Qantas workers walk

[the age 31.01.2002]

"Six hundred Sydney Qantas employees walked off the job today after the airline stood down 15 workers. An Australian Workers' Union (AWU) spokeswoman said maintenance workers stopped work in protest after Qantas managers today stood down employees for refusing to take on extra work over the weekend. The work would breach union overtime bans which had been in place since September, she said"

Well, they just keep on complaining don't they?

First industry meet & greet: Booz Allen Hamilton

Global management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton put on a Wine & Jazz night for the MBS student body this evening. While enjoying some of the best wines from the Clare Valley region (South Australia), we had the opportunity to meet some of the consultants (sorry ... "Associates" and "Partners") from the Booz Melbourne office. I wasn't aware of the scale of the Booz Allen Hamilton business - they have over 11,000 consultants on six continents, but have only been in the Australian market since the 80's.

At this stage, I'm more interested in a financial role post-MBA, but I'll be attending all the career-orientated events as they come up and keeping an open mind.

For your amusement: Australia gets drunk, wakes up in North Atlantic

[satirewire.com jan02]

"By 2 a.m., powered by national pride and alcohol, the 3-million-square-mile land mass was barging eastward through the Coral Sea and crossing into the central Pacific, leaving a trail of beer cans and Chinese take-away in its wake."

Bigpond ADSL pricing changes

Telstra have modified their pricing plans for ADSL (again). Effective March 1st, my 3Gb/month account goes up from $89.00 to $94.95, an increase of more than 6%. A 1Gb plan for $76.95 has been introduced (which I may consider switching to), and there's also a 300Mb plan at $59.95/month. Considering all the benefits of ADSL - no local phone call costs, no need for a second line, "always on", etc, the $59.95 ADSL plan should prove to be interesting - the average household can now afford broadband access. Despite the slightly increased prices for high volume users, I think Telstra has made a smart move here. The low-volume / high-speed option should lead to a rapid take-up of ADSL over the coming months. Perhaps we'll start to see some decent Australian-based broadband content.

Michael Bevan - you're a legend, mate!

Chasing New Zealand's total of 245, Australia was in big trouble in the cricket this evening at 6 for 82. But Michael Bevan, in his typical one-day cricket style, came through making a brilliant 102 of 95 balls, winning the game, and keeping Australia in the competition.

With the match being played at the MCG, and myself stuck at home engrossed in my Organisations readings for tomorrow's class, I took the opportunity to listen to the Channel Nine simulcast on the baggygreen web site. Most impressed - no dropouts, and no commercials interupting play.

Day Five - the end of a big week

Friday turned out to be the longest day of the Orientation Week - a full day of presentations and panel discussions. We were introduced to the case study method, met some alumni, heard about the student honour code, and sexual discrimation policy, and practiced a few exercises to avoid spinal injuries during lectures. Towards the end of the day, one of the professors gave an entertaining and enlightening presentation on the economic history of Australia - most informative, especially for the international students (later on at the bar, the Americans asked me all about the gradual split between the ALP and the ACTU and the current state of privatisation in the country).

Orientation has been pretty amazing. Considering the intensity of the program that's ahead of us, I think the Orientation has been a very valuable experience. I still haven't met everyone in my class, but I've getting to know a good 30 - 40 people reasonably well. Once we break up into cohorts next week (3 groups of around 55), the dynamics of the group will change a bit. I'm just hoping I can keep up with all the social events as we go along, as that's where all the networking happens.

Day Four - MBS does it in style!

Despite having Wednesday afternoon off, I was still mentally exhausted when I got up on Thursday morning. Having broken my coffee plunger earlier in the week, I was unable to get my caffeine fix, and it took me longer than usual to get out of the house. After experimenting with a couple of public transport options (I've been testing out the Melbourne train system this week) I eventually arrived at the b-school about 45 minutes late for the first session.

We continued our discussion on diversity, did a couple of exercises including an analysis of leadership and decision making in different cultures, and then broke up into smaller groups for our individual presentations. My presentation, Adrian's personal guide to domestic air travel in Australia went down fairly well with my audience, but I was outdone by a brilliant presentation by one of my Indian colleagues on Arranged marriages in India. For some people, this was the first time they'd ever present in English.

