HAPPY [day after] THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!

The last time I wrote (lo those many weeks ago) I was describing adjusting to life at my first job post INSEAD. Now, I’m writing to describe adjusting to life after my first job post INSEAD. Yes, that’s right, I’ve joined that elite group of people from our class already enjoying our SECOND stint of unemployment not 6 months after graduation. Having just come from a screening of Borat, I can only describe it as “nayice!”

Without going into boring detail, I found that I was expected to be more and more of a traveling secretary as the days wore on (confirmed by the fact that two days after I left, I was replaced by….my boss’ secretary!). Since I wasn’t very interested in being a secretary before business school, I am decidedly less so after. So I’m back on the market.

It was fun while it lasted…in less than 7 weeks, I went to Moscow (4 times), St. Petersburg, Rome, Sardinia (twice), Trieste (twice), New York, Miami, London, Goa, Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra, New Delhi, the Maldives, Livorno, Munich, Berlin, and Zurich. It was a wild ride…sometimes too wild. For one stretch of travel, I went 3 days, between the US, London, and India, without sleeping, showering, or getting dressed on land…while I used to think showering on a plane would be a luxury, when it becomes necessary, it’s anything but. Believe me. Anyway, as wild and interesting as all the travel was, it wasn’t enough to distract me from the fact that more and more my main responsibilities had nothing to do with my experience, intelligence, or anything else that I was particularly proud of. So…it ended. C’est la vie.

There is one detail in all this that you might all find mildly interesting. Once in the Maldives, discussing my frustrations with my boss over a glass of 1943 Armagnac, he told me that he thought that INSEAD spoiled people (that’s right, INSEAD, not the guy buying me Armagnac from 1943), that it made us want to graduate and take jobs at McKinsey or Goldman Sachs where we had a little responsibility, no real risk, but were assured of a comfortable life. I thought that was interesting…I agree that INSEAD boosted our expectations and gave us confidence, but I don’t really feel spoiled (privileged for sure, spoiled less so). Nonetheless, I remember a classmate of ours telling me that after graduation, despite having a good job and being in a good relationship, that she still felt a lot of tension and apprehension about the future, and her parents told her “that school gives you unreasonable expectations.” So there are some older people out there who share that view. Are we just being naïve? Whattya think?

So what’s my next move??? Well, after long and careful consideration, this is what I’ve come up with: I’m going skiing. If anyone wants to join me, you’re more than welcome. I’ll be in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, from whenever they get snow (I’m thinking first week of December) until sometime in January. On December 31st, my 30th birthday, I’m taking out a helicopter for the day. These are me plans…. I came up with them quite quickly, so they’re a little rough around the edges, but I think they have promise. If you have any suggestions/modifications, send them along. Oh, and if sometime between now and then you hear about an interesting, non-secretarial job, let me know. I’m in the market…..