Our mayor Bloomy has decided to close of parts of Times Square to automobiles. Yup, that means that the traffic center of the world is now no more. How do I feel about it? Ecstatic! As a long time NYC cyclist and an active member of Team Transportation Alternative, a non-profit advocacy group, I can not be more than happy about this decision. Instead of cars honking at a standstill and wasting gas, now there are pedestrians, cyclists and local New Yorkers chilling out in Times Square. Here are some photos. I like the people who brought out their lawn chairs to tan.
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/05/26/arts/20090526BWAY_index.html
Columbia posted photos of commencement for the MBA class of 2009. Here is the link.
http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/publicoffering/post/723736/The+MBA+Class+of+2009+Graduates#
I like photo #9, the girl holding up the sign that reads “WE NEED A BAILOUT!!” Haha. For some reason, the second E, A, and L are highlighted in pink. I wonder if there’s some special meaning behind them. But that’s just the paranoid cryptologist in me speaking. Yes, I realize I have way too many multiple personalities. Just kidding.
Anyway, congratulations to them all! And I hope every single one of them have a successful first year as newly minted MBAs.
Some of the gmatclub.com guys want to meet up in NYC next week. Here is the link to the thread for those of you who are interested in attending. http://gmatclub.com/forum/updated-gc-new-york-city-meetup-june-74130-180.html
I might go just because it would be nice to put faces to some of the names on the forums. Everyone there seems pretty cool and helpful so far. Who knows, maybe it could be a good networking opportunity.
As for my essays, they are coming along. Even though I consider myself a good writer (it’s true, even the consultant said so!), I think the consultant has definitely help me laser in on what I want to say. Right now, I’m in the second round of drafts. This time around, there are fewer comments, which is a good sign. You can be sure that will be many more drafts to come. On a side note, I think that although the friends that I’ve gotten to read them had offered feedback, the consultant provided more of a critical and objective view. This is helpful because unfortunately the AdCom who will be reading them are not my friends. They have thousands of other applications on their table and don’t need their time wasted on gibberish essays. What’s even worse is that only 16% (yes 16%!!) of applicants are accepted. Not a very encouraging statistic.
And in keeping with the “links” theme for today, I just discovered two helpful school-run sites about Columbia and NYU. Thanks to ClearAdmit for the 411.
http://www.columbiabottomline.com/
http://www.sternopportunity.com/
They are like a school newspaper of sorts for information and relevant news updates. What’s even awesomer (I know, that’s not a word) is that it is run by business school students. Insightful to get a perspective from a group that I hopefully will be part of. And they’re pretty good reads so far. I will have to dig in some more later.
Read the full article: Times Square, Columbia Commencement, Gmatclub.com NYC Meetup, Essays Progress