In college, I had a great friend who wanted to explore life outside of a conservative religious household. To try new experiences, foods, boys, everything. I warned her that relaxing the rules was simple but reigning them back in to go back home after graduation was hard. She didn’t listen to me.

Apparently, I didn’t listen to myself. Until high school, we live in the conformity of schedule. Our parents’ schedule. The school schedule. Our extracurricular schedules. With each schedule comes rules. You must abide by this dress code at school or eat that for dinner. That all changes in college.

We get to make our own rules. Some rules, as simple as brushing teeth or showering, can go out the window. Not necessarily because we want to smell or have bad teeth. Not even because we’re lazy. I think deep down, we’re testing our sense of self – our tolerance to not bathing; we question the rules.

Of course this isn’t true for everyone. Some live and breath by the regiment, and they are better for it.

But the end of college comes, and all of a sudden we need to reign in and face the working world. And suddenly, we’re no longer following the regiment but managing it ourselves. And it’s incredibly difficult, when the rules no longer exist. We have to make the rules again. Brush your teeth. Get up at 7 am every day. Go to work. Don’t miss meetings. Navigate the social circles. Shower. Oh, it’s laundry day again. Pay the rent. You need to feed your cat! Scoop the litter box. Go to the gym. Send emails. You should go to bed soon because you have to wake up in the morning. Groceries.

It’s been difficult for me. I’m rather smart. But it’s hard enough learning to pay bills on time and how to file taxes. The addition of a job and friends and everything. It’s so much. Once all the small things become non-mandatory, it’s hard to add them back into your life. Daily activities become juggling a huge to do list and trying not to let one of the hundreds of things a day slip. Nothing is natural or a habit anymore. Sometimes I just want to run away and have some epiphany, see every Murakami book. But running away isn’t a way to live life. (And let’s not forget, I actually like my friends and my job – most of the time – and my life.)

So what’s my point? Murakami explores in Kafka on the Shore and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles this concept of self. If you’re stuck such vastness/darkness that the concept of the physical you is no longer relevant, your soul will rise and expand past the confines of your physical body. Can you do so to such a degree that you lose the concept of self? Can you love someone so much that when they’re gone, you’re a dead soul going through the paces in a real body? Can you relax the rules so much around what life means and how to behave socially that you can never fit back into society, into large, complex entities?

With the Super Bowl last weekend and an entire week of foundations training for my job, I’ve been thinking a lot about marketing, advertising, and this concept of brand love. For example, I failed a blind taste test between Coca-Cola and Pepsi last year, but I still love Coke so much more. It’s my brand. I grew up with it. I would pay a premium to have a Coke instead of a Pepsi. That’s brand love.

Part One

The Super Bowl has become one of the only times of the year when it’s acceptable/encouraged to talk about advertising. In a way, it’s the advertising world’s Oscar… except you don’t need talent, and you buy your way in. Nevertheless, people actively watch the commercials and looked forward to the coolest new things. That’s not true in everyday life. DVRs were invented because people didn’t want to watch commercials. So how do we extend the attention span of viewers via TV (via cable or internet)? With ads leading up to the Super Bowl ad. Yes. With ads after the Super Bowl, so viewers can rewatch the ad or follow along in the storyline. Yes. But what about improving ads in general?

Part Two

“The Internet and social media have changed the way we behave” sounds cliché, but it’s true. People don’t mind interacting with their favorite brands and commenting or liking brand posts/tweets. Now, brands deliver us products and help us curate online content. Search allows us to find information about products, brands, do comparisons, and make the purchase. Guess what? We are doing that. So how do you extend that to offline, where consumers are still watching ads, but aren’t talking to each other about it as they do during the Super Bowl?

Part Three

Last night, The Looney Tunes Show (new one) came on my DVR. I was about to fast forward through the commercials when I started watching the cartoons aimed at children. I was so much more interested in children’s commercials than any of the adult commercials I see in normal programming. Why? Because the commercials were informative. They introduced me to a cool new game or a cool new game feature. The messaging was all around the product and why it’s cool instead of why using this particular brand of toilet paper will make me more sociable.

I watched every single commercial – and added Nerf products on my WANT! list.

Musing

Make commercials that are informative. Funny. Passionate. Use TV advertising as another way to curate your content and your brand messaging. If it needs to be about product attributes, told me about product attributes. Don’t weave jingles and a storyline and psychology into a TV ad. Just tell me the facts. Or tell me something interesting but with a theme (Redbull has been so good at consistently owning extreme sports that I can guess it’s Redbull even if they don’t brand the extreme sports content – which they do). And maybe we will start talking about cool things we saw via the “Coca-Cola” show (30 secs of cool content between the program in watching) instead of another ad.

