One Year Anniversary

Another one of my blog articles was recently posted on QS Top MBA! This one, entitled "Five reasons to get an MBA," lists why I decided to pursue b-school.

In support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I attended Katy Perry's We Can Survive concert, with 100% of proceeds going to the Young Survival Coalition. The show had an amazing lineup with Tegan & Sara, Sara Bareilles, Ellie Goulding, Kacey Musgraves, Bonnie McKee, and of course Katy Perry. It was an incredible show at the Hollywood Bowl and I was lucky enough to have 10th row seats! The best part was the encore, when all of the aforementioned women came onstage to perform Katy Perry's "Roar" (photo below).

The celebratory confetti above is fitting today, as I celebrate my one year anniversary of living in Los Angeles. Exactly one year ago today I arrived at LAX with three suitcases in hand, a friend to pick me up at the airport, and a big smile on my face. I'm happy to share my learnings from the past year and debunk some common myths about LA:

1. It is possible to live in Los Angeles without a car. Everyone told me that I would cave in and get one, but I haven't. Between walking, taking the bus, using Lyft, and renting cars, I've had all of my transportation needs met and I've saved a lot of money this way.

2. Everyone in LA is not flaky. True, I have met some flaky people, but who hasn't? Perhaps it is because I have had so few interactions with people in the entertainment industry, but I find people here extremely nice and friendly. My LA friends are genuine and relatable people who are not trying to "make it" nor pursue the next best thing.

3. LA driving is not crazy. In fact, I've found Los Angeles driving particularly easy because there's traffic everywhere. It causes people to move slowly, and if you're like me and don't usually know exactly where you're going, you have plenty of time to figure out the directions as you're moving. Of all the cities I've ever driven in, I still find Montreal to be the worst.

4. It is not always hot here. It's true that it rarely rains, but it is not always sunny and warm. I live very close to the beach and I assure you that it gets quite cold and foggy on this side of town. I'm not complaining, though. I've lived through nine Montreal winters.

This has been the best year of my life, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for me in this exciting city!

Remembrance

Though I was sick at home this whole weekend, I did manage to make it out to a play on Friday night. Along with friends of the play's starring actor, I saw "Marilyn, Madness & Me" at the El Portal Theatre. It was a well performed show about the life and death of Marilyn Monroe. Notably, for staging, they used a similar photograph to the one I snapped (below) just a few months ago from her grave site at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.

Marilyn Monroe's grave site with lipstick kisses

The month of October always brings about fond memories of my paternal grandmother whose birthday was the day before Halloween. She was a great role model and someone for whom I owe many of my interests and skills. One thing I fondly recall about my grandmother is that she was an avid viewer of Jeopardy! and she would shout out the correct answers nearly 100% of the time. As a writer and lover of word games and crossword puzzles, she inspired me in these arenas, so that is the true origin of my blogging abilities. But most impressively, my grandmother received an undergraduate degree, an amazing feat for a woman of her generation.

Interestingly, my maternal grandmother also celebrated her birthday in the month of October and also died in the month of January. Though I was not nearly as close with her, since she lived far away, she is always in my thoughts. And so, this month of October, a time when we remember the dead as we celebrate Halloween, I will be thinking of the women we have loved and lost.

A Whirlwind Month

This past month has been a whirlwind! I have been going to concerts, networking events, cultural events, traveling, and watching sports games.

When it comes to music, I saw Butch Walker, Hanson, Little Big Town, and Keith Urban. See a photo from the Hanson show at the House of Blues below.

I also traveled to New York City/New Jersey (to see my friends and family) and San Francisco (for work). On the San Francisco trip, my company's virtual team got to meet in person which was a great experience! Below is a photo of the Single Grain crew, with the San Francisco, LA/Santa Monica, and Midwest teams all together.

As for networking events, Social Media Week made the ROC a hubbub of activity! I managed to attend one event which was The Moth Presents: "Network" StorySLAM where volunteers told true and interesting stories about online experiences. I also attended Lesbians Who Tech (and the people who love them) September LA Happy Hour, an event for which I am now a co-organizer.

I have also expanded my horizons by attending cultural events. One was Glow, which involved artistic light installations on the beach. While it sounded interesting, the event was disappointing. Additionally, my friend won tickets to an operatic performance of Carmen and she brought me along. It was my first time at an opera, and while I love musical theater, this particular show was just not for me.

However, what I have been enjoying is watching a lot of sports! Though I had never seen a football game until recently, I'm now an avid viewer and I watch as many games as possible. I also went to Dodger Stadium for the first time and saw the fourth playoff game against the Cardinals. Pictured below is a photo of my friend and me at the close of the game.

