Yup. Halfway through Michaelmas (thats what the first semester at Oxford is called)!! 8 week classes and 4 weeks are done. Boy what a ride.

Allright first with all the fun part of the weekend. Please do take a look at the pictures

@ http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/jitind/Week6

Lots of great pictures this week and I will be uploading more (these are just from my camera. Others from other friends will go up too by tomorrow).

3 College dinners. New college (i think this was last week ? — but pictures yet to go up). Larry belongs to New college and he had invited us a few friends over for the formal guest dinner (you cannot have dinner or go to formal halls of other colleges unless along with a member of that college).

The name of the College sometimes strikes visitors as odd in an institution more than 620 years old; its origin is that the College’s “official” name - the College of St Mary - is the same as that of Oriel College. Hence “the new college of St Mary”. Interesting alumni of New college — Hugh Grant.

ChristChurch — my college!!!!! As you guys must already know, it played host to the famous harry potter movies and its dining hall is the famed one. Attached are pictures (yes !!). I had Larry, Katy and Pushpak over as my guests for the formal night. What made it extra special was it was on halloween day! So Halloween at harry potters. There are loads of other pictures of this day that will go up (some crazy ones with us in wierd wigs!). Watch this space. Oh famous alum: Lewis Caroll, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Worcester — Thanks Aashima for the invite!! Pics attached. The usual gang (me, larry, katy) along with few other friends ! Its a beautiful old college. Oxford students know Worcester best for its Ball. Every three years a thousand ball-goers enjoy the Worcester College Commemoration Ball on College grounds. Held in June, it lasts from 6pm until 6 am and the dress code is white tie. Famous Alum: Rupert Murdoch

Phew. So that was a great week as having dinner at atleast 20 of the 39 colleges and visiting all of them is one of my goals for the year and 3 in a week is way to go!!

Now to serious stuff. Yup we submitted two group study projects — DEM and Strategy. Have a decision science workshop tomorrow. Its now getting to a point in the term when you see that the intensity in the school is picking up. People are waking up to the fact that this stuffs for real! Me — still to wake up and smell the coffee!! But I am getting there…:-).

Lastly we had our Said Business School group photograph. The one I have attached on the blog is our group study. Just pure luck to be in the fantastic group I am in. We are the ‘assasins’. From left to right on there — me, Adam, Michelle, Vikas, Gary, Chris.

We also chose our electives for Hilary (next semester). I have a nice balance — a strategy, an eco and a financial management course. This along with marketing and operations core-course means it will easily be the most balanced semester. Add to that mix the Entrepreneurship Project which is our biggest deliverable (and take away as per me) for the year — and you have the recipe for another roller coaster of a semester.

But before we get to far there is a good 6 weeks to go on this one (2 weeks for the exams). Here is a peek into next week: Decision Science workship, 6 classes, Founder of Facebook and founder of Carphone warehouse are gonna come to speak, Friday night is Hindu society bollywood night, Saturday we are arranging Diwali at SBS, Tuesday dinner with my dear peer supporters, another college dinner or maybe two depending on the guest dinner schedule (wadham and pembroke the two colleges I think), Entrepreneuship project workshop and pitch and lastly my improv group get together!!

Wow…I better get some sleep. That right there seems like a long week but as always — its got the good with the better ;-)!!

peace out…next week same time….till then ciao!