Because my time is precious. And I’m willing to pay more, way more, for a brand – see iPhone, Kate Spade shoes, moleskin notebooks, and Song flat screen.

So give me good content or good product information instead of just an ad. Give me back my 9 minutes every 30 minutes I watch TV (give or take). And I’ll love you back. I’ll buy your brand. And hey, if you just tell me why the shoe is better instead of using D list celebs, Sketchers, I may actually buy your crappy shoes. Ok, that conclusion was a lie, but you get the point.

Dieting doesn’t work. At least it doesn’t work for me. So instead of making changes to my life that would feel like deprivation, I’ve decided to make changes that have weight as a side effect. For example, saying I would walk with friends at least 2 hours every weekend (so easy to do in NY). I’m cooking at home more, which reduces calories and sodium and increases veggie in take.

This is my first example. Left over pasta from today’s lunch (penne with marinara/Alfredo mix, onions, tomatoes, roasted pepper, squash, mushrooms, etc.) with leftover beef chilli (bad late night decision but now great “Bolognese” addition) and two fresh tomatoes and a pint of fresh mushrooms. Sauté the entire mixture in a pan and add basil leaves from the farmer’s market for extra freshness. Total of 10-15 min prep time depending on what kind of mushroom and how thoroughly you decide to wash it. (Mushrooms feed on poop so I wash rigorously.)

Altogether, a bit much for one meal (yay more leftovers tomorrow), super inexpensive (just the additional cost of tomatoes, mushrooms, and basil), and super yummy.

I went on my first date in a long time (sleep >;; dating during MBA), and got asked a very common question. What are your hobbies? I was stumped. Well, is eating a hobby – I accidentally stumbled upon foodie-ism or what I call Gastroporn. But it’s not a hobby, right?

Let’s start from the beginning. What is a hobby? Wikipedia says “A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one’s leisure time.”

The past few years, I’ve really tried to fold experiences into my life over acquiring things, though I do a fair bit of that too. Most of these experiences involve travel and cooking and exploring local geeky, dorky fun things to do. World travel and eating the most bizarre and delicious foods are important aspects of my life. But is it a hobby? Well what does “leisure time” mean? How often does one have to do something to call it a hobby? Do I have to incorporate something of a skill? Does watching corny dance movies and rocking out in my apartment count? I certainly do that regularly.

Ok forget the definition. What do I think is a hobby?

Such a simple question of “what are your hobbies?” stumped me. Whatever I mumbled, the question got me thinking. As a young naive one, I danced ballet and Chinese cultural routines, played the bass and piano, and dabbled in charcoals and oil pastels. Now? I’m not quite sure. Calligraphy in Cupertino counts but I haven’t kept up with it. Video games? Casual games fits much better with my life, and let’s be honest, my gaming ability. Reading? The last book I read for fun was in August.

So goal for 2013 – find something to love doing in NY. Find a hobby. Wish me luck!

There are a few reasons I haven’t posted lately.  The biggest reason is of course sheer unwillingness.  Lots of changes have been happening in my life recently (moving from Oakland, crazy fun two years in grad school at UT Austin, and subsequently moving to NY).  It’s been a busy few years (numerous accomplishments and bragging can be read in previous posts).

One of the more interesting reasons that I’ve realized of late is the utter fear of blogging.  This shit lasts a lifetime.  And the more I move forward in my career, the more my opinions start to actually matter – mostly in terms of hiring decisions and my personal brand. Sure, I knew this before as well.  The feeling is just much more uneasy post grad-school and now that I work at a much larger organization. Employee opinions affect the organization, and I would hate to affect how people perceive Unilever in a negative way – I really do believe it’s an amazing company; just check out their USLP. A recent post on Facebook likely offended my friends at Microsoft, and it made me realize how much I do have to watch what I say.

(Side note: I posted that Microsoft’s Bing sucks ass, which based off my last few experiences just doesn’t yield the search results that I intuitively want.  It doesn’t mean that I don’t love other MS products, such as XBox and Office – for as much as people hate Office, it’s made a huge impact on my life and for the better.  I would love the chance later in my life to work at Microsoft and better understand the organization from the inside, but I stand by my statement.  It’s similar with Facebook – their photo app can sometimes be such a pain to work in, they’ve added, removed, added, removed, etc. mobile photo uploads, and I can’t change my cover photo from my iFB app.  That doesn’t mean I don’t use FB every day and love other aspects of the product. END Side Note.)

