The Boston Bing

What’s Happened to Me?

I wear a scarf.  I do yoga.

What’s happened to me?  I mean, I knew God was going to open my eyes to new people and experiences when I moved to Boston.  But, this is almost unacceptable.  Seriously though, I have legit explanations.  Don’t steal my UGA fraternity guy identity just yet.

First, about the scarf.  It’s just flat out cold.  Who knew that scarves are actually extremely practical?  Certainly not the hip, stylish, “too cool for school” dudes in Buckhead.  Try going scarf-less in Boston.  The wind will penetrate your naked neck and make you feel like a freeze pop.  Yeah, you know what I’m talking about – the frozen sugar water that slides out of the plastic, a flavor explosion in your mouth.  I digress.  But, the scarf is necessary.  I promise.

Ok, the yoga.  First, to clarify, it was Bikram Yoga, which I bet is the kind of yoga Chuck Norris does.  I did it for the first time this afternoon, and it completely wrecked me.  Think uncomfortable stretching positions in over 100 degree heat for 90 minutes.  Also, for further justification, my chiropractor told me to go.  Confession: I loved it and will probably go back…unless I can’t move in the morning.

So, we had this week off of class.  Dedicated summer internship recruiting/interviewing week.  It was actually a nice change of pace.  I’m looking at a few different companies this summer.  Really amazing companies too.  Blessed to even be talking with them.  Zappos, General Mills, Nike, Google…in no particular order.  I spent most of my week doing stuff with General Mills – a reception, personality assessment, and two interviews.  I’m extremely impressed with the organization too.  The people are brilliant yet humble, passionate yet laid back, and interesting yet interested.  Not to mention they make Lucky Charms, which very well may be the greatest cereal in the history of the world (I wrote this in my cover letter to them…seriously).  Of course, Cinnamon Toast Crunch is a close second.

By the way, I find out this week if I get an offer with General Mills or not.  The Nike, Google, and Zappos pictures will also become more clear.  Fingers crossed, but with a great realization in mind: If nothing works out, if all my leads dry up, if no offers come, it means one thing: God has something even better in store for me. This is a key realization in the midst of all the surrounding pressure.  Glad God gave it to me.

Experienced my second live college basketball game of the season on Friday night.  Harvard vs. Cornell.  Not exactly the Kansas Jayhawks, but Cornell did almost beat Kansas in Lawrence this year.  Almost, thankfully.  The game was a blast though.  Lead changes.  Big-time players.  Andy Katz was even in the house.  That’s a big deal for a Harvard game.  My favorite part was clearly when the Harvard student section started chanting, “Safety School, Safety School” at the visiting Cornell fans.  I was thinking how much smarter I would of had to be to have had Cornell as an undergrad safety school…For those keeping score at home, Harvard lost 79-70.

Beyond the job stuff and the basketball game, my week was pretty relaxing.  I didn’t set the alarm once, I jogged outside (45 degrees and sunny) a couple times, and read for pleasure.  Shocking, huh?  I’m reading Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich.  It’s getting me pretty fired up for March Madness.

At the risk of being too personal, I want to share something.  While looking through an old journal of mine, I found the entry I did on Wednesday, January 21, 2009, the day I got accepted to HBS.  It’s quite amazing to think how different things were then.  And really cool to reflect on it all.  Here’s basically what I wrote (before I had heard the news):

“God, if I don’t get accepted, praise you!  For you have used this journey to shape me, stretch me, to test my faith and make me stronger…God, if I do get accepted, and this is my desire, praise you!  For you have called me deeper into the journey to sharpen me, change me, love me, and show up for me.”

During a General Mills session, one of their Marketing leaders and a former HBS grad, Dave Eisen, said something really insightful about our time as students at HBS.  He said, “Enjoy this time. HBS is an unmatched opportunity for self-discovery.”  Wow.  I couldn’t agree more and couldn’t have said it better.  I’m continually blown away by how much I’ve learned about myself.  And by how much God has helped me grow and change.

Exhibits 1 & 2?  My scarf and yoga class.

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