If you are not from San Francisco...

Not everyone is as lucky as those living in San Francisco (esp. those whose apartments are within a block to the classroom). The travelling can be daunting to lots of out-of-towners. So do you settle with a local EMBA program or do you choose the seemingly "painful" road to Wharton? I chose the latter and it turns out to be the best choice ever.

Now, let's talk about the Seattle 7... (later on we discovered the 8th but 7 just sounds better per Brian, LOL). When you are from out-of-town, you really have a strong support group. Before school, we had three gathering (reception, Wendy's home party, Seattle Wharton Alum event) and lots of email exchanges, some of which are hilarious. We are already each other’s good friend before the first class. Our "scientist" Brian knows the science behind negotiation before attending Bschool and got all of us an "MVP" + "EasyBiz" deal from Alaska airline. As a result, on the way to San Francisco, two of us (not me!) got upgraded to first class.

After the flight, we followed Mohit to the BART station and learned how to buy a BART ticket while making fun of each other. We successfully found our way to the hotel then school (with a little detour - my mistake) and picked up several students from other cities on the way. Yeah, when you have a tight group, you naturally attract others... When I bumped into Seattle people during class breaks, they always gave me helpful tips about what would happen in my next class. Thanks to Mohit, I was emotionally ready for the Microsoft jokes Eco Professor played on me.

Just today, Wendy found a cheaper ticket to San Francisco and sent out an alert. Brian told the group Alaska could refund us the difference, Parry figured out a way to do it, and I got 40 bucks back! All of these happened in 15mins via email. Can you believe it?

I cannot wait to travel with these cool people again in two weeks! Of course, we are having happy hour in Ruth Chris next week...

Btw, this is not only Seattle... I heard the South Bay people are renting a limo to school every week? Craziness...