After a quick debrief, we then waited outside for the buses to take us to a mystery location ... an hour or so tour of Melbourne eventually took us to the Stokehouse in St Kilda, a fantastic restaurant right on the beach. MBS had booked out the entire top floor restaurant and we were treated to champagne, wine, beer, an amazing variety of seafood, cocktails, and other dishes. Standing on the Stokehouse balcony, absorbing the sunset over the bay, and chatting to my new MBA colleagues was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. However, when my colleagues started buying rounds of Scotch at around 10:30pm, I knew it was time to go home...

Day Three - a bit of a Breather

Whenever I go out drinking, I'm always make sure I have a breather after every second or third drink. Without the breather (typically a glass of iced water), the intenstity of the drinking session can really take it out of you. You'll end up tired, run down, and possibly even sick, the next day.

Wednesday turned out to be the breather of MBS Orientation Week. We had a presentation on diversity (just incase none of us hadn't already released how different everyone in the course was), followed by a presentation about presentations. Our task for Thursday - present for seven minutes on a topic that you are very familar with. It's an opportunity for us to assess our presentation skills, and work on any major weaknesses before our first real presentation during the course.

After lunch we had the afternoon off, so I bought my remaining textbooks (Co-opetition and Statistics for Managers using Microsoft Excel) and reading packs, and headed home.

Day Two - Breaking Boundaries

Tuesday was a huge day on the MBS Orientation program. We were introduced to some of the core services offered by the school - the McLennan Library, the Careers Services program, and the IT infrastructure. I was pleased to learn that the school will be installing a wireless network over the coming months, but for the moment I'll be carrying my network cable around with me and plugging into the network in the 'syndicate' rooms.

After lunch, it was time for some team-building fun, an afternoon of activities called Breaking Boundaries. Without trying to give too much away (after all, some of the reading audience may end up at MBS one day), Breaking Boundaries was an absolute hoot. We were broken up into about sixteen teams, and given a series of tasks in the areas of problem solving, efficiency, creativity, and effective teamwork. The day culminated in song and dance spectacular after we'd all had a few too many drinks with dinner. My team, Charcoal, finished 2nd on the day. Woo hoo!!

Australia back in contention in the VB Series

After three early disappointing losses, Australia has come back and beaten South Africa twice in a row in the one-day cricket series. We're now back in contention for the finals, but we definitely need to keep on winning. The next game in Melbourne is on Tuesday 29th January (Aust v's New Zealand), which also happens to be my first day of classes. It's a day/night match though, and classes finish by 3:30pm, so hopefully I'll be able to convince a few international students to come along. Some of them have never even seen a cricket match on television before.

Day One - Orientation begins

Monday was my first official day for my MBA. 167 new students decended on the Melbourne Business School in Carlton. To the sounds of Men At Work's classic Down Under we gathered in the school's main lecture hall, the Coles Theatre, for the opening address from the Director of the School, Professor Paul Rizzo. Paul assured us that the school had been making recent substantial investments in faculty, ensuring diversity in experience and cultural background. The school has also relaunched its careers services program, an area that has been troubled in recent years. Both of these were positive signs that our hefty fees (AUD $42,000 each) were being spent well.

A few interesting stats were revealed concerning my new classmates... Of the 167 first year students in the full-time program,

• 24.8% are female / 75.2% are male
  
• 26.1% are of Australian citizens / 73.9% are from overseas
  
• 45.5% are Australian permanent residents
  
• 43 students are from Australia, 18 from India, 16 from China, and 11 from Singapore (roughly 20 countries are represented in total)
  
• the average GMAT was 627, with a range of 530 - 740

My classmates are an incredibly diverse set of people, and I'm absolutely certain that we're all going to learn a great deal from each other over the coming 16 months. There are people from all six continents (and I wouldn't be surprised if some of them had also spent time in Antarctica), and pretty much every major industry. I've met big time project managers, product marketers, bankers, accountants, military intelligence personnel, pilots, engineers, police officers, doctors and pharmacists. I've even met a gentleman who has spent time clearing land mines in Afghanistan.

