Speculator - New York

First road trip with my girl since coming to US for MBA. We are heading to a town called Speculator within the Adirondack Region of New York. It is already late fall so it's actually not the ideal season for Adirondack visit. Speculator is located right beside Lake Pleasant, one of the many lakes within Adirondack.

Day 1 - Nov 13, 2020

We rented a car from Enterprise Car Rental and set off at 11am. Our first stop is Syracuse since it's along the way. Upon arrival, we bought mandatory Popeyes and drove to a nearby park to eat. Unfortunately, the food was disappointing this time. The classic chicken sandwich was dry and the 3 piece chicken tasted ok but was smaller than usual.

We continued driving for approximately 2 hours 20 mins and eventually arrived at our destination - Lake Pleasant, Speculator. As the sun was about to set, we decided to drive directly to our first sightseeing stop before we check-in: "pig rock". Look at this stupid pig.

After we checked-in, we heeded lodge owner's recommendation and had dinner at Inn at Speculator. The food was decent (steak was good, pork chop was average) but nothing outstanding, showing some huge onion rings.

Day 2 - Nov 14, 2020

Hiking day. Although temperature was still cold ~3-4 Degree Celsius, the weather was at least sunny enough to hike. At a little stroll along lake pleasant before we hopped on our car for brunch at King of the Frosties.

lakeview outside our lodge

After brunch, we drove to another nearby lake for sightseeing - Moffitt Beach. The beach was completely empty due to the cold weather. We took some quick photos before hopping back to the car as we can't stand the cold.

We went back to our lodge for a short break and drove to our hiking destination at 2pm. We arrived the foot of Echo Cliff - Panther Mountain at 2.30pm, which was not the ideal timing to start a hike. Sun sets at 4.45pm these days so it's not the best idea to risk stranded in the woods in darkness, we have to get going quick.

Hike begins. 

0-20 min: The hike started off relatively flat. There was incline by it was not too much. The main hurdle is the muddy route which made the hike a lot more difficult (pic 1). Our sneakers were not so good walking on wet grounds and we had to be really careful every step of the way so we won't slip or sink our shoes into the mud. 

20 to 40 min: the route became less muddy but more sloppy, so fatigue starts to set in. As you can see from pic 2, the incline is pretty intense and we have to take a break in the middle. 

             Pic 1: 0 to 20 min - muddy but flatter                Pic 2: 20 to 40 min - drier but sloppier

40-55 min: The final 15 min of climb was quite crazy as we were racing against clock and gravity. For some reason, mud started flooding back as well. From pic 3, you can clearly see that sun was beginning to set and we have to reach the summit asap. The incline became so intense that the final stretch was like rock-climbing (pic 4).

        Pic 3: 45 min mark - sunsetting behind us                    Pic 4: Final climb - 55 min  

After 55 min of hiking, we finally arrived at the summit and were greeted by an amazing view. All is worthwhile nonetheless. The ascend took us 55 minutes as opposed to 35 - 45 minutes for most people on AllTrails.com, room to improve for future.

Scenery at the summit made everything worthwhile

Surreal landscape

After the hike, we drove to a nearby grill house for a forgettable dinner and rested early. 

Day 3 - Nov 15, 2020

Headed to King of The Frosties again for breakfast since it's the safe choice and almost everywhere else is closed. I ordered an omelette and Kaixin had fresh toast, both was good.

We began driving back at 11.20am and took short breaks in the middle, even did a bit of Christmas shopping when we passed by Utica. We arrived at Syracuse at around 3pm and headed to Asian BBQ place for late lunch. Purpose of our visit is simple: lamb BBQ skewer, it was absolutely delicious.

The drive back home was tiring as sky turned dark and it was downpour all the way. We reached Ithaca at 6+, home sweet home.

MBA Experience Part I - Cornell Johnson

Hello friends,

With recruiting finally over and coronavirus concerns causing my school to shift all classes to virtual, I suddenly have substantial idle time (rare in MBA) and thought this is a good time to reflect on my MBA journey up to this point. It has certainly been an intense, unique, and emotional first 8 months in Cornell Johnson, way beyond what I had signed up for.

Fall Semester: Aug 19 - Dec 19

First thing we were introduced in school is networking, and we were expected to practice right-away. It was funny seeing everyone turning left and right chatting passionately with new classmates. Definitely hard to get used to initially, but over the next few months I gradually understand why the ability to strike conversation with strangers is pivotal in MBA.

Enrolling in the same program with my wife Kaixin has been a dream come true, just being able to see her everyday gave me all the motivation to do my best. MBA is extremely stressful, and having a pillar of support really changes everything.

Ithaca is a nice place to be, for a short period of time. Initially I picked Cornell as my target school because of its suburban environment which I thought would be a good break from Singapore's metro life. However it proved to be too remote for younger people, and I'm now dying to get back to lively big cities.

Camaraderie during the MBA is a life-long reward. Having a small class size and everyone stuck in this sub-urban place, close bonds are naturally developed and I'm thankful I met a lot of wonderful friends in school.

Spring Semester: Jan 20 - Present

I only started putting my mind on recruiting during the winter break, after I received Google's interview invite. I immediately regretted not preparing more in fall after I noticed how far I was lagging behind on tech casing. Despite practicing cases with classmates via Skype on a regular basis during winter break, it felt almost impossible to catch-up to classmates who have been preparing diligently since October. One reason was because tech casing requires fundamental knowledge and understanding of tech businesses, which was not possible to build in a month's time. This shortcoming proved to be critical during my Google interview.

Rejected by Google, Accepted by Amazon

My overall interview experience with Google was pleasant. The interviews were conversational and casual, exactly what I expected for a tech interview. I felt I answered most of my questions well enough to give myself a good chance. If there is one area I could have done better it would be the case question which I stumbled. Receiving Google's rejection three weeks later was a devastation. Despite knowing my performance was not perfect, I thought my performance in other areas would have made up for the case question.

Takeaway: To get into top firms, good is not enough, you have to be the best.   

When I received Amazon's interview invite in Feb, I knew I couldn't allow the opportunity to slip by again. I recapped my learning from past interviews and further refined my knowledge to ensure I will cover all bases. The 4 hours of back-to-back interviews was exhausting, but this time round, I felt that I performed so well that there is no chance I will not be accepted. The wait for results was still painful as it's easy to feel paranoid. On Mar 10th, 3 business days after the interview, I was ecstatic to receive Amazon's offer, I did it!

Takeaway: If I had received Google's offer in Jan, I would attribute a big portion of it to luck. When I secured Amazon's offer, I know I earned it because I put in the work.

It has definitely been a roller-coaster couple of months experiencing emotional ups and downs. MBA recruiting has been much harder than I have imagined. Fun experience nevertheless but I hope for a peaceful journey rest of the way.