Oh San Francisco!

There was a much publicized war protest around the city today. Initially, I was reluctant to go even watch since there was a company wide email sent out warning against shootings.

I usually get off at New Montgomery and Market and walk to my office, and saw protesters in white flowing garbs and black masks on their head at around 10 AM. By 12 NOON, I was ready to grab some lunch and a colleague and I decided to check out the protest as well.

The protesters had worn orange suits and had black masks on their head. There were LOTS of cops all over - like battalions of them. I did see a couple of people get arrested (not sure for what). There were a lot of people who showed up, like me, just curious.

This is not the first time I've seen this (I mean... this IS SF), but most other times, I've been in a rush to catch the bus or in a car, and thus never really up close.

Here are some photos that I took with my (not so nice) camera phone:


Protesters on Market St. dressed in orange.

Another shot. See the amount of cops.


Just because they do not protest, does not mean they cannot enjoy the sun!



SFPD does deserve some thanks...

GMAT Update: RC

So in my last post, I was lamenting about how tough RC is and also having thoughts that I'll never improve! How wrong was I!

Thanks to suggestions by folks who left comments here and a bit of googling for more strategies, in the past week, I've noticed a marked improvement in my RC timing (I average ~ <12 minutes with 5-7 questions per passage and have a decent hit-rate (80% ish).

I also felt that I was getting a bit too intimidated by the passage. Even before starting to read, I'd be so stressed and in the back of my mind have thoughts about it being tough and how much it matters to me to get into business school. Needless to say, I'd never really read the passage, which means I fumbled with the questions.

Last week something inside of me clicked. Since then, I've been treating RC with confidence. To be honest, I actually find these passages quite interesting (OK, fine. The biology ones are soooo damn boring - no offense to bio-majors and any of my pre-med cousins who may read this, but everything else is interesting). Also, I just do not thing of it as tough anymore. Complex, yes. But that's fun. Tough - no. This attitude has made a HUGE difference.

Now, when I solve a passage, I just read it as if I'm lapping up information, and have simply learned to note the authors tone and structure as he goes through the passage. I'm also picking up some new words to add to my vocabulary and am going to try it out on everyone I encounter.


Ah, finally I get the feeling that I am going to be able to conquer RC!