On Monday afternoon, the School threw a scare tactic on us, and tried to convince us that we'd have very little time for anything else besides the MBA. Each subject has three contact hours a week, and we were advised to allocate at least nine hours of time per subject per week of our own time to study and prepare assignments. This doesn't leave much time for friends and family and other leisure pursuits, but I'm going to make a big effort to maintain a reasonably active social life outside the school, and ensure that I'm always in good physical shape. Morpheus reminded us in The Matrix that "the body cannot survive without the mind." My theory is that the reverse is also true.

All up, it was a very overwhelming day. New faces. A new intensity. And a tough journey ahead of us.

Welcome to the Melbourne Business School MBA

After two years at the concept stage, we are now ready to present you with the production diaries for the epic that will become Adrian's MBA.

The four month retrenchment holiday has come to an end. My life as a member of the Com Tech family is over (although I promise to do whatever I can to maintain the friendships and associations that I've developed). My regular trips interstate and overseas are on hold.

I, Adrian Hind, a.k.a. javaboy, Spade, Ado, AJ, "Mr Planner", or just plain Adrian, am now a full-time Masters of Business Administration student at Melbourne Business School. For the next sixteen months I'll be studying five business subjects at a time over four terms. I'll also be continuing my Japanese language studies (separate from Melbourne Uni), and participating heavilly in extra-curricular activities associated with the school. It's going to be an incredible ride.

So, strap on your belts, keep you arms inside the vehicle at all times, and enjoy the show.

Rock the Spy Bar!

Despite the fact that I've been living in Melbourne for a year now, I've never been out to the South Melbourne area ... until now. A few of my newly minted MBA buddies have set up home in Southbank, so we decided to explore their local neighbourhood. We met for drinks at The Water Rat, and then headed onto to a sensational place called the Spy Bar. Young crowd, a few too many glitter balls, and some very funky (and pretty) bar staff. The music was pumping, the drinks were a plenty, and the dancing crowd were keen. All up - an enjoyable night.

Can't believe my MBA starts tomorrow!

Klassroom has closed

I just read on royaltech.net that Klassroom has closed. I held the Sydney version of my 25th at Klassroom, and it was a sensational night. Damn shame.

Hanging out with the MBAs is definitely a challenge

Ok, it's been a while since I was last a full-time uni student, and I guess I've forgotten how big the social events can get. Last night was definitely a big one, but it was a fantastic icebreaker. The night started off at the early hour of 5:00pm with maybe 50 1st-years and a smattering of 2nd-year exchange students downing a few beers at the Carlton Inn, a small standard Aussie pub that's apparently set to become our 'local'. Most of us then followed our friendly Admissions Officer on a big walk across the CBD, only to eventually discover that she wasn't taking us to the next location at all - just meeting some of her friends for a birthday do.

Leadership emerged amongst the group, including some local advice from yours truly, and we headed to Southbank for dinner at the Simply French restaurant. Dinner conversation was still very much a meet-and-greet affair, "Where are you from?", "What did you do prior to starting the MBA?", "How you found a place to live yet?" etc. We're definitely a diverse bunch, different nationalities, different professional backgrounds, and differing levels of wealth, but there's a common ground that's binding us all together. Most people seem set on a career change, although there are some that are sponsored and expected to return to their former companies. The course is very male dominated (about a 3:1 ratio). Most of the international students seem to come from Asia and the sub-continent, but there are also a few individuals from all the other major continents. (I'll post heaps of official stats as they become available)

After a tasty dinner, the group split up somewhat, and I ended up visiting a series of bars on Chapel and Fitrzoy St's with a few of the Americans, Canadians, and Europeans, concluding at one of my favourites - Mink, a vodka bar on the cnr of Fitzroy and Acland St's in St Kilda. Memorable word for the evening: EXPLOSION!!

The excitement is building...

