fun and sun, and possibly even get some work done, time permitting!

In addition to the daily tasks involved with meeting their deliverables, the team understands that there are, of course, other important matters that need their attention in the Big Apple. As a friend of mine puts it, “Sex and the City is not just a program; it’s a promise.” Taking pleasure in model casting calls or rubbing elbows with celebrities like Ryan Philippe (Panger insisted this be included) are a few examples. Enjoying fine cuisine at the Harvard Club or sipping cocktails with fellow classmates at the Yale Club or the quest for that perfect dirty Grey Goose vodka martini are other examples. Saying goodbye to friends at the chic Asia de Cuba and meeting with current, incoming, and past MBAs at various Manhattan hotspots are yet others. And after a hectic weeklong schedule in the city that never sleeps, an obvious respite is in order and what better escape than the Hamptons!

Stay tuned for John and Joanne’s excellent adventure in the City of Angels as they visit the Cali SCP team and celebrate Joanne’s upcoming birthday…oh, and maybe get some work done, time permitting!

What do you call 365 used condoms?

A Goodyear Tire.

A weekend trip to the near north

2005-07-25T05:29:00.000Z

back beach at lancelin

The team took the opportunity to venture a few hours north of Perth to check out the area. Leanne was keen to see the "ootback". Don't know that we've been there yet. They don't actually have a big sign marking boundary.
First stop was Yanchep N.P. where the "tourists" got to check out the Koalas and Kangaroos, as per the standard operating procedure.
Then it was on to Lancelin, a sleepy surfing, sailboarding and fishing village that is surprisingly unchanged in the 20+ years since Winky took a sailboarding holiday here as a (very) young man. Mig and Anders took the opportunity for a dip in the Indian Ocean. The cold water definitely affected Anders' frontal lobes - the team was delayed on not one, but two occasions as Anders had to sprint back down to the beach, first to retrieve his sunglasses and then for his watch; all of which had been (unbelievably?) left behind in the sand.
A few beers at the pub, crayfish for lunch and it was off to the sandhills for some sandboarding. Various skill levels were demonstrated, but suffice to say, experience doesn't necessarily translate to competence. Checked out the TdF time trial on the telly at the Hostel before heading to bed.
The next day we moved on to Jurien and the Pinnacles - a pretty cool place.
Then back to Perth and into the planning for our next excape. Maybe into the real outback this time (it's pretty far, though)

Cheers from the team.

More photos here

The Monotony Of SCP ...

2005-07-22T16:19:00.000Z

Hey Winky - recognize anyone?

:-)

Same s**t different day. Damn we miss Oxford.

**Team BEACH Bum**

More lectures......do they never end?

2005-07-22T13:52:00.000Z

Perth by night
Originally uploaded by winkyintheuk.

The Woodside team were "lucky" enough to attend a one day course on operational management in the minerals and energy yesterday. Seriously, though, it was actually pretty interesting. We worked through a practical exercise where simple operational improvements reduced the time process time from 10 minutes on the first effort to around 0.4 seconds 30 minutes later. And the lunch was great.

Tonight we detoured via King's Park on the way home to check out the cityscape at night. The Woodside building is the second from the left in the photo...

Team BEACH Bum

2005-07-21T15:57:00.000Z

Landing in LA we were thrown into the deep end of the difficult world of venture startups. Immediately confronted with problems such as: buy 9’ or 8’4” surfboards? Hotdog or burger on the BBQ? Best way to strap boards to the roof of the SUV? Shorts or Trousers to the office? Shoes or sandals to the office? Rashguards? Wetsuits? Another beer? Too much for our fragile minds. Suffice to say we’re taking one for the class and facing these tribulations as they arise.

The weather has been less than ideal – it’s warm and sunny ALL the time. First day of surfing went well and we’re getting used to cooking dinner on the BEACH every night by the bonfire. Been visiting LA , Laguna BEACH, Huntington BEACH, Del Mar BEACH, Newport BEACH, (beach, beach, beach, beach …) and it’s a volleyball competition and pro surfing competition at the BEACH this weekend.

Surf’s up dude!

**Team BEACH Bum**

PS. Project’s fine too.