Lastly, with the new school semester in full swing, it is a perfect time to mention some recent academic matters. As a new blogger for QS Top MBA, I wrote about my post-MBA reflections. Finally, I wanted to share an article about a student at my undergraduate alma mater (McGill University) who used the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" to explain string theory. It is pure genius!

Trivial Matters

When I recently saw This is the End, I had no idea that the film's screenwriter Evan Goldberg was also a McGill alumnus. That, along with Jay Baruchel's Habs hat in the movie's opening sequence, warmed my heart. I am also proud to announce that McGill was ranked as a top 25 university for the tenth consecutive year.

Upon graduating from McGill University, I wish that I'd had access to "5 Epic Career Lessons I Learned in My 20s." It's a good read for anyone who does not want to make avoidable early career mistakes. And although my blog documented my time in the MBA program at HEC Montreal, I recommend checking out "A Day in the Life of a B-School Student" to see what one student's day is like at Harvard. It's an accurate description of any MBA student's schedule, regardless of the school.

I am also pleased to share that Los Angeles has been ranked the third hottest startup scene globally.  See the infographic here. In related news, my former boss of bLife was announced as a new partner of venture firm Upfront Ventures.

For those of you who enjoy trivia as much as I do, you might like to read "20 Things You Didn't Know About the NFL." Since I am especially fond of movie trivia, though, last night I enjoyed the Greg Proops Fan Club's podcast and screening of Sexy Beast, where Proops spoke about the film like a true cinephile.

Labor Day Weekend

I was ecstatic to stumble across this article "Please Stop Complaining About How Busy You Are" because I 100% agree with the writer. Everyone does seem to wear their long hours as a badge of honor. But it should be about getting your work done, enjoying what you do, and then spending your free time doing other things you like to do. I am happy to say that that's exactly how I live my life.

On that note, I had a great Labor Day weekend! I was fortunate to get a ticket for the LA Tech Happy Hour 2 Year Anniversary: Mansion BBQ and Pool Party! The celebration took place at an incredible mansion in the Hollywood Hills with an infinity pool (photo below) and it was unlike any other tech event I've attended.

On Monday, I went to the LA County Fair where I saw deep-fried everything (pickles, watermelon, etc.) and saw The Motels, Berlin, and The Bangles perform. It was certainly a flashback to the 80's.

Then, last night, I flash forwarded to modern times at the Tegan & Sara and Fun. concert which was amazing from one of the first few rows! Watch a clip of Fun. performing "One Foot" from last night's show here.

State of Grace

Working from home certainly has its perks, one of which I have previously mentioned. But one major downside of the home office is loneliness. Fortunately, I came across an Inc. article "6 Ways to Combat Loneliness When You Work From Home," which provides some great tips to handle this. I've also started to go into our office (the ROC) more often, so I can see my friends and co-workers.

I have also attended a few networking events recently:  Silicon Beach Young Professionals August Mixer Sponsored by Google, Lesbians Who Tech (and the people who love them) August LA Happy Hour, and Girls in Tech LA Summer Sip Mixer 2013 (photo below). Furthermore, last weekend was the weekend of birthdays, as I celebrated two of my friends' birthdays all weekend long. My constant social interactions have left loneliness to wayside.

Additionally, I have continued my summer of entertainment. Last Friday, I attended the Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift concert (with surprise guest Ellie Goulding). See a snippet of Taylor opening the show with "State of Grace" below. I also returned to my new favorite movie theater, the Laemmle Monica 4-Plex to see Blackfish, which was great!

Now I'll be enjoying a fun-filled Labor Day weekend! I hope you all have a great long weekend!

Reunited

Living in Los Angeles, I am fortunate enough to be in a location where many of my friends pass through, whether it's to visit family, vacation, for work, or something else. In fact, in the past week, I had four different friends in town. See the photos below.

Also, the Santa Monica team of Single Grain has just relocated from Coloft to the ROC, the co-working space where I worked previously. So I have been reunited with my startup friends, and I once again get to enjoy the glorious rooftop workspace pictured below.

Interestingly, there was a recent article about the benefits of eating inside, rather than outside. I wholeheartedly disagree with the writer and actually laughed out loud at the comments that other journalists had on the topic.

As for local startup news, there was an email exchange involving the co-founders of Cross Campus, another Santa Monica co-working space, and PandoDaily. This is probably one of the most insane articles I've read concerning Silicon Beach and I'm surprised I haven't heard anyone talking about it.

In happier news, Santa Monica has the #2 spot for the Top 10 Zip Codes for Venture Capital Investment in Orange County and Los Angeles. And if you truly want to be happy, try one of these 10 simple things that you can do to make yourself happy today.