Pre-Internship Seattle Visit

I'm tentatively scheduling a trip to Seattle for the weekend of April 23rd-25th. I'll be visiting Boeing on Friday, then I have all day Saturday and Sunday to look for housing. Any suggestions on where to look? Anyone care to join me?

Mustache March

Mustache March has arrived... see Steve Smith's blog for details. Anyone can vote!

International Plant Trek 6

Tokyo... one word... trains! Everywhere. Here's the subway map! To me, it looks like a bowl of spaghetti. Not the most intuitive public transportation system, but very thorough. And like most Asian subways, they were always on schedule with real time displays of when to expect the next train. Once again, putting the T to shame! (but I still love the T)

Our last plan tour was at Hitachi/GE. A factory that builds Nuclear Power Plants... yes Nuclear Power Plants. This was by far the coolest experience for me! In many of may classes here at MIT, I have learned all about the theory and calculations behind energy systems, but now I got to see them in real life! I literally touched the control rods for a nuclear reactor core! The machines that built the parts of the Nuclear Plant were HUGE! While the tour may have been a little too thorough (aka, long), it was still a fantastic experience!

That evening, we were free in Tokyo! I headed up to the top of the tallest building in Tokyo (a mere 45 floors compared to Shanghai's 100 floors), but it was a great sight non the less.

In our city traversing over the next few days, we ran into a tradition wedding ceremony...

a local with a shirt that said "Indianapolis!" (he thought I was crazy when I asked for a picture)

And the Imperial Palace (cue the Star Wars Imperial March Background music!)

As I may have mentioned before, this was a great trip! While not a typical relaxing, beach, sun, and sand filled spring break, it was a wonderful time. The trip continued to prove my "life theory" true... It's not where you are, it's who you are with. The people on this trip (LGO 11's, LGO 10's and SJTU students) made it a GREAT time... but the location didn't hurt either.

International Plant Trek 5

JAPAN! My first time in Japan! And our arrival was unforgettable. We flew into Nagoya, got through immigration, picked up our bags, flew threw customs and arrived at the following sight...

I guess this one takes some explaining. When we flew into Shanghai, there were seemingly hundreds of people hold signs in Chinese that I presume had the names of people they were receiving. A few of the signs were in english, and one of these English signs really stood out... not only because it was pink, but because it said "Hot Gravy". We laughed at that for several days. Thus when landing in Japan, classmate Steve Smith quickly made a Hot Gravy and handed it to our tour Guide to receive us! Hilarious!

We headed to the Toyota Plant the next day. On the bus on our way to the plan, I quickly discovered a very stark contrast between Chinese and Japanese... organization. There was a tour guide who told us to the minute how long our trip would be, what we would be seeing on either side of the bus, where to go for dinner, what her son likes to do for fun in, etc!!! In China, we jumped on a bus hoping it took us to the right place and who knows when we would get there!

Toyato was very cool to see. Despite the 3 auto manufacturers that I've seen who claim to be using the "Toyota Production System", there was a distinct difference. While it's hard to describe, I was surprised. Additionally, I couldn't believe how fast the Japanese people worked! Every motion was deliberate, planned, precise, and FAST! It makes all other automakers look like turtles!

After a plant tour we headed to their museum for lunch, a question/answer session, and some free time!

We even got to see their "Trumpet Playing Robot". For a company that is famous for eliminating business/manufacturing waste, I was very surprised to see how a trumpet playing robot is not considered wasteful... but it was so cool!

After the museum we headed to the train station to get on the famous Bullet Trains! I couldn't believe how frequent the were. Trains that were 14 large cars long came gliding by every 10 minutes! It was incredible to see and ride. While not as fast as the Maglev in Shanghai, this was very cool.

About an hour and half later, we made it to Tokyo! The New York City of Asia! Lights, people, and subways galore! I was amazed to see how far you could walk underground! Each subway station extended for several blocks connecting buildings, shopping centers, and other subway stations underneath the streets!

Here's Karla and I above ground (for once!) in Tokyo!

International Plant Trek 4

Monday and Tuesday were spent visiting Chinese Manufacturing facilities. On monday we went to SAIC, an automotive manufacturer. While the tour was somewhat abrupt, we got a very good view of their factory floor. It was by far the cleanest car factory that I've seen. It looked amazingly similar to the American manufactures we saw on the Domestic Plant Trek.

In the evening, we had time to get to a Shanghai acrobatic show. This was very entertaining. Despite approval from our local friends, I found out the hard way that pictures during the show were not allowed... luckily I snapped this one before they told me to stop.

On tuesday we headed to Caterpillar where they manufacture large construction equipment. Amazingly, their business model is set up so that it is economical to manufacture large equipment in China almost purely for export to other countries! I believe they said that 99% of what they make at this factory was exported!!! Here I am in one of the models that they build.

And here we are in the bucket.

After Caterpillar, the SJTU students threw an outstanding Kareoke party for everyone! It was a great evening of singing and dancing!

