first things first. happy bday pj.

second things second. i had my interview in DC this morning.

i was 20 minutes late.

i don't believe i have ever been late to an interview, and one of the biggest interviews in my life, and i'm 20 minutes late. if you're late to an interview, it means you're done... especially for a consulting position. why was i late? the directions, that they sent me, were wrong. it wasn't necessarily wrong, but the directions told me to look for a specific street, which there were no signs for (the exit was called something completely different... honestly!). i overshot the exit by over 15 miles, called the office telling them where i was, and turned my car around and drove like a madman. i had rented a red mustang, and boy was i really using the engine. according to my clock, i was 13 minutes late. however, according to their clock, i was 20 minutes late. i gave myself about an hour to get to the office when it should have been a 20 minute car ride. didn't happen.

in any case, i finally arrived, signed in and we got started right away. i had planned on arriving 40 minutes early to prepare a little in my car... but that choice wasn't really an option. there were two managers interviewing me (one was the alum i wrote about before, the other was arguably the best looking female consultant i have ever seen). i apologized profusely, and they obviously weren't too happy. but during the interview, i did a great job. i felt very confident about my answers. if i wasn't late, i think i would have guaranteed myself 3rd rounds. but, i was, and it was a huge strike against me. so what would happen? would i get a callback? or would i get a slap in the face?

well, apparently i did a great job because they called me back on the same day and after some chastising for being late (but understanding the directions were wrong), i'm moving on to the next round. even though i may have done a good job, i owe this alum a huge huge dinner.

so i had a phone interview today for a consulting firm (me? consulting?) and i thought it was going extremely well. so well in fact, i just became downright careless. so she would ask me simple questions about willingness to travel, willingness to relocate, etc. easy. then she started talking about the company, and i thought we were almost done. then, she decided to ask me REAL interview questions. they weren't even hard, but i was so taken aback, i basically lost intellectual thought. i did reasonably well on my first question, but when i started to get more and more into it, i forgot i was in a consulting interview and started answering questions for a marketing interview. i would say 'i love marketing' and 'marketing is my strength' and a lot of other 'marketing' things i should not have said.

eventually, she stuck it to me and asked, "you know, you talk a lot about marketing. is that what you want to get into?"

hooo boy.

i quickly made up some story on how i was interested in marketing but it was my second choice. i was interested in it, i like marketing, but i felt that i could thrive better in consulting... i don't really remember the rest, but i must have talked for about 5 minutes straight. it was ugly. a kid who was caught stealing from the video store with the video still in his hands could have told a better story. pure ugliness.

but for some resaon, i got 2nd rounds in Washington DC for Friday (it's because the hiring manager is alumni and really likes me).

quote of the day:

pjchoi: i just like to make things more than they are
pjchoi: cuz...in reality i got nothing


in unrelated news, i think i have gone too far with making fun of asians at school. you see, when you live in a community where you are basically the only asian, it's easy to make fun of your own race and people find it hilarious. it's basically the reason why margaret cho is so funny, as well as other ethnic comics.

in any case, i've made fun of asians a lot in a self-deprecating way. if you know me, which by 99% chance you do, then you know i tend to do this alot. now my classmates are getting into making fun of asians, particularly me, because i have made it okay in their eyes to make fun of my race since i do it all the time.

do i care? no, not really. would steve care? without a doubt. would jason try to pick a fight then end up getting his butt kicked and pants crapped on? of course.

in any case, some are worse than others, but in all honesty, it's all in good fun and they only do it to me instead of the other asian students (who are all international). in a way, it has helped me gain respect among my peers because now some see me as a funny guy. but why would it be so different if i were black, gay, or a woman? in all honesty, no matter how funny it is when chris rock, jeanenne garafolo or any black, gay, or female comedian (or friend for that matter) make fun of themselves, people just don't do it. i can give some really good examples, but because those people read this site, i won't post it (see! i'm even afraid to use it as an EXAMPLE). instead, i'll give a generic example: so female comedians and friends make jokes about themselves all the time when they get their periods. but would you ever say "HAHA! must be beacuse you have your period!!!"

i didn't think so.

i went clay shooting for my entrepreneurship class this morning. it was a TON of fun, loading and shooting those 20 gauge bucks! bring on the ducks!!! 

here's a video

i will write more about women and makeup later, although i think it is pretty self explanatory. if you want more, just let me know.

but i will say that i am on a diet. i have eaten very healthy this week, save ONE slice of pizza and ONE beer. i have had nothing but salads and low-fat sandwiches. i am also trying to get back into tennis by joining a weekly drill. although it was cancelled last week, i still intend to go as many times as possible.

