seems like there are fewer and fewer people using Xanga.

But that's okay.  As you can see, I don't use it at all.

But I thought I could use this space to put up links of where I go eat often.

So you can get a visual taste of what my eating habits are in Tokyo.

For starters, here are links to where I ate over the weekend:

Saturday:  Oono, Ginza
http://auxamis.com/ginza_oono/

Sunday:  Catalan Bar, Vinuls
http://www.auxamis.com/vinuls/

     and,  Vinpicoeur Ginza (French Barbecue & Wine)
http://www.auxamis.com/vinpicoeur_ginza/       

It's a new year and I'm ready to crash and burn again.

I never learn.

New potential "target."

Those who want to know more can contact me directly.  =P

Another quick update for you all...

I'm on a new project right now, and it's a pretty sizeable one.

A certain generic drug manufacturer is trying to set up its Japan business and we were asked to set their entire business strategy plan up for them.

Japan is behind other countries in terms of generics usage (medical bills are large for the state and patients) so I think it's a good thing that a large multinational generics manufacturer is coming into Japan.  It would definitely be beneficial to chronic patients that need medicine everyday (assuming generics have the same benefits as the branded drug and no added risks).

So this is a big and important project for Japan in general, and I'm a part of it.

The pressure's on

Good god...

Never thought I'd be back here but after a whole 4 months of being away from Xanga and not keeping everyone updated in the States of what I've been doing, I thought I might make a temporary comeback...

For all of those who don't know yet, I'm in Japan to work as an Associate at LEK Consulting (Tokyo Office).  It's been about 2months now since I started work and it's been very crazy... very hectic... very busy, but very exciting all at the same time.

Let's just say I was placed on a project on my very first day...

I'm currently on my second project, and a very big, important, highly sensitive case it is.

Our clients in Tokyo are mostly multinational medical devices or pharmaceutical companies that have a presence in Japan.  We help build business strategy ranging from market entry to post-M&A business models.  That includes market assessment, customer analysis, competitor analysis and financial analysis.

So what have I been doing so far specifically?

-Call hundreds of doctors, distributors, manufacturers to set up face-to-face interviews to gather primary data.

-Look up secondary sources to gather market data.

-Go do interviews of those that accepted my cold calling.

-Write-up interviews, and analyze...

-Take part in team meetings and discuss research results and possible strategies our clients could take

-Recieve what is called "blank slides" from my boss and start filling them in with data and results from our analysis (mostly Powerpoint work)

-Receive feedback from first draft of powerpoint slides, then try to decipher what my boss has written in red ink... and make corrections

-Call back certain doctors for follow-up questions (for more data we need for certain slides)

-Intensely discuss revisions of the "pack."  Team meetings on what final strategy our client should take (our views are taken into serious consideration due to the fact that we've been out in the field so we tend to know stuff our bosses don't).

-From now until the end of the project: do minor and final revisions to the powerpoint pack and then print them out, bind them, and then go to final presentation.  VERY IMPORTANT:  Don't say anything stupid during the final presentation

That's generally what I've been doing so far.  Up to this point our client was a pretty huge medical devices company.  From next week I'll be starting on a pharmaceutical company project while finishing up this current one I'm on.

Oh, and by the way... I was in Boston for a week for training last week.

All the new associates were split up into 9 teams of 5 people and were given mock cases to do.  In essence, it was a case competition kind of thing.

And my team won.

So we all got  $100 to spend.  I'm pretty proud, considering that all new associates were either from Harvard, Columbia, UPenn, Univ. of Chicago, Northwestern, Duke, Stanford, and Berkeley. 

I only saw one UCLA. hahahahaha

All DONE!

This concludes my undergraduate career at the University of California, Berkeley.

And just as I had started xanga at the beginning of my college career,
I suppose this is a good time to end Xanga as well.  Thanks for
the 4 years.  I'll come back once in a while to check on friends'
entries but this will be the last entry of my own.

Best of luck to all of you.

almost done.

2 down, 2 to go.  Both Legal Studies exams on Wednesday.  Should be fine.

Graduation ceremony over

One final, over

Three left to go

and THEN, I'm officially done with school.

graduating soon. yay

boy... gotta love the support around here.

Anyone at least want to come find me at the courtyard in front of the
Campanile to take pictures with me?  Ceremony should be over at
approx 4pm.  I should be down in the Campanile area around
4:15~4:30...