SBS Colonial Tour

2005-07-21T02:47:00.000Z

Greetings everybody – we hope you are all well and enjoying your SCP experiences. We are in Sydney now after an eventful week since we left the UK……

The three day stint in India was awesome. We had a while in Bombay before taking an internal flight to Hyderabad to visit the Deloitte offices there. It was strange to see such development in the middle of some terrible poverty. The visit was interesting, we learnt a lot about our project and we met some nice people. Then late into the second day, Tim found out that his wife had undergone an emergency caesarean section 6 weeks early and he is now the proud father of a tiny baby girl named Charlotte (aka Junior Senior) who is doing well in hospital. The same evening, Booz Allen Hamilton offered Rich a job in London. We all celebrated with champagne, beers and cigars!

Tim flew back to the UK that night to see Charlotte who will be in the intensive care baby unit for the next few weeks, and Sarah who is coming home early next week. Biased as he is, Tim reckons Charlotte is beautiful (judge for yourself below!!) and at least Sarah will stop demanding more babies now…

In the meantime Steve, Andrew and Richard departed for Bombay the next morning. We flew on to Sydney and all was going well when we arrived for the first couple of hours before the onset of a serious case of Delhi belly that struck us all down and lasted over 5 days! We’ve cleared the North Shore supermarkets of baby wipes and some of us can read toilet paper like a blind man can read Braille! A difficult time for all……

On the upside, the apartment we have is phenomenal – right on the waterfront directly opposite the opera house and adjacent to the harbour bridge, as shown from the pictures taken from our main windows!!

We had a great lunch in the Royal Sydney yacht club on Saturday and our Deloitte office on the 9th floor has an impressive harbour view. It’s going to be a tough few weeks.

Tim has now rejoined us and we’re making some progress on the project. Next up on our social agenda is a few evenings watching the Ashes, and a trip to Melbourne for research purposes, honest! Best wishes to all,

Rich, Steve, Tim & Andrew.

PS. If someone could take delivery of our ‘adult products’ while we are out of the country, please forward your address to PayPal. We’ll collect them in August. Cheers.

Life in the City of London

2005-07-19T11:42:00.000Z

Macquarie has seated us on its trading floor. This particular group specialises in commodities: petroleum and natural gas futures, gold and other precious metals, and industrial minerals like aluminium and copper, as well as perishables like cotton. Many of the traders arrive at early, before 7AM, to catcth the tail end of the day in Tokyo, and leave late, so that they can keep working through the morning in Chicago. As you can see, they spend most of their day glued to their Bloomberg monitors, modelling positions on Excel, talking to clients on the telephone, etc. The picture cannot convey the crackling tension in the room when the markets are really moving.

This is our building. It is in the heart of the City of London, near the Moorgate tube.
The Bank of England is just two blocks away, St. Paul's Cathedral perhaps 2 minutes' walk. We are on the 25th floor and enjoy a fantastic view of the West End. The ScotiaBank and the DeBeers teams also live and work in the neighbourhood.

Some of us have been spending our leisure in the London nightclubs; others wander about photographing architecture. To the left is a picture of the Swiss Re building, better known to Londoners as "the gherkin" ("pickle" to Americans). It was designed by Britain's foremost architect, Sir Norman Foster, who also built the interior court of the British Museum (well worth a visit).

Another building of note houses Lloyd's of London, the reinsurance giant. Its architects were Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano. They also designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Both buildings display their guts - electrical, plumbing, and ventilation systems, as well elevators - on the exterior.

Green Eggs and Ham (Team SAM's official book)

2005-07-18T14:29:00.000Z

Inspired by our team book, Green Eggs and Ham, I used my SCP time wisely and penned this version. (See any resemblance between our team member and the famous cat???)

Although I do not like
Green eggs and ham,
Not in a box
Not with a fox
Not in a house
Not with a mouse,
A member of Team SAM-I-am.

Although I do not like them in a car
On our way to a bar,
Not with Mark
Not in a park
Not with Helen
Not with a melon
Not with Finn
But perhaps with some gin,
A member of Team SAM-I-am.

Squash Showdown in the Southern Land

2005-07-18T13:19:00.000Z

Leanne Serves up Another Bullet
Originally uploaded by winkyintheuk.

Lady Leanne and Macho Mig went head-to-head on the court earlier this week. It was an entirely credible performance from the Portugese Pundit, but LD was ultimately victorious. She was humble in victory, just as Mig was gracious in defeat.

Those of us left behind...