So here’s me blogging again.  I’m going to stop being afraid.  While there will be lots of reflections and tons of wrong predictions (Apple is going to major fail in the next few years compared to last few), I will stop being afraid to voice my opinion.  A hiring manager can judge this blog all they want.  These are my thoughts, and why wouldn’t they want marketing talent who’s thinking about stuff I write during my spare time?

(Side Note 2: BTW I’ve posted images forever but am not great with credit giving, mostly due to laziness.  Here’s the original link to the artist’s image + my asking for forgiveness for not getting permission to use image in advance. END Side Note 2.)

So here’s to a new home in New York City! New adventures.  New experiences.  New gastroporn albums added to Facebook.

First Time in Latin America

Central Bank of Chile in Santiago

The McCombs MBA global trip to Argentina and Chile was my first trip to Latin America.  From discussing current economic conditions with executives at Citibank and the Central Bank to historic tours of La Plaza de Mayo where Eva Peron addressed her people to late nights eating our way through Puerto Madero, this trip was in one word, a blast.  And of course, I got this posh picture out of it as well.

First Time Driving Across Continents

By the Bosphorus River after lunch at Lokma

Making friends with exchange students is always fun, but being able to visit them at their homes during a two week spring break is amazing (big ups to Gizem & Arda).  We did drive from the European side of Istanbul to the Asian side.  There’s also the trip to Ephesus and seeing the Roman ruins, getting scrubbed down by gypsies at a traditional Turkish bath (hamam), getting addicted to Turkish coffee, bargaining at the Grand Bazaar twice (!), days at home watching Turkish soap opera, and making fun of me for wanting to go to the Archeology Museum (for the record, we got too busy having fun to actually go).

First Time Planning a Giant Surprise Party

Surprise Birthday at Polvo’s

Usually, when call a restaurant for a surprise party, you numbers may fluctuate a bit.  But we have many special people in the MBA, and when there’s a party, everyone’s invited.  This is the first time a restaurant set aside a whole area for us, and I had to call back 3 times to triple the number of guests.  Oh, did I mention this photo was taken at hour 36 of my 60 hour stay awake and grade 95 seven page essays session?  Work hard, party hard?  Done and done.

First Time at Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits

When Andres busts out his traditional Colombian hat, you know it’s going to be a great time.  All day listening to concerts, eating and drinking our way through the booths, and a celebratory “yay, I got a full time job” pink hairdo?  Can’t wait to do it again this year. (Reminder to self: buy tickets!!)

First Time Paint Balling

We’re some tough ladies!!

You may think that MBAs are all about partying… err I mean ‘networking.’  You’re wrong.  Besides studying as a full time job and trying to find a job, we also get opportunities (if you’re in Austin) to paint ball, bicycle the 45 minute drive to Lockhart to eat some of Texas’ best BBQ, chill on a boat in one of Austin’s many lakes, and chow down at some of Austin’s best restaurants and food trailers.  You know it’s good when the international students pick the restaurants and when your fellow non-Chinese classmates tells you about some of the best Chinese eats around.  And you definitely know Austin’s the bomb when Takoyaki, lamb rice, and your fellows classmates food trailers have all opened during the last six months.  (FYI more info on Austin’s amazing trailers here.)

But back to the topic.  Hot chicks with guns: NAILED IT!

First Time Being the Janitor at My Own Prom

Hard at Work

Lovely ladies are busting out cleaning supplies at the W during the annual MBA prom?  Crazy great times to follow.  Looking hot and cleaning at the same time: we got it down.

First Time at a UT Football Game

HOOK’EM!!!!

HOOK’EM!!!!

The honorable mentions:

• First time going to Hooters: no, I didn’t get to try the hot wings
• First time looking forward to going to statistics because the professor DJ Maestro makes class so incredibly interesting
• First time doing a shot with my management professor
• First time consulting with a consulting company, Deloitte
• First time shotgunning a beer
• First time organizing the Women in Business Leadership Conference for the Graduate Women in Business
• First time documenting my MBA experience on YouTube (Christin Chen | Moth to Flames | Boom!)
• … and the list goes on

One of the best two years of my life, and I’m so thankful for being able to share it with 268 of the smartest, most diverse, friendliest, most accomplished, rockstar, drink me under the table, and most ambitious people I’ve ever met.

CONGRATULATIONS MCCOMBS MBA CLASS OF 2012!!!

Right about now, newspapers and blogs and commencement speakers around the US and probably the world are preparing their words of wisdom to the newly graduating class of 2012.  They’ll likely talk about following your dreams, working hard; some will include humor or demonstrate a new perspective, and some will even leave their mark forever.

