Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Szia Friends!

Hi friends,

Given I am moving to Boston, this blog is coming to a close. Thank you all for reading (hi, mom!), and I will keep you updated on my life through my new blog “Adventures in Business School.” Just kidding! Even I wouldn't subject you to that.

acbochicchio@gmail.com
abochicchio@mba2012.hbs.edu
US phone # and address TBD

Szia!
Alex

Sunday, July 25, 2010

So, What Did You Learn during Your 14+ Months in Budapest?

It’s all relative.

I am surprisingly patriotic.

Learn to be patient.

Get to the point.

Don’t be apologetic.

Don't ask if you don't want to know.

Close the bathroom door. Completely.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Croatia

I maintain that Croatia is the most beautiful place on earth.

It is also the hottest. I love bikram yoga, but I don't know how I feel about bikram living.


View from our patio onto the Adriatic and Lokrum. Yes, you can hate me. I will hate myself when I am snowed under in Boston mid-October.


The Stradum running through the center of Dubrovnik served only as a conduit to obtain octopus salad and gelato.


How can you not take pictures of this? Actually pretty easily. All of the beautiful photo ops are courtesty of Alyssa and Lexipoo.


We took a ferry to the Elafiti islands of Kolocep and Lopud.


While Lyss and Lex played scrabble on the boat, I learned that my apartment in Boston didn't work out. What is a five letter word containing three vowels for my mortgage broker?


We took a break from the sun to visit Restaurant Gverovic Orsan in nearby Zaton Bay. During the time of Dubrovnik Republic, Zaton Bay was where Dubrovnik’s noblemen preferred to summer. Today, it is where Lyss taught us how to eat oysters.


Did ya know that although oysters have two sexes, they may change sex one or more times during their life span?


Furtheremore, opening, or "shucking" oysters has become a competitive sport. Oyster shucking competitions are staged around the world, including the annual Guiness World Oyster Opening Championship in Galway, Ireland.


Unfortunately making strange faces while drinking wine is not a competitive event. This was my response when Alyssa told me do my "Alex" look. Skeptical with a hint of lazy.


We not only had a wonderful time, but also Alyssa and I escaped Croatia without our usual traveling mishaps. And now I probably jinxed Alyssa, who currently is boarding a Titanic-sized cruise ship.

T-2 weeks in the 'Pest!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Exit Festival

Vacay’s theme was juxtaposition: drinking rocket fuel with old men in front of garbage cans in Serbia and discussing “three things that get us out of bed each morning” on the beach in Dubrovnik.


Granted, that “morning” we got out of bed at noon.

But first, Exit.


Exit Festival was started in 2000 by three University students from Novi Sad. Initially the festival had a heavy political bent, protesting the government under President Slobodan Milošević. Now the festival is less controversial and more on point with its original mission of providing relevant entertainment to Serbian youth with a social conscious.


Crossing the Hungarian-Serbian border to get to Exit was bizarre. Over half of the cars had Dutch plates but were driven by gypsy families literally spilling out into the street. Passing a car on the two-lane highway in Serbia was like a game of chicken.


Between concerts, we visited the communist beach built as a “present for the people." Speakers blared techno music, and tattooed, chain-smoking mothers bounced their children to the constant beat. Death by skin cancer is a tertiary concern to secondhand smoke and alcohol poisoning.


Matjaz texted some good advice: "Hey Alex, once you are at the beach, don't go swimming. I know you like it, but this river passes through some big cities."


But there was nothing like the silent disco. When I finally made it into the tent, a 12-year old Serbian girl plopped a pair of giant earphones onto my purple afro. I then tuned into one of two DJs silently spinning on stage and danced away in my adult romper.


It was cool taking off the earphones and hearing everyone singing along to different songs.

Alyssa was really good at Peaches.

Time for a vacation.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Flashback

Nostalgic after our 5-year college reunion, my first post-college roommate forwarded me this email (blitz) exchange dated 8/02/2005.

*******
From: Alex
To: Tracey
Date: 8/2/05

9:01--alex wanted to get to work before 9 to show that she is a good analyst. unfortunately, she was a little late and arrives to work a bit sweaty and flustered. she shares an elevator with the scary MD who doesn't know her name and makes it even more awkward than it should have been. newsflash: alex is awkward and apparently thrives on awkward situations.

9:10--9:30--alex spends many minutes trying to use the copy machine. apparently, there is touchpad where you are supposed to press the word "copy," but this fact elludes alex for quite some time. alexis feels triumphant that she has accomplished something.

9:45--there is still no work for alex to do. she surfs "Deutsche Bank's employee perks," but it looks too much like online shopping so she stops. she then receives 3 emails. unfortunately all of them are from her mom.

10:57--VP asks Alex if she "was the best in her training class." Alex faces a dilemma--does he want her to be an assertive employee and answer "YES!!!" or be an honest person and respond, "hell no"..? Alex contemplates her answer for a bit too long, and the VP frowns, questioning her mental capacities.

11:15--Alex breaks up the day with a trip to the coffee machine.

11:55--Alex goes to lunch with 5 male (older) members of her group. They are loud, boisterous, and swear a lot, so Alex doesn't say much, but eats her sandwich quietly (although she has forgotten napkins). Her fellow co-workers ask her one question, which she doesn't hear, so she answers "yes." Apparently, this wasn't a "yes or no" question, as her lunch companions stare questioningly back at her with looks of pity/disdain(???) on their faces. However, the Cosi Lime Chicken sandwich is quite tasty.

12:52--Alex has yet to do any work.

1:18--Alex wonders what she will order for dinner.

2:05--Alex decides to email every person she ever has known in Dartmouth/high school/elementary school/life. This takes some time. However, she is nervous about sending emails over her work email, so writes them in microsoft word (to appear like she's doing work), and copies and pastes them into her alum account. So far, Alex has received 0 responses. Except from her mom. That does not count.

3:01--Alex thinks she fell asleep for a bit. The past twenty minutes/6 hours/6 weeks seem like a blur.


*************************
From: Tracey
To: Alex
Date: 8/5/05

9:11 - tracey comes in late to work

9:15 - tracey eats the yogurt she brings for breakfast

9:30 - tracey gets a call from her boss who is out of the office today. she manages to scrape together some important questions to sound like she's doing work. she hangs up the phone and adds two things to her "to do" list. now she has three things on her to do list.

9:37 - tracey takes a blitz break

9:42 - tracey puts in her country music cd and annoys her coworkers

10:04 - tracey accomplishes one of the things on her to do list

10:07 - tracey accomplishes another thing on her to do list

10:15 - tracey takes a blitz break

10:22 - tracey learns that she is in fact going to nevis. tracey also learns that it will just be herself and her boss in nevis. tracey wonders if they will be sharing a hotel room and gets nervous.

10:52 - tracey signs for a package. the package is not for her.

10:53 - tracey gets hungry and thinks about the salad that she made for lunch.

10:54 - tracey realizes that lunch is two hours away.

********