How long does it take you to get to work?

F9 - Update — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:30:22 -0400

I timed my walk from my apartment to the front door of my office building today: 13 minutes walking.

I'm curious how long it takes you to get to your office. Where do I rank relative to you? Do you ride the subway? I feel like my 13 minute walk is long, but I assume if you have to take the subway, your trip home is also very long. I'm glad I have my Blackberry to keep me occupied.

Funerals

F9 - Update — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:11:18 -0400

How close does a person need to be in order to ask for time off for a funeral? I assume it's acceptable to ask for time off for parents and siblings, of course. What about a very close friend from high school? Your girlfriend's parents? Your girlfriend's friends? A cousin? Are going to all funerals acceptable or have there been situations in which senior bankers have scoffed at someone requesting time off for a funeral of a friend?

PE Reading

F9 - Update — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:48:21 -0400

I'll start at a MM IB in early July. Since my firm is smaller than a BB, I don't think the exit opportunities will be as plentiful. Between now and my start date (about three weeks away), I want to read up on Private Equity (currently I know very little about PE). My end goal is to land a great PE job after two or three years at my MM IB. Does anyone have an opinion about any of the following books? Have you read any of them? Which do you think will prove to be the most useful? Any advice on books about PE or any advice into how to get to a PE job after working in IB (in general) will be much appreciated. Thank you.

Private Equity: History, Governance, and Operations

Lessons from Private Equity Any Company Can Use

Vault Private Equity Career Guide

Private Equity as an Asset Class

Venture Capital and Private Equity: A Case Book

The Glocap Guide to Getting a Job in Private Equity: Behind the Scenes into How PE Firms Hire

Life Stats

F9 - Update — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:01:28 -0400

If someone kept - in excruciating detail - perfectly accurate statistics about your life, what statistic would you want to know first?

Among the limitless possibilities, example statistics include:
- Hours spent doing "x" activity
- lbs. of "x" food consumed
- Number of occurrences of "x"
- etc.

How many WSO thongs have been sold?

F9 - Update — Fri, 23 May 2008 07:25:09 -0400

* <5 * 6-10 * 11-20 * >21

Tats

F9 - Update — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:18:27 -0400

Ok WSO - I need some solid advice on this one. Don't let me down.

Three years ago, I got back from a four-week long trip in London and I wanted to get a tattoo on my upper arm to remember what I learned from the trip. The tattoo is of a crown and below the crown is says, "Carpe diem."

Now, I am afraid my tattoo may limit me professionally. The people in my group like to workout, and I'm sure my coworkers will eventually find out about my tattoo if they ever see me changing from workout clothes to work clothes. I'm thinking about getting it removed. I like the tattoo still, but I would get it removed if I knew that it would prevent me from being promoted/having a higher bonus, etc. It's in a place that won't be seen unless I have my shirt off, so I'm not concerned except for in situations I'm changing clothes after hitting the gym.

So, how big of a deal are tattoos on Wall St? Is this something that will seriously limit me? Should I get it removed?

FOR CURRENT BANKERS ONLY: From your start date to today, how many times have you had sex (annualized)? How grim is it?

F9 - Update — Fri, 16 May 2008 08:39:31 -0400

* < 10 * 11 - 25 * 26 - 50 * 51 - 75 * > 76

VBAs?

F9 - Update — Fri, 16 May 2008 08:26:19 -0400

What are VBAs/macros? Do you use them a lot in IB/PE? Is it worth learning? I'm new to excel, so please educate me on the value of knowing this. From the little I know, it seems like too much for what you get out of it.

My dad is a plumber. What should I do?

F9 - Update — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:00:28 -0400

I'm going into banking. My dad is a plumber. What should I do when asked, "Hey, so what's your old man do?"

Outlook !!!

F9 - Update — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:21:05 -0400

Sorry if this question is lame, but I need some help with organization. How do you currently organize your Outlook inbox and folders? I've given this a lot of thought and I am curious how other bankers are organizing their email.

Thanks.