Life is short and good times almost gone

Gosh!!! Just the time to have a break on my blog and almost one month has gone since my last update... I received many claims so that shows that this blog is at least read by many of us, not only by my spouse and my cat.

The weather here is freezy. But Ann Arbor holds its charm and it is a pleasure finally to discover Michigan in the cold and windy days. I have still something like a couple of weeks to stay there and I am sure I will miss many things : the new friends (the French connection: Gilles, Anne, Taoufik; the Brazilian connection: Henrique, Wanine, Renata and the US connection: Sarah, Neil, Maggie, Matt... and the international community: Felix, Jonas, Iota, Gabriel, Camila, Suzana, etc etc), the Starbucks coffee, the class atmosphere and the excellent teachers.

This month has been highly crucial because I have some replies from interviews and I have now to make important choices that will determine the future. Basically, I manage to reach my employer objective but that requires significant life change. I have also the option to continue my career in similar areas in which I was previously. It's not so ambitious and intellectually challenging but at the end of the day, I don't know really what is the best trade off.

Well those questions are common when you arrive at the end of your MBA and it is always better to have several options than none. So, maybe the best is to take my time, continue my interview schedule and try to make the most suitable decision. This job search even if I have some rejections has been positive for the moment. It was one of the major challenges since I am not really gifted in "market" myself. At least I manage to improve this in my profile. The other great point has been my travels. Thanks to interviews I travelled a lot: Chicago, New York... and I could have gone to Orlando and ... Chile but since these opportunities were not so interesting than those I have already secured, I preferred stay at home (!!!).

Promised! I will keep everybody aware of my final destination. So don't forget to have a look there.

The city that never sleeps!

Spending few months in the US without a visit to New York is a huge mistake. What is striking in this city is to hear so many people speaking so different linguages. I heard Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Indie, Mandarin... and many more I can't recognize. New York is definitively a patchwork of several cultures. Also striking is how people are in constant hurry. Much more than in Paris by instance. I had the impression to be in slow motion when walking in the streets.

The city is also living intensively each event that has been ocurring there. Today happened the Marathon of New York and in all the papers and TV news, everybody was talking about the Marathon day, giving forecasts about the weather of the day etc etc... comparing to Paris, while NY Marathon is maybe slightly more renowned than the one in Paris, the race that happen in France is completely occulted only noticed by fans. Any New Yorker is aware of the race of this sunday which is not the case of the Parisiens the day of their marathon.

That is New York... I confirm that I guess that it's still the best place to have parties, good place to eat (I unfortunately did not experiment great restaurants) and to work. I wish I would have other opportunities to come back and have the most of everything but I will remember my passage here for a long time for many reasons. As usual... I add some pictures!

Chicago....

I spent a couple of days in Chicago this week end. I was there for an interview and an excellent occasion to know better the city of Al Capone, the Loop and the Sears Tower. I was lucky with the nice weather (blue sky but cold and windy). I unfortunately visit only few places namely the Magnificent Miles, the local Champs-Elysees-Avenue Montaigne, the Loop and more generally downtown. Next time, it would be indispensable to visit various museums the city holds. And I won't forget to lunch at Fogo de Chao, the local restaurant of the Brazilian chain. I miss those succulent picanhas and fraldinhas!!!

It was wonderful to walk in those streets, be on the exact places of E.R. sets. The bad point was my trips. My planes were each delayed of 5 hours and thus I had also the time to know perfectly O"Hare Chicago Aiport.

and next week end: New York... I will spend 3 days there and I believe I will have much more to talk about....



Georges

I've got a Ticket to ride...

Haaaa!!! I love those company presentations in which you come to know better potential employers, their activities, the food they serve and the gift they offer sometimes. Today it was really my day of luck. I went to the presentation of an airflight carrier company, mainly by chance.

Indeed, I was at the library right after a long interview by phone (I enjoy interview by phone... you can talk about your 10-year-career plans the most seriously possible sit in your bed only wearing a brief).. Ho! There is a company presentation starting right now... I went to the room of the event. Only 10 or 15 students were attending the presentation. It happens that this company is under the Chapter 11, which means that its economic situation is at least hazardous... so, MBAs bravely prefer to avoid that kind of company which is maybe a huge mistake. It's generally by facing adversity under a maximum pressure that you learn the most... well, my personal two cents... So, I arrived... classic presentation and... the gift: 2 air tickets for an anywhere destination in the United States. As I was completely informally dressed, I thought: "Oh, please, it cannot be me"... and the guy announced: "ALAIMA Jansen"... ??? Everybody looks around... Then, trying again: "ALMAIDA Go#@>/??"... "ALMEIDA Georges", I corrected... "Yes!! Congratulations...". clap!clap!clap! General ovation... "Ok Georges! Where do you plan to go?..."... I was so surprised and shy that I only replied "well... somewhere"...

