The Studio

Yesterday, I spent most of my waking hours walking around Berkeley campus, playing BANG (no, not the card game. We were playing the Bay Area Night Game, though we were playing during the day). Despite a less than enthusiastic start in the morning (due to the fact that Yves and company partied until 1 AM), I ended up having a lot of fun. For those of you who don't know, BANG (and similar games) is kind of like a scavenger hunt, though you're not out looking for things per se. The goal is to solve a series of puzzles in order to obtain clues that will help you accomplish an overall goal or to get to a certain destination.

The game is typically played by some fairly geeky and hard core folks, but since BANG is an all walking game and only lasts half a day, you get a more diverse turnout. I found the puzzles interesting enough, but what I couldn't get over was how gorgeous parts of the Berkeley campus were. I'd only ever been on the south side of the Berkeley campus prior to yesterday; there's not a whole lot to be impressed about on the south side. However, the rest of campus was lush green, lots of great lawns, and the kicker is that there's a little stream that runs through and around campus. The cute little stream and the consequent bridges around campus really blew me away. I found myself really really liking the campus.

I have always been envious of the fact that the surrounding city of Berkeley is a much better college town than PA, but when you throw in the pretty campus too, Berkeley has a lot going for it. I've always considered Haas as an option for B-School, but after walking around campus yesterday, I'll certainly consider it more seriously.

I hope the Cardinals reading this aren't too appalled -- I still love Stanford *more* than Berkeley, but Berkeley's nothing to thumb your nose at. The more I think about B-School, the more eager I am to apply to go, but alas my timeline has B-School apps at another two years from now. I think my current list is: Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, UPenn, and Columbia. I wonder what the next two years will bring...

They say this town the stars stay up all night,
well I don't know, can't see em,
through glow of the neon lights
well its a long way from here,
to the place where the home fires burn,
well its two thousand miles and one left turn...

[Chorus:]
Dear Mom and Dad please send money,
I'm so broke that it ain't funny,
well I dont need much just enough to get me through,
please dont worry cause I'm alright,
see I'm playing here at the bar tonight
well in this town I'm going to make our dreams come true.
well I love you more than anything in the world,
Love your baby girl

black top, blue skies big town full of little white lies,
everybodys your friend, you can never be sure,
they'll promise fancy cars and diamond rings and all sorts of shiny things,
but girl you'll remember what your knees are for

[Chorus:]
Dear Mom and Dad please send money,
I'm so broke that it ain't funny,
well I dont need much just enough to get me through,
please dont worry cause I'm alright,
see I'm playing here at the bar tonight
well in this town I'm going to make our dreams come true.
well I love you more than anything in the world,
love your baby girl

I know that I'm on my way,
I can tell everytime I play,
I'll know that it's worth all the dues I payed when I can write to you and say:

Dear Mom and Dad I'll send money
I'm so rich that it ain't funny
well it ought to be more than enough to get you through
please dont worry becasue I'm alright
see I'm staying here at the Ritz tonight
what do ya know it made our dreams come true
and there are fancy cars and diamond rings
but you know that they dont mean a thing
cause they all add up to nothing compared to you,
well remember me in ribbons and curls,
I still love you more than anything in the world,
Love your baby girl