In other news, I’m starting to buckle down and do some intense prep for the semester. I decided earlier today that I really need to learn how to efficiently self-motivate. Especially since this killer semester is coming up. I’ve thought a lot about how to train that, but ultimately the best solution is one that I’ve known all along (but have never been able to implement) — just do it.  It’s very difficult to put that into practice, though; “just do it” is always easier said than done. So I tried a new tactic, loosely based on the Pomodoro technique. I set the timer on my handy iPhone to certain time intervals, which I pre-determine based on how much time is remaining in the day and how many items are still on my to-do list. The result is that every task I do morphs into an adrenaline-filled race against the clock.

And when have I ever given up the chance to do laws-of-nature-defying things against the clock? So I tried it out tonight with my RTM to-do list, and ended up knocking out more items today than I did in the past week. Definitely will continue to use this tactic as the new semester kicks in.

I’m slowly becoming a huge fan of simplicity, especially with launch pages (think of it as a splash page that’s actually useful!) I’m really lucky to have found such amazing stock images, which were a snap to piece together. The main background is wood paneling, on top of which I added a Hue with some splotches of greens, oranges, and yellows to get that warm colour. Over that is a trail of purple-toned lights/sparkles with Soft Light, which actually makes a drastic difference. The silhouette of the girl was painstakingly cut out from a vector (the original background was a super-bright magenta with flowers), duplicated, and added on top; one layer with 100% Darken and another with a 40% Multiply. It gives the silhouette effect without losing the faint outlines of the hairpiece or her dress. Title font is The King and Queen and the navigation is one of my absolute favourites, Geo Sans Light.

My favourite part, of course, is the way the particles of light are streaming from her hand. The positioning of her head almost makes it seem like she’s blowing them away from the palm of her hand, which gives an overall frivolous yet elegant look to the site. I originally had a quote under the title (“I’m tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” -Madonna) but decided that (1) Usage of the word “bitch” on a semi-professional website isn’t the best thing to do, and (2) It detracted from the flowing feeling of the lights. I played around with subtext on the title as well, but in the end chose this version. It feels almost like the landing page of a fashion designer’s website, haha.

All this work, though, is primarily a mockup (that’s a flattened image). In the final version, the navigation will have colour-changing hovers (my favourite). And I have yet to decide how I want to do the actual content pages, since I don’t think the launch page layout is particularly fitting for text-heavy content, especially for readability’s sake. I’m really excited to launch but it will probably be another week or two before that happens.

• I received a spring internship offer in equity research! Out of over 25 applicants, I was one of the four that were selected for the program, despite my relative inexperience with following the markets and stock analysis. I’m super excited for this; the program seems to be very well put together and eventually I might be able to publish some materials myself. The entire program is virtual, so I can do it from the comfort of my own apartment.
• I also received a spring internship offer in investment banking, primarily doing market research (as opposed to modeling, I guess?) for a fairly young boutique bank. This one is actually on-location, so I’ll be going in for extended hours on Fridays (I’ll be missing some recitations, but I would deem the experience worth it) and 2-3 hours after classes during the week. It’s also in the Back Bay area, so about a 20-minute commute time.

I’m still interviewing for potential summer internships and/or full-time positions, though, so we’ll see if anything full-time crops up in the coming months. Fingers crossed! On a related note, the MIT Sloan Master of Finance program recently opened up a Round III of applications, due March 15. I am actually considering applying, but it would require me to cram-study for the GMATs in February; I’m not sure if the invested cost will be worth it if I can’t guarantee at least a 760 (perhaps even more, considering my lack of experience and less-than-average GPA). Regardless, I do need to eventually take the GMAT, so I might just do it as a “practice” round at the end of February, and if scores happen to be fairly good, then I’ll send them in with my MFin application.

Today, I also went to the Wang Fitness center on campus and took a Zumba fitness class as part of my final group of PE requirements (440 minutes of group exercise classes). It was pretty fun, although I have to admit that I’m definitely not as in-shape or coordinated as I used to be — I was gasping for breath by the 30-minute mark! The good thing, however, is that I have a group pass, which means unlimited access to fitness classes. There is cap of 2 hours per week for the PE requirements, but nothing is stopping me from taking extra classes for personal entertainment. And to be honest, I’ve been eating way too much lately (especially with all the leftovers from the Chinese New Year party) and definitely need to lose some of that weight…

It’s really a pity here in college — no one actually sits down and eats while having a decent conversation. Yesterday’s dinner party was evidence of that; I’m not quite sure why young individuals don’t have the capacity to sit down and have a complex conversation. Maybe I’m asking for too much. Or maybe I’m too old-fashioned, and things like that should be reserved for when I’m older and have to force my children to attend my sophisticated, uptight dinner parties, haha. Either way, we’re going to make another attempt tomorrow – I’m hosting my own Tuan Nian Fan at my apartment with some of my close friends. And of course, I specified “semiformal” on the invitation, so hopefully everyone is respectful of that.

I actually just got back from Chinatown, where $50 got me a lot of food for tomorrow’s party. I really should go to Chinatown more often for groceries; not only is the food more delicious and healthy, but the prices are amazing compared to modern supermarkets like Shaw’s. Here’s a small preview of what’s going to be at tomorrow’s party:

• Chinese tea eggs
• Luo Han Zhai (vegetable dish)
• Fish, shrimp
• Fried tofu
• Dumplings
• Tang yuan
• Persimmons and oranges
• Mango pudding <3
• Some type of soup (haven’t decided what)
• and of course, vermicelli and rice

I’m not a cook by any means, but I think hosting so many of these apartment parties has helped me practice my cooking skills a bit. Of course, I’m still a major klutz when it comes to cooking meat of any sort, so I instructed Jocelyn and Jason to take care of that, hahaha.

Dear life, dear fate, dear all that is good in the world: please give me a chance. I screwed up so badly in the past; if heaven were merciful, it would give me a chance to make everything right again.

After an interesting weekend and some introspection earlier today, I made some pretty drastic changes to my Life Goals list. What originally consisted of 10 focus areas was cut down to 5 areas; in addition, I cut away a lot of long-term goals and commitments that I frankly was probably never going to accomplish. Or would have been absolutely miserable trying to accomplish them. It’s one thing to have a challenge, but it’s another thing to feel forced to do things that are not absolutely necessary. Why put yourself through a more miserable life than you have to, right?

On a slightly more upbeat note, I think I might be on track to receive a full-time offer from the firm I interviewed with in Dallas. That’s great to hear, of course; any full-time offer is better than none. Although arguably, I might still consider taking a summer internship in equity research and then starting FT in the fall instead. I really want to experience equity research, and I think I have some opportunities that might play out for the summer. We’ll then see where things go from there. Life is always so uncertain, and if I’ve learned anything in the past four years at this institution, it’s the fact that we should never settle on a single path in life. Situations are volatile, people change drastically, and what interests you today may be the thing you hate tomorrow.

If there’s anything else I’ve learned, it’s the fact that you should never take for granted the things that you have; things and people you overlook today may be the ones you’re fighting with every fiber of your being to get back tomorrow. Unfortunately, sometimes that realization comes a little too late, and no amount of begging, praying, or hoping can bring them back. We’ll see (rather soon, I hope) whether or not my present situation falls into that unfortunate category or not.