For those who are dummy in Geographies, somewhereland is somewhere between nowhere and its downtown... More seriously, I need to think about a nice destination. Feel free to suggest an attractive place to me (those who will propose Alaska will be blocked of this blog and prosecuted according to the laws of the United States of America).

Globalization

Approaching the Fall Break, I am now finishing my assignments and final presentations. Next Tuesday, I will have plenty of time for interviews and case preparation. I hope I will have also the opportunity to travel a little bit around Ann Arbor. But the most important is to be completely free to prepare better my interview skills.

These days, I was amazed by the diverse places my family and best friends have been visiting or working.
First, Arnaud. We met briefly in Paris and now he is in Russia, enjoying his new environment and being actively envolved in a new internship assignment in an advertising company in Moskow. He seems to be really pleased despite the cold weather and the obvious differences with India, our previous internship location... du grand Arnaud!

Few days later, my best friend from the Brazilian epoque, Benoit, sent proudly news from Tokyo. Working in the French Finance Ministery, he was missionned there and enjoyed this paradise for tech addicted... like him..

Then, it was Philippe who gave me news. That guy visited more than 40 countries and he's living in London... and ouf!!! he was neither in Maldivas Island nor Bahamas but in London... working... at least there is a justice!!!

And finally, IOLENE, my wife arrived at Bangkok yesterday. 11 hours are separating Michigan time and Thailand... which turns communication difficult... Nevertheless I am glad for her because generally I am the one who is on the road in our couple... this time...she took her revenge... Well, thinking about it... it seems that we are like repulsive magnets... physically far away but so close in our mind...

Few days in Paris and Marisa Monte

Ahhh!!! It was so nice to be in Paris even for such a short period of time!!! Few days for interviews and see how I am so wonderfully married: I love my spouse!!!!

It was also the unique opportunity to meet several friends like Arnaud and Simon, with whom I spent such an amazing time and journeys in India. Arnaud is moving now to Russia for another internship... And in January, he will go to Hong Kong for a dual-degree program. As he's 1.93m, he would be easier to catch him in the corwd than find Wally and its red-and-white pullover... Simon is younger than us. Only 21/22 years old and completing his studies at Ecoles des Mines de Paris - prestigious school of engineering -. Besides this excellent education, he is also a sort of French Indiana Jones discovering the wildest and most dangerous places of this world. I used to say that he will be my boss in few years. He just need to make an effort in English (allez un effort!) to : 1) to read this post and 2) to become a worldwide CEO.

Last comment to say how it was wonderful to go to the show of Marisa M0nte, most popular and talented Brazilian singer. A pure and crystalline voice, both charming and charismatic presence on stage. She turned it possible to make French fans sing with her as well as the Brazilian ones. A unique and beautiful moment of sweetness and dreams... I met moreover another great "personnage" Alan de Paulo, more Parisian than him... tu meurs... and all his Brazilian-French-Thai cohort of friends.... We were all transported and so happy : Thank you Marisa!!!

Vai para o segundo turno!!!!

Yesterday the third most important democracy in the world went to polls. The incumbent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, had the lead, but there have been charges of corruption that result in a runoff with his main opponent, former state governor Geraldo Alckmin of the centrist Social Democracy Party (PSDB).

For months, polls have shown Lula easily winning a first-round victory. But Lula saw his once-commanding lead plummet on the eve of the vote, as his Workers' Party was battered by allegations that party officials tried to buy a mysterious dossier that apparently contained incriminating information about a political rivals. This runoff is seen as a defeat for Lula despite the high votation (48.65%) but the reality is that Geraldo Alckmin, who was once laughted and weakly supported by his colleagues from PSDB may have chances to rush for a final win.

Electors blamed Lula's lack of courage who flee from the traditional TV debate. They blamed also too many corruption scandals that involved Lula's Party - Partido dos Trabalhadores - and isolated the President from his most devoted compagnons and advisers. At the same time, international press gave too much credit to welfare policies (BOLSA FAMILIA) that provide more assistentialism than accurate solutions to eradicate poverty and undermine social inequalities. Foreign policy challenges have also put pressure on the president. Lula has abdicated Brazil's traditional role as regional leader to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. President Lula is then going to the final round less confident and more jeopardized than expected.

This runoff will be an excellent opportunity to strengthen Brazilian democracy which is already the strongest in Latin America. Debate does occur. What is to blame is the come back of many politicians once involved in corruption investigations. The most striking example is Fernando Collor elected Senator. Collor was President from 1990 to 1992 but resigned the office of the presidency because of corruption charges that started a process of impeachment. He's been ever since a negative symbol of thw worst face of politics in Brazil. But other controversial people like Paulo Maluf, Valdemar Costa Neto, Jader Barbalho, Roberto Arruda won. Maybe the funniest elected is Clodovil - a folcloric TV entertainer - most well known for his (her?) atypical attitudes than for his (her?) political structure...