To a large extent, my social life these days revolves around the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. If you want to know what I'm up to, it's probably something to do with Haas.
Helen is an active member of her class--she's involved in several clubs and is always up for a good time. I come along when I can, more than most partners. Some people live in San Francisco, others like to go to bed early after a hard day at work. But I'm often around, so much so that I'm getting a reputation as that guy who's always there. It's a good place to be.
I like to attend the various social gatherings because there are so many interesting people in the class (Helen at the top, of course.) For example, several nearby neighbors are from various countries in South America--Peru, Mexico, and Colombia. Other people in our neighborhood moved from New York just like us, so we got to know them a bit before heading west.
And that's just the people in South Berkeley.
The student-centered events are part of the scene; the other half are events sponsored by the Haas Partners Club (like the "Get to Know the Bay Area" night in August, and the book club that's coming up in a few weeks.) Most of the partners are women (mostly straight, sometimes gay), because most business school students are men (ditto).
So going to a partners event is just like another day at the library. I'm thinking of running for Co-Chair of the partners club next year, because it's a great group.
All of this socializing has made me appreciate our move more than ever. If we had returned to the Chicago area for Helen to attend Kellogg, we would have had a great time. But it would have been easier to fall into old patterns since we'd lived there for several years. Out here it's all new and exciting, and so far things are going very well.
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