2005-07-18T13:05:00.000Z

So what have Phong, Mark, Barbara and Helen been doing here in Oxford?
Workwise:
1. Team name derived (after much debate) Team SAM
2. Team plant purchased, and Helen nominated as Plant Manager
3. Team book purchased, the classic Dr Seuss Green Eggs and Ham
4. Team car colour officially declared to be seagull blue - we are all very concerned about Mark's knowledge of colours
5. Team drink nominated, Pimm's and lemonade preferably consumed in the meadow with copious amounts of sunshine, further research to be done before a final decision can be made
6. The boys have an extended offsite business "lunch" and Helen joins after she cracks the riddle they send advising their location. All report back to Finn that many problems were solved
7. First 2 week's weblogs for the company's international website written. Don't we look cute in our official company photo taken in their lovely grounds?

Playwise:
1. Several more pubs ticked off the "Definitive Oxford Pub Crawl" list, currently a three way race with Finn bringing up the rear (according to the running total on the office wall)
2. Some culture with Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" in the open air
3. BBQ's and Braai's, anywhere, anytime for any reason (Mark & Phong celebrated their birthdays, 6 times each - Helen & Barb now contemplating strategic "unbirthday" celebrations over the summer)
4. Barb and Andrew go to Malta to investigate whether Maltesers really do come from there
5. South Africa very very unlucky to lose to Australia in the Rugby

Woodside Team - More photos

2005-07-18T07:38:00.000Z

Cape Leuwin Lighthouse
Originally uploaded by winkyintheuk.

The trip took us Cape Leuwin which is at the confluence of the Indian and Southern Oceans. The whales and the dolphins run free in these parts, and whale watching is big business. The whales, however don't seem to get their share of the "economic rent", though it's better than it used to be. A couple of hours down the road is the old whaling port of Albany, where many a whale has seen the wrong end of a flensing knife in times now past.

See some more photos of the trip here

Infoscions

2005-07-17T22:17:00.000Z

The Infosys groups are nicely bedded down now. Have only missed one night without drinking. Unfortunately, Kingfisher and Castle aren't quite up to snuff compared with the finer European brews.

Oh yeah, we're suppose to do work here, huh? Infosys is quite an impressive company, very much like Wal-Mart: total cheapskates, heavily dependent on IT financial systems, designed to expand to a massive scale, and a single-minded focus to destroy the competition. They've sort of also built a personality cult around their "Chief Mentor". Declan and I have decided that their are 3 types of people at Infosys:

Infoscions - People on which the brainwashing video worked.
Infoskeptics - People on which the brainwashing video didn't worked.
Infocynics - People actively opposing the brainwashing, ala Winston Smith from 1984.

They're putting us up in an on-campus hostel. It's pretty nice actually, comes with most the amentities. Unfortunately, they haven't quite worked out all the kinks yet. We've come up with some interesting observations:

1) The way to solve a problem is to throw more people at it.
2) "Will do it in 2 minutes" means they might do it after you've called them 5 more times in the next 30 minutes.
3) Laundry doesn't have to be returned to you.
4) It's okay to put dry clean only clothes in the regular wash.
5) Shaking your head no can mean yes; shaking your head yes means that you'll forget about it in 5 minutes.
6) They give you an A/C, a TV, and an Ethernet connection, but deny you access to use any of them.
7) Even though it rains every day, they still like to build floors out of slippery marble because it's pretty.
8) Any 3 lane road must be able to squeeze in 7 cars at a time.
9) You're suppose to drive on the lane markers in the road, not between them.
10) Seat belts don't have to work; for that matter, what are seat belts.
11) Unsafe at any speed refers to every car on the road.
12) It's okay to drive on the wrong side of the road and expect the oncoming traffic to swerve out of the way.
13) You use scissors to trim 19 acres of shrubbery.
14) You need 8 guards to man a security: one to check you, another one to check you again, a third to verify that you've been checked, and 5 others that watch.
15) Indian food comes in spicy, sweating spicy, heartburn spicy, and heart attack spicy (actually, the food's pretty good).

Overall, India's been a blast so far, as long as we keep taking our malaria pills. Went to Mysore last weekend. Started posting pictures up for that. See link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/64345126@N00/

Went to Delhi this weekend. Very impressive. Though the Indians won't admit it, the British did do some things that were good. Will post up pictures on Delhi too.

South to Margaret River

2005-07-17T13:35:00.000Z

The Woodside SCP team took time out this weekend to head down South to Margaret River for a little wine tasting and sightseeing. The food and wine were great, the weather good and the scenery was spectacular. The surf breaks lived up to their reputation as world class spots - but certainly beyond the aquatic aspirations of these tourists. A highlight was watching some brave and very talented surfers being towed-in by jet-skis on 15'+ waves on the outer reefs south of the main break at Margarets.
Anders and Miguel threatened to go for a swim, but wimped out when the sun ducked behind a little cloud. Leanne and Winky suspect that the real reason that they didn't dive in was that they had spent the previous 48 hours discussing little else than shark-attack statistics.

