Rejection

It comes in many forms:
"We already get the newspaper", "I like you as a friend", "I'm not really into indie movies", "My dog needs a root canal", and the classic: "it is not you, it is me"!

When I started writing this blog more than a year back, I didn't shy away from talking about other things besides b-school admissions, but then I had set myself the rule that I wouldn't discuss affairs de coeur. Now I'm tempted to break my own rule. The past one year has been a hit parade - it's been raining snubs. Ok, I didn't get a ding from a school, at least not yet; but If the past is any indicator of future, the outlook is bleak. Perhaps I'm going trhough my own blue period and this too shall come to pass, but it is hard to live in the moment, especially a moment in time as this. I'm having my own little pity party chugging non-diet Pepsi and listening to the lord of melancholy, Chopin - yes, even the pity party is pathetic :-( I sometimes think the expansiveness and magnificence of my reaction to rejection are reasons enough to vindicate the rejection in the first place :-) But I guess it is as important to grieve as it is to celebrate - huh?

Enough of that for now. As I said in one of my earlier posts, my b-school plans are pretty much decided. When I started thinking about school in June '04, I thought I had I had time on my side. Like other things in life, I couldn't be more sadly mistaken. Here I am, with 1.5 months to go and applying to a pared down list of schools, all in round 2: HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg and Chicago. Yes, I know that reads like a top-5 school list, but then I wouldn't have it any other way. Working for the number of years as I have, I don't see much of a point applying to a 'safety school'. My view on this is that I don't want to apply to a school that I wouldn't be thrilled to attend. I think of HBS and Stanford as stretch schools(and so does most of humanity) and they will always be special. However, I would be equally thrilled to get into the other three. I've talked to most of my recommenders and started work on the HBS and W essays. I've decided to tackle the W essay first since that is fairly generic enough to be a good starting point for most other essays. I've also promised myself to jump off a plane, quit my job ahead of time, catch a live performance of Schumann's piano concerto in A minor (Vienna, East Europe?), backpack in Asia and watch the whales migrate south along the Monterey bay. All this to be done by April, no matter how the decisions turn out. After all aren't we all looking for the most fulfilling relationships and outcomes? Before I offer any more Carrie Bradshaw-sounding aphorisms, I think I'd better sign off. Wish me luck compadres.