Saturday, January 28, 2006

My life has been rocked ever since yesterday morning.

The situation:

I awoke to receive an offer from a prominent investment bank in Hong Kong. The position is within a hedge fund inside their investment bank. It's a very attractive offer, I won't even go into the details but it provides a very competitive pay, lots of perks like free housing, etc.
The offer explodes in a few days, before I can even start interviewing for the New York internships.

The dilemma:

I am interested in both Hong Kong and New York, which is why I have applied to S&T jobs in both cities. While Hong Kong benefits from a booming China/India right now, I will not take a Hong Kong job if it means a one-way road career-wise (e.g. Not being able to come back to the states).

The question:

-HK would be fun and I could do it just for the summer and recruit again full-time in the fall of senior year... but then again, if I wanted to be in NYC full-time, why wouldn't I just take a NYC summer internship?
-What is your honest opinion on starting my career in the finance industry between Hong Kong and New York?
-Should I put in a few years in NY before coming to Asia?


The rest of my life will be decided in a few days...

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Dearest Friend,

I am planning to go to Buenos Aires, Argentina for Spring Break this coming year (March 3-11) and I would love for you to join me:

Why Argentina?
Cultural Mecca, known as “the Paris of South America”
Really good exchange rate (3:1) thanks to their recent economic catastrophes
Taxi fares around town are $2-4
Steak Dinner (w/drinks) is less than $10
Beautiful city with friendly (and beautiful) people
Lots to do, ranging from scenic to urban, shitloads of clubbing and tango dancing at night, great shopping (lacoste is cheaper there!), and great food.
Known for the most tender beef—and thus the best steaks—in the world (they have good vegetarian options too).

Why Not Some Beachy Place like Cancun, Jamaica, etc.?
You’ve probably done something already like that and it’s time for something new
You’re more sophisticated than just getting trashed every night with a bunch of college students who are just like you...
You want to get trashed every night with a bunch of Argentines!!!
It’s boring to bake, get wasted, and repeat. Where’s the flare?

Why Not Europe? I heard flights there were cheap in March.
Um cause it’s fuckin’ freezing?

What are we going to do?
Day: shop/bike/vegetate/eat/tour/drink/watch Argentinean futbol (soccer)
Night: eat/drink/dance(tango)
Sidetrip: Iguazu falls --> http://www.greatestplaces.org/book_pages/iguazu2.htm

Where would we stay?
Upscale youth hostels (private beds/bath) for like $20/night
Wait isn’t there a movie coming out about a hostel and kids getting’ mutilated ‘n shit... Is this gonna be like that?
No, the hostels I’ve been looking at, for example, http://www.milhousehostel.com/, are all run by young people for young people and they’re hip and cool and have wifi and shit and they’re clean and have comfy beds (I’ve been reading a shitload of reviews, trust me I’ve done my homework).
OR we could rent fully-decked out 2-3 bdrm apartments/houses to ourselves (depending on how many people get on this trip) for like $300-$400/week.

How much is the flight going to cost me?
It’s the only expensive part of the trip, but you’ll more than make up for the extra cost of the flight through the cheap living expenses once you’re in Buenos Aires.
~$730 from PHL to Houston to Buenos Aires from March 3-11 (yes, we would leave on a Friday to maximize time in BA)

Okay so what’s the total cost gonna look like?
$730 for flight + ~$100-200 (depending on what type/quality of lodging we get) for lodging + $300 for food/drink/party/clubbing/gifts = ~$1130-1230
That’s a pretty sweet deal if you compare to other spring break options are much less interesting places.

Are you (Kevin Feng) profiting from this? Is this some kind of scam? Why do you want me to come?
No this is just sincere me trying to get you to come on spring break with me.
I’ve spent the last 3-4 days researching spring break options, I’ve looked places in Central America like Costa Rica to the Caribbean (Jamaica/Dominican Republic/Bahamas) and I have concluded that Buenos Aires, Argentina would be a really unique and fun place to go on break because it provides a diverse array of activities in a city that’s very inviting and is not your typical spring break on a beach.
Wait, how do you know what you read isn’t just a bunch of tourism propaganda?
I’ve been looking at primary sources, that is, reading bogs/journals/forums from people who actually vacationed/live there.
This is not a scam, I’m not making any money off of you coming.
Because I don’t want to be alone (even though my gf is coming—hey, I’m mormon).

THE BIGGEST SELLING POINT
I’ll do all the fuckin’ bitchwork!!! I’ll plan out everything, arrange the airfare, lodging, etc!!! All you have to do is come (and pay)!

Okay I either care or don’t care, What do I do?
Not Interested: Do NOT Reply
Interested: REPLY and let me know!!!, we are gonna buy the tickets and book the lodging in the next week or two so I want to personally talk to you and address any questions/concerns you may have


Thanks for your time.