Who We Are as a Product of Who We Were

In October a took two of my best friends home with me for an afternoon and we went to Salem for Halloween. We had a great day and a really fun time with my parents. As I drove into my neighborhood one of my friends commented on the fact that it was strange that we don't know each other as the people we were before going to Babson. We only know the present version of each other and not who we were or who we are at home. We know the "Babson version" of each other, if you will. It's an interesting idea and it got me thinking a lot.

Only a few of my friends from Babson have been at my house and met my parents. These four or five people definitely have a better idea of who I am than any other people at school. My home and family define who I am more than anything else does.

For me, the question this raises is whether or not people at Babson truly know me. I think the answer is a complicated one but the best one that I can come up with is that they know me as my present self. This present self has no baggage attached and no thoughts of my past affect who I am to them. This is both good and bad. I can tell them certain things (and not tell them others) about who I was and how that affects who I am now. This is the beauty of college: in many ways you can be who you want to be without the constraints of your past. I loved this about Babson: I was definitely true to myself and who I was but could further define myself as who I wanted to become rather than who I was in the past.

I think the people at Babson in many ways know me better than anyone else, except for my family and parents. They know me in the present and as I want to be in the future. They know me for who I am and who I want to be. This is the truest version of myself there is. The past is the past and I like to think that everyone should be able to move on from it and learn and grow from it without being bound to past mistakes.

I am lucky to have friends who seem to believe the same thing. They are the nicest, most fun group of people I know and they let me be me and forgive me for the past as is appropriate. I am permitted to make mistakes and own them and grow from them. At the same time my friends let me write my/our future with them. It is important to be able to have control over the future without being controlling.

Thanks to all my friends: you're better people than I am. I can (and do) learn a lot about the world and myself because of you all. I hope that I am becoming a better person because of you , and I truly believe that I am. My family and my friends are the world to me and I do not know what I would do without them.

I am one of the luckiest and richest people alive in terms of great friends and I hope I never take that for granted and I hope that I can keep learning about myself from them and continue the self-improvement which I have undergone in the past year.

Thanks to everyone who reads this too :)

Business and December Stock Predictions

Preface: One of my goals in using a real blog instead of Facebook notes is to blog more often and about better/more practical and relevant things. So here goes...

Here is a link to a Business Week Article which I found interesting (read it before going on). http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/nov2009/pi20091127_835710.htm

I think stocks will definitely keep their gains of 2009 through December for a simple reason: December is generally a good month for Wall St because of holiday excitement, cheer, and most importantly shopping. Black Friday is aptly named and positive effect it has on businesses' bottom lines shows throughout December in the stock market. I think that 2009 is going to include important growth for the US economy which was necessary after the dismal third/fourth quarters of 2008.

It's especially good to see this as someone who is going to be looking for a job in the business world in a few short years. Positive news for the US economy positively affects everyone and I think we should all take time for some post-thanksgiving giving of thanks for an improved economy in 2009.

Happy trading ;)

Reader Poll: Customer Service vs Job Well Done

HAHA YEAH RIGHT! like I have any readers... but the title works.

Okay so I've been having work done on my car lately and this seems like a good way to vent, although vent isn't quite the right word. Most recent work and topic of this post is a front wheel/steering alignment (so that when the steering wheel is centered the car goes straight). It's a massive FAIL.

The car pulled to the right when I brought it in saturday morning. I picked it up around 1 pm and it was pulling severely to the left. FAIL #1. I brought it back after having it inspected for its MA state inspection and had an Audi tech look at the front wheel alignment. They claimed they fixed it but it still pulled a little around 4pm. I picked it up again. They asked that I drive the car before leaving to make sure I was happy. I wasn't. FAIL #2. They close at 5, this was happening at 4:30. I was instructed to leave the car (which I was NOT about to do in Lynn, sry Lynn people) or bring it back Sunday morning around 7:30 to 8 so they could check the alignment again and possibly realign it.

So by now I'm sure you're thinking the place where I brought my car must be terrible. FAIL #3. The location is Century Tire and Auto Service in Lynn, actually a very reputable place where both my parents have had a lot of tire-stuff done. W

Well here's my take on the "sitch." They have (as I like to... errr... type) "UH-MA-ZING" customer service. They've now been very willing to take my car back a third time and keep working to make me happy. And they've been kind and gracious about my fastidiousness when it comes to my car. That's customer service like you can't find anywhere. Customer service= WIN #1. BUT (and that's a biiiig but), no matter how good their customer service is, I'm still very frsutrated at having to return so many times and still be dissatisfied. The real test will come tomorrow when I pick the car up for a third time- if I'm happy it's over. If I'm not... well it won't be pretty.

So here's the reader poll: would you rather have good customer service and a situation similar to mine or bad customer service and the job done right on the first try? I can't quite decide myself and would LOOOOVE it if someone, anyone would try to convince me in the comments either here on blogspot or on the post to facebook. THANKS!!

Giving Thanks

This seemed like a good first-real-post topic. Enjoy!

Now that it's late enough in the night to be considered thanksgiving I thought I would jot down the things I'm most thankful for...

... my amazing, loving, perfect family and everything they do for me all the time. I couldn't ask for a group of better, more loving, funny, and cool people. You're the best and I hope you know how much I love you all.

... my friends (at Babson and home and BC haha). They put up with so much shit from me (good and bad) and I love you all as well. You're the nicest, most fun, awesome friends I could ask for and I'm glad to have found all of you. I'm very lucky and know it :)

... my education. Without it I would be so lost. I'm very lucky to have a free education at one of the world's best schools. This is something I sometimes take for granted but I am very thankful that I was born into a family and society which enables me to receive an education with quality and purpose. (Babson shoutout! :p)

... my home. This is in many ways part of my family. I can barely remember living anywhere else and I would be a completely different person without it. My parents have made a beautiful home for us/me and I can't say how lucky I am to live where I do.

... my 'things.' Although a little material and stupid, I am thankful for all the 'stuff' in my life. I have a ton of it and am very lucky and grateful for that. I couldn't ask for much more and wouldn't dream of it most of the time.

Those are all the basics, although there is so much more I am thankful for right now. In general I am very grateful for my life and everything in it but these are a few things that I wanted to highlight.

Have a happy thanksgiving and enjoy the time with your family everyone!!

First Isn't Always the Worst

Just figured I'd do a first post as a test. Hope it works and I'm looking to test the functionality as well as the integration with social networking sites.

Stay tuned for more!