in any case, my diet has been bagged salad, fat free dressing and occasionally the pre-cooked low fat chicken to go on top. i have been doing this for 4 days now.

do i think i'm doing the right thing? definitely. i think sharp pains in my left chest, right where my heart is, is telling me something. i should see a doctor and get back into shape.

i have a theory that the amount of makeup a girl wears is inversely proportional to her overall quality (e.g. intelligence, faithfulness, etc.)

it doesn't apply to all girls of course, but i think it is true in general.

will write more about this later.

i just saw fahrenheit 9/11. there were some parts where it was very emotional, but once you get the emotions out of your system, you step back and realize how much that movie really did suck. talk about leading a country with false info!

don't want to get too much into it right now, but all i have to say is this: bush screwed up big time. but moore... he was dead wrong in almost all the cases he presented.

anyone who believes that iraq was this quiet and "sovereign" nation, saudi arabia owns 6% of america and does not notice the contradictions that Moore says - along with trying to mess with your emotions to skew the facts his way - has some real issues.

this movie would have been a lot more effective if it was made to just show the ugly side of war, and nothing else.

we visited the McDonald's headquarters in Chicago. some observations:

1. their corporate McD's is the single best McD's i have ever had. it was excellent and if all McD's were like that, i would be a huge fan. also, the executives need to go outside and try out the other McD's and see what they are missing out on.

2. they have a magnificent corporate headquarters, complete with a college (hamburger university), lodging, lake, etc. it was really beautiful.

3. the squirrels on the corporate campus were the fattest i have ever seen. go figure.

i am finally back from chicago. we visited so many top companies and it was awesome. but getting only 4 hours of sleep per night and wearing a suit for over 18 hours was not fun. it looks like i either tried to hang myself or someone strangled me with a rope because i have this red ring going around my neck and it's sore.

in any case, it was a great time, i learned a lot and got a ton of free stuff (altoids or gum anyone?). i learned the following:


1. people treat you really different when you go to a bar in a nice suit. even bouncers open the door for you and call you 'sir.' i guess my friend and i just looked 'important.' also, it doesn't hurt when you are in a group of hispanics who look like they can bench at least 300lbs each (not kidding). it's also much easier to talk to women and buy them drinks, again, when 4 huge hispanic and 1 white guy in a suit are with you.

2. 1970 cadillac convertibles are really cool. but not so cool with the back window punched out and it's raining. and you are sitting in the back. in your suit.

3. in 'training day' when ethan hawke was hanging out with the drug dealer playing cards... that was not a good scene to have in my head that night. especially when one of them was a drug dealer.

4. kraft makes altoids.

5. having dinner on the 80th floor of the AON building in their corporate boardroom overlooking the lake, AND getting wined and dined... is awesome.

6. it's really convenient when you or your friend knows a bartender... also when you or your friend OWN a bar. sure comes in handy.

i am back in the game.

and as jason would incorrectly interpret, no i'm not looking for a girlfriend. i started playing tennis again on a regular basis. i signed up for weekly drills every wednesday. i have gone to two in a row so far and i feel great (mentally). but very very old.

i went to drills all the time during high school, and the harrassment, the blisters, the blood, the laps... all gone forever now. now i am in a drill with working/retired/stayathome people. quite the different experience because now, i am older than the coach (or at least the same age). he can't yell at us, he has to be very supportive. i remember during high school, we'd get pegged by tennis balls if we didn't do something right... that or run laps, pushups, etc. now it's, "um, sir, we still have about 12 balls left before we- oh okay... sure, get as much water and rest on that bench as long as you need." yep, that's what happened today. some old guy who is well past social security age decided to try it out today and couldn't handle it.

last week was my first time. me and a few of my friends decided to try it out, and we were absolutely dying. i seriously contemplated faking cramps so i can catch my breath. i'm not kidding.

i'm probably the best in the wednesday group, but that means crap when you are walking to the end of the line and the coach has to slow down for you since you can't even run for 4 minutes straight.

i was so sore last week, it was just down right embarrassing. my soreness in my fingers and toes finally went away last Sunday.

back in the day, you had to hit the ball, run to the other side of the court and pick up the balls you hit, put it in the basket, and run back in line. if the basket ever became empty, it meant we had to run suicides. today, you have to run around these cones and that's it. but i don't even do that. i kinda jog back in line taking the shortest path possible - even if it means getting brushed by someone else's tennis racquet while they are swinging. needless to say, my favorite part of the drills is when we get to pick up balls.

but despite my outright pathetic showing on the court... it hurts so good.

congress needs to ban the sound of carhorns, tires screeching, police sirens, car crashes and other related sounds on the radio.