Met a few more of my MBA classmates over coffee this morning, including people from Bangladesh, Hong Kong, China, and Singapore. Most of them are going through the stress of finding a place to live this week. Also bought my first text book - Philip Kotler's Marketing Management. A few more social events over the weekend, then our formal Orientation begins on Monday morning.

Go shopping in Sydney, Paris, New York, London

Hours of entertainment to be had with this game on the Vogue Australia web site. I managed to spend $6164 in Sydney in 30 seconds, enough to put me in the top 100 shoppers of all time, only to discover you need to register before you start your shopping spree, for your high score to be recorded! ;-)

Workers rejects Qantas deal

[the australian 17.01.02]

I've been fairly quiet on this blog regarding my opinions on unions and industrial action, but no doubt my opinions will gradually surface as I gain some credibility and perspective with my MBA studies.

Qantas is presently reducing its staff numbers through attrition. At the same time they've indicated that they'd like to freeze wages for 18 months while the industry sorts itself out and the economy rebuilds. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, representing Qantas' blue collar maintenance workers had negotiated a deal for minor salary increases (6% in total) dependent on achieving productivity targets, a deal which has subsequently been rejected by the workers.

Frankly, I think these workers should consider themselves lucky to have a job at the moment. I'm sure there are plenty of unemployed former Ansett engineers that would jump at the opportunity to come in and take their place at their current salary. If the Qantas workers take industrial action and bring the airline to a halt, I will be furious. There's got to be a better solution.

And so it begins...

Orientation doesn't officially start until next Monday, but today will go down in my personal history as the first day of my MBA. I attended a "pre-week" dinner at Totos on Lygon St. Roughly 40-50 students, mostly 1st year international students, a few 2nd year students, and the rare 1st year local student, gathered for a meet and greet dinner, followed by drinks at a couple of local pubs. A few early stats: from what I gathered this evening, there are around 160 full-time students in my course, of which over 100 are international. This evening I met students from South Africa, Taiwan, China, Germany, India, and the USA. We're an incredibly diverse bunch, but the former IT professional looking for a career change seems to be reasonably common. More news tomorrow...

RAGE gives graffiti a spray

[the age 12.01.02]

Graffiti is on the up in Melbourne. I've noticed a distinct increase in the amount of graffiti is my area, mostly on the pavements, but also on the sides of buildings including my own. It's pointless, stupid, and shameful. I'm all for community groups doing whatever they can to put a stop to it.

More details about the ST:TNG DVD box sets

[source: inscifi.net]

Apparently, Paramount will be releasing a season every two months, starting in March / April. There'll be additional documentaries, and every episode will be released in newly remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround.

Lleyton falls in first round

The Aussies are taking a beating at the Australian Open.

What happened to basketball in Australia?

In the mid-90's I was a big fan of Australian basketball. Living in Sydney, I used to descend on the 'Kingdome' (then the Sydney Entertainment Centre) at least ten times a season. Rodney Overby would commentate in that deep negro voice. The Harlequins were spectacular in their lycra outfits, and the basketball was entertaining and exciting. For some reason that I still can't make sense of, the season was changed from winter to summer (probably to coincide with the northern hemisphere), and very soon after, the sport's popularity went into rapid decline. Basketball gets all of 60 minutes per week coverage on free-to-air TV. No games are televised, either live or delayed, and internet coverage has been very poor. The nbl.com.au website is atrocious - poorly designed and very slow. Andrew Gaze, the premier player in the NBL for at least the past ten years, is making an attempt to cash in on his fame, and promote the sport at the same time with his site gaze.com.au, but it's far from unbiased coverage.

Steve Carfino, former 'King' and now basketball commentator, wrote in his article "Bums on Seats" today that we should stop complaining, and instead do something to help revive the sport. His suggestions of combined games / dance parties, and BBQs with former players are a little short sighted though. The success of the sport will come from the media. FoxSports actually provided fairly decent coverage as part of the standard Foxtel subscription. Pity they've only penetrated a small proportion of Australian households. Channel 9 and 10 will be devoting so much time to the AFL in the next few years, that all other sports are going to suffer.