More photos to follow tomorrow - stay tuned

( this photo is at Bussellton Pier)

Gidday Mate(s)

2005-07-13T12:52:00.000Z

Random Observations From Perth

1) Leanne wants to shoot and then eat a Koala, but we're trying to explain to her that this isn't the done thing 'round here.

2) Many celebrations round town regarding the cricket. Oh, you didn't see it? The Australian team wupped'em.

3) TdF is getting exciting, but we live in a "Tour Free Zone". We can't get access to a telly that shows decent coverage (Leanne however, doesn't care).

4) Miguel is pumping iron in the gym at our apartments. Not sure what he is trying to achieve (see point 7).

5) Anders was crapped on by a bird and then spilt food on the same jacket. He was pissed off.

6) We're heading to Margaret River this weekend (look it up) for some wine tasting and sightseeing.

7) There is an SCP to do somewhere in there.

8) Perth is neat, clean and wet (at the moment). It'll come good.

9) Mig has challenged Leanne to a squash showdown. The trash-talk is getting out of hand but the reckoning is tomorrow night. Pray that the winner can be approximately humble.

Marvellous Munchen

2005-07-13T10:40:00.000Z

Well, the Infineon team of Flick, Phil K, Mihai and Gen has been in Munich for just over a week now and already we have been making our mark on the various beer outlets and night clubs! This place is happening. The food is good, drinks are cheaper than Oxford and the weather is finally sunny after heavy rains. The beer gardens are massive!

After initial issues with various visas and half the team being prohibited from even looking at a computer, we are now well underway with the project. The work is interesting as we have been thrust into a political hotpot, but we are not being worked too hard (yet) and there is plenty of time for site-seeing and beer-drinking.
Munich is a lovely city - we can see why Thomas is so passionate about it. It is very clean and very new, as most of it was destroyed in the war, so it is properly designed with wide streets and wide pavements where cyclists and pedestrians each have their own lanes!! Public transport is extremely efficient too, with a host of buses, trams and trains, managed on an honour system where nobody checks to see if you even have a ticket.... very un-English!
Our German language skills are somewhat lacking though... we are beginning to understand some words but we still can't really communicate. Although we have learnt how to say the traditional Bavarian toast and can differentiate between the different types of pork offerings on the menu...

SBS evacuation...

2005-07-12T22:17:00.000Z

Yesterday, SBS was evacuated due to a suspect bomb package in Oxford train station. Many SCP teams were working at that moment, the whole train station and nearby areas were evacuated, including SBS...it lasted for around 2-3 hours and, God Bless, it seemed not to be a real bomb and we took the time run to Antiquity Hall to have some beer...

Taking a bite out of the Big Apple!

2005-07-12T18:56:00.000Z

Tired after relatively uneventful trans-Atlantic flights, the Hudson Ventures SCP team arrived in New York City last Wednesday ready for the summer ahead. After a year basking in the warm English sun, the team was enveloped by an unfamiliar heat and humidity.

On Thursday morning, Hitoshi, John, Siva and I donned our business casual best, braved the taxi-filled streets and ventured over to West 23rd and 6th Ave to start our SCP. The New York office of the technology start-up consists of a staff of three. We spent the first day learning about our SCP sponsor’s business and product and catching up on two days worth of emails. The SCP has very intimate working quarters…an L-shaped desk that comfortably fits four laptops and a desktop.

We’re settling into our respective homes for the summer. The boys commute over an hour each day to the office, while I have a paltry 15 minute train ride. For us, it’s great to be reunited with old friends and to re-immerse ourselves into the hustle of the city. We have a lot of plans for this summer; soaking up the sun in Central Park, clubbing in the Meatpacking district, dining at trendy restaurants, and simply enjoying the lively vibe of Big Apple. We’re going to do it all…just hope we don’t run out of time before we have to head back to Oxford!

Hi From Perth and the Woodside Team

2005-07-12T12:50:00.000Z

The team of Miguel, Leanne Anders and Winky is now firmly ensconced in the fair city of Perth. We have a couple of serviced apartments about 10 minutes walk from the offices. At the office, we've been set up in a nice room on the 23rd floor with views to the North over the city. The ocean is (barely) visible to the West. The project is interesting, with lots of latitude to make it what we want it to be. We share the floor with the executive and corprate strategy offices, but we fit right in, of course.