If you’re looking for paradigms for life after college, this isn’t the entry for you.  But, I am graduating from my MBA, have reflected back on my time in undergrad, and now am a TA with the opportunity to observe students.   Here is my advice on small things that can make a big impact.

1. Learn How to Tell a Story – In Person, In Writing, & Through PowerPoint

People usually assume that if the idea is good enough, then others will naturally adopt it.  That isn’t true.  In fact, it often isn’t.  (I’m taking Advocacy with Professor John Daly and highly recommend his book to go into details about how to champion your ideas and win influence.)

So next time you’re preparing for an important presentation:

• Think about the storyline: does the flow make sense?  Are there parts where the audience will get lost or worse, bored?  Do you need to include an agenda?  Practice with friends and not-friends.  See at what points they start texting instead of paying attention, and figure out why.
• Who’s your audience: are there industry specific words that you need to edit out or are you fine with using an acronym?  If you’re presenting to a VP, do you need to go more big pictures instead of more tactics and execution with a direct supervisor?
• Reading deck vs. presentation deck: Are you talking in person, sending the PowerPoint deck to someone, or presenting virtually?  How much information are you going to include in the slides, knowing the answer to the previous question?  Does it make sense to make a beautiful deck for in-person and another for passing around the office?  If you’re going to work for a large office, your deck will likely be passed on, so manage how it’ll look when you’re not around to explain each slide.
• Simpler = better: Grammar and spelling aside, learn how to phrase sentences.  Use simple words… if some erudite phrase in your paper or presentation is fungible (exchangeable/replaceable), then replace it with a 5th grade phrase. You got the job because you’re smart.  Don’t be intimidated into using some arcane language- I’m much more likely to blow off/disregard your point because it takes too long to decipher.  If your noun and your verb is more than about 5 words apart, it’s a shitty sentence.  If you have more than 1 dependent phrase, it’s a shitty sentence.  If there are more than 3 prepositional phrases, it’s a shitty sentence.  If your sentence is more than 3 lines in MSWord, it’s a shitty sentence.  Period.

2. Stop It With the Fillers!!

I had a conversation with an undergrad recently, where I started to count the number of “ums,” “likes,” and “actuallys” she said.  There were many. I stopped listening to her message because the fillers started to give me a tick.  Record yourself and practice not saying them this summer.  They’re distracting and automatically make you look less competent.  You may think, “everyone my age does it.”  Well, everyone your age who doesn’t already has a leg up.  Want to compete with them?

3. Dress Appropriately

This isn’t about business casual versus business formal.  Nor am I saying you should never wear flip flops (one of the best perks of a start up).  What I am saying is that you should understand your body.  Mine is certainly nowhere near perfect (fat), but I do know what looks good on me.  I know I can’t wear things that are at the hip because it makes my waist look gigantic and emphasizes that I have no hip.  If you’re shorter, don’t wear long suit jackets with wide legs pants.  You’ll look like you’re wearing your parent’s clothes.  If you’re tall, a ultra tiny cardigan may make you look like a giant.  There are a lot of image consultants.  Better yet, just ask your friends.  Figure out what types of clothing looks good on you.  Then, whether it’s casual or i-banking formal, you’ll always look your best.

4. Understand the Business

This is specific to business majors, for the most part.  I’ve seen so many presentations lately where the immediate urge is to  recommend the company does whatever their competitors do.  If our competitors are doing something, we should too!  That may not be right.

No, IKEA shouldn’t be in the Four Seasons.  There is a major difference between spending $2,000 for an office and spending $2,000 on a chair for my office.  If Walmart is offering deep discount, Target should not compete head to head.  What are Target’s major strengths (yes, major strengths not “core competencies” or “sustainable competitive advantages”)?  How will they compete directly with Walmart on price?  No, online dating sites should NOT offer wedding planning services. Would you want your fiance to work on invitations, while still browsing the single hotties?

Before you pitch some outlandish idea, really consider if it makes sense for that business.

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Congratulations to everyone graduating this year and the best of your luck with your future life, career, love, and experiences.  But more than luck, I wish you always consider your strengths (and weaknesses) and figure out the best way to exploit them.  I wish you always zoom out to see the big picture effects of your actions.  I wish you always choose your morals, values, and the well-being of others over any short term monetary or status gains.

WARNING: Sappy Post to Follow

It’s not a euphemism.  I literally lost this very pearl tonight.   It didn’t cost very much, but it has special meaning to me.  For once, I paid for something of my very own that I can be proud of and cherish.  The trip to Hawaii is probably one of the last trips I’ll have with my parents for a while.  After all, there’s the whole world of work (the real world) that lies after my glorious two years in MBA.