Now that Channel 7 have lost the AFL to the Nine/Ten/Foxtel consortium, I suggest they make a investment in air-time and i7 coverage for Australian basketball. Perhaps broadcast a game live on Friday nights or Sunday afternoons, and show a few delayed games in the wee hours of the morning. The sport could also be covered in more detail during prime-time news bulletins. Getting people to the games will happen naturally as the buzz increases through media coverage.

Basketball will rise again. Perhaps they need an MBA to help them out.

Vanilla Sky

Well, this would have to be one of the most interesting movies I've seen in a while. I went to see it for two reasons - Cameron Crowe has directed a couple of beauties in Jerry Macguire and Almost Famous, and Tom Cruise is always fun to watch. Vanilla Sky is part sci-fi, part love story, part rebuilding life after disaster. Great twist at the end - I'll need to watch it again when it comes out on DVD just to pick up on all the clues. I went into the movie not knowing much about the plot, and I believe this made for a more rewarding experience. So, I won't spoil it for you - go and see it for yourself.

Rating: 7 out of 10 (your were right, Mr Hicks)

Uni days a stretch for many

[the age 15.01.02]

A recent study has revealed that "[of] 132,777 students who started an undergraduate course in 1993, only 63 per cent had finished the degree six years later." The puts "Australia roughly in the middle of the OECD range for completion rates". Of course, the typical NUS response has been lack of government funding (rant, rant, bring back free education and big welfare payments, yadda, yadda, yadda), and the Federal Education Minister has provided a mixed response alluding to people "underestimating the complexity and difficultly of a higher education degree" or "choosing to change to vocational training."

I'm looking forward to returning to campus life, and being exposed to the extremists of politics and opinion. No doubt the b-school students will be depised by all other faculties. After all, we're learning to become masters of capitalism, the destructors of the free world.

AD&D stats in real life

Nifty little quiz to calculate your real life AD&D stats. When I used to play AD&D my character was a thief with a high dexterity and plenty of charisma. The real life Adrian is probably more suited to being a wizard ... Strength: 11, Intelligence: 12, Wisdom: 17, Dexterity: 11, Constitution: 10, Charisma: 14.

I'm laptop-ing again

My new laptop arrived today. IBM Thinkpad R30 / PIII / 1Ghz / 256Mb / 30Gb / DVDROM. Nice little toy. Should enhance the b-school experience somewhat. I've got a week to get used to Windows XP and the latest version of Office, and to configure everything in my own personally unique way. Looking forward to being able to venture outside the home study again, and still feel somewhat "connected".

Ready with Open arms for tennis fever

[the age, 14.01.02]

Melbourne goes tennis crazy today with the start of the Australian Open. Virtually all hotels are completely booked out, and the usual $77 flights between Sydney and Melbourne are no longer available. I haven't booked any stadium seating for the event, but I'll probably get a grounds pass or two over the next few days.

Vibes in Melbourne

Anybody up for the Melbourne edition of Vibes on a Summers Day? Feb 3rd at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Jamiroquai and Groove Armada are the headlining acts. $85

Lazy Day

Having returned from my road trip on Friday night, I must admit, I've taking it pretty easy this weekend ... tidying the apartment, watching TV, VCDs and DVDs, surfing the net, and reading the latest editions of The Economist and BRW. With b-school Orientation just 8 days away, I really need to get back into the intellectually "busy zone". Perhaps it's time to pull out a few of my "Portable MBA" books for some light reading...

I'm also nursing a niggling shoulder injury that I picked up somewhere on my recent travels (maybe by continuously leaping side on into the waves near Batemans Bay). I'll see the doctor about it tomorrow - here's hoping for a speedy recovery.

Star Trek News - Enterprise coming to Australian TV, TNG coming to DVD

Big news for Australian Star Trek fans - the new series Enterprise is coming to Channel 9 in February. Still looking for a decent web link with all the details.

Paramont have also announced that Star Trek: The Next Generation will begin its gradual DVD release as season box sets on March 26. Region 4 versions available sometime in April.

Aren't foreigners facinating?

