David Rangel's Blog

Finished MBA

Well, I am now basically done with my MBA. On Sunday it will be official and I will graduate from the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. Just like everyone else, I cant believe its over already. Time goes by too quickly.

But I have really enjoyed the last two years. You can't beat the student life, especially when you can adjust your schedule to have 4 and sometimes 5-day weekends. And the truth is that business school is not hard at all. Sure, you have a lot of work at times and you can be pretty busy with all the surrounding activities. But its not rocket science, even at Chicago which is known for its class rigor. I had many classes as an undergrad (Computer Science) that were truly tough.

In any case, it feels good to be done. I'm looking forward to the next 3 months (then I start work). I will try to enjoy them as much as possible.

Finishing my MBA

Havent posted much the last couple of days. I am 1 day away from finishing all my school work and 4 days away from graduating...

Squash

I dont think Ive mentioned this on my blog yet, so I want to get it down.

I love squash. Ive been playing squash for about 9 years and am just now getting to a point where I feel like I can play reasonably well (of course, I still want to get much better).

Squash is truly a great sport. It's an unbelievable workout, requires good athletic ability to play well and has a big mental and strategic aspect to it. You can be feeling great physically, but if you're mind is out of it, you will get beaten - much more so than other sports I have played.

The last few years Ive been playing an average of 3 or 4 times a week. I'm hoping I can keep that up in Seattle. Luckily, I hear the Pro Club (which is right next to the MS campus) has 9 great international courts and a good program. I'm looking forward to playing there. As a side note, one very sad part of leaving Chicago is leaving all my good squash friends. Ive been playing with many of these guys (Imran, Andy, Larry, Skip, Shiraz, Ijazz and several others) for years and will miss not playing them regularly. Hopefully I will be able to come back once in a while for a tournament.

This is a pic of me playing Damon in a tournament here a couple of years ago:

Moving to Seattle

In about 6 weeks we are leaving Chicago. Its a little sad, as I have been in the area for just over 10 years (since 1993 when I came to college) and living in the city since mid 98. Chicago is really a great city and I would gladly stay longer. But I also think its time for a change.

So we are going to Seattle. I'm looking forward to it. 99% of the people Ive talked to that now Seattle have great things to say. In a couple of weeks we are going out there to find a place to live. Need to figure out if we are going to live in the city (our first choice) or not. So far, most of the MS people Ive talked to have said the commute is pretty manageable.

We are driving to Seattle from Chicago. We are definitely taking the long way as we are going to hit a bunch of national parks and cities over a 5 or 6 week period on our way there. Should be a great time. We are in the middle of planning out our route.

Initially we were planning on traveling outside the US (maybe traveling throughout India), but unforeseen visa application issues mean that I cannot (or rather, shouldnt) leave the US until October. But I think it turned out really well. Ive wanted to see a bunch of US sites for a while, but since it is "close by" you always seem to put it off.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Last night we went to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. My friend Skip invited Alicia and I, and we had a great time. The orchestra played some stuff by Haydn, Strauss and Brahms. The finale of the Strauss piece (Suite from Der Rosenkavalier) was incredible. But I particularly liked the Brahms (Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15). Daniel Barenboim, the usual director, was the piano soloist and he was excellent.

Afterwards the four of us (Skip and Mia, Alicia and I) went to get dinner at Gioco, a very good italian restaurant in the south loop. Really enjoyed the whole evening.

I really want to start playing the piano again before I get too old. Its just one of those things that I can never get around to...