exploring

two weeks have already flown by and i'm happy to say that going everything is going so well. the internship is AMAZING because it's very much something i can see myself doing full time. i love the work that a position as an investment manager would entail, i love the department, i love the firm. i think it's rare that you find something that is such a perfect fit for what you want to do, and i'm so grateful that i get the chance to do it. sometimes i feel like i need to pinch myself because the work just seems way too perfect.

over the last couple weeks i've gotten to sit in on client calls, meetings with retail bankers to let them know about investment management services, a prep meeting for a major client meeting, and all the morning investment management meetings. i'm working on rebalancing portfolios and i'm also doing a little bit of equity research. i know that no job is perfect, and i'm sure that there are issues, but so far, i haven't seen one bad part about pursuing a career in this field at all! here's a picture of my cube:

but i think one thing i do need to work on is being able to quit talking about investments and the markets. i think about them a lot, and i think a lot about domestic and international macroeconomic issues. sometimes i feel it hinders on my ability to just talk about normal things. part of it might be just that i deal with these issues every single day, and part of it is that i'm back with a lot of friends who are not in this field. i'm so appreciative of all the people around me. everyone i know here in the bay area is awesome. i think the only thing that stinks is that michael isn't here with me...but soon enough!

aside from work, i've been doing a little exploring. last weekend, i spent way too much time in japantown. i meant to just do a quick walk through since i'd been there before, but 4 hours later, i had gotten the most amazing manicure and pedicure in my life, a 15 minute massage that was also out of this world, and looked at every single office supply they have at all the stores. one thing i thought was a little funny was when i first approached japantown, i'd see these banners that read "japantown," but right next to them were all these korean stores. i laughed a little and i tried to capture it on film, but you can barely make out the japantown signs. next request for iPhone: zoom on the camera!

one of the notebooks in japantown was co-branded with WWF. that panda follows me EVERYWHERE. jeesh.

and on my way back from japantown, i came across all these people with this hu-friedy bag. it is so close to hu-greevey!!! i looked up what hu-friedy does: they make dental equipment.

last saturday after dinner at jackies, i was waiting for the bus on san pablo, and i noticed this menu. who knew it was so expensive to get your chakra cleansed, though past life regressions seems to be the big splurge item at this fine establishment:

on friday, i went to this event with some friends called "meet your maker." i was most impressed with this local watchmaker named Jeff Kuo. his watches are beautiful. they are mostly men's watches, but everything about their design is just so clean. his company is called xetum and next time i think about purchasing a watch, i will definitely turn to this guy. but i mention the meet your maker event because i saw the funniest dog in the world at this event. i couldn't get a good picture, but he is a dachshund with cow-like patches of fur on his body.

i also spend way too much time at the ferry terminal. check out these gorgeous flowers:


and this awesome sign:

and i'll end it with a sampling of what's around me when i go to work:

i get a cup of coffee from intelligentsia every morning. even though i have plans to bring my own, it's intelligentsia! how can i resist? maybe next week i'll try resisting...

and at lunch, i've gone to this cafe several times called cafe madeleine. i've had an awesome salad with goat cheese, a sandwich with st. andre and pears, and a palmier. all were fantastic. here's a picture of their yummy looking desserts. maybe for michael's birthday, i can get a cake from this place.

finally, i stumbled upon this place the other day. i've been trying to take a different route to the office everyday so i can find random little places to eat. so i found this japanese curry place. i had the katsu curry. i thought it was okay, but next time i'm just going to get regular curry, not fried food with curry.