But as I’m listening to Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas (no. 8 and 9 to be specific, and yes, I’m a nerd), the truth hits me.  It doesn’t matter that I lost the necklace with this pearl.  The memories will still live on (I mean, granted I don’t have Alzheimer’s or anything).  ** Side note. It’s a real issue.  See awesome advert here. End side note**

And it’s not about the watch my parents gave me for graduation or the dilapidated straw tote I still keep around because my dad lined it for me (yeah, my dad’s hella talented).  I will always have my parents and all the adventures we’ve been on with me.  It’s great to contemplate.  Living in Austin, just a few hours drive from home, these two years has really spoiled me.  I’m really going to miss this closeness when I move to New York.  Yet, it’s comforting to know that I’m moving for me and for my career and my passion.  During this, I still get to keep my parents just as close in my thoughts as they are by me now.

BTW this apartment exists. Click on the pic for the article. The apartment is a ridiculous 78 sq ft.

It’s the very last semester of MBA, and I’m attempting to squeeze out every last darn drop of my time in Austin before venturing to New York for a full time position.  I’m extremely excited, especially since (outside of this summer) I’ve never lived in Manhattan before.

I’ve already started perusing design blogs to think of ways to decorate my yet non-existent New York apartment.  In my mind, I will turn sidewalk junk into the beautifully reupholstered chairs (that at like $600 retail), add a piece of glass to an old trunk the size of an ottoman for a coffee table, and spend my days staring at pasley wallpaper as I have Bauhaus’ pork belly bao dripping fat down my cheek.

But before I turn this entry into a hispter fantasy, let’s be realistic for a second.  My apartment in Manhattan will be teensy, and as lucky as I was in Oakland to find an apartment with a linen closet that could fit *most* of my 120 pairs of shoes, I’m going to have to get a new technique for the City.  So without further hipster design-pr0n or foodgasms, here’s a list of my New York essentials.  (The likelihood that I’ll actually change this list entirely once I’ve lived there is extremely high. Also, this is probably more of a reminder list to myself than anything.)

1. Space Saver Vacuum Bags: (linkie)

Firstly, I’ve been wanting to get these since my friend told me that she used it for her trip back to China and sneaked homemade Chinese sausage in one of these (the dogs can’t smell it).   Secondly, this is a great way to get all my bedding/clothes to New York AND I can use it to store my seasonal clothing and save space in my closet.

2. Shelves (linkie)

I LOVE grid shelves.  If they fit in my future apartment, my shoes will have a home and my home with have some nice decoration.  After all, I hate shoving my shoes in the corner.  The one thing I need to remember though is to stock up on some nice lavender diffusers.

3. New Tide Pods (Linkie)

Unless I add about 3-4 zeros to my salary, the likelihood that my apartment will have a washer/dryer is nil. That being said, I have a similar problem now where my apartment is a third floor walk up and the laundry machines are on the opposite side of the complex.  Last week, I forgot to bring detergent, so that was four trips alone (to the laundry, back to get detergent, put laundry in dryer, and bring home laundry).  So this little pods will be great.  No longer will I have to lug the giant bottle around, and I’m definitely willing to pay up to a 100% price difference.

4. Amazon Prime

Seriously, how do people in New York buy essentials like toilet paper?  I don’t remember ever seeing anyone dragging a 36 roll bundle down the street, but I am assuming that people in New York poop on a regular basis (apologies for the imagery).  So yes to $80 a year for second day shipping and no more buying… wait… $35 for 10-16 rolls of toilet paper? Are you out of your $&%^$ mind?  So maybe I will be having my mommy and daddy ship me a monthly supply.  Friends, bring your own, damn it.

I wonder if I can start a toilet paper trade amongst my friends.  Every month I’ll rent a car and drive down to Wilmington, Delaware to buy out their entire supply of tax-free toilet paper.  Then, my friends and I will split all the fees and after my 20% margin, cheap toilet paper for everyone!!

Okay back on topic.

5. Bed

Since my place will be awfully tiny, I want to either have a bed that makes me fall asleep the instant I curl up in its fluffy warmth.  OR I want a bed that is multi-functional.  The above option seems like a great use of space (as long as the piece stay together and I don’t wake up with my butt touching the floor), and it’ll force me to actually make my bed every day.

On the other hand, I could spring for the most comfortable bed in the world.  We’ll just have to see if my bank account agrees, once I move to New York.