Ending the Week (Thursday & Friday)

Myth Busters, the International Edition featuring Vikas, myself, Michael, Ulrich, Hanna and Danny

On Thursday we had this session called "Revolutionizing Your Space", where we were tasked by the Directors of the IE School of Architecture (by the way, one of them really looks like Tony Stark!) to create a 30-second video based on what we felt was our own interpretation of the theme. We were given a number of items to work with to use as props.

In the end, we came up with PORT-ALL~ a product of the future that teleports things to you in an instant. Of course, while the technology wasn't there yet, it did communicate the nuances everyone has encountered at least once in their lives: forgetting something behind.

We personally thought our video was cool... but another group's video was cooler! It was so funny we asked the professor to play it a second time. If I could only find the YouTube link I'll likely post it below.

Area 31: Where Pitch Slams happen every Thursday. Sponsored by Heineken (yes, free beer Thursdays)!

Later that evening I attended a session of the IE Ventures Network - where existing groups within IE would pitch their business concepts to a panel of investors. It's much like what you see in the show Dragon's Den.. except that the panelists aren't as harsh. I went there with Danny, who's seriously looking into joining the Venture Lab program. After hearing some of the group pitch their idea, I was convinced that I applied to the correct MBA program. I'm looking forward to next week's Pitch Slam... as it'll give me a better idea how to craft my own business plans / ideas in the future.

LAH! A Singaporean restaurant located just across IE!

Missing Asian food on a Friday, I had lunch with a few classmates and headed to this place called LAH!, which supposedly serves Singaporean food. I saw the place before from the outside... but didn't think it was a restaurant. I thought it was a place that sold furniture crafted in Thailand or something (see the big writings on the wooden boards?).

I was surprised with the menu.. because apparently, it was more Southeast Asian than Singaporean. There were Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Filipino options in the menu. Some items were accurate... but some were, well, not that accurate. The two Filipino dishes on the menu seemed more like re-interpreted / fushion dishes (especially the adobo... I couldn't recognize it from the photo). But nonetheless, the food was really good.

I ordered a Thai curried duck breast and enjoyed it immensely. I actually had very low expectations of Asian food in Europe in general but this was very good :) (Likely coming back there again)

Once again I was bored on a Friday night... and decided to explore once more
(Above, a night photo I shot of Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena)

I decided to check out the Royal Palace of Madrid. I heard it was awesome so I figured it would be interesting to see it at night with all the lights making dramatic shadow-effects on the building. Indeed, it was cool... but I think I should probably visit it again during the day... as there was a section that was closed off to the public at night. It had this really spacious and majestic open space~ which I would love to see again.

I walked further down the road and found myself by Almudena Cathedral. Again, it was awesome... but I would need to visit this place again during the day because I'm certain the interiors would've been equally amazing. I went home early because I was feeling very cold... and I felt that if I stayed around any longer I may end up with a serious cold or sore throat.

Anyway, it was an interesting first week. I just got my class schedule for the next 3 months and I'm quite excited to get started with classes next Wednesday! We'll see!