Is it Christmas?

A rant. Read if you want to spoil your party

I seriously doubt that it's Christmas. But for the 10 days off I have from my work, everything seems usual. I have been killing myself at the gym since the last 3 weeks because I have to compete in a regional power lifting championship in the 2nd week of January. I have been writing, feeling a bit down, deleting, feeling a bit happy and then writing again, over the past few weeks. All I think about is essays; anything I have on mind is related to b-school; what I have in my hands is a qwerty keyboard and a barbell.

As MFT once said 'why drink when you can improve yourself?', I will follow his advice. On this Christmas and New years eve I will work at improving myself, at taking a step towards achieving my goal, at doing something that I really want, at spending time on the things I really care about. These days, I find no difference between 5:00AM, when I jog 5kms in the chilly December winter and 11:00PM on a Friday night, when I'm busy editing my essays. There is a rage within, a little beast inside with a sledge hammer constantly pounding my heart. Every time I think about pulling the little b*****d out and snapping his neck, he seems to be getting bigger and stronger. He's there everywhere - in my sleep, at the newspaper stand, in my closet. I feel a connection between me and him. Sometimes, he seems to be feeding on me. Sometimes, I feel I'm feeding on him. I think about how to get rid of him, forget him or beat him to death with an axe. But I don't seem to get the courage. Then I start taking care of him, think about ways in which I can put him to some good use, and he concurs. At whatever task I put my mind to, he gives me the energy of a hurricane and the focus of a monk to move ahead. I don't feel anything upon seeing those things that disturb most of my friends. I've lost the ability to feel, to smile and to cry.

You people enjoy Christmas and New Year. It comes only once in a year!

Adios,

Unplugged

Sorry for the abrupt ending....

108/120

Yup, that's what is my TOEFL score. Though I was a bit anxious about the listening section, as people who sat beside me started their speaking section, the scores are OK. With this the TOEFL chapter is complete, and the books will be moved from my study table( I had kept them in case my shitty luck pops up its head)

After receiving comments from my reviewers, I changed the essay structure( not style and content)at least 8 times. Despite being so busy, 2 of my reviewers have been very kind to give me an in depth analysis of my stories. I really appreciate them.

'People, there are still good guys around in this world'. Thanks to LSMBA for his offer to review my essays, I look forward to hearing his comments.

Also, 2 things I felt while writing my Chicago essays

1) 'You will get better at essay writing with time'. I did not believe when people said this and suggested that I write the essay of my number one school last. I did not give it much thought because I had already decided what stories to write and what tone to use long before my GMAT. But, I was proved wrong. The Chicago essays are a lot sharper content wise and style wise. I had to go back and rewrite my Kellogg essays. So, the suggestion is to write the essays of safety schools first, and then start with your top-choice schools. BTW, I'm not applying to any safety schools,and I like Chicago and Kellogg both in equal measure

2) Unlike Kellogg, Chicago doesn't give a lot of room for you to write and paint your personality from different angles. So, chose what you will do with slides carefully because you cannot do much with Essay 2 and Essay 1. Think leadership skills, teamwork etc

I visited my university to collect my transcripts. So, I'm ready to submit the part I of my Kellogg application this week.

All the best to the R1 applicants for the final results. I think the following 2 weeks will be emotion laden for almost all.

Ciao,

Unplugged