Life, Spring & Summer 2015

The spring semester was a quick but difficult one! My advanced accounting course, Japanese course, my consulting course (with a company in Omaha!) and financial modeling and firm valuation course in the first quarter gave me many stresses and little sleep (not to mention Hebrew school and Radiology Protocols), but I pulled through. In order to graduate early to go back to medical school, I took a spring break course called Rapid Continuous Improvement in Pella, IA, learning the ins and outs of a company in order to watch it progress. The second quarter was one filled with group work, from a corporate finance course filled with case work to a course focused on strategic management. I added a night class on some Monday and Thursday evenings (6-10 P.M., awful time but great class) on wealth management, upping my credit total for the year to 43. Somehow, I made it through the semester with a strong GPA and plenty of new insights into the world of management and finance.

Over the summer, I enrolled in our capstone course, business integration, due to its being given only in the spring, an impossibility for me given my return to medical school mid-fall. Additionally, the phenomenal Ethics and the Law professor agreed to teach me over the summer pro bono, since I otherwise would’ve missed his class as well. So far, with just one exception, I have spent nearly every weekend away from IC as I continue working for Radiology Protocols on weekdays. I got to do things like explore St. Louis and see Imagine Dragons in concert as the Hawks claimed the Stanley Cup in my fair city!

On top of that, one of my good friends came from Wilmette to visit me, which was a great excuse to explore parts of Iowa yet unknown to me (such as the Vander Veer Botanical Park and the Putnam Museum, as well as all four Quad Cities).

I found a dinosaur!

Over the Mississippi and back again

While taking my work with me, I had the chance to celebrate the marriage of two dear friends in LA. I chose to save $40 and fly out of Des Moines. Not a great choice. On Thursday, June 19^th, after my initial AA flights were cancelled due to weather in Dallas, I was annoyingly delayed on the outbound by nearly eight hours in Phoenix (thanks, U.S. Airways) after a very late inbound flight, a part fix, and an overheated wing requiring the plane to be shut down with us in it on a 113F day in order to bring an A/C unit out to cool it down. This forced my travel companion, my good friend Eric (now living in Orlando who had taken a direct flight into LAX), to wait eight hours for me as my flight continued to be delayed. Still, I made it safely to LA, dining with the groom and his family on a delicious brisket dinner. We then headed with some friends to Santa Monica Pier for a great sunset and people watching (including a guy who was the spitting image of what Americans picture Jesus might have looked like!).

Dusk on the pier

Friday, Eric (who works at Disney) got us free passes to Disneyland! We arrived before it opened, park hopped, strategically planned out rides for the day, and had a number of successes before heading back to LA. We then proceeded to two different Shabbat dinners, I to the bride and groom’s meal, and Eric friend to the synagogue’s meal to indulge in a new Jewish experience.

The 60th "Diamond" celebration was on!

We finally found parking and walked a few of these to hit the beach

Saturday was a very relaxing day. Eric wanted an extra day at Disney, while I joined the bride and groom for morning Sabbath services, a hearty lox, bagel, and cream cheese lunch, a relaxing afternoon with some of my friends also attending the wedding, and an evening “beer garden” at the groom’s home. Despite repeated pushes to coax the groom into a Vegas trip that night, we failed, instead spending time finding another friend’s hosts’ home and his car before finally getting a ride home.

Sunday, after picking up some shtick material for the wedding and a gift for our amazing and gracious hosts, Eric and I hit up Venice Beach for a nice and relaxing morning. We then headed back, and I changed and headed to the wedding. Spectacular hors d’oeuvres. A wonderful wedding. I even received the honor of being a witness to the ketubah, or marriage contract. After dancing the afternoon away and nearly missing our flight, Eric and I embarked on part two of our trip, to San Francisco.

The blushing bride and groom, in full Jewish attire

We landed late Sunday night, and my good friend and second gracious host of the trip came to pick us up and took us back to Palo Alto. We quickly and happily crashed. The next morning, we received a tour of Palantir, as well as their cafeteria in which everything was free. Fancy sandwich? Free. Cliff bars and other snacks? Free. Thirty types of beer and many other types of fancy bottled drinks? Free. Unreal. Even the bathrooms were stocked with tons of free toiletries (sunscreen, floss, toothbrushes and toothpaste, Axe deodorant, mouthwash, and even nail clippers). The company culture is just that awesome. We then headed for a very San Francisco afternoon: crossing the Golden Gate, riding a cable car (which was halted due to a convoy of mayors from some national conference in San Francisco), enjoying the samples at the Ghirardelli factory, walking down the pier, admiring the sea lions, getting lost in a house of mirrors, and enjoying some of the local brews. We then stopped back at Palantir for some kosher food delivery. Free, of course. Like I said, unreal.

Who needs coexistence when you have Domino's?

California!

Thanks for blocking the road, conference of mayors...

Wut?

On Tuesday, Eric and I drove to see some coastal redwoods about an hour and a half south of Silicon Valley, at Big Basin. After that, we found ourselves so close to Cupertino that we just had to stop by Apple HQ. Without knowing anyone working there, we weren’t even allowed in the lobby. Heck, we couldn't even take a picture of the lobby. So much for having contributed thousands of dollars to Apple products. After that, we headed back home, relaxed for the afternoon while I planned out my next travels, and headed to the airport. My return flights also got rerouted due to a delay, but this time for the better, and after flying to Miami and then Washington Reagan, I made it for an on time arrival into the heart of the Iowa storms into Des Moines International Airport (never mind the fact that there are no international flights that fly the route), where my good friend, capstone course classmate, and former Dubai roommate picked me up and hosted me before taking me back to IC the next day. My only regret of this fantastic California adventure: no Mexikosher. Oh well, there’s always next time!!!

Apple HQ, as close as they'd let us come

Post-trip, I enjoyed a few weekends between Chicago and St. Louis, as well as two friends coming to visit me! We went to county fairs, up to Field of Dreams, and west to Des Moines!

Des Moines Kosher establishment--AMAZING!!!

After that, I finished up my coursework, and headed home. It's been a fun few weeks, but the real fun is yet to come!!!