Written: June 25, 2009 5:40pm
My week has been as exciting as it can be when you spend 12+ hours a day at work. I’ve done lots of research online during this time (on facebook, twitter, etc.) and have edited my essays for the HBS application maybe around 200 times. Actually, according to Open Office, this is how my essays are at this point:
Essay Number 1 (407 words), Edited 59 times, total editing time 4:18 hours
Essay Number 2 (400 words), Edited 126 times, total editing time 7:30 hours
Essay Number 3 (405 words), Edited 79 times, total editing time 6:42 hours
Essay Number 4 (669 words), Edited 93 times, total editing time 13:36 hours
I must point out that essays 1-3 should be 400 words long, and essay 4 should be 600 words long. This means that I have to cut down 81 words from here and there, which is why life is exciting during work hours. 🙂 I’m currently waiting on some feedback from friends, and after I get that I will work on re-editing my essays more and more. I’ll keep polishing them, I find a certain satisfaction in doing so. It allows me to reflect on my life, my goals, and why I have such goals. The experience of writing this essays has, by itself, been such a grace that it makes the whole application process worth it already.
That being said, I had ramen from a different store the other night, it wasn’t as good as my usual bowl at Juso Ramen. Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious, but compared to Juso Ramen… maybe I’m just in love and can’t seem to find any flaws, but I simply love that freaking bowl of ramen. I can’t wait to go get it tomorrow.
That being said, this weekend I’m going to Kyoto! I’m joining 30 other MIT interns in Japan in a 2-day trip to Kyoto that will allow us to explore the old-capital. If you didn’t know, Kyoto used to be the capital of Japan, and that is why there are so many temples and beautiful things to see there. Back in the day, when Buddhism was introduced to Japan and Shinto was already in place, they coexisted in harmony, but each built as many temples as possible to establish their presence. Talk about passive-aggressiveness.
Anyway, I want to see a geisha. Not any geisha, the one from “Memoirs of Geisha”. Or Sei Shonagon. The only problem is that… yeah, exactly, they are nowhere to be found unless I move into the spiritual realm somehow.
Since we’re going to Kyoto this weekend my friend Carmel, who just graduated from MIT, is going to stay over at my apartment the night before! She is arriving tomorrow at 8pm-ish so guess what I’m planning? Guess where I want to take her to eat dinner… That’s right, when she gets off that train in Juso she will get out of the station, cross the street, and have dinner with me at Juso Ramen. And no, I did not consult with her about this, but yes, that’s how things work. If not, she can have dinner from the conbini after I’m done with my bowl of ramen. Just kidding, I would take her somewhere else for dinner!
So that is pretty much what has been going on in my life. Lots of internet browsing, lots of reading on the train while commuting, and that’s about it. I’m reading “A New Earth“, which I keep calling “A Whole New World”, and it’s an excellent book. Everyone should read it and see if they can be enlightened. After all, Oprah recommends it.
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