Weather has bee terrific, with blue skies and little wind. Rain for tomorrow, though. Oh well.

We're planning an adventure into the Australian Outback (or maybe out to Rottnest Island) this weekend.

Macquarie SCP - (Day -1)

2005-07-04T13:59:00.000Z

Two days before the start of the SCP, and the boys moved down to London into their corporate apartments at Barbican. The good news is that they are walking distance from work. Plus there is a restaurant next door that serves two meals for 8.95 all day. Vladi will definitely appreciate that.

A large Mercedes van was rented, and Christian drove it around Oxford and then to Central London and back without incident. Not bad considering the stick shift was on the wrong side, so was the steering wheel, and he had to drive the whole way on the WRONG side of the road. What's wrong with these Brits?.....

The apartments are quite nice, with modern kitchens, two bathrooms, and washer/dryer and dishwasher. Somehow Joe Mik ended up in the only single apartment, which happens to be the only one with a big tv, wood floors, and a balcony/terrace on the 5th floor. How does that work exactly??? The other boys are still scratching their heads on how the Mikster ended up in the pimp pad without a fight...

Today, July 4th, is the final move with everyone eventually showing up. Adrian and Vladi in one apartment, Sandeep and Christian in another. And have I mentioned Joe has a balcony???

Tomorrow is Day 1 on the job, 9:30 am on the 31st floor. Compliance training and something called i-manage. The boys fingers are crossed that the whole week will be "induction". Stay tuned...

Henley Regatta - Friday after Trinity Exams

2005-07-02T14:43:00.000Z

deckchairs

A few of us went over to Henley to sample the Pimms and look at the funny hats and colourful blazers. Apparently there was some rowing going on, but no-one seemed to mind too much.

(Thanks for organising, Tim - much appreciated)

Photos can be found here

MBoAt!

2005-06-09T20:35:00.000Z

The Said Business School MBA first (only) eight did battle on the Isis today, in the Oriel regatta. In spite of a terrific effort, (especially considering that the crew had never rowed together before), we went down to a stronger crew from St Peters' College. Well done to Tim, Steve, Laurent, Helen, Pedro, James and Miguel. Well done and a special thanks to the best Cox on the river...Kelly. You rock! Thanks also to Oriel for coming through with the loan of a boat and blades.

The Race for Life at Oxford

2005-06-04T15:41:00.000Z

anke, romina and johanna
Originally uploaded by winkyintheuk.

Some of the girls from the business school, today ran 5k in the "Race for Life" event at University Parks. The event raises money for cancer research. It was a great day out. (It was also very moving to see the large number of competitors who were running in memory of a loved one.)

Well done to all the girls!

click here to jump to some more photos of the event..... winky's and roy's

Summer Eights

2005-05-29T00:41:00.000Z

eights
Originally uploaded by winkyintheuk.

For those who missed it, the Summer Eights were a great day(s) out.
A lot of our classmates rowed...Steve C., Bosch, Lauren, Florian, Laurent, Miguel, Flick (of course), Brian, Jonny D.W., winky. (sorry to those I've missed)

We crashed, we laughed, we cried for lost bumps and lost blades, we rowed on, we cheered, we drank our share of Pimms, but mostly we were dazed by the very thought that we were here at Oxford, taking part in this great tradition.....who gets this chance? Not many.

link to more photos.....photos

late afternoon on the isis

2005-05-20T16:45:00.000Z

late afternoon on the isis
Originally uploaded by winkyintheuk.

More rowing in Oxford

late afternoon on the isis

2005-05-20T09:13:00.000Z

late afternoon rowing
Originally uploaded by winkyintheuk.

Flick with the Keble 8

2005-05-19T20:49:00.000Z

Flick with the Keble 8
Originally uploaded by winkyintheuk.

A spy-shot which caught Flick heading up the Keble M1, ready for the Summer Eights regatta next week.

Welcome

2005-05-18T21:22:00.000Z

inside the business school
Originally uploaded by winkyintheuk.

This blog has been created for the MBA Class of 2005 at Said Business School - University of Oxford to be able to keep in touch and swap news whilst we are all over the world doing our Summer Projects. Any news at all is news worth posting. Log in often to see what everyone is up to!