During my trip to Japan in November I visited the Kinkaku-ji Temple in Kyoto, 3 hours west of Tokyo on the Shinkansen (bullet train). While keeping myself busy taking pictures of the beautiful scenerary I was approached by a middle-aged Japanese man and some school children. After some confused basic english, I established that they wanted to take a photo of me with the children. Afterwards one of the children asked me very slowly, and with kanji prompts from a sheet of paper, "Where ... are ... you ... from?". "I am from Australia", I replied. "Can you ... please ... write ... your address ... here?" she asked as she passed me some paper. How cute!

Six weeks later, back in Australia, I received the photos and a letter (in English) from the Principal of the Sohara Daiichi Elementary School in Gifu (get your maps out), and five letters in Japanese (mostly hiragana with a smattering of kanji) from the children. The main letter read:

Thank you so much for speaking and joining with our students on photos. Now, They write and enclose those pictures for you. But they don't learn how to write English at school. So, almost of the students used Japanese when they wrote letters. "Could you do me a favour ?" If You have a time, Please send some Post-card or small letter for my student each. I believe they feel sooooo happy when they receive and see it

Well, the gauntlet has been thrown down. Despite my initial lessons, the Japanese in the childrens' letters is beyond me. Looks like I'll have to call in the assistence of a few friends who have spent more than seven days in Japan.

Ever walked out of a restaurant without paying?

Back in Sydney on Thursday morning I took my Auntie out for breakfast to an old haunt of mine, the Concrete Cafe in Pyrmont. It's a wonderful little minimalist cafe, with my standard Eggs Benedict, OJ, and Latte always available. We were there for a good hour and a half or so, until I realised I was late for another (breakfast) appointment, at which point we just got up and left. My Auntie caught a cab, and I walked almost all the way back to my car, before realising that we'd never been presented with a bill or even thought about paying.

I ran back to the cafe and settled the bill. The staff hadn't yet realised we'd left ;-) I've never intentionally stolen a meal from a restaurant, but I came close to accidently doing so this time.

War Games and Hackers are on at the Astor on Monday night. Woo hoo!! ... actually I never got around to seeing War Games when I was growing up, but Hackers is always a bit of fun.

Last week of freedom

A few things on my To Do list for the coming week:

• See the movie Amelie. All my friends keep raving about it.
  
• Get some new prints framed for the apartment. I picked up a really neat detailed satellite picture of Melbourne when I visited the National Museum of Australia on my road trip
  
• Configure my new laptop (thanks CM for helping me get a super deal), and set up the home computer network for internet connection sharing
  
• Go stationery shopping!!
  

'Holidays' nearly over

Well, it's been over three months since I was retrenched in September, and I must admit, I don't think I've ever felt more relaxed. I've spent the past couple of weeks back in Sydney going out with friends, spending time on the beach, visiting family, and even camping amidst the NSW bush fires. My MBA at Melbourne Business School starts on January 29th, with Orientation activities beginning on the 16th, so I'm heading home tomorrow to prepare for that. Need to read a few textbooks and catch up on a few issues of The Economist before classes start. I fear that I might have trouble getting back into the 'busy' zone, after having such an extended break. From my brief online discussions with my soon-to-be classmates, it seems that they are a handful of us in a similar situation, so maybe we'll be able to band together on our way back into the zone. For the most part though, I've really enjoyed my time off. I've had a chance to travel both domestically and internationally, I've started down the path of learning a new language, and I've been able to share several experiences with some of my closest friends. I have no fear of retirement anymore (says the seasoned 25-year-old). In fact, I'm looking forward to it. A few more years to go before I'm financially independent though... ;-)

Book Review: The Perfect Journey

I've just finished reading a throughly enjoyable book called The Perfect Journey by Australian David Dale (not listed in the Amazon database, so you'll have to settle for a Dymocks link). Sydney-based writer Dale discusses the eccentricities of travel through Europe, the US, and Australia mostly from a degustation point of view. The book also covers travelling with children, selecting your guidebook, how to steal towels from a hotel, and the difference between travelling and 'going on a holiday'. It amusing, witty, very current, and definitely interesting. Four stars.