The next morning was a little rough, but we all made out way in the rain to the SJTU campus for a case competition. After a Papa John's pizza lunch, we sadly said our goodbyes and the LGO's jumped on the bus for the airport... we were Japan bound!

International Plant Trek 3

After a great night on the boat, we had one more completely free day before we start our factory tours. We started the day with some shopping around town. Our wonderful tour guides did a great job of taking us to the greatest shopping areas of Shanghai.

We then visited the SJTU campus and checked out their rooms.... halfway around the world, MBA classrooms look pretty similar to this previous post.

We then played badminton with the SJTU students in the recreation center. While I put up a decent fight, they beat me in a ping pong match. I'll practice up for next time.

We ended the day with the absolute best/most fun meal I have ever had. We went to a Japanese restaurant with about 30 LGO and SJTU classmates. It was a ton of fun.

A huge thanks to the SJTU students for all of their help.

International Plant Trek 2

I'll just start by saying this trip to China has be AWESOME! I realize I'm a few days behind with this blog, but I'll try to keep it sequential.

We continued to sight see over the weekend. We headed to the currently 2nd tallest building in the world (which is right across the street from the currently 4th tallest building in the world). A crazy double decker elevator ride at almost 50 mph took us to the top in roughly a minute where we could look down at the world. While the weather was not the most conducive for viewing, it was still VERY cool to be that high up.

Here I am above the 2nd and 3rd tallest structures in Shanghai. I'm also in a cloud!

We continued that evening with a boat cruise down the river in Shanghai! We were joined by all of the MBA students from SJTU, a university in Shanghai where we have a sister LGO program. The SJTU students have done a phenomenal job as hosts, tour guides, and friends!

Here is the view of the Shanghai skyline from the boat. Still a little hazy, but I think it makes for a good photo effect without the need for photoshop.

The cruise was a ton of fun! It was great to meet everyone and have the experience of the boat! I even met a student who will be in Seattle on an exchange program this coming fall... my first friend in Seattle!

As usual, more to come...

International Plant Trek 1

The first few days in China have been great!!! Staying up all night before catching my flight on wednesday morning has proven once again a success as I have no effects of jetlag (yet!!!). Now that I'm here, I feel much more "at home" than many of my classmates. My broken/terrible Chinese phrases are coming back in full force quicker than expected!

Here's a quick summary of our first few days.

We rode the MagLev train from the airport to the Shanghai subways system and hit 430 km/hr (that' 267 mph!!!). It felt like we were literally gliding on air!!!

We went to the Shanghai Urban Planning Center where they have a HUGE 3-d model of the HUGE city of Shanghai (as seen in the picture behind me).

We then headed to some old town Shanghai. This makes "old" in Boston look pretty young.

We finally took a group old time photo. I think the funniest part of this picture is what is on the other side of this camera...
This was our view during the picture. A whole group of Chinese people had gathered to watch us. We find that the Chinese people tend to gather in groups, especially when there are white people to watch!!!

More to come!!!

China Bound

In 36 hours I'll be on my way to China. For those who know me, you'll be thinking "again?". In my previous job as a Mechanical Design Engineer at Klipsch (I miss you guys!), I frequently travel to China to oversee the manufacturing of our designs.

This trip to Asia will be part of the International Plant Trek, a non-required international version of the Domestic Plant Trek we did in January. Not only are we visiting China, but Japan as well.

While there will be many cool things to see at companies such as Caterpillar, SAIC, Hitachi, and Toyota... I'm really looking forward to seeing Tokyo (and riding not one, but two high speed trains!!!! One is a Maglev train in Shanghai and the other is the bullet train in Japan!!! Nerdy, I know!)

I will be leaving Wednesday March 17th and returning Sunday March 28th. Right now, I'm conditioning myself to adjust to jetlag. The conditioning will commence with an "all nighter" tuesday night before I leave!

Stay tuned for pictures and stories.

This is a picture from my last trip to China! No Great Wall this trip!

Jinxed

Just when I mentioned the beautiful spring weather, Boston responded with full force. Today marks day 3 of non-stop rain. I've soaked through more shoes, socks, and jeans in the past few days than the entire last year! I guess this could be considered my training for Seattle.

Spring has Sprung... for now

The weather has be absolutely beautiful lately. We've been hitting 50 degrees almost every day with a nice clear sky revealing plenty of sun! Now the grass needs to turn green!

I have a class this semester that is held in the main building cluster of campus. This has given me the opportunity to explore the "other side" of campus a lot more. There's a lot going on over there! I also get to walk outside a lot more, which this weather has been great for!

Here's a few pictures of my walk this past week. I was in the Killian Court (the grassy area in front of the dome). I took 4 pictures panning from the MIT Dome to Back Bay in Boston.

The dome!

Just to the right of the Dome, a good view of the main building cluster with the Green Building in the background (it has a big golf ball on top).

More of the main building cluster... only further to the right this time.

