OwenBloggers: Alex - MSF '08

Friends call me Tate...

So it's finals week here at Brown. For many of our first-years, this week is where they really begin to realize how much they do/don't know about there classes. For some, this is scary; for others, the task is less daunting. Having just completed my Senior thesis and a final last week, the only thing in my way of graduating is a Japanese final which just so happens to be a really hard class. Given that I have some time, I was able to read some fellow owenblogger's posts and comments. In particular, I want to address Neeraj's post: Sooner Than Later.

What's interesting about his post is that he comes from work experience while I'm simply going to school immediately after college. For me, another year of college seems to make no difference; I take 4 midterms and 4 finals at Brown every semester, repeat that twice a year. However, for Neeraj (like many others I'm sure), having been out of school for a bit, I can imagine the experience of going back to school is an exciting thing. I think his thoughts on returning to school and my thoughts on continuing the journey should make for some interesting reading at the very least. This situation though, is exactly what drew me to Owen's MSF program: the opportunity to learn and take real classes with real MBA students such as Neeraj. To get that chance is very exciting for me even though next year will be just another year in school technically. I feel there is a lot to be gained from working with people who have such real-life experiences and I can't say how excited I am to have this chance! That kind of melting pot of experiences is what I think gives Owen the reputation that it has among people.

On a lighter note, I informed some friends here at Brown about my decision to attend Owen's MSF program and they were all excited for me; so much so that my Nashville-native friends decided to rename me. Apparently, to my classmates I will be known as Alex (boring-studies-workout-warrior) and at bars and meeting new people I will be someone different. They said 'Alex, we've decided to give you a choice between two names we've both considered. Naturally we didn't give you something off the wall like 'Hunter' (I look NOTHING like a Hunter) but you make the choice. The names are: Bryce or Tate.' 
Simply looking at my bio-picture would convince just about anyone that I look nothing like the two. Nevertheless, I agreed on Tate because how funny would it be to say the following: 'Hi, my name's Alex but friends call me Tate.'

One more thing before I sign-off: I love the Oakland Raiders. This fall, the Raiders play the Titan's in Nashville and you bet that I will buy my tix for that game this summer. If you want to go, give me a holler and hopefully we can get a good price (because it's an away game, Raider fans get a nice discount if you buy them via the Raiders website).
One of my favorite quotes on Jamarcus Russell by Profootballtalk.com:
'If God and Jamarcus Russell fought, Jamarcus would probably win.' Come on! How do we not pass on a guy that can beat the man himself!?

Finding Housing

As mentioned previously in my first post, this particular blog will primarily centered around finding a place to live in Nashville. But, before I get into the Do's and Do Not's, let me go into a little more depth about me so that you can now how I searched for my housing.

In truth, I like things quiet..this is especially so in the mornings and on Sundays. As such, my first constraint was finding a place to live that would a) be conducive to studying and sleeping. I think it's important to figure out what kind of housing you want that best matches your personality and not so much what is closer to XYZ bar and grill.

That being said, I also had to look for places near campus for the reason that I would not be bringing a car to campus. Frankly, I don't think my car would make it Nashville anyways! This would essentially narrow zones down to zone 1 (2-6 minute walk to Owen) and zone 2 (10-20 minute walk to Owen). Before I begin with the process, I urge you to look at rent.com, nashville.craigslist.com and other rent-websites that are available (those were the only two I looked at though).

Zone 1: Owen (2-8 minute walk): 20th and Grand, Wesley Place, Americana Apartments, Bristol Condos (probably not a choice as they are a high-end condo establishment..maybe after we get a job though!). 20th and Grand is pricey and does not come furnished. Places like Wesley place actually have a waiting list and you need to call and ask beforehand what the list is like; people rave about it and it would be tough to get. Americana: This is where I'm living next year. It's a furnished place for $875/month. Apparently, the building is not much to look at but they have a BBQ, pool, laundry room and a nice management team (I got all that info from rent.com). Rent in general around Zone 1 will be a lot becuase land owners know students want to be close and thus, they will charge a higher rent than a place in like Zone 4, for example.

Zone 2: HIllsboro -  Village at Vanderbilt, Gardens of Hillsboro Village, Westboro Apartments. I looked at all of these places and they are a bit less than 20th and Grand but they are also about a good 20 minute walk (at least by California standards which involve frequent snack stops). Apparently, the Village at Vanderbilt did NOT get good reviews from people living there i.e. mouse problems and such. Again, these are all important things you need to check for when looking for housing.

NOTE: most places do NOT give wireless. BUT, I can say that I've spoken to my landlord and here is a breakdown of the bills as he sees it. In the summer, you use only electricity so total utility = $60. In the winter you use natural gas and electricity, total bill = $75. Again, this is just the average utility bill that he observes for my apartment.

Whew, okay, I hope this helps you all in your search. Just know that sooner is better than later and that there are MANY housing websites you can look at in advance. Good luck!

P.S. The Oakland Raiders selected Jamarcus Russell in the first round of the NFL draft. I'm going to leave this blog with a quote from PTI host Tony Kornheiser:
'Jay Cutler (Vandy alum) can throw the ball 60 yards from his knees. Jamarcus Russell can throw Jay Cutler further.'