Look close! It's Back Bay Boston in the background. The trained eye can see the John Hancock building on the left and the Prudential Building on the right.

The Ultimate Showdown

LGO Hockey! Class of 2010 vs Class of 2011

Every year, the two LGO classes take sides and play a heated game of "less than talented ice hockey". The vast majority of us are new to the sport, but we play with enough heart that our complete lack of skills don't matter.

This year, due to complications and policies, a class vs class game was not scheduled to happen. Fortunately, at the last minute Todd (our goalie, organizer, and coach) was able to pull of a miracle. On Saturday march 6th, we found out that the game would take place on Sunday March 7th.

While the Class of 11 (that's me) was prepared due to our regular season games, the 1o's scrambled to organize themselves. They did a great job acquiring, borrowing, and sharing equipment to play and showed up in full force for the game.

Come game time, the area "filled" with spectators (almost 30 people including my parents!!!). The puck hit the ice and the game began. Near the end of 3 periods of ferocious skating, missed shots, spills, and my personal favorite open ice falls (someone who falls on the own accord, no outside interferences), the Class of 11 came were ahead 3 to 1. The 10's pulled their goalie for one last effort! Luckily our defense held and we came out victorious!

Great game and great times!

A face off... one of MANY that night due to offsides, icing, and great catches by the goalies.

LGO 11's are victorious!
Group picture!

Congrats to Kacey!

My current classmate, fellow Indiana native and Purdue alum has recently received quite an award.

I would tell you more, but I think someone else already did a better job of writing than what I could do. Check out the website to see the article about her!

Congrats Kacey!

This Summer... Seattle Bound!

Internship matching has completed. It's official. I will be spending my summer and fall in Seattle at the Boeing Company. I'm excited for this opportunity and experience. From what I hear, the company and the city have a lot of great things to offer. Now I just have to get there... it's only 3000 miles away!

I warmly welcome any tips, suggestions, or helpful comments about Seattle (especially regarding housing)!!!

The Bold Sell Competition

Get it? The BS Competition?

According to the Bold Sell Competition Website, the competition consists of contestants making a sales pitch to a group of investors. However the catch is that they don't know what they are pitching until they are on stage. Contestants stumble their way through 6 slides in 7 minutes making everything up as they go! The slides consists of outrageously unconnected pictures combined with revenue graphs and strategy charts that make absolutely no sense.

On Wednesday evening, I had the please of attending this event. It was one of the funniest competitions I have ever experienced. It was amazing to watch in anticipation (with the contestants) of what the next slide brings and then to see them explain the slide with such grace and confidence with little more than a pause.

I would highly encourage you to attend one of these competitions if you ever get the chance.

A video of the preliminaries can be found here on you tube. I'll try to post the finals as they become available.

Red Line Pub Crawl

Living in the Boston area, I have become intimately familiar with the Red Line subway. I ride it almost every day to class. I ride it almost every time I visit my brother. I pretty much ride it to go anywhere. I know exactly where I need to stand along the platform so that I'm closest to my exit at the stop where I want to go. I can immediately tell when it's running late, when it's going to be ridiculously crowded, and when I'm probably better off walking. I have a dream of driving one of the trains at least once before I graduate (I'll even settle for the Green line on this one).

Regardless, I love the Red Line.

Over the summer, we had an idea to have a Red Line Pub Crawl... where we would go to several pubs along the Red Line and ride the Red Line in between. Well, 7 months later, it finally happened! Approximate 75 LGO's, MBA's, friends, family, and even a few strangers joined us on our trek along the tracks. We had pub crawl shirts made so it was easy to identify the fun people!

Our schedule was as follows:

Time T-Stop Pub

4:00-5:00 Broadway Station Slainte

5:15-6:15 Park Street Beantown Pub

6:30-7:30 MGH Beacon Hill Pub (BHP)

7:45-9:15 Central Square Asgard

9:30-10:30 Porter Squre Newtowne Grill

10:45 - ??? Harvard Square Hong Kong

Amazingly, we were never more than 7 minutes off of schedule all night! Everything ran amazingly smooth. I guess the LGO program's focus in operations is really paying off!

Here are the Pub Crawl Primary Organizers (many other's helped tremendously, I'm sorry I don't have a picture)

The group at the Park Street Station!

Happy Pub Crawlers at the Beacon Hill Pub.

Siblings Unite!

My sister came to Boston. I'd like to think she came here JUST to see me, but I know that's not the case. It was nice to have her around, and I'm sure my brother and his wife appreciated her help around the house. I appreciated it as well when I went over there for dinner. She had cooked the greatest meal I've had in a very long time. Stuffed chicken parmesan! Imagine chicken, stuffed with cheese and spinach, and covered in marinara. The seasoning was perfect!

Here we are holding the baby!

Here's the baby's first Aunt/Uncle photo shoot. I must admit, this picture is a little posed. Laura and I wanted a picture of him showing off his abs!